The Singaporean Dream

2003-11-23T21:05:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - The Final Chapter
Weather - Cool
Mood - Mixed

I am now moving to the Two Eggs blog. It has been fun sharing my thoughts with you on this particular blog. All good things do come to an end.... BUT you can continue to read my funnie antics in the new blog I am sharing with my Baby.

Do drop by and update your links/bookmarks. Here goes!!!

2003-11-20T23:10:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 59
Weather - Cool
Mood - Settled

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham
4. The Meaning of Things - A C Grayling

CNN Headline: British envoy among Turkey dead
Such headlines have been the norm since Osama struck the World Trade Center in 2001. I can't help but feel a sense of numbness to such developments. What kind of world are we living in where maniacs go around blowing innocents into bits and pieces.

Guess Quentin Tarantino is the only sane guy around.

Let's pray for peace.

2003-11-19T13:44:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 58
Weather - Cold
Mood - Normal

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham
4. The Meaning of Things - A.C. Grayling

"Should the tolerant tolerate the intolerant?"
This question resonated, struck a chord, within my 'self' as I read the book The Meaning of Things. Guess I will be pretty philosophical in the next few weeks.

Back to the question. So should the tolerant tolerate the intolerant? My mind was whirling with thoughts on how to answer this question. The word 'tolerant' itself signifies, for want of a better word, tolerance. Thus, the logical answer is 'Yes'. Thus, the logical me would have gone with the 'Yes' group.

But Grayling (the author) said that the tolerant should not tolerate the intolerant. This is beacuse tolerance has to protect itself. The simple answer is profound as I have never thought of things in such a manner. All logic is out the window. This is good as our mental models of the world should be 'stirred & shaken' (James Bond style) once awhile.

I intend to reflect on this and see if I am one of the tolerants or intolerants. Once I know how I behave, I can improve myself. That's the least I can do for society.

2003-11-17T13:55:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 57
Weather - Cool & Comfy
Mood - Drowsy... am I awake???

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham
4. The Meaning of Things - A.C. Grayling

Of Maps and Life
Was given a $20 Kinokuniya book voucher by my friends for my birthday. At first, I planned to buy a book that I really wanted. But the fact is, I did not have anything in mind. So, on a planned trip to the bookstore with my hunnie, we searched high and low for something that would interest me.

Considered photography, geography, life sciences books/pictorials. However, none of them caught my eye. As chance would have it, as we were walking along one of the aisles, my hunnie just picked up a book about philosophy and life. Viola! And now I am reading it - The Meaning of Things.

Some parts of the forward got me thinking. The statement by Socrates "A unconsidered life is not worth living". This statement evoked within me a feeling of having spent the last 20-odd years of my life drifting from one point to another. Thus, to live life to the fullest means reflecting on it. One has to think about the value, principles, choices we hold or make in this life.

The real world is like a maze. To fully live in it, we can either (a) drift along in the maze and go with the flow when a junction appears ahead of us, or (b) to reflect on our actions, value etc. And through this reflection, we have a map of how we want to navigate through this life.

I am sure that I have wirtten something on this previously. Thus, I am one of the many 'map' readers who get too bogged down by the routine scenery (routine-ness of life) of the road we are travelling in that we forget to refer to the map. While I admit it is difficult in trying to live a life being fully aware of everything, the fundamental thing here is to try. To not even try is to fulfill the prophecy of Socrates.

With that, I pledge to myself to start charting my way forward. It's ok to get lost once awhile, but a clear direction must always be in our minds as we move this maze called life.

2003-11-16T23:09:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 56
Weather - Nice and cool
Mood - Fresh

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham

Kill Bill
While I enjoy my movies with a dash of violence and gore, I found Kill Bill to be splashed, if not, dripping with it. This has definitely been one of the most violent movies my eyeballs has seen thus far.

Don't get me wrong. I thouroughly enjoyed it! This is my first Quentin Tarantino film, and guess he has just won himself another fan. The blending of so much violence with humour is artfully done. Where can you get a movie where people are dying and feel-good music is playing in the background. Yeah, only in Tarantino's films.

Will be looking forward to Kill Bill Vol. 2. If you have yet to see it, advice to you - skip Matrix Revolutions, got for Kill Bill. You will enjoy it!!!

2003-11-15T12:46:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 55

Weather - Cold........
Mood - Ok Lah!

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham

How a molehill becomes a mountain - Office Politics 101
One of my staff recently finished a project. It is one of those projects which my unit produces, more or less, on a regular basis. But it soon turned out to be a powder keg of contention.

This product has generated a flurry of feedback and comments. Comments like why was certain party was not consulted in developing the project. Why the the interests of units likely to be affected not factored in the product. the list goes on and on like a abroken record.

I do see the validity behind some of the comments. But in the end, what struck me most of the selfish interest behind all of them. Yes, I agree that bosses/supervisors should protect their units/staff - it is a must in their jobscope. But to take it to this extreme is, to me, ridiculous.

For me, I see all the units in my organisation as working towards a common vision. But all this bickering does not help. Guess this is a lesson for the idealistic me. The lesson for me is not to indulge in such activities in the future.

2003-11-12T13:15:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 54
Weather - Cool
Mood - Sleepy

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham

A Tribute
Life in Singapore is hectic, if not, stressful. Since a young tender age, the idea that a fulfilling life consists of: a house, car, card, cash and club, has been drilled into my brain The venerable 5Cs of the Singaporean Dream. Pardon the pun, the title of my blog could subsconsciously be linked to this.

Guess I have spent a better part of my life pursuing the Cs. Am in a reflective mood today as I just celebrated my mum's birthday. Born into a traditional Chinese family in Malaysia, my mum was brought up in a highly feudalistic family system, at least that how I undertstand it. Her family have the Chinese bias towards grooming the boys, while letting the girls do the doestic household chores. Thus, my mum never had any formal education beyond the primary level.

To her, a fulfilling life is one which she ensures that everyone in the family in well taken care off. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, coaching etc. are but basic chores that my mum oversees in the household. Despite doing these in the past three decades, she still insisting on carrying on with the hectic pace. Admiration fills my heart whenever I think about the sacrifice my mum made for my family. Despite our pleas to take time from household chores and enjoy life, she has yet to fly on a plane or visit any place beyond Malaysia.

Deep inside me, I believe my mum has already done everything she could in bringing up 2 wonderful kids, myself included. Our house is always spick and span. It's time for her to take a good and well deserved rest.

As for her birthday, we (myself and my hunnie) bought her a handbag which we saw in Robinson's. My mum was really happy with the gift as she saw it previously, but did not purchase it as she's a thrifty lady. Am glad that I bought for her something that she really like.

Here's a tribute to my mum and all the wonderful mums around the world.

"Ma, thanks for everything. I love you."

2003-11-09T20:42:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 53
Weather - Cool but humid
Mood - Normal

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham

Matrix Revolutions
Corny dialogue, cool CGI action, undignified death, unanswered questions are ingredients generously peppered throughout the Matrix Revolutions. Went to the movies hoping that the Wachoski Bros will attempt to give us the TRUTH! Yeah, am I in front of my PC typing something in the blog or am I just a brain electrical wave emanating in a machine world? But what the Revolutions did was to leave these unanswered. It was wanting in this respect. This has led both myself and my better half wondering out loud if the Matrix should have just stay as a stand-a-lone movie.

Redeeming elements of the movie were the breathtaking battle scene between the way outnumbered humans and the machines. A thought occured to me. If one of the EMP weapon on the humans' ship can take out a whole army of sentinels. Why didn't the humans just placed such weapons in Zion. Just wait for the 'octopus' (sentinels) to attack Zion and just trigger the EMP trap? Well, if that's the story, we couldn't be treated the classic battle scene then.

Since the first movie that I remembered watching, I don't think any main characters died in an undignified manner as our dear Trinity. To die in a 'car' accident is one thing. But to die from being impaled with multiple iron rods is hilarious. I can only say that the Wachoski Bros were having fun in the Revolutions.

They must be saying to themselve "Let's have FUN for this movie!!!" Well, guess their sense of having fun overode their sense of achievements. The Matrix trilogy could have been GREAT! It's a pity that Revolutions took off some of the shine from the first two installments. But hell, I will still be first in the line when the Revolutions DVD is released.

Guess I am a diehard Matrix fan. :P

2003-11-06T20:30:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 52
Weather - Warm
Mood - Drowsy

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham

Dinner & Dance
My department has just sent an email marketing this year's dinner & dance. When compared to D&Ds for the private sector, my department's D&D is really a letdown. Not sure what's the common practice out there. But I have heard that staff for private companies do not have to pay for the event.

Well, neither I or my colleagues have that luck! We are expected to pay $25. It's not really a big sum. Usually I will cough it out after some griping and complaints. But I still do have some semblance of fun at the event itself.

However, this year's D&D proves to be a watershed year. One of the crazy morons in the management suggested that all senior staff within the organisation contributes $50 for the lucky draw prizes!!! This is absolutely absurd!!!! This simply means that we are effectively paying for our own gifts.

After hearing this, I totally flipped. The word ridiculous rang in my mind for quite some time. The things that people do to suck up to the 'big boss'. Now I am wondering if I should go for the event itself. Still do not feel like making the contribution, but what if I won a prize that night? People will say that I don't deserve it since I did not contribute. But if I contribute, I would be really sore about it. Sigh, think I will think of a way to conjure up something dingy gift as gifts are also accepted.

On a good note, I will be watching Matrix Revolutions tomorrow!!! At least there's something to look forward to in life.

2003-11-03T15:25:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 51
Weather - Cool
Mood - Dreamy

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham

Macabre lunch discussion topic
As with all lunches, we started early. Lunch for me was rice with lady's fingers and sweet & sour fish. Not sure what lady's fingers are called in other places, but it is a veg and not something from the hands of our Singaporean ladies.

Basically, me and my colleagues were chatting about upcoming movies - Matrix Revolutions, Identity etc. One thing got to another, and we began talking about horror shows. What triggered it was perhaps the fact that Singapore television will be showing The Ring (Japanese version) this coming Wednesday. I can't wait for it to screen!

