What sort of people piss me off?

Those who do not respect others.

Not that I came up with a cure for AIDS that I deserved a great deal amount of respect from all, but, in general, to live together harmoniously, I vehemently believe in respecting one another. I met this mother from a kiddy birthday party last Saturday. She saw Kevin and approached him for a chat (they met before). Note that before she approached him, he was talking to me and Z.

This ill-mannered mother ignored Z and I totally, no eye-contact, no self-introduction, no acknowledgement, and totally ill-mannered. That twit completely pissed me off.
I could not fathom, was she from Mars, or her mother did not teach her basic courtesy, I repeat, BASIC courtesy. And I wondered how is she going to instill good manners in her rowdy kids. Since she did not respect me, I decided to talk to Z, cutting the conversation between her and Kevin, sort of to give her another chance to acknowledge Z and I. Somehow, it didn’t work on her, as it always worked on other human beings. Anyway, she scoot off shortly after.

Kevin told me that she is a housewife, and probably that explained her low emotional intelligence (below national average, I think). Not that I wanted criticize on housewives, but I have to say that sometimes they were so used to living in their own world that they forgot the existence of other human beings apart from their husbands and kids, maids not included. A full day of chores, nothing about themselves, but the family, it is inevitable that they forget to say “hi” to their dying-for-attention-neighbours. While, on the other hand, I have to applaud the courage of these housewives. They decided to give up their social lives for the sake of unloving husbands, and eventually unloving kids turned adults. I have full respect for them.

Perhaps I should ask myself if I am willing to give myself up totally for such huge scarification before I demand a “hello” from the friendly housewives.

In this context of housewives, I am referring to hardcore housewives, not tai-tais.

Luxurious bags price hike, sting or stipulation?

I heard outcry of many. Hues and cries of those who did not manage to seize the last Chanel bag that bears the former (aka easier on the pocket) price tag in the Paris boutique.
As for whether it is a sting or stipulation? I vote for stipulation. And that is based on my selfish reasons.

Here’s why?

I kept thinking to myself, how wonderful is it to have a Chanel bag on my shoulder and with no one carrying the exact same bag as me when I walk from Wisma to Takashimaya? Fat hope!

It dawn on me that for the past few years, even Pierre, Paul ou Jacques can own a Chanel bag, of course not taking into consideration if the ones they are lugging are the real McCoy. On several occasions, I noticed that there were queues outside the Chanel boutique at Takashimaya, and mind you, they are not subtle queues. So, does that signify that Chanel begins to lose its exclusivity and that the brand eventually degrades itself just like Louis Vuitton or Gucci? I seriously hope the day will not come, but think, wouldn’t you want your bag to be exclusive when you spent $5k and above for it?

As for me, I tell myself that I will not (note that I did not say ‘never’ because ‘never say never’) buy another Chanel bag anymore, because they are way too ordinary. If I need a bag now, I would rather buy a Mulberry or Chloe because they are still tastefully unique at this point of time.

In fact, I was proud of myself that I did not buy any bag (did I miss out any purchase? I don’t think so...) this year despite having a quota of two bags per year.
I am looking forward to a Kelly next year. I am hopeful.

With all due respect to Louis Vuitton or Guicci fans, the above article is based on my personal views. I know some people may feel like kicking me for this article or even plan to assassinate me, call me callow if you want. And yes, some of you may argued that I can go for the limited edition Chanel that cost about $60k and be different from the rest, but ask yourself, is it worth it or not? You don’t need to buy super duper expensive branded bags to stand out from the rest or be different; a coveted Mulberry will just do a clean job for you.

The Lost Game

Heartrending was the only word that could precisely describe my feeling after the match between Japan and Paraguay. I was left speechless, disconsolate after the game. Japan lost not because of their incompetency, not because of their height, not because of anything, but luck is simply not by their side. Sadness is written all over the players’ faces and likewise the coach and the other team members. Some cried.

I followed the Japan matches closely, regardless if it happened at 2:30am. And I watched those guys played from their first match to their last. And I have to say, I am proud of them, they came a long way, and I felt it was so wrong that they lost the game because of penalty kick. My friend told me to wait for the next World Cup, but how many 4 years can a football player have? Who can confirm that Honda will play for the next World Cup? Who can say that there will be a best combination for the team for the next World Cup? The answer is obviously NO.

I was particularly cheesed off before the penalty kick when the commentator remarked that Hasebe needed a translator to understand the referee. Doesn’t the commentator know that Hasebe is a player for the Vfl Wolfsburg, which is a German professional football club since 2008 and so what makes the commentator thinks that he needs a translator for simple English.

There's nothing left for me in this World Cup. Or perhaps, there's still Brazil.

World Cup 2010 - Japan

It is during the half time of Japan vs Denmark match that I decided to blog. Am in a relaxed mood now, because Japan is leading by two goals. TWO WONDERFUL GOALS, may I assert. Free kick goals, one of them by Honda. I have to admit that was the nicest shot ever in this World Cup.

I am always proud of being an Asian and I can blatanly affirmed that I have never attempted to pull off a ABC by yakking queer accents. I know alot of people do that and I can never tolerate that sort of self denial act. Alas, I realized that there is an increasing number of Singaporeans like to speak with certain accents with their limited vocabulary. All I can say is, sorry dearies, speaking with limited vocabulary doesn't qualify you to be a blonde or bring you to a different status. You are only degrading yourself and displaying your low self esteem as someone who refused to accept who you are. Sad and pathetic isn't it?

