Q-tip explores ECP at last! 


Ready in the cockpit, waiting to blast off! 


And we're off! 


Deep sea exploration 


One seriously wet dog who needs a bath! 

Had a great day today with beach, bike and bimbo dog. It was Q-tip's first time out at ECP and her first bicycle ride too. There must be some discrimination going on at the bike rentals because when the rental clerks cottoned on that we wanted a basket to carry our dog in, they wouldn't let us have any bikes. Is it a safety thing or what? So we had to do it the underhand method. June parked herself some distance from the next bike rental outlet then I went to get a bike with basket for myself. Having scored a bike, I went back to get a second bike, somewhat smaller, for June. Only then could we load up Q-tip and show her the sights. How bothersome.

June ended up with the basket as it was so low-slung on my bike it dragged on the front tire. We thought Q-tip would freak out in the basket but from the outset it looked like she was really enjoying the ride. She was smiling all the way, tongue hanging out, very relaxed on the towel we provided for her comfort.

She didn't like swimming, however, not like when we were at Sentosa a few months ago. The waves were higher and stronger at ECP and she just couldn't cope. Swimming was over in less than 5 minutes before we headed back to return our bikes.

We got the scare of the day when on the way back, Q-tip temporarily misplaced her brain and jumped out of the basket from the moving bike. Both June and I narrowly missed running her over as she landed badly -- belly up instead of on her feet. She must have suffered some shock as well, immediately righting herself and running aimlessly across the grass verge with me in hot pursuit. It took a while before she recognised my voice again and slowed to a halt in sitting position. Whatever was she thinking? Q-tip doesn't have the guts to jump off the sofa; what could have posessed her to jump off a bike? A mystery to solve before we take her on another biking expedition.

We rode very slowly back to return our bikes (again one at a time) this time holdng very tightly to Q-tip's leash in case she decides to take another unauthorized skydive again. No incident, this time.

Home again and Q-tip's got her bath and is nice and fluffy again. In need of grooming, she is.

Went for dinner at The French Stall, on Sembawang Road opp. Khatib Camp. Nice French bistro. The layout is half indoor dining and the other half al fresco. June and I both ordered the same beef set but replaced the Aubergine dish with French onion soup. The soup didn't disappoint in taste but presentation-wise I'm still looking for a French onion soup that comes with a layer of mozzarella completely covering the top of the soup bowl, the way I'm used to in TO. Also, maybe it's because most people don't like it, but the soup came devoid of parmesan. I had to ask for it and it came freshly grated in a saucer; that's service! French onion soup needs a generous sprinkling of parmesan to fully bring out it's flavour. Try it, you won't regret it (unless you already can't stand parmesan, that is).

I ordered the Beef Entrecote to remind myself of the one thing I was specially looking for when I visited Quebec City those many years ago. I had heard that this dish was a specialty of a particular eatery in the old part of QC (by old we mean that that part of the city hasn't been updated for 200 years and is now a major tourist attraction). Mom and I managed to find that particular restaurant and the beef, as I remember, was really special. At The French Stall, the entrecote was juicy, tender and came in a tasty creme sauce on a bed of potato gratin. It's nice that when we asked for our steaks to be done rare, they were actually served rare. Some places, you ask for rare they give you medium because they can't stand the sight of blood or something.

The choc cake for dessert was nothing to rave about. It just... was. Next time, I'll try the lamb and maybe follow up with the ice-cream thing we saw carried past our table. Altogether, the meal cost us a few cents short of $50. Ouch. What the heck! It's payday!

Had another sweat-a-thon this morning and I think we're making progress. Lena came to join us so we have one more member of our team getting a feel of the routine. She's picking up quite fast, but then, she has a good background in dance anyway. Had a look at the actual location and, boy, it's a lot of ground to cover. That's going to add to our sweat output, that's for sure. It feels funny, muscles aching yet it's a healthy thing to do. Well, it would feel better if I didn't screw up my knees. The left one is a bit wobbly now. I hope I haven't done any real damage to it, but I don't see how I could have. Maybe it's just not used to this kind of stress, not having done anything like it for so long already. To everyone involved, thanks for all the hard work, and I promise, we will improve!

I did manage to catch The Punisher at Bishan J8 in the mid-afternoon. Was starving since I hadn't had anything to eat since the Oreos-Os for breakfast. Wanted to line up for popcorn and coke (great -- healthy exercise not being supported by healthy diet) but I just barely got my ticket before the movie started. Then I realized that perhaps I could have lined up for food after all 'cos the pre-show commercials ran on for quite a while. Good thing there were no ads for food products, else...

As expected, not many in the audience. Just a few Marvel fanboys and that's about it. The run isn't going to last long. You have to be a fanboy to appreciate a movie like this. After all, the lead character is a psycho who's lost everything. How else do we expect him to emote? He's just grim all the time, no emotion left in him. With the death of his entire family -- and I mean cross-generational extended family on both his and his wife's side in the same hour -- and his own attempted murder, he evolves into what is basically the Angel of Death on his 'resurrection.' Nothing supernatural about his return to the living, it's like the Bride in Kill Bill. The assassins just didn't finish the job well enough.

It's not really giving away the plot because it's quite obvious what game Punny is playing from the time he sets his plan for revenge in motion. If you haven't got time to watch 4 hours worth of Othello at the Arts Festival, you can get a quickie version with lots of guns and explosions in The Punisher. It's not as 'cultural' but it's probably more fun. There's even a tip of the hat to Homer's Iliad ('Troy,' for the more pop culture inclined) at the end. I won't say which part 'cos again it's quite obvious.