Heard that it is one of the spookiest movie ever made. Guess I am a sucker for a good scare. Anyway, we progressed beyond that to personal experiences with the supernatural. Well, the only time I thought something weird happened to me was when I got lost in a building which I am supposedly quite familiar with.

Well, this incident took place sometime back in 2001. I was suppose to get to a particular room in this building for a course, but no matter how I searched for the place I just couldn't find it. It was bizzare. Morever, I was not alone. I can only surmise that both myself and my colleague are just 'blur'.

There were other more macabre stories. One of my colleagues said she saw something in one of the public incense burner structures found in our Housing Development Board (HDB) estates. I shall not recount what she said here as it is pretty scary.

2003-11-01T12:26:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 50
Weather - HOT
Mood - Detached

Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham

Today is Saturday and I am leaving the office now. YIPPEE!!!

2003-10-31T11:48:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 49
Weather - HOT
Mood - Detached

The Abilene's Paradox
This was something I came across while attending a management course. Interesting concept on how management come to make bad decisions. Happens all the time among friends, family and organisations.

The Abilene Paradox (Jerry Harvey)
The July afternoon in Coleman, Texas was particularly hot - 104 degrees. There was a fan going on the back porch; there was cold lemonade; and finally there was entertainment. Dominoes. Perfect for the conditions. The game required little more exertion than an occasional mumbled comment……''shuffle 'em''….It had the makings of an agreeable Sunday afternoon when suddenly my father in law said ''Let's get in the car and go to Abilene and have dinner in the cafeteria''.

I thought, "What go to Abilene? Fifty three miles? In this prickly heat? And in an un-air-conditioned 1958 Buick?"

But my wife chimed in with ''Sounds like a great idea. I'd like to go. How about you, Jerry?'' Since my own preferences were obviously out of step with the rest I replied, ''Sounds good to me," and added, ''I just hope your mother wants to go.''

''Of course I want to go,'' said my mother in law, ''I haven't been to Abilene in a long time.''

So into the car and off to Abilene we went. My predictions were fulfilled. The heat was brutal. We were coated in a fine layer of dust that was cemented with perspiration by the time we got there. The food at the cafeteria provided first rate testimonial material for antacid commercials.

Some four hours later we returned, hot and exhausted. We sat in front of the fan for a long time in silence. Then, to be sociable and to break the silence, I said ''It was a great trip wasn't it?''

No one spoke. Finally my mother-in-law said, with some irritation, ''Well to tell you the truth, I didn't really enjoy it much and would rather have stayed here. I just went along because with the three of you were so enthusiastic about going. I wouldn't have gone if you all hadn't pressured into it''.

I couldn't believe it. "What do you mean 'you all'?" I said. Don't put me in the you all group. I didn't want to go. I only went to satisfy the rest of you.''

My wife looked shocked. "Don't blame me, .You and Daddy and Mama were the ones who wanted to go….. I just went along to be sociable."

Adapted from Jerry B Harvey's article in Organizational Dynamics, Summer 1974

2003-10-30T23:13:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 48
Weather - Cool
Mood - HAPPY!!!

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the King is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham)

The year before the big THREE ZERO!!!
Celebrated my 29th birthday today. To tell the truth, I no longer have the buzz I used to get when a birthday approaches. Guess this have to do with age. This is the final year of my swinging 20s. Staring at me next year is the beginning of 30s.

Many say that men hit their peak at their 30s. Well, I can't say that now. I already feel like an old man now. Can't imagine how I would feel when I advance through the 30s. No longer can I maintain a steady breaths when walking up slopes or stairs. Eight hours of rest is a must while 6-7 would suffice a few years back.

I am already talking like an old man. I do look forward to the next phase of life when I hit 30. That is likely to be my age when I start my very own family with my loved one. 30s will be a phase of bonding between me and my future wife. A time where we grow together. Thus, barring the ageing body, I think 30s will indeed be an exciting and fun phase in my life. :)

Birthday Wishes:
a) World peace
b) A cure or gout
c) To have a wonderful life ahead with my honey

I am kinda greedy but it's my birthday and I would really like to have these 3 wishes. :)

2003-10-18T09:38:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 47
Weather - Cool
Mood - Light and chirpy

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the King is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham)

Almost there...Conquest of Gout - My Story
Hey, liked the way that the title of this update sounds. Perhaps I will write a book on my battle with gout when I am retired. Some may ask why not do it now. My answer to those who says live life in the present, I say to them, "yeah would like to do that, just give me more time to fulfil my other responsibilities!"

Managing time well is important, what is more important, to me, is that we live our lives in a highly 'aware' manner. That is, being aware of what you are doing each and every minute. This will make life more meaningful and rich. And hell, do enjoy a few hours with your PC or XBOX console if you want to. What's life without the fun factor. Just remember not to indulge too much! :)

Recently wrote a piece on leadership within my organisation for an upcoming publication. Well, you can say that this is my first foray into novel writing, all my previous experience revolves around company reports and briefs, thus, pretty dry stuff. Paired up with a co-writer, we targeted to write something inspiring... something that will uplift employees in time of crisis. Sure, that sounds like a good and fun idea.

My co-writer is truly ambitious, stating that Newsweek and TIME style of writine articles should be adopted for for our article. Well, I thought that'd be cool. But had to do some homework to brush up my writing skills to attain that level of expression. Lo and Behold! When I received his draft write-up, I was...... totally not impressed. He did precisely what he wanted to avoid. Using boring corporate speak, his portion of the article makes a for a good reading just before bedtime.

Flabbergasted, I started my portion. Well, at least I think my portion is better. Now I have to do some 'damage control'. as the saying goes, helping others often translates to helping oneself. So, better get back to that manuscript.

Have a good weekend!

2003-10-14T13:07:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 46
Weather - Cool
Mood - Bored

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the King is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham)

Battle with Gout
Despite going gout free sometime back, the annoying, if not painful, affliction is back. It has been a source of pain since last week when it decided to pay me a surprise visit on my left big toe and ankle. This attack took place despite the fact that I have been watching my diet closely for close to a month. This round of attack is morale sapping. But I vow not to give up the fight.

The only cause for this attack can be pinpointed to the food I consumed at a colleagues wedding. Ate very little of the protein rich food served during the lunch - translate to meaty dishes. While my consumption level is low, I cannot deny that I had fish, chicken, mushroom and shark's fin (I know there are environmentalists out there - but I do enjoy a good bowl of shark's fin soup and I am not going to apologise for that). It may look like a lot but in reality, my consumption level was at best 30% of what the people at my table was consuming. Guess that 30% for a gout sufferer is not low enough.

Just sharing my thoughts on how I have accepted that gout is and will be a part and parcel of my life. Giving up certain foods are hard to do, but it must be done. Am doing this not only for my own sake but also for the love of those around me. Yes baby, if you are reading this, I am talking about you.

Gout is a disease that the sufferer has to accept. Lifestyles have to change. My word of advice is that while acute attacks keep coming despite best attempts at controlling diet etc, do not give up no matter what.

Goodbye buffet lunches/dinners... thanks for the good company - cow, lamb, sheep, oysters - on the dining table that is... love you my favourite soy bean drink, and yes not forgetting my favourites snack - nuts, all kinds of nuts. Thanks for the great meals.... :)

2003-10-12T22:02:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 45
Weather - Cool
Mood - Ok

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the King is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham)

Intelligent Investing
Have been doing some research on stock investing recently. Based on the investment guru/sage Benjamin Graham's advice, I have researched and zeroed in on some local stocks. But having been burnt in my previous outings.... well, a profit of $500 plus is not that bad for one of my investments. But I do have a $900 paper loss on another. Making it a $400 overall loss.

Coming back to my most recent investments plans, I have actually zeroed in on Singapore Post. It last traded at 71 cents. A careful study has shown that its Price/Earning ratio is now around 12. So that makes it quite moderately priced at the low side. Moreover, there have been assessments that this stock is quite a good buy. My current worry is whether have I done enought research to ensure that I am not plunging blindly into another investment. Given up the idea of speculating - the activity where people buy stocks on their 'feel'.

While there's no doubt that we are entering a bull market, I do want to ensure that my principal is well invested and provide me with returns that will at least beat inflation.

Will update my investment decision here once I have decided on it!

2003-10-08T13:43:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 44
Weather - Cool
Mood - Bored

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the King is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. Positive Revolution
4. The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham)

Resistance is FUTILE!
Failure to convince management in the workplace that certain processes are impractical is a recurring theme in my blog. One again my management is taken in by the fluff and hype of certain developments that my co-workers had to jump to a new tune.

The title of this update says it all. All resistance to impractical management ideas are doomed to failure. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!! Long Live Ridiculous Decisions! Well, all is not doom and gloom. The soldier in me will continue to battle the evil forces as and when the situation arises. But for now, it is time to nurse my battle wounds and fight another day.

Resistance is futile. But I am fighting a war of attrition. VICTORY IS OURS!!!

2003-10-07T22:44:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 43
Weather - Cool
Mood - Lethargic....

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the King is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. Positive Revolution
4. The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham)

The Truth is Out There.... (X-files theme playing in the background)
My boss called me into her office near the end of the day. Such incidents are pretty normal. Either she has more tasks for me to do (sigh) or she just wants me to release bad news to my colleagues (double sigh).

Asking me to close the door to her office (which is usual), she 'hem and haw' about something she is clearly uncomfortable about. After some uneasy moments, she bit the bullet and asked me if I am dating my girlfriend. You must be thinking "duh, who would he date of not for his girlfriend?" Well, for those acquainted with me, you would know that me and my girlfriend work in the same place and have been trying hard to remain incognito.

Well, there goes our cover. In some sense I am glad that my boss blew our cover. This has taken a huge load off my chest. I can now openly talk about my relationship (at least with my boss, do not intend to let my other colleagues in on this), as well as make plans for my future career moves. Me and my girlfriend has been waiting for the day when we have to inform the 'higher ups', so having my boss doing the talking helped to ease some pressure off us. Now we will just need to see what happens next. Will take one step at a time.

Like the Chinese saying - When the boat reaches the bridge, the road will be revealed. Hope I did justice to the Chinese idiom.