Back to the topic of football, I support Asia teams, by and large. Because I hope for the world to see that football is NOT a game that is strictly dominated by the Westerns, and Asians, given the disadvantage in termss of their height, size and experience are still able to perform and score better than the English league or international players. And as I always remember, undisputingly, football was first invented by the Chinese back in China, and hence, all the more, we, Asians must display to the world that we can tackle a ball just as well as any other players, because we INVENTED it!

Of course, having Japan, N Korea or S Korea to enter to the world cup was already a dream came true for me, and perhaps to get into the final 8 of world cup may deem tough at this point of time. But I verhemently believed that time will change, and with that, and I hope to see more Asian teams such as China to get into world cup and go into the finals.

My fave players from the Japan team. (Photos obtained from FIFA website)

Eiji KAWASHIMA - the goal keeper, it is a pleasure to see him catching all the balls, I rarely see him miss a ball.


Keisuke HONDA - the star player of the team who scores twice for Japan for this world cup.


Makoto HASEBE - eye candy and I am not ashamed to say that. The captain for Japan.

The match hasn't end. And I am hopeful.

Driving Me Crazy!

I vehermently believes that driving makes one loses his/her patient. I am one typical example.
Usually when Kevin is taking the wheel, I will upbraid him with remarks such as, "Can't you wait?", "Is there a need to drive that fast?", "Why are you filtering at the last minute?". I was utterly wrong.

If someone who is sitting beside me, he/she will certainly be passing those comments too. I understand how a driver thinks now.

Being irascible and losing cool over other drivers is like every other day incident. The number of cursing and swearing per day multiply day by day while the patience for probation drivers gradually ebbed away.

Being a member of the widely disdained female driver myself, I do fathom why the men think that way. I believed it is partly due to that female drivers drive in a shilly-shally manner.

For example, the other day, I was driving towards the traffic light when it just turned amber, the Jazz in front of me almost drove through the pedastrian crossing, however, stopped on the pedestrain crossing abruptly. I nearly knocked onto her car cause she hesitated on dashing past the traffic light when it just turned amber and while her car was already over the first stop line i.e want to dash but dare not dash. My intention was to dash through the amber traffic light after her, and FAST. If she had given the indication that she had no intention of beating the red light, then I would have stop behind her. Kevin said obviously it would be my fault if I crashed onto her car, and I absolutely agreed, however, I think being hesitant while driving will in fact cause more accidents on the road.

Next, so what happened when 2 impatient drivers meet each other?

Last week I was driving Kevin's car, I have to specified its Kevin's car cause, my car is under-power and very often people treat me like a doormat that they simply cut my lane dangerous knowing that my car has no power to drive faster than 100km/h.

So, while driving on the straight road, this Wish, can't wait for me to drive pass and U turn right under my nose. Impatient as I can be? I sounded the horn over and over again even after I drove pass him. And I slow down in front of him and sounded the horn again at him. Cause I realised something about drivers, they hate to be horned consistently, as in on-off horn for long period of time and I enjoyed doing that to irritate people. I think these impatient morons deserve that.

If there is ever terrorist on the road, that will definitely be none other than our friendly taxi drivers. Stop as and when they think that there are potential customers on the road side, be it, these people standing by the road are digging their noses, or tidying their hair. Any actions involved using hands, will translate to "I am flagging for cab." Drive fast behind them at your own risk.


Road Hogger are road hazzard. Every morning I have to "downgrade" myself to drive within the 3rd lane to wait for the 8.55am ERP cause the difference with driving through the ERP before 8.55am and after is $2.50. Little as it seemed, take $2.50 multiply by 20 days, you will see
the difference. Unfortunately, my clock seems faster and sometimes slowly and hence the prediction is never accurate, on many occasions, I passed through the money-sucking gantry at 8.54am and there's nothing I can do but to curse at the inventor and implementor. However, one day, a Malay driver, did what I thought was ultimate. He stopped right in front of the gantry at the 8.54am and waited for the money-sucking machine to turn 8.55am. How brillant?! And at one time, I thought, how i wish I am behind him, how i wish that he is obstructing my way of traffic that I can pretend that I can't filter out and then 'stuck' behind him. Unfortunately, I was at the other lane.

Driving everyday makes me learn alot of things.

1. Never trust the driver infront, behind, beside you. Trust yourself.

2. Don't mess with female drivers unless you want to send your car to the garage.

3. Steer clear from taxi drivers. They are like time-bomb, explode on you anytime and unexpectedly.

4. Avoid sports cars, fake sports cars (no power but heavily modified), at all means. They hallucinated that they are in the F1 racing track and they cut lanes like they are rushing to meet the death god. Their engine are sometimes deafening.

5. Avoid P Plates. Half of the time, I believe they don't know what they want.

6. Want to irritate the moron on the road? Sound your horn on-off again and again. This sure makes his/her blood boil.

A Mishap

Just now my mum told me about a mishap. The fatal mishap has befallen to a distant relative. Nevertheless, our hearts go out to the family, for the grandparents who lost their only grandchild and also the young couple who lost their first and only child.

Though to me, the young couple is just an acquaintance, I can truly feel what they are going through right now.

Apparently, their 13-month old child who should be sleeping on a mattress with the grandmother at night in the living room has crawled out to the balcony and drowned himself in the mini water fountain. And he died.

Was rushed to the hospital, alas, the doctor could not bring him back to life, despite trying his very best.