So we have a story about a loony who does terrible things to terrible people who did terrible things to him and to other people. It's hard to support a guy whose cruelty and spite matches that of the one who caused him harm to begin with. The Punisher is not a character we sympathise with. He is not a hero, not a role model but rather an unnatural disaster that befalls evildoers who deem themselves above the law. Maybe that's why this movie is so disturbing. The lead is not one to root for, not one to cheer for. Apart from the misfits and outcasts of society who become Punny's inadvertent neighbours, one of whom suffers for his sake, they, I think are the ones who show true courage, standing up for what they think is right: friendship, community, family. And they don't have guns either.

Do I recommend it? Go if you like the Punisher already, or if you like guns, bombs and fisticuffs to go with your popcorn. If you're still interested, be warned: it's been censored to NC16 although it was released as R in the US.

My CD-RW is giving trouble again. I've managed to burn two CDs worth of stuff before the burner seems to have given up. The device doesn't seem to be recognised any longer and I'm getting frustrated. I can't tell if it's a problem with the burner or if I've bought a bunch of bad CD-Rs. There! What do you know? It's started burning again! That's good news then. 'Unreliable' is how I would call it. Sometimes will write, sometimes won't. It's so annoying!

Exciting that our CT T-shirt is in the works at last! Nige seems to have got the colours problem solved and we should be able to wear it soon. After the hols we hope, eh, Nige? Now, I haven't actually seen the design yet but I'm hoping to, if one of you will forward me a copy. Thanks!

As far as movies are concerned, it's a quiet week with nothing opening that I'm really dying to watch. The Punisher is opening tomorrow but it got quite bad reviews in the papers today so I doubt June will be interested to go watch it. I'd still support it as Frank Castle is a pretty interesting character in the Marvel universe where everyone is super-powered but Castle only has his training and combat smarts to rely on. He's at an obvious disadvantage, yet he can hold his own if he has to. Maybe I can go sneak off to watch it tomorrow, after our work out session, on my own, which I haven't done for a long time already. At one time, I wouldn't watch a movie with company 'cos I always found company too distracting. Also, I couldn't find anybody to go with, which was sad. It was always either one or the other.

OK. Disks burned at last. It was such a waste to burn a single track on a whole CD so I randomly stuck in a bunch of filler tracks to use up all the space on the disk. Hope the work out crew will be happy.

Ouch. Body hurts again, especially my right butt which seems to have cramped up. Rythm and movement sure is taking its toll but it's worth it, just to be able to move and sweat again. I gotta get the moves down, but it's difficult. It helps that the music has a strong beat but while I can execute specific moves, stringing them together in sequence addles my poor brain. Maybe that's it! Use less brain and just move! Let's try that next time.

I'm sort of ok if there is someone to watch for cues, but on my own, PANIC! Oh well, I guess we're doing fine for the first two sessions. Things must improve from now on!

Jong Yann and I are the first ones to try out the steps, having had a headstart last week. Today Cara and Jeremy came in and while Cara should be able to pick things up pretty quickly, Jeremy looks like he's under a lot of stress. It'll be interesting to see how fast Lena and Thaddeus are going to pick up since they've already missed the first few sessions and we have to catch them up soon.

Really have to thank our instructors for taking time off to help us work out. You guys are already so busy that helping us isn't necessary but we really do appreciate you for it. To chief instructor, S_, you've been so patient with us, the uncoordinated, going over the steps again and again for our benefit. To H_, R_, and er..., sorry I can't remember your name, thanks for keeping us company and showing us what the more advanced of us can do.

As for NSF:U, I'm now third in the rankings driving the most obiang Mazda Miata MX-5 fully kitted out internally and externally, wearing a coat of 'pearlescent' green paint, and floating over a pulsing pink neon undercarriage. What to do? It's the only way to attain a 5-star reputation in the game world! In reality, I hope I never meet my car in a dark alley in the middle of the night. It'll make the Bengest Ah Beng go blind.

Met June for dinner at Yishun Central in my sweaty t-shirt, fresh from this afternoon's workout. Apparently, I was an affront to her olfactory sense. As soon as we got home, she banished me to the bathroom where I took an early shower for once. I can go sleep right after 'Smallville' if I so choose, and maybe I will. I am that tired.

You are a Technologist. You may not have any magic
--but you either don't want or need it. Whether
you are a spear-throwing Barbarian, an Imperial
Mechanist or even a humble Tailor you build
what you need, rely on your own strength and
follow your own path. You are happy doing your
own thing and thinking your own way. You are
extremely self-reliant and have a hard time
trusting others.


Which Magical Order Are You In?
brought to you by Quizilla

Well, that description seems to fit! See entry below:

You know your mind is empty when you cut yourself off from the rest of the world. Then you go look for things to fill it up with, not necessarily healthy stuff either. Anything to pass the time, break the boredom, and procrastinate from doing the things you really should be doing instead. When June left for the flea market again yesterday, I was left to my own devices and I decided to spend my time alone again at the PC. All day. Not doing anything profitable, just immediately gratifying and terribly frustrating at the same time.

Same thing today. Was supposed to join the rest of the men >ahem< for the staff hike but when I woke up it was pouring rain and I thought I should pull myself out on account of the weather. I don't know if the hike was called off, I just didn't go. Lazy bum! Spent the day with the PC again (his name's Watson, by the way) while June was at the office.

What's Watson got that's been holding my attention? 'NFS:Underground,' that's what. I'm developing blurred vision, risking epilepsy and suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and for what? The satisfaction of moving up the ranks of an entirely ficticious racing circuit for the glory and honour of building the most Ah Beng looking car imaginable. As your successes mount, so do the car accessories accrue to your disposal until you can drive around the ultimate Bengmobile, complete with chassis modifications, neon highlights and blinking lights. An addictive RPG, if you can see it from that perspective, and an obsessive gamer are a deadly combination. I'm feeling quite ill now. I wonder why?

