JZ88

The solution to outragous petrol prices, increasing no. of ERP gantries and persistent parking fines...

This is, by far, the more economical one among all that I've researched.. good size and ergonomics.. (furthermore got a bit of discount cos know the guy distributing it... wahahaha...)...

I'm seriously considering to get one.

http://www.jz88.com

St. Andrew's Alumni Dinner, Aug 30, 2008

We finally attended the SAA dinner (formerly known as SAOBA dinner) this year... after all the years of plain talking about WANTING to go.

I'd been all excited about going to the dinner since 2 months back when we finally decided to confirm a table for this year's session. Jason did a fantastic job arranging the booking, confirming the list of attendees and providing updates even till the last hour before the cocktail begins. It has been 20 years long now since I was first a young Saint (Sec. 1) back in 1988... and I haven't set foot in the compound again after graduation , though I was all along staying in Potong Pasir (where the sch locates)till early 2007. The school changed a lot after the major campus overhaul fews yrs back - all new buildings with much better facilities and all compared to the old days... swimming pool, astro-turf pitch, etc... Now, they call the compound the St. Andrew's Village - bringing the junior school, secondary school and junior college all together. Though I thought the overall design of the architecture could have been a lot more stylish... but on the other hand, it does maintain that nostalgic 1862 (St. Andrew's School founding year) flavor - perfect excuse to cut cost on lavish designs.

There was about 60-70 tables in total that night to fill up the air-conditioned school hall. Most of the attendees were made up of grey-haired seniors... and being the age of earlier 30s, we're already considered as the younger ones at the scene. Thats what I liked about the school - great bond and passion that lives with you till you're all wrinkled up.

Noticed a couple to big shots at the scene... including one of the SIA chief pilot, i think (Dunno his name) and local CGI whiz Nickson Fong... didn't know they are old boys... Nickson Fong gave an intro of his upcoming animated movie - Kungfu Gecko... All i can say is, I prefer Kungfu Panda....wahahaha. Jacintha Abishsiganathan was there (her late father was an old boy) to sing a couple of songs that night.. powerful vocal...her voice actual did manage to brave the rowdy crowd to win some applause in the end.

I'm glad that the 10 of us that made up our table clicked pretty well... Anyway, 7 out of 10 from our table were from the same year, with the addition of Fahmy and Terence who were a few years our junior. Of cos, there was also Andrew Pang, whom we sometimes forget he's a year younger than us cos he's has always been closer to us than his own batch. Anywy, with that hairline of his, he can pass off as our senior anytime...wahahaha...

We BYO a bottle of Macallan 'fine oak' and a bottle Chilean red(courtesy of Jason and CP aka Jimmy aka 'ball-less'...)... after the 3rd dish, we realised our inexperience beverage planning was leading to a shortage in alcohol supplies. Terence and Fahmy volunteered to make a trip to the nearby 7-eleven to replenish the supply for the night (so to avoid ordering from the expensive wine list by the banquet...haha).. Next year, we'll bring by crates!

The climax of the night happened as we sang the school song for the finale, Leonard finally couldn't hold it anymore and did a 'Merlion' stunt onto the table while standing up!! ...well done! hahaha... I was quick to shun in time without being hit by any of the splatter, but my desert was sacrificed. Terence offered to drop Leonard off home that night... but I heard the Merlion came alive again in Terence's car... haiz...

Next year... we'll be back!!! UP & ON!

Happy Birthday to me...!

Yup... today is my birthday... and also the 1st day of my 2 weeks ICT (In-Camp Training). How coincidental, right?

Well... its not as bad as I thought - its has been a while since I last 'switch off' my mind and 'wait for instructions'... guess it's good to rest my mind a bit, let all those 'siao-on' officers and specs do the rest, wahahaha... ...can't stand how some of those 'Regular' officers and specialists when they address us... think they're always imagining that the world is only about NS and reservists are some dumb-ass who have never exercise common-sense, presentation skills, management...etc... and are probably too low in IQ, with no possibly that anyone can be lead like they do.... DUH!...But thats how we'll let things be, so we can enjoy the vacation.