The death of the grandchild hit his grandmother so hard that the poor old lady could not stop putting blame on herself for being extremely neglectful. The young couple while coping with the lost of their beloved child was still consoling the grandmother. To tell the devastated grandmother that “the child was destined not to be theirs” was her only solace for now.

Coping with the lost of someone close to your heart is never easy. Furthermore the person is someone who means a great deal to you. The pain is excruciating and it will not go away even though some say “time will wash away the pain”. My heart aches even when Ziv vomited after drinking milk, and as a mother, the pain of seeing her dearly loved child leaving her is definitely zillion times more aching.

And as a mother, sometimes you rather it is you who were drowned and not the child.
And sometimes, you wonder, how you can continue your life if your child leaves you.

And I thought, I will just kill myself if it ever happened.

Kids are MAD

Don't misinterpret me for the blog title.
I love kids. I love obedient kids.
But I abhor kids that behave like they are from the asylum.

This is why.

Went to Gogobambini for the second time last Sunday. I reminded myself that they closed at 8pm on weekend and hence, decided to go there earlier to make sure that Ziv has enough fun time.

The moment I was at the vicinity, I was welcomed with the loudest scream and shrillest shriek ever, like there were ghosts inside the play area. It was hurly-burly!!!

When I entered through the main door, I envisioned myself walking through a thick jungle full of monkeys hanging on the trees, yelping non stop. Its too late to back off. Ziv already looked all excited and ready.

So then, we found a seat and quickly ordered cakes and juices to calm myself down. Kevin then brought Ziv into the "jungle" to play. He came out of the "jungle" 15 minutes later, shaking his head. "It seemed impossible for Ziv to play in the play area cause the kids were all running wild and they could step on him any time," I could hardly hear Kevin as he spoke. Then I thought, no wonder babies under 1 is FREE cause if not, parents will be cursing and swearing while stomping out of the place.

After 10 minutes of eating and doing nothing, Kevin nudged me, signaled that it was MY TURN now (to bring Ziv back to the "jungle"). Reluctantly, I did what I was told.

Those who know me, will know that I am no timid mouse, and I can be a TIGRESS if I want to. And while I was playing with Ziv at a quiet corner, this girl about 6-7 years old came running and almost going to knock Ziv down. Guess what? I scolded her. She asked for it. I mean she is so old (oldest there I bet!) already and still not using her brain, can't she see there's an infant trying to play within his own quiet area? Damn.

Seeing those kids, drenched in their own sweat and running frantically like they were supposed to be escaping from some jungle fire or something, really triggered me to really look after Ziv well, educate him well, and make sure he doesn't behave like morons. Yes, some people say kids will be kids, they like to play and have fun, but I guess, at least they must have the sane to know that they are only playing not tearing down the house, so no need of such wild acts that they literally ignore the safety of themselves and others.

Ok, back to play time with Ziv, I decided to let him crawl through a tunnel and took a slide down together, while crawling in the tunnel, a little girl tap my buttock (see, how rude she is to touch my sensitive area, if she is old enough, I will consider to sue her molest!) and signaled me to speed up. Again, asking for it. I took into consideration, that she could not understand what I was trying to tell her and hence made an effort to speak in broken English. "Cannot wait ah!" I snapped. And she ran away. I never see her appearing around me again. I am that BAD. I know.

But that is how I handle wild kids.

Anyway after a while, Kevin brought Ziv to the ball pool and he played for like half an hour. The thing is babies, toddlers, kids they are never tired when they are playing. I told Kevin, perhaps its time that we leave Gogo and proceed to Jumbo which is located opposite, to have a hearty dinner.

That was the best part of the day. Seafood platter, 1kg crab and mee goreng. 1.5hours of indulgence. Ziv somehow knows that its Mummy's and Daddy's turn to 'have their own time' and throughout the 1.5 hours, he quietly nibble on his biscuits and see us eat.

What more can I ask, when I have Ziv, so considerate, sweet and obedient. I will still go back to Gogo, but for Ziv's sake.

His Mother

Was contemplating if I should blog about His Mother. What if someone sees it? What if…

I could hardly contain my anger and deemed that only through blogging, where I could release my aggravation about His Mother.

I have planned to go Bintan with Kevin and Ziv. Therefore, for the 3 days (actually lesser than 3 days) I have decided to leave The Maid at her house. As compared to leaving The Maid at our house alone, it would probably be a better option to leave her at His Mother’s house where at least, someone is at home. Since The Maid has history of STEALING.

To my utter disappointment, His Mother told him that it was ‘inappropriate’ for The Maid to stay at her house due to several reasons which I reckoned invalid.

The excuses she gave:

- “No one is at home.” What the hack! His Father went to work at 11am or later and she returned home from work at about 6pm. And she said no one is at home?! She must be either questioning my IQ or testing my patience!

- “There are important documents at home.” I nearly died of laughing. She can jolly well lock the doors of rooms which have so-called important documents and then problem solved! And somehow, it makes me wonder how important those documents are to her and to The Maid.

- “Inconvenient.” I have to applaud for that brilliant excuse. One word, settles it all. I wonder if is it still inconvenient if I employ a maid for her, pay the salary for her and the maid does things for her.

Those excuses are obvious self explanatory of reluctance to take in The Maid. How can I not be gnashing my teeth?

I don’t understand which one is more ‘serious’, leaving The Maid at our house alone or leaving The Maid at her house?

I should not be frustrated over this issue as His Mother has a history of in-cooperativeness.

This is why...

