jeudi, septembre 30, 2004 Yes, friends, I have a couple of announcements to make. Which I'm sure you have been anticipating, so I'll make this short and to the point.1) I have quit my job. I told my boss that I was tendering my resignation on the 4th of October (meaning that I end on the 5th of November.) D'ya hear me, y'all? I QUIT! 2) I have been offered (and I have accepted) a place to do Masters in NTU. 3) With full funding. 4) And a stipend. God is good all the time, but sometimes, He just adds sugar icing on the triple-mocha-chocolate-expresso cake. Woo hoo! Thank you all for your prayers, well-wishes and encouragements to leave. The deed is done, the die is cast, the votes have been tabulated. Amen. :-) [Soapbox Announcements] |
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Someone in NUS was absolutely bored, or very stressed. He built a winding road, reminiscent of an F1 racecourse, from the bus stop steps, to the base of a neighbouring tree. For ANTS.
It was perfectly manufactured too, with GLUE joining the road together, and very neatly trimmed chopsticks as road pillars. There are times where Singapore students are unimaginative, but this isn't one of them. An excellent waste of a mad hour! [All Roads Lead to...] |
mardi, septembre 28, 2004 This is not an anti-marriage post. Does nobody believe in romance anymore? What happened to the breathtaking proposal, the widening eyes, the gaping mouth, the suddenly blank brain, the silent tears of happiness forming, the sheer heart-stopping element of being suddenly, totally unexpectedly proposed to?When did it become customary to register for a flat before even getting engaged? To book hotel wedding packages before the ring was bought? To know when and where and how your boyfriend (or girlfriend, if you're progressive) would propose? Where's the unexpected? I've heard of many proposals over the last three years, and most of them wound up being predictable, or even asked for (!) My colleague (non-Christian) has ROMed and has been living with her husband in their flat for a year now, and is only now going to get her wedding photos taken, and the ceremony booked. Another colleague has registered for a flat with her boyfriend. No plans for their wedding yet. Another friend (sorry man) also told me that his girlfriend had demanded to know when he was proposing, if ever. (I will probably reverse my tone on this once I'm in a serious relationship, and go "Oooooooh, so that's how it's like. No wonder." You can tell me "I told you so!" then, okay?) Perhaps we're all just getting more and more worried for our futures, and playing it safer. We'd like to "know where this relationship is going", and plan our lives 20 years in advance. I know a friend who is determined to spend the next 10 year of his life becoming a successful banker, and then find a girlfriend to settle down only at 33. How safe is safe?
[This is not an anti-marriage post.] |
dimanche, septembre 26, 2004 漫长的道路有平坦险陡我的心摇动何等软弱 泪水悄悄流，让它流呀流， 这条路难走，仍要走。 浩瀚的海洋何处可停泊 我的心彷徨何等寂寞 岁月不停留，春去又是秋 这条路难走，仍要走。 更深倚靠主，更深仰望主 丢在丛林旷野还能活 外面的艰难虽然越来越多 向前走，不回头，不回头。 短暂的岁月努力去开拓 我的心软弱何等惭羞 主啊饶恕我，主阿赦免我 这条路要走，继续走。 There are about three more refrains to the end of the song, but I've had enough of typing chinese for one night, especially since I'm forced to check at least one word for every line of the song. My england is powderful, but my chinese just stinks. Anyway. This was written by a persecuted Christian missionary who was in Thailand or China, I think. I first sang it when Peng was leading worship in ORPC, and I really liked it a lot... I think it marked the first time I thought of Chinese as a truly beautiful language, instead of the constant torture that it used to be back in school. I still stand by that opinion, by the way - when used right, it is a truly evocative language... but only when used right. I've heard painful prose and poems before. Yeoch. So what brought this on? Because Estee called to ask how I was. This lady is the sweetest, most thoughtful creature on the planet to call and ask how my day went, all the way from Australia, and I am truly lucky to know her. Thanks babe. How did I ever get so fortunate to have friends like you? In between narrating my whole work scenario (really, really screwed up right now), I kept thinking of how hard it was to be salt and light in the marketplace, which just stinks. All this talk about how to be a good Christian and remembering that the weight of His glory is on our shoulders when we're walking around this washed-out earth - it's all true, but it's hard to do. (Oh goodness, I just rhymed.) But it still must be done. Hence - 漫长的道路有平坦险陡, 我的心摇动何等软弱, 泪水悄悄流，让它流呀流，这条路难走，仍要走。 路仍要走。 [路仍要走] |
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My hair is an extension of my personality - it's mostly black, with devious white strands hidden here and there - but even the white strands are mostly half-white and black, like they can't decide which side of the path to stay on. It's mad on most days, but always does better after a good hot shower. It likes bandannas a lot, but doesn't respond very well to cutesy stuff, like tiny clips and rubber bands. BUT. Some young PUNK just blogged about her hair, and compared it to mine. I am looking into alternative hairstyles. Rebonding. Ceramics. Anyone with a good lobang, do SMS me.
So, do you think I would look good in with afro hair?
