The year is over. Or atleast its gonna be over soon. It ain't considered over for me so long as i've not slept and wake up. Yinyin asked me over msn on why i do not go for a countdown party or some stuff like that. I do not know how to answer..
But looking at most of the people i know, the ones who do go out on holiday eves, like christmas eve, new year eve, are the ones who are attached. So it does kind of imply something about holiday eves and it also serves as a rather good explanation of why i do not go to any countdown parties. There's no one to go with me, no one to count with me, no one to give a little hug and fleeting kiss when the counter reaches zero, and no one to go home with.
If there are moments of confusion in my life, it has to be the holiday season. I'm pretty happy to live through the holiday, but i'm also very sad to have to live through the eve of it. I remember last christmas eve i went to bishan to catch a late night movie. It seems this year i've lost interest even in doing something special, simply becoz it is a holiday eve.
Gah.. i hate depression when it sets in. The downward ride of the roller coaster is never fun. Brings about severe bouts of blogger's block, and even in the comments, i become reluctant to reply further. Hmm.. Happy new year : )
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
My office is a microwave
My mug of water in the office always seem to have a layer of blackish residue in it. I tried changing mugs, overturning the mug before i go home, a layer of filth still appears when i return to the office the next day.
The thing is, when i overturn the mug, i would have supposed that nothing could have gone into the mug. Yet the layer of sooty grime appears! This is kind of thing never happened to the mugs at home. And the only difference between my home and the office that i can think of, is the pressence of hundreds of rfid devices, some active, thus transmitting signals overnight.
Could the blackish layer be a layer of something else, charred by cooking in the office, like how microwave works? I have no idea.. I thought i needed a tan, but i didn't think getting microwaved was the way to do it..
The thing is, when i overturn the mug, i would have supposed that nothing could have gone into the mug. Yet the layer of sooty grime appears! This is kind of thing never happened to the mugs at home. And the only difference between my home and the office that i can think of, is the pressence of hundreds of rfid devices, some active, thus transmitting signals overnight.
Could the blackish layer be a layer of something else, charred by cooking in the office, like how microwave works? I have no idea.. I thought i needed a tan, but i didn't think getting microwaved was the way to do it..
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Where did my patty go?
I remember couple years ago, when i was walking home from a school that now no longer exists, i stopped by at the esso petrol station to buy a burger. Thay had this microwave where you could heat the burger yourself which make the burger more.. well.. i just like it when i get to do little things like this. Which really explains why i like to buy heftily priced chicken rolls from seven eleven.
Somewhere along the way, under the void deck of some block in bishan, i unwrapped my piping hot burger. As i was going to take my first bite, the beef patty dropped out of my burger onto the floor. And i was like what the hell, and the patty was like neh nay nee boo boo.
Since i had walked quite a distance away from the petrol station, i didn't want to go back to get another burger. I think the actual reason was that i felt it was embarassing to go back to the petrol station to get another burger. As if the cashier would magically know that i dropped my patty on the floor. The cashier would probably have locked himself in the storeroom and laughed his intestines out. Evil cashiers.
Anyway, i picked up the patty from the floor and try to blow some of the unseen dirt off. Then i decided that the patty wasn't going to look any different no matter how hard i blow at it. So i giap-ed the patty between the bun and took my first bite.
It didn't seem so bad at first, except that my beef burger had tuned into sand burger. And a couple more steps along the way, i heard something pop underfoot. Turning back, i saw on the floor a piece of cockroach patty. The cockroach patty was sharing the same floor as my beef patty!
I don't really remember, but i think i didn't finish my sand burger whose beef patty shared the same floor with a cockroach patty.
Somewhere along the way, under the void deck of some block in bishan, i unwrapped my piping hot burger. As i was going to take my first bite, the beef patty dropped out of my burger onto the floor. And i was like what the hell, and the patty was like neh nay nee boo boo.
Since i had walked quite a distance away from the petrol station, i didn't want to go back to get another burger. I think the actual reason was that i felt it was embarassing to go back to the petrol station to get another burger. As if the cashier would magically know that i dropped my patty on the floor. The cashier would probably have locked himself in the storeroom and laughed his intestines out. Evil cashiers.
Anyway, i picked up the patty from the floor and try to blow some of the unseen dirt off. Then i decided that the patty wasn't going to look any different no matter how hard i blow at it. So i giap-ed the patty between the bun and took my first bite.
It didn't seem so bad at first, except that my beef burger had tuned into sand burger. And a couple more steps along the way, i heard something pop underfoot. Turning back, i saw on the floor a piece of cockroach patty. The cockroach patty was sharing the same floor as my beef patty!
I don't really remember, but i think i didn't finish my sand burger whose beef patty shared the same floor with a cockroach patty.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Wait a minute
What has happened or what is going to happen to the money in the reserves? Are the kid-nee patients finally going to get the money?
Olio Do me
I watched Narnia yesterday. But since i said i wasn't gonna write any post regarding religion, only excerpts, there'll be no review for Narnia. Heh. Anyway, its a rather okay show.
After the movie, i went to Olio Dome in Bishan for dinner. In the middle of the cafe, in the ceiling, was a dome shape hole. Drawn onto the sides of the hole was an atlas of the world, with names of popular locations dotting it. Names like Brazil, Kuala Lumpur and Bishan. You should take a look at it if you ever go there.
Also printed on the walls of the hole is the cafe's brand name Dome. But the designers made it into some sort of a squarish logo that looked like:
DO
ME
It seems the designers missed out on the colloquial meaning of the words do me.
After the movie, i went to Olio Dome in Bishan for dinner. In the middle of the cafe, in the ceiling, was a dome shape hole. Drawn onto the sides of the hole was an atlas of the world, with names of popular locations dotting it. Names like Brazil, Kuala Lumpur and Bishan. You should take a look at it if you ever go there.
Also printed on the walls of the hole is the cafe's brand name Dome. But the designers made it into some sort of a squarish logo that looked like:
DO
ME
It seems the designers missed out on the colloquial meaning of the words do me.
Monday, December 26, 2005
From a random sample of twenty persons, how likely is it for atleast two persons to share a birthday?
Since this tiny statistic bopped at me twice already, i thought i'll just bopped it at you guys too. Answers can range from one percent to one in a million, in general, the consensus is usually unlikely.
Quite on the contrary, the answer to the question is closer to 50%. See article here.
Excerpt :
"The explanation for this is that there is a large number of pairs of students upon whom the coincidence may fall. For 23 students, there are 231 ways (22×21÷2) of picking two students from the class, which means 231 potential coincidences that may occur. We expect pairs to have the same birthday once in every 365 times, so with 231 pairs it is unsurprising when one of them strikes lucky."
**
For those planning to spend more than $100 at the upcomingcasinos integrated resorts (entrance fee is $100), do continue reading the link about Gambler's Fallacy. Basically, if you've lost many times already, it doesn't make your next chance at winning higher.
If you flip a coin 999 times and each time you flipped heads. The chance of flipping heads the 1000th time is not 1 / (2 ^ 1000). It's still 1/2. Why? Coz the coin has no memory of its previous flips. The probability of arriving at 1000 heads is indeed 1 / (2 ^ 1000) but the likelihood of getting a head for that flip is still 1/2! Perhaps rewriting the probability of a thousand heads would help. The probability is : (1 / (2 ^ 999)) x (1/2)
It is important to note that normally you're not betting on 1000 flips being head but you're betting on every flip along the way. If you're gambling, do not commit Gambler's Fallacy. Stop if you keep losing.