I also noticed that Biolyn - hair restorative medicine seems to be a hot search term for many Singaporeans. Did not know that there are actually so many Male Pattern Baldness sufferers as me. If you are reading this, just want to say that do not let how people decide how you should feel about your own looks. We cannot control what people say or do, but we can control how we feel. This is easier said than done, but this truly separates the men from the boys and the great from the minnow. I do sure want to be a true man who should not let how my looks affect how I grow as a person.

2003-10-06T02:01:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 42
Weather - Warm and hot
Mood - Sleepie....

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the king is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. Positive Revolution
4. The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham)

Changing A Flat Tyre 101
The Army taught me a lot during my 2 and 1/2 years there. For the benefit of those who are not Singaporeans (yeah lucky guys!), all Singaporean males at the age of 18 will automatically be called up by the state to perform 2 and a 1/2 years of compulsory national service (better known as NS) i.e. serving in the armed forces. I don't know what's the rationale but those who have better qualifications have to serve 2.5 years. Well, I am one of those 'lucky' ones!!! Will share on my NS adventures in another time. Have other bacon to fry tonight.

Oh yes... I brought up the NS bit b'cos I wanted to say I learnt how to change a flat tyre for all sorts of vehicles there. So, when I heard that my girlfriend's car had a flat, my first thought was that my NS experience would be of some use.

Its been a long time since I last worked up a sweat... imagine my chagrin when the nuts on the flat refused to budge!!! Several vein popping attempts were made before I rested to replan my strategy. By then, all sense of being my gal's hero evaporated. What do you expect even when the nuts are against you. After some consideration, I decided that I should step on the spanner and let gravity do the work. Lo and behold... my substantial mass did the trick and all the nuts were out in a jiffy!

After that, the rest of the process was simple. The nuts came off... spare tyre was retrieved from the boot... nuts go back on the spare. Voila! Flat replaced by spare. BUT... the original tyre was a sports rimmed model when the flat was a 'metal' one. Don;t ask me about the difference as I don't own a car!

So, I asked my girlfriend to fire up the engine and test the new tyre. When she tried reversin out of the parking lot, the most awwwwwful screeching noise "KRACK!!!" emitted from the spare that has just gone on the car. Oops... thought that something must be done wrongly when the tyre was changed. Being the adventurous ole me... I asked my girlfriend to give it a few more tries. The car refused to budge and the KRACKING sound sounded worst. The situation does not look good from then on and we made the decision to stop all driving.

Decided to let the experts handle it. The tow-truck brought our car to the workshop. The mechanics must have had a good laugh when they saw what happened. The problem did not lie with how we affixed the tyre. But the wrong set of nuts were used!!! Apparently, nuts used for a sports rim is much longer than those used for a nornmal rim. Thus, the wrong set of nuts extended into the brake component of the car and totally wrecked it!

Moral of story for today. If you are changing from one type of tyre to another, always be sure to look out for the correct set of nuts!!!

2003-10-02T16:08:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 41
Weather - Cool
Mood - Can do better

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the king is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. Positive Revolution
4. The Intelligence Investor (Benjamin Graham)

Chinese Cure for Male Pattern Baldness (MPB)
MPD is a dreaded word for most, if not all, men. Doubt I have come across someone who is so proud to lose his crowning glory to harp about it. Billions have been spent looking for the cure to keep those hair on the head.

Unfortunately, I am one of those. Signs of my head going bald started sometime in 2000, when I first noticed that the amount of hair I shed everyday has increased and that I was losing hair at my temples. Was nonchalant about it as I was young and ignorant then. My bald spots became more pronounced in the last 2 years. Since, then I believe I have poured a few hundred to thousand plus dollars on anti-balding medicine.

First I tried minodoxil. This medication is applied to the affected spots i.e. balding areas. Stopped using it after a few months as I did not see any improvement at all. Following that, I tried propecia. This is orally consumed and is one of the most popular anti-balding drugs around. It is also one of the most expensive! Each tablet costs on average three Singapore dollar!!! So, one has to pay 90-100 plus dollars a month. This drug did not have noticeable effect on me, but I seemed to shed less hair. Sometimes, I really wonder if it was psychological, that is, did I really lose less hair???

Then came biolyn... a product by a local... yeah Singapore company. It obtained rave reviews from experts etc, and most importantly, it is cheap!!! Tried it for half a year... nah, no effect too.

Has more or less accepted the fate that I will lose my hair slowly over the next 5 years. That was till I plucked up my corage to visit a chinese physician. Chinese medicine is wondrous in that its treatment is so differenct from western science! The Chinese way of doing it was to poke needles into your scalp - an ancient treatment known as acupuncture. This is suppose to facilitate blood circulation and thus help your hair to grow. After 3 sessions with the chinese physician, I noticed that I am shedding fewer strands of hair each day. I am sure it is not psychological as I check the amount of hair lost every time I bathe. This has given me some hope, but then again, this treatment is the most expensive. 10 treatment sessions cost $400!!! That's a lot of money. There's also the horrible tasting chinese medicine that I need to consume. But I think the treatment is worth it.

Doubt I will continue after the 10 sessions are up. Can't really afford the price. Just hoping that the treatment will slow down the balding process. I will just need to learn how to wake up in the morning and see myself in the mirror with hair. Hmmm I wonder how I would look like? :)

2003-10-01T20:20:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 40
Weather - Stuffy
Mood - Ok

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the king is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. Positive Revolution
4. The Intelligence Investor (Benjamin Graham)

28 Days Later
Just want to share some thoughts on the movie 28 Days Later. Entered the cinema hoping for a slick Hollywood horror production. Yes, I admit I am a shallow Hollywood movie junkie. So, I was flabbergasted when the movie was a Brit production - well this happens when you don't refer to the adverts on the papers. I do enjoy Brit films, but those are usually of the humourous genre - like 4 Weddings etc.

Well, after viewing the entire movie, I have to say that I am IMPRESSED!!! 28 Days Later does not resemble any of the B-grade Hollywood horror flicks that I am so used to. Yeah yeah... my taste ain't exactly world class. 28 Days has a quality that is distinctly different from Hollywood productions. Some call it Indie feel. For it, it just feels good!

Loved the way that the Director captured the scenes and filmed the entire movie. The script was well written. Issues close to humanity, what it means to be human, were explored. These include, our survival instincts, our raw emotions (rage), the meaning of civilisation, that humans are social animals etc.

If you are intending to catch the movie, please stay back after the credits to catch the alternative ending! I missed it as I did not read the papers adverts!!! So if anyone did get to see it, please leave a comment and tell me about it. Do not want to check it out in the net as I want a viewer's point of view!

Enjoy the show!

Give it 4 out of 5 Stars.

2003-09-26T12:26:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 39
Weather - Blissfully Cool
Mood - Bright-eyed and bushy tailed (as my gf puts it)

Still Reading
1. LOTR (the king is still returning)
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. Positive Revolution
4. The Intelligence Investor (Benjamin Graham)

Gout Free for 10 days!
While I have not gone on a totally meatless diet, I have effectively cut my daily meat intake by a whopping 70-80%!!! I feel that this has helped in my condition. My fingers (those affected by gout) are no longer as stiff as before. the only drawback is that I have increased my intake for eggs and cheese. Got to cut down on these.

I have a new sandwich recipe to share with you. Well, I doubt it is anything new. Call it Simon's Gout Busting Sandwich if you will... this succulent sandwich comprise of the following:

- 2 slices of bread
- 2-3 slices of tomatoes
- 1 slice of cheese
- many leafs of lettuce

To prepare my gourmet sandwich, lightly spread tartare sauce on 1 slice of the bread, while putting the cheese on the other. Toast bread till the cheese melts. Slap on the tomatoes and lettue and voila! Simon's original Gout Busting gourmet sandwish. :)

While the ingredients are simple, the combination give the sandwich a heavenly taste. Try it!

2003-09-10T14:00:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 38
Weather - Cool
Mood - Sleepy

Still Reading
1. Dragonstrike (completed. yippee!)
2. Lord of the Rings (The Return of the King) - reaching the end soon
3. Getting Rid of Gout
4. Positive Revolution - Edward de Bono

Meatless Diet... well almost
Had a horrendous gout attack since my last update. Well, I should say recurring attack as my ankle did not recover from my first 2 visits to the doc. The gout attack on my ankle doesn't seem to be much impressed with my attempts in cutting the amount of meat in my daily diet. Trying my best don't seem to be good enough. I have to admit that I took quite a lot of duck soup at my girlfirend's place. Her mum really knows how to cook up a storm! But well, one moment's folly has given me another week of pain. Advice to all gout sufferers out there, do remember that soups made with meat is as bad as consuming the meat itself.

Oh well, that was around 2 weeks back. Since my 3rd visit to the doc, I have been a rather good boy. Avoided meat when I could. In absolute terms, my meat intake has dropped significantly to around 10-30% of the meat I used to consume in my daily diet. Hope I cam cut down on that figure some more. Apart from the fact that my joints are getting less stiff (hope I am not imagining things!), I feel psychologically better. Guess taking control of your life, no matter on what issue, is a boost to one's outlook and psyche.

Surprisingly, I don't really miss consuming meat. The only problem I have now is that the food served at my office's cafeteria sucks big time. The vegetables are no good, and it doesn't help that the cook is better in the preparation of meat dishes. But for the sake of my health, I will have to live such a life. To ameliorate this meatless diet, I am going learn all the tastiest non-meat recipes in the world!

Oh yeah, I am also currently working on a website. This will be unleashed on the Internet sometime soon. So do keep a look out!

2003-08-23T21:54:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 37
Weather - Cool
Mood - GREAT

Still Reading
1. Dragonstrike
2. Lord of the Rings (The Return of the King)
3. Getting Rid of Gout

Taking control
Painkillers are wonderful discoveries. Following a visit to the doctor's yesterday night, my swollen ankle has healed somewhat since then. The pain is gone too. Enough of my gouty affliction. Today, I would like to talk about taking charge of one's life.

Frankly speaking, like most of the people I know, I have been drifting about since birth. Being wealthy, rich, happy etc are the general goals I had. But I never had any aims or set particular directions to achieve them. My girlfriend showed me the importance of setting directions and staying focused on my life's goals today. She is really an interesting gal. She came to my house today and started asking me to state my Personal/Adventure/Career/Financial goals that I would like to achieve. I shall not bored you with the details. Basically, I have to choose what I would like to achieve by 2004, list down what is stopping me from achieving them, and finally to list down those things that I can do to reach them.

