the Wild Hamster

I like to look at my blog.. because of the nice beach pic on top. Of course, that's why I put it there in the first place. Beach pics are so damn soothing. Or at least that's for me anyways.

Hope its the same for you as well, whomever you are that is here. Y' know.. middle of the afternoon.. feeling stressed.. just pull up this nice dreamy beach pic and gaze upon its splendour. Boo ya!

Just came back from phuket.. will post a detailed FR on it later when I got time. Now I got no time. So I come back later and do it.

Just came back from lunch. Man I'm stuffed. Thanks to me bosses of course.. Lunch with them always means one thing: Great food. Today, their son came for lunch as well, which was great. I happen to admire him a lot as he's very successful. Will I ever get to experience that as well? Probably. Which is the same as most likely not. Oh well, a man can dream can't he?

Had supper with Rake yesterday. Well actually he had supper and not me coz I had already eaten. As usual we went opposite his house for our food, drink and makan. Yesterday's session was pretty short though, coz when we met it was already 12mn. We spent the entire time talking about kung fu and the recession. Awesome combination, these topics are.

It's quite amazing how Rake became one of my super best buddies. We first met in Army through other friends. He was my classmate and sat at the opposite end of the table where I was sitting for our lessons. Truth be told, I never really talked to him till near the end of our course. That's when i realized we had a lot in common.

We were both losers and half-geeks. We had great passion for PC hardware and computer games, RPGs, science-fiction and fantasy... and documentaries. We are also two of the most unfit men around - couldn't jump, couldn't run, couldn't anything.

On the other hand, we were both terrific at enjoying our tea breaks. In our group, nobody appreciated culinary pleasures like we did, and after that we would head to the old arcade machine above the canteen to play some old-school aircraft games.. ah, the life!

Its been awesome having him around. He's dependable, witty, like-minded, utterly corrupt( most important), and isn't afraid to tell it like it is - a rare trait among men these days.

Ok, better not say too much else people think I'm going to do a Duan Bei.

Tonight.. X'mas rehearsals!

I feel that facebook is having a net negative influence on my life, in more than ways that anyone can fathom, including myself. But those few ways that I have already comprehended already makes me feel that I should not fb too much. Hence, I shall stop fubbing.

I shall redirect my textual inclination towards something more productive (I hope), like my stories. As a matter of fact, I have just created a new story though I think that its eventual publishing may cause some ruckus among the authorities. Should I continue with it? I guess I should.. but whether I'll release it or not is another matter.

Someone asked me the other day what I really wanted to do in life. I was shocked that I couldn't reply him. Well actually, I was only half shocked. Because I know I'm as confused as a hamster in a maze. What do I really want to do? I guess my difficult in answering this question is not a lack of options but rather too many of them. I feel like doing everything, though that's not how the World works.. sigh.

I read a report the other day on how the Wall Street peeps are getting millions in bonuses despite the recession. Where'd you think all that money comes from? Stolen from hard-working people that's what. Of course, those who got their fingers burnt should also shoulder some of the blame as they willingly let themselves be sucked into this money-sucking void.

At the end of the day, what's responsible is greed, and all of us are guilty for stoking these flames. Yes, all of us. Except maybe the Gregorian monks. Why? Here's a case in point:

I was having dinner with my SO (disclaimer: usage of this term does not imply that I am a flowerpod.com.sg fan, although I concede that I have been spending some time in their forums) yesterday at the city area and we overheard this guy trying to psycho his friend into joining him in his business. He said something like:

"I tell you ah, I only need to make one deal every few months, because I can get about $40,000 each time. Then after that I slack. Wake up late.. surf the net, do what I want. Damn shiok."

"Really meh?"

"Yah, I even use the money to buy a car, go holiday, do whatever I want. Not enough money then do more transaction lor."

One word: Glamourization, which invokes envy and further along the line motivates others to yearn and eventually work for that kind of lifestyle. Glamourization can be seen everywhere now - in the movies, in magazines, on TV, and many other places. I recall someone telling me that she saw a programme about the lifestyles of the richest youngest celebrities, the list of which includes -unsurprisingly- the Olsen twins, Miley Cyrus and Daniel Radcliffe. I wonder how many teenagers who watch this show are going to want the same things that the stars are enjoying. Maybe someone should tell them that for every one Daniel Radcliffe, there are hundreds of thousands more actors who fail.

