Apple or not?

Did Eve really tempt Adam with an apple?
Or was it simply because it was easy to depict?

One would never really know.
After all, the bible doesn't detail specifically what fruit Eve used.
It could have been a lemon or a pomegranate or a guava.

In fact, in the early centuries, apple was a generic term for all fruit other than berries but including nuts. So a peanut would have been called an apple. So would be guava honeydew rock melon water melon durian mangosteen but not blueberries and cherries.

I suppose we should be thankful that we now have specific names for each fruit, otherwise we'll have a hard time buying fruits at the fruit store.

"Uncle, apple juice please."
"Orh, which kind of apple you want? The green round one (water melon), or the thorny green one (durian), or the...."


Of course this does makes one wonder is it really an Apple apple a day keeps a doctor away? Or a fruit other than berries but including nuts that keeps a doctor away?

The end of a year is always more important than the start.
After all, you might start a race late but if you end early, you'll be crowned a victor.
Then again, I always start the year with the same confidence and prayer-based stride.
But it's how I am at the end of the year; whether I'm crawling on my knees or leaping forward in bounds. Or have collapsed along the way.

So, I look back at this year.
It was green for three quarters. That period is speechless.
Then life started again. Honestly, I'm still adjusting. Then again, I may never adjust. Since life is always changing, we shouldn't adjust because it'll be a different experience again. So a part of me says life has just begun after the end of army. And the other part of me pops up and say well army was part of your life so what do you mean life has just begun. On and on they both squabble.

I do my own mental checklist.
Have I made a positive difference in others' lives?
What errors have I done that I might change?
What were the changes in my life?

I dare say the positive differences have been fulfilled with my current job. And the joy I know I've brought about to the colleagues around me.

No major heartbreaks this year, no major setbacks. Sure, there were challenges. But so far, nothing life threatening. But, if everything is just a challenge to me, what would be deemed life threatening?

Next year proves to be more of a challenge. Two jobs and school. And lots and lots and lots of people. The challenge is not juggling all three, but in that I would have enough time to commune with myself, and with He that resides within me.

There were a few crucial happenings I remember this year. One was when I went back to my ushering job for a refresher and caught up with my old peers there. Second was when I started work, and my past and current experiences with my colleagues. Third is the constant emotional revival I get fro my three kids. And last is this hot chick I met two days ago. :D

Now that I more or less know my own character, I am merely coping to its changes that life's events have molded it to be. Like patience definitely gets tested. Not so much of joviality, or my happy go luckiness. Several times, empathy leaves for a breather. But joy always comes in the morning.

Thank God for making me helpful and kind. Sometimes I look in the mirror and think I'm so awesome. And it's only cause I was created like that. But maybe my thick skin was self-grown. Hah. ;)

old friends

I met up with an old friend yesterday for a meal. Well, old would be apt since we've known each other ever since the age of 5? Or part thereof.

And it's really amazing, because we haven't seen each other in years. 6 years, to be exact. And there wasn't any ice at all!

But it was really cool to catch up and all. She is one strong minded, determined and has lots of foresight. Rather different from me, I dare say.
Hah, hands up whoever thought of me as strong minded. And sometimes it's the little phrases that are said that leave the deeper impressions. Like she was trying to persuade me to take up marketing, reason being it's for creative people and she thinks i'm creative.

Which got me thinking about my creativity. And i think i'm not really creative. Just idealistic.

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postcards

I was thinking of sending a postcard to my overseas friend the other day. She was born and raised here, but migrated over to the lands where sheep and ring lords roam.

But it didn't make any sense to purchase postcards of singapore flyer or the esplanade. After all, she has seen them already. And i bet the local postcards aren't cheap.

Then, it occurred to me. Wouldn't it be awesome for local scenes to be depicted on postcards? For example, an image of the helicopter that crashed landed onto the punggol field. Imagine that scene with the tagline 'look what dropped into my backyard'

Or the image of the train that broke down, and people had to walk to the next station. Put that beside the 'walk 30 mins a day to keep fit' article and it would be such an awesome match.

What do you think?

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Parents

Sometimes parents think they know everything.
But some know they don't know everything, and so, are willing to humble themselves and learn new things and adapt to new experiences.
Others aren't so selfless. Indulged by years of living, and mentally raised to be prim and proper, they refuse to acknowledge their errors.

Rather, they impose their own idealogies on their children. What they feel, is what their children should feel. Who they dislike and are bias against, so should their children follow in ostracizing the black sheep of the family.

And it's rather sad, cause you see it from bridegroom's side, but i see it from the bride's side. And nothing you say or do will stop me from going out with my friend who's married to my cousin whom you dislike. Cause i know her better than i know you.

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Just A Dream - Sam Tsui & Christina Grimmie

if

Sometimes I wonder... if you paid your bills on time, you wouldn't be demanding for extension of due dates and being confused about your outstanding amounts and insisting we're at fault.

Like srsly.

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the battlefield

Fast and furious, the arrows fly.
Set aflame by anger and irritation,
They ride the winds of rage.
No matter the distance,
No matter their size,
Their sharp steel-pointed tips
Pierce through the thickest shields.

We scurry for cover, digging
Holes to hide, seeking
Refuge and sanctuary, believin
We are doing the right thing.

Some stand and fight and get
Struck down.
Some courageously surge forward
And flee in terror.

Some leave to fight another day.
And a few remain.
Banding together to deter the
Ferocious crowd approaching
With lust for revenge
Their eyes glint with malice
Their heels pummel the ground
With anger.

Every time we take one down,
Ten more rise behind him.

And just as the herd of dementors
Draws near
The sun sets and darkness falls.
And we take a merciful rest for the night.
Where fighting takes a stop
And we count the trickle of survivors
And bury the dead and fallen.

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The scandalous east

Looks like the east is notorious for evil eh?

If you categorize and segregate singapore into north, south, and west, I dare say east has the most prolific scandals.

North is more of a suicide area, with people choosing to die under trains. East, on the other hand, is more criminal minds-ish. Like the downtown slayings. And jack neo. And i think the dude was teo ser luck last time. Remember the man that hired a schoolkid to slash his wife. Or girlfriend. I can't quite remember the details. She was an insurance agent, i think.
And the body found in bedok reservoir park too.

Of course not all such stuff happens in the east, or you would see a mediacorp office outstationed in the east. Like i believe the jealous girlfriend/wife that stomped on her boyfriend/husband's car and trashed the windshield with a hammer.

I wonder if property agents need to heed this kind of sordid details before selling houses.

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life isn't live

And so age slowly creeps up to me;
not so much in numbers as in 22
but in 22 YEARS of memories.

If each memory had its weight
I would be down to my knees,
struggling to even breathe.

If every happy moment had its worth in flight,
I would be to the moon and beyond.
If every sad event had its strike through my heart,
I would have nay a shred of conscience left.

Oh, the times I masqueraded;
like a phoenix dying and reborn from its ashes.

Do you ever see the world and wonder
what ever lies yonder
and be at peace with oneself
as time slowly buries you under?

Aren't we all but a speck of dust
in a world full of dust mites?
But dust is not seen in the dark
It only flits around within the sunlight.

Sometimes I feel lonely.
All around me, what do I see?
Wood, concrete.
And two furry little hamsters for company.

My friend told me this
'why don't you get a life?'
And that started me thinking
what is life all about?

Is it about me, or about you?
About gaining wealth or wisdom or power or knowledge?
Is it about what happens between us
or what happens around us?

Does it have a voice, or a spirit
Does it move on its own accord?
Can it muster its own strength
Or be played like a record?

Will it lead the way
or trudge along?
Should it invoke feelings
To whom does it belong?

Life.
We all have one.
One life.
But for some, they've lost their life.
Their life isn't live.

contemplation of life

You know the type of guys that are shy to initiate conversations with members of the opposite gender, and will blush crimson in embarrassment when their crush notices them or approaches within walking distance?

I'm not one of them.

You know the type of people that live in the present, and get scorned by those who look ahead, because these people don't seem to save for a rainy day and are rather useless and not goal-oriented?

I was one of them. Well, I was only in my teens then, and I suppose the only reason why I was one of them was simply because of my strict upbringing. I had to be home within one hour after school ended or else. I wasn't allowed much freedom. Any friends I brought home were heavily scrutinized. Every female friend was stereotypically assumed to be my girlfriend.

Sometimes I'm amazed I didn't turn out to be a misfit. Maybe genes do play a part. Or my parents were very confident of my loving abilities.

Now, I still am partly who I was. I still live in the present, and partly look to the future. Some people plan out their life in detail and have a goal at every stage at their life; Get a degree by 23, get a fixed and stable job by 25, get married by 30, get two kids by 35 etc.

I'm so not one of those people. I actually don't dictate much in my life. Aimless and goal-less, some might say. I couldn't agree more, really. Cause, you see, I believe that this world is just part of my life, and I'm merely passing through.