Hmm... I missed an entry last night, and I'm not bowling tonight either. Wow, just look at all the stuff I haven't done all weekend. Thanks, NFS:U! Should I feel guilty?

June went off with a suitcase and a couple of large plastic bags. In her best ah soh outfit complete with a humongous fanny pack to keep her change in, she headed for the flea market in one of the void decks in Sembawang to sell off the junk we have lying around but have never used. She even thought of selling off some of her rock paintings but being too busy this week, her attempt at a PPG Blossom portrait is left incomplete. Oh well, maybe next time Sembawang Town Council has another flea market then.

Some stuff she packaged together to be sold off as 'Father's Day' gifts, like the coffee brewing paraphenelia, and like the incense holder with incense sticks. Business wasn't exactly brisk but she still managed to sell off, count 'em, four items! From the proceeds, she shelled out $5 to buy a throw rug for Belle and Momo to sharpen their claws on. Aren't they lucky? Knowing them though, the cats will ignore it like they do with every other toy we have purposely bought for them. They like to play with stuff they aren't supposed to touch instead, like interesting-looking pieces of garbage and Q-tip's bone-meal biscuits.

Me, I went crazy in the afternoon and bought 'NFS:Underground,' which is quite thrilling to play especially if you are the sort who has a driving licence but can't afford a car. Not at these super-inflated prices, anyway. My simulation personality is very different from the 'real' me, I notice. When I'm driving my sim car, I have the worst driving habits and the foulest mouth imaginable. The fact that regardless of my conscious control, my unconscious instinct is to drive straight towards oncoming traffic rather than avoid it doesn't help my disposition much. Instinct always wins, hence the mouth. In a real car, however, I am such an Ah Pek. If you want to get somewhere fast, please don't ask me to drive. Sim or real, the experience just isn't worth it.

Just watched Prisoner of Azkaban. So dark, so gritty, I swear, even the director's colour palatte has changed. The Dementors and their effect on their immediate environment literally take your breath away. They are so much of a nothingness that the damage they cause is terrifying. The kids have grown up and it's great that Columbus doesn't hide the fact. I liked the balance in the kids' costumes -- they were in their teen outfits as much as they were in their Hogwarts uniforms. As teens they display as much of their own personalities and tastes as often as they can, while their school uniforms are strictly for school.

PoA however, seems like it's missing a great battle to end with a satisfying punch. It's like the feeling I got at the end of The Empire Strikes Back: what, that's it? Credit goes to the movie because despite its length it doesn't feel draggy and you don't feel the passage of time. So, erm... yes, as contradctory as it sounds, PoA is exciting to watch moment-to-moment, but the build-up fails to reach epic proportions. No, it doesn't have to, but perhaps I'm just a jaded old cynic, already over-entertained to death. Even so, I've got 3 words for the movie industry: Bring it on!

I am having such a healthy holday. So far I haven't yet slept past 7am, I'm having a regular breakfast and am walking Q-tip to Yishun Park and back before I start my day. It's a routine now.

I'm aching all over at the moment because I've taken up a commitment of er... let's just call it rythmic exercise. It's so much more painful and harder, sweatier work than Monday nite bowling, which is truly chicken feed, and even more strenuous than the badminton session I had last week. Can feel muscles that I'd forgotten I had shrieking at their abuse, from my back to my upper thighs and even my left elbow, for some reason. Next week, I can imagine what kind of shape I'll be in what with the Monday morning staff hike to Bt Timah summit from MacRitchie Reservoir, Monday nite bowls, and Tuesday 'rythmic exercise' all over again. Oh, the pain, the pain!

Met June for dinner at this little bak kut teh place on River Valley Road, next to UE Square. Everytime we watch a performance at DBS Arts Centre, we try to eat there 'cos the BKT is nice and garlicky in a dark soup and lots of pepper. It's still not quite the standard of the one in what was once Hill Street Hawker Centre (now it's a wasteland), but it's close. Good thing June had some cash on her -- I forgot to use the ATM and I was carrying around a grand total of $2 in my wallet without realising it.

We shopped for Japanese snacks and candy at Meidi-Ya Supermarket at Liang Court. Discovered some tempting-looking Japanese eating places too. Perhaps next time we're in the neighbourhood, we'll give BKT a skip and try out some of the Japanese cuisine here instead. Any advice from anyone who knows this area?

We joined Cara and some of the Drama Club for 'The Magic Paintbrush' by Brian Seward. Anxious moments as Cara made a dramatic last second appearance (in her new car!) and 3 of our fellow audience members got so lost they only showed up just as the play was ending. We've arranged for them to join Hasif's group tomorrow to make up for their lostness. Note: DBS Auditorium (Shenton Way) is not the same as DBS Arts Centre (home of SRT). Taxi drivers don't know this. Next time you cab it to DBS Arts Centre, tell the cabbie to go to Robertson Walk. You won't get lost then.

Will try not to give too much of the story away as I don't want to spoil it for tomorrow's audience. It was highly enjoyable, family entertainment with themes both children and adults can identify with. Simple set (not quite to Brian's liking), and the use of black-light and regular puppetry, loveable characters who sing and dance, all make for a wonderful family fare, Saturday morning cartoon style. I thought my sister's kids will be quite captivated by the story, so I recommended it to her. Who knows, maybe they'll take me up on it. I'm sure they'll have a great time.

Nice surprise to see Serena playing Shrimp, the smaller Imperial Guard. She's got so much experience now and she seems to have carved out her niche in supporting roles quite nicely.