[What's wrong with my hair??] |
samedi, septembre 25, 2004 Although work has been shitty the last couple of months, there is always something about productions which give me a high. There's also a learning high which only comes when you're learning something interesting and new. What was interesting after the production at VCH on Thursday was the cleaning up and packing up to go home. Yes, it sucked because it meant that I had to go home at 12mn after being at work early from 8am, but at least it was rather interesting to see how the various equipment was loaded and transported to and from VCH. Pictures of the humongous things that were being loaded for your enjoyment. I really do like learning about the intricacies of holding such a large production at VCH; it gives me better perspective on some of the more detailed operations of the arts in Singapore.
I had a minor tussle with my colleague (the one who forced my hand, let's call her Disappointment) about why I was still there. A little background on her - she says that the boss doesn't give her enough manpower to run the operations, and she bitches about the other people in the office who are more office-types. She says that they don't help out and they don't bother offering, nor do they say thank you after the job is done. I've done productions, and I know how crappy it is to do background work, not have enough manpower to help, and then not have anyone thank you after that. People who are good arts workers know that their background "ghost" crew are one of the most important people around, and that they are the glue that holds the entire production together. One of the most blessed things in the arts scene is to have a crew that is cohesive and who enjoy working together. We had two buses to bus the students back. We had two moving trucks to move all the stuff back. We had four staff, one of whom drove (Disappointment). So two of my colleagues went with the students, and Disappointment drove back herself, and I went with one of the moving trucks. The minor tussle I mentioned above was the fact that Disappointment wanted me to leave immediately, as she said that it's hard to justify my day off, should I take it. I was really disgusted with her at that because she's the one who keeps bitching about not having enough manpower, and now when I'm there supervising, she wants me to bugger off because she's afraid of being called in to explain about manpower issues. I told her that I didn't mind, and that I had told my other colleagues that I would be going back to work with the moving van. She still pressured me to go back, and I just kept repeating that I had told them I would be returning to ensure everything was taken care of. Why I kept emphasising my promise to my colleagues was because it's important (in a very intangible way) to be there from the beginning to the end of the production. You just have to be there, just in case, or just to support your colleagues. You needn't be doing anything, but you just have to be there. It's just like working on a Saturday for me - I have to be in the building, and I'm alone, but it is so much nicer to have someone else there to talk to, and it makes the work and the time go along much faster. Disappointment doesn't understand that, and therefore she just wanted me to run off and abandon ship halfway before the end of the whole thing, just because she doesn't want to be responsible for her portfolio. I find she just wants to bitch about how they don't give her any staff for her operations, but when people help, she turns them away. I really hoped that she wouldn't do something like that to me, but she did, and it's really, well, disappointing. But I still live and breathe, and my parents are alive and happy, and I have food on the table, so WWJD? Praise God, anyway! [Work] |
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Today was an interesting day, after yesterday's working from 8am to 12mn. Working in the Cons = no life.
So. The whole idea of training for a biathlon was to get in shape and get fit. Complete, not compete, is what Aaron said. With determination and true grit, four of us (Stan, Weilong, Aaron, and myself) made an appointment to jog at NUS. We met at WTC Harbourfront, and had a good catching-up session at Noodle Hut, followed by a scrumptious dessert (four of them!) at Coffee Club. Those smaller pictures you see are of me licking the plate clean on a dare. Yep, great guts indeed. I'm going to win the next mudpie-eating contest. Biathlon? What biathlon? [Today... edited.] |
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During World War II, the Allied Forces were short on supplies after fighting such a long, drawn-out war. There was nowhere else to get help, except from China. The Allied Forces's commander wasted no time in telegramming the China commander. Here is a (localised) sample of how the conversation went...
Allied Forces Commander (AFC): Hey, got supplies for us not? China Commander (CC): Sure sure, we have lots! AFC: Can give us some? CC: No problemo! AFC: Good, we'll look forward to your supplies coming soon then. 2 months later (as the Allied Forces were slowly dying)... AFC: Eh, how come you said give us supplies, we wait so long liaoz still nothing happen?! CC: Eh yah hor, forget forget.. ok, on its way liaoz.. 2 minutes later... The China forces marched in unison towards the Allied Force HQ, raised their hands together, waved them frantically, and with huge grins on their faces, shouted: "SUPPLIES!!!"