Yeah sure, someone says that we should look at the half-full glass. I'm not opposing positivity, but I feel that we should also be realistic. Statistically speaking, someone's chances of being a Hollywood A-lister is lesser than striking Toto.

Anyway, I'm digressing. How many times have we talked to each other about oh, I'm going for this holiday and thinking of buying a new car, and gush about investing in new property and all that. I know because I have been guilty of it myself. How many minds do we seed with thoughts of envy? And in the follow-up, in the search for extravagance -we sometimes lose our rationality.

Of course, in this pursuit not everyone loses. No, not everyone. Only the smartest, the most scheming survives. In our society, it is represented by those who have held the reins of our economy - the high-powered finance executives who put those useless financial instruments together and sold them as if they were things of great value.

Then, they got their compensation and they walked away.

I pity most of all, those who are in the lower echelons. During times of excess, in the previous years of excessive growth, they did not benefit much from it. Instead, all they could do is watch from the sidelines as their superiors redistributed the lion's share of profits among themselves, then lived the high life, buying new cars, houses and other expensive things, with enough to put aside for rainy days.

Then, when the shit hits the fan, these same employees - who had played a part in helping their companies grow and had not shared in the spoils - get a pay cut, or worse, are retrenched. Ah, the joys of Capitalism - a word that describes nothing more than the intelligent and advantaged exploiting those who are not.

or at least, it seems like its buffet week

On Sunday I went for breakfast after church with Estima and his parents. We were supposed to eat at Taka, but end up his parents wanted to eat at Suntec. End up we ate at Conrad hotel.

What a buffet that was.

I think its one of the most awesome ever. It had almost everything anyone could dream about eating. Goose liver, crayfish, lobster, prime ribs, roasted beef, and so much more.

What blew me away was the different types of oysters that they had. Most buffets would just lay out oysters. End of story. But their oysters come from 4 different countries (2 french regions, tasmania in aussie and ireland).. awesome shit man!

Estima's dad keep laying on the goose livers.. endless rounds of goose livers. In fact, long after we stumbled out from the restaurant i swear i had goose liver on my breath.

Another thing he kept coming was the free flow of champagne and wine. Yeah, free flow baby. I don't really like drinking in the day, but heck la.. free flow man, bring it on!

The dessert bar was out of this world. They had warm, creamy creme brulee, waffles, ice-cream (OMG THE ICE CREAM IS SO AWESOME), a huge variety of chocolates, cakes, tarts, pies, walao they got everything!

So, after this super rich (in-terms of cost, cholesterol and calories - hey, three Cs!) buffet, I dragged my drunk, delirious self back to Dear's house.


That very same day, we celebrated Mei's birthday, and so we went for .. another buffet. kaoz, you must be thinking i'm crazy to go for two buffets in one day. honestly i thought i was also crazy. but surprisingly i ate quite a lot. coz its a steamboat buffet.. and so its not stuffable, whatever that means.

The steamboat buffet was at Joaquim's at Suntec City. Not a bad place.. I didn't have a good impression of the place in the past, but the service seem to have improved slightly, though the food selection is still pretty meagre.

That was the 2nd buffet.

On Wednesday, I went for another 'buffet' at Sakae Sushi. This one is pretty well-known, so probably no need to say anything about it. Note the quotation marks, because it was supposed to be buffet, but end up they didn't have buffet, but in the end end I still managed to eat a psuedo-buffet because i ate a hell lot of food and had a buffet-like feeling.

Finally, yesterday evening was Kor's birthday, so ate the Suki Sushi buffet at Shaw plaza. The spread didn't seem as wide as the one at Jurong, but its still quite alright. I particularly enjoyed the paper steamboat thing, whatever its called.

So! BUFFET WEEK! HAH!

Tonight going to pick up the Baron from Airport, and stopping at SITEX on the way.. whee!