Disclaimer : I might get the mathmatics wrong, if i do, let me know.
Technorati Tags : Gambler's Fallacy, Integrated Resort
Quite on the contrary, the answer to the question is closer to 50%. See article here.
Excerpt :
"The explanation for this is that there is a large number of pairs of students upon whom the coincidence may fall. For 23 students, there are 231 ways (22×21÷2) of picking two students from the class, which means 231 potential coincidences that may occur. We expect pairs to have the same birthday once in every 365 times, so with 231 pairs it is unsurprising when one of them strikes lucky."
**
For those planning to spend more than $100 at the upcoming
If you flip a coin 999 times and each time you flipped heads. The chance of flipping heads the 1000th time is not 1 / (2 ^ 1000). It's still 1/2. Why? Coz the coin has no memory of its previous flips. The probability of arriving at 1000 heads is indeed 1 / (2 ^ 1000) but the likelihood of getting a head for that flip is still 1/2! Perhaps rewriting the probability of a thousand heads would help. The probability is : (1 / (2 ^ 999)) x (1/2)
It is important to note that normally you're not betting on 1000 flips being head but you're betting on every flip along the way. If you're gambling, do not commit Gambler's Fallacy. Stop if you keep losing.
Disclaimer : I might get the mathmatics wrong, if i do, let me know.
Technorati Tags : Gambler's Fallacy, Integrated Resort
Leg cramps for nothing.. boo hoo
Gah... i'm getting cramps lots lately.. Twice while i was in bed (once for each calf on different nights) and once while... while nothing. It just cramped overnight for the whole of next day. I didn't even do any exercise. And one more time was when i did a light jog. All in the space of two weeks. Gosh.. something is wrong with my legs : ( Gotta train the cramps away or something.. wanna do that biathlon thingy.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone. I got a Seven Swords vcd and a Corpse Bride sound track. Yippee.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
X'mas presents sold out
I saw some plushies i thought were quite cute yesterday. I thought i would buy them as christmas presents for my sisters abroad, but when i returned to the shop, the plushies were gone. Sold out! Not on display anymore..
Um.. yeah, buying christmas presents now is kind of late, since it would take considerable length of time to get overseas. Guess i'll have to wait till the christmas shopping spree is over before i get them the x'mas presents.
Um.. yeah, buying christmas presents now is kind of late, since it would take considerable length of time to get overseas. Guess i'll have to wait till the christmas shopping spree is over before i get them the x'mas presents.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
The lunar christmas
Today is the winter day in the chinese lunar calender. On this day, we're supposed to.. i have no idea what happens on the chinese winter festival, only that we get to eat balls of white and pink glutinous dough called tong yun (canto). In fact, i don't even know if the winter day is supposed to signify the begining or the end of winter. To me, its like the chinese christmas, a christmas without the gift exchange.
Speaking of tong yun, i remember one of my cousins do not eat it because she wear braces. Gets gooey glutinous dough stuck or so the reasoning goes. And when she did eat it, she did it by swallowing the whole ball. Ball by ball.. Anyway, that was when she had braces on.
Speaking of gift exchange on christmas, i think it was more fun a many years back where everybody bought something and which present goes to who, was determined randomly. These years, the recipient of the gift is randomly decided way before christmas. The difference is that in the former, everyone bought what they liked while the later everyone bought what they thought the designated person liked.
Suffice to say, the former generated alot more hee hur hoo har and was thus more fun.
Also of note was that thinking what a person would like for christmas does not necessarily mean the person really would like it. As evidenced in last year's lego saga. And this year my cousin random gift recipient is my brother. I can only speculate as to whether my brother is gonna get a starwars episode five lego set: the empire strikes back.
Speaking of tong yun, i remember one of my cousins do not eat it because she wear braces. Gets gooey glutinous dough stuck or so the reasoning goes. And when she did eat it, she did it by swallowing the whole ball. Ball by ball.. Anyway, that was when she had braces on.
Speaking of gift exchange on christmas, i think it was more fun a many years back where everybody bought something and which present goes to who, was determined randomly. These years, the recipient of the gift is randomly decided way before christmas. The difference is that in the former, everyone bought what they liked while the later everyone bought what they thought the designated person liked.
Suffice to say, the former generated alot more hee hur hoo har and was thus more fun.
Also of note was that thinking what a person would like for christmas does not necessarily mean the person really would like it. As evidenced in last year's lego saga. And this year my cousin random gift recipient is my brother. I can only speculate as to whether my brother is gonna get a starwars episode five lego set: the empire strikes back.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Intense personal experiences
I often find it hard to discuss with people who rely on personal experiences for justification of supernatural or paranormal beliefs. Because personal experiences are much like opinions, they are rather.. personal and perspective binding. Such experiences should not be exempted from skepticism.
Take for example an addict. He claims that after consuming drugs, he receives visions from his own personal version of god. But yet, we would naturally suspect that his intense euphoria is nothing more than drug induced. What if the light at the end of the tunnel is nothing more than the flourescent light in a surgical room?
Excerpt from atheism.about.com mail bag. All emphasis my own.
"As a matter of fact, people who have intense experiences should be especially careful about how they interpret them as well as what they claim about them. It's a known fact that people have a very poor track record when it comes to accurately reporting traumatic events that carry a lot of emotional intensity, like accidents or injuries. Why should we believe that a "near death experience" would be any different?
A second problem here is one that is also true of mystical experiences and the attempts by some to use them as justification for religious beliefs: how can a person claim to recognize God? What arguments or evidence, without resorting to question begging, can a person use to claim that whatever they experienced is necessarily that of the god they believe in? TL here, for example, claims to have never believed in god — so what basis for evaluation did he use to conclude that his experience was of God and not something else?
...
TL here doesn't seem to understand an important distinction: the truth of the existence of an experience is not the same as the truth of the interpretation of that experience. One can grant that TL had a very important, very profound, very intense experience that changed his life in a multitude of (good) ways. This does not, however, require agreeing that TL had an experience of "God," either in the orthodox Christian sense or in some personally defined sense. TL could be completely wrong in his interpretation of what he experienced without that affecting the truth of having had an experience.
I'm not quite sure why so many people feel to realize and appreciate this crucial distinction. It's one that they are able to make in other situations, but when it comes to "religious" or "mystical" experience, all common sense and skepticism go right out the window."
Read full article
Technorati Tags : atheism, personal experiences
Take for example an addict. He claims that after consuming drugs, he receives visions from his own personal version of god. But yet, we would naturally suspect that his intense euphoria is nothing more than drug induced. What if the light at the end of the tunnel is nothing more than the flourescent light in a surgical room?
Excerpt from atheism.about.com mail bag. All emphasis my own.
"As a matter of fact, people who have intense experiences should be especially careful about how they interpret them as well as what they claim about them. It's a known fact that people have a very poor track record when it comes to accurately reporting traumatic events that carry a lot of emotional intensity, like accidents or injuries. Why should we believe that a "near death experience" would be any different?
A second problem here is one that is also true of mystical experiences and the attempts by some to use them as justification for religious beliefs: how can a person claim to recognize God? What arguments or evidence, without resorting to question begging, can a person use to claim that whatever they experienced is necessarily that of the god they believe in? TL here, for example, claims to have never believed in god — so what basis for evaluation did he use to conclude that his experience was of God and not something else?
...
TL here doesn't seem to understand an important distinction: the truth of the existence of an experience is not the same as the truth of the interpretation of that experience. One can grant that TL had a very important, very profound, very intense experience that changed his life in a multitude of (good) ways. This does not, however, require agreeing that TL had an experience of "God," either in the orthodox Christian sense or in some personally defined sense. TL could be completely wrong in his interpretation of what he experienced without that affecting the truth of having had an experience.