Not that I eat drink and be merry everyday, but I tend to lean more towards intangible happiness. Sounds foolish and so childish, but I strive to remind myself not to get too caught up in the materialistic value of this world. Though sometimes I fail, and splurge on shopping but not on branded stuff.

My point being? I live my day to the fullest, knowing that if I were to pass on at the end of the day, and as I draw my last breath, be it in the bus or the train or at home, or while I'm eating or shitting, I'm content, and would live with no regrets.

Sure, there are and definitely will be actions or words that I regret doing or saying; and there will definitely be people I regret hurting. But I don't let this hurt hurt me and bring me down! I let it dissolve within me, and bring me higher, as I learn from it.

What about you? Have you contemplated life recently?

And my converse shoes are here!

And my converse shoes are here!

Recently, there're a few online websites that popped up, offering branded stuff at discounted prices for a limited time only.

Out of curiosity I tried one recently. Brandsfever. Kinda chic actually. I ordered a pair of converse shoes when the sale came about, and I was pleasantly surprised when my package came.

It came in a airtight bag delivered by a courier. Opening it, revealed a shoe box, wrapped in light pink paper with a ribbon, a corporate bookmark, and a handwritten thank you note. Did I mention delivery was fast too? After I receive the notification email that my order was shipped out, it only took one working day for the order to arrive.

Well, if you wanna try it out. I am a supporter of them, actually. Go check out http://brandsfever.com/invite/ranteo/

Cost of sex = 13 million

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Wow! Has it been a month already?

Wow. Has it been a month already, since I've started work?

I remember the first day I started work and had my first taste of efficiency.
Where I work, time is of the essence, thus we are heavily advised to use shortforms any way we can.

Imagine my confusion when I read this: "dtls vrf. cust ackn o/s amt."
In a 'long-winded' manner, that meant: "details verified. Customer acknowledge outstanding amount. "

Now, those shortforms have somewhat been ingrained in me, that it scares me sometimes. Imagine if I were to submit an essay wrote entirely in shortform. I would probably ace the 'hitting the word limit' part and flunk the content, language and grammar part.


Yet it does give me a certain joy. Endorphins run through me at certain parts of the day. Now if only those endorphins can help me to lose weight.

Wow has it been one month already?

And just like that, it has been a month since I've regained my citizen rights.

Honestly i'm still trying to find the right balance though. I haven't been rather successful in factoring in reading of newspapers yet.

I also haven't been exercising as much as I would want to. No time la. So i try to factor it in, by walking up three storeys to office instead of taking the lift. And eating servings of fruits daily. And using the overhead bridge instead of jaywalking. But that's cause got barricade in the divider la.

And i sleep better. Some people dread gg to work. I don't. True, sometimes i dread certain types of people, but then again, I'll never know the type of person my next caller will be, so how do I dread something that I'm unsure of its arrival?

That said, I feel more satisfied with this one month than with my past two years.

Perhaps i'm making up for lost time.

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Do you even know my name

Peas in a pod
Pack of wolves
School of fish
Herd of goats
Flock of birds.

They all stay together
Help each other
And that's what we did.

Then time came by.

Peas got burnt to a crisp.
Wolves left the pack for greener pastures.
Fish got snagged and uplifted.
Goats ate and died
Birds got fried.

And now we're strangers.
Do you even know my name?

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And just like that

And just like that, 22 years whizz past.

Or should I say, 17 years, since we don't remember much from our first few years.

I got a lot of queries from my friends on how I was going to spend my birthday. Fanciful party or partying all night and painting the town red or what?

It was none of the above. I spent my birthday doing what I best. Listening to people rant. I worked during the day and went for a nice casual buffet dinner with my family. And that was it.

Say you like cycling. Chances are you'll cycle on your birthday too. Or if you like to party, your birthday definitely won't be held at a coffeeshop or a restaurant. It'll be held at a club.

In the same train of thought, since I like to converse and aid people, I decided to work on my birthday too, and merely requested for an hour off.

After all, if you like to do a certain action, you won't feel exhausted by doing it. Maybe rock climbing. Or running. Or singing. Or sex. Or suaning people. Or mouthing vulgarities.

Wouldn't you agree?

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You lay.

You lay there in your filth
And dirt covers your flesh.
Torn and tattered,
You are slashed and scattered.
But though you are broken and
Crumbled by hand,
You strengthen me with
Part of the reason i live
A lovely devour
In the morning hour
The taste of your fear
My tongue can't resist but to leer
As you lie there helpless
Without you, life is meaningless
The uncle lovingly make
My fried black carrot cake! :)

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Life is a routine. or not?

My godson recently commented that life is so boring and mundane.


His daily routine was just study eat sleep study eat sleep and on and on that cycle went. I told him working wasn't much better. Work eat sleep work eat sleep. But I don't find boring and mundane.

A typical day for me is actually quite routine, in terms of task list.

I wake up, brush teeth, bathe, do my quiet time.
I take the bus to work.
I have either a plate of black carrot cake or prata for breakfast, and a cup of teh-o.
Then it's off to work, with canned or bottled drinks for hydration.
Lunch is veg rice.
Then back to work.
Then it's back home, bathe, dinner/supper.
Followed by facebook and settling of games, and checking of emails.
Then bed.

And this cycle repeats.

Does sound rather mundane right? But it's so not.

True that the tasks are the same everyday, but it's what happens during the tasks that make each day different from the other.

Maybe the bus driver smiles at me.
Maybe I get a seat and get some shut-eye on the way to work.
Maybe I settle a record number of calls.
Maybe I get a compliment from a caller.
All these and so much more make each day different, and something to look forward to.

Sure, I definitely deal with disgruntled customers. If anger could fry, my phone would be burnt to a crisp by now. But I still surge on. And, I don't bring the feelings forward to the next caller.
I start afresh with each caller.

And at the end of the day, do I feel tired?

Definitely. But I feel satisfied too. Knowing I've done a day of honest work. Honest in the sense that I've spoken with clarity and dealt with honesty. Not honest in the sense of legal or illegal work.

Life is like a wheel. It just goes round and round and round. But this wheel is huge and some parts of it has diamond studs. Some parts are plain wood. Others have saplings growing forth.

It's not what you do everyday, but what you do during each day.

Savour the flavour

Savour every drop,
Let it drip down my throat
Slow.
Caffeine that pumps thru the veins,
That grants the body a surge of energy
Fast.

We are as fast paced as our music allows us to be.

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What? has it been one week already?

Wow. Has it been one week already since I've started work?!

Time passes by very fast. Especially when you feel useful, for a change.

That said, I know why my office is so cold. So that we can keep our cool.

Laaaame, you'll think. But well. Would YOU keep your cool if you get verbally assaulted by strangers for something that is not your fault, and probably yours?

I have old men thinking it's so cool to own an iphone and then they blame us for not informing them of the data roaming option in their phone settings that can be switched off.

And i can remember my first week. On the second day, i felt 'wah lao... Cannot understand the indians at all. Their accent too thick.' Then came the third day and callers from china. Damn demanding these people. Actually just one la. But they also talk damn fast, and i actually have to take a sec or two to process what they say, and mentally slow it down so i can make sense of it.

I realize most singaporeans are actually rather humane. I can't use the word compassionate or forgiving or understanding. What i can say, however, is that majority of them actually apologise after ranting or letting off steam.

Gracious, to a certain extent.

And now, it's back to work. To people who kpkb about one dollar sixty cents.

I know every cent counts, but must so ji jiao meh! People asking for waiver for their 88 dollars or more i understand, cause that is one huge sum. But one dollar sixty cents. You can't even buy a mcflurry with that.

That said, i don't really bring much troubles home. Or maybe, not yet, heh.

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Carrot cake

I was tucking into my fried black carrot cake with much gusto for breakfast, when it struck me how it is so similar to life.

Order black or white, with or without chilli,
It all costs the same.
And so do we.
We were all born at the same cost.
An act of love making.

Regardless of how black the carrot cake it is,
Or how much is strewn across its face,
Or how dirty filthy unclean it looks,
Slice it apart and you'll see
The inside is still as virginal white as
It was born to be.

Aren't we all like that too?
That, inside of us, we will have a certain
Goodness, of some sorts.

That deep down within us,
We are all good people.
Despite our visible blemishes
Or worthless tastelessness,
We are all white inside.

Maybe not fully pure
Not fully clean
Not fully wholesome.

Tarnished by years of filth.
But there will still exist a fragment.

And it is this fragment that is heavily
Attached and desired by
Houseflies seeking a meal.

Don't you think so?

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Will you be my juliet

Will you be my juliet
Sa-sa-said the spider to the fly
Together we'll be famous
Like the ca-ca-catcher in the rye.

This he uttered,
And that he stuttered.
Your web's so cluttered
The fly muttered.

Just head into my lair
And here you'll find all's fair
Your death will be your fare,
Come be my eclair.

Fu-fu-furious you will be
despite me tiny weeny
If i refuse to pay the fee
Of my delicious body.

