It Never Rains in California - Albert Hammond 1973

Classic......This song grows on ya....

Out of work, I'm out of my head
Out of self respect I'm out of bread
I'm under loved I'm under fed
I wanna go home ................

Obama Fever...Funny!!!

He can Dance!!!

Too Pink? Blog List Widget is Cool

I'm starting to like my new blog user interface.

I know its a little too black and a little too pink. :D But the matt effect of the buildings are starting to grow on me. FUNKY!! (For another version of funky, check out my brother's mohawk hair, poor mum....having a fit) :D

In particular, I think the Blog List Widget is EXTREMELY cool. Now, I don't need to click on each blog link to check for any new entries, the blog list updates automatically.

NICE......

Obama....Obama....And I'm not talking about the Japan city called Obama

Never have I seen the world so hyped up during the election of another country. (myself included). But I was really overjoyed when I heard that Obama had been elected over John McCain. In fact, there was a party held at the Brass Monkey pub (Taipei) which I was so attempted to go to - any excuse to PARRTTTYYY. Haha.

In my mind, it was extremely symbolic and as indicated in several of my earlier posts, I definitely feel that Obama possessed greater qualities and traits that would be expected of a president of one of the most powerful countries of the world. In this case, I would say that the better tag-team won! (I know quite a few people who voted AGAINST hockey mum). Obama also brings about the promise for a more stable world due to his aptitude of being much more culturally sensitive. Needless to say, like many others, I find the ethnocentric view (and starting to suspect war loving characteristics) of certain Americans really annoying. "If you are NOT with us, you are against us"

The American election this time round has also created alot of debate outside of America. People are starting to question the politics of their own country. I found it oddly interesting and slightly depressing when I realized that the excitement I feel for my own country's election paled in comparison. Why? I guess I'm tired of the bully tactics.

I found that I'm not alone....
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/11/awaiting-singapores-moment-of-change/#comment-30472

Very cool article.

http://singaporecitizen.wordpress.com/2008/11/06/the-contrast-between-singapore-and-americas-politicians

I respect John McCain alot more after I heard his speech. Almost brought a tear to my eye. Such class.....

America Votes 2008 and my blog gets a new look

Watching "America Votes 2008" on CNN while chatting with a couple of friends online.

So exciting!

Anyway, while glued to the TV, I decided to give my blog a new face. I've been wanting to "customize" it for the longest time, trying to make it more "ME" but just never got around to doing it. So I finally decided to switch one free blog template for another.....Cheating....Hehe.

I really hope Obama wins. Love his attitude and focus. Hope and Change.

P/s: He kinda reminds me of the president of USA on 24. (I know it doesn't count but he does.) Haha.

Happy Mood...Flight of the Conchords

The last 2 weeks have been C.R.A.Z.Y!!! Work plus studying..... I thought I would lose my mind (and I almost did)!! For those part time study part time work people out there....I really don't know how you do it. *salute*.

Anyway, one down...one more to go.

The truth is that I only managed to loan the textbooks from the company 2-3 weeks ago and with back to back conference calls in the evenings (Mon-Fri) that meant that I only had a couple of weekends to pore through the 3 textbooks. Pwah....can kill me...I don't know how many brain cells died in the process.

My colleague at work confessed to me that she was 99.99% confident that I was going to cancel/postpone the paper at the very last minute, but hehe....nah....STEADY....my never-say-die attitude got me through again. (Though, I admit I was close to FREAKING out last night) Today, I'm overwhelmed but definitely elated. Yup, I finished the paper feeling really good about it.

Well, there is another paper next Friday and though I haven't exactly finished studying as well, I thought ...what the heck....I deserve one night of rest. And so, after dinner, I played Xbox360 all evening...SHIOK!!!!

I'm in such a good mood. *Beam Beam Beam*

Okay, enough about my boring "mundane" life.....some good stuff to share......

If you haven't watched Flight of the Conchords....go watch it. Its BRILLIANT!
I watched a couple of episodes on HBO (Hehe...okay so I wasn't studying that hard over the weekends) and I'm sold.....Definitely going to buy the entire series because those New Zealanders are hilarious)
http://www.hbo.com/conchords/

Closer to Home - Minibond Issue (Singapore)

After all that talk in my earlier post about standing up and doing the right thing with integrity, I would like to share a couple of videos regarding the Minibond situation in Singapore that I feel strongly about after watching.

Firstly, I really symphatize with the folks that have been impacted by the Minibond saga. In particular, the older folks who have lost all their life savings due to this "mis-investment". As a fellow Singaporean, I hope that the relevant authorities can act quickly to investigate this matter and work together with the parties concerned to help each other over this difficult period.

I agree with Mr Leong (one of the videos below) that this financial situation is certainly unexpected and has come as a surprise to all - financial institutions and investors alike. While symphatizing with the people who have lost their money in this type of investment, we should also try to see the other side of the picture i.e. from the financial institiutions/consultants.

With that said, I also believe that the steps taken by individuals such as Mr Tan and Mr Leong should not be viewed as an attack or protest against the financial institutions/MAS. Instead, it should be viewed as an attempt to help the investors (especially older folks) understand the situation better and provide them with an avenue to seek help and support from people who can help them. Otherwise, as individuals...where can these people turn to?

Indeed as a collective group, the impacted persons have a higher chance to seek redress but at the same time I think it is important that the investors also control their emotions and should remain practical and fair to understand that it will necessary for some to shoulder part of the responsibilities of this mess and thus may not recover their principal (particularly for the educated persons who have not read the fine print). :P

At the end of the day, I prefer to look at the positive side of this situation which is that, if handled properly, it could be a blessing in disguise and perhaps the general public come out of this situation with even higher confidence and satisfaction level towards both our government as well as financial institutions.

Channel's New Asia Coverage on Mini Bond in Singapore



Mr Tan Kin Lian's Speech at Investor's Corner - Part One of Two



Mr Tan Kin Lian's Speech at Investor's Corner - Part Two of Two


Mr Leong Sze Hian's Speech at Investor's Corner

The Online Citizen - Angry Investors Crowd the Speaker's Corner to Seek Redress



The Online Citizen - Media Interview Mr Tan Kin Lian



News Coverage - Chinese

Back to reality and comments on the 2nd USA Presidential debate

I'm back from Hokkaido and totally enjoyed it!

It was such a relaxing trip of hot spring baths and seafood galore. Thumbs up to the entire trip and although I admit I had my reservations in the beginning to join a local Taiwanese tour package, at the end of the trip, I am really glad that I did!

Generally speaking, I have found the Taiwanese people to be very polite and friendly and this belief has been reinforced during the 5 days of close companionship with my fellow travellers. We had a group of a nice mix of people from all walks of life and a wide range of age (fortunately no kids) and everyone was so fun loving, determined to have a great time and totally considerate for everyone in the group which really enhanced the experience. (compared to my past experiences from joining Singaporean tour groups or European ones.) The tour leader was also one of the best I've met, professional and always attentive to our needs.

Of course, there were also "down" moments in the trip as we had to cancel some of our itineries due to bad/rainy weather and I found the coach rides a tad bit too long for my comfort level but I guess that is a small price to pay for the beautiful scenery and great people we met along the way.

Bottom line: 4 out of 5 stars.


Now, back in my comfy apartment in Taiwan, I'm enjoying my last days of vacation doing mainly 2 things....either cramming for my LOMA papers (which I'm no where near completing) and waking up at 6am to try to get as much office work done as possible. (all done in the most comfortable set of pyjamas, of course) but also just reading and watching things that I enjoy.

This morning, I watched the recording of the 2nd USA Presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. I must say that it did not disappoint. I was particularly impressed with the way both candidates answered some pretty tough questions thrown at them. Like they say: No debate like the USA presidential debate and indeed the "stakes" are high.

There were also several articles on the web that scrutinized the accuracies of each and every statement that both politicians made during the debate which was an eye opening experience.