I'm not quite sure why so many people feel to realize and appreciate this crucial distinction. It's one that they are able to make in other situations, but when it comes to "religious" or "mystical" experience, all common sense and skepticism go right out the window."
Read full article
Technorati Tags : atheism, personal experiences
The dog, the maid and an ugly can of worms.
Its not once but many times that i've seen maids taking dogs out for a walk. I always thought spending time together was an expression of love. So i thought if the dog owner really loved his/her dog, then he/she should spend time with their own dog, which includes taking the dog out for a walk. So why is the maid taking the dog out for a walk instead?
If someone cannot afford to spend time with the dog, then why adopt the pet in the first place. If you're gonna get a dog, and then get a maid to walk your dog, then why not use the money to fund a pet shop instead? Or even fund the monkeys to let them earn their peanuts.
And the maids who walk the dogs, most of them that i see, were not holding onto any pieces of paper which could be used to scoop up after the dog!
Speaking of maids, i shall digress. It truly is distressing to hear that there are employers who do not see the need to be humane enough to give their maids a weekly off. "Once a month is what is commonly given by other employers." i was told.. wth
Gah.. even more distressing when such an employer also happens to employ me..
Technorati Tags : Irresponsible Pet Owners
If someone cannot afford to spend time with the dog, then why adopt the pet in the first place. If you're gonna get a dog, and then get a maid to walk your dog, then why not use the money to fund a pet shop instead? Or even fund the monkeys to let them earn their peanuts.
And the maids who walk the dogs, most of them that i see, were not holding onto any pieces of paper which could be used to scoop up after the dog!
Speaking of maids, i shall digress. It truly is distressing to hear that there are employers who do not see the need to be humane enough to give their maids a weekly off. "Once a month is what is commonly given by other employers." i was told.. wth
Gah.. even more distressing when such an employer also happens to employ me..
Technorati Tags : Irresponsible Pet Owners
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Is Christmas Pagan
A study to find out whether Christmas is a pagan holiday by from Good News About God
"The Bible does not tell us when Jesus was born. However, we know that the angels announced the birth of Christ to the Bethlehem shepherds in the open fields who were tending their flocks by night.. This fact certainly implies that the birth of Jesus could NOT have been on the 25th of December. "The cold of the night in Palestine between December and February is very piercing, and it was not customary for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October." Hislop, A., The Two Babylons, Loiseaux Brothers, Neptune, N.J. pg 91
...
The Christianization of Pagan holidays began about the fourth century A.D. when the Roman Emperor Constantine, became (or feigned becoming) a Christian. In order to consolidate his rule, he incorporated the Pagan holidays and festivals into the church ritual - attracting the Pagans, but he gave the holidays and festivals new "Christian" names and identities - thus appeasing the Christians. Over the centuries, this practice has continued until the present time where we find the two systems, Paganism and Christianity, almost indistinguishable."
Read full article
Technorati Tags : Christmas Pagan Origins
"The Bible does not tell us when Jesus was born. However, we know that the angels announced the birth of Christ to the Bethlehem shepherds in the open fields who were tending their flocks by night.. This fact certainly implies that the birth of Jesus could NOT have been on the 25th of December. "The cold of the night in Palestine between December and February is very piercing, and it was not customary for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October." Hislop, A., The Two Babylons, Loiseaux Brothers, Neptune, N.J. pg 91
...
The Christianization of Pagan holidays began about the fourth century A.D. when the Roman Emperor Constantine, became (or feigned becoming) a Christian. In order to consolidate his rule, he incorporated the Pagan holidays and festivals into the church ritual - attracting the Pagans, but he gave the holidays and festivals new "Christian" names and identities - thus appeasing the Christians. Over the centuries, this practice has continued until the present time where we find the two systems, Paganism and Christianity, almost indistinguishable."
Read full article
Technorati Tags : Christmas Pagan Origins
Monday, December 19, 2005
Accidents
Was onto mr Wang's series of posts on articles/letters about marriage. I'll quote some of the comments.
Excerpt :
Gabrielle : "Being married means having to be ready for kids, even if u say u don't want kids, there are ACCIDENTS."
Mr Wang : "Heheh. If you're single, you also have to be ready for kids. Even if you say you don't want kids, there are ACCIDENTS. Of course, if you permanently abstain from sex, then there will be no ACCIDENTS, but then, boy, if you permanently abstain, then you really suffer from a lack of QOL. Kekeke."
QOL is acronym for Quality Of Life.
Don't worry, the Bandit is not going to start espousing the importance of breaking chastity vows even if you intend to keep a celibacy vow (Though there are definitions of celibacy by some dictionaries which includes non-nookie). Nor am i going to start discussing whether marriage is expensive or not. Burden or not. Financial planning or not. Though it is certainly mind boggling to think that marriage is nothing more than a certificate to buy houses below the age of 35 (or was it 30?) and license for moral nookie.
I'm sure every now and then we hear from married friends that they didn't want to have kids or didn't want them yet, but had an accident and thus a new begining was um.. begun. And such accidents are surprisingly common enough. But it makes me wonder however, whether these accidents that occured was due to failure of contraceptive or failure to use contraceptive (properly).
A quick survey from a rather fond friend was that of the many accidents that my friend has heard of, it seemed, is always due to a failure to use contraceptive. That instead of protection (causes lost of feeling or loses the moment during its application, or so i was told) the couples try to time their nookie during the non-ovulation period of the menstrual cycle. But since human bodies are not precise clocks..
As such, i find that to avoid marriage or nookie because of a fear of accidents as not a very good reason. With failure rate of only 3% with proper protection, unwanted pregnancy should be the least of worries (if children is not desired that is). Now.. what does 3% mean? It doesn't mean 3 times out of 100 nookie, a girl would get pregnant. The study was done in the context of, 3 girls out of a 100 girls, who use proper protection over a period of 1 year, would get pregnant.
But if you get statistics from religious pro-life sites, you'll find that they claim condoms as useless, or something to that effect. They often use out of context statistics for their claims. The reason being that they are trying to advocate abstinence, not safe nookie. The detrimental side effect is that people might think that since contraception is useless, they go without it instead.
But i digressed.
Help fight HIV/AIDS, teach safe sex, not abstinence.
Excerpt :
Gabrielle : "Being married means having to be ready for kids, even if u say u don't want kids, there are ACCIDENTS."
Mr Wang : "Heheh. If you're single, you also have to be ready for kids. Even if you say you don't want kids, there are ACCIDENTS. Of course, if you permanently abstain from sex, then there will be no ACCIDENTS, but then, boy, if you permanently abstain, then you really suffer from a lack of QOL. Kekeke."
QOL is acronym for Quality Of Life.
Don't worry, the Bandit is not going to start espousing the importance of breaking chastity vows even if you intend to keep a celibacy vow (Though there are definitions of celibacy by some dictionaries which includes non-nookie). Nor am i going to start discussing whether marriage is expensive or not. Burden or not. Financial planning or not. Though it is certainly mind boggling to think that marriage is nothing more than a certificate to buy houses below the age of 35 (or was it 30?) and license for moral nookie.
I'm sure every now and then we hear from married friends that they didn't want to have kids or didn't want them yet, but had an accident and thus a new begining was um.. begun. And such accidents are surprisingly common enough. But it makes me wonder however, whether these accidents that occured was due to failure of contraceptive or failure to use contraceptive (properly).