Sounds easy? Well, I bet you have not really thought about such things. We do have goals etc. and usually a vague sense of how we should achieve them. But life usually get in the way. We more often than not lose sight of what we really want to do and indulge in activities that are not congruent with our life's goals. I am glad that I have done the exercise today. You will witness some changes in my blog as time goes on. These changes will be a testament of my success in achieving my goals. :)

2003-08-22T16:16:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 36
Weather - Cold
Mood - In pain....

Still Reading
1. Dragonstrike
2. Lord of the Rings (now at Return of the King)
3. Getting Rid of Gout

The pain of a gout sufferer
Before I go into the blog per se, you should have noticed that I have a new section to my blog. Yes, now I am listing the books/magazines or anything that I am reading now in my blog. Well, to tell the truth, this is used as a measure to spur me on, to finish reading the book that is.

Ok, gout. Known as the rich man's disease in the 1800s. Yup, I am a sufferer of gout. If you are in the pink of health, my advice to you is to stay that way. You wouldn't want to get gout. Trust me. It is easily one of the most painful diseases known to the human species today.

Classic Symptoms of Gout
1. Acute swelling and pain around joints. Most commonly on the ball of your big toes, elbow and ankle.
2. The swollen area is often hot to touch and reddish in colour.
3. The swelling is often acute i.e. size (area) of swelling is often quite large/big.
4. Pain is often so unbearble that weight of the body, limb etc cannot be placed on the joint.
5. Swollen joint is often stiff. Flexibility is curtailed.
6. Onset of attack is sudden, usually one wakes up in the morning with the pain.

Medicine for treating Gout
1. Colchicine - effective for new sufferers. Effectiveness decreases with more frequents attacks (at least for me)
2. Allopurinol
3. Non-steroidal painkillers - Indomethacin (could be spelt wrongly), also known as 'ponstan'.
4. Other steroidal painkillers - extremely effective, but has some side effects if taken regularly.

I am writing this to bring about greater awareness to the public. Most of the time, people don't understand why I can't eat certain things. High Purine foods such as beans, nuts, meats, internal organs, anchovies, herring, sardines etc are foods that I have to avoid. Oh yeah, for alcohol lovers, beer, wines and other alcoholic drinks are a definite no-no. These will be an express ticket to "Painville".

As a meatlover, I have to curtail my diet. Well, I guess I still overindulge as I am have gout attacks now and then. But following this latest episode of attack, I have decided to really curtail myself. Gout is not only a painful disease, but also an expensive one. Certain painkillers, e.g. Synflex (blue oval pill) is quite costly. Thus, having frequent attacks not only lower the daily standards of living (e.g. being able to walk properly, carry loads etc), it also lowers your material standards of living as one has to visit the doctor quite often.

Hmmm, think a blog is too limited a place to share with you all about my goutic experiences. Perhaps I will set up a webpage to help the gouty sufferers around the world.

2003-08-21T12:02:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 35
Weather - Cold
Mood - Ok

Saying 'sorry' is so hard to do
Not sure about the rest of the world, but I find saying sorry is a tough thing to do. Some people say; it's about pride, others - ego, and many simply the lack of conscience.

I am writing about this today as I have just apologised to a fellow colleague for a misunderstanding. Basically, I jumped to a conclusion that this colleague of mine took upon himself to do a job tasked to me by my boss. Well, he (my colleague) has this reputation for trying to take over everyone's work. Yeah, management would love an employee like him, but to co-workers, he is actually trying to take away our livelihood. Which to me is a no-no.

Confrontation is not a part of my character. I simply abhor confrontational conflicts. Call me a wimp, but I prefer a civilised discussion more than anything else. Somehow, a bloodlust came over me this morning when I came to work. The first (well not exactly) I did was to confront him. If there were kegs of gunpowder in the office, the whole place would have exploded given the fiery and tense environment. After confronting him, he said that it was my boss who told him to do the task. Well, well... so who's at fault here? Charging in like a hero championing the rights civil society... I ended up on a retreat. After knowing that I am wrong, my conscience kept gnawing on me... its tiny voice (well more like a psychological feeling) kept saying, "If you are a man, you should apologise", and things like "It doesn't matter if he is a lowdown co-worker without much principles, you should not stoop to that level". These kept playing in my head for some time.

As in the title, saying sorry is a really hard to do. I fretted in my cubicle for over 2 hours (well, I did not laze, was working on other projects, but the tiny voice kept playing in the background) after I decided to apologise to him. I had to pump myself up... only with great difficulty did I mange to walk to his cubicle and confess my mistake. Well, that's that. Despite this incident, I doubt that it will make it any easier for me to apologise in the future. Come to think about it, I think it is always easier to apologise to a friend. But to apologise to someone whom you detest is the real test of one's integrity. Oops, did I sound like blowing up my own ego. There I go again... what a vicious cycle. :)

Quote:
The strength of person lies not in his physical might, but in his ability to stay true to his principles.

2003-08-18T00:04:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 34
Weather - Warm and Humid
Mood - Flustered

Ghost's Festival
This log relates the developments that took place on 17 Aug 2003 - a day that changed my life.

17 Aug 2003 is Indonesian Independence Day to the Indonesians... a day in the Ghost Festival for the Chinese around the globe... a day of change in my life. Well, let me talk about how the day, well, evening started. As you all know (assuming you are Chinese as well as Buddhists/Taoists), the 7th Lunar month is known as the Ghost month. This is the time when the gates of hell is opened and the ghosts are allowed to roam the earth for a month. Don't ask me what they do when they are 'here' with us. I rather not know. Then again, as a Catholic, I don't really believe in this.

As part of the 7th Lunar month celebrations, concerts are organised across Singapore. Scantily dressed singers would strut their stuff onstage while numerous old men would be leering below the stage. Personally, I have never attended one of these concerts as they are loud and frankly speaking a waste of one's time to watch them. Singing is often mediocre, and the songs are usually in Hokkien, which I understand, but not yet proficient enough to hold a true blue Hokkien conversation. Anyway, a concert was staged at the foot of my block this year. So, you can imagine the din and ruckus it created when the drums started booming. Oh by the way, these concerts in reality evolved from traditional chinese dance performance, much like what you get for Les Miserables, but in traditional chinese costume etc. These plays are being performed for errr those who are let out of hell, bet you understand what I mean. Going back to the concert at the foot of my block, it did attract a large crowd. There were even drinks and ice cream sellers servicing the crowd, which inadvertently was standing along the road (as the stage was pitched on a few parking lots). Was really tempted to call in the men in blue (read police) and have them revoked the license. But then again, being a person who is simply anti-system, I guess why not let those people down there have their fun too.

That's the beginning of the day. As the concert was ongoing, Singapore's National Day Rally by the Prime Minister was going on concurrently. I had to blast the TV volume to hear what Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had to say about how Singapore is doing. This is the first time I was tuning into the rally. Well, it was pretty interesting to hear your political leader talk about the state of affairs in the country. Peppered with appropriate idioms, my PM would now and then add a dash of dialect jokes that brought out a giggle or two from me. Those were the only good parts. When it came to the part on Singapore's economy, that where the world fell away for me. Noting the high unemployment rate and the threat posed by lost cost countries, PM Goh has decided to cut our Central Provident Fund (CPF) - something like pension fund in other countries by 6%!!! This is on top of planned wage cuts. When I heard this, I was shocked into a stupor... The words ringing in my mind were "How the bloody hell as I going to pay for my future dream home?" This kept playing in my head for the next few hours. It's easy for our political leaders to say cut 6%, but to those who earn S$20,000 a month, 6% is peanuts!!! Well, I shouldn't go there.

After the rally ended. My thoughts were really in a turmoil. A lot of things were going through my head then. By the time I turned in... after watching Liverpool succumb to Chelsea 1-2, I was as restless as an ant on a hot plate would be. Tossing around the bed till 2-3am, my mind was still ensnared by the fears for my future, including my wife's (well we are not married yet, but soon). Guess tossing on the bed helps one to think... Eventually, I came to the conclusion that life is no longer all rosy and easy, I need to be a man to bring the bread home and to provide the strength, be it mental or physical, to tide through such challenges. Guess the rally had an unintended effect or waking me up to the harsh reality of adulthood. Well, it wasn't that bad. Following this life-changing experience, I have since become a more responsible son, boyfriend and life partner to my girlfriend. Although I would rather such a transformation is prompted by other stimulus, one couldn't jolly well choose the conditions. So, I have decided to grow up, finally, after 29 years of bliss on this earth. But, a grown up 'me' will be ready to create a blissful life for the next 29 years and beyond.

My Quote of the day:The path look dark and dreary. But have you noticed the beautiful tiny white flowers blooming by the side of the weeds. How you choose to see the path will determine how you walk it. Enjoy your walk!

2003-08-05T14:01:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 33
Weather - Grey and wet
Mood - Sleepy

Lara Croft's Tomb Radier - Cradle of Life
Scripwriters for this movie either has a great sense of humour or utterly idealess of what they hope to achieve with the movie. I opted to catch this movie thinking it would not be that 'bad' given the fact that I thought the firt installment was pretty ok (rated 6.5 teddies out of 10 on Teddy's movie scale). Imagine the giggles of laughter ensuing from my thraot when the movie started.

Cradle of Bad Jokes would be an apt title for the movie. Sitting through the 2 hour movie was a drag. I have never seen such bad scripting in my life. Well, perhaps I have not seen enough movies to qualify as a movie critic, but hey I am entitled to my views. As for those guys who found the movie to be exciting; my question to them would not be - "which part of the movie do you like best"? BUT "Guys, what do you think of Lara's well-endowed...". As a guy, I do get a little disgusted with those who let their ehem... well rule over their brains. I am not saying that I am a saint or anything, but well, a bad movie's a bad movie. There's no two ways about it.

Oh yeah, nearly forgotten this. I am not sure which is worse... the movie or Jolie's attempt to speak Chinese. Well, she did get the diction correct, but, she spoke read the Chinese script using English as the platform for her pronunciation. Give me crappy heavy music anyday!