So back and forth
Their sharp words flew
High and low and loud and soft
They parried till the spider slew.

With a click he thrusts
His eyes emblazoned with lust.
He saliviates
And does not deviate.

So, the fl-fl-fly was no more,
The spider cleaned up the gore,
The sun shone bright,
And the web trembled with delight.

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Like a river

You're like the waters
can one describe the waters
of the earth in one
sentence?

At times you're calm
smooth and gentle
at others you've ferocious
howly disgruntled and raging

And every water needs a beach.

To ebb and flow upon
to crash upon
to gently seep into
and then recede
to take a breather
to rest before back
to life

But of what use is the beach
when the waves refuse to surge upon
when the waters decline to crash upon
when you depart and ripple away?

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I'm baaack!

And my internet has restored!
While I update my torrents download list
to maintain all levels of normalcy,
these past days have made me think a lot
about how much of my daily life is spent
using technology.

Having no internet for four days
is rather depressing.
Nah, that's not right.

I guess, the internet can never really escape us.
Or vice versa.
Take my past few days for example.
Even without an active internet connection,
I could use ebuddy on my phone,
check emails and reply important ones,
and access facebook.
Sortof like a limited internet connection,
but I was still active online.

Why not just scrap off the internet connection and rely
solely on my phone then?
Well, that would be a no-no, because it's different.
It's like using a smaller scaled down-size of my computer
and only very very basic functions.
Like checking my facebook wall, but not able to load facebook's games.
Or checking email but waiting for a longer period of time for the images to load.
Or blogging but with terrible organization and all.
Or replying emails but without proper formatting.

So, I've been thinking can I survive without the internet?
Or, specifically, if the internet at my home goes down again?
I can. I've did it, just with a bit of inconvenience that's all.

I actually die without;
playing my facebook games of which I've invested so much time in;
chattin on msn where I can see my contacts pop up on desktop and it is so much easier to
type on my keyboard than on my phone.
Bigger is better.

And I admit, I've gotten used to switching on the computer after I reach home every night,
with or without a working internet connection.
It was definitely hard to kick the habit, and I didn't.
I did use the opportunity to run virus scans, defrag disks etc.
And, I thank God that I had some videos on my drive I had yet to watch.
One of the reasons why downloading videos is much better than streaming it is that even if the internet fails you, you still can watch it on your computer. or portable media device; psp, ipod etc.

Do you think you can survive if the internet at your house went down?

Apologies

It's been awhile since i've last blogged.

My internet is down.
My home fixed line is down.
My cable tv is down.

All three services for no apparent reason,
and it had to take three calls to get the service technician to come down
(he's coming tomorrow)

like they say,
third time's the charm eh?

so if it all goes well
i should be able to reconnect
and get back in sync with
my virtual life again

to clear emails
and reply on my tagboard
and clean up all my
rotting crops on farmville
decomposed dishes on cafe world
unclaimed rents on millionaire city
unemployment on ceo dream
and uncollected taxes on my empire.
And there's restaurant city.

I don't really play a lot of facebook games.
Really.
And i did consider the possibility of having
connection withdrawal symptoms
cause i fell sick on sunday;
severe flu and cough and slight fever and headache
but now i'm better
no thanks to the two people
who promised to call me back with a
remedy for my disconnection problems
and failed to do so.

Regardless, i'll be back soon!
and with better formatting of the posts
definitely.

On a totally different note though,
i think trainers for companies need to brush up
on their english.
Totally incorrigible.

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All the best in the future

Have you ever wondered
why in cards and such
we tend to wish the other person
all the best in the future
or all the best in your future endeavors
or all the best in life?

It's as if we expect them to have the worst in the future
or we're already prepared for them to face the worst in life?

Maybe we should change greetings to really reflect
our heart's desires.

Think about that the next time you write a card.
Or a letter
Or neither.

That said, it's back to civilian life for me.
No more wearing green and berets or jockey caps
Well, not till they call me back for reservist.
Hurray to keeping long hair.
And probably dyeing too.

Another stage of life has gone,
soon will come another.
But I shouldn't think
sia la, time pass by so fast.
where got time?

But I should think
time passes by so fast
so each second should count
and not just be a numerical value
but an impression or a memory.

Songs in the key of V

Twinkling stars, a cool breeze,
rippling of waves, and nice music wafting around.

Only this wasn't your average walk in the park or picnic by the beach. This was the setting for a performance by Vocapella, a local acapella group.

Held at the Blue Moo Cafe, rooftop of YMCA, Vocapella serenaded its hundred-odd audience - most of it friends and family members - with songs ranging from kpop, to english oldies to chinese pop.

In fact, the songs were so varied by genre and topic, that the members found it rather difficult to link the songs together, to great amusement and enjoyment from the audience.

I found it rather odd that an acapella group would have a concert on an open-air rooftop, and I was a little disappointed with their sound setup of just two tripod-mounted speakers.

Perhaps it was cause of the environment that I didn't enjoy the concert fully. Sure, there were a couple of renditions that were refreshing, but the banter between pieces was weak and often, cold. Or, it could be that I attended the second night concert thus the reason for their fatigued tones and rather lacking-in-enthusiam voices.

The concert started off with great expectations but failed to deliver. The first few pieces were flat, but the standard rose over time. Slowly but surely, the group managed to find their footing (or pitch) and climaxed with their encore.

Honestly, one of their best pieces was their encore choice; an ABBA medley. Maybe they put all their heart and soul in it because they knew it signalled the end of their two hour long concert.

While they should be applauded for a long (by my standards) concert, they might consider just having a one night concert in the future, at a bigger indoor venue.

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Love The Way You Lie - MASHUP (free mp3!)

Parenting

I've been thinking about parenting recently.
Not that I want to be a parent,
but what sort of parent I should be.

And so I've decided.
I would definitely want to cultivate a free speech policy at home
And where trust is there, and we can share what we want.
Though I am skeptical about this,
cause when they become teens,
they would definitely want their own space.
And it would be totally totally require a lot of self-control
not to pry into their lives and fuss over every single thing.

I think I would want one boy and one girl.

And maybe there'll be a no-holds meeting on a particular day every week.
Like can talk about anything, and I will promise not to hold anything back.
Whether it be 'Why I can't have a wii for christmas' 'Can i get more pocket money'.

I envision a family that's bonded by transparency.
They will know how much I earn
How much of it is allocated to them.
They will be responsible and we can all check each others' finances
without worry.

We might set ground rules,
like maybe each person's phone will be private.
Or each computer account will be private sorta thing.

I envision a rather free family though.
Where there ain't any sexual or intelligence biasness.
No comparison, but freedom to pursue one's own interests.
And I'll talk to them about sex.
In fact, me and my wife will.
To both of them.
A family where among the things we celebrate
would be coming-of-age too.
Celebrate my daughter's first period.
I wonder what a guy's coming-of-age requirement is.
I mean, I want it to be free and no holds barred.
Like maybe my daughter will go 'eh dad my period's here. Can help me buy some pads'
That sorta thing.
That their maturing bodies isn't a bad thing.
That it's alright to talk about such stuff.
Or 'hey dad my girlfriend coming over to stay, can a not?'
And I'll be like sure. Want to on the aircon not?
Instead of, 'uhm get your own pads la. how old liao!'
or 'oh. where's she from. how old. how long have you been together. leave the door open ah!'

And in case you're wondering, why a bit emphasis on periods,
it's a slight influence of the mensinmenstruaton link a couple of posts ago.

I would like that freedom in a family.

Fantasy or reality?

Babies toddlers

If babies or toddlers are influenced by what they see and hear,
and what they see the most are usually ceilings and designs on their mothers' shirts,
then wouldn't it be beneficial to have educational materials on such places?

Like rainbows on ceiling
Or twinkling stars,
Or colorful symbols printed on shirts,
Letters of the alphabet embossed,
Numbers emblazoned.

Imagine a wanderer,

Imagine a wanderer

Walking through the lands
On his own
Just a staff for company
And a load of rocks
on his back.

Why rocks you say?
Well they are his secrets
Dirty little secrets
Each don't weigh much
But when accumulated
They drag him down.

Small and sharp,
They cut into his skin
Scars self afflicted
Yet he bears all
And walks through the land.

Till one day, he meets
a girl walking
With a sackful of rocks on her back.
Blood dripping down her back
Drop by drop
Yet she shoulders them all
And walks with a smile.

So, the question remains.
Will they walk together hand in hand
With rocks on their back
Together they will withstand.

Or each will walk his lonely path
of shame and suffering
of eternal wandering
till perhaps they meet again.

Men in Menstruation

I just came across this blog that made a rather interesting read.

http://meninmenstruation.wordpress.com/

Don't ask how I stumbled across it, though strangely I kind-of relate to him.

I find it right insightful though. I mean, his godsisters tell him when their periods come, and he even records it down on a calender. It's like as if he's their father or uh period manager. Which I suppose isn't all that bad for his girls, because they don't really need to worry about bringing out pads or being caught off-guard. Just ask him to bring some. Though I kinda bet he already brings a few in his bag around nearer their periods.