Weilong has the craziest jokes. I was hard-pressed to stop a full-bodied laugh come rushing out of me before he finished telling the joke to Aaron tonight. [Would you like supplies?] |
mercredi, septembre 22, 2004 KillMeNow #10.5: Picking up the pieces I had a talk with the DD today, and he was pretty cool with the whole thing. He apologised for not knowing who to talk to, and we're all going to start anew. He said that he was under the impression that the guy who stole my work (let's call him Teef) was in charge of my portfolio (durh, so what's my job title for?) But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, and blame Teef instead.A number of my colleagues/friends are also rather disgusted with the colleague who forced my hand, which isn't particularly good for the organisation. They're a mixture of disappointed and disgusted, but not overly distressed over the issue (that's me, but that's because my ass is on the line here.) Thanks to my fav gals for praying! HJ, FT, CC, XL, Mokster, you guys rock my world. [KillMeNow #10.5: Picking up the pieces] |
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KillMeNow #10 - Shoot me in the knees, stomp on my Achilles heel, grind my shins through the paper shredder... ... remove my insides and put them in the blender and grind till they're slush, and stomp in the rest of me in stiletto high-heels.I was forced to do something today by someone I considered a colleague/friend. I told her that I didn't want to do it, but she forced my hand, and things really turned ugly in the staff meeting today. Nothing physical, of course, just... I said some things which I wasn't prepared to say - some things have got to be mind-edited first. You don't say something, and when the boss asks "What exactly?" look at me and expect me to come up with a diplomatic answer immediately. That may be where I wanna be, but hey, cut me some slack, I've got to go get more education in diplomacy and tact first before I'll be able to truly handle situations like this without breaking a sweat. I'm angry at her for doing it, and angry at myself for not being able to keep things in perspective, and for not handling a bad situation well. I guess this is another one of those rough edges that God wants to sandpaper away, and that I need to make a mistake in before I learn. Perspective, perspective, perspective. I always thought betrayal was too strong a word to use on anything. I don't know if it's the word to describe the immense sense of disappointment that I now feel towards her. I feel so tired. Not sleepy-tired, but just... weary. I wish it would end soon. Increase in natural disasters; wars and rumours of wars... Matthew 24. Yay. Weary. [KillMeNow #10 - Shoot me in the knees, stomp on my Achilles heel, grind my shins through the paper shredder...] |
mardi, septembre 21, 2004 "There's one plant in the lobby area which is diseased, could you exchange it with the healthy plant upstairs?"Each plant weighs about 40kg. [KillMeNow #9] |
samedi, septembre 18, 2004 Whew! I feel popular today.Meeting 1: Super Cabbie Going to work (supremely late, as usual - I woke up at 9am, if you can believe that!), I took a cab from Holland V into NUS, and met a finalist of last year's Singapore Tourism Award. The cab driver was very talkative, and it turns out that he has a degree in engineering from Oklahoma University, and was retrenched about two years ago. He gave me the forms to fill up which would nominate him again this year, as well as the SMRT feedback form. I took the forms to fill up - he wanted me to do it in the cab, but that would mean giving my personal particulars to him. He kinda creeped me out by being too friendly. Not sure whether I want to nominate him or not. Meeting 2: Mervin Along the way to Orchard Road to meet Zibing and Qiuyan, I meet... Mervin! Who enthusiastically asked and asked and asked and asked and asked... (you get the idea) me to join the Reuters Dragon Boat team, citing first a competition, then muscle-bound men as the pull, then changed tactic and suggestively suggested (tautology, I know, but heck) "Imagine the great tan you'll get!" I'm a sucker for authetic tanning - you know, the sort you get when you actually exercise for it, and not get from just sunning yourself on the beach or poolside? Mervin alternated between pushing the muscle-bound men and the natural tan (and muscle tone) all the way to Cold Storage Tanglin. (Huifen, your guy is buff! Be careful and keep tabs of the number of times he's hitting the gym, or I'll mistake him for Arnold S. soon, and nominate him to be Serangoon NMP!!!) I'm actually considering it, okay Merv? Seriously. Meeting 3: Audrey I was early for the meeting, so I totally bummed away in Zara (nothing new) and Borders (BordersBordersBordersYay!) where I sat and read five chapters of a teen novel, "New Girl in Town", a Christian novel I think. I think I'm going to review it for promotion in church. The first five chapters were pretty decent already. I checked out the DVD section of Borders, hoping to get my Out Of Sight DVD, but no cigar. Bummer. I got the "I'm here!" sms from Zibing, then met Audrey while walking to Far East to meet her. I invited her along, and she decided to hang out with us for a while, and we wound up chatting an hour (at least) away as we ate dinner at 士林 (台湾小吃) 。
I met the owner (friend's friend) of the
Meeting 3.5: Zibing and Qiuyan (3.5 because it was already planned, so not really counted) After finding that Crest was closed, Zibing and I walked towards Taka, where we meandered in and out of the sociology section, discussing churches and attitudes. Then we collected Qiuyan from the basement, and went to Crystal Jade Kitchen to grab QY's dinner and catch up. After which, Zibing had to return home to fulfil certain (felicitous) obligations. :-) Meeting 4 & 5: Vic & Joyce / Forgotten couple While taking the escalator, Victor and Joyce suddenly appeared and screamed "HIIII!" Amazingly, nobody stared (too hard). But to my surprise, a couple I know from year 1 (I think) was behind them too, and they said Hi as I was moving ever upward on the escalator. I so cannot remember their names, but I know I know them! Meeting 6 & 7: Jer Ming, Chloe (, Dawn and Darren) While trying to devour more food between us (a very large serving of Coffee Club's chocolate and coffee ice-cream with choc fudge and oreo cookies) between Qiuyan and myself, Jer Ming called and wanted to pop by. D'uh, of course that's alright. When they came, they brought Chloe along, whom I know from my Redang trip. Last orders were over, so they hung out while we finished up our food, and then I left for home, because (dammit) I'm not young anymore. (But I think they all went home after that too, so I guess it all evens out. Unless you guys didn't. Qiuyan? Heh.) Phew. It's tiring being popular. :P (tongue firmly in cheek.) (And how's that for hyperreality. This has got to be one of my most linked posts.) [Weekend!] |