Guess I have not seen a great movie for a long long time. Perhaps with the exception of Matric Reloaded (10 teddies out of 10!!!). Hope Samuel Jackson will do justic to Tolkien in the final installment to LOTR. You will get a teddy rating then.

Food for thought:
If every Chinese fisherman in PRC has a satelite dish and plasma screen TVs (depicted in the movie), would there still be poverty in the world? The answer is yes. Simply because Lara is living in a world of her won. Perhaps she's simply someone plugged into the machine of the Matrix. This must be one bad joke from the machine. Well, there you are, machines do have a sense of humour too!

2003-07-26T12:59:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 32
Weather - Sunny but cool in the office (yeah in the office on Saturday)
Mood - Off blue

Free Spirited No More?
My girlfriend is one free spirited girl. However, after the purchase of our dream home, we increasingly find ourselves constrained by the need to continue our gainful employment so as to finance the house. This scenario was discussed prior to our purchase, but I guess one thing that we separates us from our less evolved kin is the dreams we have. Dreams pertaining to our self fulfilment, self-development etc. Thus, my girlfirend is kinda down as she feels that her hands are so tightly bound because of our home.

I am helpless in this situation. Giving her comfort and security is what I should be providing, but my hands are tied too. Sigh... I really do hope my girlfriend's 'never say die' spirit is not in any way eroded by this turn of events. If she really think she wants to go into a new field, she has all my support.

What's life without dreams. Afterall, this blog is about my dream. Well, I should say our dream. 'Chuckle'.

2003-07-23T14:01:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 31
Weather - Cool
Mood - Drowsy

Lion in Winter
Read this Time article by Simon Elegant on Singapore's future. I am kinda shaken after reading his exceedlingly depressing interpretation of my nation's future. No doubt there are some truth in his write-up, I think he his overwhelming'y negative. But then again, my optimism could spring from the fact that I am a Singaporean and he's not.

Agreed that economic restructuring will play an important role in shaping our economy and employment patterns in the coming years, I do not see it to be all doom and gloom. Guess that being a white-collared worker helps as the job cuts are most likely to come from the blue-collar side. The good thing about this current bloodletting of workers in several companies is that the entire society is all shaken up. Now, everyone is sitting up and working doubly hard to ensure that their firms are profitable and can continue to employ them. I guess this is a good development, but sometimes fate deals us a lousy hand; such as Bali blasts and the dreaded SARS. However, as the saying goes, fate lies in the hands of those who deicde to control it. So, budding entreprenuership is one good thing coming out of all this doom and gloom.

For me, I will just spend less on material goods such as CDs and DVDs. Money is now being saved for the rainy day as well as the house that I have bought recently. While the future may look dark for one Simon, this Simon here says that the Lion will once again roar when the climate turns tropical again.

Watch this space. :)

2003-07-21T14:12:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 30
Weather - Cool
Mood - Huh?

Digital vs Film Photography
Had an interesting chat with my colleagues during lunch today about the future of photography. Belonging to the Pro-Digitalisation camp, I was dishing out predictions that film photography will come to an end albeit a belated one in one to two decades time. Haveing been brought up using film cameras, I do feel a pinch of sadness that our trusty old point and shoot autofocus film cameras' days are numbered. Guess my belief is based on my recent conversion to digital photography. It doesn't help that the first photos from my camera came out crisp, clear, sharp and vibrant.

For my detractors, they cling onto the belief - to me hope, that film is here to stay. I agree that professionals will continue to utilise film, but the question is how long more? The pool of film users is rapidly shrinking as the cost of purchasing a digital camera has fallen dramatically over the last 2-3 years. Memory cards are cheap, given the fact that they can be reused again and again. To me, developments in digital photography will go hand in hand with IT developments.

Verdict - Film to be buried in history by 2025.

2003-07-16T13:54:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 29
Weather - Cool alternating Cold
Mood - Good

Good English
Just realised that I have peppered by logs with 'lahs', 'lors' and perhaps some 'leh'. apologise to the non-Singaporean readers for not clarifying what these mean in the sentences. Basically, they mean nothing! They are simply extensions to sentences. This came about due to the localisation of the English language in Singapore. Fusing with Chinese, Teochew and Hokkien (latter 2 being Chinese dialects), most Singaporeans lapse into Singlish when talking among friends. So, do not think that our English is bad, it's just that we are comfy with the way we speak. By the way, this fused languaged is known as Singlish.

While the Singapore Government has been not too keen on this, Singlish is in reality used by all Singaporeans, perhaps with the exclusion of English teachers (during classes) and language academics. Personally, I am ok with speaking the Queen's English and using Singlish. It all depends on the crowd I am with.

Ok lah, I think I have to go liao. i.e. Ok, I think I have to go off now. :)

Quote of the Day:
Ask not waht you should do today. Instead ask how can you do what you are doing better!

2003-07-11T15:18:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 28
Weather - Cool office environment with an edge
Mood - Ok lah

STRESSED!!!
My boss has continued her unenlightened way of setting CRAZY deadlines! Have been working late almost every night for the past 2 weeks. Batteries are kinda flat. Am just glad the weekend is around the corner even though I will be in office tomorrow. This colleague of mine used to call the office environment 'Pleasantville'. Well, I guess we have moved downhill pretty much since then.... Elm Street is more like it now.

Life has been the same my last log exactly a month ago. Have started reading Lord of the Rings again. Realised that Peter Jackson has shortchanged us moviegoers by changing so many parts of the story. Well, I guess he has a budget to meet, but then I find Tolkien's original a cut above what we are seeing in the movie. So, if you really wanted to know what really happened, do pick up a book and read. Don't be lazy!

Not sure if Helen Keller is a name that is familiar to everyone. But I was introduced to this fascinating person (btw I think she died eons ago) through my well-read girlfriend. Basically, Helen is a deaf and blind person who broke through her disabilities to become one of the most inspirational person in this world. During a channel surfing session (I do this all the time - yeah guys tend to be surfers), I came across this movie. Well, it looked pretty B-grade, if you know what I mean. However, when I saw the little portraying a blind and deaf character, I immediately sat up and started watching the movie. Well, I guess I was always curious about Helen's life. Staying glued to the google box, I watched the movie till 12.30am. That's late for me as I have to wake up around 6.30am the next morning. But I did enjoy the movie!

I not only learnt more about Helen, but more importantly, I learnt that Helen's teacher - Annie Sullivan is such an inspirational figure! Although the movie is just a portrayal of Helen's life, what shone through was the perserverance (too lazy to check the dict) and tenacity of Annie. I shall look up to her when faced with the most difficult tasks. what can be more challenging and difficult than to reach out to a deaf and blind person the way Annie did with Helen.

SHE's MY HERO!!!

Quotable quote:
Whether you invite God into your life or not, He will always be there, patiently waiting for you to open your heart to him. So, open the doors of your hardened heart and bask in his love.

2003-06-12T13:35:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 27
Weather - Mild (outside the office), BBBBBRRRRRRRRR...... (freezing in it)
Mood - GREAT! (mild headache though)

Top of the World -Carpenters
Top of the World is now the song I listen to at the start of each day. Not that I need any therapy... but find Karen Carpenter's voice soothing as well as the fact that the lyrics uplift my psychological well-being.

The central air-conditioning in my office block have gone NUTZ again! Working in an 20 degree celsius environment might sound good to many living the tropics, but having to endure it for 8 hours are UNBEARABLE! Sometimes I don;t feel my fingers anymore, it's so damn cold. Oops, letting my frustration getting of me. Hope the air-con man can make things right.

Quote of the day...
CO... C.... COL..... COLD!!!

2003-06-04T08:59:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 26
Weather - Sizzling
Mood - Light-hearted

Boss still NUTZ but who really cares.
The pregnant female boss of mine continues to terrorise my colleagues through the continued and now accepted implementation of mindlessly ridiculous processes and redtape in our daily work. Being the highly jaded and cynical ole me, I just take it in my stride. The important thing is not to be toppled by such developments, but to be flexible and bend with the wind.

Escapism is not what I am advocating above, but FLEXIBILITY! So, the moral is be as flexible as yuo can, but never give up your principles and values. What would that make me if I gave up the very things that define me... hmmm... a hollow-man (yeah I know there's a movie titled as such). So, I would continue to do my work in peace as arrows and nonsense rain all over me. Venting off steam will come in the form of free-for-all management trashing when my colleagues get together for a break. Guess this is really essential for keeping our sanity now.

My Quote of the day -
"Be not the solid house in the path of the tornado, but that of the small flexible blade of grass in the porch."

Think this analogy will become blatantly clear once the tornado passes both the house and the grass. :)

2003-05-26T23:06:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 25
Weather - Warm
Mood - Dreamy

Boss gone NUTZ!!!
I wonder if pregnancy has anything to do with mental capabilities. Don't get me wrong. I think pregnant ladies should be proud of their condition. They are carrying a bundle of joy in their tummies which are the product of ahem... the love between them and their hubbies. But this condition seems to have some adverse effect, at least in the case of my boss!

Since the time her pregnancy became visible to me and my colleagues, she has been in an extremely weird mood. Adding red tape to our daily work seems to be a hobbie to her. Now, she goes about her daily work by making simple processes complex and adding additional and irrelevant processes to perfectly good work processes. Sometimes I really want to rip out my hair, not there's much left, and scream to her... and tell her to back off and stop putting up "roadblocks" in our daily work.

I sincerely hope that such a phenomenon is restricted to a rare few like my boss. Can't imagine what the world would be like if pregnant women goes around tampering with perfectly fine processes in the work environment.

My Quote of the Day:
"If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem"

2003-05-21T08:33:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 24
Weather - HOT HOT HOT!!!
Mood - Light

'Sun'gapore
Singapore should be called 'Sungapore'! For the last week or so, my beloved island-state has been struck by a heatwave. Temperatures have soared during the day and remained hot in the night. The sweltering heat has made many stay home in the cool of their living rooms, well, artiificially cool by air-con units that is. Bad news is that our meteorologist have cited we can expect this kind of punishing weather for another 2-3 weeks!!! Ok, guess I will have to maintain my spiritual coolness if I cannot maintain my physical coolness. There's this Chinese saying 'xing jin zhi ran liang". This means if you keep your spiritual calmness, you will naturally feel cool. To that effect anyway.