My mother is weak due to health reasons, and yet she has to take care of the restless Ziv and I can tell, from her eyes, each time she talks about Ziv that she really loves him loads. Despite having backaches every now and then, she still takes good care of Ziv, although often accompanied by lots of nagging. Nagging, about her health, how tired she is. That is understandable. And I feel guilty for not letting her enjoy her retirement age.

Knowing that my mother’s health started to deteriorate, it left me no choice but to request for His Mother to take care of Ziv. For your info, His Mother is a very healthy woman. As expected, she declined and brushed off the topic each time we brought it up. I was extremely disappointed in her. I was so infuriated that I hoped that Ziv will never call her or even let her carry. I saw her true colors. I thought it was thoughtful of me that from the beginning, I respected her passion for her work (she was lowly paid and still continue working very hard for the job) and I did not want to take away what she enjoys by asking her to take care of Ziv. However, due to current circumstances, it was really beyond me to resolve this problem and I have to seek her understanding and help to let my mother recuperate. And note that I am offering about the same pay package as what she is receiving now.

She heartlessly declined my offer.

I kept asking myself questions as of why she refused to take care of Ziv.

Was he naughty? Was he noisy?

And the answers are all NO.

I tried very hard to talk to her while she attempted to chat with me today evening. I realized, I cannot bring myself to be a hypocrite. I really hate her to the core and each time when I talk to her, I feel like chiding her. She must be thinking why I am not looking at her when I talked to her. I really can't look at someone whom I hated so much.

So, if my mother is unable to take care of Ziv, the golden question now is WHO? If it is not His Mother, it will definitely be ME. I asked Kevin to do some simple idiot-proof calculation on our salaries (mine and His Mother) and a 2 year-old toddler who briefly knows Math will be able to identify who should quit, since our salary is approximately 5 times difference!

I told Kevin, for Ziv, I can quit my job, stop shopping altogether, stop thinking about Chanel and loathe His Mother eternally. And frankly speaking, I don’t mind being a SAHM because every minutes and seconds spend with Ziv definitely worth more than what I am earning and the joy of seeing him, first hand, achieving every milestone is priceless!

I know Kevin could not come out with any conclusion cause this problem has been around for the past few months and my mother is still trying to cope with her health and taking care of Ziv.

One day, perhaps, when I mastered enough courage, I will never let His Mother see Ziv anymore. I can do that and I will do that.

I was infuriated that I COULD NOT even sleep! Hopefully after venting out my anger here, I can sleep better. But, its already 6am in the morning, how much longer can I sleep when Ziv is going to wake up at 8am.

I really hate her.

****

Here's a typical conversation between me and her, shortly after Ziv was born.

His Mother: Who is going to take care of the baby at night?
Me: Either me or Kevin.
His Mother (looked at me in awe): Then how is Kevin going to work? He needs to drive.

I could not believe she actually says such things to me. Ain't I working too? If she is the kind of traditional woman who does everything for her man, sorry, I DON'T PRACTICE that at MY HOME. Blame your precious son for choosing a WRONG wife then.

Me: But... Kevin is Ziv's father. Isn't it also his DUTIES to look after his own, very first SON??!!

His Mother stopped her mindless nonsense and looked at me.

I rolled my eyes and walked away...

I hope that is obvious enough to express that I HATE HER.

****

ME TO SPONSOR ALL-WOMEN MOUNT EVEREST? DREAM AH

RIDICULOUS! WE HAVE CHARITY DRIVE SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR ON NATIONAL TV, WE HAVE SEVERAL FOUNDATION AND ORGANIZATION RUNNING CHARITY EVENTS YEARLY, AND NOW THE PUBLIC ARE ‘ENCOURAGED’ TO SUPPORT THE ALL-WOMEN MOUNT EVEREST TEAM BY DONATING TO THEM SO THAT THEY CAN FULFILL THEIR DREAMS WHICH IS CLIMBING THE DAMN ME?! WHAT KIND OF STUPID EXCUSE IS THAT, YOU TELL ME?!

(ALTHOUGH THE WORD ON THEIR WEB WAS 'SPONSOR' BUT I THINK IT HAS NO DIFFERENT FROM 'DONATE' CAUSE ULTIMATELY, IT IS STILL TAKING OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY)

LOTS OF QUESTIONS IN MY HEAD NOW…

WILL THEY DIE NOT CLIMBING THE ME?
WILL THEY EARN MONEY BY CLIMBING THE ME?
ARE THEY THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD WHO CLIMB ME THAT MAKE SINGAPORE FAMOUS?

NO RIGHT?! SO WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?!

AREN’T WE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL THAT TO FULFILL OUR DREAMS WE HAVE TO ACHIEVE IT OURSELVES AND NOT WITH OTHER PEOPLE’S HELP OR EVEN MONEY. WHERE DO YOU GET THE SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT WHEN YOU KNOW YOU REALIZE YOUR DREAMS WITH OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY? AND BEST OF ALL, THESE PEOPLE ARE STRANGERS TO YOU!

EVEN PROSTITUTES NEED TO SELL THEIR BODIES TO GET PAID.

WHAT I MEAN BY THAT SENTENCE IS EVERYONE HAS TO GIVE UP SOMETHING TO ACHIEVE THEIR DREAMS. WE NEVER SEE POOR BEETHOVEN BEGGING ON THE STREET OR CREATING WHATEVER ‘SPONSOR US’ WEBSITE TO REALIZE HIS WONDERFUL DREAM. I MAY BE HARSH HERE, BUT THIS IS LIFE. LIFE IS ABOUT REALITY.

