Poor Kaiser. Took him to the vet for The Operation. June had to work this morning so it was left to me to handle him and Mimi who had a dental appointment.
We felt quite sorry for Kaiser because the last tom we took for fixing came back quite bloody and looked like he was in pain when we released him back to his hangout place behind our usual coffee-shop. But Kaiser doesn't seem to be feeling much of the after effects of such a potentially traumatic procedure. Apart from sleeping a little more than usual, he seems quite like his old self. No blood, for one thing, and he can already jump to the top of the TV by himself. Maybe it's because he's still technically a kitten and doesn't know what really happened to him this morning. Well, we've got 3 days' worth of pain-killers for him just in case.
Mimi's dental health is quite terrible. She had to have 5 teeth extracted, and unless she gets a regular dental regimen she's going to become a toothless little old lady soon. We got a small package of doggie toothbrushes and toothpaste from the vet, and I hope when Mimi goes home, someone will actually take the trouble to see to her brushing "at least 3 times a week" like the doctor ordered. He will review her progress in 3 months' time.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Friday, February 24, 2006
Finally, after a month and ten days since I placed my order, I finally collected my new contact lenses from Mr Leow. About time too, as my current pair are starting to feel quite grungy. While at the shop, I got a spur of the moment SMS invite from Anthony to join him at Yishun SAFRA for a spot of bowling. Since he was already there on business, he thought of using the lanes as well.
So it was that only 2 of the Boyz only had time to bowl only 2 games each, just for old times' sake. The reality is, looking at our present schedules, I'm quite pessimistic about the Boyz ever getting back together and staging a comeback at the Ministry's bowling league this year. Too many duties, too many commitments, to much responsibility. I guess in 2006, the Boyz finally grow up.
Of course, I didn't realize how much I've personally grown up until I returned home after dinner -- and realized that my brand new contact lenses had gone missing on me. I searched everywhere for them but they'd vanished. I thought that perhaps I'd left them in M2, but M2 didn't have them either. $300 lost, and still having to wear grungy lenses for another who knows how long. Then it all came back to me. I'd stuck them in my back trouser pocket on my way up from the parking lot in the first place, for safe-keeping. And there they still were, safe and sound.
Somewhere along the line, I've jumped past middle-age and gone straight to senility.
So it was that only 2 of the Boyz only had time to bowl only 2 games each, just for old times' sake. The reality is, looking at our present schedules, I'm quite pessimistic about the Boyz ever getting back together and staging a comeback at the Ministry's bowling league this year. Too many duties, too many commitments, to much responsibility. I guess in 2006, the Boyz finally grow up.
Of course, I didn't realize how much I've personally grown up until I returned home after dinner -- and realized that my brand new contact lenses had gone missing on me. I searched everywhere for them but they'd vanished. I thought that perhaps I'd left them in M2, but M2 didn't have them either. $300 lost, and still having to wear grungy lenses for another who knows how long. Then it all came back to me. I'd stuck them in my back trouser pocket on my way up from the parking lot in the first place, for safe-keeping. And there they still were, safe and sound.
Somewhere along the line, I've jumped past middle-age and gone straight to senility.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
In the dim recesses of my memory [no lah, actually I looked it up], I recall a number of 03A2 people were part of the PUS team in '04. As a PUS newbie, I'm shouting out for any advice you guys can give me from your perspective as actual participants in the event.
Advice on how you feel you should have been prepared, the stresses you faced, how to keep this year's batch motivated and happily working together, group dynamics, equipment and other logistical requirements , pretty much anything that can help me recruit and gel a team of diverse roles, interests, genders, and talents together will be much appreciated.
Let's see, Mei, 'rah, 'sif, Fifi, Iqbal and Drama Club alumnus, Sam W, a little help over here, please?
BTW, the latest issue of NY conneXions is online with a new look and a new server! Still got a few design issues but I guess it's going to have to be a work-in-progress. The news don't wait for nobody! Credit for the cover photo goes to Amy :) which got me wondering if we should offer a small token every week for any NY student who submits the 'photo of the week'? Just thinking aloud. Click here.