A UFO was supposed to reveal itself yesterday. Or at least that was the plan according to this psychic called Blossom Goodchild (woo! that name is so retro!) who apparently (and allegedly) has been receiving messages from this intergalactic space organisation called the Federation of Light.

Once again, my inner geek is getting excited.

But once again, again, it also looks like its just another hoax. Its like 3pm, Oct 15. No UFO anywhere. You must be asking me why I'm siao ah? Believe in UFO?

I feel that the Universe is so big.. there should surely be life elsewhere.. right? Anyway I believe. And that's enough. But so far.. no substantial evidence has surfaced to prove their existence. That's pretty disappointing.

Well yeah, there are videos and pictures that supposedly show UFOs. But a bunch of lights can hardly qualify as solid evidence. Someone should give these UFOlogists some telescopic lenses. (Or maybe some huge ass spotlights)

Anyway, I still believe they exist. I tell you solemnly, happy are those who do not see but yet believe.

Oh yah.. for those females out there. Do yourself a favour and go for a pap smear test. I was just interviewing a cervical cancer survivor today and as it turns out, that innocuous little test can be a PHENOMENAL help in avoiding cervical cancer.

And please do it at NCCS (National Cancer Centre Singapore). I don't know why anyone would go anywhere else for cancer-related consultation. Isn't it obvious that there ain't nowhere else better for that than at the NATIONAL CANCER CENTRE?

Wild Hamster

I feel the urge to write something (got to leh.. its been 10 days) but I have no idea what.

Its not like Ive got nothing to write about. In fact, I think I've got too many things to write about.

I guess Im supposed to bleh the whole thing out at the end of the day, but the problem is that after work each day Im just too damn tired. Weekends are busy as well, though this weekend it was especially so.

So let me see.. what I can extract out from my pretty useless memory of the past week.

Hmm..

Monday (6 Oct) was a pretty happening day. One of my company's clients had a product launch and I was there to help out. The product line is called Methode Jeanne Piaubert and its a French brand that seems to have been on the market for ages and ages (and ages).

My inner geek finds it pretty impressive, since the whole beauty/cleaning/whatever process is based on some scientific method thing. It makes the whole process look so .. healthy. Yeah.

And.. its pretty expensive too. I guess for that price, they had better make it do something impressive eh?

Met Ephraim, my old friend from Secondary School at the launch too. Hes quite famous now (or infamous) as hes stirred up some attention by sharing his blog with a Foreign Minister. Hmm.

But this guy has always been stirring up attention, even during our sec school days. I shall not say why out of respect for him. But you should know from that sentence that whatever it was that he did it must've been pretty scandalous. Well, I don't think its scandalous. Just.. strange. O_O

Anyway.. Friday I served the Bishop memorial mass. Pretty hectic time and ended up getting screwed by the priests in charge. I have no idea what they're called really. but I know they're specialized in liturgy. Anyway, getting screwed as a server don't really affect me after 15 years.. its just an occupational hazard.

Last week, it was finally made official that we are now in a recession. OMG WHY NOW WHEN I JUST GRADUATED? WHY NOW WHEN I AM AT THE TAIL END OF MY CURRENT CONTRACT? Ah well, guess I just have to weather the storm I guess.

There's a buge <--- ah ha! a new word! BUGE!BIG + HUGE = BUGE! -- debate going on right now about what to do the those evil bankers who brought this upon us. Some suggest that they should be jailed while others want them to pay a fine. Yet still others want them to be burnt at the stake. ouch.

I agree that these damn bankers should pay for what they've done. I especially agree that these CEOs who are paid so much to do a job shouldn't be paid because they haven't done their damned job. In fact, I think they did the opposite.

The American people are now picking up the tab for bailing out the banks, who are paying their CEOS hundreds of millions of dollars in severance. I think that the compensation is pretty obscene, and that money could be put to better use (such as stopping up the gap they left when they.. left)

Now the common man on the street is having to stop up that gap, with money that could have been used for education, or helping the poor. Thus, as the saying goes nowadays, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

There are those of course that believe that if you're not rich it means its your damn fault. It means you're not working hard enough, not born with the correct genes, not touched by lady luck, whatever. It just means you created your own situation.