Personally, my take away was that I thought John McCain was abit too aggressive, for my liking, (and at times downright rude) towards Obama while on the flip side, Obama presented a rather relaxed, gentlemanly behaviour, determined to stay above the fray and focused on the REAL issues facing the economy instead of personal digs.

Needless to say, I liked what I saw in Obama and I thought his mannerism very befitting of what is expected of the USA president despite his so-called lack of records according to McCain.

In fact, John McCain's constant reminders on how "wet behind the ears" Barack Obama was due to his lack of experience and young age got a little too tiresome. I also thought these personal attacks seemed to back fire on him as can be seen from how his rather weak attempts at cracking jokes did not seem to garner any supporters from the audience. On the other hand, Obama's answers brought more than a few "nods" from the audiences.

Make your own conclusions:
http://www.watchfreeepisodes.com/second-presidential-debate-video-watch-second-presidential-debate-full-videos-online/3619/

I sure am looking forward to the next presidential debate mid-October to see the politicians back in the "ring" but based on what I see so far, I am rooting for Obama. In fact, I think it may be very well John McCain's so called long track record and experience that has caused him to fail to rise above personal digs at Obama and deliver the more important message to the audience.

I like the tone that the last "zen-like" question raised in the debate........No Leader is expected to know or experience every single situation to be a good leader, it is the ability to handle the unknowns that make the true leader and Obama seems to be very focused and driven to address the core issues of the economy instead of simply having the upper hand in the presidential election.

J.B Jeyaretnam passes away at age 82....perservering to the end

I know I said I probably won't have time to blog till 2 weeks later. But I feel like this is important enough to put everything I have aside for a couple of minutes....

Today a friend of mine shared with me that J.B Jeyaretnam had passed away last night. He commented that he found it strange that this was NOT front page news. Instead, a piece of news that DID hit front page was regarding senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Balaji Sadasivan having surgery last Tuesday to remove a cancerous tumour in the colon.

Hmmm......

I confess I don't know that much about Jeyaretnam. But for someone who is really not in-tune with the political scene (and I confess I am), I know more about him than I can say about certain ministers that are currently in office. One thing that was always clear to me was J.B Jeyaretnam was not very often on the "same page" as the party in power and for that, he was heavily,heavily penalized. Despite that fact, he never cowered but continued to fight for what he believed was for the good of the country.

This is a trait not found in many of us today.

C'mon admit it. Today, whether on a professional or personal level, at one time or another most of us will choose to turn our head the other way or keep quiet even though deep down we know that something is not right because we are told that it is the politically correct thing to do.

Why go looking for trouble? Therefore, even if something seems like the right thing to do, smells like the right thing to do, feels like the right thing to do and probably IS the right thing to do, it is not done because the path to get it done is so difficult and more often than not, it is such a thankless job.

Case in point.....At work, I've seen careers of really smart, dedicated, hardworking people being stone-walled because they had a different opinion with the higher ups and voiced those opinions one too many times. It didn't matter that in the end, it turned out that those people were right because by voicing their opinions, they were deemed as challenging authorities and had therefore, unwittingly signed their "death" papers of career stagnation for as long as they stayed in that company (or their boss stay in that company for that matter).

To add to that, I've also seen certain persons who are not as bright, not as dedicated and not as hardworking as others but lasted far longer than they should in a job simply because they were a "Yes" man to their boss.

Sure.....being a Yes-man would probably always be the safest path but in my mind, a "yes" man can never really become a leader or exact change. Never mind the fact that a "Yes" man will probably hold position of power simply because he is always saying the right words at the right times, never mind if it is not true or he doesn't really know what he is talking about.

Just sheep...baaaah.

But I digress...

After reading up on Jeyaretnam online, I found myself questioning a few stuff that I had always taken for granted or simply because I was just too ignorant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.B._Jeyaretnam

I still love my country but loving it was so much easier by being ignorant....

But at the end of the day, I still won't walk the the path of ignorance....not by choice anyway.

Thoughts on melamine saga and HELLO hokkaido...

I'm sitting in front of the telly. CNN playing at the background. Thinking about what I should blog about....my mind drawing a blank. Well, its not that there is nothing on my mind, in fact, there are so many things that I simply don't know where to start.... The past few weeks have proven to be pretty exciting (and I don't necessarily mean it in a good way). I'm still trying to get used to the idea that yes oh yes...the world is a pretty crazy place AND surprise surprise, this idea of craziness seems to know no boundaries.

Let's talk about the recent contamination of dairy-related foodstuff from China. This contamination has spread from milk powder to other related food stuff and it has impacted Taiwan in such a way that we simply don't know what is safe to eat anymore. The other day, I unwittingly caught myself going through the contents of every grocery that I was putting into my food basket. And before you think that I'm being paranoid, do know that the very next day when I was back in the supermarket, alot of foodstuff was already taken off the shelf for suspected melamine contamination. It sent a little shiver down my spine.

Anyway, I was talking to a couple of friends from China and despite my whining and complaints, deep down inside, I know that they are certainly the most impacted by this disgraceful matter. Out of curiousity, I asked them how the masses was reacting to this affair. Let's just say that I notice 2 major types of reaction.

Firstly, everyone agreed that this was a sordid matter and no one in the right frame of mind was going to consume large amount of dairy contents during this period and until this situation blows over. But that was just where the similarities ended.

I had pretty entertaining conversations with some friends who commented that the culprits should just be literally dragged out by the hair and shot. And on the other hand, there was also a group of "positive thinking people" who were just happy enough that this matter was no longer covered up and that active steps were taken to rectify the situation.

I admit that I was abit surprised about the "positive thinking-ness" in this and could not understand why they would be so contended with the situation. Being a very argumentive person (I admit! I admit!), I found myself challenging their view on this matter, not just for the sake of challenging but really hoping that I would finally be able to understand their views and gradually become a more "postive thinking" person.

To me, I would summarize my opinion as such:.....OK, the authorities are finally "right-ing the wrong", but damnit, its BLOODY HELL TIME THEY DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! After 2 months of cover up and 53,000 infants taken ill, am I suppose to be grateful that the authorities have decided to act on it AFTER this matter has blown up in everyone's face.

I admit that the idea of getting kidney stones because of some greedy corporate dude trying to boost up the nutrient level of watered down milk infuriates me. I think that there is no excuse for the people in the business to NOT KNOW the effect melamine has after consumption since we already had a simlar case in the past where people discovered that the reason many pets were dying unexpectedly was due to melamine poisioning which was also used to help "boost"' the nutrient percentage in animal foodstuff. Needless to say, I managed to get a couple of peace-loving people riled up after our conversation. Naughty naught me....:P

Anyway, I thought I would share something quite funny about the impact this has in the office. The office lady noticed a big drop in the number of people drinking coffee recently and she attributed it to the fact that most of us were not drinking because we were not certain that the creamer or milk provided was safe. I ,for one, get extremely grumphy if I don't get my coffee fix in the morning and apparently I'm not alone because the office decided that they had to send the materials to the health authorities to check for contamination.

The results came back certified as negative i.e. FREE of melamine content. Once this information was disseminated, the coffee addicts were back in the queue. People....typical. :P

On a more international front, with the financial troubles of Lehman brother's and AIG, I have had more than my fair share of concerned inquiries on whether I was very impacted since I also work in an insurance company. For the record, NO...I do not work in AIG AND fortunately, the company that I work for is apparently doing well, if not better *winks*, during this troubled times.

Last but not least, let me brag that I probably will not post another blog for at least 2 weeks BECAUSE I'm OFF to Hokkaido for a couple of days to celebrate my birthday and if I may unabashedly say...enjoy a well-deserved break from a helluva challenging time at work. (Just when you thought things can not get worse, the world always seem to prove you wrong).

Certain things just make you want to crawl under the covers and shut out the world. But hell, you already know by now, I'm just not the type to do that..... :P

Relaxing Sunday.....

Aaaaah.....what a relaxing Sunday this is. The theme for today is:"Own Time, Own Target".