A quick survey from a rather fond friend was that of the many accidents that my friend has heard of, it seemed, is always due to a failure to use contraceptive. That instead of protection (causes lost of feeling or loses the moment during its application, or so i was told) the couples try to time their nookie during the non-ovulation period of the menstrual cycle. But since human bodies are not precise clocks..
As such, i find that to avoid marriage or nookie because of a fear of accidents as not a very good reason. With failure rate of only 3% with proper protection, unwanted pregnancy should be the least of worries (if children is not desired that is). Now.. what does 3% mean? It doesn't mean 3 times out of 100 nookie, a girl would get pregnant. The study was done in the context of, 3 girls out of a 100 girls, who use proper protection over a period of 1 year, would get pregnant.
But if you get statistics from religious pro-life sites, you'll find that they claim condoms as useless, or something to that effect. They often use out of context statistics for their claims. The reason being that they are trying to advocate abstinence, not safe nookie. The detrimental side effect is that people might think that since contraception is useless, they go without it instead.
But i digressed.
Help fight HIV/AIDS, teach safe sex, not abstinence.
One long weekend ago
Note to self, never to underestimate the power of the sun. I got a nasty sunburn on my back and right shoulder during the weekend. Reason why my left shoulder managed to escape the wrath of the sun god was that i managed to get some sun block lotion slathered onto it. It was alright the first day of burn, but later on, it was unbearable to sleep on my right side.
I shall digress. People who have heard me speak in person might have heard me saying that i'm gonna quit after getting the year end bonus. Lessons 101, if you suspect that your employees are going to quit after bonus, what are you going to do? Easy lah, don't give bonus loh, or so i heard that's what's going to be happening. *sigh*
More digression. Memoirs of a Geisha is going on big screen in around a month's time. And i haven't started reading the book yet. Gotta hurry and read quickly. I don't wanna watch the movie before i read the book and i don't wanna miss the movie either.
Digress back. Woah, Wild Wild Wet in downtown east is really nice. If nothing else, i could spend all day there just looking at babes in bikini : D
Movie Review
The Promise
The show is pretty weird. I was told that the actors and actresses were chosen for the movie and a script and storyline was built around them. Some kind of a bottom up movie making.
The problem with the show was that it seems to be trying to incorporate too many story/movie elements and unfolding all of them in a string of two second revelations. The result was that the storyline was so lame and non-sequitur that it was hilarious. The show ended with me laughing, not with the movie but at the movie.
Horrigible.
My rating * (out of five)
I shall digress. People who have heard me speak in person might have heard me saying that i'm gonna quit after getting the year end bonus. Lessons 101, if you suspect that your employees are going to quit after bonus, what are you going to do? Easy lah, don't give bonus loh, or so i heard that's what's going to be happening. *sigh*
More digression. Memoirs of a Geisha is going on big screen in around a month's time. And i haven't started reading the book yet. Gotta hurry and read quickly. I don't wanna watch the movie before i read the book and i don't wanna miss the movie either.
Digress back. Woah, Wild Wild Wet in downtown east is really nice. If nothing else, i could spend all day there just looking at babes in bikini : D
Movie Review
The Promise
The show is pretty weird. I was told that the actors and actresses were chosen for the movie and a script and storyline was built around them. Some kind of a bottom up movie making.
The problem with the show was that it seems to be trying to incorporate too many story/movie elements and unfolding all of them in a string of two second revelations. The result was that the storyline was so lame and non-sequitur that it was hilarious. The show ended with me laughing, not with the movie but at the movie.
Horrigible.
My rating * (out of five)
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Fake horoscope works just as well?
The following excerpt is from Astrology Zine, written and copyrighted 2001 by Michael Star, titled A Skeptic's Bait-and-Switch Trick.
Excerpt :
"I once saw a documentary show on public television about a skeptic named "the Amazing Randi" - who had worked as a professional magician. He told a group of young men and women in a classroom that they would be given horoscope readings about themselves if they submitted their birth data. When they were handed out their printed "horoscope readings" and had read them over, they were polled by asking them to raise their hands if they thought the readings accurately described them. Most everyone put up his or her hand.
Then Randi told them to hand the reading to the person behind them and read that "horoscope" to see how accurately IT described them. That was when each of them noticed that they had all been reading a copy of the SAME printed reading!
...
This so-called "experiment" only "proved" that someone like Randi could write a FAKE horoscope reading that WOULD apply to anyone; and that he could LIE to them to make them think they were reading a real horoscope reading about themselves, and that they would agree that the fake reading did appear to accurately describe them.
It did NOT prove that a REAL horoscope reading would or would not describe them accurately; and it did NOT prove that if they exchanged their REAL horoscope reading with another person, then that person would agree that it also described them accurately. No REAL horoscopes were even used in this "experiment". Real horoscopes based on the unique time and place of birth of each individual in the group would all have been different, not the same. "
***********************************
Seems almost believable. Though one might think to ask in what sense would horoscope matter to anyone if both fake and real horoscope accurately describes the person. The argument is nothing more than a variation of a Not a True Scotsman fallacy. Fake horoscope is not a "REAL" horoscope. Inaccurate horoscope are not "REAL" horoscope. Probably the only "REAL" horoscope is as and when Michael says so.
Techorati Tags : horoscope Michael Star Not a true Scotsman Non falsifiability
Excerpt :
"I once saw a documentary show on public television about a skeptic named "the Amazing Randi" - who had worked as a professional magician. He told a group of young men and women in a classroom that they would be given horoscope readings about themselves if they submitted their birth data. When they were handed out their printed "horoscope readings" and had read them over, they were polled by asking them to raise their hands if they thought the readings accurately described them. Most everyone put up his or her hand.
Then Randi told them to hand the reading to the person behind them and read that "horoscope" to see how accurately IT described them. That was when each of them noticed that they had all been reading a copy of the SAME printed reading!
...
This so-called "experiment" only "proved" that someone like Randi could write a FAKE horoscope reading that WOULD apply to anyone; and that he could LIE to them to make them think they were reading a real horoscope reading about themselves, and that they would agree that the fake reading did appear to accurately describe them.
It did NOT prove that a REAL horoscope reading would or would not describe them accurately; and it did NOT prove that if they exchanged their REAL horoscope reading with another person, then that person would agree that it also described them accurately. No REAL horoscopes were even used in this "experiment". Real horoscopes based on the unique time and place of birth of each individual in the group would all have been different, not the same. "
***********************************
Seems almost believable. Though one might think to ask in what sense would horoscope matter to anyone if both fake and real horoscope accurately describes the person. The argument is nothing more than a variation of a Not a True Scotsman fallacy. Fake horoscope is not a "REAL" horoscope. Inaccurate horoscope are not "REAL" horoscope. Probably the only "REAL" horoscope is as and when Michael says so.
Techorati Tags : horoscope Michael Star Not a true Scotsman Non falsifiability
I bleeped on Guy Watch Radar
I was in the northeast mrt, going home slightly later, coz a customer came to look at stuff rather late. Reading through Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, with the main character, Robert Langdon, almost dying before getting to have nookie married with the main girl of the story, i had my babe watch radar switched off. Though i had a feeler of consciousness primed for the words "Serangoon" so i won't miss my stop.
When the mrt was about to reach my stop, i went "scuse me" in my usual can't-feel-the-words-in-the-voicebox whisper. Squeezing through towards the door and then..
Heartbeat.