Like to share an incident with you today. This happened will I was alighting from the mass rapid transit (MRT), known as the tube in UK, this morning. While I was patiently queueing for the escalator amidst the crush of people, there was this hmmm really impatient schoolgirl of around 15-16 years of age. Despite the lack of room for her to cut into my path, she nonetheless tried but her attempt was futile and doomed to failure. Well, normally I would get a 'sick' sense of satisfaction of depriving such inconsiderate people when they fail to cut others' queue, but I guess I am beyond that petty smirk now. That's not the end of the story. As I reached the top of the escalator, the sch-girl still behind let out a loud 'TSK' as I was walking to the gantry to go out of the station. Well, I was a little irritated. I wasn't walking slowly nor blocking anybody's path, guess the girl was just rushing to go to school. Must be late for school I guess. Would have turned around and give her one of my death ray stares if I was the 'old' me. I just flip her action and put myself in her shoes. She must really be late for class, well, which of us have not experienced such a scenario before? :) So, I just let it at that. However, I do hope that she learns from this and try not to be late for school again. Well, no one can be blamed for her being late other than herself. Maybe she watched too much TV last night? Chatted with her friend for too long or million of other stuff. In the end one must always be responsible for one's action.

My quote of the day:
Don't blame the person in front of you for your lateness, instead look at what you have done to put yourself in such a situation.

2003-05-16T12:25:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 23
Weather - Office 'cool'
Mood - Lazy

TGIF
Hope I do not fall into the trap of giving my Friday updates the title TGIF week in and out. It's been some time since my last log, and I am not ashamed to say that I have been lazy. YOu must be wondering how can an enlightened person be lazy of all things. Well, the reality is that the buzz from having your fundamentals shifted lasts, well, about 48hrs, thereafter, the daily grind and routine will get at you. However, one should not use the excuse of daily life to obstruct one's goal towards being a better and spiritual person. Who says that becoming a better person is a simple thing. Trust me, you will face daily struggles just to uphold the newfound principles.

Of late, I am beginning to be a better person. Well, that's from my perspective. It was more faith that has brought about this subtle and slow change in me. Recently, a group of my colleagues have started studying the Bible together. Being a born Catholic, my knowledge of Christ and the Catholic Church is limited as I guess I was never that interested in finding out more. Age has definitely made me a wiser person. I have now found new meaning in God's Word, and interest in my faith has grown steadily since. I have bought myself a little book on the Catholic faith and have since delighted in learning more about a religion that has been with me since I was born in 1974.

Church-going has never been one of my strong points in life. When I was young, I went to church simply because my parents went. As I grew older, my attendance at the church dwindled till it became a once a year affair during Christmas. For some years, I even missed that one mass. I have been what most priests would call a "part-time" Catholic, those who attend church in a highly seasonal manner. However, I felt really good when I went to mass last week. It was like making a reacquaintance with God. I listened more attentively to the readings more than ever in any point in my life. It was also a first when I did not felt sleepy during the sermon. It felt good to be awake and listening! I will try to attend church as often as possible. While once awhile I might still stray and be lazy, I will definitely do my best and listent o God's Word.

2003-04-11T23:38:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 22
Weather: Mild
Mood: Heavenly

Scales falling from my eyes - Epiphany
Seldom do I describe my mood as heavenly. Today shall be a day that my life has taken a radical turn - which I think is for the good of my spritual self. I simply had an epiphany.

Like all days, office hours were the normal dour event. As per normal, I just managed to trample over every set of toes that was in my way. No, I am not a difficult person to get along with, it's just that I expect the world/people to do the best in everything they do. Well, that's the first part of my day. In the second half, I had a branch meeting with my supervisor and colleagues. One of my team-mates were presenting the learning points from his business trip to Australia, and being bored to tears, I wrote on my palm "BORING" to show my fellow colleague who by chance is also my girlfriend. She apparently saw the dirty look my boss was giving me - of which I am not aware of. Oops. That's not the worst! After my colleague has given his presentation, he actually started talking about my idea to my boss, taking it as his - ad verbatim somemore!!!

My blood was really rushing to my brains - for there's not much love for this colleague of mine in the first place. I just cut in and stated that this was MY IDEA!!! Career suicide tip here. Well, I just couldn't control myself and started a tirade against that fella. Don't think I won many admirers today.

At the end of the day, my honey told me that I really lost the plot today. I told her that I stood by my principle of integrity, that no one should steal anyone's idea. We had a long talk that evetually led to a path of self-discovery for me, and I think for my girlfriend too.

We concluded that this colleague of my, let's call him Mr R, R is a cool customer. He exudes confidence in whatever he does, even when doing the underhanded stunts as stealing others ideas etc. His self-confidence has won him many admirers, and only a few detractors - mainly myself and my girlfriend. So, we concluded that he is like a rock. What sparked off the epiphany was this statement:

"Your worst enemy, is also your best spiritual teacher"

My girlfriend is really wise. I wouldn't have thought of such a statement much less read it from papers or books (at least for those that I read). My girlfriend told me that one's worst enemy will usually 'teach' us things that will radically change our lives. If we can 'conquer' the enemy, one would have conquer the self, thus achieving a sort of enlightenment. This really opened my eyes - scales seemed to have fallen from my eyes!!! Suddenly, I felt this release. A flow of energy that was never there before. It replaced the pent up frustrations and anger that I had in me, and turned these to something positive.

While I have some to a new level of understanding, it did not occur to me at that point of time that this conversation with my girlfriend would have such a profound impact. We joked about our new understanding, being a joker myself. :)

It was only upon leaving her home that I started to feel this buzz in me. Its bizarre, but I felt a physical buzz in my body. It was like some sort of energy being released. My mind became free and I began looking at things different. From this point on, I told myself, I should not conquer R, instead I should conquer self. Thus....

"If he's the rock, I shall be the foundation on which the rock rests"

I hope all of you would have such a relevation in your lives. Its such an empowering moment where your views on everything change in that instant. I know now for sure that life will never be the same for me again. Praise the Lord! Amen.

2003-04-10T20:48:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 21Weather: Warm and Stuffy
Mood: Tired

Microchip from Aliens?
I have always been fascinated by terrestrial (hmmm not sure how to spell it, and too lazy to check the dict.) beings aka. aliens. Guess I was served with too many alien movies when I was young. Can't really recall when I first watch a movie with aliens. But I know that my favourite movies are ALIEN, ALIENS and Independence Day. I loved Sigourney Weaver's portrayl of the alien ass-kicking Ripley in the Alien series. She really knows how to kick their butts!

Coming back to the microchip issue, one of my colleagues told me that her friend told her that the microchip was developed more through reverse engineering rather than a scientific breakthrough (my English teacher would have taken me to tasked for the unecessary long sentence). Anyway, what this means is that we humans must have discovered a microchip before we even had the technology to make it! So, this chip must have come from somewhere or "someone". My friend says that her friend believes that the chip was found at the crash site in AREA 51! Now, I am sure that makes more sense. I can't deny that this is a plausible theory, but it's still bizarre. It's up to you to believe it. My mind is still open to new ideas.

Oh, btw, I have concluded my friends alien believing buddy must be a Raelian. If yo uare not sure what is Raelia, do an Internet search and you will be surprised with what you get. ;)

"One small step for man, a gian leapt for mankind" - Neil Armstrong
"Oops... looks like someone's already here!" - this is what Neil would have said if he found 'something' on the moon. :)

2003-04-05T12:19:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 20
Weather: Cool
Mood: Ok lah

Stiff
Woke up with a stiff neck. It is still pretty sore now. Hopefully my neck will return to its "unpainful" state soon.

Tonight, me and my girlfriend will troop over to my fren's place to catch the 'live' telecast match between Liverpool and Manchester United. Hmmm... given our current form (guess all fans always refer to their teams as "our", "we" etc) we should be able to put one past their hated Red Devils. Hope they get cooked in their "threatre of nightmare" tonight!

Go LIVERPOOL!!!

2003-04-03T23:17:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 19
Weather: Cool - fan blowing into me now
Mood : PURRRRRFECT!

Going Wireless
I believed that you shared my anguish of having my mouse dying on me a few chapters back. Well, let me share with you a piece of wonderful if not good news. I got a new mouse, and what's so wonderful about it is that is doesn't have a tail!!! Its wireless! Yup, thanks to modern technolgy, I have one less wire cluttering my desktop (the physical one). However, it is battery operated, just hope the extra cost of buying batteries our the long run is worth it!

On the war in Iraq, US has made wonderful progress in Baghdad. Its not that I am a warmonger, but I do hope the war ends quickly. With SARS and the war hanging on our heads in Singapore, this is indeed proving to be a testing year. But I am sure my fellow Singaporeans are tough enough to weather through it all despite the belief held by many that we are softies.

2003-04-02T21:32:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 18
Weather: Fine
Mood: VERY GOOD!

What's Love All About
Today, I was once again given a refresher course on what's love all about. During lunchtime, I told my dear to wait for as to go to the cafeteria to purchase lunch as I had some outstanding work to complete. However, when I reached the lobby (our meeting place with my other colleagues), I saw no one. Luckily, another one of my colleague just entered the lift and hearing a dislocated voice asking that the life doors be opend. When I went into the lift I saw my dear with my other colleagues. At that moment, I was really disappointed, and sad too. Thought my dear would wait for me. Well, sometimes this is what's love all about. Its the little things.

Guess my day went downwards from there. My mood swung from ok way down to black! I was uncommunicative and my dear's attempt to pacify me was hmmm turned away. However, in my heart I knew that I shouldn't be reacting this way. I know that she still loves me, and that it is human nature to be forgetful. But then again, it is human nature that mood takes its own time to change. By the end of the day, my mood was pretty back to normal. I told my dear that I love her. End of story. :)

Honey, if you are reading this.... I LOVE YOU!

2003-03-31T13:51:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 17
Weather: Mild - Sunny
Mood: Not that great - splitting headache

Ghosts
During lunch, my colleagues started on the macabre topic of the supernatural - ghosts. Personally, I have not seen any, nor do I wish to in this lifetime. As we were talking about where in Singapore is most haunted etc, something struck me. The question in my mind was, all the ghosts that we know of are civilised, ie. modern humans. I was wondering if there are ghosts for the pre-homo sapiens. My thesis is that if ghosts are spirits, thus, would that mean that species like homo erectus (is I am correct) does not have a spirit because no one has seen a pre-human ghost before?

