Gotten myself into some shit recently. Unnecessary I'd say. It wasn't that I was doing it purposely to attract attention. It just happened that some of the things I did were unsatisfactory in the eyes of certain people, and hence the shit I got myself into.

In the process, I dragged some people into the picture. Thereby causing them unnecessary headache and trouble. To them, from the bottom of my heart I would like to say, 'sorry'.

I got to know that out of the 'some ppl' I dragged, a few helped me thru the shit that I gotten myself into. For that, pls accept my deep felt thanks. I don't know where I'd be if not for your help.

One of the 'some ppl' text-ed me this msg:
'Forget those mistake u had done just keep up the rest of your good work'.
Motivational, isn't it, the msg? It sure was, when I first read it, and still is, till now. It sure makes me wanna put this episode behind me, and move on.

Thx! I will!

24! Yes! I made it! Woo hoo! Didn't think I'd be able to do it, initially. But others pushed and egged me on. Too bad I only did half of it myself. The other half, I had help from others. A few guys were offering to help me through the second half. They were like 'Eh, need my help?' and everytime, I'd go 'NO!'. Sorry guys, if I sounded 'tao'. It was just that I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. And I did! Thx for your offers of help, though.

POSB has this new option on their ATM machines. Called My Atm, it's like a 'default setting' for withdrawing cash from their ATMs. I tried it, and I find it really cool.

Everytime I draw cash from my POSB acct, it'd usually be just the minimum $20, and I prefer getting a receipt. Rather than keying in the amount I'd like to draw, then deciding on whether or not I want a receipt, what My Atm does is to remember the amount I usually draw, my receipt option, and whether or not I'd like to be informed of my available balance. So everytime I wanna draw cash, all I have to do is to just choose the 'My Atm' option out of the many listed on the screen. Easy, right?

I don't usually draw from POSB, but with My Atm, I'm definitely looking forward to those rare moments when I do. I don't know why, but it seems that almost without fail, at every POSB/DBS ATM, there'd always be a long queue. I can't stand having to wait behind sometimes a very looooooong queue at their ATMs just to draw cash! And I definitely can't fathom how some people have the patience to do so.

With my other acct, UOB, there's almost no, or at the very least a short queue, everytime I wanna draw cash. And the best part is that I can also withdraw from OCBC ATMs as well! Something about a shared ATM network that they have. But just in case, I'll put some cash into my POSB acct, for those occasions where there isn't a UOB/OCBC ATM in sight. So that I can use the My Atm option. Haha!

Saw a few test drive cars when I was on my way back from camp earlier on in the morning. It's those cars without a license plate, but they have this provisional plate hanging where a plate number's supposed to be. Am not really sure what that provisional plate is actually called, though.

Am not really sure how a car buying process works, but one thing I know for sure is that the buyer has to wait for a certain time for the car to arrive. Smthg like that.

For one thing, somewhere in Singapore, is a HUGE lot where hundreds, or maybe even thousands of new cars are parked! Where exactly this place is, I don't think I can tell. Saw a few models I recognized. Avantes, Picantos, Getzs and what have you. Some cars pretty brand new, some cars looking more like scrap.

I used to think that the reason why the buyer has to wait is bcos the cars are brought in from their country of origin only when a buy is confirmed. I don't really know why those cars are sitting pretty there, but my guess is that when a particular car is ordered, one is taken from there, customized to suit the buyer's wimps and whines, before finally being delivered to the buyer. If that is so, it certainly puts off buying a car for me. For now, at least. I guess it'll take some time for me to be erased of this image I have of so many sparkling cars sitting pretty. A car IS a convenient method of transportation.

Badminton was fun! Been playing badminton everyday for the past week. Only thing is, it'd be more fun if those who play brought their own rackets, and not share. Currently there're only 4 rackets, shared amongst God knows how many people! And the game played is doubles, winner stays, loser out. So the more people play, the longer they have to wait. Sucks, isn't it?

Been playing with a few guys in doubles. Don't really have a fixed doubles partner. I used to think that I can play either singles or doubles. But now I find that doubles isn't really my game. Maybe I'm more suited at singles. Thing is, there is only one net, and without another one, can't really try playing singles. Maybe I should get another net, so that at any time, there's more than one game playing on. Will see how it goes..

more?

Look what came in the mail! Was just talking about this with Ain the night before, and sure enough it came. Maybe I should talk to her more, then many more things'd come true. Just kidding, Ain. Hah!

As much as I'm delighted, it looks like I'll be a student once more only next year, as I'm still doing my NS now. Unless of course I apply for a scholarship.. Should I..? *think. think. Start next yr= pink IC. Scholarship= 10yrs of 11B! Should I? Hmm..* Hah!

Walk
Took a lil walk. Not out of choice thou. Mum asked me to get some stuff at a supermarket a few bus stops away. Decided to walk halfway to Shell to get a pack of Sampoerna. So it was abt 10min to Shell. Then it was another 10min to the supermarket. So all in all it was 20min of walking.

Broke out in a slight sweat. It felt good. It's been 3 weeks since I did any PT. It was one hell of 3 weeks! For 3 weeks, it was waking up, eating, smoking, sleeping and back, and some other reasons better left unsaid. And since these particular 3 weeks are over, am definitely looking forward to PT, running, badminton and what have you.. All the running done before this seems to have gone down the drain. For one thing, the slight paunch is back. It disappeared, but it came back. I def-ly have gained some weight, but never bothered to weigh myself..

Milk
Made milk for my elder niece Ira today. My mum had her hands full, and asked me to. Initially I was like, 'Huh? How?', cos I never did it b4. Turned to be simple actually. More like a 'go by numbers' thing.