Advice on how you feel you should have been prepared, the stresses you faced, how to keep this year's batch motivated and happily working together, group dynamics, equipment and other logistical requirements , pretty much anything that can help me recruit and gel a team of diverse roles, interests, genders, and talents together will be much appreciated.
Let's see, Mei, 'rah, 'sif, Fifi, Iqbal and Drama Club alumnus, Sam W, a little help over here, please?
BTW, the latest issue of NY conneXions is online with a new look and a new server! Still got a few design issues but I guess it's going to have to be a work-in-progress. The news don't wait for nobody! Credit for the cover photo goes to Amy :) which got me wondering if we should offer a small token every week for any NY student who submits the 'photo of the week'? Just thinking aloud. Click here.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
The task for my other co-curricular activity has finally come to light. I'll be taking 30 kids into NUS during the June hols to participate in the PUS. Yes, the annual week-long JC presentation attended by big shots who want to know how our youth view the upcoming future for themselves and for the nation.
At a briefing session this afternoon, our college got the part of the presentation that generally focuses on how we can:
1) adapt ourselves to meet the challenges of the 21st Century,
2) shape our foreign policy to open up new frontiers of exploration and make new friends along the way (shades of Starfleet!),
3) take advantage of I&E and R&D to keep ourselves relevant and in tune with meeting the needs of tomorrow's markets,
4) keep intact our ties with our traditional values and heritage, and
5) leverage on education to prepare our young for the future.
But the main question for us is to see how traditional businesses can continue to survive and thrive in the new KBE. Yes, the question seems to stereotype our college, considering the old running joke associating us with oil lamps. Whatever.
My problem with the question is that there isn't really any particular business that we can call "traditional." We might associate a product, or a process, or a business model, or even a management model with being "traditional," or some combination of the above; but the business itself either keeps reinventing itself -- it moves with its extremely fickle customer base -- or it dies, plain and simple. So why beat ourselves up over the loss of "traditional" businesses? In the capitalist (open/free) market that we have chosen to deal in, there is no room for sentimentality; only the fittest will survive.
The kids will have to resolve this dilemma, framing their solution within the 5 main points above. They only have 15 minutes to make a presentation and 30 minutes to address questions from the audience to do it in. This task will prove quite... challenging.Especially since I haven't got 30 kids yet and the presentation proposal is due in 9 days or so.
At a briefing session this afternoon, our college got the part of the presentation that generally focuses on how we can:
1) adapt ourselves to meet the challenges of the 21st Century,
2) shape our foreign policy to open up new frontiers of exploration and make new friends along the way (shades of Starfleet!),
3) take advantage of I&E and R&D to keep ourselves relevant and in tune with meeting the needs of tomorrow's markets,
4) keep intact our ties with our traditional values and heritage, and
5) leverage on education to prepare our young for the future.
But the main question for us is to see how traditional businesses can continue to survive and thrive in the new KBE. Yes, the question seems to stereotype our college, considering the old running joke associating us with oil lamps. Whatever.
My problem with the question is that there isn't really any particular business that we can call "traditional." We might associate a product, or a process, or a business model, or even a management model with being "traditional," or some combination of the above; but the business itself either keeps reinventing itself -- it moves with its extremely fickle customer base -- or it dies, plain and simple. So why beat ourselves up over the loss of "traditional" businesses? In the capitalist (open/free) market that we have chosen to deal in, there is no room for sentimentality; only the fittest will survive.
The kids will have to resolve this dilemma, framing their solution within the 5 main points above. They only have 15 minutes to make a presentation and 30 minutes to address questions from the audience to do it in. This task will prove quite... challenging.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Attended an investment seminar organized by CitiBank this evening. The fact is, our savings are meagre and we're spooked that if we continue to keep our spare cash under our pillows (not literally, of course) instead of investing it for higher returns than the bank's fixed deposit or CPF, there just won't be enough for us to retire on [yes, we're thinking far in advance for once] and still maintain our current lifestyle.
Ideally, what we should have is a stash of wealth that will last till the day we croak, and perhaps some left over to tidy up the mess we've left behind. We also have to hedge against the inflation rate and the GST, which won't stay at a mere 5% for long. Then there're those geriatric medical expenses to think about; and for the moment we don't even have kids to plan for and already the finances look like there won't be enough to go around if there were any more of us.