I doubt it would ever happen over here though. Too socially-shy and all. Though I would definitely keep track of my girlfriend's dates so I know when not to go out, or when to ask if she wants a hot drink instead of a cold one. Simple things, you know.

Besides, I really agree with the writer about how it shouldn't be so gender-biased. Perhaps we should talk about it more. But what to do?! We are brought up in a conservative society what.

Though I definitely would try to cultivate an open concept within my family. Periods, sex, and low birth rates. Transparency would be good too I think.

Grow Up

To see them think for themselves
To see the cogs in their mind
Turning, whirling

Some turn later
Some turn slower
Others earlier
Others faster

But they all turn.

A journey each has to make on his or her own
A self-identity crisis I call it.

Where they learn about themselves
And make crucial decisions
In thinking,
In deeds,
In actions,
That will affect them for the rest
of their life.

I can only guide
Watch from afar
And smile to see
them grow up.

The Tyger

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire in thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art?
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand, and what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb, make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

William Blake

Sandcastle

I watched sandcastle today.

It's a locally-produced film that's airing in GV. I personally think it's awesome that GV shows local films because it makes such films more easily accessible to the public.

Local films are a challenge because you never know what to expect. For example, western films are usually action or romance or comedy. Local films tend to fit into none of these genres. They usually try to cover more than one, or none at all, in this case, none at all.

To put it simply, Sandcastle is a reflection of life in Singapore that comes a bit too late.

An 18 year old male stays at his grandparents house for two weeks because his home is undergoing renovation. His dad died of cancer a few years ago and his mum is going to china. He doesn't speak dialect which is his grandparents' main language so they communicate in a mixture of silence and mandarin.

Death occurs, and along with it is his self-exploration into the idea of family, as he copes with lust, responsibility, and filial piety. Oh, and he also learns of a link between his father and a communist riot in the mid 50s in Singapore.

The film's pace could have gone faster a bit, because it does get draggy at times, and I yawned thrice during the movie. While plenty of themes were touched on, perhaps a few could have been explored more indepthly.

That said, i'm thankful the show was only 90 minutes because I would have dozed off if it were any longer.

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Tension

A spring, metallic and shiny,
coiled up, ready to
stretch and be released,
tension.

A rope, tethered between
two bridges, spanning a
wide crevice,
its ends frayed and threads withered
hanging by a thread,
tension.

Raise your voice half a pitch
flail your arms and shout
i don't care
stamp your feet and gaze
upon thy soul,
thus is tension.

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Sex

Let's talk about sex.

After all, it's about time we started talking about it; seeing that we have a declining birth rate and an increasing cases of school children in compromising positions. Maybe we should just lower the minimum age of consent eh? That would solve a lot of population problems. Or encourage fellow citizens to start procreating or else we'll import in an ah tiong.

When we became independent, it was our strategic geographic location that helped us to rise and be what we are today. Now, it is this same strategic location that has created a very crucial problem which is how to tackle the topic of sex.

On one hand, we have the older generation, who are heavily immensed in chinese cultures and beliefs, having been reared in them, and regards sex as a taboo subject. On the other side of the coin, we have the younger generation, who have brought up on a diet of coke and american pop, and has no qualms talking about sex.

Frankly, the older generation doesn't really need to talk about sex, because their parents didn't talk about it, and they're doing so well, so why start now? And, even if they feel that they should start now, how should they go about it, since their parents didn't talk about it.

Also, where got time la? Daddy mummy need to work so that you can get your iphone4 and ipod and pay your tuition fees. You also need to study for tests, and go for tuition and piano class and still need to volunteer for YOG somemore. Where got time?

So we try to find a compromise to the whole situation, and push the responsibility to the ones that our children definitely has time for - school.

But what can they do? Their hands are definitely tied. Some parents say safe sex should be promoted, others say abstinence should be the main issue instead. The debate will never end. Add a recent survey of teenagers whose main question really is 'What is sex?' and you'll realize perhaps the sexual education curriculum is barking up the wrong tree.

I think I have the solution to the problem. Sure, it would definitely raise eyebrows but every idea faces opposition right?

What I propose is that the sexual education curriculum be split into two levels, Stage 1 and Stage 2. See, more teenagers are maturing at an early age. Periods start earlier for girls. Wet dreams come earlier for boys too, probably. So the Stage 1 should be taught at an upper Primary level, namely in Primary 6. This should just cover the basics, like what is sex and what is puberty and how to cope with a growing body. You know, the really really basics. Don't need to cover protection and STDs yet.

(Of course there is an issue of what exactly is the definition of sex, but that will be in another post.)

I'm confident those nuggets of information would satisfy any curiosity that a growing tween would have. (I think). Of course, any changes or improvements can be made in due time, by conducting surveys or reviews. Also, I don't really foresee much opposition with parents here, since neither abstinence nor safe sex is promoted here. It's just teaching the facts.

Now comes the tricky part. Stage 2. Stage 2 is to teach information of a more in-depth level. Here the smaller details get taught. The students learn what is sex in Stage 1, now they learn why the need for sex in Stage 2. After all, they learn history and literature and geography in their normal curriculum, and in those subjects sex is more or less involved in one way or another.

What I am going to say is definitely going to raise some eyeballs, let alone eyebrows. But, I think since Stage 2 is going to be more mature in content, we should take the opportunity to educate about the fine points of sex. Topics like foreplay, respect, mutual satisfaction, as well as intimate hygiene should be taught too. True, it might seem obnoxious that a 15 year old kid learn about foreplay, or climax. But think far ahead. This knowledge that sex isn't just about pleasuring the guy, may lead to mutual benefits in the future. Now I'm not suggesting that it should be a very extreme level of education where they learn about sexual positions or morning after pills or dildos. I'm merely saying that certain mature topics should be taught in Stage 2.

There definitely are and will be grey areas of course, like masturbation and contraception.

But, this is just my thoughts, of course.

Lastly, these two stages should be taught as e-learning topics. After all, youths nowadays are more comfortable with a keyboard or touchscreen than a pen. Also, this eliminates the need for more-liberal teachers to teach the subjects. E-learning also grants students anonymity to ask any questions they want, with no embarrassment whatsoever, as opposed to the traditional raise-your-hand-and-ask-a-question style. This is also good for the ministry or for any moderators, because all content can be screened or recorded, be it chat logs or lesson syllabus. Questions by the students can be logged and if a lot of them ask a similar question, it can be added into the curriculum itself. What better way to improve than by using its own data?

You know, even if you disapprove of the Stage 1 Stage 2 thing, I truly hope someone brings up the idea of making sex ed an e-learning topic because the benefits are totally obvious. And, I can't really think of any cons.

Let me know if you can. :)

customizable phone perhaps?

Perhaps in the near future, handphones come with customizable hardware upgrades, so instead of choosing a handphone based on specs, you could just choose one based on brand, and then customize it from there, like perhaps choosing diff battery types, or diff processors, etc; kinda like how you can customize computers, but a handphone version.

Imagine the freedom! You get to decide anything from the size of your screen to adding a qwerty keyboard to the size of your internal memory.

New shows

So, now that most of the TV shows produced in America are on a hiatus so as to film the following seasons, I have the time to sample other shows, in the hope that they might be able to cure my boredom and complement my existing shows.

So, I've listed the shows I follow regularly, by genre, and the ones in bold are the new shows that have caught my eye, and I approve of them for now.

Comedy

Better Off Ted*
The IT Crowd

Action

NCIS
Covert Affairs
The Mentalist
Lie To Me
Psych
White Collar
Trauma*
Knight Rider*

Sci-Fi

Doctor Who
Eleventh Hour*
Fringe
Sanctuary
Haven

Mind-blowing

Criminal Minds

Music

Glee

As you can see nothing can replace or even complement Criminal Minds. It's like people saying Salt can complement Inception. Like hello?! She's totally out of my league.

Anyway, those with asterisks means they've axed future episodes, sadly.

P.s. If you want any of these shows, just ask. :)

Unsympathetic.

The dictionary defines sympathy as sharing of feelings, while empathy is explained as entering or understanding the feelings.

I think being in the army robs me of all sympathy. Perhaps that is one of the few things army has taken from me.

Yet, this world is full of people looking for sympathy. It need not be a significant occasion, like death. It can be something as small as a friend getting bruised, or a sore neck, or a sprained ankle.

Not that I'm completely unsympathetic, self-reflection makes me realize I still have sympathy for those who suffer from something I haven't experience before. Like cramps, of the female nature. I still have sympathy, and obviously not empathy.

But, if it's a bruise or a cut or a sprained ankle and you shake the heavens and the earths because it hurts, I simply have no sympathy. Not because I am a heartless and unfeeling man, but because I've experienced it and still gone on my duties.