Today's blog is a little bit of those nostalgic moments I find myself getting into every once in a while. In other words, moments like these would mean quite a big deal to me and would probably mean absolutely nothing to you so read on if you will.

Just the other day, I was getting my usual cup of coffee in the mid afternoon. As I was waiting for the "chink-ing and chank-ing" of the coffee machine arduously preparing my cup of coffee, I decided to keep myself busy by amusing myself with a little mental calculation on some expenses that I was so engrossed in a couple of moments earlier.

Out of the blue, my multi-tasking and rather distracted mind popped a bubble in my head which had that sort of Window's yellow exclamation mark "warning" sign reminding myself that too much coffee is bad for the health and I had better drink at least 3 cups of water later to cleanse my system. I had not had a single glass of water for the whole day. *gulp*

In that unprepared moment, a flashback........I was back in the days when I had my first office intership. Back in those days, getting a desk job was clearly the fastest way to earn cash and my friend and I agreed to sign our vacation away.

On my first day in the office, I still remember my schoolmate's excited reaction when she first discovered the office pantry. She was posted to another department and due to her close proximity to everything else, always found the coolest stuff first. I admit I totally relied on her to squeeze out any fun there was in that rather *erhem* professional, serious and dead-boring environment or I would have perished.

She introduced me to the staff vending machine which provided an assortment of hot and cold drinks at absolutely no charge to the staff. Kewllll man!!! (Little things that made us so happy!!!) Giggling like two ali-baba's drunk on rum, we proceeded to get ourselves large glasses of coke and this fizzy happiness lasted throughout our internship. It also became our daily routine every morning and afternoon for the rest of the days that we were there.

Towards the end of my internship, as I was marching back to my desk from the office pantry, I remember my colleague (the very motherly sort but in a man's body) looking up from his desk and reminding me once again that I should drink more water and that too much soft drinks was not good for the body. He went on to say that only interns would frequent those drink selections at the vending machine while the older and wiser would drink.....he held up his big water tumbler of H2O. "Humbug.." I remember thinking to myself and paid no attention to his words of advice.

Amazingly, with what little attention I heeded back then, this became the "picture perfect" moment stuck to my head almost 15 years later as I was getting my cup of coffee. Its funny how memories like these just get retrieved at such unexpected moments.

In that moment, I found myself silently thanking all the people and experiences that I've had along the way and I found myself walking back to my office smiling with a cup of coffee in one hand and a large glass of H20 in the other.

Singapore's rights subpar, says IBA

Recently, there has been alot of coverage in terms of China's poor record in human rights especially with regards to Tibet. Anyone following the Olympic fire would be aware of the huge amount of protests going on.

Before we step up and point the finger at China, do note that according to International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBA), they have reported that despite Singapore's impressive economic development that Singapore fails to meet international standards for political and human rights and there are concerns on the independence of its judiciary. The rights institute also issued 18 recommendations for the Singapore govt to implement urgently. For more information on this article, please refer to: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2008/07/10/2003417005

To find out more that Singaporeans have to say this, check this out:
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/07/is-mm-lee-playing-the-same-old-record/

Rant and Rave for the Day: Bush blames Dems for Oil Prices

In the Taipei Times today, "Bush blames Dems for Oil Prices".

According to US President George W. Bush on Saturday, he tried to pin the blame on Congress for soaring energy prices and said that lawmakers need to lift long-standing restrictions on drilling for oil in pristine lands and off-shore tracts believed to hold huge reserves of fuel. With gasoline prices rising, Bush and his republican allies think Americans are more willing to allow drilling offshore and in an Alaska wildlife refuge that environmetalists have fought successfully for decades to protect.

In response, the Democrats representative Chris Van Hollen said that democrats do indeed support the idea of increased drilling however he also pointed out the fact that oil companies are already sitting on 68 million acres of federal lands with the potential to double US oil production. So the question is....why explore new restricted areas (i.e. beaches, coastal areas and so on) where the companies can develop these resources today. He suggested a "Use it or Lose It" legislation requiring companies to do so or lose their leases to someone else who will.

In addition, the Democrats believe that due to the urgent shortage of oil, the time has come to tap on the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. However, he also stressed that the country should also focus on new energy policies that focus on alternatives to oil.

Recently, whenever I read these articles, I find myself cursing silently at the current Bush administration. It doesn't really concern me directly and I am no American. Consider me a concerned citizen of the world or a KPO (busy body)....whatever, I don't care.

Before you get me wrong, I do believe that America has paved the way for many good things and there are a lot of areas that other countries and cultures will do good to learn from. That's just my personal opinion but then again I state, over the past few years under the helm of Bush, its jsut gone sooooooooo baddddd.

Most irritiating is Bush's statements (infamous soundbites) that really irks the hell out of me:
1) Their blatant refusal to commit to the Kyoto protocol such as :"This is the American position because its right for America. We will not do anything that harms our economy, because first things first are the people who live in America"
2) The address to joint session of congress and the American people on the war against terrorism: "Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."
3) Recent comment with regards to oil prices: "Every extra dollar that American families spend because of high gas prices is one less dollar that they can use to put food on the table or send a child to college. The American people deserve better". (J: Yeah, and like the rest of the world don't?)

There is an article I would like to share regarding USA's position on the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 that I believe will not fail to get you riled up too. :P
http://www.vexen.co.uk/USA/pollution.html

Side note: If you have read my previous post regarding Nuclear Weapons, you would also recall USA non compliance with the First Pillar - Non Proliferation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and their constant finger pointing at other nations.

The good news is during the recent G8 meeting, it appears that the powerful nations with particular reference to USA, have decided to commit to work harder in terms of controlling pollution but they did not commit a base year to their ambitious plans of a 50% reduction of greenhouse gases. While it remains to be seen if G8's action can be louder than words, I really cannot wait for someone less myopic to take over the USA reins. Yes, I've said it....myopic.

Bush will leave office next January, and both major candidates to succeed him have said they are willing to go further in cutting back American emissions. Goodbye Bush, as far as I'm concerned, the door is wide open for you and I doubt many people will be reaching for that Kleenex.

Getting some discipline back into my life

Time sure flies...its been weeks since my last blog.

Plenty of things have happened over the last few weeks. Some good...others bad. Unfortunately, I have to say that this month more nasty things have happened compared to good ones. As such, I unwittingly found myself spiraling down a bottomless "motivation-sucker" hell hole.

After mopping around over the past few days, I did some soul-searching and decided to do myself a favour and just pull myself out of the rut and get my act together. I figured life still has to go on even though we sometimes find ourselves in a particularly long stretch of bumpy road. *sigh* Is there no justice in this world?

ANYWAY, for starters, I decided to embark on some major "spring-cleaning". Packed up my winter clothes, folded my summer clothes neatly in the cupboards, went through my inventory of toiletary supplies, food stuff and so on. (Threw out the expired stuff so I don't accidentally poison myself in my gloomy state. )

I am happy to share that today I woke up earlier than usual and headed over to Carrefour. This is because last night I decided that today would be curry day so I had to go and buy the ingredients. After chopping, frying, boiling, stewing, steaming, washing, I had a hearty meal, watched a little telly, played on my xbox and chilled out with some "alone-time".

In the evening, I headed over to yoga lessons and my yoga teacher insisted everyone push themselves to the limit. It was a tough session and though I worked really hard at it, I found myself not being able to balance very well on one foot. :P

Right now, my muscles ache a little but seriously I feel really fantastic after the session! I know I have to keep working on my yoga because I absolutely have to get myself back into shape especially since I gained weight in Bangkok. *Fingers crossed*

I'm lying in bed now and it sure feels good when everything feels like it is in order. Another work-week starts tomorrow so deep breathe and chin up!!!!

Back in Taipei..another prisonbreak article

Returned to Taipei yesterday evening and am back in my little shoebox apartment after a fruitful day at work. After having spent 2 weeks in Singapore, there is little doubt that I have tons of work to catch up on and was kept so busy that when I finally caught a breather, it was already 8pm and my colleagues had all left the office. Well, not that I'm complaining, I would rather be busy than bored out of my wits at work (Bro, I'm sure you agree with me after your intern-"shit" experience :) ).