Anyway, I don't thikn anyone has contributed to my forum except my honey. As an update, the Singapore ST Index has began its slide following the news of more SARS cases in Singapore and the likelihood of the Iraq War ending at a much later date.

2003-03-29T12:54:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 16
Weather: Sunny
Mood: Good

Investor Talks
This has been a hectic day for me. Was as busy as a bee looking at financial and other investment websites. Yeah, my investment momentum has begin to move from its inert state. Just glad that I was able to overcome the inertia.

As you can see above, the title investors talk is in reality an introduction, or simply, an introduction to my new discussion forum. I have created a forum here for like-minded investors in the Singapore market (other markets are also welcome) to share their thoughts, tactics and strategies on investing in the stock market. I hope the forum will generate fruitful discussion for you and me, and perhaps with the added bonus of making some profits. So, do actively share your comments and views if you have any.

I am currently looking into the Singapore Airlines shares, and Hyflux too. Comments?

2003-03-28T22:01:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 15
Weather: Cool
Mood: Flat

Money Money Money
Today, I took the first step towards financial independence. An account with the Central Depository was opened with one of the main stock brokerages in Singapore. Have been thinking of getting an account a long time back, just did not find the time to do it. Studying really hard now to spot the best shares.

Yet more people are down with SARS in Singapore. My cough is pretty ok now. Looks like China is beginning to inform the world that SARS is a really bug problem there.

2003-03-27T23:29:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Chapter 14
Weather: Sorta cool
Mood: GREAT!

Paranoia Sweeps into Office
Following the first mention of SARS in record 12 (format has changed wef today to chapter - Singaporeans can be extremely fickle-minded), 2 Singaporeans have since succumbed to this disease. All schools - from kindergartens to junior colleges (US high schools) has been closed from today till 6 Apr. The students must be shouting out with glee upon hearing such wonderful news, or at least I would. However, things are not as rosy as it seems, 5-6 more people have been diagnosed as being infected with SARS, and should anything signify this troubling time, it has to be the fact that face masks are selling like hot cakes, and people are starting to remember the benefits of popping the Vit B pills.

Coming to a more personal level, something interesting, or should I say, bizarre took place in my workplace today. While I was happily (if you would believe me) working away the hours, my trusty email alert beeped. A new mail has came in, one that bore terrible news. A senior officer has reported that a staff under her charge has visited one of the SARS patients in the hospital around 2 weeks back. Wait till you hear the next part of the mail. It really sent a tingle down my spine. The officer had in fact visited one of the patients who died today!!! Call me a "scardie cat" but the thought of having a SARS carrier walking around the office as if everything is fine is horrific if not surreal development!

My lunch buddies and I had a great time trying to understand the psyche of that moron (kids - do forgive the use of such strong language) who actually kept the knowledge of this visit secret till today. As food began entering our systems, the conspiracy theory that was emerging became really thick! There were actually calls made by a colleague of mine to "BURN HER"!!! These two words brought up an image of a witch being burnt at the stake at a time when we humans are not very much enlightened. But well, I was pretty pissed (kids - need I say more) with the moron, and my voice joined the chants of "BURN HER"! I still cannot phantom what went through the tiny, microsopic, subatomic... brain (I am sure the moron's brain is smaller that those of my 3 drawf hamsters) of hers. She should have thought better than to risk the lives of those in the office. I rest my case.

Have started coughing 2 weeks bad. A little paranoid myself. Now pumping myself with fluids and rest whenever possible. Do watch this space.

2003-03-26T10:21:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Record 13
Weather: Warm
Mood: Good

Home Sweet Home
My sweetheart and me started looking for a house over the weekend. This was the first time that I was looking at purchasing an item that costs more than S$500,000!!! Quite a big leapt since my most expensive purchase never exceeded anything more than S$3,000.

Owning a private property has always been a dream of mine. However, I have to tamper this dream as we (my sweetheart and me) decided that we do not have the means to afford one. So, we have our sights set on a public property. In Singapore, good quality public housing are built by the Housing Development Board (HDB). However, due to lack of creativity, all the public housing developments often end up looking like factory blocks - one reason why I wanted a private housing.

However, things changed over the weekend as my sweetheart suddenly suggested that we get a condo! In Singapore, all Singaporeans are fixated at getting the 5Cs in life. They are Cash, Credit Card, Condo, Country Club membership, will have to check up on the last one. :P To continue, I was elated with the change in her decision. thus, we started visiting certain showrooms of new developments.

After visiting several showrooms, we were impressed by a particular development - somewhere in Bt Batok. After this, we started to calculate our finances to see if we can afford the place. After a few days of optimism, we finally agreed that we did not have the cash to afford the place. I was pretty disappointed, but I haveto agree that we will be leading a hand-to-mouth existence if we went ahead.

So, my goal in life now, well one of my many goals, is to save as hard as I can, and wait for the next opportunity! Austerity will be a key word in my daily expenditure. So, gone will be the days of decadence in cafes, good restaurants, CDs, DVDs and books. In will come, MP3 music from the net, books from the library, meals at coffeeshops (low priced eateries serving good food) and coffee at each other's place.

Perhaps I will adopt the title of a Singapore book as my maxim, a little sleazy though...

"No Money, No Honey"

Or perhaps the title of a local movie production is more apt...

"Money No Enough"

2003-03-25T09:02:00.000+08:00

Captain's Log - Record 12
Weather: Warm - as always
Mood: Not too bad

SARS on the Roll in the Hospital Next to MY OFFICE!!!
Before I launch into an explanation of what SARS is all about, I would like to bring your attention to the change in the format of how I record my updates here. Gone is the number of days that I have updated the blog... in the first place I found it stupid as Day 11 is not the eleventh day I am here (stupid of me huh). Instead, I have adopted Star Trek's manner of using the Captain's Log. Not a Trekkie here, more of a Star Wars fan. Anyway, just imagine a voice reading out Captain's Log... and you will be beamed into my world. "Beam me up Scottie!"

Let's get to the issue of SARS. You must be scratching your head and thinking what SARS is all about. You better sit up and listen to this... SARS will be as synonymous as AIDS in the coming few days. SARS - anonym for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a viral pneumonia strain that is making its rounds around the globe now. From last coutn, I think it has been reported in all continents, barring Africa (I could be wrong though).

SARS is highly contagious. Symptoms are high fever, body aches, persistent coughs, breathelessness, etc. So, do go and see a doc if you have any or a combination of these symptoms. Yes, the hospital located across the street of my office block has been designated the medical institution to quarantine all SARS sufferers. Thus, I would be in the high risk group of catching it as I jostled and mix with all the nurses and hospital staff as I transit to and fro from work using the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) or "mert" as some S'poreans call it.

A little song for your guys, do sing it to the tune of the X'mas song...

"You better watch out.
You better not cough.
You better not sneeze.
I'm telling you why,
cos S A R S is coming to Town!"

2003-03-24T16:54:00.000+08:00

Day 11
Weather: Cool
Mood: Sleepy

Reds Go Marching On!
Liverpool won Leeds United 3 - 1 at Anfield. A wonderful finish against a side that has proved to be its boogeyman time and again. Liverpool played wonderful football for periods before its Jerkyl and Hyde character reared its ugly head again. At times breathtaking, Liverpool will degenerate into a bunch of amatuers not sure of what they are supposed to do on the field. Thankfully, Michael Owen, Danny Murphy and Stevie G knew better and scored the goals to seal a hardfought victory in a match which Leeds threatened to come back after pulling a goal back to 2-1 at the 44th min.

Let me share a quote my colleague gave me during lunch time. The quote captures the screwed up condition of the world right now...

"... the best rapper is a white, the best golfer is a black, and the French is accusing US of arrogance..."

Chew on that.

2003-03-23T19:26:00.000+08:00

Day 10
Weather: Hot!
Mood: Tired

Mother of All Wars 2
The world has changed radically since my last update. While a Third World War is not upon us, the world is difinitely deeply divided. Personally, I think Iraq needed a regime change. But coming from a small city-state like Singapore, the unilateral decision by US to attack Iraq without the sacred UN blessing was something that got me thinking. It is institutions such as the UN that protects the interest of small states like ours, if the US could just do anything it wishes, what's there to stop our northern neighbour (Malaysia) to cut off our water supplies (70% plus of Singapore's water is imported from Malaysia), and forcibly occupy Pedra Branca (an islet whose sovereignty is contended by Singapore and Malaysia).

Being only one, I can only offer a prayer for the mothers, fathers, sons, wives and husbands of all the Iraqis, coalition soldiers that this war will not dash the dreams they have. Whether it is a just or unjust war, is nothing but a moot point now. Hopefully, the war will be a short one with not too many casualties. May GOD bless his children no matter what their faiths are.

2003-03-04T12:09:00.000+08:00

Day 9
Weather : Sunny
Mood : Wonderful!

League Cup Win!!!
Liverpool finally played a game worthy of mention here. It won the English League Cup on Sunday. Known as the Worthington Cup, it has been ridiculed by many as the Worthless Cup. But seeing Man U fielding its strongest side has shown that such a prize is no longer considered once by many as a waste of time. Given Man U's lack of success in the Premier League, the League Cup is one of its few chances to win any silverware this season. Arsenal is likely to life the Premier League trophy this year while Man U still in contention for the Champions League title is likely to face stiffer foes and falter in the final stages. So much for Man U's doomed season, let me get back to Liverpool's game on Sunday.

Coming from a string of poor (horrific I would say) results, Liverpool looked like it will be coming in for a slaughter by a Man U side just triumphant from a 3 - 0 trashing of one of Europre's finest - Juventus. As a through and trhough Liverpool fan, I shuddered at the prospect of the meeting when Liverpool is at an all time low. At the beginning of the game, Lieverpool's edginess is obvious. But given these 2 clubs history, respect was the word to describe the first 40 minutes of the game. A goal was sorely needed to ignite the game. This was provided by Stevie G when he took a typical long range shot at Man U's goal. The shot looked well covered by Fabien 'The Clown' Barthez till Captain Marvel David Beckam decided to block it with his knee. This proved to be United's undoing as the ball loops over the outstrecthed hands of Barthez. ONE - NIL to LIVERPOOL!!!!

