I'm back at work, at the old job, and so far it's been like remembering how to ride a bike while you're being thrown into the deep end of the pool. My fingers seem to remember all the old shortcuts I had, which is somewhat frustrating because the computer I'm working on didn't have them programmed. Technology and me have been at odds, check this out.
DAY 1: Everything's going well until I send the final copy of my page to production and they call back, frantic that my page is an extra 2cm long. Turns out my computer was set on a really old page size, like two years ago, before they shrank the paper.
DAY 2: Everything's going well until I go to the toilet and my low-access temp pass can't get me back in the office. Oh, and I can't go to the canteen either. Talk about cracking the whip.
It's scary to think that all these years i've been chugging codeine for coughs and it is LESS effective than a placebo. The best cure for coughs is apparently dark chocolate, and lots of it.
and if you want to win at trivia nights at parties, you'll do well to take some vitamin Q. It contains, among other things, a list of songs with towels in them, words containing both Q and Z, and victorian slang.
quote of the week:
He said that when you are in love with someone, even the sound of her peeing in the middle of the night will be music to your ears. - what late Hong Kong songwriter James Wong told tv host Priscillia Ku
why wy?
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 at 5:55 AM
Monday, November 29, 2004 at 12:14 PM
from gina - food that should have better names
congrats to friends sentil and cynthia, who got married yesterday and were kind enough to invite us to their do. i came draped in the spoils of my kl trip - LBD with a sequined, sparkly hem, and red lace and gold heels. Two glasses of wine and my inner carrie bradshaw took over, strutting with confidence from table to buffet table. (That's the only way to wear heels that high.)
Everyone was dressed to the nines, and it seemed like not so long ago (six years actually - lord knows where the time went) that we were all sitting in our t-shirts and slippers having prata and iced milo. In a desperate attempt to relive our youth, half of us went clubbing after. The first place we tried was reasonably crowded but the music was bad. The second place is known for women dancing on the bartop but as luck would have it, it was empty and the most happening thing there was a live football game. By which time my inner carrie scooted off to find a better party and my feet started to hurt. We finally gave up and went home, forgoing supper.
congrats to friends sentil and cynthia, who got married yesterday and were kind enough to invite us to their do. i came draped in the spoils of my kl trip - LBD with a sequined, sparkly hem, and red lace and gold heels. Two glasses of wine and my inner carrie bradshaw took over, strutting with confidence from table to buffet table. (That's the only way to wear heels that high.)
Everyone was dressed to the nines, and it seemed like not so long ago (six years actually - lord knows where the time went) that we were all sitting in our t-shirts and slippers having prata and iced milo. In a desperate attempt to relive our youth, half of us went clubbing after. The first place we tried was reasonably crowded but the music was bad. The second place is known for women dancing on the bartop but as luck would have it, it was empty and the most happening thing there was a live football game. By which time my inner carrie scooted off to find a better party and my feet started to hurt. We finally gave up and went home, forgoing supper.
Thursday, November 25, 2004 at 4:00 PM
kl is every bit as noisy as singapore, what with traffic and construction and people shouting in dialect. Note: there are only two volumes when conversing in hokkien or cantonese - loud and very loud. We measured the noise level over dinner at a coffeeshop - all done with a nokia phone - and it was over 90dB. There was the conversation of other diners, the traffic, the hiss of the outdoor gas cooker and the wailing burglar alarm of the bank across the road (which went on all through dinner and stopped just when we were leaving).
but kl makes up for it with the shopping (amazing), the food (to die for) and the people (it helps that most of them were our friends anyway).
finally had ampang yong tau hu (definition: chunks of tofu and veg stuffed with meat and cooked in a stock or deep fried) after a year or so of waiting. What can I say, it lived up to its reputation. We were so stuffed that we ended up playing jenga with the remaining pieces, the aim was not to let the crispy bits get drenched in the gravy.
reading material of choice: jonathan strange and mr norell, by susanna clarke. as thick as a dictionary, i finished it on the long bus ride. makes very good reading, if only it wasn't so heavy to lug around.
but kl makes up for it with the shopping (amazing), the food (to die for) and the people (it helps that most of them were our friends anyway).
finally had ampang yong tau hu (definition: chunks of tofu and veg stuffed with meat and cooked in a stock or deep fried) after a year or so of waiting. What can I say, it lived up to its reputation. We were so stuffed that we ended up playing jenga with the remaining pieces, the aim was not to let the crispy bits get drenched in the gravy.
reading material of choice: jonathan strange and mr norell, by susanna clarke. as thick as a dictionary, i finished it on the long bus ride. makes very good reading, if only it wasn't so heavy to lug around.
at 3:37 PM
cities are noisy places. i miss waking up to the noisy birds outside the window, anything is better than the sound of construction.
haven't gotten around to writing about kl, so here's a couple of tit-bits to keep you happy.