When you talk to an insurance agent, as we did sometime in the past week, your financial life is always going to look bleak.
Hence, today's seminar which we decided to attend to evaluate our options apart from buying yet another life insurance policy. We heard about building a portfolio of investments that balances risk with growth. That, for best results, we should diversify our equity as far as possible in terms of the proportion of stocks and bonds we own; across different industry types; and across different countries in the region and worldwide.
In other words, bet on a whole bunch of horses so that the winnings of at least one horse will cover the losses of the other horses and leave a fat profit besides. The bank's fund managers are there to help us to intelligently pick which horses to bet on so that we don't risk all on a stupid, random crap shoot.
Too much info to absorb all at once. Didn't help that both June and I zoned out during major portions of the presentation. Still, the idea of putting some money to work to generate more money seems like an idea worth considering...
Ideally, what we should have is a stash of wealth that will last till the day we croak, and perhaps some left over to tidy up the mess we've left behind. We also have to hedge against the inflation rate and the GST, which won't stay at a mere 5% for long. Then there're those geriatric medical expenses to think about; and for the moment we don't even have kids to plan for and already the finances look like there won't be enough to go around if there were any more of us.
When you talk to an insurance agent, as we did sometime in the past week, your financial life is always going to look bleak.
Hence, today's seminar which we decided to attend to evaluate our options apart from buying yet another life insurance policy. We heard about building a portfolio of investments that balances risk with growth. That, for best results, we should diversify our equity as far as possible in terms of the proportion of stocks and bonds we own; across different industry types; and across different countries in the region and worldwide.
In other words, bet on a whole bunch of horses so that the winnings of at least one horse will cover the losses of the other horses and leave a fat profit besides. The bank's fund managers are there to help us to intelligently pick which horses to bet on so that we don't risk all on a stupid, random crap shoot.
Too much info to absorb all at once. Didn't help that both June and I zoned out during major portions of the presentation. Still, the idea of putting some money to work to generate more money seems like an idea worth considering...
Alternating between high energy and being wiped out. Last night I was brain dead. Watched my first ever “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy” while in that state.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
JY was sick today, so she didn't go 'blading at Bish Park like she usually does. That left Mr and Mrs Popular 'blading solo; no, make that Mr Popular 'cos Mrs Popular was still resting her injured knee and decided instead to walk Q-tip around the park.
So none of the other 'regulars' turned up either, except for Chewy who, likewise, was still resting her injured knee. The 2 girls and dog ended up chatting under a cafe umbrella at the 'blading rink. I believe they were swapping horror stories about the service at local bridal boutiques.
'blading solo meant that I could pick up the pace a little, and in 3 orbits I was about as tired as our usual 4-5. Must have been daydreaming too 'cos a kid on a bike rang his bell once to warn me he was right behind me, and I totally lost control, wiping out as he overtook me. That was embarrassing, just as I was thinking I was getting good, too.
Oh, and on an unrelated note, it's M2's birthday today! How quickly they grow up!
So none of the other 'regulars' turned up either, except for Chewy who, likewise, was still resting her injured knee. The 2 girls and dog ended up chatting under a cafe umbrella at the 'blading rink. I believe they were swapping horror stories about the service at local bridal boutiques.
'blading solo meant that I could pick up the pace a little, and in 3 orbits I was about as tired as our usual 4-5. Must have been daydreaming too 'cos a kid on a bike rang his bell once to warn me he was right behind me, and I totally lost control, wiping out as he overtook me. That was embarrassing, just as I was thinking I was getting good, too.
Oh, and on an unrelated note, it's M2's birthday today! How quickly they grow up!
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Spent the evening at SRT watching "She Chose," a double-bill of 2 female-driven plays by NTU's Hall 15. I was there to support Mei, who, despite having been in the cast of The Odyssey only "for the SYF points," is so far the only one in that group who has taken on a major role in another stage production since, as far as I know.
This production had "amateur" stamped all over it. In general, the most irritating device was the interminably long blackouts between scene changes, sometimes lasting longer than the previous scene even. The other thing was the background music that looped non-stop even while the characters were speaking.
