On Monday, I could have broke a leg.
While I was crossing the entrance of a carpark, a on-coming black car swerved in with the exact same speed that it used while it was traversing on the road. I had to take 2 quick steps back for there was no room for I-dare-you games. The driver didn't even bother to look at me; just straight ahead as his car plowed towards its destination...
No turning signals.. Pedestrian (me) was already halfway across.. Didn't bother to slow down..
A pity I was too concerned with glaring rather than noting the car plate number.
No point playing I-dare-you with these drivers. The ultimate loser is you, even with compensation. Can always get even later.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
CPF Online Services Error
Error:
Sorry, this service you have just requested is temporarily unavailable. Please try again.
JW: grrr
Sorry, this service you have just requested is temporarily unavailable. Please try again.
JW: grrr
Monday, September 28, 2009
6 Facebook Easter Eggs & Tips to Show Off
JW: Though the title of the link says "6 Facebook Hack Codes", the author admitted that he did it to grab attention. So "Easter Eggs & Tips" are a more appropiate description of the contents.
Have fun.
link: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-facebook-hack-codes-and-tips-to-show-off-your-geeky-skills/
Have fun.
link: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-facebook-hack-codes-and-tips-to-show-off-your-geeky-skills/
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Why settle for a shadow?
Regarding food, I have long wondered why people would settle for poorer versions when they could afford the real thing? Are dried oysters and dried Shiitake mushrooms anything like the real thing? Are dried durians anything close to the real stuff? It can be close. It can be very close. But it will never be the same.
Were people too poor to afford it in the past? Were they too used to the flavours and now has a liking for it? Or perhaps a mere hint of the taste can give them comfort and they can fill in the gaps themselves?
Were people too poor to afford it in the past? Were they too used to the flavours and now has a liking for it? Or perhaps a mere hint of the taste can give them comfort and they can fill in the gaps themselves?
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Did I see something illegal?
On my way home, I saw a cyclist slowed down and peered at the glass of a park lorry. I thought he was trying to be a peeping tom but later I realised that he was looking *through* the glass.
There's about 6 men near a parked van. A tall lady who looked china born was on the floor. She sounded like she was sobbing. 4 of them lifted her off the road and carried her into the van, closed the door and boarded.
Just like that.
This did not escape the attentions of the patrons of the nearby coffeeshop who were all trying to watch discreetly. So it looked like an abduction to everyone but no one wanted to get into trouble. I took a look at the plate - PA 2248 (?)
Is that a local car plate?
There's about 6 men near a parked van. A tall lady who looked china born was on the floor. She sounded like she was sobbing. 4 of them lifted her off the road and carried her into the van, closed the door and boarded.
Just like that.
This did not escape the attentions of the patrons of the nearby coffeeshop who were all trying to watch discreetly. So it looked like an abduction to everyone but no one wanted to get into trouble. I took a look at the plate - PA 2248 (?)
Is that a local car plate?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
9 (2009 film)
9 (2009 film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_%282009_film%29
9 (2005 film) - the original short film that inspired the current one
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_%282005_film%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_%282009_film%29
9 (2005 film) - the original short film that inspired the current one
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_%282005_film%29
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Powerpuff Gals meeting this Friday
Powerpuff!
Powerpuff!
Blossom, Commander and the leader
Bubbles, She is the joy and the laughter
Buttercup, 'N' She's the toughest fighter
Powerpuffs save the day
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,
The Powerpuff Girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the powerpuff girls
Oh no, it's the mad Fuzzy Lumpkins
Watch out, it's the repulsive Roach Coach
Get him, it's evil Mojo jojo
Chasing evil, it won't stop.
Powerpuffs save the day
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,
The Powerpuff Girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the powerpuff girls
And they'll be
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,
The Powerpuff Girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the powerpuff girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,
The Powerpuff Girls
POWERPUFF!
from: http://www.lyricstime.com/bis-powerpuff-girls-closing-theme-lyrics.html
Powerpuff!
Blossom, Commander and the leader
Bubbles, She is the joy and the laughter
Buttercup, 'N' She's the toughest fighter
Powerpuffs save the day
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,
The Powerpuff Girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the powerpuff girls
Oh no, it's the mad Fuzzy Lumpkins
Watch out, it's the repulsive Roach Coach
Get him, it's evil Mojo jojo
Chasing evil, it won't stop.