Feed a child's mind by clicking on the literary site. they donate a book with every click, or something like that.
The election is over, but this cat and dog analysis is useful for every politician.
Urban legends are always a fun read, and street kids have constructed new myths of their own (link from neil gaiman).
haven't gotten around to writing about kl, so here's a couple of tit-bits to keep you happy.
Feed a child's mind by clicking on the literary site. they donate a book with every click, or something like that.
The election is over, but this cat and dog analysis is useful for every politician.
Urban legends are always a fun read, and street kids have constructed new myths of their own (link from neil gaiman).
Wednesday, November 24, 2004 at 8:31 PM
go fish 
at 8:21 PM
there are two parts to bintan - the posh resort side and the seedy-looking town where the locals actually live. We weren't going to the posh end, so our fellow travellers were mostly elderly housewives going to gamble (singapore has no casino - yet) for the day, returning in time to cook dinner; or single men with hardly any luggage or just a towel and some clothes. The massages in town are famed for being more than just a massage. At the indonesian terminal, some of these single men were greeted by women dressed much too loud, much too friendly to be their wife or first mistress.
The kelong itself is an hour's drive from town, and thankfully was sleaze free. Picture a wooden structure on stilts built around a central "courtyard", which is where you fish (picture above). At low tide we saw a majestic stingray, almost a metre wide, slowly making the rounds. Tiny fish were guarding burrows in the sand, while their prawns clean house. While it was good viewing, it was not good fishing for my uncles. It was a good thing we didn't have to catch dinner.
However, we did catch an octopus, which did a houdini-worthy escape by slipping through the wooden planks of the kelong, the gap being just one finger wide. Finally caught two dinner-sized snappers the next day, i played a part by catching smaller fish as live bait.
I must have looked really bored, because I ended up giving short treatments to two uncles and mum. I also heard really outrageous stories, like how my great grandfather knew gongfu and used the long staff to fight. He came to Singapore from Swa Tao province in China, and did some sort of protection/bouncer job but he died when my
grandfather was young. It was a mysterious death as well (more so because it is lost in translation), he either died of stress; was very angry; or had some massive internal injury.
My grandfather had a jackfruit tree in the garden. In the days before modern plumbing, he would collect the family's pee to water the tree. The fruit was enormous and oh so sweet.
One of my uncles had a 10-cent sized sore on his knee. The matriach of the household, my grand aunt, declared the wound would heal if he put cow dung on it. And it had to be warm, fresh from the cow. Not knowing better, they followed her instructions and
the sore promptly became septic. Finally, my grandmother carried him off to the doctor, one leg twice the size of the other. He still has the scar today, 50-some years later.
PS: project get-a-tan succeeded beyond expection, currently embarking on project peeling sunburn.
The kelong itself is an hour's drive from town, and thankfully was sleaze free. Picture a wooden structure on stilts built around a central "courtyard", which is where you fish (picture above). At low tide we saw a majestic stingray, almost a metre wide, slowly making the rounds. Tiny fish were guarding burrows in the sand, while their prawns clean house. While it was good viewing, it was not good fishing for my uncles. It was a good thing we didn't have to catch dinner.
However, we did catch an octopus, which did a houdini-worthy escape by slipping through the wooden planks of the kelong, the gap being just one finger wide. Finally caught two dinner-sized snappers the next day, i played a part by catching smaller fish as live bait.
I must have looked really bored, because I ended up giving short treatments to two uncles and mum. I also heard really outrageous stories, like how my great grandfather knew gongfu and used the long staff to fight. He came to Singapore from Swa Tao province in China, and did some sort of protection/bouncer job but he died when my
grandfather was young. It was a mysterious death as well (more so because it is lost in translation), he either died of stress; was very angry; or had some massive internal injury.