Needless to say, I'm often tasked with the duty to lock up the office since I'm always the last one out. I do it so consistently that I personally feel that 20% of my performance evaluation should be office security and lock-up. Hehe. :P

Talking about lock-up or break-outs for that matter. During dinner today, I was happily reading my latest copy of newsweek and on page 24, sandwiched between articles of the Sichuan earthquake and terrorist bombings in New Dehli, is an article covering Singapore entitled:"Gone in 11 Minutes Flat".

With all the nasty news going on in the world today, its very rare to see Singapore pop up in an article under the World Affairs section. But OH YES, there it was on page 24 of the May26/June 2 2008 special double issue. I sat up to read more and as suspected it was regarding the escape of Mas Selamat Kastari - reputed head of the Singapore cell of Jemaah Islamiah (JI is a notorious Southeast Asian terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda. )

In late Feb, Mas Selamat had broken out of a detention facility and became Singapore's most wanted man. As a Singaporean, I admit that I was initially in disbelief and frankly a little traumatised when I first heard the news on the escape. As a MAJOR Prisonbreak fan (Fox Series)....suddenly, prisonbreak held a total different meaning for me. (Hint: Compare Wentworth Miller versus Mas Selamat's picture...I'm sure you will understand)

Interpol - Mas Selamat Kastari

Prisonbreak - Wentworth Miller

Anyway, the article goes on to describe that "the episode is revealing shortcomings in Singapore's nanny state.....Singapore does an excellent job mobilizing its resources and directing them at recognized problems. But there are few external or independent checks on the system - and this lack of scrutiny, combined with the government's generally successful record, has produced blind spots. Past circumstances have made it easy to become smug. But this smugness has proved dangerous."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read this - "when the guards started to wonder why Mas Selamat was taking so long in the toilet, rather than act immediately, they went to their superiors for permission to open the bathroom stall door".

For me, the moment of truth was in the later part of the article describing the actions taken after the fact. As follows - "the authorities took five days to tell the public what the terrorist was wearing at the time of his escape. And only a few days after that did they bother to inform citizens that the fugitive also limps on his left leg. "

I love my country but I think this is a good wake up call for us all.

Chinese Eye Test

I'm supposed to be doing some work now (a report actually) which needs to be submitted early next week on Monday. However, I'm not being very efficient at the moment because I'm suffering symptoms of brain slowing down to a crawl. All I feel like doing is to go to bed early but I can't because I haven't finished my work.

Next Tuesday I'll be heading back to Taipei *boohoo*. Not that I don't like Taipei but it just seems that this 2 weeks back in Singapore has gone by so quickly. Despite all my efforts, I still did not get a chance to meet up with all the people that I've been meaning to meet.... Simply ran out of time and energy. Bahhhh!!!

On a lighter note, I thought this "Chinese Eye Test" was too brilliant not to share....

Hint: If you can't make out the words, try pulling the corner of your eyes outwards so it becomes all squinty. :)

A successful drive down to Kuala Lumpur. :)

Took a 3 day trip down to Kuala Lumpur as I needed to close the bank account for the Damansara apartment. Went down with 3 friends in my Honda Edix. It was my first trip (and my car too) driving down to KL, and as you can imagine, I was pretty excited and after hearing so many horror stories about robberies in JB, frankly a little apprehensive about it too!

I picked up my friends on Monday morning and we headed down to the Tuas Second Link. Although it was Vesak Day, the traffic was relatively smooth and customs at both the Singapore and Malaysia side had several counters opened to meet the needs of the SIN- MALAYSIA travellers. It was basically a drive-through affair although we had to come out of the car once at the Tuas Checkpoint to get a thumb scan. For the higher purpose of tighter security, I thought it was quite understandable and hardly an inconvenience as it was so efficiently carried out. :)

In particular, I noted that Malaysia has done away with that annoying white immigration card that we had to fill in the past. Kudos to that!! I thought the white card was quite a pain especially since we had to keep one small part to show when we leave the country. As it was a loose piece of paper and thus relatively easy to lose, I’ve had a bad experience once of losing it (careless me) and was not-so-gently prompted by the custom officer in Malaysia to “help him out” so that he can “help me out”. Being a poor student at that time, I had to part with RM 50 dollars and would have parted with more (as I was pretty much scared shitless at that time) except that I did not have that much money with me at that time. Grrr!!! Try to make me part with my money like that again……just TRY ME!!! *takes out the punching gloves*

Anyway, I found the North South Expressway in Malaysia of good quality and well labeled. In fact, it was such a straight-forward drive, I didn’t even have to refer to the map once. The speed limit on the highway was 110km per hour and K.Ling told me that if I stick below 123km per hour, I would be OK. There were the occassional cars that were speeding around the vicinity of 140-160 km per hour and I found that if you kept out of their way, it was a basically a pleasant drive.

There were 3 toll stations along the highway and they had 3 different types of lanes depending on the payment mode: Lorong Tunai (for cash), Touch and Go(pre-paid card) and Smart Tag (that works like our erp service in Singapore with cash card services and machine and all). We spent approximately RM 70 on a one way trip. Along a stretch of 330km (between Singapore and KL), I found that pretty acceptable.

We took a break for lunch at Malacca at a famous chicken rice restaurant which was famous for their rice BALLS. (literally rice that were rolled up in small balls). It was interesting but I preferred the traditional pandan flavored chicken rice though.

Anyway, a typically 4-5 hours drive was covered in about 3 hours 30 minutes (it was easy to exceed the speed limit as the roads were clear and the roads in good repair) and with such a successful trip, I’m looking forward to another trip to Malaysia soon!

Note: The visit to the bank and developer went smoothly. It was a nice surprise since we had quite a lot of problems with them in the past but I guess after months of harassing them, they probably decided that they had enough of me and ensured everything would be sorted out before my trip down. Hooray!! A weight off my chest. :) *clap clap clap*

Home Sweet Home.......Bliss

YOOOHOOO...............I'M HOME!!!

I've only been away for 3 months but I admit its nice to be back home. Back in my own room, in my own bed, familiar surroundings and among people that I love and adore. Not to mention the "royal" treatment I get from my mom with home cooked food, ginseng soup, liang-cha and the list goes on. :)

It was real nice to wake up this morning to my mum nagging at me to come down for breakfast and having a sumptious spread on the table when I finally did. All this as compared to starving in Taipei on the weekends because I'm just too lazy to get up and cook and clean. I probably gained 2 kg in my first day home. Hehe.

This trip home is part work part leisure. Although I've got tons of things to do in the office but I've decided to let myself totally relax this weekend. For starters, I'm catching up on my comic book reading. Thank god for a brother to provide an ongoing supply......

I'm re-reading The league of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume I. Its such a great read! Volume II is also sitting on my table.

Some quotes I enjoy from LTEG: -

Quote from the Editor: "..let us not forget the many serious, morally instructive points there are within this narrative: firstly, women are always going on and making a fuss. Secondly, the Chinese are brilliant, but evil. Lastly, laudanum, taken in moderation is good for the eyesight and prevents kidney stones...."

Quote from Campion:" We live in troubled times where fretful dreams settle upon the empire's brow. If England is to survive them, then your work is vital. Be about it vigorously and without delay, for the shadows of the century grow long...."

Overcoming my fear on the topic of Investing and the exam screw up

For the past few weekends, I have been locked up in my apartment cramming for my next 2 LOMA papers related to Investing. Four textbooks “impressively” covering various aspects of:
1) Investment for the Individual
2) Investment for Organization
3) Financial Institution & Financial Markets
4) Economics.

This time round I admit that I’ve left my studying to the last possible minute. Each time I tried to open my books, I always found something else much more interesting or important to do. :) By the time I decided that it was time to get SERIOUS, I was nearing a state of panic, constantly checking the calender and counting down to what I would affectionately know as “doomsday”.