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<a href="http://www.livejournal.com/~mrtan" target="_blank">adrian</a><br> <a href="http://tropicaliceberg.blogspot.com" target="_blank">amanda</a><br> <a href="http://morphosis-.diaryland.com" target="_blank">andrea</a><br> <a href="http://www.benjaminee.com" target="_blank">ben ee</a><br> <a href="http://buyaolian.diaryland.com" target="_blank">char, princess</a><br> <a href="http://davidlok.blogspot.com" target="_blank">davidlok</a><br> <a href="http://whatspace.konvolut.net" target="_blank">estee</a><br> <a href="http://www.utterlyorange.com/blog" target="_blank">fuzzy</a><br> <a href="http://www.phancy.com/nachoman" target="_blank">hwee yee</a><br> <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/~misskuek" target="_blank">jo-anne</a><br> <a href="http://jermster.blogspot.com" target="_blank">jerming</a><br> <a href="http://www.xanga.com/m3dia" target="_blank">julian</a><br> <a href="http://limkeemin.blogspot.com" target="_blank">keemin</a><br> <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/~kwisties" target="_blank">kris</a><br> <a href="http://laureltan.blogspot.com" target="_blank">laurel</a><br> <a href="http://strangeknight.blogspot.com" target="_blank">leon</a><br> <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/~lolitapop" target="_blank">lolitapop</a><br> <a href="http://www.newmusicmachine.net/main.htm" target="_blank">marcus</a><br> <a href="http://www.xanga.com/BlueStars" target="_blank">mayqi</a><br> <a href="http://rde.konvolut.net" target="_blank">mayee</a><br> <a href="http://katze.permanenthiatus.net" target="_blank">nurul</a><br> <a href="http://praisie.blogdrive.com" target="_blank">praisie</a><br> <a href="http://contradixion.blogspot.com" target="_blank">qy</a><br> <a href="http://toposnoetos.blogspot.com" target="_blank">shao</a><br> <a href="http://www.shadowfaq.blogspot.com" target="_blank">shi'en</a><br> <a href="http://www.ijen.blogspot.com" target="_blank">shixuan</a><br> <a href="http://blog.cryptworx.com" target="_blank">vic</a><br> <a href="http://hahahihaveablogtoo.blogspot.com" target="_blank">weilong</a><br> <a href="http://www.xanga.com/Yimei" target="_blank">yimei</a><br> <a href="http://www.xanga.com/Babymentos" target="_blank">yenling</a><br> </p> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"><div align="right"><br> <br> <br> <br> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"> <p align="right" class="BlogSidebarTitle">about</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"><div align="right"><a href="i-am-female" title="undoubtably.">f</a> - <a href="unfortunately" title="unfortunately.">23</a> - <a href="mailto:limmayannATyahooDOTcom" title="mailto:limmayannATyahooDOTcom">@</a> - <a href="http://yst.cons" target="_blank" title="the place which saps my soul">work</a> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"><div align="right"><br> <br> <br> <br> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"><div align="right"> <p class="BlogSidebarTitle">links</p> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"><div align="right"> <a href="http://babelfish.altavista.com" target="_blank">babelfish!</a><br> <a href="http://www.bigwhiteguy.com" target="_blank">bigwhiteguy</a><br> <a href="http://www.demotivators.com/" target="_blank">demotivators</a><br> <a href="http://www.inpassing.org" target="_blank">in passing</a><br> <a href="http://josharrisweblog.blogspot.com" target="_blank">joshua harris</a><br> <a href="http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com" target="_blank">twop</a><br> <a href="http://www.wired.com" target="_blank">wired</a><br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"><div align="right"><br> <br> <br> <br> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"> <p align="right" class="BlogSidebarTitle"> wish list</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"> <p align="right"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html/102-1076678-4881759?%5Fencoding=UTF8&id=1WX5C9I1JY3UT">Amazonian Wish List</a><br> jeans that fit (01<br> neat hair (02<br> subscription to <http://www.discipleshipjournal.com" taget="_blank">discipleship journal</a>(03<br> <a href="http://www.zara.com" target="_blank">better working wardrobe</a> (04<br> <a href="http://www.worldvision.org" target="_blank">a meaningful job</a> (05<br> <a href="http://www.amazon.com" target="_blank" title="Get Shorty, Pulp Fiction, The Big Bounce, Touch, Jackie Brown, and of course, Out Of Sight.">Any Elmore Leonard Movie</a> (06<br> <a href="http://www.ffh.net" target="_blank"> Any FFH album (07<br> </p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"><div align="right"><br> <br> <br> <br> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"> <div align="right"> <p class="BlogSidebarTitle">tag-board</p> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"> <div align="right"> <p class="BlogSidebarTitle">archives</p> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"><div align="right"> <BloggerArchives><a href='<$BlogArchiveLink$>'><$BlogArchiveName$></a><br> </BloggerArchives> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"><div align="right"><br> <br> <br> <br> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"> <p align="right" class="BlogSidebarTitle">thanks</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="BlogSidebar"> <div align="right"><a href="http://www.blogger.com" title="[blogger]" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.recklessfaith.com/blogpix/blogger.gif" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.blogextra.com/backblog" title="[backblog]" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.recklessfaith.com/blogpix/backblog.gif" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.sitemeter.com" title="[sitemeter]" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.recklessfaith.com/blogpix/sitemeter.gif" border="0"></a><br> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript">var site="sm7hyperreality"</script> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://sm7.sitemeter.com/js/counter.js? site=sm7hyperreality"></script> <noscript> <a href="http://sm7.sitemeter.com/stats.asp?site=sm7hyperreality" target="_top"> <img src="http://sm7.sitemeter.com/meter.asp?site=sm7hyperreality" alt="Site Meter" border=0></a> </noscript> <!-- Copyright (c)2002 Site Meter --> <!--WEBBOT bot="HTMLMarkup" Endspan --> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="blackdot">   </td> </tr> </table> </div></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="85%" class="copyright"> copyright eilonwy©2003<br> any and all rights reserved<br> for what purposes nobody knows<br> they're still ®eserved, anyway<br> thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone<br> while i endeavour and attempt to keep facts straight<br> please realise also that this is only a version of reality<br> according to me.</td> <td width="15%" class="copyright"><div align="right"></div></td> </tr> </table> </body> </html> [old blogger code 16 sep 2004] |
She: It's your game. I've never played this before.