Both plays focused on the female cast: the male actors were only there for their female counterparts to act around. The males played fools, idiots, and bizarre nutcases; no one real; whereas the women at least got roles in which they made choices that drove the plot on. Hence, I presume, the title.
The first play, "Love Edifice," was inconsistent between scenes. It sort of alternated between concrete, abstract and (somewhat self-indulgent) multimedia. It opened with an elaborate wedding procession, the only point of which was to tell us that a couple got married. In the couple of scenes in which the men and the women told the audience how they classified the opposite sex, there was a lot of posing according to the speaker's description, but the movement served mostly to distract from rather than enhance the text. The multimedia slideshow portrayed the progress of the characters as couples in various stages of matrimony. But this information was already evident from the script, so it really wasn't necessary to rehash it, even if there needed to be an excuse to be fashionable and use multimedia.
"Hungry," the second play, likewise suffered from too-muchness. Almost every character went o-t-t with devised movement and similarly artificial speech patterns designed only to make one character appear different from another.
Even the character of Death maxed out the stage-direction that Death should be "neither masculine nor feminine." But the half-male-half-female costume and make-up suggested that Death was BOTH rather than "neither," a very different meaning altogether. This portrayal made the actor play up his feminine side just to counter the fact that he was male, so Death ended up effeminate instead. Moreover, the gender of Death was never an issue in the story, so the painstaking effort to portray its androgyny failed to make any point whatsoever.
If anything, the director's main fault is that she attempted to do too much of everything everywhere, without considering the payoff to character development and audience satisfaction. But that's a mistake usually made due to inexperience and, perhaps, learning from poor precedents.
Mei, if you're still reading, this is where I talk about you. In an asylum of contrivance and artifice, your character comes across as a perfectly normal, ordinary human being. Major kudos to you for keeping it real. If anyone chose in this performance, you did. You chose the pacing of your lines and movement; your spot-on timing and delivery. Where lighting was patchy, you chose to stand in the light where we could see you.
There were a couple of moments when you spoke with your back to the audience, though, and occasionally you succumbed to peer pressure and likewise went a little o-t-t, but you were in control of your character for the most part. You thought about your character and made yourself become Sarah rather than simply put on an external mask or persona.
Without sounding too biased (I hope) it was your performance I enjoyed most this evening because in that hour, you and Sarah were indistinguishable from one another. So, great job, Mei! Glad I could get to see you backstage, and I hope to see more of you on-stage soon!
This production had "amateur" stamped all over it. In general, the most irritating device was the interminably long blackouts between scene changes, sometimes lasting longer than the previous scene even. The other thing was the background music that looped non-stop even while the characters were speaking.
Both plays focused on the female cast: the male actors were only there for their female counterparts to act around. The males played fools, idiots, and bizarre nutcases; no one real; whereas the women at least got roles in which they made choices that drove the plot on. Hence, I presume, the title.
The first play, "Love Edifice," was inconsistent between scenes. It sort of alternated between concrete, abstract and (somewhat self-indulgent) multimedia. It opened with an elaborate wedding procession, the only point of which was to tell us that a couple got married. In the couple of scenes in which the men and the women told the audience how they classified the opposite sex, there was a lot of posing according to the speaker's description, but the movement served mostly to distract from rather than enhance the text. The multimedia slideshow portrayed the progress of the characters as couples in various stages of matrimony. But this information was already evident from the script, so it really wasn't necessary to rehash it, even if there needed to be an excuse to be fashionable and use multimedia.
"Hungry," the second play, likewise suffered from too-muchness. Almost every character went o-t-t with devised movement and similarly artificial speech patterns designed only to make one character appear different from another.
Even the character of Death maxed out the stage-direction that Death should be "neither masculine nor feminine." But the half-male-half-female costume and make-up suggested that Death was BOTH rather than "neither," a very different meaning altogether. This portrayal made the actor play up his feminine side just to counter the fact that he was male, so Death ended up effeminate instead. Moreover, the gender of Death was never an issue in the story, so the painstaking effort to portray its androgyny failed to make any point whatsoever.
If anything, the director's main fault is that she attempted to do too much of everything everywhere, without considering the payoff to character development and audience satisfaction. But that's a mistake usually made due to inexperience and, perhaps, learning from poor precedents.