Did the girl just look at me? I casually (as casual as looking at girls could be) glanced at her, eyes meet and then the all too familiar ritual of averting the eyes by both kicked in. Okie.. anyway, the girl looked kind of pretty, and since i was gonna alight soon, i started stuffing my book into my bag and then..
Heartbeat.
Did the girl just shift her body facing towards me and looked at me directly? I glance one more time at her and frankly, i'm more used to girls noticing me looking at them than me noticing them looking at me. Maybe i had a mushroom growing on my head or something. Then again..
Godammit, smile Bandit! Next time smile at the girl!
Not bad leh.. I bleeped on someone's Guy Watch Radar. I feel so sexy now. Oi.. show some support lah, stop vommiting.
And yah.. the universe revolves around me.
When the mrt was about to reach my stop, i went "scuse me" in my usual can't-feel-the-words-in-the-voicebox whisper. Squeezing through towards the door and then..
Heartbeat.
Did the girl just look at me? I casually (as casual as looking at girls could be) glanced at her, eyes meet and then the all too familiar ritual of averting the eyes by both kicked in. Okie.. anyway, the girl looked kind of pretty, and since i was gonna alight soon, i started stuffing my book into my bag and then..
Heartbeat.
Did the girl just shift her body facing towards me and looked at me directly? I glance one more time at her and frankly, i'm more used to girls noticing me looking at them than me noticing them looking at me. Maybe i had a mushroom growing on my head or something. Then again..
Godammit, smile Bandit! Next time smile at the girl!
Not bad leh.. I bleeped on someone's Guy Watch Radar. I feel so sexy now. Oi.. show some support lah, stop vommiting.
And yah.. the universe revolves around me.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Numa Numa song
The numa numa craze. The original song is either Dragostea din Tei by O-Zone or Haiducii by Paula Mitrache. Many parodys have since been made. There's Chicken Little singing it, there's Guo Mei Mei in the mandarin version.
Wiki Dragostea din Tei
Wiki Haiducii
Wiki Numa Numa
A rather popular paraody by Gary Bolsma. (Warning, this version is somewhat uncut. Obscenities contatined within. For the cut version, try this link instead.)
Lyrics of the numa numa song mimicked by Gary Bolsma. The original song by O-Zone has a fourth set of lyrics not mimicked by Gary Bolsma. But i'm not at liberty to post it here.
[Ma-ia-hii
Ma-ia-hoo
Ma-ia-ha
Ma-ia-haha] x 4
Alo, Salut, sunt eu, un haiduc,
Si te rog, iubirea mea, primeste fericirea.
Alo, alo, sunt eu Picasso,
Ti-am dat beep, si sunt voinic,
Dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic.
[Vrei sa pleci dar nu ma, nu ma iei,
Nu ma, nu ma iei, nu ma, nu ma, nu ma iei.
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei,
Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.] x 2
English Translation
Ma-ia-hii
Ma-ia-hoo
Ma-ia-ha
Ma-ia-haha
Hello [on a cellphone], greetings, it’s me, an outlaw,
I ask you, my love, to accept happiness.
Hello, hello, it’s me, Picasso,
I sent you a beep [cellphone signal], and I’m brave [or strong],
But you should know that I’m not asking for anything from you.
You want to leave but you don’t want don’t want to take me, don’t want don’t want to take me, don’t want don’t want don’t want to take me.
Your face and the love from the linden trees,
And I remember your eyes.
Numa numa Gary Bolsma
Wiki Dragostea din Tei
Wiki Haiducii
Wiki Numa Numa
A rather popular paraody by Gary Bolsma. (Warning, this version is somewhat uncut. Obscenities contatined within. For the cut version, try this link instead.)
Lyrics of the numa numa song mimicked by Gary Bolsma. The original song by O-Zone has a fourth set of lyrics not mimicked by Gary Bolsma. But i'm not at liberty to post it here.
[Ma-ia-hii
Ma-ia-hoo
Ma-ia-ha
Ma-ia-haha] x 4
Alo, Salut, sunt eu, un haiduc,
Si te rog, iubirea mea, primeste fericirea.
Alo, alo, sunt eu Picasso,
Ti-am dat beep, si sunt voinic,
Dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic.
[Vrei sa pleci dar nu ma, nu ma iei,
Nu ma, nu ma iei, nu ma, nu ma, nu ma iei.
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei,
Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.] x 2
English Translation
Ma-ia-hii
Ma-ia-hoo
Ma-ia-ha
Ma-ia-haha
Hello [on a cellphone], greetings, it’s me, an outlaw,
I ask you, my love, to accept happiness.
Hello, hello, it’s me, Picasso,
I sent you a beep [cellphone signal], and I’m brave [or strong],
But you should know that I’m not asking for anything from you.
You want to leave but you don’t want don’t want to take me, don’t want don’t want to take me, don’t want don’t want don’t want to take me.
Your face and the love from the linden trees,
And I remember your eyes.
Numa numa Gary Bolsma
Monday, December 12, 2005
Waffle with two ice-cream at Gelare for only $2.50
Dancin Kid called me sometime during work yesterday for a dinner. The arrangement was such that she would choose an mrt station, and i would choose the food to eat. When i said that we should eat japanese at Far East Plaza, she grimaced. Apparently, she had japanese buffet the day before. Oh well..
The tiny jap restaurant at level five of Far East Plaza is kind of nice. Despite being served by a grumpy frumpy chef, who seems to be more amusing than angry, the tiny-ness of the place makes dining rather cozy. The place is so tiny that only a maximum of twelve customers could eat at one time.
The tiny restaurant is definitely one of the places i would return to. But given the limited number of dining seats, i wouldn't be able to go with a larger group of friends. Which kind of sux when half the people i know do not take sushi.
After dinner and some shopping, we headed to Gelare for some ice-cream (two) on waffle (one). Kind of got fogged when i asked her how much the stuff were. Five dollars she said. Looking at the menu, the waffle was four dollars, so the price of the ice-cream was 50c each, which kind of didn't make sense considering the comparative price of the waffle.
Turns out that she assumed that i would try to pay for the whole thing, she conveniently divided the cost in half before telling me to avoid me paying for the whole thing. But considering the amount of additional stuff that came on top of the waffle, i do believe the price to be much more than ten dollars. Hmm.. Cunning.
The tiny jap restaurant at level five of Far East Plaza is kind of nice. Despite being served by a grumpy frumpy chef, who seems to be more amusing than angry, the tiny-ness of the place makes dining rather cozy. The place is so tiny that only a maximum of twelve customers could eat at one time.
The tiny restaurant is definitely one of the places i would return to. But given the limited number of dining seats, i wouldn't be able to go with a larger group of friends. Which kind of sux when half the people i know do not take sushi.
After dinner and some shopping, we headed to Gelare for some ice-cream (two) on waffle (one). Kind of got fogged when i asked her how much the stuff were. Five dollars she said. Looking at the menu, the waffle was four dollars, so the price of the ice-cream was 50c each, which kind of didn't make sense considering the comparative price of the waffle.
Turns out that she assumed that i would try to pay for the whole thing, she conveniently divided the cost in half before telling me to avoid me paying for the whole thing. But considering the amount of additional stuff that came on top of the waffle, i do believe the price to be much more than ten dollars. Hmm.. Cunning.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
All i wish for christmas is my two front teeth... and world peace
Since i hadn't had enough sleep, it's hard to get enough sleep when they're showing Ma Xiao Ling on Tv on Sunday nights (i like the story, not the girl), and not having anything to talk about, and having a little too much on my mind which i do not talk about, i've decided to blog a little about what anyone can buy me for Christmas. Yeah, another of my cheap shot at getting christmas presents.