6. Why is it both POH KIM VIDEO STORE and Sembawang Music don't carry this DVD or VCD?!
[Totally outta sight] |
mercredi, septembre 15, 2004 Sometimes I still like working in NUS Because I had a bad day on Tuesday and met Shao, who was kind enough to lend me her shoulder to cry on. Then she surprised me today by getting me something round and pink and cute, and chocolatey to boot... with the added bonus of scintillating conversation (peppered with the refrain "Quit now, quit now" at the appropriate moments) over coffee at Gecko's, where we both lusted over Asian travel plans together. Thank you.[Sometimes I still like working in NUS] |
lundi, septembre 13, 2004 FAMILY FEUD OF NOODLES VERSUS BAO Gossip Hot from the oven......just arrived at my door step This came in from a colleague - you know, one of those time-wasting emails which help the day pass faster? [FAMILY FEUD OF NOODLES VERSUS BAO] |
dimanche, septembre 12, 2004 I think the difference lies not just with the Sinner's Prayer and repentance, but the continued drive, the deep desire to know Truth. In challenging situations with friends who do probe about Christianity, and poke at me like they want to get a rise out of me, I ask: do you seek answers to questions because you want the bible to be proven right or wrong? For the case for Christianity to be water-tight or hole-ridden? And how far are you willing to go to prove of disprove the Truth? I enjoy the verbal sparring as much as the next person - it's very mentally stimulating, but if you come to the cross, determined that it is wrong, then (in my humble opinion), there's nothing there for you.(I am aware that this works vice-versa, of course, but then again, I believe that Truth is absolute.) [Believers and Non] |
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I went to Crystal's mom's wake yesterday night, after the Baptist Lay Leader's Conference. I got the usual mixed feelings that come with a wake of a friend's relative: What should I say? being the prevalent sentiment in my mind. I didn't really know her mother - she was present during a birthday or Christmas dinner gathering about two years ago, but at that time she was still mobile and walking around. She had been bedridden for the last couple of months before she passed.
Funerals are uncomfortable things. Ridiculous questions suddenly pop up in your mind, like "What do I say? What should I feel? Can we laugh during this time? Are we allowed to smile? Is it appropriate to bother the family to ask to go to the toilet?" Having gone for more funerals in my life than I care to remember, I find that behaviour at the funeral is representative of a hard fact of life: it goes on. People are still happy to meet each other, people still laugh, people still drink and eat and talk, people still go to the toilet. Life goes on. I am in awe of Crystal and her family. They were already amazingly close, and now that her mother is gone, growing ever closer as they weather this crisis together. Every time we ask for her prayer requests, it's always for her family - for her mother to not be in pain, for her family to draw closer together, for her dad, whose anguished heart slowly broke as he sees the woman he loves suffer so much pain. To hear stories told of her mother's beautiful faith and care for people - for the first time, I understood what people sometimes say after a funeral eulogy - "I was sorry not to have known her (better)." [Passing] |
vendredi, septembre 10, 2004 Date/Time: 25 & 26 Sep 2004, approx 11.30am - 8.30pmVenue: Citylink Mall Company: Legato (Wireless connection for speakers, designed for home entertainment systems) Website: www.90db.com Pay: basic (approx. S$50) + escalating commission Requirements: Great smile, winning personality, can talk. Contact: Julian Lim at 63164160 [Job Opportunity @ Roadshow] |
mardi, septembre 07, 2004 [SPOILER WARNING. DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW DETAILS ABOUT THE MOVIE.]Finally caught Collateral before it totally died in the movie theatres... had to go all the way to Tampines Mall to see it, and nearly got lost in the highways along the way! Edwin said that it was mad that I went all the way to see a crappy show on my day off at 0830am, but what the hey, once it goes off the screen, it pretty much stays off the screen (unless it's got Frodo in it, then it comes back in IMAX, bigger and more expensive than ever). I thought it was a pretty okay movie - nothing particularly fantastic about it - so Tom Cruise is a killer, and Jamie Foxx is the innocent "collateral", extra person beside him, his sidekick. Big deal. However, I liked how I really didn't know who to root for in the movie. Tom Cruise vs Jamie Foxx - JF is the good guy, but Tom Cruise is... Tom Cruise! How can he be the bad guy? 'Surely he has some redeeming quality, something which will save him from being arrested or killed at the end,' I thought to myself. Nothing. I don't even think we got his character's last name. Worth a weekday watch, not worth it for anything beyond $6.50.