I’ve never been knowledgeable about the variety of financial instruments or markets out there. And I totally admit that when it comes to Investing, I can be quite the ranking idiot. The first few chapters was an uncomfortable start for me.

Fortunately, after “hanging in there for a while longer”, I soon found myself getting to know and making fast friends with my 3 buddies: DJIA, S&P 500, Wilshire 5000. Of course, I admit that before you can get to the really fun part of investing, you need to slog through the hours of calculating Present Value versus Future Value, Compounding on Annual or Semi Annual Basis, Yield to Call or Yield to Maturity for Bonds, Leverage/Activity Ratios, Profitability Ratios and so on. Using Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to determine the risk and expected return for stocks can also take its toil on you. But trust me, once you get over the tough part, it slowly gets more interesting.

Today, indexes/market averages no longer scare me as much as they used to. Also, you won’t find my eyes glaze over during the investment meetings discussing stock splits, NAV, ETFs, Money Market Funds, Closed/Open Funds and so on. Another plus point is that I can also better understand the Financial Section of the newspapers and headlines such as “Bonds Rally After 3 Days Slump” no longer baffles me.

To be honest, after having put in time and effort to finish the textbooks, I’ve been kinda looking forward to taking the papers and getting over and done with it. My first paper was set for today and the night before, I had survived only 2 hours of sleep trying to juggle between work and last minute revisions. The good news is that I finished my revision as I watched the sun rise on another beautiful day, the bad news is that I won’t be taking my papers this week after all.

Just minutes before the scheduled time for the paper, I was "cordially" informed that there had been a screw up and my name were not registered for both papers. *Dumbfounded* My colleague tried to cheer me up by saying:" Look at the bright side, you'll have more time to work on getting a better grade".

Erm...Thanks but no thanks! W@#$!#$%@# :(

What about that..............*Grumbles*

For the past few weeks, I have been locked up in my apartment cramming. 2 papers...4 textbooks: Investing for the Individual, Investing for Organizations, Financial Institution & Financial Markets, Economics. That's just me.....always leaving it to the very last minute until panic sets in before I sit myself at the desk to hit the books for some serious intense cramming.

Lost in a world of financial instruments, market averages and indexes became my best friends: Hello Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, Wilshire 5000 - How are you doing today?! Feeling bearish...feeling bullish? When I was finally done with my reading, I was introduced to a whole new world of Present Value Future Value, Compounding, Bond Yield, Leverage/Activity Ratios, Profitabiliy, Capital Asset Pricing Model and the list goes on.

Finally the big week arrives. My first paper is on the 13th. I can't wait to get it over and done with!!

Yesterday night, I finally finshed up on work at 1am before I could start with my final round of revision. After bars of chocolate and cups of coffee (plus ice cream and an apple), I finally closed my textbook as I watched the sun rise at 5am. Well, that's all I could have done...I'm all ready to take my exams, come what may....

After 2 hours of sleep, I woke up and almost drowned myself in the shower before I could get out of a zombie state and decent enough to go to work. I still had 2 conference calls to get through before my paper at 1pm and my "moment of truth".

In the midst of the morning, I innocently asked my colleague "Hey...where is the exam held later on?" She takes a look at me and replied "In the training center" and then hurries off. Hmm...did I see her shoot me a funny look? Nah..I just shrugged it off.

A while later she comes up to me and she cautiously starts with: "Jamie, I've got something that I want to tell you." She still has that look on her face and by now I'm sure that I don't like it. She explains that there has been some screw up and that one of our colleagues had not registered me for the paper!!!!

Cobweb infested blog space and reminiscing some really good musical productions.

Okay, I've been receiving quite a bit of "complaints" that I've been neglecting my blogging responsibility and now the site is overrun with cobwebs and weeds. :) Bear with me, I am in the midst of sorting out my priorities and will work on getting that blog-engine up and running again soon.

So the big question....what have I been up to recently?

Well, I've been working (definitely working), studying (sort of half- hearted studying at best but more procrastination than anything), spending alot of time on my guitar, travelling around Taiwan whenever I got the chance, watching telly during dinners.

What really bugs me about telly nowadays is the quality of some of the shows that they screen. Yup, I'm talking about those really cheap productions that simply take up air time with totally predictable scripts, accompanied by really lousy acting and that fit into a certain....I don't know...mold....

Picture macho man with bandannas crawling in the jungle with their rambo guns or perhaps picture screaming fainting ladies that can bring themselves to say the darndiest things! I tell you that there are really A LOT on telly nowadays. Sometimes I just sit there dumbfolded and let my brain totally rot away.

What I really miss are those good wholesome muscials that I used to grow up watching. Such as "Singing in the Rain", "Fiddler on the Roof", "The Sound of Music" and so on. In fact, I think as a kid, I watch so many re-runs of the musicals that I could sing them by heart at a very very young age. In fact, I don't remember watching much cartoons or Sesame Street, I don't remember liking them very much.

One of the more memorable muscials that I enjoyed is the "The King and I". It really was very very good and I loved it so much that at one point in time I wanted to move to Thailand and grow that little bun on my head. Unfortunately, as I grew older, I soon realized that I would never grow that bun on my head or sit on elephants all day long. Alas......*heart breaks one more time*

ANYWAY, I was talking to my Thai friend about this musical some time back and he told me that this musical is banned in Thailand. Apparently any production related to the monarchy is banned. HORRORS!! I think its a pity.....I thought it was a great production that put Thailand in a very good and charming light. I wanted to become THAI for crying out loud! Hehe.

So, I'm looking for a copy of this musical. Do you know where to find it? Do let me know.

Here is a little snippet: -Getting to know you by Julie Andrews.

I'm a oldie at heart...Everly Brothers

All I have to Do is Dream and Cathy's Clown by Everly Brothers
2 great great songs.....Just love it.

蘇打綠 小情歌 - Great Song

Heard this and liked it instantly! There was a great debate on You Tube on whether the lead singer is a guy or girl. Go Figure!! :)

Anyway, its a great song and I'll definitely go buy their CD. The unpirated version of course, support talented artists!!

The band name is 蘇打綠 - literal translation: Soda Green.

Merry Christmas!! Happy New Year!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Okay, I know I'm a little late but at least I made it in time for the first day of the year.
(I.e. If I manage to get this posted out before the clock strikes 12. :) )

Anyway, my sister has put together 2 christmas "cards" and if you are ready for a good laugh., please follow the links below....HOHOHO!

Snowball fight
http://www.jibjab.com/sendables/view/N8CaKHrzwITtYjyoweeTH5yG
Office party
http://www.jibjab.com/sendables/view/sEd48avZftSdUKP26qaGk6mc

Baby Plant - 事事如意

I have never been much of a plant/flowers person. Since young, I never quite appreciated them as most girls would. (I.e. Squealing with delight and taking a big whiff of them roses - eeeyuck SO NOT ME!!!).

In fact, I remember valentine's day in college: I very ungratefully gave away my flowers -stalk by stalk - to anyone who wanted them. I know I know...talk about being unappreciative. If I can turn back the clock, I would say:" Dear XXX, I'm sorry for being so insensitive." However, since I can't turn back the clock so oh well :p

Recently I find myself a changed person. I now have 3 plants to my name. One in the office and two at home.

One of my plant, I grew from a bean. When I first bought the bean, Mum said that I would never make it.

"Girl ah, it is not so easy to grow from scratch and take care of it...you know?!?"

"Mum, thanks for the vote of confidence but see how tall my plant has grown!"

The bean has an engraving on it...and you can actually still see the engraving on the plant. The words are "事事如意" which means "May things go smoothly as planned". INDEED!!!

Thanksgiving 2007 - Turkey

Here is a picture of the yummy turkey that I had for Thanksgiving at Steve's place! (fresh out of the stove)

Deb, Steve's wife, is a fantastic cook. Normally turkey meat tastes rather dry but this turkey tasted excellent. We even had it accompanied with fresh cranberry sauce! It was really an enjoyable dinner. Thanks for inviting me!

Flooding and a new lesson learnt!