As some of you would know, i have a hobby in collectible cards, namely Magic the Gathering. But do not buy me any Magic the Gathering products because if there is any card that i wanted, i would have bought it myself already. Even books, i buy them as they get released. Unless you're planning to buy me a 1000usd Black Lotus. And if you did, i would say you're siao (insane).
The easiest buy for me would actually be books. Well.. i've been hoping to get The Annotated Alice. But then, there is game theory involved. What if you (whoever) gave me the book, but someone else who also reads this blog (whoever) also gives me the book. Then i would have two or more copies of The Annotated Alice. Conversely, if everyone thought the same way (that someone else was gonna give it to me), than i would have zero copies of The Annotated Alice.
One way around the game theory problem is to call dibs on the book in the comments section, then the rest would know not to get me the book. Not that i think anyone is gonna get me Christmas presents lol : D Think of it as a form of Pascal's Wager.
Alternatively, if anyone wanted to buy me a book, he/she could get me a book that's not The Annotated Alice. So i'll provide a list of books which i already have, as far as i could remember, so that he/she would know what genre of books i prefer.
- Harry Potter One to Four
- Pain in the Neck by Grace Chow
- Dan Brown's books, the two which has Robert Langdon as main character in it.
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Dragonlance, combined with my cousin, i think we have almost the entire collection
- Asiapac Comics, combined with my cousins, i think we have almost the entire collection of the older books.
- Celestial Zone comic, i stopped somewhere in the middle of series one. You could be a darling and buy me the rest of series one and the whole of series two : p
- Two serial killer books by Mark Billingham (Scary huh, me reading these books.) I have Scaredy Cat and Sleepy Head.
There is an alternative wishlist which is not much different from Runnin' Kid's.
As some of you would know, i have a hobby in collectible cards, namely Magic the Gathering. But do not buy me any Magic the Gathering products because if there is any card that i wanted, i would have bought it myself already. Even books, i buy them as they get released. Unless you're planning to buy me a 1000usd Black Lotus. And if you did, i would say you're siao (insane).
The easiest buy for me would actually be books. Well.. i've been hoping to get The Annotated Alice. But then, there is game theory involved. What if you (whoever) gave me the book, but someone else who also reads this blog (whoever) also gives me the book. Then i would have two or more copies of The Annotated Alice. Conversely, if everyone thought the same way (that someone else was gonna give it to me), than i would have zero copies of The Annotated Alice.
One way around the game theory problem is to call dibs on the book in the comments section, then the rest would know not to get me the book. Not that i think anyone is gonna get me Christmas presents lol : D Think of it as a form of Pascal's Wager.
Alternatively, if anyone wanted to buy me a book, he/she could get me a book that's not The Annotated Alice. So i'll provide a list of books which i already have, as far as i could remember, so that he/she would know what genre of books i prefer.
- Harry Potter One to Four
- Pain in the Neck by Grace Chow
- Dan Brown's books, the two which has Robert Langdon as main character in it.
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Dragonlance, combined with my cousin, i think we have almost the entire collection
- Asiapac Comics, combined with my cousins, i think we have almost the entire collection of the older books.
- Celestial Zone comic, i stopped somewhere in the middle of series one. You could be a darling and buy me the rest of series one and the whole of series two : p
- Two serial killer books by Mark Billingham (Scary huh, me reading these books.) I have Scaredy Cat and Sleepy Head.
There is an alternative wishlist which is not much different from Runnin' Kid's.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
I need new pants : (
Bleahz.. you know you're becoming fat when the button on your pants just burst and fly away when you zip up. I need exercise..
Thursday, December 8, 2005
heartless-bitches.com
I have no idea what keywords i was googling for. One moment i was sieving through the game theory and prisoner dilemma articles, the next moment, i was at Heartless Bitches reading the similarities between a nice guy and me. Omg, i'm a nice guy.. but.. but.., i'm nasty >:-) Oh well..
Heartless Bitches has several really good articles which i'm linking to here.
Overcoming "Niceguy-itus" Series Part One
Overcoming "Niceguy-itus" Series Part Two
Nice guys we can do without
What is Misogyny?
And some humour. Maybe not humour, but i find it funny, so i call it humour. Lawyers always get shite slinging their way lol.
10 Reasons Women (who aren't Heartless Bitches!) Date Jerks Instead of Nice Guys
Do spend some time reading through Heartless Bitches.
Heartless Bitches has several really good articles which i'm linking to here.
Overcoming "Niceguy-itus" Series Part One
Overcoming "Niceguy-itus" Series Part Two
Nice guys we can do without
What is Misogyny?
And some humour. Maybe not humour, but i find it funny, so i call it humour. Lawyers always get shite slinging their way lol.
10 Reasons Women (who aren't Heartless Bitches!) Date Jerks Instead of Nice Guys
Do spend some time reading through Heartless Bitches.
Formula for love
A rather interesting article :) A laboratory experiment for love. SDU has lessons to learn. Gives me the chills to think that match making might one day come down to behavior influencing.
Excerpts from estephen at emf.net
Excerpt :
"Here's how it's done in a lab: Take two people who have never met, put them in a room together for 90 minutes and instruct them to exchange intimate information, such as their most embarrassing moment and how they would feel if they lost a parent.
Have them stare into each other's eyes for two minutes without talking. At intervals, bring in a researcher who says, "OK, tell the other person what you already like about him.""
What are the risks?
Excerpt :
"Self disclosure is tricky, Aron admits. It has to be reciprocal. If you're the only one pouring out your heart, your date is likely to recommend a good shrink. However, mutual disclosure creates a connection on a deeper level and shows the other person that you trust him or her.
By talking intimately, his subjects risked being embarrassed, and risk is another factor in forging an immediate attraction.
The bigger the risk, the faster you become attracted. My friend Michael fell in love with his wife on their second date when he spun the car around on an icy road in front of a bus.
"We ended up in a ditch. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. It was a very dear moment," he recalled.
I am not suggesting going to these lengths. However, if the thought doesn't absolutely terrify you, you might consider a river rafting trip or scuba diving lessons. You can never tell whose hand you will end up with in a moment of panic."
Read the full article
Excerpts from estephen at emf.net
Excerpt :
"Here's how it's done in a lab: Take two people who have never met, put them in a room together for 90 minutes and instruct them to exchange intimate information, such as their most embarrassing moment and how they would feel if they lost a parent.
Have them stare into each other's eyes for two minutes without talking. At intervals, bring in a researcher who says, "OK, tell the other person what you already like about him.""
What are the risks?
Excerpt :
"Self disclosure is tricky, Aron admits. It has to be reciprocal. If you're the only one pouring out your heart, your date is likely to recommend a good shrink. However, mutual disclosure creates a connection on a deeper level and shows the other person that you trust him or her.
By talking intimately, his subjects risked being embarrassed, and risk is another factor in forging an immediate attraction.
The bigger the risk, the faster you become attracted. My friend Michael fell in love with his wife on their second date when he spun the car around on an icy road in front of a bus.
"We ended up in a ditch. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. It was a very dear moment," he recalled.
I am not suggesting going to these lengths. However, if the thought doesn't absolutely terrify you, you might consider a river rafting trip or scuba diving lessons. You can never tell whose hand you will end up with in a moment of panic."
Read the full article
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Where's my brain?
The second day was rather.. sleepy. I woke up at eight am, went for the included buffet breakfast and returned to the room to sleep till tweleve pm. Since i was not able to get a delaying of the check out, i had to check out of the room by one pm even though the bus leaves only at six forty-five pm. Before i left the room, i double checked if i left anything behind. Then i tripled checked. Satisfied, i took the lift down to the lobby. Apparently, i did leave something behind, my brain.