Well I believe that is true to a certain extent, as in many of us (including myself) like to think about making it in life but lack the motivation to push ourselves to get there.

But some assistance would help. Of course, for some people, no matter how hard you push them they just don't want to go for it. But for others, sometimes all it takes is a little kick off the chair, or something less dramatic but equally effective.

Anyway, I hope to survive the recession.. and hope that my future house will become cheaper because of it also. (Fat hope right?)

Wild Hamster

Well, its Monday morning again. The weekend certainly sped past faster than the F1 cars I was watching yesterday. It was really, really fast. The weekend I mean. Everyone knows F1 cars are fast.

And loud. I thought that I would be able to handle the sound without ear-plugs. Boy was I wrong. After 1 or 2 laps my ear drums felt like they were going to break, so on went those cute orange plugs that came in my $2 survival kit.

Btw if you’re still not sure what I’m talking about, I was at the first ever Singapore F1 grand prix yesterday, 28 September 2008. First ever night race as well – and it was absolutely stunning.

Reached there in the afternoon just after the gates open (kiasu Singaporean) with Moreen, Spencer and Dear and we went spot-shopping, as in trying to see which is a good spot to camp for the next few hours.

Actually nothing much to see wor.. the F1 village was pretty messy. But on a positive note, we managed to get ourselves some Uniquely Singapore flags! Food was pretty expensive as well, with carrot cake and chicken rice sets going for $8 and a cup of coke going for $3.

But I guess its targeted more towards tourists. After all they already spend many Ks to come here, what’s another $8 for a plate of chicken rice from a ‘world-class’ food-court?

Heck, I even saw some tourists lugging along that portable TV set which costs $150 a day to rent!

Anyway, around 3 plus we made our way to our chosen spot, which is on a bleacher at Turn 13. Quite a happening atmosphere there with the place already taken up by a group of Indian guys who were having a good time just bumming around.

So we found a nice spot near the front and start camping, watching the Aston Martin Cup, Formula BMW and Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Races and just talking rubbish.

But as time wore on, people started coming up the bleacher and try to jostle for a place where we were. I quite admire their determination and stealth-pushing abilities. For instance, just around the start of the Formula BMW race, we suddenly found in our presence this secondary school kid armed with a Canon DSLR.

I was initially irritated that he never even said excuse me or what and just squeezed himself between Moreen and Dear, but in the end I felt okay with it, and all of us even managed to chat with him.

In fact, he would prove to be a good blocker later when two ladies tried to squeeze into our space when the F1 race was just about to start. Together with Spencer, all three of us guys decided to just use our massive presences (and girth) to our advantage. The two ladies wandered somewhere else.

Maybe you could call us selfish, but hey, we were there camping under the hot sun for this place so you can understand how we feel when people try to come at the last minute to block us off.

Anyway, the support races were pretty exciting, especially during the Aston Martin race when a car smashed into the wall where we were at! The Formula BMW cars were pretty loud (and fast) as well.

The F1 experience though was unbeatable. Nothing can beat the sensation of feeling the earth tremble as those raw beasts thundered through our section. Loud, powerful, fast, that’s how one can sum up the feeling there.

Of course, that is when you overlook the squeezing, jabbing, pushing that was going on around us. And smoking – obviously some of the tourists didn’t know about the ban. Dear and Moreen were relocating all over the bleacher when the F1 race started coz they kana prodded and kicked (they sat down most of the time) and also felt quite hot. (The back of the bleacher was pretty cool)

A funny moment happened when Rubens Barichello’s Honda car ran out of fuel abt 50 metres from where we were and they had to drag the car past us to the corner. Barichello came out of his car and walked towards us, where he flung his glove out supposedly to the crowd -but it landed in the river!

Actually I think the commentator got it wrong. It was not the wind that blew it into the river. From my position I can clearly see that he threw it in the wrong direction. Maybe he was a bit disoriented or something.

But it was an exhilarating race. Massa driving off from the pit with his refueling hose attached to his car. Coulthard doing the same thing. Piquet ramming into the wall in a horrific crash, with Raikonnen following suit near the end. Guess it was pretty exhausting for them, especially in our hot and humid atmosphere.