I've walked more than 60km with triple layers of blisters, and a sprained ankle, and a sore back, and it is simply impossible for me to summon up some sympathy for you.

I could lash out and point out every grumbling of yours, but what would be the point of that? And so, I hold back my tongue, because no sympathetic words come out, and simply because there is nothing I truly wish to say.

I wonder if you take the silence as encouragement to speak further or as an indicator to switch the topic.

Army has its 'occupational' hazards too.

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Inferrence and identify exercise

She, in her late twenties.
Crystal watch, lots of bling.
Iphone cover's full of studded crystals.
Image conscious maybe?
likes to shine, or outshine others perhaps?
black bag with 'gateway' embossed on it
portable and easy to bring around.
Convenience.
A wanderer, not a stayer maybe.
Loyal till there's no interest and off to find another.
No ring, but she has an intimate friend.
Unless. Of course.
He's carrying her bag for her.
Someone who wants to be served then.
Not afraid to speak her mind,
to say her piece.
No ear rings, long fingernails.
White-coated toenails,
complementing her black dress theme.
Office worker, someone behind a desk,
not very active.
These are all inferences.

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What might we

One step forward, two steps back,
Well, how do you like that?

Strange how easy it is to go back to
people whom I once was with
but a short time and then weren't.

But the history is unsettling.
How do we make it for, in the present?
And what do we make of it?

What make we make of each other?

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So Early

I haven't been out of house so early in such a long time.

The nice blue sky overcast - a nice blend that can be replicated in photoshop with the gradient tool.

Students with their name tags displayed so prominently on their uniforms, displaying their full name for all to see, and track, and stalk.

Some walk along, like drones, in zombiefied stances.

Others walk like robots, receiving directions and downloading To-Do lists from their earphones.

And the smell. This fresh crisp air, filled with excitement and unknown possibilities for the day. Return of test results, a new love interest, heartbreak and heartaches, who truly knows?

Some stuff their heads in books, others in newspapers. The dude at my diagonal right opposite reading his papers with a frown. Stocks not doing well? Or he hasn't relaxed his facial muscles yet. The man in his mid-40s, dressed in a bright blue Hawaiian shirt, standing in front of me looks forlorn out in the distance of the carriage window. Thinking about the long day ahead? Or wondering about the mistakes he made in bed last night?

Who knows what the future holds?
Its possibilities no one truly knows.
Unless we seize the chances
To live our dreams
And make our aspirations become
Reality.

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Chink

A chink in the armor,
A small slit in the breastplate.

Imagine a dam,
Solid and strong it stands.
Firmly controlling and holding back
The rating waters that threaten to
Extinguish flames and destroy lives.

Then a small crack occurs. Like a small pinlight. but light doesn't shine through.

Instead a drop of water trickles too.
Followed by another.
And another.

And thus the whole dam became empty.
Thanks to one little crack.

The End. :)

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ferocity

The darkness in your eyes,
It grabs and grasps my attention.
Slowly leading me in,
Enticing with curiosity,
Engaging in ferocity.

Darkness that overwhelms
Is there such a thing as dark black?
Cause if there were,
Your eyes would be them.

What dwells within your eyes
Deep, dark and so deceptive,
So full of lies.

What might I find in them?
Buried treasures, or
A delightful soul?

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New Blogskin

Well, I got lazy to design my own blogskin, and decided to leap across
and try blogger's new designs with gadgets etc etc.

Perhaps till I get my own site, will I go back to creating webpages.

So, for now, html and css, I bid you adieu.

For hopefully a year.

Just plain text for now.

I hope.

Lust.

Lust.
It wafts in through the window.
Like freshly baked cookies.
Irresistible.
Like the fragrance of a bubbling curry.
Or steaming white coconut milk rice.
Catching me unaware.
A blissful choke.
Cutting off my air supply.
Lust.

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Passion alone is not enough..

Passion alone is not enough. You must know your stuff and if there is a place for it in the market place.

I read that in The New Paper today.

True or false. Hmm.

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Real virtuality

In the future, reality becomes virtual,
And vice versa.
Don't you think so?

In the past we were aware of our surroundings,
Since that's what reality's about.
Knowing where we were and
What was around us.

Now, as the virtual worlds strives to
Emulate reality and increasing
Virtual awareness of what's around us,
We become unaware of what's happening
In reality.

People using their smartphones,
Tapping messages away,
So focused on typing it right,
We don't notice the old lady
With plastic bags struggling to cross the road.

Boon or bane?

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Removing a tooth

The most suffering part,
About removing a tooth,
Is not the vigorous shaking of the head,
Or vicious pulling of the tooth,
But the slow and irritating healing,
As the wound slowly closes,
And causes a mild but noticeable
Distraction.

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death by past?

What is it about the past
that to destroy it we must

Every shred of evidence
of our existence
Every bean of knowledge
of our presence
We have to eradicate.

Each telling of a thousand words,
Each document of our unscrupulous deeds,

Could it be we detest our past
We sloth in the present
and bleakly look to the future?

Should sleeping dogs lie
or rouse them and snuff them?
Is it what we have done or what we did not do?
Missed opportunities in studies, romance and life.

Surely innocence and naivety
shouldn't be so easily dismissed
Such as teenage angst and strife.

Is yours the same?
Murder like no other,
death by past?

Dental

Perhaps the greatest compliment to a dentist
would be to fall asleep in the chair
to show such trust in his skills
that one is so relaxed that
one falls asleep.

Or it could be fatigue.

Today's dental was average la.
Started with a little trepidation
but then it ended quite alright.
And now I'm braced.

Perhaps it's true that when one sense is reduced,
other senses step up to maintain the equilibrium.

I could have sworn I smelt black pepper crab on his gloves.
And I could have sworn I smelt female arousal too.
Perhaps the nurse.
Perhaps.

dreams

I had a rather weird dream last night.

I dreamt I was bathing my daughter of around five years of age (I think) and there was a man trying to snatch her away from me.

That's the gist of it though. In dream-lity, it lasted way longer than the time it took for you to read that sentence.

And, the night before I had a deja vu dream. You know, those kind of dreams where you see a particular scene and it's not familiar or very memorable, but in the future, whether it be one, five or ten years, the scene becomes reality, and it strikes you that you've seen it somewhere before.

My instinct told me it was a deja vu dream.

Waves of dreams. I feel something major is coming. But what?

Ray

Plugged into her world of musical fantasy
where colors mix with emotions and
troubles blend into oblivion.

A hook, a leap,
a turn, a skip.

There're no others,
no we, no them,
just I, me and myself.
Perfection in solitude.

Left foot out, right foot in,
Twist, sway, steps in array.

No walls fence her in
no border for self expression
Self recognition, self reflection
Angst transforms into

Colors.
Each a different hue and blend
A constant beat, a pulsating gland.

Her escape from the world
from family
from pressure
from emotional heart-wrecks
from standards of the world.

do or die

The other day, me and my bunk mates were talking about occupational hazards.
Now I don't mean occupational hazards like being killed by a crane on a construction site or a firefighter dying of smoke inhalation, but how certain lines of work affect your life.

For example, a person serving many years in the army would be accustomed to having his orders obeyed without hesitation, or having a disciplined lifestyle, and he would probably bring this home as well. So, if his child were to question his orders, he might probably flare up and shout back.

Or a male gynaecologist might lose his sexual appetite. Asking females to spread their legs for him might be sexually arousing for many who might want to do that on a occasional basis, but on a daily basis, it would probably lower his libido.

Or a mathematician might get sick of seeing numerals after work. And the list goes on and on.

Every job has its hazards, some are easy to identify like death or physical disability, but there are others that affect you psychologically and emotionally, and so a right balance must be struck; between work, life and love.

Do, or die.

New feature

Well, in case you haven't noticed!

There's a new feature at the top!

You can personalize your viewing options from those options at the top.
It works in every latest version of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome, but if for some strange reason it doesn't work on yours, do let me know by dropping a tag at the tagboard to the left.

I should be adding more options in due time, and hopefully a better visualizing appeal, instead of its boxed shape, though that would be a bit tricky considering I'm building a rope ladder in the dark, i.e. I'm not too sure how to go about doing it. Yet.

Till the next prose or poetry entry, or updates, take care :)

life stands still

Grass sways gently in the wind
The road along, long and empty
save for one man.

Polo tee and Levi's jeans
A black bag on his back
Shades protect his eyes
and a pair of earphones embedded deeply.

His hand wave to and free
conjuring dreams and visions
raging phoenixes and fiery dragons
gliding serpents with flickering tongues

A snap of fingers and a bench appears.
He takes a rest, plugs out his earphones
and enjoys the serenity.

An eagle soaring high above the clouds,
A gazelle raises its horns to look at him,
before galloping away.

He sits and enjoys his moments of freedom and worrylessness.
No need to take the first step to inquire about people
no need to worry about feelings of others
a rest from worrying about others and not himself
a rest from being taking for granted
and just enjoy nature and
God.