See the numbering on the bottle? Just add three parts hot water, three parts lukewarm water so it won't be scalding, then 3 scoops of milk powder. Give it a good shake so everything mixes well, and voila, milk! Lol!

Shh! Ira's Sleeping!
Put Ira to sleep. Have done it many times, just that I wanna show my two nieces. The younger one's Iin, btw.

Ira, Iin, asleep and awake.

Here's another pic of Iin. Apparently the lights were too bright for her!





Yak yak yak!
Caught Ira 'pretend yakking' on the phone in my room. Just imagine how high the telephone bills will be when she's older! Haha!

I guess that's a wrap folks!

Just finished watching Party Planner With David Tutera on cable. Discovery Travel & Living, Ch 16. A great epi!

This week's party was to celebrate a couple's friend who just launched a new design of a hot air balloon. It was of a country side cottage kind of a design. But that's besides the point.

Somehow the hosts wanted a French theme. Forgot why thou. So what David and his team came up with was smthg of an indoor bistro setting. They took some round tables, covered it with nice table cloths, hid the furniture somewhere else and voila, indoor bistro! It was really like a bistro, but inside. David somehow somewhere got hold of a lamp post circa the French era, and it just adds to the realism of the bistro. Details, details.

David even went to a restaurant to learn how to make croissants! It was hard work indeed. The dough, I learnt, had to be set for 24 hours! That's a LOT of time! The dough is pressed, laid out, the butter wrapped inside it, and then pressed and laid out again. When done, it's cut triangular, and stretched out. So it's like a long isosceles triangle. Then it's rolled into shape, starting from the base of the triange. Using a brush, it's then lightly smeared with beaten eggs. They're then put inside this oven with a controlled heat and humidity so that the yeast rises. THEN it's cooked, with another smear of eggs. Hard work eh? Besides croissants, there was cheese fondue, and being French, there was wine ofc. You can't seperate the French from wine, can you?

Nice show! Nice show! Like these kinda shows. And shows abt makeover, interior design and autos. :)

My bro-in-law took half the day off yest. My niece Ira looked sick in the morning when he went for work. When he came back and Ira was perfectly fine, he decided to tidy up the store room. As he was doing it by himself, and looked like he had everything under control, I decided to just let him be. But not my mum. More or less, the conversation went like this:

Mum: Why you don't help Abang?
Me: He never ask what...

Mum: Then don't want to take initiative?

At night, when my sis came back, and got to know that the husband tidied up the store room, asked me the same thing my mum asked earlier. The conversation went along the same line as the one above.

It's such a classic Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus moment there! My bro-in-law was doing it by himself, didn't ask help from me, so I took it as he didn't need my help. So plain and clear. But not to my mum and sis..

Where am I heading at? I'm not really sure. I'm just pointing out that men think and do things different from women. Inevitably, this difference sometimes lead to unnecessary conflicts. And/or maybe, I should take the initiative sometimes..

I'm sure by now you've seen the new Courts ad where people go Yes! Yes! Yes! Looks like all of them sure are putting on a 'face', doesn't it? For one thing, I'm definitely looking forward to getting my new card! Not so that I can go out and buy stuff thou, but just to have another card in my wallet.

Bought my digicam and my first mp3 player on Ready Finance. I think buying on credit once is enough for me. It's better to save up and pay the whole amount in full, be it in cash, Nets or signing for it with a debit card!

ST Sat Feb 24 '07

New MP3 players are being churned out even as you're reading this. In the largest patent ruling in history, Microsoft has been sued for using digital music technology without permission. Looks like Microsoft, the big boy of tech, isn't immune to being sued. I wonder why Alcatel-Lucent decided on Microsoft as it's first 'victim'. If, like in the article, Alcatel-Lucent decides to go after other providers, would it spell the end of iPods and what not? I hope not..!

Since Microsoft has been sued for USING technology without permission, I wonder if it's all just hype those lawsuits about peer to peer sites eg Napster where people SHARE songs.. Something to ponder on, isn't it?

ST Sat Feb 24 '07

These are taken from Digital Life, ST, Feb 20 '07. It accompanied an article, 'Surfing On Company Time'. Not sure if it's meant to be tounge in cheek, but it sure is funny to me. Having worked in an office environment before, some of it sure rang some bells for me! No. 6, mostly. :)

I managed to watch 2 episodes of the show Queer Eye For The Straight Guy! Which was so cool, as coincidentally, I've been reading their book. It's one thing to read the book, and another to watch the show itself. The show is banned here in Singapore, most likely than not, bcos it features five gay guys. Being banned, it makes it all the more satisfying to have watched it. It was on an Indonesian channel, the name of which I've forgotten.

It's a makeover kind of thing. To quote their book: 'Five eminently stylish and hilariously witty gay men - authoritative experts in food and wine, grooming, decorating, fashion, and culture - invade your life, assess your strenghts and weaknesses, and in the course of a day, make you better dressed, better groomed, better mannered, and a better cook, living in a better home.. This is what the Queer Eye does each week on one of the hottest TV shows in memory, as the Fab 5... turn an everyman frog into an every-girl's-dream prince'.

Having watched the show, I don't see why it's banned thou. It's not like it's a show full of PDA - public display of affection - among the Fab 5. In each episode, the Fab 5 basically goes thru with the guy in question on how to be more 'refined', so to speak. It's such a waste that Singapore guys don't get to watch it, and in so doing, not able to sponge off whatever useful nuggets of info that the Fab 5 dispenses in each epi. Sigh...

My company mate, Nassir, was successful in his application to be absorbed into regular service. He'll be starting his regular life this coming Monday. Congrats Nassir!

Went to my aunt's place last week, as my cousin recently gave birth to a baby boy, MOHD ADREAN IRHAZ. Gongrats, Nur! For more pics of lil Adrean, click here. There're more cuter pics there! :)