Anyway, I think this time round is going to be tougher than the last two ICTs.

A big part of me is still kind of worried about things at work... its now my own business after all, especially when there's a project with critical timeline going on now. The fact that Naa is not around this till this tuesday is adding on to the worry. ...Haiz...

The guys had an early celebration for me last saturday. We went this infamous crab 'tze char' @ AMK... Mellban - I think thats that the name of the stall. Food is not bad... but I think its quite costly. No choice, have to please 'tai-tai' jennifer... but I must thank her for remembering my b'day and organizing the dinner, cos I know the guys would never have remembered.












...and my birthday gift for that night! A kiss on my car's bumper... !! How lucky...

Happy Birthday to me!

Godmother

Just settled my Godmother's (who's also my aunt) funeral yesterday.

She had been battling cancer for quite a while already, and was in and out of the hospital frequently. She was just discharged from SGH last friday before she passed on tuesday, a day after Vesak Day, at her own home. In fact, that day was exactly a day before my grandma's 49days 'anniversary'. As how my grandfather put it, we lost 2 of the most respected people in the family within 48days.

I never knew exactly what cancer she had. Not that i didn't care, but I just don't see the point of perpetual asking or discussing her illness with her, which many had done so. I only believe in boosting her will, so whenever I see her, I only want to make her laugh and be happy - which I always did.

As described by many, my godmother is the nicest person they'd ever met. Kind-hearted, and always sparring thoughts for others before her. Her wake was so crowded with visitors that it almost seem like the wake of a secret society leader. Anyone there can actually feel how respected she was.

Being the godson, I had to take on the role as her 'son' when we 'send her off' as she only had 2 daughters. Well, its the least I can do for her after all these years.

We didn't cry when we sent her... even right up to the point when they push her in for cremation - because her last words to my cousin was 'do not cry'... we made it a point to remember that. I think the crowd behind us must be wondering why we're still so calm, especially when my two god sisters a.k.a cousins were still chatting away during the process.

... We'll always remember you, Godma.

3 -in-1 SuperHeros

Damn cool rendering... Must watch... Enjoy!

Who says, who stays, who are the castaways....

Here's some headlines & highlights captured from PM Lee's reaction after the report on Mas Selamat's escape was revealed by DPM Wong...

"Resign? It won't solve the problem, says PM"

"Don't over-react, go overboard over one bad incident: PM Lee"
SINGAPORE should not encourage a culture where officials and ministers resign whenever something goes wrong on their watch, regardless of whether or not they are actually to blame, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on Tuesday.

"PM declares full confidence in DPM, ISD chief"
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong declared his full confidence in DPM Wong Kan Seng and ISD Director Pang Kin Keong on Tuesday, amidst calls from some quarters for the minister to step down to take responsibility for the embarrassing escape of terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari.


"Full backing for DPM and ISD chief"
THE Prime Minister yesterday declared his full confidence in Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and the director of the Internal Security Department (ISD).


Although he did also mentioned....


"PM: Civil servants have to answer for mistake"
THERE'S no iron rice bowl in the civil service. When a civil servant makes a mistake, he has to face the music.


AND... this is how DPM responded in the report when it comes to disciplinary action:


Disciplinary action
"I have directed Commissioner of Police and Director ISD to investigate the operational lapses related to the escape and to ascertain accountabilities, taking into account the findings of the COI and CID reports. Officers who are responsible for Mas Selamat's escape will be disciplined and penalised. In this connection, I have asked Director ISD to examine the roles not only of the WRDC junior officers but also to go up the chain of command and include the supervisory and management levels of WRDC as well. There is a proper process for disciplinary action under civil service or Police Force rules and this must take its course."

"I have also instructed Commissioner of Police and Director ISD to replace the officers at WRDC responsible for Mas Selamat's escape as identified in the COI report."



Hmmm.... Duh!


Anyway, next time I get into trouble, I'll get my friend to declare his full confidence and full backing for me. I'm sure it'll help to get me out of trouble...

I shall say no more.

4 April

Today is the day - a year after the freak accident @ Eng Neo took our very good friend Jackson away from us.