A breeze blows away his fatigue
and grants him new patience and understanding.
And you might just blink and miss it
but if you looked closely
you would have seen two men in white
sitting by his side on the bench.

As the three of them sat and watch the setting of the sun,
and enjoyed the breeze that wafted through
riding on it the smell of the sea,
the sounds of seagulls cawing in the distance,
and for that moment,
life stands still.

http://photofunia.com/

Perhaps you've always wanted to add some zest to your photos
but downloading photoshop seems like such a hassle
and besides, even if you did obtain a copy of photoshop,
you simply don't know where
or how to add several cool photo effects.

Welcome to Photofunia!

All you need to do is to upload, click your effect and voila! done!

Simplicity at its best.

Enjoy :)

So much software to be downloaded at the start

So I managed to get my desktop fixed by buying a new hard drive.
(never going to buy any internal hard drive from western digital again)
But what struck me after installing my Win 7 is the amount of software that I need to download for my day to day operations.
And I don't mean the 20+ windows updates.
Here's what I downloaded:
(I personally recommend these softwares)

Music
iTunes

Video
VLC

Communications
WLM
Skype

Internet Browsers
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome
Apple Safari
Internet Explorer

System maintenance
Auslogics Disk Defrag
Revo Uninstaller
CC Cleaner

Security
Spybot Search and Destroy
Malwarebytes Anti Malware
Ad-Aware
Avira AntiVir

Miscellaneous
Notepad ++
Audacity
Core FTP Lite
MagicDisc
7zip
Any Video Converter
Videora Ipod Video Converter

Those are 19 applications.
And I haven't included the add-ons like flash player, java handlers etc.
And all these before I can actually start to do any work.

(So tempting to compare these list of apps to those of a mac)

links to watch world cup and others

Firstly, this blog isn't dead.
It's just that I've been having a fever.
And it'll only subside after July 12th.
Yup, world cup fever!

If you told me four years ago, that I would be so engrossed in the world cup
that my knowledge of soccer players would improve tremendously,
I would have scoffed and shook my head in disbelief.

Perhaps it's an after-effect of ten sleeping partners.
Each on his own bed, mind you.

Oh, and if you're wondering how you can watch world cup online for free...

For windows, there're loads of free software you can use.
TV Ants, sop cast, TVU and many more. Just google and there'll be so many.
Be warned though, that most of them actually stream china channels,
so you might wanna mute it if you can't tahan prc lingo.

Mac users are at a disadvantage however. It seems the whole world
thinks mac users don't watch world cup.
But! I have found several sites that offers free live streaming, regardless of browser.

1) Atdhe.net
2) p2plive.net

There are probably tens of such sites offering live streaming.
It doesn't take a lot of effort to set up a stream though, and we should all thank
citizens in the western countries for streaming it free for us.

However, for every ten websites, five close down within half an hour or so.
So it really boils down to which reputable stream you can find.

Also, on another note altogether, my desktop crashed.
Windows updates brought down my 1tb Western Digital hard drive.
I'm hoping to get a new one soon though.
It's depressing.

I'm using my macbook now, but I just discovered my battery is expanding.
Like, seriously. I think cause of frequent overheating.
So, I'm running my mac on ac power now
and this is such a double whammy.

Perhaps there'll be one strike and then I'll be out.

Oh, and GO GHANA! :D

The road

On me rides mangled heaps of steel
Shades of glass and complex rubber creations
But their tough hardened shell does not protect
does not hide nor deflect that which is within
Which I feel.

'Cause I am the road
the one you pound on, in frustration
the one you ride on, in fear
the one you puke on, in ecstasy,
the one you brake on, in enthusiasm.

Do you know how I feel?
Absorbing these emotions
that are driven onto me.

doh.

I need to get a new blogskin up. This current one is awful. But I just don't have the necessary inspiration. Yet.

And. Suddenly I'm wondering am I putting in too much.
Spending so much on you all.
This temporary feeling of insecurity.

Will I be a constant in your life or a distant memory
Someone trustable or fun perceivably

I've lost my muse. I miss having a muse.

pace of time

I removed my wisdom tooth today.
Massive, of mammoth proportions
so my dentist said.
The biggest he's seen so far.
Now does anyone know whether
tooth fairies pay out by
weight or by size?

And as I lie on my bed pondering such
redundant and wisdom-less queries,
another train of thought comes to mind.

I cannot download a speed recovery software
Or reformat a teeth OS
or do a teeth cleanup
or take pills to speed up the recovery
of my gums and the demise of a tooth.

In this age of technology and speed,
where fast food chains are just around the corner
where speed is essential,
be it business productivity
or fiber optic networks
or sending out tweets immediately

There are certain stuffs that can only
follow the pace of time
death of a loved one
breaking of the heart
mastering agility
increasing knowledge
recovering after an operation
and the list goes on.

There are and always will be stuffs that require us
to slow down and wait for time to catch up with us
to let us stop and smell the roses
to pause by the park and take a breather
or a refreshing swim in the lake
as seagulls fly by
or ducks lazily waddle past.

And so time imposes upon us
every now and then
that we can't control everything in life
there will always be circumstances
or events that are beyond our reach
and we can only kowtow and pay our respects
to the pace of time.

Blade

A blade of grass being blown by the wind.
Tossed and turned by forces unseen,
It swirls and curls its wisps green.

Fact is stranger than fiction sometimes

Post of facts.

Fact 1) The dude I did guard duty with two nights ago was currently pursuing a degree in environmental engineering.

Fact 2) Me and a friend were chatting on our plans to open a blog shop.

Fact 3) We then proceeded to chat about social enterprises and charities using hard-selling to attract donors.

Fact 4) A girl came by the table to get donations by selling coupons.

Fact 5) She was going to open her blog shop.

Fact 6) She studied environmental engineering.

What are the odds of that.

musical stairs

I saw on the news recently a clip of a stairs that had a musical improvement. Each step became a key of a keyboard - the music kind, not computer kind - and it supposedly encouraged people to use the stairs, exercise, and make music at the same time.

Of course, this means their definition of music is a chromatic scale. And nothing more. After all, how can you create a chord by yourself when you only have two feet. Or maybe we could ask strangers to help us ask music. (Hey mister, can you just jump on that C note for me. I want to hear a chord.)

It's a rather novel idea of course, and its idea is to be encouraged and taken notice of, (the idea btw is to exercise more and if you use the escalator, stand on the left. I think), but not very practical.

Can you imagine the stairs of Raffles Place being turned into a keyboard? During morning or evening rush hour, the sheer volume and dis-chords will make phantom of the opera sound like a sonata.

So we should just scrap the idea, seriously. Why not adapt the idea to something more practical, like placing such 'musical stairs' in concert halls or theatres. It would definitely make tuning much easier. Just tap on the step, or throw a tuba or a drum stick at the step, and the whole band can tune.

Like all things, there is a drawback however. If your band or performer takes a long time to tune, you probably need to buy a box of drum sticks, or hire a tap dancer.

But wouldn't such an idea make more sense? And if you really want people to exercise? Just render the escalator immobile, or shut it down.

Then people lan lan must walk. :)

I spy with my little eye someone

It can be rather amusing playing with kids.
You play 'I spy with my little eye'
and say 'I spy something wearing green'
And the kid retorts back 'I'm not a thing'.

okays.

okay. this is just to say this blog isn't dead.

but i might be shifting to livejournal though. needa learn how to tweak their themes.

and i'm counting down. 5 more months. and no more green uniform for me! :)

sometimes it's not whether the business idea can work or not, but whether there're enough funds to start it up.

and soc sucks.

bye.

spark sparkle sparkling sparkled

I walked past you and you caught my eye.
Your eyes did, actually.
Your sparkling eyes.
All my life, I had assumed descriptions of people's eyes
that sparkled are mere exaggerations.
Till I met you.
For just a split second, I saw your eyes sparkle.
Maybe it was a reflection of light.
After all, it was raining and perhaps a beam of light
shot through a falling drop of rain and bounced
across the surface of your eye and towards me,
thus your eyes sparkled.
But maybe, it really did sparkle.
Maybe it sparkled with a spark of life.
No, with sparks of joy.
Nah, your sparkling eyes probably sparkled with the joyful sparkling of the sparks of life.
Yea, maybe it's that then. :)

Rain mozzies suck

Raindrops keep falling on my head.
Means mozzies will fly in when I'll be lying on my bed.
Sucking blood off every inch of my skin,
beware fat bugs from mosquitoes lean.

A nice blend

Throw in a pinch of love
A blast of air
Mix them together
Sizzling on a frying pan.

Add some salt and pepper
Add some hearts' desire
A bit of time, a bit of space,
And a whole pot full of haste.

Slowly and tenderly,
stroke the fire burning gently,
Use the wood to blow a little wind
Fan the flame from within

Some lust or secret seduction,
like melting chocolate over a hot furnace,
Some dreams or lofty aspiration
like glass roasting on an open fire.