My grandfather had a jackfruit tree in the garden. In the days before modern plumbing, he would collect the family's pee to water the tree. The fruit was enormous and oh so sweet.
One of my uncles had a 10-cent sized sore on his knee. The matriach of the household, my grand aunt, declared the wound would heal if he put cow dung on it. And it had to be warm, fresh from the cow. Not knowing better, they followed her instructions and
the sore promptly became septic. Finally, my grandmother carried him off to the doctor, one leg twice the size of the other. He still has the scar today, 50-some years later.
PS: project get-a-tan succeeded beyond expection, currently embarking on project peeling sunburn.
Monday, November 15, 2004 at 5:59 PM
blogging vacation
am abandoning singapore for the rustic charm of a kelong (fishing village built on stilts, for my australian readers) and the buzz of KL. See you when I get back in a week or so, hopefully with pictures and a tan.
at 8:16 AM
joe's party - the aftermath
it was very low key, for a 40th. presents were exchanged, wishes were made and a poor excuse of a speech was given. still, it was good to see people i haven't seen for almost a year.
singapore has greeted me with the flu and lots of rain. but most horrific of all, i may have lost my beloved itrip somewhere, somehow during the flight...
singapore has greeted me with the flu and lots of rain. but most horrific of all, i may have lost my beloved itrip somewhere, somehow during the flight...
Saturday, November 13, 2004 at 2:55 PM
coming home is strange - like waking up after a coma and coming home to find that your room is exactly how you left it, but not really. I couldn't remember what it was like, looking for the familiar in unfamiliar places. It was amazing how everything smelt - the newness of the car's leather seats, the dusty newness of the toilets (upgraded before i left), the mugginess of air. It was like christmas, opening up my cupboards and finding all the clothes i left behind. I never knew i had so much, and there i was, complaining to david that i had too many clothes in the wardrobe in melbourne.
Friday, November 12, 2004 at 4:42 PM
"Please put your reading material down. This is a big plane with many doors.''
how else do you get passengers to pay attention to the safety video that they've seen a zillion times?
The british airways flight crew also announced that they were screening the bbc news, in a slightly apologetic tone: "'not the latest i'm afraid, it's a few days old.'' It was as if the steward was offering slightly squashed scones to a homesick englishman.
This is way too nerdy - blogging from a plane, even though it's not live. Thankfully I didn't pack the camera, otherwise the food pictures will be up at airlinemeals.net. It was butter chicken with basmati rice, by the way, which is, i guess, what english food is all about these days.
Interesting facts I've learned from the inflight magazine:
- a really old fashioned hot water flask, the kind you associate with ck tang and old shanghai, is selling for 14 pounds at the conrad shop, which is uber designer and uber trendy. mum says the flask is so old that it's before her time. Think double happiness symbol and gaudy flowers.
- a group of people cycle nude in seattle. it started out as a creative protest, then became a way of embracing health and ''promoting a positive body image''. Of course, they are not really nude - cyclists have to wear a helmut or cop a $30 fine.
- the osim idesire (i hate all these copiers of the imac) looks like it could be a shoe-in for 1) designer torture chair with arm manacles 2) darth vader's or dr evil's seat of power 3) my prefered airplane seat instead of this elbow-bumping 30cm by 50cm cube of a seat. plus the veneer of evil is always attrative.
- a pub in chelsea, london serves pigs ears. as a dish, not a handbag. deepfried. look for pub pig ear if you're in the area.
- stockholm is pretty sexy, like top sexy for hotels and getaways. according to a guide - mr and mrs smith: europe.
- the competition for the greatest liar in the world takes place in santon bridge, uk. entrants have to convince the judges in a 5 min speel. the contest is not open to politicans or lawyers.
how else do you get passengers to pay attention to the safety video that they've seen a zillion times?
The british airways flight crew also announced that they were screening the bbc news, in a slightly apologetic tone: "'not the latest i'm afraid, it's a few days old.'' It was as if the steward was offering slightly squashed scones to a homesick englishman.
This is way too nerdy - blogging from a plane, even though it's not live. Thankfully I didn't pack the camera, otherwise the food pictures will be up at airlinemeals.net. It was butter chicken with basmati rice, by the way, which is, i guess, what english food is all about these days.