I'm going to share with you something funny that happened to me last night. (Actually it was quite horrible through out the entire ordeal)

Prelude: I was at Steve's place for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a traditional American thanksgiving dinner with the turkey, pumpkin pie...whole affair. During dinner, we were telling stories about experiences during Thanksgiving dinner. One of the stories shared was about how a pipe had burst in this Canadian couple's place during Thanksgiving and water started flooding the entire place and they had to call for help. As they continued on their dinner, every where wet as it can be, they had maintenance people punching holes in the wall to find the leak. The way that the story was told had the whole table roaring with laughter.

Anyway, by the time I got home, I was so stuffed and happy, so I decided to just have a relaxing evening, do my laundry and lie back on the couch to channel surf.

I must have fallen asleep but was then awoken by the sound of dripping water.
"Damn the bloody washing machine" I thought as I got up.
**My nonsense washing machine sometimes leaks...but only a little...just enough to be a nuisance. **

So I got up from the couch and put my feet on the ground and found myself in ankle deep water.

HORRORS!!!

"I must be dreaming" I said to myself...Too much food and funny stories...(the first thought that came to my mind was the story that the Canadian couple shared). And then I realize that I wasn't dreaming and the house was indeed flooded.

Shit!! I got up and went over to the washing machine and saw water pouring out from this little contraption which Mum was meddling with just before she left for Taipei. I switched off the washing machine, the water stopped pouring out and it was then that I looked around and saw the damage that had happened. Picture this....little furnitures floating around in the water. My house looked like it had just been hit by hurricane katrina.

My guitar, my carpet, my boxes, shoes, food, all.....WET!!!

Armed with a small rag and my dustbin, I started scooping the water up. There was no other way. I damn well gave up a few times....and did stop a couple of times to see who I could blame this misfortune on. Perhaps, I also had thought, I should just give up and call for help downstairs. Let this be somebody else's problem....I thought...out of pure frustration. But each time such negative thoughts came into my head...I took a deep breathe and pushed on.

After 7 hours of cleaning, it was finally done. The washing machine is fixed, the soapy water ..all mopped up, the floor re-cleaned, the laundry hang out to dry, all wet things...hanging out to dry...what an experience that I don't want EVER to happen again!

But as I sit here, blogging my little sob story to you...don't be mistaken that I've found myself beaten. On the contrary, I find myself coming out all the more stronger and convinced of the things that I can do if I just perservere.

It was a lesson well learnt and although I still don't wish for it to happen, I've just got this sense of satisfaction and confidence that I can do things, no matter how tedious as long as I put my mind and soul into it. And I believe this to be true for you too.....

My new pair of Puma shoes says hi!!

Okay, I'm not really a shoe person. Compared to a friend of mine who moved from New York to Taipei with 4 BIG boxes of shoes, buying ONE pair of new puma shoes is nothing. But I LOVE IT and just gotta share with the world................that's me! Proud pair of puma shoes owner. P/s: I'm starting to get so hooked on this particular series from puma.

Baseball Heaven Joke! Hehe.

Two old guys, Abe and Sol, are sitting on a park bench feeding pigeons and talking about baseball, like they do every day. Abe turns to Sol and says, "Do you think there's baseball in heaven?"

Sol thinks about it for a minute and replies, "I dunno. But let's make a deal: if I die first, I'll come back and tell you if there's baseball in heaven, and if you die first, you do the same."
They shake on it and sadly, a few months later, poor Abe passes on.

One day soon afterward, Sol is sitting there feeding the pigeons by himself when he hears a voice whisper, "Sol... Sol..."
Sol responds, "Abe! Is that you?"
"Yes it is, Sol," whispers Abe's ghost.
Sol, still amazed, asks, "So, is there baseball in heaven?"
"Well," says Abe, "I've got good news and bad news."
"Gimme the good news first," says Sol.

Abe says, "Well... there is baseball in heaven."
Sol says, "That's great! What news could be bad enough to ruin that!?"
Abe sighs and whispers, "You're pitching on Friday."

Da Vinci's 'Last Supper" goes online

I read something interesting in the Sunday newspaper that I thought I would share with you.

Now you don't need to get to Milan to see Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece. All you have to do is log on at http://www.haltadefinizione.com/ to see an image of the "The Last Supper" at 16 BILLION pixels.

This high resoultion will allow experts to examine details fo the 15th century wall painting - including the traces of drawings Leonardo put down before painting. You can even see close up how Leonardo made the cups transparent.

And all this is done in your home instead of queuing up long hours in Milan's Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie

Note: I found the resolution took some time to load especially if you zoom in an out quickly. Anyway, Enjoy!

Yummy birthday cake versus yucky cappuccino ice-cream

MY BLACK-FOREST BIRTHDAY CAKE!!

Do not be mistaken by its appearance. This cake is like no other.

It was meant to be a surprise from Mak and he had planned for it to be delivered the night before my birthday. So all the arrangements were made online (Mak is in Singapore, cake shop is in Taipei) and everything set as planned.

Alas, on the 7th of october, Taipei was hit by that massive typhoon - Krosa. I'm telling you that it is the worst typhoon I've experienced since I've got here with buckets of water pouring down and powerful winds sweeping through Taipei the entire day.

Apparently, everywhere in Taipei was closed for the day except for the cake shop. (Kudos for their professionalism). So the cake shop delivery man really went out of his way, braved the storm to deliver the cake as instructed.

Well, the security guard who received the cake on my behalf was in the midst of handling some super super "chaotic" situation (oh so he said) and so he shoved the cake into the giant freezer in the basement. And there it remained for the next 2 days.

Of course, I'm clueless about this whole chain of events since its suppose to be a surprise and when they finally remembered enough to get in touch with me, imagine my very very nasty reaction.

My first reaction was to scold the stupid security guard as severely as I could muster. :) But OK LAR, the cake turned out to be all right and since he was really apologetic about it, I made my peace with him.

So, doesn't my birthday cake look just so yummy? In fact, (minus the whipped cream because its just so sinful) it tastes fabulous and I admit to helping myself to a big serving when I return home from a stressful day at work. Nothing like chocolate cake to alleviate work stress for the day. *BURP*


AWFUL AWFUL ICE CREAM!!


While we are talking about food, let me talk about this awful awful cappuccino ice cream that I bought. It came in a package of 5 sticks.

I mean, check out the packaging...doesn't it look quite so cool? But of all the bad ice creams I've tasted in my life time, this has got be be the worst!!

Wah lau eh...don't know what to do with the remaining few sticks. Hmm..maybe I can offer that security guard downstairs.

Boy, can I nurse a grudge...I'm plain evil...............HAHAHHAHAHA.

Blogspot banned in China but there always is a way

Spent the week in Shanghai and returned to Taipei with a few interesting finds - both professionally and personally.

Hey, did you know that blogspot is banned in China? Yup, indeed it is blocked by the Great Firewall of China (GFW). Felt so restricted just because I knew that I was not allowed to go where I wanted to go. You know, my desire to visit blogspot was not great to begin with, but just because I couldn't, I found that desire growing and became SO CONSUMED in finding ways to get around it. Well, finally I found my friend who was able to share with me 2 different ways of getting around the GFW. Satisfied, I went on to do something else. Hence, the REBEL in me. :P

I LOVE IT! That's just one of the reasons why I think China is so alive and exciting!!! Things are always evolving and people just don't play by the rules as much as they do in Singapore. (which of course you can take it in a good way or bad way :) ).

On a similar note, I'm reading a book by robert t. kiyosaki about financial literacy and the message I'm getting is that people in general has just got to be so much more INFORMED than they already are. Yes, we have to play by the rules, abide by the law, but if we do it in a dogmatic manner, we'll always be like the majority - stuck in the rat race. The rich get richer and the poor well....we get poorer. No robin hoods around anymore - steal from the rich to give to the poor. Its work smarter and not harder.