Mei, if you're still reading, this is where I talk about you. In an asylum of contrivance and artifice, your character comes across as a perfectly normal, ordinary human being. Major kudos to you for keeping it real. If anyone chose in this performance, you did. You chose the pacing of your lines and movement; your spot-on timing and delivery. Where lighting was patchy, you chose to stand in the light where we could see you.
There were a couple of moments when you spoke with your back to the audience, though, and occasionally you succumbed to peer pressure and likewise went a little o-t-t, but you were in control of your character for the most part. You thought about your character and made yourself become Sarah rather than simply put on an external mask or persona.
Without sounding too biased (I hope) it was your performance I enjoyed most this evening because in that hour, you and Sarah were indistinguishable from one another. So, great job, Mei! Glad I could get to see you backstage, and I hope to see more of you on-stage soon!
Friday, February 17, 2006
One thing I've enjoyed about Friday so far this year is that it's practically the only day of the week that I can drive out to have lunch at the correct time. Technically, I have a 90 minute break but it takes time to organize a feeding party so in practice it's about an hour both to eat and commute to and fro. NBS and I have to be back for afternoon tutorial.
Vince drove today, me riding shotgun, while Amy and NBS tried to make themselves comfortable in the back seat amidst the, um... assorted administrative paraphenalia, spare attire, and other debris and detritus [word of the day: I swore to use it in today's entry, by hook or by crook!] that usually occupy the aforementioned space.
For some reason, all through lunch (at Ivin's btw) I seemed to be continually teasing and needling NBS, and feeling like a little kid again, taking great joy in tormenting a younger sibling, revelling in simply being mean. Guess it was either me taking the opportunity to be childish, or she was just walking around with an illuminated target painted on her back.
Fortunately, she didn't take it to heart. And I felt a bit sorry, so after tutorial I gave her a lift home with civil conversation and no further incident.
Vince drove today, me riding shotgun, while Amy and NBS tried to make themselves comfortable in the back seat amidst the, um... assorted administrative paraphenalia, spare attire, and other debris and detritus [word of the day: I swore to use it in today's entry, by hook or by crook!] that usually occupy the aforementioned space.
For some reason, all through lunch (at Ivin's btw) I seemed to be continually teasing and needling NBS, and feeling like a little kid again, taking great joy in tormenting a younger sibling, revelling in simply being mean. Guess it was either me taking the opportunity to be childish, or she was just walking around with an illuminated target painted on her back.
Fortunately, she didn't take it to heart. And I felt a bit sorry, so after tutorial I gave her a lift home with civil conversation and no further incident.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
NY conneXions is in the hands of the people, at last!
The 'ol rag finally made its debut with a launch party at lunchtime today. We had a couple of soft-rock numbers from a band Ming and May put together; plus the Dance Soc., and Samuel T to pull in the crowd while the D&J members handed out copies to the gathering audience. More pix here.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
We collected our first print edition of NY-X from the printer late this afternoon. It's finally ready for distribution, on time, as promised, so we can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Then, of course, we wait for the reviews...
The paper isn't 100% perfect, as there are a couple of formatting and typo errors that still managed to slip by our most anal of scans, but I think it's better to be dissatisfied with our work and resolve to show improvement next time around rather than be self-satisfied and become complacent as a result.
This evening, Vince and I arranged to buy Amy a "thank you" dinner for her help in editing and laying out our paper. On the way, after picking up June from work, we found ourselves outside the Esso station on Stevens Road. I stopped for gas and as M2's interior was quite muddy from the weekend's adventures, we went for full-service and got him washed and vacuumed. And a very thorough job it was too. $8 in all, plus an additional $1 for vacuuming the trunk as well.
Met Vince and Amy at Shima Aji, Esplanade. Apparently, nothing makes Amy happier than an offer of raw fish, and this place has an all-you-can-eat sashimi menu, amongst other Japanese buffet dishes. I discovered that regardless of how fresh and tasty it is, there can be a limit to the amount of salmon and tuna sashimi I can actually eat in one sitting. Overate, as usual, and feeling a little bloated now...
The paper isn't 100% perfect, as there are a couple of formatting and typo errors that still managed to slip by our most anal of scans, but I think it's better to be dissatisfied with our work and resolve to show improvement next time around rather than be self-satisfied and become complacent as a result.