After checking out, i decided to leave my bag with the baggage section. I approached the porter and he asked me for my room. Having slept so much and having left my brain in the room, i went like "Uh.. uh.. four.. uh.. four.. four-five-one". The porter thought about it abit, then went like, "Four-one-five?", and i went like "Ya ya.", apparently there wasn't any room four-five-one in the hotel.
When i left the hotel to head towards KLCC, i realised that four-five-one could not possibly be the correct number, coz i stayed at level five! But i didn't give much care to it as i didn't think there would be any problem with mixed up baggage. Except that my bus ticket home was in my bag..
Then the idea extrapolated. What if i get arrested by police under the suspicion of leaving a bomb behind under someone else's name? And more extrapolation. What if i get arrested because someone from room four-one-five left a bomb behind!
Nagging conspiracy theories, however improbable, soon became a burden heavier than my bag and i figured i'll just trade it away for the bag.
And so i lugged my bag to KLCC for lunch, then went back to the hotel's cafe/bar for a cup of coffee to read my book. The boarding of the bus was at the same hotel.
Boarded the bus, returned to Nogum's Waterfront Plaza at around one am. Pleasantly, there were bunches of babes in spagehtti, halter necks, tube tops, short skirts and short shorts hanging out around the taxi stand of the hotel. They just finished their partying or something. Ah.. at last, long legs and ample shoulders, despite the merciless rain, the powers that be seemed merciful that night. What a beautiful night.
After checking out, i decided to leave my bag with the baggage section. I approached the porter and he asked me for my room. Having slept so much and having left my brain in the room, i went like "Uh.. uh.. four.. uh.. four.. four-five-one". The porter thought about it abit, then went like, "Four-one-five?", and i went like "Ya ya.", apparently there wasn't any room four-five-one in the hotel.
When i left the hotel to head towards KLCC, i realised that four-five-one could not possibly be the correct number, coz i stayed at level five! But i didn't give much care to it as i didn't think there would be any problem with mixed up baggage. Except that my bus ticket home was in my bag..
Then the idea extrapolated. What if i get arrested by police under the suspicion of leaving a bomb behind under someone else's name? And more extrapolation. What if i get arrested because someone from room four-one-five left a bomb behind!
Nagging conspiracy theories, however improbable, soon became a burden heavier than my bag and i figured i'll just trade it away for the bag.
And so i lugged my bag to KLCC for lunch, then went back to the hotel's cafe/bar for a cup of coffee to read my book. The boarding of the bus was at the same hotel.
Boarded the bus, returned to Nogum's Waterfront Plaza at around one am. Pleasantly, there were bunches of babes in spagehtti, halter necks, tube tops, short skirts and short shorts hanging out around the taxi stand of the hotel. They just finished their partying or something. Ah.. at last, long legs and ample shoulders, despite the merciless rain, the powers that be seemed merciful that night. What a beautiful night.
KLCC and more
I'm back from KL. Stuff was over fast and furious in day one. Things always ends quickly when i keep nodding my head in agreement to whatever. Fortunately, my colleague, who told me not to call her, answered my phone call and helped me out. God bless her.
Anyway, the uninteresting things aside, that evening, i went to KLCC, which was five minutes walk away from the hotel. The place was huge, packing Starbucks, Secret Recipe, Coffee Bean, one on top of each other in different levels. Ikea, or was it Isetan, spanned all six levels. Perfume shops set up booths all around to spray their samples. Behind the shopping complex was a fountain park which i guess would have been nice to walk with your girlfriend or boyfriend were it not sunny a moment and raining the next.
But shops to me are like the different brands of cigarettes to a non-smoker.
My boss was with me as we went for dinner together, and i was eager to get back to the hotel on the pretext that i wanted to sleep (at eight pm). Only then would i have managed to ditch him to return to KLCC to start shopping alone. I wonder what it is with old men that makes them think i like to shop with them.. I'll shop with girls anytime any day, but shopping with old men who spend more time at work than at home, hmm.. the thought of it sends shivers. Ditching my boss was of paramount importance if i didn't want him to start talking about work.
Back at the hotel, after a not so quick shower, the sky began pouring water onto the ground, making it impossible to get back to KLCC, much less getting a cup of latte from starbucks. I then headed to the cafe/bar in the hotel to grab some drinks. I figured if i didn't get coffee, i'll get alcohol instead.
Not thinking that i'll pick anyone up or get picked up by anyone, i slipped into my sandals and went to the cafe/bar, wearing a T-shirt. I doubted that anyone would be attracted by the extreme lack of charm.
The cafe/bar was featuring a band for the week, the band was D Mystique. The band consist of four members, two ladies and two guys. Of the four, three were singers, so it was one guy who did all of the musical instruments. The band's from Philipines and was here in Nogum in 2002 to perform in Orchard Towers, or so i was told by one of the members. And one of the ladies, was rather gorgeous. She had a very nice voice too.
I was sitting at the blue table facing the red podium. In fact, my table was the only table that was left of the podium, behind me was a wall. So for anyone in the band to look at me while facing the majority of the audience, the person would have to do a sort of 90 degree turn with the neck. And i swear, the gorgeous singer was peeking at me every now and then.
After their first set, the band went around shaking hands, chatting with the audience asking where everyone was from. The other lady came over and asked me, "You're alone?". A question which i had no idea how to answer, especially when its coming from a lady. Its not like i could reply, "Coz i anti-social mah" {Thinking back, i could have replied, "i've got you to keep me company" (Don't be so lecherous lah, by you i meant plural, the whole band)}. Then the gorgeous singer came over and went like, "You're alone!" That wasn't even a question..
And i went like, "I have an empty bed in my room, come and stay with me!"
And she went like, "Yeah sure, i have no place to stay anyway!"
And then i kind of woke up from my fantasy to sip my ever so alone alcohol.
I left after their second set, they had four sets to do. A note to self, if i ever wanted to drink, i should either go for value for quantity (beer) or value for quality (brandy). Getting drinks that rate somewhere in the middle was definitely not worth it. As it was, two glasses of one third full drinks costed me 72 ringgit.
Oh.. there was a girl, Linda, among the audience with her friends. She exuded a rather cute personality, giggly, prancy and stuff. Um.. yeah giggly and prancy are attractive, not the quiet too-serious demeanour. That is if anyone cares to heed this bit of advice from the bandit.
Anyway, there was this other mixed group some tables away. Couple of the ang mos got up, walked over to Linda's table, asked for her name. Um.. that's how i got her name, when they called to her later from their table. And i was like, wa... εδΎ so easy η. Um.. to know the name that is..
Anyway, the uninteresting things aside, that evening, i went to KLCC, which was five minutes walk away from the hotel. The place was huge, packing Starbucks, Secret Recipe, Coffee Bean, one on top of each other in different levels. Ikea, or was it Isetan, spanned all six levels. Perfume shops set up booths all around to spray their samples. Behind the shopping complex was a fountain park which i guess would have been nice to walk with your girlfriend or boyfriend were it not sunny a moment and raining the next.
But shops to me are like the different brands of cigarettes to a non-smoker.
My boss was with me as we went for dinner together, and i was eager to get back to the hotel on the pretext that i wanted to sleep (at eight pm). Only then would i have managed to ditch him to return to KLCC to start shopping alone. I wonder what it is with old men that makes them think i like to shop with them.. I'll shop with girls anytime any day, but shopping with old men who spend more time at work than at home, hmm.. the thought of it sends shivers. Ditching my boss was of paramount importance if i didn't want him to start talking about work.