If you find me being too cryptic at this stage, apologies, my mind is not very organized right now. I haven't had my cup of coffee for the day. * hops out of chair to make Vietnamese coffee - I deserve it today...Its the weekends :) *

Anyway, came back from Shanghai with lots of GOODIESSS: interesting books and DVDs. Dirt cheap I tell you. Dirt Cheap. Anyway, I won't worry about me being bored in Taipei, so much to see, read and do. :)

Allergies on a Friday afternoon...first experience with Taiwan medical facilities

Everything started off as normal today. My mood was pretty good. Its a Friday after all. I'm normally a happy person on Fridays.

For lunch, we tried a new restaurant called Caterpilla today. It serves Mexican and Western food but though the food was all right, we were the ONLY customers during lunch time. Horrors! That is really really bad in Taiwan. Competition is so tough for the food industry, I'm sure Caterpillar can't last very much longer.

The weather was really good today. (Perhaps too good?!?) The sun was shining and it was HOT HOT HOT, which I must say is a nice change from the drizzy sort of weather I've gotten accustomed too in Taipei. (I've experienced 3 typhoons in my 28 days here. So that's alot of wet weather for you :B).

Anyway, I started experiencing a slight headache in the afternoon and figuring that I need to have a clear mind when I'm reading those "old-so-boring" contracts, I asked my colleague for a pain killer. She gave me HALF a capsule of Ibuprofin. Within 45 minutes, I started getting an allergic reaction. (which i didn't know at that time!)

First, my left eye started to swell. We weren't sure what it was so they asked the driver to send me to the eye doctor. But on the way there, my right eye started to swell and my voice became scratchy and I started to feel a pressure on my chest. Oh-oh, that's not an EYE problem!!!

Okay, emergency time. Driver makes an illegal U-turn and starts heading for another hospital. At this point in time, my face is all PUFFED up, eyes start getting teary and vision starts blurring. So, we ended up at 博仁综合医院. Okay, my experience as follows:
1) Went to register
2) Went upstairs to see a doctor (realized they jumped my queue and sent me to a doctor immediately- (who is in charge of the 神经内科） (hence, no waiting :))
3) Doctor confirms its an allergy and writes me a slip for medication
4) Go downstairs to pay at the counter
5) Go to another counter to collect medicine
6) Go to the emergency ward for the jab and then....

Nurse takes a look at my medication and loudly says...."No, this medicine can't be right" and proceeds to make a couple of phone calls to clarify. OH NOOOOOO, what is going on here? (Note: By this time, I'm a little disorientated which happens to be a common allergic symptom)
For more information on common allergic symption, please refer to: http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/allergy-symptoms

They changed my medicine and gave me a refund before giving me the jab. OUCH! IT REALLY REALLY HURT and I'm NOT being a baby about it!! It was like one of the MOST PAINFUL jabs I've had in my life

Went back to the office, took my stuff and LEFT. The anti-histemine drug was making me really tired and giddy. Anyway, my eyes were also soooo puffed up that my vision was blurry. Driver sent me home and I went to bed straight away.

Woke up feeling better and had dinner. Made arrangements to join a field trip to Yi-lan county tomorrow morning. Meeting time is 7.25am!! OH-OH. Yeah, but I'm still going. Can't miss a day with mother nature and some whale watching. :) Pretty excited.

So anyway, I'm still feeling a little oooooozzzyyyyy but I guess I will be fine tomorrow. Carpe diem yah....SEIZE THE DAY. Every minute and second counts.......

An anti-histemine cartoon. (No point not laughing about it....:) )

Rome and Carthage - Lessons to learn

I'm reading a book on the history of mankind. In one of the chapters, it covered the clash between Rome and Carthage. Based on what I read, it was no surprise how Rome became an empire in those early days. I found it very inspiring and feel it is a lesson to learn from as the fundamentals can also be applied to our daily lives.
Let me summarize it as follows:

In the early times Rome had been the only strongly fortified city in central Italy, but it had always offered a hospitable refuge to other Latin tribes who happened to be in danger of attack. The Latin neighbours had recognised the advantages of a close union with such a powerful friend and they had tried to find a basis for some sort of defensive and offensive alliance. Other nations, Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, even Greeks, would have insisted upon a treaty of submission on the part of the "barbarians". The Romans did nothing of the sort. They gave the "outsider" a chance to become partners in a common "res publica" or common wealth. The "outsider" appreciated this generosity and he showed his gratitude by his unswervering loyalty.

Whenever a Greek city had been attacked, the foreign residents had moved out as quickly as they could. But when the enemy was before the gates of Rome, all the Latins rushed to her defence. It was their true "home" even if they lived a hundred miles away and had never seen the walls of the sacred Hills.

Fall of the year 218 before the birth of Christ, Hannibal, a Carthaginian general defeated the roman armies battle after battle. He marched from one end of the peninsula to the other, proclaiming himself the "deliverer from the yoke of Rome" and asking the different provinces to join him in warfare upon the mother city. Then once more the wisdom of Rome bore noble fruit. With the exceptions of Capua and Syracuse, all Roman cities remained loyal.

Hannibal, the deliverer, found himself opposed by the people whose friend he pretended to be. And after many years of uninterrupted victories, as the Italian peasants held aloof from this self-appointed "deliverer, Hannibal found himself besiged in the country which he had just conqureed.

In the year 190 BC, Hannibal driven from one city to another, a fugitive without a home, his beloved city of Carthage in ruin by war and condemned to pay the Romans millions of dollars for endless years to come, Hannibal took poison and killed himself.

Without speaking the obvious, I hope you found it as meaningful as I found it.

Vera in a box...Vera in an organic grocery bag

My sister and her husband are very fond of putting their koochi-ku daughter in all sorts of things...................to prove my point......

Vera in a Bag on the way to shopping

Vera in a box as they were shifting house

**DISCLAIMER **

No babies were hurt during this photoshoot.

*****************

Hell, apparently that crazy kid liked it so much! SHE'S OUTTA THIS WORLD!!!

Vulgarness - if you are 14 and below, please don't read this.

* Disclaimer - The content below can be rather crude depending on which planet you are from. Please proceed at your own risk *

I received an sms from my friend *who requested not to be named* 2 minutes ago.

The SMS went like this:

F.U.C.K stands for " Friends U Can Keep"
So promise me, you'll F.U.C.K me 4ever!
Of cos I'll F.U.C.K u 4ever 2. Ha.ha.ha.ha.
Send to all ur frends, & see who F.U.C.Ks you back.

So I'm on MSN with this same friend *who requested not be be named*

And the both of us proceeded F.U.C.K-ing back and forth ending with....my friend saying
Promise me...You'll F.U.C.K me forever.
And my response was...
Yah..yah..I'm F.U.C.K ing I'm F.U.C.K ing !!!

MessageBox.Show("Hello World. Jamie from Taipei")

All right...........I haven't blogged for eons so I am kinda lost for words at the moment. How shall I start?
.
.
.
*jamie thinks real hard*
.
.
.
Well, so many things have happened over the past few weeks that I have kinda lost momentum on what to blog about - yup! finding it hard to find a place to start recapping.

Okay, let's start with: I'm sitting here in my little apartment in Taipei and I've been here for several weeks now. Actually, I arrived in Taipei on July 28th. That would be 27 days ago. Wow! Its almost a MONTH! OOOhhhh-hooooo. That was FAST!!!

Life is not bad here and I didn't have much difficulty fitting in although I have to admit that the traditional chinese bit was mind boggling in the first few days that I was here. But after the 2nd week, I started getting used to it and am learnin new words everyday.

The company put me in a pretty cool place with swimming pool, gym and what not. My home in Taipei is just 15 mins away from my work place, 10 mins away from 101 building (and all the shopping), 5 mins away from Carrefour, 10 mins away from Living Mall (which is another fab shopping mall with a nice cinema). I've been to the movies 3 times already since I've been here because its just SOOO convenient. Hell, I sure ain't complaining! Ok, ok, I'm just counting my blessings MAN but yup, I'll stop raving!

Tan Moon Cake said this afternoon to me: "Sis, your blog is SO boring...there are no updates!"