Interesting facts I've learned from the inflight magazine:
- a really old fashioned hot water flask, the kind you associate with ck tang and old shanghai, is selling for 14 pounds at the conrad shop, which is uber designer and uber trendy. mum says the flask is so old that it's before her time. Think double happiness symbol and gaudy flowers.
- a group of people cycle nude in seattle. it started out as a creative protest, then became a way of embracing health and ''promoting a positive body image''. Of course, they are not really nude - cyclists have to wear a helmut or cop a $30 fine.
- the osim idesire (i hate all these copiers of the imac) looks like it could be a shoe-in for 1) designer torture chair with arm manacles 2) darth vader's or dr evil's seat of power 3) my prefered airplane seat instead of this elbow-bumping 30cm by 50cm cube of a seat. plus the veneer of evil is always attrative.
- a pub in chelsea, london serves pigs ears. as a dish, not a handbag. deepfried. look for pub pig ear if you're in the area.
- stockholm is pretty sexy, like top sexy for hotels and getaways. according to a guide - mr and mrs smith: europe.
- the competition for the greatest liar in the world takes place in santon bridge, uk. entrants have to convince the judges in a 5 min speel. the contest is not open to politicans or lawyers.
at 5:59 AM
a quote for monica and more
“Man is the only animal that learns by being hypocritical. He pretends to be polite and then, eventually, he becomes polite.” – Jean Kerr
It is not good when you can hear your tyre hissing.
It is also not good when the mechanic refuses - as in point-blank refuses - to repair your tyre and wants you to get a new one because the threads are all worn down.
It is definitely not good when the other rear tyre feels smooth as well.
So maybe it was a good thing we didn't go to the great ocean road after all.
creative licence: the tyre gurgled rather than hissed, because it was wet and there was a nail in it. Which is worrying in retrospect because i suspect it was the same tyre that had the lowest pressure when we drove to the dandenongs (two months ago) and maybe even adelaide (five months ago).
It is not good when you can hear your tyre hissing.
It is also not good when the mechanic refuses - as in point-blank refuses - to repair your tyre and wants you to get a new one because the threads are all worn down.
It is definitely not good when the other rear tyre feels smooth as well.
So maybe it was a good thing we didn't go to the great ocean road after all.
creative licence: the tyre gurgled rather than hissed, because it was wet and there was a nail in it. Which is worrying in retrospect because i suspect it was the same tyre that had the lowest pressure when we drove to the dandenongs (two months ago) and maybe even adelaide (five months ago).
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 at 10:02 AM
May 19 - i've proved my star wars geekiness by downloading the 10.5mb trailer on a 56k dialup. Will probably watch it for completeness, though i don't have my hopes up, after the last two excuses for a saga.
Am dreading the packing to do before i leave, i've got so much stuff that i can't imagine moving, or when i'm done in four years. when i arrived, i raided lingam's leonard cohen collection, now, i'm listening to his ten new songs album. it's brill.
Am dreading the packing to do before i leave, i've got so much stuff that i can't imagine moving, or when i'm done in four years. when i arrived, i raided lingam's leonard cohen collection, now, i'm listening to his ten new songs album. it's brill.
Monday, November 08, 2004 at 3:00 PM
The Man always wins
coughed up an insane $22 for parking in the city today - for just over an hour. there goes all the money i saved from 2P free parking and the 15 min slots just 15 minutes before it becomes free.
on the good side, i finally won tattslotto of .... drum roll... $26.90. But we did buy a coupon each: mum $6.90, dad $11.90, me $11.90, so we still down. damn the system.
finally got a break in the tour guiding biz, but we are off again tomorrow, thankfully not the great ocean road. Told dad it was like driving to kl and back in one day, and mine is not the most comfortable of cars, so mornington it is.
on the good side, i finally won tattslotto of .... drum roll... $26.90. But we did buy a coupon each: mum $6.90, dad $11.90, me $11.90, so we still down. damn the system.
finally got a break in the tour guiding biz, but we are off again tomorrow, thankfully not the great ocean road. Told dad it was like driving to kl and back in one day, and mine is not the most comfortable of cars, so mornington it is.
Sunday, November 07, 2004 at 5:26 AM
Giant squid are taking over the world - the day of the tentacle is here. Either that or very big sushi.