Raymond, Jenn and I went to visit him during lunch at St. Michael's church where he rests now...seem like his aunts and cousins were there earlier, with all those messages and flowers around. It must be the most decorated area in the whole place. He'll like it...cos he always likes the best.

Deep inside I believe I still have not accepted the fact that he's gone... its hard, after the great times we've had and he was still so young. I'm sure the rest felt the same... though we're still always making jokes out of him...

Too bad, won't be able to gather the rest to 'celebrate his life' this weekend, cos I'll be expecting to be helping out at grandma's wake... yeah, can you believe it? Same period of time...haiz...

Rest in peace, Jacko... you're now our guardian angel.. though a bit big and hairy...

Grandma

Got a call from Mum in the morning (technically, its yesterday's morning) that Grandma passed away. ...didn't know how to react... went to work as usual....cos the wake will start tomorrow and there's nothing much I can help, for now.

I think the sadness hasn't kick in yet...

...and it's juz one day before Jackson's 1st anniversary...

She led a pretty hard life... though in the early days, our family was considered rather wealthy. Mostly b'cos she's the second of the 2 wives my grandfather has. ..but our generation never considered her inferior in any ways.. in fact, we tend to prefer her to the 1st :P...

She had contributed most part of her life to the family...getting married at a young age... and before she can relax and enjoy life after all her children and grandchildren get a hang of themselves in life...illness struck and never really got better, from wheelchair-bounded to bed ridden...all in all about 10years of struggle... She's a great fighter...

Picture shows me and her back in our family's semi-d @ Changi....memories, memories.. Rest in peace, Grandma.

Dip show flashback...

Edmund handed me this picture the other day... one of pic from the photo stack which Jackson had kept and left in the office. Brings back memories... That was during our dip show back in 1997. I didn't even remember taking this photo with him... then again, I do remember back then ah bui was the one always snapping away with his aunt's camera...so not so surprised that he had those photos, which he didn't share AGAIN!

Anyway, those of you who wants your copy/copies of photos taken with or by jackson, go collect them from Edmund.

10% luck, 90% hardwork

2 lucky bastard became millionaires at 7pm today.... to be exact S$1,479,104 each.

And its not me...

Not surprised...cos I'm never the lucky type... most of my life is hard work, hard work and more hard work... so I always get the sense of satisfaction when I get things done or receive my fair share of reward - that's how I always console myself.

Getting more and more busy nowadays... had to worked on weekends and been leaving office only at the midnight hour... only on the excuse that i din drive and had to catch the last train. Even at this hour (it reads 2am on my clock), i'm waiting to collect samples from Khim... thus a bit of time to blog. I'm keeping a positive mind that all these suffering will reward me someday, dunno when, but that day will come.... got to hang on... it's a path I chose, and I believe I can do it. That's my religion...hahaha...

Looking forward to Monday's TOTO... how much am I betting on it? My 10% luck, of cos....

BBQ @ Jason's in-laws place

This was last week... Yup, yet another successful gathering organised by Jason & Merissa. This time was a BBQ Merissa's parents' place... They were house-sitting and conveniently use the place for the event. I reckon it's Jason's idea - not his place and still have a maid to do the prep and clean ups... typical of him...haha..

I was there late cos I was at SGH visiting my godma - who's doing fine. Anyway, I was still able to catch everyone when I reached. The response for this round was good... mostly managed to turn up. Too bad for Jianyuan & Elisa who had to attend a wedding dinner, and Leo & Grace who went over to Beijing. Anyway, Leonard & Grace were never really committed to join the group... not a big lost... haa.... Was suprised to see one unusual member - Eugene Seah... Haven't seen him since, hmmm... the days in Singapore Poly...?? I think so... That's like 15 years ago?! Though I'd heard some news about him over the past few years - he's doing well with his family biz, staying the same EC as Leo & Grace at The Eden, and have biz dealings with Christopher and Kwan Wei. There was a bit of awkwardness when we acknowledged each other... and I didn't really have much to chat with him... That typical 'lost-of-words' manner of mine surfaced once again... plus my DEFAULT unfriendly look wasn't helping the situation. Maybe we haven't really warmed up after all those years... Well, don't get me wrong - he's a nice person, I must say, just that we're weren't really THAT close since the beginning, though we were classmates, band-mates, poly-mates and he's staying so close to Leonard. Anyway, he got to leave early, so I guess we'll have to leave the catching up till god knows when again.