Powerpuffs save the day
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,
The Powerpuff Girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the powerpuff girls
And they'll be
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,
The Powerpuff Girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the powerpuff girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,
The Powerpuff Girls
POWERPUFF!
from: http://www.lyricstime.com/bis-powerpuff-girls-closing-theme-lyrics.html
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
In my 10th month at this job
Been very tired this week. Recently recovered from flu, I had to work doubly hard due to missing a day of work. If not for national emergencies like SARS and H1N1, who would you compassionate towards you for being sick? Sick doesn't mean your work goes away. Sick means you got double the work on monday. Is it so strange to understand why people go to work, sick?
Then there's the mounting frustration over being trapped in a cycle of doing administrative work and yet expected to deliver on project work anyway. If I don't, I won't appear to have done "work".
So, I'm very busy doing "nothing" and getting frustrated and drained in the process. It didn't help that there's ad-hoc requests from management to report on our work. Report on what? Report on me doing "nothing"?
This needs a rethink. Whether I want to move vertically or horizontally.
Then there's the mounting frustration over being trapped in a cycle of doing administrative work and yet expected to deliver on project work anyway. If I don't, I won't appear to have done "work".
So, I'm very busy doing "nothing" and getting frustrated and drained in the process. It didn't help that there's ad-hoc requests from management to report on our work. Report on what? Report on me doing "nothing"?
This needs a rethink. Whether I want to move vertically or horizontally.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Dream: Chalets?
Dreams as they go don't make sense. I just thought that it's amusing to log them and read at a future date. Readers might want to skip this entry.
[dream: act 1]
At my dreamworld's Pasir Ris again. This version always had a very remote bus interchange that's always bustling with life and shop. Tonight, we had booked a chalet - a 2 storey apartment unit. What baffled me at the moment was how the swimming pool complex was smack in front of it's doorsteps. Talk about overcrowding!
My family was there and I explained this little quirk has always been this way. In a nod to modernisation, there's a Sakae Sushi restaurant opened in the swimming complex, facing our apartment unit.
[/dream: act 1]
dream2 fled my memory
[dream: act 3]
A family. A stray dog. A family that took in a stray dog. A little girl. A family that gave up the stray dog. The stray dog adopted by a shop owner. On a lease outside the shop. Walked too close. Growled at. Growled back.
In the same setting, I explored the area. Familiar. Streets joined at angles to each other. Little traffic. A lady with her 2 daughters had a makeshift stall in one of the alleys, selling Nonya goodies. Caught the fragrance of steamed cupcakes. Started browsing. Recalled food I had bought earlier and left to waste. "Oh Shit" and knocked over straws and a packet of food. A very wizened old lady said not to mind. Noticed for the first time and realised it's a family of 3 generations tending the stall. Looked at the food again and ordered the steamed cupcakes, explicitly requesting for coconut flesh and coconut sugar. The mother held only coconut sugar in her hands. Noted Otah and was tempted to buy. Thought of ST still sleeping, at this noon hour and intended this to be her breakfast.
[/dream: act 3]
Woke.
Ah Shit. Didn't deliver the food.
Dozed.
[dream: act 1]
At my dreamworld's Pasir Ris again. This version always had a very remote bus interchange that's always bustling with life and shop. Tonight, we had booked a chalet - a 2 storey apartment unit. What baffled me at the moment was how the swimming pool complex was smack in front of it's doorsteps. Talk about overcrowding!
My family was there and I explained this little quirk has always been this way. In a nod to modernisation, there's a Sakae Sushi restaurant opened in the swimming complex, facing our apartment unit.
[/dream: act 1]
dream2 fled my memory
[dream: act 3]
A family. A stray dog. A family that took in a stray dog. A little girl. A family that gave up the stray dog. The stray dog adopted by a shop owner. On a lease outside the shop. Walked too close. Growled at. Growled back.