[Collateral] |
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Nostalgia/Carpe Diem: A Mixed Anthology Entries are welcome, of course.
[POEM] Nostalgia - Now Threepence Off (Adrian Mitchell)
[SONG] Those Were The Days (Mary Hopkins) [POEM] Annus Mirabilis (Philip Larkin) [SONG] 1985 (Bowling for Soup) [SONG] We Built This City (Starship) - Though I personally disagree with Leon about the sentiment - I don't think it's similar to 1985 at all, but each to his own... [MOVIE] Dead Poet's Society [SONG] Year 3000 (Busted) [SONG] A Hundred Years (Five For Fighting) [POEM] Love from Arthur Rainbow (Adrian Henri) In a villa called "Much Bickering" In a street called Pleasant Street Living with her wicked parents Was a princess, small and neat She wanted to be an artist So off to college she went And as long as she got a Diploma They considered it money well spent One day she met a poet Who taught her all about life He walked her down to the station Then went back home to his wife He came from the end of the rainbow At least that's what she thought The kind of love she wanted The kind that can't be bought But time and the last train to the suburbs Killed the love that would never die And he'll find another love And she'll sit at home and cry Now she's reading through his letters In her small schoolteacher flat Dusty paint-tubes in the corner Worn-out "Welcome" on the mat O the day she met Arthur Rainbow There were roses all over town There were angels in all the shopwindows And kisses not rain coming down Now it's off to work every morning And back home for dinner at eight For the gold at the end of the rainbow Lies buried beneath her front gate. [Nostalgia/Carpe Diem: A Mixed Anthology] |
lundi, septembre 06, 2004 I heard a song on the radio that day, and it made me smile and go "Hey! That could be me..." Bowling for Soup has done it again - another crazy song that's *just so*.1985 Debbie just hit the wall, she never had it all - one Prozac a day, husband's a CPA. Her dreams went out the door, when she turned twenty four (like me!) Only been with one man - what happened to her plan? She was gonna be an actress (uh, nope.) she was gonna be a star (uh, nope.) she was gonna shake her ass (uh, nope!) on the hood of White Snake’s car (uh, good band, but nope.) Her yellow SUV is now the enemy (COE too high.) Looks at her average life (You got that right.) and nothing has been alright Since Bruce Springsteen, Madonna way before Nirvana there was U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV her two kids in high school they tell her that she’s uncool 'cause she still preoccupied with 19, 19, 1985 Woohoo (1985) Woohoo She’s seen all the classics she knows every line Breakfast Club (Yes), Pretty in Pink (No) even Saint Elmo’s Fire (No) she rocked out to Wham! (I'm still rocking out to them!) not a big Limp Biscuit fan (This one I am!) thought she’d get a hand On a member of Duran Duran Where’s the mini-skirt made of snake skin and who’s the other guy that's singing in Van Halen when did reality become T.V. what ever happen to sitcoms, game shows (on the radio there was) Springsteen, Madonna way before Nirvana there was U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV her two kids in high school they tell her that she’s uncool 'cause she still preoccupied with 19, 19, 1985 Woohoo She hates time make it stop when did Motley Crew become classic rock? (They are?!) And when did Ozzy become an actor? Please make this stop Stop, Stop! And bring back Springsteen, Madonna way before Nirvana there was U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV her two kids in high school they tell her that she’s uncool 'cause she still preoccupied with 1985 Don't think I'm preoccupied with 1985, but hey, the rest of the song's pretty nifty. Very pop-carpe diem, similar to Five for Fighting's A Hundred Years - the sentiment I get from both the songs run along the same vein. They remind me that there are things that I want to do before I die. [1985] |
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I'm attempting to organise my photographs (now haphazardly piled into a cardboard box, and look what I dug up...
We were doing a play enacting racial riots, and other important milestones in the PAP's history for their 45th anniversary. Just for this production, we all had ISD checks done. (Yes, that's Xu Jing beside me.) [image removed due to threats to sue for psychological damage]
[Samfu Showgirls] |
dimanche, septembre 05, 2004
I seem to alternate between long complaints, and therapeutic pseudo-personality tests. This one sounds like a bad translation from Japanese.