This evening, Vince and I arranged to buy Amy a "thank you" dinner for her help in editing and laying out our paper. On the way, after picking up June from work, we found ourselves outside the Esso station on Stevens Road. I stopped for gas and as M2's interior was quite muddy from the weekend's adventures, we went for full-service and got him washed and vacuumed. And a very thorough job it was too. $8 in all, plus an additional $1 for vacuuming the trunk as well.
Met Vince and Amy at Shima Aji, Esplanade. Apparently, nothing makes Amy happier than an offer of raw fish, and this place has an all-you-can-eat sashimi menu, amongst other Japanese buffet dishes. I discovered that regardless of how fresh and tasty it is, there can be a limit to the amount of salmon and tuna sashimi I can actually eat in one sitting. Overate, as usual, and feeling a little bloated now...
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Dented my head again. June hid my V-day gift in my pillow -- again -- and it left quite an impact on my cranium as I settled in for the night. When I regained consciousness, I discovered she'd bought me 2 DVDs: "Batman Begins," and "March of the Penguins." How sweet! :)
Decided to have a nice, romantic dinner while we watch the sun set at... Sunset. Busy night for the little airport establishment; 2 cars ahead of me driving into the parking lot, and 1 car right behind. As we were leaving the premises, another 3-4 cars arrived. Of course, the reason why we were leaving was that Sunset is closed Tuesdays. Heedless of the potentially lucrative Valentine's Day possibilities, Tuesday-off means Tuesday-off. I respect the integrity of the proprietor in not taking advantage of the festivities to jack up his prices and fleece the fleeceable, beguile the gullible and rob the hopelessly romantic.
With Q-tip in tow, there are only so many other places we could activate as Plan B. We tried Jerry's, but the outdoor dining area was fully occupied. Plan C: Porridge Culture across the road. Ok, so not quite the dinner we had planned, but it just had to do.
For what it's worth, happy Valentine's to y'all!
Decided to have a nice, romantic dinner while we watch the sun set at... Sunset. Busy night for the little airport establishment; 2 cars ahead of me driving into the parking lot, and 1 car right behind. As we were leaving the premises, another 3-4 cars arrived. Of course, the reason why we were leaving was that Sunset is closed Tuesdays. Heedless of the potentially lucrative Valentine's Day possibilities, Tuesday-off means Tuesday-off. I respect the integrity of the proprietor in not taking advantage of the festivities to jack up his prices and fleece the fleeceable, beguile the gullible and rob the hopelessly romantic.
With Q-tip in tow, there are only so many other places we could activate as Plan B. We tried Jerry's, but the outdoor dining area was fully occupied. Plan C: Porridge Culture across the road. Ok, so not quite the dinner we had planned, but it just had to do.
For what it's worth, happy Valentine's to y'all!
Monday, February 13, 2006
Not feeling particularly inspired today. Most of the morning I was on duty advising kids who were trying to decide on signing up for one college or another now that their final grades are out. Ostensibly, my role was to give advice on matters relating to my subjects, but most of the inquiries were simply about whether their exam scores will qualify them for admission to our college.
It’s quite flattering that there are kids who want to apply to us after having experienced a term with some other colleges. But if they only have borderline scores, we can only commiserate with them a bit, and inform them that their postings are solely determined by the Ministry, based on strength of demand, and not by us. We also had to advise a few to be realistic about their commuting distances, besides their academic placement.
4 hours of repeatedly giving this kind of advice to kids and their parents made me numb pretty quickly. I’m thinking, what the heck, y’know, at least at their age, they have a choice about which JC to apply for. At least they qualified. Many other people didn’t.
It’s quite flattering that there are kids who want to apply to us after having experienced a term with some other colleges. But if they only have borderline scores, we can only commiserate with them a bit, and inform them that their postings are solely determined by the Ministry, based on strength of demand, and not by us. We also had to advise a few to be realistic about their commuting distances, besides their academic placement.
4 hours of repeatedly giving this kind of advice to kids and their parents made me numb pretty quickly. I’m thinking, what the heck, y’know, at least at their age, they have a choice about which JC to apply for. At least they qualified. Many other people didn’t.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
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