Back at the hotel, after a not so quick shower, the sky began pouring water onto the ground, making it impossible to get back to KLCC, much less getting a cup of latte from starbucks. I then headed to the cafe/bar in the hotel to grab some drinks. I figured if i didn't get coffee, i'll get alcohol instead.
Not thinking that i'll pick anyone up or get picked up by anyone, i slipped into my sandals and went to the cafe/bar, wearing a T-shirt. I doubted that anyone would be attracted by the extreme lack of charm.
The cafe/bar was featuring a band for the week, the band was D Mystique. The band consist of four members, two ladies and two guys. Of the four, three were singers, so it was one guy who did all of the musical instruments. The band's from Philipines and was here in Nogum in 2002 to perform in Orchard Towers, or so i was told by one of the members. And one of the ladies, was rather gorgeous. She had a very nice voice too.
I was sitting at the blue table facing the red podium. In fact, my table was the only table that was left of the podium, behind me was a wall. So for anyone in the band to look at me while facing the majority of the audience, the person would have to do a sort of 90 degree turn with the neck. And i swear, the gorgeous singer was peeking at me every now and then.
After their first set, the band went around shaking hands, chatting with the audience asking where everyone was from. The other lady came over and asked me, "You're alone?". A question which i had no idea how to answer, especially when its coming from a lady. Its not like i could reply, "Coz i anti-social mah" {Thinking back, i could have replied, "i've got you to keep me company" (Don't be so lecherous lah, by you i meant plural, the whole band)}. Then the gorgeous singer came over and went like, "You're alone!" That wasn't even a question..
And i went like, "I have an empty bed in my room, come and stay with me!"
And she went like, "Yeah sure, i have no place to stay anyway!"
And then i kind of woke up from my fantasy to sip my ever so alone alcohol.
I left after their second set, they had four sets to do. A note to self, if i ever wanted to drink, i should either go for value for quantity (beer) or value for quality (brandy). Getting drinks that rate somewhere in the middle was definitely not worth it. As it was, two glasses of one third full drinks costed me 72 ringgit.
Oh.. there was a girl, Linda, among the audience with her friends. She exuded a rather cute personality, giggly, prancy and stuff. Um.. yeah giggly and prancy are attractive, not the quiet too-serious demeanour. That is if anyone cares to heed this bit of advice from the bandit.
Anyway, there was this other mixed group some tables away. Couple of the ang mos got up, walked over to Linda's table, asked for her name. Um.. that's how i got her name, when they called to her later from their table. And i was like, wa... εδΎ so easy η. Um.. to know the name that is..
Sunday, December 4, 2005
Office politics
Death in the most interesting variation. Most people would have thought that small companies are like a little family with little need for office politics. It would seem that i've thought wrongly. Even friends who claim so are merciless in their own agenda. I am in a word, dissapointed.
I would understand if someone tries to backstab me so that he/she could advance her career further. Though i would not be happy, atleast i would understand. It's after all a dog eat dog world, to each his/her own (survival).
What i do not understand is how petty arguments between bosses and colleagues (who is turning rebellious because she is planning to leave [1]) would end up having to use me as implements of vengeance. My bosses wants me to take over my colleague's project because they're unhappy with my colleague. My colleague, on the other hand, asks me not to get help from her since my bosses 'feels' that i could do the job. Both parties seemed to be acting on emotional impulsion.
Since the universe revolves around me, the most pitiful and innocent would of course be me. And this evening, i would embark on a long journey to KL, to face the customers, to smile at them weakly and say "I haven't got a clue as to what is going on.", to suffer whatever emotional manipulation the customer would implement on my dissapointing pressence, to suffer whatever additional politics that exists between the two companies, and to feel bad about myself. Don't you find it all very exciting?
But hey, i get to travel in the job wor, so i am very happy. Not.
Mood : I am ready to leave whether anot there is another job for me to go to.
[1] I also going to leave wat, so i should try to be nasty also is it?
I would understand if someone tries to backstab me so that he/she could advance her career further. Though i would not be happy, atleast i would understand. It's after all a dog eat dog world, to each his/her own (survival).
What i do not understand is how petty arguments between bosses and colleagues (who is turning rebellious because she is planning to leave [1]) would end up having to use me as implements of vengeance. My bosses wants me to take over my colleague's project because they're unhappy with my colleague. My colleague, on the other hand, asks me not to get help from her since my bosses 'feels' that i could do the job. Both parties seemed to be acting on emotional impulsion.
Since the universe revolves around me, the most pitiful and innocent would of course be me. And this evening, i would embark on a long journey to KL, to face the customers, to smile at them weakly and say "I haven't got a clue as to what is going on.", to suffer whatever emotional manipulation the customer would implement on my dissapointing pressence, to suffer whatever additional politics that exists between the two companies, and to feel bad about myself. Don't you find it all very exciting?
But hey, i get to travel in the job wor, so i am very happy. Not.
Mood : I am ready to leave whether anot there is another job for me to go to.
[1] I also going to leave wat, so i should try to be nasty also is it?
The Left Behind Lot : Standard Charter Marathon
This marathon, i'm running twenty one kilometers (half), with much less training than what i had in the army half marathon a couple months back in september. Babe watch for the full run seemed pretty good this year, but the bulk of them still runs half marathon. Kind of explains why i am running half marathon instead of the full marathon, doesn't it?
My capacity for exertion was abyssmal, i turned into walk-a-jog at the eight km mark. Previously i would have gone something like 12 to 14 km before walk-a-jog starts. An important lesson from the run was that induced insomnia and running doesn't really mix. Incidentally, eight km was also the mark where i became dizzy. And fearing that Christianity might be true and that i would have earned a free ride to hell, i decided to solve the impending dilemma, "Sleep, walk or die". Or trilemma.
What has any of these got to do with my degree, Bachelor of Computing? As usual, i would try to run with any babes i come across (More like they come across me since they are overtaking me). But this time, when the girl leaves me behind, instead of considering myself as one with the Left Behind Lot, i assumed that the girl has a boyfriend or husband and i didn't really want to follow too closely as i didn't want to "Tio Mae" (get beaten : literally). Strangely and inexplicably, all the babes either had a boyfriend or husband.
Hmm.. oh well.. i'm having a headache, too tired to think of any graphs to draw.. And i probably won't be able to follow up coz i'll be off to malaysia for three days of work.
My capacity for exertion was abyssmal, i turned into walk-a-jog at the eight km mark. Previously i would have gone something like 12 to 14 km before walk-a-jog starts. An important lesson from the run was that induced insomnia and running doesn't really mix. Incidentally, eight km was also the mark where i became dizzy. And fearing that Christianity might be true and that i would have earned a free ride to hell, i decided to solve the impending dilemma, "Sleep, walk or die". Or trilemma.
What has any of these got to do with my degree, Bachelor of Computing? As usual, i would try to run with any babes i come across (More like they come across me since they are overtaking me). But this time, when the girl leaves me behind, instead of considering myself as one with the Left Behind Lot, i assumed that the girl has a boyfriend or husband and i didn't really want to follow too closely as i didn't want to "Tio Mae" (get beaten : literally). Strangely and inexplicably, all the babes either had a boyfriend or husband.
Hmm.. oh well.. i'm having a headache, too tired to think of any graphs to draw.. And i probably won't be able to follow up coz i'll be off to malaysia for three days of work.
Thursday, December 1, 2005
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