Oh yeah, and we bought Brian's book as well, and got him to sign it. Don't mind helping him out here and there. He's done so much for us. $12 (u. $14) for a good cause, stocks are limited!

Just a dream
a noble dream
Just a hope gone up in smoke
I hear that sound, that simple sound
It gives me hope
only to fall back to the ground
Chan, M. Opiume. 2004

Got complimentary tix to the above performance. Jumped at the chance 'cos I doubt I'll get another ticket to another Arts Fest event this year. Mary scored the tix for us and since she couldn't get hold of Jen Lim, Adrian came in her stead. As typical of Adrian, he was making his way towards Jubilee Hall when Mary called him this evening and redirected him to Victoria Theatre to meet us. Tell Adrian to meet at Far East plaza and he'll wait at Lucky Plaza for us.

The fact that Opiume is performed by a theatre company leads one to assume that the production is a theatrical-type show. It's a common misconception and we now stand corrected. Instead, it is a beautiful classical musical performance with theatrical production values thrown in to enhance its marketability. C Wong was a compelling storyteller, melancholically delivering her tale of the drug-related death of a friend as the framework of the main story. The main story was, hmm..., apparently set during the period of China's Opium War; and there isn't much to say about what went on because the setting of the story supersceded the story itself.

The performers had beautiful voices to go with the music, but there was little interaction between their characters and hardly any discernable motivation behind their movement. Walk here. Sing. Walk there. Sing. Cross paths. Sing. Sit down. Sing. Stand up. Sing. Die. erm... Yes, there was that problem of having a dead body onstage that could not be gotten rid of apart from a miraculous resurrection which did happen. Hee Hee.

As a theatrical production, it lacked pacing and high points and low points to sustain interest. It wasn't until I realized that it was the music that was the most important element that's when I began to enjoy it. When I decided to ignore the backdrop, the movement and the attempt to appreciate the lyrics I discovered a treat for the auditory sense, credit being to the T'ang Quartet. Too bad T'ang was placed as part of the background when the guys should have been fronting the production. Everything I was looking for, movement, mood, tone, pacing was in the music and it stayed there.

As with the above excerpt, Opiume is a noble dream in the fusion of the different elements of music and drama. Sadly, the balance heavily favoured the former over the latter, hence the dream went up in smoke. There were one or two occasions when the audience thought the production had ended but the hope fell back to the ground when the music picked up again and the performers launched into another song. If you're going for this production, be warned: go enjoy the music, ignore everything else -- it's just fancy packaging 'sall.

After the performance, Mary brought us to the cafe at her workplace and we split a seafood pizza (I covered my slices with Tabasco sauce like in the ad) and destroyed a peach pie with honey ice cream, and a mud pie amongst the four of us. Good way to round up the evening!

Dim sum for breakfast with in-laws. Went to Fortunate Restaurant in Toa Payoh central as nostalgia set in for the Wongs. It was their favourite eating place way back when they were still living in the area. We were starving 'cos we woke up early thanks to Belle but Sis-in-law only came to collect us at 9:30. The food isn't bad, but the main attraction, shrimp cheong fun, took a long time to arrive. While we waited, we over-ordered as usual and made ourselves sick eating various pao, and other deep fried stuff. I think it was the deep fried shrimp heavily wrapped in some kind of vermicelli that finally killed me. Surfeit of oil, and then I had to help finish the cheong fun which finally arrived. OK, for dim sum it's not too bad, but just lay off the oily stuff and go for the steamed instead. A much better idea, and healthier too.

Dropped in at June's old place since we were already in the neighbourhood. They collected some leftover junk they want to sell at the flea market this weekend. Oh, the family doesn't live there anymore but the ownership of the place is still theirs. Likewise the junk. Perhaps more on the flea market in subsequent posts.

Spent the afternoon comatose on the floor of my living room. Don't know why I was so tired. Must be Belle's fault. I gotta blame someone!

Actually, we just got back from celebrating Halim's birthday. It was such a surprise for him, seeing all of us at dinner. He didn't expect Mrs Halim to get so many of his old colleagues together to wish him many happy returns. Me, June, Anthony, Wendy, Gerald, Kim, Weng, Luanne, Vince (by himself) and Luanne's sister, Charlene (by herself); all staff, ex-staff and spouses/dates. It was like the breakfast club extended. Nice to see everyone again. Finally got to see Alexandria a.k.a. Mrs Halim, who planned the whole thing. So, she is a real person after all! Good dinner with halal sharks fin soup, pineapple rice, lemon chicken, deep fried garoupa, garlic kai lan and butter prawns. And of course great conversation, gossip and insults hurled around the table, the subjects of which may or may not have been present.

And speaking of present (how convenient), we got him a set of Lipton infusion teas, in orange and chamomile flavours. It didn't look like much so we also threw in a pair of teacups and since Sis-in-law had just returned from LA with a great bunch of cookies in tow, we also put a couple of packaged Mrs Field's cookies in the box as well to round things out. It's great having a wife who can come up with these wonderful gift ideas. Me, the stingypoke, would just have said a box of teabags would do.

Vacation time can be boring, especially on days when you don't make it a point to meet people. There is time to sleep, but I woke up early again this morning. When Belle wants out of the room, she wants OUT! It's non-stop meowing and if there is still no response from either of us, she'll treat my stomach as a fashion model's runway. She's not shy about using her claws, and she's no lightweight either. Then you have to feed her breakfast.

Since I was up early, I went for breakfast with Q-tip then took her for a walk around Yishun Park again. Where else can we go, right? Q-tip is such a manipulative little girl. On long walks when June is with us, Q-tip will beg to be carried after a while, the manja queen. Today, with just me, she walked all the way. I even gave her the choice of taking a shorter route but she pulled on the leash and insisted we go the long way instead. Humbug!