The opening of a can
its bubbles of fizz floating upwards
like joy in a symphony
the emotions in its quivers
Though it does not waver.

A nice blend it is.
A nice band we are.
A nice blended band we'll be.

where has my muse gone.

What if your heart is with one
and your mind with another

What if the world ended now
and you dug through the rubble
and found a book
and you were told to bring it West.

But the world is round.
After some traveling, going West brings you back to where you started.
Then, would you gripe and bitch?
Or sit down and reflect upon experiences learned?

There's a man in the mirror.
But a mirror like no other.
For within are dozens of doors.
Some lead to calming streams with children playing pebbles
Others lead to raging storms and howling winds.

Some open to new frontiers
Others to impending doom.
And some to history.

One or two may lead to red roses
or a braying pony.
One or two might lead to a skeleton in the closet
Or open a can of worms.

And, what happens then?
To see, and be reminded of the past.
To be dismissed within the blink of an eye
But dismissed as what?
History; a chapter closed?
Or as a joke and to laugh about it and a new chapter begins?

I could have sworn I knew you.
And for a time we did too.
Yet there's a time to know, and a time to forget.

I can't forget you.
Each and every of you.
'Cause you forge and mould.
And I'll never let you go.

my love.

This chunk of brass
sound that resonates from within
cold and unfeeling it starts off
staring at me with such ferocity in its eyes
till we sit down
and have some time together
and over time we get to understand
each other
and over time we get to appreciate
one another

But. when you go, you leave a void within me
and yet it's good to be back with you
though i wonder for how long.

my love.

i've lost my muse

has anybody seen my muse
it's missing, so i deduce
it vanished over time
without no reason, without no rhyme

Short Story Part 1

Smoothing his coat, he strode into the concert hall, exuding elegance and poise. To the public eye, he appeared well-mannered and full of grace. Those in his inner circle, only on condition of anonymity, speak of his haughtiness and narcissistic pride.

With a swift nod to the usher, he made his way to his seat, sat down and observed those seated near him. While he appeared calm and composed, his mind reeled at the total lack of adhering to dress codes for art performances.

"These young kids in their shirts and berms and flip-flops! Do they think they're going to the beach?", he scorned inwardly. "And that male in his early twenties seated in the corner! Surely it doesn't take a lot of effort to style his hair or at the very least comb it to a certain degree. And that girl seated three seats on the left! That plunging neckline coupled with that skirt way above the knee. Was that what she wore a couple of years back, or perhaps a hand-me-down!", he muttered to himself.

"Such a disgrace to society and utterly disrespectful to the artistes. Don't they know how to dress better? Perhaps the arts management should educate the youths on the social etiquette. After all," he thought to himself, "it was only through his donation of a million dollars that this concert hall still remained standing!"

The bell chimed thrice, the lights dimmed, and the audience quickly settled down; loud chatter dwindling to hushed whispers and then to pure blissful silence save for the occasional stifled cough or clearing of the throat.

Digital Notepad / Graphics Tablet

You're diligently jotting down notes for your math class using your tablet / laptop / ipad when the teacher draws out a sphere on the whiteboard. Oh no! Panic! Quick! Start up Photoshop to draw it out. Or maybe I should just use custom shape in Microsoft Word. Or maybe just use Paint. Oh no! The teacher erased the object and all surrounding formulas already!

With the Cyberpad by Adesso, you don't need to worry about that anymore. It's a digital notepad and graphics tablet, and handwritten notes or diagrams can be synced to your computer.

So, those cartoons you drew out of boredom in class can be quickly uploaded to your blog in the blink of an eye instead of the usual scan-and-upload method.

It'll cost you around $200. Deduct the time shaved from scanning and uploading or those frenzied moments, and it becomes priceless!


http://www.adesso.us/index.php/en/home/tablets/graphics-tablet/154-cyberpad-a4

Now.

The heat increases, as the rollers stay shut. The gentle wind rustles a few leaves on the floor, somersaulting and hovering ever so gently.

Neither a murmur at the common area, nor the usual cacophony of environment noise, as people simply lie back and relax, while others go and celebrate with relatives.

Catch up with lives,
Some genuine, others superficial.
Be nice relatives and hosts,
Some out of goodwill, others mandatory.

Perhaps I shouldn't have left your life so sudden
But, you did say you chose him.
Perhaps it's just a misunderstanding between the both of us
But, if you ever need anything, a listening ear or two,
I'm just a text away. :)

darkness

Slowly creeping into oblivion
The darkness that opens its
gaping wide mouth
The ground that tips in its favor

Darkness swarms the land
Locusts flies of every kind
Green to black, air to death,
The total decimation of the mind.

Ghouls that fly and wail and screech
Carcasses lie stripped and bare
Choking, flailing arms,
Disaster fills the air

Bluetooth

Bullets whiz past overhead, as shells exploded in the distance. The ground shook, and trees shuddered and reacted with falling leaves, as if trying to protect its own bark. Shouts of commands and morale-boosting one words like 'Go!' and 'Charge!' and 'Die!' could be heard every now and then, as men clad in green ran from tree to tree, clamored from trench to trench, survived enemy to enemy,

He moaned in orgasmic agony, his mind converting pain to pleasure. He tried to speak, but he couldn't. 'Medic!' Someone shouted and a huge towering giant lumbered over, carrying both a stretcher and a machine gun. 'Oh no!', he uttered in a rather surprisingly high pitched voice.

Blood foaming out of his mouth, a sudden stream of blood pulsated out of his body by a bullet that ricocheted. The medic swiftly tended to both his wounds as best as he can, before hailing for a heli-evac. 'This will ease the pain', the medic said and injected him with a dose of morphine, sending him to a ferris wheel of unconsciousness.

He woke up a few hours later, to find a rather artistic hole through his teeth, a reminder of the bullet he took for his buddy, and a reminder that brushing and maintaining the strength of your teeth is very important.

Due to technological advancements, and compensation from insurance, he managed to implant a free device in the empty gap in his tooth, blue in color.

Bluetooth. :)

All By Himself

He kneels amongst the withered crops, tears stream down his face. His hands rough and hard pummel the ground in frustration. He lifts up his head and gives a great howl that echoes all through the crops field and beyond.

Birds resting on nearby branches cease their chirping and flutter away, leaving the broken and beaten man by himself.

Alone. Desolate. Useless.

The crops he took time and effort to plow were all gone. Withered. Savaged. Burnt. Destroyed.

All. By. Himself.

The Edge of Darkness

The Edge of Darkness starring Mel Gibson is a movie not to be missed. It is a thriller, literally. Expect sudden scenes that will startle you and be prepared to not anticipate, because you will never know what will come next. There will be certain scenes of dialogue that makes it seem a little boring and mundane, but it is merely just a prelude to exciting scenes.

In a nutshell, the movie is about a father's quest for the truth behind her daughter's death. Shot right in front of his eyes, he disbelieves the notion that he, being the cop, was the intended victim. Not knowing anything about his daughter's life or work, whom he single-handedly brought up, this movie is about his path for the truth, and for the greater good of mankind.

The Box

I watched The Box at GV Plaza Sing just now.

If you're looking for a show that's entertaining, full of action or romance or leave you with a warm-fuzzy feeling in your heart, then this show ain't for you.

What this show is effective in doing though, is to prompt you to think about certain life questions like for example between money and life, though not in the normal way you'll expect.

*spoiler alert*

The movie is about a stranger who turns up on the doorstep and drops off a box. In the box is a button. Push the button and somebody out there in the world, whom you do not know, dies. Oh, and you get one million dollars. In Cold Hard Cash.

Will you push the button?

Also, further on in the movie, the male lead had to choose between killing his wife, and saving his son, or not killing his wife, but his son loses his sight and hearing.

Which would you choose?

Overall, the music wasn't fantastic, and the plot was average, but the mental stimulation was good. Not for the faint-hearted though, lest you break down emotionally.

An expression of freedom or a dependence on labor?

The school girl running forward to push open the gates of the condo as the maid trudges slowly behind, carrying her school bag.

An expression of freedom or a dependence on labor?

Family

Family is the basic unit of society. Imagine a pyramid. The bottom layer is family, the top is society. When family ceases to exist, so does society. I don't mean the disappearance of the whole society or denial of its existence. I mean family as a function. When the foundation of a building is weakened, the whole structure shudders and sways as easily as a sea of reeds in the wind. Thus, in the same way, when a family loses its cohesion emotionally, society morphs. Whether it evolves into another shape, or diminishes and crumbles over time, nobody truly knows.

You, across me, in the train.

And, just for that brief moment, a connection between our eyes, like an infrared data transfer. When your eyes glanced elsewhere, the connection was severed. But, within that split second, I looked right into your heart.

You're confident, though time management isn't your forte. Easily contented, you are successful simply because you know you want to. You believe each gender has its own specific set of rules to be followed and roles to be played.

I'm fairly confident arts is part of your life, be it performing or visual. Perhaps you had dance training before. You aren't athletic and though you feel you're fat, you still respect and love your body the way it is.