WE GIVE MONEY TO CHARITY, TO THOSE LESS FORTUNATE, CAUSE THEY HAVE MENTAL PROBLEM, NO MONEY TO BUY MEDICINE OR UNDERGO MEDICAL TREATMENTS, JOBLESS DUE TO PHYSICAL HEALTH… ETC

CAN SOMEONE TELL ME, WHY THESE WOMEN DESERVE OUR HELP? MIND YOU, THEY ARE ALL WELL AND ABLE WOMEN.

NOW WHO IS GOING TO HELP ME FULFIL MY DREAM? I WISH TO BUY A BIG BUNGALOW WITH BIG GARDEN AND THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE COBY CAN RUN AROUND THE BIG GARDEN AND ZIV HAS FRESHER AIR TO BREATHE IN EVERYDAY. (IS THIS WISH ‘HEART-WARMING’ ENOUGH TO WARM UP YOUR HEART OF CHARITABLE?)

DONATE TO MY BUNGALOW DREAM ANYONE? (ADAPT FROM THEIR WEBSITE)

EVERY BIT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN THIS IMMENSE PROJECT. DO EMAIL ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP IN ANY WAY. I THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

Did you realize that they are all around us?

Not being racist here, I realized, there’s an increase of Filipinos working in Singapore. I see them in hospitals as nurses, see them working as maids, see them working at Carrefour service counters, Sakae sushi waitresses, Subway sandwich artists… they are practically EVERY WHERE.

With all due respect to the industrious Filipinos out there, I am not biased against any of you. But I feel UNCOMFORTABLE. I used to work in Manila, all of a sudden, eating at Sakae sushi makes me wonder, “Am I at Singapore now or Philippines?”

No doubt their service standard is much higher than the locals which I really respect, in fact, they are ten times more courteous, attentive and respectful to the customers, but where are the Singaporeans and I truly missed the Singapore culture, the Singapore way of service and the singlish way of asking, “CUE-ME, CAN I HALP YOU?”. That is what I like about McDonald’s. As far as I know, they seldom hire foreigners, mostly local students and aunties, uncles.

In other aspect, I wondered, why are the local companies, like Sakae sushi employing non locals as their service staff? I believe Singaporeans are very willing to work as waitresses and waiters, unlike rubbish collectors, which I think we definitely need foreigners’ help. Why are local companies, not even helping the locals to secure a job to ease the unemployment situation? Fine, in business point of view, these foreigners are indeed cheaper than the locals and definitely less demanding, in other words, CHEAP and GOOD. Maybe I am not a business person, and I fail to comprehend and value the benefits of employing foreign workers, but I can’t help but wonder why are we not helping the locals, but investing money on the foreigners, perhaps even offer them courses to attend to upgrade their skills. In kampong last time, Teochews used to say, "Ka Ki Lung", this logic doesn't apply in today's world. Earn money seems to be the most important thing.

While traveling, I often pay special attention to the service staff in whatever countries that I visit, just a habit. Generally, our neighboring countries service staff is rather inattentive and slow in reaction, they like to chat with their colleagues while on duty as for Hong Kong, the service staff are rather impatient and easily irritated, as for Taiwan, the service staff are pretty helpful and they greet you as soon as you step into their shops, as for Japan, the service staff are extremely courteous and helpful. I don’t want to have no memories of the service staff in Singapore. I may be exaggerating about the situation now, but who knows, 20 years down the road, no more Singaporeans are working as service staff. Perhaps, our country will be flooded with foreigners that one day, we lost our Singaporean cultures, the homely feeling. Perhaps in future, we don’t need to travel to gain the experience of the foreign cultures, cause Singapore may then be a multi-country country by then.

Weighty Issues

Does weight really matters to a woman?

I think so.

Recently, there have been numerous news reports or rather slamming on incredibly skinny runway models, banning them from catwalk. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong. Apparently, models SHOULD be thin, cause slimmer women looks better on all apparels, be it chunky sleeves, bubble dress, latter-day grunge layers (which so happened to be the current fashion trend). The models still look excellent and slim effortlessly on those clothes that will typically look fat on a woman who has an acceptable weight. With that kind of pictures running on the magazines and television programmes, which women on earth will think that they are thin ENOUGH?

I weigh myself twice a day religiously, just to make sure I stay within the underweight range. It seems that in today’s world, not only runway models are dying to strive for an underweight or unhealthy look, gals around me are also trying to attain that.

Or at least majority of my friends. They try all means and ways to be thin or to stay thin… even that would mean stuffing medicines or rigorous exercises. They fluster and flare over their slightest change in weight. I admit, I am just like one of them. I turn green in envy when I see slimmer women, my face burn red in anger when I see a 0.2kg gain in weight.

But I am lazier, I don’t exercise, I don’t take medication unnecessary.

Every time when I feel like eating ice-cream or devour that deliciously looking mud pie, I contemplate.

“That’s extra calories, gal.”
“Do you want to sabotage your diet, just for a mud pie?”
“Stay away from that evil looking mud pie!!”
“You’ll regret!”

Those words keep on repeating itself like a loud speaker in my mind.

Sometimes, I curb my craving and move on. However, most of the time, I will just buy the mud pie and eat a few spoonful and pass it on to others. (I pity the others)

And of course, there are several times where my mouth refuses to give in to my brain. I just eat and eat and eat… but I feel culpable after that hearty meal or sinful desserts. Recently, I find myself really lack of disciplines, one day it was steamboat (with lots of desserts), the other day it was ribs and beef, the other day it was curry… Hmph!!