I had to get a replacement for my MP3 player's earphones 'cos I carelessly left it on the sidetable on Sunday night and Momo chewed through the wire. It's quite useless now. MOMO! I'll never learn. Momo's chewed through an assortment of cell phone charger cables, the stereo's FM antennae and partially through my PC's mouse cable. One day she's going to get electrocuted. Why, oh why, do we still keep her around? Oh yeah, she's cute.

Earphone replacement is a cheap Sony Fontopia type which doesn't have the same quality as my original Creative one. I mean the sounds are clear and distinct but it sounds like it comes from far away. I'll live with it, I suppose. If you have cats, you can't have nice things.

Ever get the feeling your PC needed an upgrade, but there was no real justification to shell out good money for it? Went to Sim Lim Square to shop but for all the peripherals there were on offer, I could see that I was doing just fine without them. I'm not playing any of the new games that need a state-of-the-art Radeon or GeForce FX and my speakers are a cheap, good-enough set that will not make the most out of an Audigy 2. I don't need any more memory, 512Mb is enough for now. I'll just have to keep tabs on the shipping date for Doom III. Once that's out in the market, I'm sure I'll have an excuse to spend money again. *Waits in anticipation...

Spent the evening watching Chinese serial after Chinese serial. I can see how addictive they are. When your cable box supplies you with Channels 8, U, and another couple of subscription Chinese channels, you can't escape. Let's see, "Double Happiness I" (TCS 8); "Greed Mask" (from HK); "Witness for the Prosecution II" (also from HK); must have been at least 1 more though my memory fails me as to the title. Well, there really wasn't much to do this evening since we ate at home and it looked like it was going to rain.

Feeling a bit cooped up, though. I want a beach, sun and sand. I want a bicycle or a pair of in-lines. I know how Belle feels like: I want OUT too! But there is the one fatal flaw in the attainment of my desires -- too lazy. Maybe too much work too, now I think about it. Now I don't want to think about it. Sigh.

Did something that I've always wanted to do but never found the opportunity for. Connie rounded me, Yee, Cara and Annie up to have a dramatic storytelling session recorded at Xinmin Pri Sch. Yee and Cara got lost as usual, and having misinterpreted my directions was also par for the course for them. It didn't matter that they were late, anyway. The Xinmin staff were having some kind of meeting and we couldn't start recording until 10, although we arranged to meet at 9. Connie was nice and bought us breakfast while we waited.

It's fun to do 'voices' while reading a story. We read from a couple of kids' stories; one about a non-conformist little bunny and another about a curious little boy and the tooth fairy. We also read excerpts from 2 grown-up stories, "Tuesdays with Morrie" (Albom) and "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (Bach). Both stories very inspirational, also about non-conformist individuals -- the first about a withering college professor with the most positive attitude to dying, and the second a young seagull with a passion for life and for flight. If you haven't read them yet, please do so quickly. Bach also wrote "Feathers" which is just as thought provoking.

Xinmin has a cosy little studio for the recording of video and audio projects. Quite pro, with photo-shoot backdrop, lights, sound system and studio-standard video cameras. In the control space there is a video editing PC and a complicated-looking slider setup and a synthesizer keyboard. The things we could do with a studio like that! The whole thing is so new the operators are still at the flipping-through-the-manual stage for certain functions that they haven't tried out yet. We had to be patient while they got their act together, in the meantime we decided who would read what and rehearsed.

Knowing the complexity of voice-over recordings, I was prepared to stay the whole day recording and rerecording take after take. Surprisingly, we were done by 2:30 which shows either how excellent we were at reading, or how low our standards of acceptability were. I prefer to think it was the former. Ahem. We heard clips of the recording just to sample our readings and I think we sounded ok.

Next thing to do is to layer in sound FX and music to set the mood. We also might need an attractive CD jewel-case design and then the readings can be used in primary and secondary schools in English classes. What fun! Thankfully, we've done the most major part of the production and the rest is just a lot of tedious and exacting work which someone else will be doing. Yee is so addicted to this idea now, he's suggesting we do a recording of Roald Dahl's kids' stories as well. Now, that is ambitious, and could well be worth doing. We'll get around the copyright issue somehow!

Now then, who's up for Monday nite bowling?

Locked, loaded, ready for deployment! 

Day began unusually early for a Sunday morning, Friendship Sunday notwithstanding. Woke up before 6am. The sky outside our bedroom window was bright for some reason and I thought we were late for our appointment. Thankfully, we weren't.

We brought food for 3A2 who was on community service, road marshalling and timekeeping for the Kebun Baru 4.5 km run. Assorted buns and tetra-pack Milo and Ribena was all we could provide, I hope it was enough.

We parked ourselves at one of the stone tables in the void deck of blk 177 to look after bags and belongings and tried to eat some of the leftover buns for breakfast. It didn't seem right, though, just sitting there and eating while all around us the other participants were busy warming up for the run and engaging in different kinds of exercise. Somehow it felt like the "one of these things" game from Sesame Street. It didn't help when June scooted off to the market across the road and soon returned with a tau suan for herself and a tau huay for me. We really know how to spoil the market for all the health nuts around us. Oh, and the cops too, who had to set up their crime-prevention exhibition around us -- hey, if we left we would be in dereliction of our guard duty!

After the run, we took a group shot with the guest-of-honour, MP Inderjeet Singh. I suppose our mugs will appear in some community newsletter soon.

Hmm... sometimes I wonder if I don't give 3A2 enough independence. Whatever they're doing, I seem to be there too. Does it cramp their style? It's tough trying to figure out the limits of being responsible for one's charges and being too controlling. I could use an honest reply on this.

