Daddy Day Care

"I missed"

"What do you mean 'you missed'?"

"I missed!"

I wished I could blog more often, but I really can’t.

Work is absolutely devouring me; I can barely find time for myself. I think I’m getting a hang of this ‘work’ thing, but I still have to say that if I were given the chance to stop working, I would take it in a nano-second. But that’s beyond my control so I will do it nonetheless.

However, I have promised myself that I will not talk about work itself in this blog entry, so don’t worry all. I will try not to bore you with my consistent complaining about how crappy it is to work and how much beating my eyes are taking from staring at the computer screen day-in day-out. So let’s talk about something else!


I went swimming this morning at 6:30am and I have to say, that when I jumped into the pool this morning, I was freezing. Though it may not be as nerve numbing as places like the US, the UK, the Antarctica, etc. it was still cold enough to shock my exposed … … top. Fortunately, it wasn’t long till I warmed up in the water. I quickly swam around, and not long after, I swam to the other end of the pool.
I was pretty surprised actually. In the morning, there are usually so many ‘old’ women swimming; at least 10 of them, if not more. ‘Old’ guys, maybe 3+. I am usually the only ‘young’ person in the pool. Pity. No girls to impress.
Nowadays, I have to do 20 laps in less than 40 minutes because of work. Today, I clocked 20 laps in 35 minutes, so it wasn’t too bad.
Usually, I’ll do 1 freestyle lap for every 5-breaststroke lap. Freestyle really takes up quite a bit of energy so if I do it too much, I’ll be worn out by the 5th lap. Also today, I managed to finish off my swim with the ‘butterfly’ stroke. I haven’t attempted doing the ‘butterfly’ in years, and when I did it today, I felt like I was creating a mini-typhoon from my ‘butterflying’ action. I really felt so much strength from my arms and shoulders.
From memory, my doing the butterfly when I was younger was pretty pathetic. Five metres into the stroke and I would be flopping like a fish trying to reach the end of the pool. This time, I felt powerful. I have to try it again. The only thing I’m worried about doing the butterfly is that there’s so much noise and disturbance when I do it, I don’t want to disturb the other swimmers. See, I’m nice. =)

Unlike me, there are some people in the pool who really irritate me a lot, especially those ‘swimmers’ who get in the way. I’m not talking about the swimmers who happen to cross path with me and as a result, one of us has to stop swimming. That’s coincidental and none of us are in the wrong for that happening. I’m talking about the type of people who are inconsiderate in the pool and wouldn’t do anything about their inconsiderateness. Those arrogant pimple-heads.
For example, last Saturday, when I went for an early swim, I was happily swimming in my lane without any problems for about half an hour or so. Then waltzed in these two old slightly plumped women who decided that it would be cool to stand at the end of my lane. This would mean that they were preventing me from kicking off the pool wall as I do multiple laps because ... they are in my way!!! I was shaking my head every time I reached that end, just to show them that they are so inconsiderate.
These kinda people, I really dislike. People who are inconsiderate to others, I really have very low tolerance for them. Arrogant pimple-heads.

Before I start ranting on about some pointless topic, I'll quickly end with this.
Taking toilet breaks at work is awesome! Every now and then, I'll either take a long stroll to the toilet to kill time, or I'll walk to the pantry which is near the toilets too, just to take a cup of water so I could go to the toilet in a few minutes time. They are the best way to kill time, besides reading random internet sites eg. blogs, during office hours. I've also discovered another 'time killer' which takes place in the toilet, and it's name is called, "How long does it take to dry up a wet sleeve with the hand-drier?" I think the name speaks for itself.

The Princess Diaries

Dear diary,

I've been working a week now. Things don't seem so enjoyable right about now. Every time I think about working, it's about how I have to try to bluff my way through my work each time. I'm seriously hating it.

But someone told me that it's part of working. It's part of getting used to new routines which can be quite tedious at times. So I guess I should try to give it another go. At least look at this job opportunity in a positive manner. My lady boss said that I should just try to take what I can from this experience. Experience working in the office. It may or may not be something you wanna do in the future, but in any case, this will be another part of your life experience.

I now know what I don't want to do, and it's this job. I don't wanna find a permanent job doing the things I do now. That will be the last thing I wanna do when I grow up.

Nevertheless, it's something I will force myself to do, for now. Even though there will be times when I will say I want to quit, I must not. Because winners never quit, and quitters never win. Corny phrase which I don't think fits all that well in this situation. lol Not a clue why I quoted that phrase.