I was whooping with joy after that goal. Once the goal went in, Liverpool started playing real football. While I still think the counter-attacking style employed by Houllier is not that great, at least they are a goal up! After the half-time rest, Man U came out with all cylinders firing! For the first 5 mins of 2nd half, Man U attacked wave after wave. But for heroics by Jerzy 'Quick Hands' Dedek and the solid wall of Henchoz and Hyypia, the day would have been lost. After this initial barrage, Liverpool found the resolve and strength to start going on the offensive itself. As United became desparate in its search for an equaliser, Liverpool became increasing dangerous in its breaks.

Man U's threw caution into the air by attacking Liverpool in all departments leaving huge gaps behind. This proved to be their undoing in the 86th min when Hamann stole the ball from a casual if all too familiar complacent pass from Rio 'Clumsy' Ferdinand. With a simple flick, Owen was released by Hamann to charge through the midfield. Running like the very devils are chasing him, Owen outranned all Man U's defences and struck as clean clinical shot past Barthez for the second goal. LIVERPOOL TWO - MAN U NIL!!!!

This was the final nail in the coffin. Once the goal went in Man U's resolve all but dissolved. It was a great day for the club. If Liverpool could just find this strength and determination in all their games, I would stake my reputation that they would have been in the top 3 positions this year. My only wish is that they do this for the coming matches. Till the next match, I will savour this once uppance against our most hated footballing foes.

You will never walk alone...

2003-02-03T13:29:00.000+08:00

Day 8
Weather : Mild after Light Showers
Mood : Irritated

Gate Closed
Been trying to connect with my girlfriend over the net to play Baldur's Gate (BG). If you have no idea what BG is, then you are not a PC gamer! After trying for 3 long days and many hours on our handphone (yes, we have been communicating through our handphones as we try to get our PCs to connect). We tried, TCP/IP, modem, GameSpy etc, but nothing seems to work. Decided to end our quest to start a quest on BG around half an hour ago.

Life's been good over the past 2-3 days. Its Chinese Lunar New Year (CNY), and in Singapore, we get 2 days of public holiday. But sad to say, the holidays fell over the weekend, so we are shortchanged by one day. Yup, you are right, no extension of holidays that fall on Saturdays! Anyway, if you have no idea how Chinese New Year is celebrated... let me be your guide now.

Friday (31 Jan) is the eve of CNY, and it is the day where families gather for reunion dinner. This dinner is a traditional practice, but I believe it is such practices that maintains the clos-knit family unit that are almost gone in the Western hemisphere. All family members have to attend the dinner, and everyone will have to try to make it home in time to spend ther evening with the family. Reunion dinner is one event that I look forward to every year. The reason is simply... GODD FOOD!!! Its not only the good good but also the quantity! We had a roast chicken, braised eggs with mushrooms and chestnuts, veggies, prawns, sharks' fin soup (I am an environmentalist but don't think I can convinve my parent to give it up) and fried chicken. YUMMY!

As you can guess, my waistline has expanded somewhat since the holidays started. Have to head back to the gym once the partying is over. :)

2003-01-30T08:47:00.000+08:00

Day 7
Weather : Wet and Gray
Mood : Neutral

Liverpool 2 - Arsenal 2
Woke up really early this morning to catch the 'live' match between Liverpool and Arsenal. Early is an understatement as I had to wake up at 3.55am. Was still half asleep as I roused myself for the match. A short commentary on the match. Liverpool started brightly in the first 5 mins, but were stunned by a quick and incisive attack by the Gunners. It was 1-0 to Arsenal by the 8th minute. I groaned as I thought this is another match where the ignorance of sleep would be sweeter than to watch in agony as my favourite is being torned apart by its arch-foe.

Well, Liverpool came out of the second-half all fired-up and ready to do battle. They did just that and John Arne Riise scored with a scorcher in the 53rd min. Seaman was stranded like a sailor on land, pardon me for the pun. Arsenal broke my heart again in the 63rd min after Bergkamp scored off a deflection on Henchoz. Guess that was payback for the handball that Liverpool handed to Arsenal in the 2001 FA Cup Final. But Heskey had the last say when his bullet of a header sent the Gunners packing home with a single point in the 90th minute.

Ok. Now about my life. Caught Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers last Sunday. Was all hyped-up for the movie since I am a true blue fantasy fan. After The Fellowship of the Ring, I expected Peter Jackson to once again capture my attention to fine details and breathetaking cinematography. I am to be sorely disappointed. Two Towers is not a bad film, but I can't help by fail that it failed to live up to its full potential. Well, I could be wrong as I could not catch some parts of the dialogue. I am sure the DVD would help when it is released. Hope that The Return of the King will once again break new ground as the Fellowship did.

2003-01-22T23:16:00.000+08:00

Day 6

It's ALIVE!!!
My best toy... aka PC aka Simon's Heaven... yeah yeah, where got grown men name their PCs as their heaven. But it's a fact that I did name it my heaven as it is a portal that links me to people like YOU!!! Well, it's more a heaven to me as it provides hours of fun. I confess, I am on computing gaming addict!

Got hooked onto computer games since I first played the classical Pacman. Have never looked back since. Now, I am into games such as WarCraft III, Total Club Manager 2003, The SIMS (cos' its feels good to be a pseudo-God)! Okie, its a cheap thrill, but its good FUN!!!

Hey my Nvidia card giving me trouble again. Sigh... it's alive but sick LOLz.

2003-01-21T08:59:00.000+08:00

Day 5

Clean Slate
My PC will be reformatted today. Windows XP is slowly shutting down each and every device that I have. I am kinda sad as I will be losing quite a lot of data. Then again, its all my own fault for not getting around to backing them up when my CDRW drive is still working. Well, that's that.

Don't think I will be updating this log anytime soon. Maybe in the evening. Simon out.

2003-01-20T23:46:00.000+08:00

Day 4

Band of Brothers
Finally finished viewing the Band of Brothers mini-series. Given my love for war films, I would rate this series as one of my all-time favourites! The 10 parter was well-paced, with each story focusing on a different character and the turmoil that must have gone through each and every soldier during WWII. Being a military reservist myself, I am thankful that we live in a world relatively free from war (at least not on the WW scale). It pains me to see that people can actually contain so much hatred in them (i.e. the Germans hatred for the Jews, Gypsies, infirmed etc).

Despite the pain and suffering that wars wrought on the human race over our recorded history, we still don't seem to understand that wars are simply put - bad. Just imagine the number of dreams (soliders, civilians etc) that are destroyed, the scars that are left behind (phyiscal/mental). But we human race continue to tumble from one war to another. All, I can do is to pray for a time when hatred no longer resides in our hearts, and we all come together in an understanding of what it really means to be a human being.

Can't remember where I saw this, but I think this quote is very powerful....

"Lest we forget...."

2003-01-19T10:53:00.000+08:00

Day 3

Liverpool 1 - Southhampton 0
Raindrops are falling on my head... Yup, its a gray and wet Sunday alright. To be honest, I love sleeping late on Sundays. Well, perhaps on Saturdays too (except I need to get to work on alternate Sats). Today, I am up early b'cos I have a big date with my girlfriend. It'st just a movie date... but I wouldn't call watching The Lord of The Rings - The Two Towers as just a movie date! Yeah yeah... you must be thinking that this bloke is way stuck in history as LOTR - TT has been screened sometime back. Been waiting cos' my gf hurt her knee badly during our trip to Sydney. Just glad that she's on her way to full recovery.

My favourite soccer club Liverpool FC has finally won its first Premier League match after a dreary patch of 11 games without a win. Being a Liverpool fan is one of the most hazardous experiences in the world. One moment they dazzle you with their potential, and the next a mediocre performance. But hey, I have been a fan since the early 80s. Once a Liverpool fan, always a Liverpool fan. So, each your hearts out Man U fans!

2003-01-18T13:26:00.000+08:00

Day 2

The Weekend and Me!

The glorious weekend is once upon us! This gives me the perfect opportunity to disengage myself from the ratrace and ridiculous things that people do for office politics. Talking about ratrace, did I tell you that I have recently bought 2 drawf hamsters? To be precise, they are Roborovskis, the tiniest hamsters among the drawf family. Cute is their middle name! Scurrying around the cage is their favourite hobby after running on the exercise wheel. Looking at their frenzied activity everyday, I always wondered if they are as active in the wild or are they just bored? I will tell you the answer once more research is done. :)

Weekends used to be a dreary affair for me. All my buddies (gals + guys) will disappear once the weekend arrives. This is known as the social phenomenon of relationship aka coupledom. Good ole me was unattached for long stretches of my life. Don't get me wrong, I was happy being single and what not. But the weekends are a bore when you are stuck at home. So, if you don't want to be like me, do choose your friends carefully. Choose those that are unattached! But well, life has been kind to me, I am happily attached with the most wonderful girl! So, its my turn to rejects outings with my unattached friends (luckily... there's only 1 of them!)

Think I will pop in the Aliens DVD into my player later and enjoy my all time favourite movie. GO RIPLEY!!!

2003-01-17T13:27:00.000+08:00

Day 1

All About Me (Who Am I?)

Hi there! This is my first time writing about myself on the net. Why did I call this log the "Singaporean Dream"? Well, the answer is simple. I want to share with everyone on this world about the life and the dreams of a very ordinary Singaporean, living an ordinary life, with ordinary aspirations (well some say lofty) in the very ordinary city-state of Singapore.

Something more about the author, that's me! I am a twentysomething year-old Chinese guy (who like the most of the 20-somethings - afraid of the big Three-O) who has lived all his 20 plus years on the small island state of Singapore. If you have no idea of where Singapore is, look along the equator of the map (yup, it's the small island south of our 'friendly' neighbour Malaysia), cos' it is smacked almost directly under the path of the sun. This also explains the hot and humid weather we experience on a more or less daily basis. Global warming ain't gonna help things.

(Looks out the window of my office) Yup, its hot alright! Okay, gotta go, will see you here again yah!