Both my parents are here, and yes, they drove me bonkers after 24 hours. Other than that, am doing a lot of driving around victoria. for once, melbourne weather has been constant - with rain. I am dreading the great ocean road drive.
managed to mutually piss off an anal video store clerk yesterday (it wasn't hard). I was registering for an account and he insisted on seeing my passport (this is after going through all my other identification - driving license, student card, credit card, proof of address, etc). I don't even need my passport to drive to sydney, you idiot. They gave me an account eventually, by which time i was regretting going there (only because they gave out cheap coupons in the mail). And yes, i "need to show my passport to the video store clerk'' before i borrow anything else again. in case i turn out to be a terrorist or a thief. so goodbye blockbuster you stink.
Both my parents are here, and yes, they drove me bonkers after 24 hours. Other than that, am doing a lot of driving around victoria. for once, melbourne weather has been constant - with rain. I am dreading the great ocean road drive.
managed to mutually piss off an anal video store clerk yesterday (it wasn't hard). I was registering for an account and he insisted on seeing my passport (this is after going through all my other identification - driving license, student card, credit card, proof of address, etc). I don't even need my passport to drive to sydney, you idiot. They gave me an account eventually, by which time i was regretting going there (only because they gave out cheap coupons in the mail). And yes, i "need to show my passport to the video store clerk'' before i borrow anything else again. in case i turn out to be a terrorist or a thief. so goodbye blockbuster you stink.
Thursday, November 04, 2004 at 7:22 PM
sigh. what can you say when democracy gives you idiots?
even if you don't want to vote for brains (kinda important when you are effectively the most powerful man in the world), at least vote for looks. or ketchup.
Apparently, the MDA keeps an eye on singapore bloggers to make sure they are not writing bad things about politics. The classic quote:
Most bloggers who talk about Singapore politics hide behind the cloak of anonymity, like 'Xeno Boy' who does not list an e-mail address.
One who revealed his identity recently was Irishman Steven McDermott, 33, who is behind 'Singabloodypore'.
'There is a perception that getting involved in politics will get you into trouble,' he said, adding that he revealed himself only after he left Singapore last month.
Sigh.
Don't worry, nothing too political here. Just keep looking.
Drove mum to frankston today, an hour away, sortof like driving to segamat? It has the biggest branch of this fantastic op shop, savers. The previous day, I scored a $5 country road mock turtleneck from another branch of savers.
maybe one day i'll find this there. The ipod phone hasn't been invented yet, but it hasn't stopped people from designing one.
even if you don't want to vote for brains (kinda important when you are effectively the most powerful man in the world), at least vote for looks. or ketchup.
Apparently, the MDA keeps an eye on singapore bloggers to make sure they are not writing bad things about politics. The classic quote:
Most bloggers who talk about Singapore politics hide behind the cloak of anonymity, like 'Xeno Boy' who does not list an e-mail address.
One who revealed his identity recently was Irishman Steven McDermott, 33, who is behind 'Singabloodypore'.
'There is a perception that getting involved in politics will get you into trouble,' he said, adding that he revealed himself only after he left Singapore last month.
Sigh.
Don't worry, nothing too political here. Just keep looking.
Drove mum to frankston today, an hour away, sortof like driving to segamat? It has the biggest branch of this fantastic op shop, savers. The previous day, I scored a $5 country road mock turtleneck from another branch of savers.
maybe one day i'll find this there. The ipod phone hasn't been invented yet, but it hasn't stopped people from designing one.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004 at 11:35 AM
it's melbourne cup day, the biggest sports event in victoria, the commentators say. It's a massive day at the races, with $200 of bets being placed every minute. Which is kinda insane, if you think about it. There's also lots of champagne, silly hats and fashion. And it's completely pissing down right now, wind and rain, 15 degrees and dropping. They've been showing scenes of women in little slips of cloth cowering under umbrellas. Ha ha ha.
Monday, November 01, 2004 at 10:41 AM
it's the second last day of school for me - my last paper is on wednesday - and almost the end of the melbourne chapter, year 1. It's a cliche, but it's gone by so fast. I wonder if time moves at an accelerating rate, it won't be long before i get to take out my cpf (or rather joe's first muah ha ha ha). and while i miss home and friends, a part of me wants to hang around for summer, go climbing/kayaking/camping/surfing and other things. maybe next year.
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