On the whole, I'm out of the house 12 hours each day. It takes me an hour to go to and from work. So you could say that I really don't have a life anymore. I don't know how working people do it. It's a little bit harder for me because I need at least 8 and a half hours of sleep each night. Better if it was 9 hours but I can't afford to have 9 hours of sleep now. Otherwise, I'll have 30 minutes less time having a life! Anyway, it means I have to sleep earlier than most working people.

But what strikes me the most about this working experience, is how inconsiderate people can be in the bus or train. I take the train pretty much everyday now, so I have noticed quite a few things about people in public transports. What strikes me the most in public transports is how people don't give up their seats to the more needy. Here in Singapore, the public transports are usually packed, especially during the peak periods. So with people like the elderly, the disabled, the pregnant, etc. they are the ones who should be given priority when it comes to having a seat. Unlike most people, I usually give up my seat all the time. The minute I see an elderly person, I try to catch their attention into having my seat. Fortunately, there are still some considerate people out there who do do this, and it's good. But there are so many more selfish commuters who don't.

Why, just this morning, I saw this elderly couple a few metres away from me who had to stand through one or two stations. They were too far from me and also, they were behind several other people, so I couldn't catch their attention. What thrown me off was how people near them didn't even offer their seats to them. The people near them weren't all that 'old' either. They were quite young people. It's so frustrating seeing people being so selfish like them. Just give them the seat already! Why be so selfish! Makes me wanna blob their heads. Just this once. Pretty please? XD

So to anyone who reads my private 'dear diary' diary. If you ever see someone in need of your seat in a public vehicle, please don't be like those arrogant pimple heads. Be more considerate because the world could use less inconsiderate people. In simple, be like me. ^^ hahaha

In other news, work and church has been taking up so much of my time. I don't know if I will be alive in a few weeks time because they're sapping the energy from every fibre of my being. I'm seriously getting quite tired. It's overwhelming. If I don't get some sign of miracle, I don't think I will last very long. Meaning, if I don't blog for a period of time, someone better send a search party to give me CPR. lol. Why CPR? I dunno.

Scooby Doo

My posting two posts in 15 hours is not gonna be a regular occurance so don't get too excited now. I'm posting again because yesterday, my boss was in a meeting and I had nothing to do, so I decided I could take advantage of her absence by posting. So this won't happen too often. Be assured of that. Not unless I'm drunk and half-naked in my room, but none of those things will happen. Be assured of that.


This post will be devoted to a lot of random things I've noticed here in Singapore which I find are slightly amusing to my sense of humour. Ok ok, some of them are not amusing. But they are funny to the guy around the corner who laughs hysterically at the thought of having a green sky. ha ha, ha ha. Yeah yeah, I know. Get on with the point.




This happened just two days ago when I came back early from lunch. It was one of the funniest sights I've seen since coming to work. Well, I came back from lunch, and was walking to my desk when I came across this lady, seated at her desk. That's right, she was seated at her desk, but doing what? I'll tell you what. She was sleeping. But that's not the funny part. The funny part was how she was sleeping with her face upon her desk and her arms dangling towards the ground. I wasn't expecting someone to do that at the time, and to see her in such a vulnerable position, I couldn't help but wonder, "What did she do last night?" I think she was drooling on her desk as well. Imagine the embarrassment if she slept through lunch and when everyone else is back. Oh, the humilty! The poor thing.

I was having breakfast at a hawker centre by myself a few days ago, and I was observing my surroundings as usual. What caught my attention was this guy, seated just a few metres from me, with his legs crossed. Nowaday, I think it's getting quite common among guys, but I'll never do it. I still like my dignity as a man, and would rather not 'squish' my valuables, thanks. Anyway, this guy had his legs crossed, and you know how when they cross their legs, their pants will rise a few centimetres upwards? Yeah, instead of the pants rising a few centimetres upwards, I believe his pants was raised all the way up to his knee. Just think about that for a while, and visualise......
Now c'mon, don't you think that's a bit funny? If you still don't, think about it some more, then come back to me.