It’s time I should really impose some self-control, as I have gained alittle, which I don’t even dare to think about.

Many people told me that I am skinny and one of my friends even go to the extent by saying that I looked anorexic. I mean, who cares? I don’t care. I just want to be thin and slim.

I know it is unhealthy and many people vehemently against the idea of me going on a diet, despite of my underweight frame. But somehow, being a stubborn gal, I know what I am doing and know what my limit is.

Sexy still, Jessica Alba spotted losing some weight

Victoria Beckham still look gorgeous to me

I just want to let those who care about me know this,

I know I am underweight, but I also know that I look better on clothes when I’m underweight.

I know I am underweight, and I will not lose any further.

I know I am underweight, but it is better than being overweight.

I know I am underweight, and trust me, I still eat snacks and chicken chops twice a week.

Don’t worry, I am not anorexic. I am just thin.

Another thing, ask ten guys, do they prefer a chubby woman or a slim woman? I bet 8 of them will opt for a slimmer woman.

This is life and this is reality.

Animals are our Best Friends, Don’t HURT them.

“You have your family, friends and relatives, but I only have YOU.”

Recently I was doing a project on Pet/Animal abuse and abandonment. Obviously, that would mean I have to do lots of research on this topic. I have gain more insights through reading several touching articles of animal abuse and abandonment and the above line touched me tremendously. It’s true. Pets are lonely. Their only hopes and dreams are you, the owner.

I read that many people are actually “potential” abusers; it is just that these people are too ignorant to realize that. For example,

Do you keep your pets are home alone for more than 12 hours?
Do you always keep your pet in a small and filthy cage?

If all the answers to the above questions are “YES”, then you are a potential abuser, I suggest you to do some reading online. There are several good resources like SPCA, ACRES, PETA, ANIMAL AID etc…

Of course, not only pet owners can be pet abusers, people without pet can be one too.
Examples of pet abuse will be animal testing, animal furs, leather and skin, trapping animals for food (sharkfins, dog meats etc) and more…

A personal story to share, I used to like rabbit fur for scarves and bags and I have shoes made of horse fur. I thought fur is a symbol of elegance. Unknowingly, I have actually contributed to the demand of animal fur product and apparel causing fur-bearing animals to die. Do you know how those despicable people obtain fur? I got this from furisdead.com,

To kill the animals without damaging their fur, trappers usually strangle, beat, or stomp them to death. Animals on fur farms may be gassed, electrocuted, poisoned with strychnine, or have their necks snapped. These methods are not 100 percent effective and some animals "wake up" while being skinned.

Stop buying fur, use faux. And it looks just as nice as the real ones. Knowing how animals are killed for fur, makes the real fur looks cheap because it degrades your characters, displaying your ignorance of the cruelty in the fur trade.

Personally, I am a pet owner, my dog, Coby is a 1 year plus (going to 2) Silky Terrier. After reading so many about animal abuse, I feel that I am not a good owner, there’s much improvement which I can do to make Coby happier. Coby is a very active dog, he is very mischievous and because I love him so much that it becomes a bit spoil. I always tell myself, Coby’s life span is only 12-15 years, I must make him enjoy all the 12-15 years because I love him. Imagine this, $800-$5000 enables you to buy the life of a pet, isn’t that so unfair if you ill-treat the pet?

Think again, human life is priceless, but lives of these innocent animals are tagged with a price.

Silky Terrier

No matter whether you are a pet owner or a non pet owner, an animal lover or someone who has “no special feelings” towards animals, YOU CAN HELP in one way or another to relief these poor animals from pain and fear.

Banks and loans

If you are a credit card holder, you probably receive calls (average 1 mth once) from the customer service officers (or whatever you want to call them) to tell you they are offering an exclusive offer to you, whereby they are offering LOAN to you at a low interest rate. I paused for a while and I was like, “WOW, so exclusive. A loan!” Normally when I receive such calls, I will decline politely and can’t help but to feel extremely put off by them. I was thinking, “Do you think I am so desperate that I need a loan?!” Imagine, an anonymous loan shark call you one day, asking, “Oei, ai jio luii mai?” (Want to borrow money?, in hokkien) It’s so weird. Do you see any differences among the two? You decide. Having said that, what have this world becoming into? I remembered reading one article from the national daily that “Debt” is no longer the BAD word, as everyone is in debt, be it housing loan, bank loans or even credit card loans like installments. Maybe I am still living in the Flintstone era because I am seriously perturbed of the word “Debt” despite it being widely accepted. Here comes my question, is it ethical of banks to call customers up and offer them a loan (at low interest rate)? Is this a temptation? Are people today able to resist the offer?

I wonder what will happen if everyone adopts this mentality: I just spend my money, and if I overspent, I can go to any local bank and ask for a loan. So easy! Like ATM. (That’s what XXX bank told me, “Like ATM! So easy!”)

The rise of the bankruptcy petitions is significant and menacing, to me. In fact, from the newspaper we can see that the figures have increased progressively throughout the years. I wonder what will happen a few years later with all these exclusive loan offers. Are youngsters these days able to curb their spending tendency and stay away from the enticing loan offers? I don’t quite think so.

Who is culprit for the increasing number of bankruptcy cases? The bank? The loan shark? People like us? The credit cards? Its hard to tell. All I can say is, there’s room for more research.

Don't Understand

It’s been ages, since the last post. Tied down with projects from work and school. Didn’t know it’s so hard to study and work at the same time.

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Must write disclaimer first (my new habit): The content of this post will 100% not stir any dissonance among the citizens and trust me that is not my intention to start this post. Content is based on my perception and this blog entry does not specifically support anyone.