Thanks to Chris that we get some pictures to keep on this gathering... I guess as we grow older, we tend to appreciate the time spent with our good old friends even more. .. and it will always put a smile in all of us whenever we look back at these moments. A BIG THANK YOU to the organisers, J&M, and Chris as the camera-man.

Pickerton Syndrome

Adapted from From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - "The Pinkerton Syndrome is a derogatory Singaporean term describing the tendency of some local Asians who tend to consider Caucasians superior, usually having a bias towards favouring Caucasians over locals."

How true... an official term for that explains the legendary hokkien phrase 'Ang-Moh-Dua-Kee"... and Singaporeans own it! Its specifically labelled as a 'Singaporean term'.

Now you know why:-
- Your ang moh boss is doing so little at work, knows NOTHING, but getting EVERYTHING paid for, not to mention his/her huge pay cheque.
- ang moh gets always gets to be part of the management.
- ang moh wearing singlet and berms can get better service than u in shirt and pants when shopping in boutique or restaurants
- when ang moh speaks, they always gets to finish their sentences and always gets to interrupt anyone they likes.
- (some) locals will instantaneously switch to an 'out-to-impress-accent' when speaking to ang moh,
- no matter how fat/ugly/disgusting/short/hairless/smelly/etc. an ang moh guy is, some SPGs will still want to be with him.

Why?... it's just how we're brought up to be in this little island.

Life is already tough just trying to please your own country men...

Support your local heroes!

New Year, New Year...

I've been too lazy to fill in my blog since the new year started. Well, part of it is pure laziness and part of it was also due to work. I know haven't reflected back on the past year, but the fact is, I hated the year 2007. All I want to say is - I'm glad 2007 is over.

2008 has so far been good to me.. and I'm looking forward to a even better start after this long CNY break... which I'll be back to work tomorrow. Ha... we shifted our seats in office on CNY eve...which according to reliable 'fengshui' sources... I'm supposedly facing the god of happiness while Naa faces the god of fortune. Let see how things goes from here!

29 Dec

It's Jackson's Birthday.

Only difference is that he's not physically here to celebrate with us this year...and the years to come. It has been 8 months now since he left us for the pearly gates, but we've definitely not forgotten about his big day.

The day started early, with us gathering at Balestier for Bak Kut Teh. Quite a handful turned up, or should I say the usual bunch - Josh, Jason, Edmund, Raymond, Lim CK, Jenn, and of course, Joyce and myself. After breakfast, we visited him at his 'penthouse unit' at St. Michael's Church, where Chris Lim was already waiting when we reached.

Deep inside, I can really feel that everyone misses him a lot.. though we were mostly still joking and laughing away on the outside. I was joking about how Ah Buee dislikes pork, and our pungent smell from our pre-visit breakfast will capture his notice on our arrival... Well, one thing for sure, we all know he'll want us to stay as what we were before - fun and some what notorious...

The visit was brief... we went on separate ways after that while a few of us went to get the stuff for steamboat at my place in the evening. This steamboat thingy is our tradition that happens annually around X'mas period, usually at Josh's place. It started because the bunch of us just simply refuse to give in to expensive and commercialized X'mas meals...haha.

The crowd was just nice for the steamboat session... It was nice to have Bernardine (Ah Buee's girlfriend) to join us... I'm thinking.. maybe it's ah buee's will, cos Chris coincidentally bump into her when he visited him at the church in late afternoon, and invited her over. But we weren't so lucky in the 4D we bought that day(ah buee's 'unit no.'), obivously he didn't supported the idea.

Josh bought a cake to celebrate his birthday, with the word 'Happy 32 Jack'...We all cut the cake together, since he's not here. Ah Buee always buys us cakes for our birthdays before... its only right for us to get it for him now. Just hope that he didn't mind its not from Prego.

Happy Birthday, my friend!