In the end Alonso from Renault took the chequered flag. Well-deserved … and lucky.

After the race, we got our pretty easily coz we were near the exit (like 100m away) and we went to Lau Pa Sat for dinner/supper. All of us were pretty famished at that point.

Well, that was one of the best experiences ever. At the very least, I can say that I WAS THERE AT THE FIRST EVER SINGAPORE FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX and the FIRST EVER FORMULA ONE NIGHT RACE.


28 SEPTEMBER 2008 – A date I will forever remember.

I will enter a post on Saturday’s happenings later!

Wild Hamster

Its been a long time coming, but I FORGOT TO BRING MY DAMN HOUSEKEYS OUT this morning.
Yeah, its a real lock-cock situation, and only a lock-cock person like me can do stupid things like this.

Well I blame it on my LCD for it has displaced the usual location where I put my everyday stuff. Well, actually again, its not the LCD but the CRT which is sitting behind it.

Why is my CRT sitting behind my LCD? Coz i got nowhere to put it for now. I had planned to stuff it into my closet but I was clearing out stuff and the whole thing COLLAPSED. There you go. Structural integrity in the 21st Century. Thank the heavens for the wonderful invention called warranty.

But as it stands, it has caused my LCD and CRT to form a close (bossy)union, thereby displacing all other thingamabobs on my table. Eeek!

Hence, the relocation of my 'Power 3' (i.e. wallet+keys+HP) and hence the overlooking of remembering to bring all three said products out when I went to work this morning.

On a side note, my 'new' cupboard built in 2002 didn't really look sturdy to me when they were HANGING it. Just FYI, the cupboard is nothing more than a hole in the wall with hooks stuck on the back of the hole and shelves stuck on the hooks. No prizes for guessing how much weight those teeny hooks can hold.

My old cupboard could previously hold an elephant (or two). The new one can barely hold a couple of hamsters. Ok, I'm exaggerating, but you get the picture.

Anyway, back to what happened this morning. I came to work, realise (in shock no less) that I had forgotten to bring my keys. Took a taxi home again. Waited for my brother to show up (heng he was still on his way to work), took his keys, went up to my house, took my keys, took a taxi back to office.. where I found out my lady boss had arrived 5 mins prior to my 2nd arrival and had opened the door.

Wah lao. Anyway, I'm totally bashing myself for this stupid idiotic behavior.

To make matters worse, my handphone - which was already giving me problems - started to cause more problems for me this morning. My calculator feature disappeared for one, and the wallpaper disappeared, and the whole style thing started screwing up. What the hell lah?

One problem after the next (lag, hang, lag, hang, contacts disappear, MP3 software can't work, battery died, etc), and for a 'fashion' phone targeted at the high-end (or semi-high-end) market, that's pretty shameless.

Come high or hell water, I'm going to change my phone end of this year. And it's NOT GOING TO BE A NOKIA. ANTI-NOKIA FROM NOW ON. I've been a fan of their phones since the 90s but the 90s Nokia and 00s Nokia just ain't the same company.

Damn their QC! Damn the service staff also who have no idea what they are doing! All they seem to like to do is flash the software and their teeth!

Iphone, here I come! SH better start offering it soon k?

Yesterday was a better day. Yesterday I went to view the F1 track (and touch it OMG) before the zooming and zaaming starts today. Took a couple of shots too.. might consider uploading it later.

Wild Hamster

I have finally upgraded my aging CRT to a spanking new LCD. Awesome stuff.. felt like I was using a new computer altogether. Many people have asked me why I've been using the CRT until now.

Sentimental value lah.. I won it in a contest! Anyway I'm still gonna keep it around for emergencies.. nothing beats the durability and staying power of OLD TECH.

This morning I just had another random thought in the shower (seems like thats where all my ideas hit me, which isn't really a good thing as I got no place to jot it down . I did once try to gouge it on my bar of soap though.. that didn't really work out.)

Can a non-Christian really go to heaven? People have always been asking that. The truth is, I bet even the priests don't know. It's not their fault of course. There simply hasn't been any clear revelation on this issue, no clarification from the Almighty one above.