In the same setting, I explored the area. Familiar. Streets joined at angles to each other. Little traffic. A lady with her 2 daughters had a makeshift stall in one of the alleys, selling Nonya goodies. Caught the fragrance of steamed cupcakes. Started browsing. Recalled food I had bought earlier and left to waste. "Oh Shit" and knocked over straws and a packet of food. A very wizened old lady said not to mind. Noticed for the first time and realised it's a family of 3 generations tending the stall. Looked at the food again and ordered the steamed cupcakes, explicitly requesting for coconut flesh and coconut sugar. The mother held only coconut sugar in her hands. Noted Otah and was tempted to buy. Thought of ST still sleeping, at this noon hour and intended this to be her breakfast.
[/dream: act 3]
Woke.
Ah Shit. Didn't deliver the food.
Dozed.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
The snatch theft
Ok, here's the long awaited post. 1/2 of the reasons why I moved this blog. And I declare that this post will be uncommentable. Why? I don't want to hear comments like, "It's your fault for being careless". Nobody asked to be targeted; I didn't. So here goes.
I had a paintball competition on 26 Sep - SX 3 on 3 tournament. I wanted ST to accompany me and to allow both of us to get sufficient rest, I decided to book a budget hotel in JB. The cost was only RM$60.
To cut to the chase, we had dinner at Denga Mall and left the building at 8pm. Our hotel was only 10 minutes walk away. We exited into a large open space carpark. Part of me observed that the 2 guys who were washing cars had long knocked off from work. I also noted the sentry post was not manned.
As we were exiting the carpark, I felt increasing discomfort on my neck-shoulder joint. In a daze, I then noted 2 guys on a bike, on my front and right, with the pillion rider grabbing hold of my sling bag. Before I could recover, the strap broke and they started riding away towards the highway. Passport, camera, cash. These items came up in my mind as I uttered an expletive. My legs acted on the quick calculation that I could catch them on foot. Yet, I hardly took a step before I had to turn back towards ST to take the load off my hands. That moment of indecision was enough; I couldn't leave her alone. I watched as they entered the high way.
A Malay lady almost appeared immediately and asked if we're ok. She then offered to take us to the nearby police station. We hardly took a few steps before a white car pulled up beside us. The Chinese couple inside claimed the tried to chase down the thieves but lost them. They offered to give us a ride. I gave the excuse that I need to see ST safely back into the hotel first and declined. Looking ahead, the Malay lady had gone on without us. We proceeded to walk back to the hotel.
Along the way, we avoided proximity with any vehicles and people. As we entered the road that leads to the hotel, we grumbled about the lack of police presence. Just then, a car passed us. Once we realised that it could be a police car, it was to late to stop it. We entered our hotel and asked for help. The staff was sympathetic enough and one of them offered to escort us to the station. We took a 5-10 minutes cab ride for RM$2++, which he paid for the fare. We noted that the pattern of the police car parked that matches the one that passed us as we were walking back to the hotel.
The policeman on duty was professional enough. We gave our statement that we were robbed by 2 young lean looking Chinese men on a motorbike. Not exactly a lot of details to go on. We then had to wait for half an hour to see a lady inspector. After giving us a police report, she assured us that I could cross the borders with that document. All through the 1 hr at the station, our escort was with us. We gave him RM$10 for his troubles.
My hassle of crossing the border was already mentioned in another post. On hindsight, I guess I should have mentioned the Malay lady and the Chinese couple. It's probably "evil" of me to think badly of them when they were trying to be good Samaritans but who knows? I *was* worried about them. First grab the bag. Then offer them a ride and rob them at knife point. Many people have also said I did the right thing in not giving chase. My personal logic then and now also acknowledge that even in my misplaced confidence in my sprinting abilities, they could have simply turned their throttle up and leave me sucking gas.
My damage from the incident was:
My Passport - detailing every trip from my young adult life till now
My Fujifilm camera - damn it
RM$400
Perfume from ST
Important Keys
Nail clipper from Doris
Other minor items like playing cards, insect repellent, Toy R'Us membership card
I also got a cut on my right forearm as the sling broke - no blood drawn though
$30 incurred from roaming calls and SMSs
$70 from replacement of passport
Many people have given their support and assistance in this episode. Even though most of them won't read this, I thank you for your help.
I had a paintball competition on 26 Sep - SX 3 on 3 tournament. I wanted ST to accompany me and to allow both of us to get sufficient rest, I decided to book a budget hotel in JB. The cost was only RM$60.