[Purple Wolf] |
samedi, septembre 04, 2004 UPDATED - KillMeNow #7 and #8 - Lift and Ass-kisser Yesterday, a student got stuck in a lift.He got out. Amen. More backstory >> Time: Event -0:03 My colleagues and I took a 2 hour lunch break on Friday (TGIF), and got back at around 3pm. We got into the lift, and went our separate ways in the building. Time: Event +0:01 I cart my shopping booty to my desk and sit down. The next thing I know, frantic knocking (AGAIN?!) at my door. "SOMEONE IS STUCK IN THE LIFT!" my colleague fair shouts at me. Time: Event +0:02-+0:05 We take off in a sprint to the first floor, to see if turning the lift key works. It doesn't. We call up Sigma Elevators, who installed and maintain the elevator. My colleague (colleague 1) gives my handphone number, and we both look at each other and realise that I do not have my handphone with me. I run upstairs again to get my handphone, and grab the numbers for the whole company's facilities management team off my pinup board. I go outside, and colleague 2 asks me if I have any funky screwdrivers, because we can get the lift door open if I do. The screwdriver needs to be triangular in shape. Obviously, I don't. BECAUSE NOBODY GIVES ME A BUDGET TO BUY ANYTHING USEFUL, LIKE SCREWDRIVERS AND NAILS AND A POWER DRILL, WHICH I REALLY NEED IN THE COURSE OF MY WORK. I call the management team, and they say that they'll send someone down immediately to help. I run back into my office, and grab my OWN tools, which I carted from my own toolbox AT HOME, and try to fiddle about with the elevator. It obviously doesn't work, and I know I didn't do any damage to anything because nothing fit in any crevice. Joy. Time: Event +0:05-+0:08 I run to the front desk to see what's happening with my colleagues, and Colleague 2 grabs the walkie-talkies we have for productions and thrusts one in my hand. "For easier communication," she says. Then I notice this guy standing in front of the counter. Oh bugger and blast, it's the Associate Director. He just has to be here NOW?! I think to myself. He asks a few suitably stupid questions like "how is the student?" How should I know?! "I'm going to find out now," I say, as I run awaaaaaaay from him. Unfortunately, he follows. Oh well. At least I tried. Time: Event +0:08-+0:13 With the AD behind my back, I shout to the student to ask him if the fan is working, and if the lights are switched on, totally defying the standing order to speak to all students in English. "Now they are," he replies in Chinese. "When are the people coming?" "I don't know, soon, I think. They said they would come immediately, but I don't know exactly when," is my pathetic reply. I ask him if he's alright for now, and he replies in the affirmative. "I hope they come soon," is the boy's plaintive sigh. I try the key again, and ask my colleague to check if there's any other key available in the key press box. I know for a fact that no such key exists because I just spent the last week of my life sorting through the junk that's hanging inside, but well, just for the AD's ear's sake, I had to ask. She replies that no, we don't have anything, and she can't search for anything now because she's handling something else. (Unbeknownst to me, there was another crisis taking place elsewhere, involving a missing timesheet.) Time: Event +0:13 Repairman is here! Hurrah! Not. He tries his keys. Door won't open. We climb up and down with him, and he tries to open the lift door on levels 1 and 2, to no avail. He needs access to the motor room, which is on the roof. I don't have the key because PEOPLE DON'T GIVE ME ESSENTIAL KEYS, THEY LIKE TO KEEP THE POWER ALL TO THEMSELVES. So we have to wait for his colleague to arrive. I call the company facilities management team to tell them that I need the key, and they say OK, and ask if the student has pressed the telephone button, to ask for assistance. I shout this to the student, and then tell the facilities management team to BRING THE DAMNED KEY DOWN NOW. By this time, the AD is feeling rather left-out. So much communication going around in front of him by this mere gurl, walkie-talkies, handphones, lift-telephones, shouting to students, and he doesn't get to make a single call? So he mutters, "I think the Deputy Director should know about this," and happily dials a number. So the DD's on his way down. I walk away to a discreet place and walkie-talkie my colleagues the warning. My security guard bursts into the emergency staircase where I am, and brings along with him... another security guard? "What are you doing here?" I ask this guy. "I dunno, they ask me to come one," he tells me in a mat accent. "Who ask you to come one?" "The facilities management team. They said you call them." Right. I tell them that I have a student trapped in a lift, and I need help, and they send me a security guard?! Nincompoops. I send him back to his original station (though not before asking him if he had any keys, or tools, or knowledge about anything regarding lifts and rescues.) Time: Event +0:20 The other repairman is here! So they climb up and down and fix whatever it is. The DD had arrived by now, the door is popped, and student clambers out, very relieved. He thanks me, and thanks the AD and DD (what the heck for? I think, but I obviously let it slide.) Time: Event +3:00 (approximate) My director pays the building a visit, and he said that (thank God for amazing matters!) the AD had said that I handled the whole crisis very well. This gratifies me a little. But too little too late! ASS KISSER It's stuff like this that my life is now made up of. Very exciting, but very tiring. Ordinarily, I think I would enjoy it, but I really hate not getting understanding of what I do from the management. To them, it's just 20 minutes - why can't you do more work after that? they would ask. Because it was a very f***ing tiring 20 minutes, that's why, b*tch. To top it all off, someone else is attaching his mouth to the newly-installed DD's ass, and sucking very hard. That's okay, I love seeing a freak-show, but when the freak-show brazenly STEALS MY WORK and PASSES IT OFF AS HIS OWN, oh man. He's talking to the DD, and passing him some policies that I wrote, and not telling the DD that I did it. So obviously, the DD would think that he was the one who did it, right? Rules and regulations concerning the use of the building come under my jurisdiction, but no, this bastard just comes in, takes my work, and takes over, like he's done all this crawling through blood and shit all the time. I thought about this a little, and I think it's a little funny that I still want to own this stuff that I don't like doing. But my colleague pointed out to me that although it wasn't anything I wanted to do, I still did it, and it's my work regardless - or more so, since I didn't like doing it in the first place. So when this guy comes and takes credit for running the entire building, like he has any clue, oh man. That just takes the cake. Why are these two posts together? Because I'm leaving soon, I shouldn't bother, right? But it really stings my pride when the DD comes to the building which you're supposed to be running, and speaks to EVERYONE ELSE but you, because he doesn't know that you're the one in charge of every f***ing little thing there, and he doesn't know any better. And when he speaks to you, he talks down, like I don't know what's going on in the building. BITE ME. Oh, and another push factor to get out: my language is seriously deteriorating in this job. I have not cursed so much, EVER. I have used f*** in so many new permutations, I think I've discovered some new uses of the word. Need to get out. Soon. (Pull factor though - my bank statement just came in, and I have a -$9 deficit this month, thanks to my GRE and TOEFL $500+ expenditure. Yikes.) [UPDATED - KillMeNow #7 and #8 - Lift and Ass-kisser] |
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Rock-on, Engrish is Big In Japan... download the ppt and have a laugh.