Fast forward to this evening.>> After dinner we went to Northpoint to pick up some Complete for my contact lenses. I love this stuff 'cos it's so trouble free and it matches the salinity of my eyes perfectly. No stinging, no clutching of eye sockets, no screaming "yaaaahhhh!!!!" while your eyes adjust to your CL solution. Just stick them in and go. Simple. Complete's got a free coffee mug for every 2 twin-pack you buy as its current promotion. It's the aluminum type, not porcelain, for keeping coffee warm and spill-resistant. So now I have a coffee mug I can be proud of when I use it in the Staff Lounge during my hot beverage breaks. Come to think of it, I've never had a hot beverage break in the Staff Lounge before. Couldn't bear the thought of borrowing someone else's mug to drink coffee out of. My caffine levels are going through the roof come next term! Heh heh!

Postings for the last few days have been quite heavy and heavy-handed. Cathartic for writing, but perhaps not so reading. Sorry. I've just been thinking too much. The Day After Tomorrow has been an excuse to reflect on the things we are doing as individuals and as a global community and it's not really a happy reflection. As individuals, what we do in our lives is in reality so insignificant. The futures we plan for ourselves and work so hard to build; are we able to pick up the pieces and build a new future if things just don't go the way we plan? Collectively, can we see that our insignificant comings and goings add up and the cumulative effect of it all can cause such dramatic changes around us and place us in just the state of jeopardy that we are working so desperately to avoid? And as individuals, will we care only after it's too late (c.f. the Vice Pres)?

The concepts Day After considers are quite profound, but because the scope of destruction is so tremendous, the movie's focus on how the cataclysm affects one single family feels narrow and claustrophobic. It's admirable how Dad braves everything to go fetch his son, stranded in the NY Public Library in the middle of an overnight Ice Age, but you have to ask yourself, "What the heck for? And what does he hope to accomplish once he gets there?" If anyone had survived the flash freeze -- and many people did -- then a far more efficient rescue operation would have been mounted for them. Dad's only excuse to traipse from Washington DC to NY over fresh tundra: "I made a promise." Forgive my skepticism but, yeah, right. Makes for a storytelling device but it does stretch credibility a bit. Besides, the focus on this one tough trek means so much less sympathy for everyone else who was caught unprepared for the freak storm. It's like oh, everyone else is dying around our heroes; erm... ok, nothing more to see here, let's just move on. I left the movie knowing that I wasn't impressed, but I couldn't articulate why. It was June who mentioned this point first, and I thought she hit the nail on the head. Maybe I can convince her to write reviews from now on?

Like I said, too much to think about. This morning I made myself happy with a couple of prata and a wadai then sat in front of the TV watching Saturday morning cartoons. You should see the grin on my face now. I'll stop blogging in time to watch Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (click the link and play with the "Dub your own flick" toy -- be patient, it's hilarious!) on STAR Movies in about a minute. Wonder what my face will look like then?

Our Career Seminar today, particularly the one on fashion and media design was a great success, judging by the number of students who stayed behind and plied our guest speakers with so many questions that they missed their lunch reception and Mei Lian had to take them out to lunch herself. It helps that Melvin and Peng Kiat (sorry, I can't remember the exotic name you introduced yourself with) are a couple of shuai ge and living proof that even if you look like a total dweeb in your class photo, a couple of years in professional training can do wonders for your image.
UPDATE: I remember now! He introduced himself as Calaeo Tan... wonder what his friends in college called him back then?

As speakers, they weren't exactly captivating but their passion for their art was inspirational. Despite their work in the glam industry, it really is more about work and less about glam than people imagine. They talked about their long hours, days on end without sleep; and their constant contact with people in order to raise sponsorship and to keep their ideas fresh. And yet they believe in what they are doing and that's really what counts.

Considering that they didn't take art as a subject in college but rather the more "practical" math, economics combo, the artwork they showed us is really quite amazing. And they said some nice things about economics and gp as well -- how their other classmates struggled with research and essay writing because they lacked the analytical rigour of the humble general paper, and how economics is helping them understand market forces better and so be able to strategize and position their work to their full advantage. Maybe they just had to say it, but it's good to hear the truth from an alumnus. It just sounds more credible.

Despite my initial misgivings, I'm glad to have hosted this career talk. I have hope in the students who simply won't stop asking questions. I see many talented students who draw so well, but due to practical reasons they feel they can't focus their attention on what they are good at. So I hope this session will help them raise the value of their talents and abilities in their own minds and see that there is an avenue for developing themselves this way.

My CT abandoned me to play badminton alone with 3A1 and 3A3. I had 1 good game before being too worn out to continue. Lost the match but it's good to know that my reflexes are still as good as they were 12+ years ago. I was never a good badminton player anyway. Kenneth did something nasty to his shoulder while playing. We thought he had a cramp at first so we left him to suffer while we continued the game thinking that cramps usually sort themselves out very quickly. When the pain didn't dissapate however, we got worried. Vince tried to sort of immobilize his arm with a long piece of fabric and a towel and then drove him to TTSH. Kenneth's got some good friends who helped him carry his stuff, bag, racket, shuttles, from the hall into Vince's car. Duds supported him all the way and Gid and Adam accompanied him to the hossie. What a way to begin summer vacation.

And yeah, it is the start of summer hols. We bade goodbye to Sheena who's going to the US on an internship, and Kevin who gave Pegasus an impressive start in Wednesday's Staff race. Don't know if Mun Yee is staying on, but we've received a new bunch of staff into the English Department as well. Don't know them just yet, but soon, perhaps. Oh, did I mention it was the summer hols? Yes, we still have lots of work to do and to catch up with, but hey, it's the SUMMER HOLS! Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh!