To cut to the chase, we had dinner at Denga Mall and left the building at 8pm. Our hotel was only 10 minutes walk away. We exited into a large open space carpark. Part of me observed that the 2 guys who were washing cars had long knocked off from work. I also noted the sentry post was not manned.
As we were exiting the carpark, I felt increasing discomfort on my neck-shoulder joint. In a daze, I then noted 2 guys on a bike, on my front and right, with the pillion rider grabbing hold of my sling bag. Before I could recover, the strap broke and they started riding away towards the highway. Passport, camera, cash. These items came up in my mind as I uttered an expletive. My legs acted on the quick calculation that I could catch them on foot. Yet, I hardly took a step before I had to turn back towards ST to take the load off my hands. That moment of indecision was enough; I couldn't leave her alone. I watched as they entered the high way.
A Malay lady almost appeared immediately and asked if we're ok. She then offered to take us to the nearby police station. We hardly took a few steps before a white car pulled up beside us. The Chinese couple inside claimed the tried to chase down the thieves but lost them. They offered to give us a ride. I gave the excuse that I need to see ST safely back into the hotel first and declined. Looking ahead, the Malay lady had gone on without us. We proceeded to walk back to the hotel.
Along the way, we avoided proximity with any vehicles and people. As we entered the road that leads to the hotel, we grumbled about the lack of police presence. Just then, a car passed us. Once we realised that it could be a police car, it was to late to stop it. We entered our hotel and asked for help. The staff was sympathetic enough and one of them offered to escort us to the station. We took a 5-10 minutes cab ride for RM$2++, which he paid for the fare. We noted that the pattern of the police car parked that matches the one that passed us as we were walking back to the hotel.
The policeman on duty was professional enough. We gave our statement that we were robbed by 2 young lean looking Chinese men on a motorbike. Not exactly a lot of details to go on. We then had to wait for half an hour to see a lady inspector. After giving us a police report, she assured us that I could cross the borders with that document. All through the 1 hr at the station, our escort was with us. We gave him RM$10 for his troubles.
My hassle of crossing the border was already mentioned in another post. On hindsight, I guess I should have mentioned the Malay lady and the Chinese couple. It's probably "evil" of me to think badly of them when they were trying to be good Samaritans but who knows? I *was* worried about them. First grab the bag. Then offer them a ride and rob them at knife point. Many people have also said I did the right thing in not giving chase. My personal logic then and now also acknowledge that even in my misplaced confidence in my sprinting abilities, they could have simply turned their throttle up and leave me sucking gas.
My damage from the incident was:
My Passport - detailing every trip from my young adult life till now
My Fujifilm camera - damn it
RM$400
Perfume from ST
Important Keys
Nail clipper from Doris
Other minor items like playing cards, insect repellent, Toy R'Us membership card
I also got a cut on my right forearm as the sling broke - no blood drawn though
$30 incurred from roaming calls and SMSs
$70 from replacement of passport
Many people have given their support and assistance in this episode. Even though most of them won't read this, I thank you for your help.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
When push come to shove
A typical morning with the train typically packed, I stood in the train, unable to hold on to handrails as I was carrying stuffs. I was facing the handrail that was between the doors, my back to the boarding side.
Two stops later, 2 passengers boarded the train. There wasn't enough standing room for them both so 1 of them start to push in, butt first, past the people blocking the doors and managed to reach me. As mentioned, there wasn't enough room in the first place, so he pushed some more, butting me off balance and tipping me forward.
Pissed, I braced myself and used my back to shove him towards the direction of door. As it was packed, I only managed to jam him against his friend. He took a look at me and didn't push back. Really, what some people would do if you don't stand up to them.
Two stops later, 2 passengers boarded the train. There wasn't enough standing room for them both so 1 of them start to push in, butt first, past the people blocking the doors and managed to reach me. As mentioned, there wasn't enough room in the first place, so he pushed some more, butting me off balance and tipping me forward.
Pissed, I braced myself and used my back to shove him towards the direction of door. As it was packed, I only managed to jam him against his friend. He took a look at me and didn't push back. Really, what some people would do if you don't stand up to them.
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