Jesus, bless his kind soul, offered some insight when he was here on Earth, although being the wise guy that he is, it was all pretty vague and cryptic and so could really mean anything.

Example:

Sentences like "Those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted" and "the last will be first, and the first will be last"

Also think about various parables like the one about the Shepherd chionging out to find his lost lamb and the long-lost son who after finish clubbing realise he boh lui liao and decide to crawl back to his lao pei

All of these seem to suggest that God welcomes almost anyone to the eternal club in the sky, as long as they meet the entry requirement of course.

Unfortunately (or not), this doesn't seem to include being a Christian. Or does it? If this theory holds true, then shouldn't all good men go to heaven despite not stepping into church even once in their lives?

I'm guessing that the key term here is awareness. As in, if you have lived a good life but did not go to church because you were not aware of such a thing as a one true God (possibly influenced by your peers, parents, etc) then maybe you've got a chance at paradise

However, if you KNOW that you have to go to church, not sin, etc and still intentionally run afoul of the heavenly laws, then you might not get so lucky

Am I sure about this. Hell no. But sounds logical ainit?

Wild Hamster

Was restricted to a horizontal position for most of the weekend. Bloody horrible feeling. The worst thing in the world is to be sick. Everytime I swallowed I felt like someone was ripping my throat open.

Anyway, after resting these few days, I'm feeling better. I was already feeling better yesterday in fact, and had lunch at the Raffles City foodcourt after church. Yeah, come hell or high water I will always go to church on Sundays.

I won't forget this lunch though, for the extremely vinegar'ish shui jiao soup. The shui jiao itself tasted like it was doused in vinegar for a thousand years before it was served to us.. utterly inedible. I'll post a pic up when i can. Yes I know its boh liao, but..

Its a quiet morning here in my office. Most people might say that Mondays are usually quiet, as everyone is depressed. Thankfully, I don't get hit by that affliction, though it could only be a matter of time.

Once I'm 37 or something maybe I'll just one day sit in my office and start screaming like a girl on a Monday morning, lamenting how lame my life is. Is this what mid-life crisis is all about?

Anyway, I can feel (and I think my boss does too) that with regard to my current employment stint.. I am almost done. When I do eventually leave, I can do so happily, not just because I feel that I have given my all to my company (and learnt much along the way) but also because my new colleague is infinitely capable, and I'm sure she's more than able to handle all the company matters on her own. Of course, that's assuming she's staying.

Now all I've got to do is secure my next gig.. mmmm ..

Oh yah, but before that.. Phuket in December!

theWildHamster

That's what I'm feeling right now... which sucks. Not just because I'm in pain (argh! my throat! my ears! the suffering!) but also because I have always prided myself on having an extremely robust immune system.

I used to fall sick only once a year. This year I've fallen sick more than twice. Maybe its the lack of sleep, or lack of exercise, or lack of Vitamin C or the bacteria stuck on my office keyboard, or the weather. Or maybe its the combination of them all?

Got to see a doctor later. On a side note, let me put in a few words about Jimmy's wedding.

Jimmy is a good friend. Hell, he's more than a good friend. He's the kind of friend (to me neways) that I can feel a connection with. Doesn't matter how long we haven't talked coz everytime we meet we seem to have something to talk about.

Neways, Jimmy's just got married last saturday 13 Sept 08 and I was asked to be brother! Awesome right? Anyway, most of the day was spent travelling here and there.

Albeit the most siong part of the day was trying to choke down the dao-you-soaked bittergourd and glass of 'healthy' ginger-onion-donnowhatelse mix for 'breakfast'.

Thanks, Clarissa+co for that.

It was a pleasant day indeed. Really had tons of fun, esp with fellow brothers Nick, GKO and Jeff.

Neways, congrats Jimmy and Charie on your wedding. Thanks bro for inviting me to be your brother. As I have said, it's one of the greatest honours I have ever had.

Ok after fiddling around with this blogger thing I have managed to get some decent things up. I have no idea why I'm even fiddling with this blogger thing. Anyway, who cares.

Gonna do some more editing before posting anything concrete.

Wild Hamster