Well..yeah....the update is...I've been really busy with work and in the evenings I'm also pretty engaged with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Visual Basics - my latest craze. ...
I've progressed from coding MessageBox.Show("Hello World") to now writing a program that input and output data from an sql server using visual basics. My little employee database. (I'm an aspiring owner of a company. :) )

Okay, my colleague was really puzzled when she asked me what I did in the evenings at home. She must be thinking OH POOR JAMIE....ALL ALONE IN TAIPEI and yup, I had to prove her right by telling her my amusement is coding. She replies: "And why are you doing this in the evening when you should be relaxing after a hard day's work? Like shopping!" And at this point in time, her eyes light up at the mere mention of shopping. (even window shopping, her eyes light up....trust me!)

WHAT!!! @#$%@#$%, well firstly, I DO find it rather relaxing -- except when I start getting a stupid compilation error that won't go away. At that point in time, I want to smash my computer in -- but Shopping?!?!? I think I would end up more stressed up than I would be BEFORE I start this so called "theurapeutic" treament. Erm..thanks but no thanks.

So any way....CHAK Bro!!!! here is my blog update. YES, I insist on having the last word especially when it comes to YOU. Anyway, you know I adore you .....guy with the ugly hair. But I must win, I MUST I MUST. I'm such a fighter cock.

Okay, zip zip zip. Back to reality and back to my life in Taipei....on the weekends and evenings...I have recently started putting more effort into cooking. I'm a damn lousy cook...but the good news is...I'm NOT a fussy eater too...so I don't waste too much food.

Okay, here is a picture of the first dish I cooked since I came here: - (Very simple but it was fun). And after weeks of practice...I'm starting to be able to whip up quick 15 min meals. :) I affectionately call my meals.....commando training for the stomach. :)))))

Precious Vera at Ah Yat Abalone

Before and After Pictures.. Twinkle lost 5 KG!!

Before:

After:

(5 kg lighter and the world is brighter) :-)

黑白五常 - (courtesy of Adeline)

I took this interesting picture in the cab the other day. I was really surprised to see this because I always thought that chinese people (especially older folks and taxi drivers :) ) are usually very superstitious and scared of such things. Obviously not this taxi driver!! :-P


For those who do not know what I'm talking about....let me share with you that the chinese believe that when you die...the hell guards will come and collect your soul to be judged. The hell guards come in the form of Hei Bai Wu Chang 黑白五常 as shown above. One of them short, plump and black while the other is tall, white and have his tongue sticking out.

And there is a reason why one is white and one is black and its an interesting story. Do you know?

Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) - Churning of the Milk Ocean

If you've ever departed from the new Bangkok airport - Suvarnabhumi Airport, you will be greeted by an impressive statue the moment you clear immigration.

The statue depicts one of the famous scenes from Puranas (Hindu literature) - Samudra manthan (Devanagari: समुद्र मंथन) aka the churning of the ocean of milk. This story is celebrated in a major way every twelve years in the festival known as Kumbha Mela.

The Churning of the ocean of milk tells of the story where demons and gods cooperated to churn the sea for thousands of years in order to extract the elixir of immortality, coveted by both groups.

As you can see from the pictures, the Devas (demigods) are engaged in a tug of war with the Asuras (demons). Each team is holding onto one end of the king of serpent - Vasuki (aka Naga). The centre of the serpent is coiled around Mt. Mandara (which is a pivot) and at the base of this pivot would be Vishnu, incarnated as a huge turtle.

Asuras (demon) holding onto the head end of the Naga (3 headed king of serpent)

Asuras (demon) with colourful painted body and demonic faces

Naga wrapped around Mt Mandara as a pivot and supported by turtle (Vishnu)

Devas (demigods) holding the tail end of the serpent

You can see that the demigods are depicted in human form.

As the ocean churned, a deadly poison known as halahala emerged. Shiva drank this poison and his wife stopped it in his throat with her hands, causing the throat to turn blue. (explaining why Shiva is sometimes called Nīlakantha meaning Blue Throat)

From the churning, numerous opulent things were also produced including Dhanvantari (Heavenly Physician) carrying the pot of Amrita - the heavenly nectar of immortality.

In the end, the cooperation between Devas and Asuras was shattered with Vishnu taking the form of Mohini - a beautiful and enchanting damsel who served to distract the Asuras while distributing the nectar to the Devas. (a little cheating and disception seems to be happening here). The Devas having fulfilled their plan of acquring all the Amrita banished the Asuras out of Heaven and into the underworld. (tsk tsk)

Of course, as all Hindu literature, there is many versions of the story. One such version can be found as follows:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudra_manthan

Another version

http://www.sanatansociety.org/indian_epics_and_stories/the_churning_of_the_ocean.htm

One interesting twist to the story that I like was that:
A particular Asura, Rahu, had disguised himself as a Devas, and managed to drink some of the nectar. But before the Nectar could pass his throat, Mohini cut off his head. The head, due to its contact with the amrita, remained immortal. It is believed that this immortal head occasionally swallows the sun or the moon, causing eclipses. Then, the sun or moon passes through the opening at the neck, ending the eclipse.

Sunkist versus Thai Orange

In the early part of 2007, I spent quite a lot of time in Bangkok and I've been dutifully snapping pictures with my dopod 838pro but as you can quite clearly see, procrastination has gotten the better of me and I never quite got about to posting them online.

Well, its long overdue but I declare the winner of the orange juice competition between Sunkist and small Thai orange as .......................*drum rolls*

THAI Orange Wins Hands Down!!

As you can see from the picture below, the street vendor totally agrees with me and also proclaims Thai orange juice as NUMBER ONE!!! (index finger pointing up in the sky)

Perfect for a hot sunny day in Bangkok - This drink is ultra refreshing and cost only 20Baht. It is a heavenly concoction of small thai oranges, lime, salt plus sugar for the perfect taste. Like the famous Thai coconut, it can be found at almost any street corner and is relatively safe to drink. (Tried and tested - no stomach problems after bravely testing out several different stalls)

This picture is taken right outside the office building where I work in Bangkok and I relish the mornings where i get to treat myself to a bottle on the way to work....

LOMA results

I didn't get the 100 I was looking for... but it sure was damn closeee.........

301: Insurance Administration - 96
361: Financial and Management Accounting -99

For the effort I've put in for this 2 papers, I sure as hell ain't complaining..........:)

Indeed, I do!!

WHIPPEEEE......OUT FOR A CELEBRATION!!!!

Headachesss

Well, in an attempt to live life to the fullest, for the past few weeks, I've been on the "GO".

The result is....a super mind boggling headache that last for 2 days straight in which no amount of pain killers can possibly fix/mend.

On Thursday mid noon, I felt the onset of a major headache. It was like someone was playing Linkin Park full blast in my head. I had alot of sleep on Thursday but I went to bed with a headache and woke up with the same headache. Therefore, on Friday while at work, I was still feeling very extremely horrible.

That's when I became a pill popping maniac and my colleague is screaming:"Whoaa, easy on those pills, you can only take 6 per 24 hours."Still the pain did not go away and for the whole day I was like that ->

Managed to somehow survive the day at work. Wasn't in the right frame of mind and so I'm pretty sure I did alot of things I will later come to regret.

Anyway, come 6pm I am out of the office in a flash, jump into my car and flooring my accelerator I'm on my way home. The moment I'm home...I'm in bed with the covers over my head. No dinner for me, I just need to sleep.

This morn 5.45am. I'm feeling a little better now....

P/s: I saw another really freaky picture about someone having a headache, here is the link: http://www.freakingnews.com/Headache-Pictures-35336.asp

There are really strange strange people out there.

Senseless Ramblings...............

I've been so busy lately I've lost the momentum to blog. B.K says:"Now you understand what I mean when one has lost the passion to educate" and I'm thinking it should be along the line:"Now I understand what you mean when one has lost all all desire to infect others with utterly senseless ramblings" :)

Anyway, I'm BACK at 5.45am in the morning.