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I m sick of living in this teeny weeny isle. Nothing is fun, nothing is cool and there’s no freedom. We are like innocent prisoners on a stranded island. Family, friends are the boundary marker to keep us stucked in this isle. However, it’s also (only) family and friends that made this isle heart warming. Note, the word “only”.

I don’t enjoy seeing bloggers getting sued for their wrong-doings or innocent-doings. (which I can’t state my stand cos who knows, I m next??) I am just so sick by the stringent laws. Online diary is supposed to be private and to allow us to express our opinions but somehow, it is not the case anymore.

Extremely disappointed, now, where can we express our views freely and vent our anger on someone or something? In the coffee shop? Then we should also beware of the customer sitting next to you, he’s listening.

The greatest lesson we can learn from the past. . . is that freedom is at the core of every successful nation in the world." -- Frederick Chiluba (second President of Zambia)

------ This blog is meant for myself and my friends, not for some nosey ppl who are reading it and trying to sue me with what i write. Thanks hor.

One Billion... WOW!!!

Imagine you are earning one billion… would you want to earn another billion? Some may say yes, some may not. I think money is never enough for people these days, you can be earning two billion now, but I believe your new year resolution next year will be to earn three billion.

I think that all depends on who are you earning the money from. If I am a public sector, and OBVIOUSLY my only objective is to serve the nation, then, earning one billion is definitely TOO MUCH. However, if I am private limited, then it is fine and well to earn one billion and still aim for more next year. Afterall, it is your hard work that leads you to what you have earned today.

Of course, I didn’t mean that the public sector should be losing money; in fact, they should be contented to be earning that much and no one is complaining and shouldn’t aim to squash more money out of the public like us.

Aye… Anyway, I seldom take bus so it doesn’t matters to me.

Dilemma

I have been down in the dumps lately. Nothing can really lift me up except Kevin and Bird Nest. Ok and Coby. Something happened @ work, but I did learn some painful and yet meaningful lessons from the happening. Firstly, I learn that people look at me as a UNIQUE case @ work. Secondly, the society is fucked up. Thirdly, this incident actually spotlighted the characters of many people whom I thought I know. I will not elaborate further on the 3 things but it is about being fed up with the company’s policy!

It seems to me no one can relate to what I am feeling so I decided to talk to a friend. He is a poly friend of mine, Gavin. He is very sympathetic towards me, and I didn’t know we are suffering from the same problem @ work. He knows what I am actually experiencing because we are both poly students. No one understands the frustration I faced, except a poly grad like him. That is so comforting to be understood rather than be misunderstood.

Both of us are the victims of the company’s so-called policy plus we are not valued for our expertise, btw, we are working in the same company except different branch. Anyway, I am in a dilemma of whether I should quit my job and after much advice from Kevin perhaps I should continue working however, that doesn’t mean I agree with the fucked up policy. I still think that greatness lies not in being having high educational level, but in the right use of people for the right work.

My previous post was about job achievement and that spirit is definitely not dampened by what I have been through recently. And here is a quote by Franklin D Roosevelt which I totally have the same opinion:
"Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men."

I figured what I should do now is to wait for an opportunity to move on. Let me quote again from Albert Einstein,
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
Here I am, waiting for the right time to move on. :P

If you are a boss…

If you are a boss, please be compassionate to your staff.
If you are a boss, please don’t expect your staff to work OT. Remember you only pay us during the office hour. We are not obligated to work for you after the official working hours. That includes SAT AND SUN.
If you are a boss, please be generous and reward your staff accordingly. Don’t ever be penny-pinching bastards. Pinch your penis instead, may I suggest!
If you are a boss, please undergo proper phonics lessons. Speak fluent English so we can all understand. “Are you bery cleear wib the projeck sparcification??”
If you are a boss, dismiss the “rice worms” who are professionally trained in Taiji and read newspapers during office hours, they are good for nothing and simply wasting resources.
If you are a boss, you must be fair to all your staff. NO favoritism PLEASE!
The above requirements from a BOSS are reasonable. But somehow, most of the bosses are doing the opposite. Anyway, I am just so frustrated with my boss. Coincidentally, he is just the opposite of everything I expected.

Do you GOSSIP?

I discovered something. Maybe I am slow on the uptake but hey, at least I realized that and it is not too late. Ok, here is my conclusion. No One Is Reliable In This World! Everyone Gossips About Others *roll eyes*

Do you always gossip to other friends about your good friend? Reveal bad things about your friend behind him or her? Don’t try to look away. *wave hand in the air* Yes! I am referring to you!

No matter how strong the friendship bonds are, how pleasant that person is, how dependable he or she looks, conclusion is, DON’T TRUST THEM. Disclaimer here, I haven’t really got betrayed by friends, but somehow, I figured that human are too complicate to get understand.

For example, I have 2 good friends, K and T. From outsiders’ point of view, they are very close friends. They will share the same drinks, wear the same tops, shop together and even share secrets. I, being friends of K and T, will never think that are actually dejected to hang out with each other since they known to be “SISTERS”. Somehow one day, K came up to me and complaint, “T thinks she is very pretty. Can’t stand her! I tell you, dun think she is big breasted, she is actually wearing a maximiser!!”. I was alarmed to hear that, and I thought they are supposed to be great friends. How can she blurt bad things about her behind her back? Funny enough, T also gossips to me about K. Now, two friends, close enough to be “sisters” are revealing their discontentment to other people.