You dare to take risks, but only those you're comfortable with, and given much thought beforehand. You get cautious when people enter your personal space. You go more by feelings and intuition than by facts and figures. You have a knack for learning, but whether you're good at is a different matter altogether.

You have yet to fully mould your personality but you know you're unique. Optimistic, and easy going, though you get swayed easily by what your group of friends tell you. If you're trying on a clothing article, and your friend says it looks good, you'll buy it near-immediately.

You treasure loyalty.

Future.

Floating in space.

Actually, it's not really floating. It's more like drifting. Slowly drifting in which ever direction gravity is pulling you. The strongest gravitational field, that is.

And you can tell by the way I'm writing this, that it's meant to be written as a dialogue. Just close your eyes and listen to my voice. Okay, wait, don't close your eyes cause you wouldn't be able to read what I'm writing if you do so. Just, breathe in and breathe out gently and steadily and let peace fill your heart.

Welcome to my tail. (This is meant to be read literally and not grammatically so who cares if it's tail or tale) And look! That's earth. *points* Small ball of green and blue. Now we zoom in, and... plummet straight down!

That didn't really hurt that much did it? And lookey lookey, what do we have here?!

A guy. In the middle of a cross-road. Perhaps he fell just like what we did too. I mean, no sane person would just lie crumpled up in a heap in the middle of the desert in the middle of a cross-road right.

But a desert is just so so so depressing. Let's give him more uhm motivation. *snaps* There ya go. A red brick road leading west, with a scarecrow and a lion. wait. wrong setting sorry. *snaps* (a gentle breeze blows through and an oasis appears right beside the dude who's still in a stupor). A free oasis, complete with a nice watering hole that provides free-flow healthy hot spring, as well as a fully functioning coconut tree. Buy yours now and get ten coconuts free! :D

Ah, finally. I ran out of enough commercials already. Our male lead finally awakes! (no response from the guy). *thunders* our male lead finally AWAKES! (still no response) Sigh. The hard way then. Apples would be so much gentler but the last time I did that to a guy named newton. Oh wells. *coconut drops on the guy and he awakes*


Wha? Where am I? Ooooh. *A huge neon sign near the crossroads reads 'Future'* My head hurts. Hmm. How did I end up here? One minute I was in my bed thinking about my future and now I'm in the middle of a desert?! But deserts don't have neon signs. Or wow. Hot springs! Got mud bath somemore.

*a rumble of thunder sounds off in the distance behind* Darn. Guess I have to choose which path to choose soon. *thunder rumbles louder* and very soon. sigh.

*looks to the right* Hmm. A pen on the floor, amidst sheets of paper. Cemented path. But it doesn't really seem to head off anywhere. It just goes straight and then disappears into a thick forest of uncertainty. Though the forest seems to be full of vibrant colors, where one knows not what lurks behind every trunk, beside every branch, beneath every root.

*looks straight* well, this is interesting. Two mountains and a valley. A valley flowing of coffee. The mountain peaks seem to have something on it. Outposts maybe? But one seems to be on fire, and the other seems frozen. *starts dancing around the coconut tree to kate perry's hot n cold* And beyond the mountains, skyscrapers in the distance. Fireworks, civilization and more.

*looks left* a child sits in the middle of the path. Disheveled, holding a teddy that has seen better days. She sits amidst dust and sand, in a torn and tattered dress, and looks at me with such sadness in her eyes, it pains to look away. She vanishes and reappears on a swing a distance away. Holding on to her teddy, and her minute hand grasps the handle of the swing oh so precariously, she peers upwards and smiles sadly towards the rainbow in the sky.


And with that haunting image of the sad smile, we slowly zoom out till we're floating, no, drifting in space. Till the next time. :)

Love or lust. If, if, if only my thoughts were righteous and just.

Warriors thump their spears upon the ground to the same beat and rhythm in same tempo. Others clang their fiery swords against their shields adorned with bright sparkling crystals and rubies and gems of every kind.

A loud maniacal laugh that strikes pure fear resounds from behind and the warriors part to reveal a ball of fire, with horns and a tail. Could this be a lion roaring through the streets or a thief cometh in the still of the night?

Above, black crows screech and come to rest on branches. Perhaps an ominous sign of evident impending doom. Oh that God would strike me dead. I flinch as a bolt of lightning strikes a tree in front of me. Perhaps it's a burning bush, a sign from the Most High. The tree burns to a crisp and fizzles out, leaving a few scorched crows in its place.

Where is your god, the ball of fire taunts, as its warriors slowly trudge forward, thumping and clanging, their grim symphony resounding all through the valley. Darkness looms. Wait, not darkness. Shadows. Yes, shadows. Dancing shadows that flit from tree to tree. Souls who are screaming in eternal damnation, their shadows yell and whoop and clamor for mine, with outstretched hands of black mist.

I fall to my knees. No, no, I must resist. I cannot give up the fight. But the spirit is willing and the body is weak. A thin line that borders between love and lust. If, if, if only my thoughts were righteous and just. Then a wisp of smoke captures my attention and when it has settled, a gun appears. Gleaming, it beckons to me with a wink. Come end your misery my good friend. Why suffer and be in such a torturous state of mind? But Ii must endure. Fight and die or flee to fight another day? Love or lust, if, if, if only my thoughts were righteous and just.

i detest my blogskin

I totally detest my blogskin.
I think any uhm new options that I want to instill on my blog would have to wait till
either when the mood comes
or when I ORD.
whichever comes first.

Till then, just bear with my blogskin okay.

Thanks.

The future

This is probably a bit too late since the year has already begun, but I predict the future will be the age of wireless supremacy.

I know, some of you will think but it already is wireless. We have wireless networks in schools, homes, and public areas. We use it for a whole range of purposes.

And I'm not debating that fact. But, I personally think wireless will rise to a whole new level, and at a cheaper one too.

For example, you just had a long day at work, and can't wait to go home and enjoy a good bath. Why wait till you reach home till switch on the heater? Simply send a text to your home number with a special code, and voila! A nice soothing and warm bath the second you reach home.

Or, you already preset your fish feeder to feed your fish (duh!) at a certain time each day, but today has been such a stressful day and you want to relax and watch your fish eat. Just log in to your control panel through remote access online, or through some web portal, change the timing to immediate, and simply watch via live streaming through the wireless camera in your home your wireless fish feeder feeding your wireless fish. (I just couldn't resist the wireless fish pun)

Perhaps you're a busy student bustling with numerous projects, and you realize you can't make it in time for dinner. Your parents are one of those who strive to keep up with technology, but simply can't understand sms lingo, and their memory isn't so good. Just send an sms to a certain number that will display a 'Will Not Be Back For Dinner - Son' message on the wireless whiteboard. You can even specify for it to be flashed three times, coupled with a notification sound, and make it a sticky, which means your parents can't delete it 'accidentally'.

That's the future I picture, and I bet it'll come really soon.

Note: I went to google the products mentioned before, and they can be found, thus the following links. I'm not saying such products isn't impossible, but rather that they gain more popularity among us.

Wireless Whiteboards

Automatic Fish Feeder

Aka Fest

Heart-thumping bass, ear-catching renditions of songs, flashing lights, catcalls, beat-boxing and a dj would be anything but normal descriptions of an acapella performance.

Indeed, AKA Fest was anything but normal. Featuring seven local acapella groups, AKA A Capella VI, returned after an 8 year hiatus. It was worth every minute of the 3 hour long vocal festival.

At times, the human voice seems limited by range and power; hampered by shortcomings and creativity that would make it such a great tool in life. AKA proved me wrong.

To express the eye opening experience in words is simply an impassable task. How can I describe the wondrous voices that sang notes, accompanied chords, beat boxed, mimicked instruments?

While I dare say that there were occasional dry moments where the emcee's joke fell flatter than any vocalist, and a group or two might need to work on not talking within themselves but to the audience while introducing their members, and several songs didn't really shine through, the exposure as well as highlighting the range of vocals definitely made it worthwhile.

I definitely look forward to their next performance, though three to four songs per group seems a tad too little. I wouldn't mind paying more for more songs, and hopefully more groups. :)

as the children play.

shards of rain
glistened pleasant pain
aunty frowning in disdain
as the children play.


the sun that shines
onto black and white zebra lines
at the coffee shop the uncle dines
as the children play.


bright beams the moon
and the world will end sometimes soon
maybe before noon
as the children play.

Joke

A man came home drunk at four in the morning, and his wife was all over him, yelling at him, crying because she thought he was with another woman.

"No, honey, I swear, I was at this bar, and it was so fancy that even the urinals were made of GOLD!"

She said she didn't believe him, so she called the bar.

"Hello," she said, "I just want to ask one question. My husband claims to have spent the night at your bar and I have one question; are your urinals covered in gold?"

To which she heard the bartender say, "Hey, Clarence, I think we found the guy who pissed in your saxophone!"