[Engrish in Japan] |
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Mini Secondary 4 Class Gathering Huey Ying gathered a couple of us and hustled us to China Square Central for dinner tonight, using that old excuse: "But I didn't get to talk to you all at my wedding dinner, I only SAW you guys, so now I want to catch up!" (That girl, one kind one, always using the same excuse over and over again until it gets tired.)We went to The Village - no, not to watch Shymalan, but to this total Marché ripoff at China Square Central. Food was okay, nothing great (actually, in that sense, it was pretty much the same as Marché.) The company was, however. Cherry, Eunice, Fang Fang, Yingshan, Huey Ying, Daphne and myself were there. It was a large enough group to feel like a group, but small enough to involve everyone in a single conversation. Eight people. Good number too. Yingshan regaled us with tales of her travels (Yunnan, China - yes, that of Yunnan Hair Care), and Huey Ying excited us with her honeymoon plans - 3 days in Paris, France! I gave her CHERYL KOH's mobile number, and told her to look up CHERYL KOH (in case she ever reads this post, never let it be said that I didn't write her name, CHERYL KOH, in large, uppercase letters.) Ahem. Anyway, I told her that I was fairly certain that CHERYL KOH would be happy to accommodate a meeting in Paris, if informed early. Daphne is going to Italy at the end of October, and Fang Fang is trying to head for Paris herself at the end of the year.
^^ everyone! ^^
^^Daphne and Huey Ying^^
Yingshan! As cute as ever.
Cherry and Fang Fang - now working in the same firm (PWC) together. [Mini Secondary 4 Class Gathering] |
jeudi, septembre 02, 2004 KillMeNow#6 - The Meaning Behind All My B*tching Thank you for participating in my little 6-month long b*tch-a-thon about the trials and tribulations of being a Facilities Manager. I've always maintained that my job was given by God, but I've started questioning the goodness of this outcome, especially when my sanity is being worn thin by stupid events. Recently, I've also started thinking that perhaps I was wrong - perhaps this job wasn't given by God, and maybe I choose this job myself. After all, I sort of did, when I said that I didn't mind HELPING OUT my colleague with some of her workload. I did NOT sign up for the whole shebang - lock, stock, smoking (crap) barrel too.So six months later, here are my vital statistics: hokkien fluency: improved much; chinese fluency: improved much; white hair: more; tolerance for contractors: zero to negative; temper: volatile as ever; sense of style: impeccable as always; new ability: able to check for building defects in high heels; new short-term ambition: to buy a portable power drill (with extra drill-bit kit!) So I am effectively UNEMPLOYABLE, is what I mean to say. I've gone for an interview, and the interviewer asked me: "So why do you want to change lines?" I DON'T WANT TO CHANGE LINES, THIS ISN'T MY LINE IN THE FIRST PLACE. But maybe, just maybe, tonight provided the solution to my silly little problem of a stupid job. Tonight, my grandmother's house cracked. Badly. Two doors away from her terrace house, a temple was rebuilding itself. With a basement. So hi-ho, hi-ho, they dig, dig, dig. The neighbour right beside her just renovated before they moved in. So hi-ho, hi-ho, they build build build. PUB just installed some pipelines or power lines or something on the road outside her house. So hi-ho, hi-ho, they dig, dig, dig. Two other houses along her road are also renovating. So hi-ho, hi-ho, they build build build. Then my grandma's house went crack crack crack and pop pop pop. Walls crack and tiles have popped out of their places, some cracking. There are huge, ugly cracks in the house now, and my aunt and my grandma fear that there will be a cave-in soon. They are now staying at our place indefinitely. I went in to take pictures, and will be writing a report that they will probably show to whoever it is that they want to report this problem to. If this is why I had to slog 6 months through shit and high-water, so that I could help my grandma, then I think... it's worth it. Mood: Pensive [KillMeNow#6 - The Meaning Behind All My B*tching] |
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