I am not really bothered by them, but I was imagining what if my good friends reveal my bad habits to other people too? Hmmm… I’m sure they have. It is human character to gossip, course I myself gossip too. Maybe the key is to what extent one gossips.

Or even maybe gossiping is like a rapport to build among friends and colleagues and perhaps strengthen the relationship when you realized that you have a common gossip targets. Just some of my thoughts…

But I know one person will never gossip bad things about me, that’s my mum.

Ambition or Money?

Have you ever had the feeling like you want to quit your job and walk out of the office for no specific reason? Perhaps you will ask yourself, “Is this what I want?” and quite often, you will realized that working in this area is not what you really hope for, mostly, it is about earning a humble or loaded stipend . Try asking yourself this question, is it money or ambition that is important to you?

I wanted so much to say its AMBITION, but I am afraid that in this society, not many privilege people can rely on their ambition for a living. It’s sad that success is often measured almost exclusively in financial terms and possessions.

Isn’t it a luxury to do something you love and still get paid? For example, David Beckham (I assume he loves football), he is paid lavishly and abundantly and still football is the love of his life.

Then again, yesterday I was thinking to myself on bed, if given a choice below:
1.Earn $X and work is simple and relaxing. No sense of achievement.
2. Earn $X and work is taxing and requires many responsibility. Definitely a great sense of achievement.

Note: $X is a large sum of money.

Which one will you choose? I will choose the latter. Why?

I have no idea, but I was thinking, if $X is a large sum of money, then all the more I should work harder to make sure that I am worth paying $X right? I love to have the sense of achievement. I believe accomplishments are the pushing force that makes me strive forward and to work harder. I can’t imagine sitting in the office doing nothing will do me any good. A worthless person will never know the meaning of lives. Or maybe I should add, I enjoy being busy kekekeke…

Oh, are you a doctor??

How to trust a doctor? I wonder what makes a person a doctor? What it takes to become a doctor?

Proper training? Memorizing all the medicines or theories?

I started to lose trust on doctors now. I was disappointed, not once but three times. Let me tell you my painful experiences.

First Experience: A doctor from a well known reputable chain clinics, which starts with the alphabet “R”. That was a real bad experience. The doctor is from HELL. He is obnoxious, rude and dishonest. He is definitely very unprofessional, unethical. I shall not elaborate on what had happened, because that will start the fire in me again. Let’s just put it in a way that he gave me a wrong diagnosis, saying that what’s on my face was acne and not allergy, despite me telling him that he could be wrong. He insisted he was right and me, trusting his professionalism and the fact that that is a reputable clinic. I trusted the wrong doctor. My condition got worse and I complained. Here comes the best part, I called him up and he yelled at me. Literally screaming at me, in his pathetic Compass Point branch clinic. BTW, he is the head doctor there…. *puke* How can a doctor from hell become a head doctor? He should be the head of all ghosts. He said that refunding me is a small issue and he will not refund me a single cent. He even threatened to call a lawyer to sue me for harassing him. Hahaha…. A doctor who likes to joke. I don’t even know since when I am harassing him. And I didn’t know that doctors can sue their patients for their own wrong diagnosis. He was constantly shouting at me and I thought he has gone berserk. What to do? I am just a patient who visits a gangster doctor. I want to emphasize this, you know what he said? He even told me refunding me is not a problem because the amount he is refunding me is PEANUTS to him. I don’t understand why a doctor will say that. At least now I know, doctors are earning more than peanuts. How it ended? Another R clinic doctor called me and willing to refund my medical bill to me out of the goodwill of the clinic. Goodwill? Haha… nice word to use. Anyway, I will complaint to the medical board if I have the time to deal with gangsters. I don’t understand how that hooligan can become a doctor. Perhaps medical board should make doctors go through mental and emotional check before letting them out to become doctors. If they fail, they should be kept in cages and make sure they dun come out and bark at ppl.

Second Experience: From a small clinic. I just want to get some hormones medicine. She gave me a particular medicine and told me I should not have any side effect. And guess what, there is a side effect, outbreak of acne on my face. I wonder she knows what it means by SIDE EFFECT. Anyway, I think I am not going to lodge a complaint against her, since she is already old and she looks like she is suffering from Parkinson disease.

[Most Recent]
Third Experience: From the well know Skin specialist in Singapore. Happened last Thursday. I trusted this specialist center a lot. And now, I am disappointed once again. Maybe it’s the doctor. I dun know. My rashes got worse after the first set of medicine he gave me. And I called the center to ask for the same doctor again. So coincidently the center closes at 5pm. And I called them at 445pm. I talked to the reception that I was allergic to the medicine the doctor gave me and asked to set an appointment with the doctor at 530 or 6pm (they only see patients by appointment only). Guess what the reception told me, she said why not I just book an appointment with him next week. I was amazed by what she said. Did she bring her brain to work? Or she is suffering from some mental disorder? A patient who spent 100bucks on medical bills calling to see the doctor due to allergy to medicine was asked to make another appointment next week?! I confirmed that she is having some mental disorder. CONFIRM! I ignore her wise advice and I go down to the center. And yes, I was given priority to see the doctor again. This time the doctor promised that the rashes will subside within 24 to 48 hours. Cool huh… Now, 60 hours have past, here they are, my rashes are still stuck onto my skin. Promises… promises… So funny. The worst thing is, I see another trusted doctor and he told me the medicine given by the doctor at the specialist center are used to treat acne and not rashes. My god! Now, I am eating the right medicine and let’s wait for miracle to happen.