Warning: food for thought ahead. Ingest in small chunks.

We're pretty much at the half-way point of our 2nd year. The final stretch looms just up ahead, but the hard thing is, as always, the end is the beginning of something new. For some, it means moving on to National Service, for others to work and to most everyone else, further studies. It's meaningless not to be able to see beyond the finish line, for the effort expended in the race then has no purpose other than to finish. People thrive when they can continue looking forward to the future with hope and anticipation. To put it simply, Nintendo says, "Welcome to the next level!" As long as we focus on "welcome" we will do ok at the "next level."

We're showing our students the next leg of their lives with our annual Career Seminar for Year 2s. We've led up to this point with an excruciating programme on preparing resumes and gearing up for job interviews so that they might see that what they are working now has a function in their lives and in their futures. The reality of working life for the Year 2s is so close now. It wasn't long ago that people started looking for jobs at the age of 12 (PSLE), 16 ('O' Levels) and 18 ('A' Levels) and today jobs still exist for holders of these qualifications. Gwyn, alumnus from 2002, is already working full-time -- gainfully employed, as they say -- and the hours she works is no joke: 9-11 because in the workplace there is no timetable. It's do until done, by specified deadline, or if you can't do it, someone else will elbow you aside for the opportunity. The nonsense that students do and will try to get away with in College will not be met with understanding and forgiveness in the real world. That's because people are an expendable resource; there will always be a constant supply of people, especially as Colleges and Universities now churn out qualified personnel en masse. Education was once a privilege, now it's standard issue.

How are we to approach "The Job" in such a nasty environment? Is all we have to live for meaningless drudgery for the rest of our lives? The staff's usual comment, "College is hard work but it's nothing like working life!" doesn't seem to promise much for our students. In a world that's become 24/7 can only Animal Farm's Boxer survive? If our students think they are being groomed to be Boxers, it's timely to remind them that Boxer was turned into glue when he became a liability due to age and fatigue. Boxer was no survivor. He focused on a solitary goal and refused to learn more than what was required of him to fulfil his task. When his task was done, so was he.

The survivors were the pigs. Smart, constantly learning, experimenting with their knowledge, teaching skills to others whom they could exploit later, forging links with others in the larger world (including the enemy!); they did it all and they stayed on top. The only thing the pigs lacked was a set of scruples, a moral code and a sense of value for their own community. So we try to teach our students to be like the pigs: work smart, thrive, survive; but we also balance the survival instinct with community spirit and a sense of compassion for the less privileged so that everyone can live and be happy. Well, ideally speaking anyway.

Oh, "The Job." If you're going to be working 24/7 at something, it makes sense to enjoy what you are doing else it won't be long before you're knackered, literally. If at the moment you don't enjoy any particular activity take every opportunity to try something new (within your moral limits, of course), or forever remain in ennui. Go, seek out and develop your passions. Whatever it takes.

At the same time, remember that when you are starting out, you really are nobody, so be prepared to do stuff that nobody is expected to do. The late William Teo's policy is for new actors to step onto the stage only to sweep it clean for the more experienced actors to perform on. When you've learned to sweep the stage well enough, you might land an extra's role. And so on. When employing your passions in a profession, first learn to sweep the floor.

Wow. What a bunch of conflicting messages. Congrats if you are still reading. Take whatever truth you want from this mess, but that's quite enough for one day.

Beautiful day for a Track & Field Meet. Mainly Track today, though. Clear sky, summer sun, reminds me of one of the more muggy, humid days in TO.

Must congratulate the guys for amassing a bunch of medals for House Pegasus. Sarab, Iqbal, Firdaus, Fadzli. You guys showed great spirit and enthusiasm running your events and taking turns to whack the kompangs for us along with 'sif and Ramzi. Unfortunately, a few heroes aren't able to carry a whole team. We need a lot more pegasii (is that the right plural?) like you if our House is going to do better next year. I am, of course, disappointed that Team Pegasus has gone to the bottom of the House standings after today, but that still doesn't take away your achievements. Congrats, boys!


House Pegasus. We'll be back! 

Duds, if you're reading this, my congratulations to you and House Phoenix, and to your House Masters, Vince and Lena. Vince may have lost the Bowling battle to us, but his prize today more than makes up for it. Can't help comparing your success with Hogwart's House Griffindor and thinking, red is a fitting colour to launch the our new Houses in the College. Your cheerleader who hurt her leg deserves mention as well for her courage and determination to continue with the routine. Hope she'll be ok.

It's a rare sight, but the Milo truck made an appearance at the track today and kept us supplied with the chilly, chocolatey beverage. It's no substitute for breakfast but it comes a close second. As Richard pointed out at brunch, the Milo served from the truck tastes way better than if we were to concoct it ourselves. Strangely enough, it's also better than the Milo in tetra-packs and sold in shops and vending machines. Shouldn't Milo all taste the same since they all come from the same manufacturing plant? Perhaps it's just the mystique of the old Milo truck that serves up unlimited quantities of cold Milo on hot, sweaty days when everyone is thirsty from exhaustion and exposure that adds to the taste. In the farthest reaches of my memory of the truck, MacRichie Reservoir Annual X-Country 1978 till today, the truck's been working it's magic. And the magic must be in it's generousity, freely providing what is needed to those who need it. A lesson in life maybe?

Nephew, EJ's birthday today. Went to Sembawang (mom-in-law's place) to celebrate. The kid is completely obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. Everything he got was Thomas based: Thomas school bag from us, Thomas figurines on his birthday cake (more on that later), and a Thomas battery operated train set that runs on its own set of rails. He wore a Thomas t-shirt too. And to think that Thomas has a face that would have scared me when I was a kid! There's something disturbing to have an organic face fused onto an inorganic chassis. Soft tissue melded into unyielding hardness with no visible transition. Dunno why the concept upsets me, I can't explain it, but there it is.

My mom-in-law is a baking marvel. It was she who baked our wedding cake out of a real fruit cake and marzipan, decorated with silver candy sphereoids and a Precious Moments wedding couple figurine on top. The last item of deco was an inspiration of June's who found a use for the wedding gift from our mutual friend, Joyce. Nice touch. EJ's birthday cake was a sponge layer cake sandwiching an assortment of thinly sliced fresh fruit including kiwis, strawberries and peaches. The whole thing was encased in a coat of fresh cream making it look like it had just recently been snowed under. On top, as I mentioned, was a small plastic Thomas who appeared to be passing by a ranch comprising 2 plastic fences and a horse peering out at the techno-organic transport whizzing by. A couple of plastic trees rounded out the diorama. The candles were of course the anomaly.

College sports day and a WITS presentation to look forward to. Hope the day really is as short as promised. The latter part of the programme is the more worrying of the two. Well, see how, lah.

Swiss Alps 


Vive la Paris! 


Somewhere in Ireland 

OK, nobody get excited. I haven't run off to exotic locales over the weekend. I'm just testing Hello from Picasa as a possible means of hosting pix everyone can see. It's a bit bothersome and the initial learning curve is steep. I hope the post works. The pix, by the way, are my bro's.

SAFRA Yishun no longer has tikam-tikam night. There's nothing to win for our high scores any more so boo. Games are cheaper though -- a 10 game set @ $2.60 per game -- problem is that immediately after our last game, the computer resets itself and wipes out our scores so it's impossible to make an end-of-game analysis of our individual performance. So from memory, I've worked out my 3-game average for today is 131. I've done better before. June pulled a thigh muscle on her first throw and had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines. I'm going to rub it down for her soon. With nothing to win, we did the usual: losing team buys the drinks. Madly enough, Anthony agreed to give a 60 pinfall handicap to our opposing team, Ed and Cheryl. Despite the outrageous handicap Anthony and I still managed to score our drinks off them. The alley now serves a bottled root beer that is so smooth going down. Can't quite recall the brand... IBG Root Beer, or something. It's nice.

Now at home and I've got Belle cradled on my lap. She's got her right front paw stuck in my face. She's not comfortable with my face getting too near her's hence her defensiveness. Momo is similarly defensive in the same position, but not as polite. Rather than using her hand to fend off an intrusive face, she uses her foot instead. Bleah! Anyway, cat cradled and purring on your lap, hot Horlicks on the desk, courtesy of the Missus (thanks, June!) and blogging it all down. That pretty much rounds up a pleasant evening. Night!

You represent... angst.
You have an extremely cynical outlook on just about
everything. It's okay to sulk and be
depressed, but life is short, and you only get
one. It's only what you make it, and only you
can make it improve.


What feeling do you represent?
brought to you by Quizilla

What? Angst? Me? I guess we never outgrow it.

Q-tip got her walk in Yishun park today and picked up a bunch of red ants along the way. It's really exasperating to hold her steady while June and I comb her fur looking for every last one of those pests. Anyone passing by us must think we're abusing our dog because she's struggling so hard to right herself. She really hates being turned onto her back. But if we don't do anything, they bite her and the pain shows in her walk and on her face, the poor thing.

Finally mustered enough willpower to bathe Momo today. She hasn't bathed in more than a year! *sings "Smelly Cat." Well, from now on she's going to get a bath once a year whether she needs it or not! Had to trim her claws before her bath and wear my crappiest T-shirt since she's bound to tear it to shreds while in the shower. Momo is such a yowler, a scratcher and a biter. It takes both of us to hold her steady while spraying her with warm water and lathering her up with tea-tree oil based flea and tick shampoo. Not that she has fleas and ticks, but better safe than sorry. She goes into a complete panic when we turn the dryer on her. A few minutes of blow-drying is all she can take. We give up when we think we've done our best to dry her and the rest is her own look out. 2 animals abused in one day. Must be a new record for us.

Bro dropped in on us later this afternoon to return my digicam and get his pix burned on CD-ROM. He's got some nice shots of his tour in Ireland, France, Switzerland, and wherever else, although his shots tend to focus on old photographs and other publications rather than on his traveling companions and exotic scenery. Well, he has got some of those too. He's not completely mad, you know.

We all went to Changi Airport for Popeye's chicken, which we've been looking forward to all week. Forget what I said about it earlier. It's gone down the tubes although it still is marginally better than KFC. Portions of mashed potato and coleslaw are a little smaller, chicken is dryer and tougher than before and as such it was a small struggle to down our order. *sigh. Perhaps it was too good to last. Maybe we came on a bad day, but I'm sure we'll give Popeye's one more chance to redeem itself in our esteem... in the near future.

Finished our day at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Terminal 2 with a caffeine fix and pleasant conversation. He had an Espresso Americano, June an ice-blended mocha and I had a ku-niang ice-blended black forest mocha, cherry on top. So I like my ice-blended sweet with crunchy ground coffee bean and maraschino cherry bits; it's supposed to be dessert, right?

Looking forward to the coming week. June hols begin after Friday -- last chance to rest up and psych up for the final sprint towards the 'A's. 03A2, if you think you've been working hard till now, Term 3 will raise the bar for you. If you think you haven't been working hard, it'll be time to press the nitro button. Soon, you'll be speeding out of my life and on to your own and I'll miss you terribly. But it's too soon to talk about that now...