I notice here in Singapore, there a lot of people, mainly older ones, have really disfigured joints. Especially the knee area. Sometimes it's the ankle, or the hips. But mainly the knee. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I can only help you to visualise what I see. Basically, their joints have gone to a point where they are no longer working normally, ie. knees not collapsing forward and returning back to a locked position. Instead, some of them have to walk in such a way, that their knees move in a left or right direction. So they're sort of like swaying, left and right. It's really quite disturbing. And for someone like me, who hates to see people get hurt or injuried, it really makes my heart drop to see them walking like this. It makes me wonder, do they scream in pain when they walk like that? I mean, to see them walk so awkwardly, it must hurt doesn't it? You can't help but give them your sympathy for their physical structure. I think it's pretty much permanent. I feel really terrible for them.

My final 'observation' that I have discovered since coming to Singapore is how much I prefer girls without make-up. No offence to girls who do put make-up, but I find myself a lot more attracted to girls who don't put make-up. Maybe it's because I don't like how make-up makes you look 'fake' and unrealistic, but I really do prefer girls without the make-up. I find that girls without make-up have nothing to hide and are showing me who they really are. I confirmed this discovery last night when I came back from work and I saw this asian lady wearing make-up and it didn't set well with me. Not outwardly at least. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I just find them more attractive without the 'excess'.
Even Kathy Kinney (Mimi Bobeck Carey) from the Drew Carey Show looks so much better without her make-up. Sad, but true. At least I reckon so. Get my drift?





I'm not too sure when my next blog entry is, but I will try to blog when I get the chance. Most of the time, I get tired by the time I get back, and would rather relax on MSN. So stay tuned, if you can. I will try to post another entry in the not-so-near future but it will be near enough for you. Hoping you don't die tomorrow after reading this..



Just kidding. ^^

Blood Diamond

Welcome to the new world my friend. It’s called work.

Consequently, my posting rate will drop significantly, due to the overwhelming demand to work work work. Working can only be good for one thing. And that’s money. If there was no money involved, I guess there wouldn’t be a legitimate reason to do what we do in the work force. Not unless you’re volunteering in the soup kitchen, but that’s completely different. What I’m trying to say is, if I didn’t have that ‘goal’ of being paid a big fat juicy salary, I wouldn’t be at the office every morning at 9am. I’d probably be at home, sleeping on my comfortable bed, waiting for the sun to shine through my curtain windows and onto my eyelids. Oh, how wonderful were those times.

Sadly, I’ve given up all that for a measly $1,000 a month. Like I need the money. I need my beauty sleep. Now thinking about it, I really don’t know why I took this job the minute they called for me. Maybe it was because of the guilt that ran through my face. I mean, with me sitting at home each day, not having a care for the world, watching Moulin Rouge on peekvid dot com, one is bound to feel guilty.

I dunno why I took this job actually. It’s boring, it’s tedious, and it’s repetitive. And the only thing keeping me going is the money at the end. I’m just looking forward to several things that have been arranged and planned in the near future.

- When my mum comes over to Singapore, my mum, auntie, grandma and myself are going on a cruise to Malaysia. It’s a 3-day, 2 nights cruise to Malacca and Kula Lumpur. I reckon it’s gonna be fun because I don’t remember the last time we went on a cruise, if I’ve been on a cruise at all. It has a theatre, gym, pool, casino, my favourite, a two story all-you-can-eat buffet, and much much more. Oh dear me! I’m in heaven. lol If this is heaven to me, I can’t imagine heaven itself! hehe So anyway, with this cruise coming up, I’m hoping to bring along some good ‘spare’ cash to spoil myself a bit. Now that should be fun!
- Emily might be coming over in April and she has asked that I ‘take her out’, and I’m sure you all know what that means. hehehe I’m gonna bring her to places, and I’m gonna spoil the two of us. I hope to use so much money that day it won’t be funny. hahaha Hopefully she’ll let me. Emily, if you’re reading this, will you let me? =P hehe, you see, Emily to me is like an older sister I never had. We seem to connect so well, and even though I’ve known her for a few months only, we seem to converse like good ol’e siblings. And to top it all off; she’s a dentist. She’s a dentist, who happens to be single. XD Single, men!


Those are the things that I have planned. If by some small chance, I still have some money left, I’m going to invest it some of these things. Not in chronological order. Depending on what I’m feeling when I wake up each day.

- I really want to get a saxophone before I return. Hopefully, I’ll be able to play it as well. I’ve wanted this for so long, I think this is the time for me to get it. I’ll have reasonable savings before I return to Australia, so I hope to invest in a reasonably good saxophone for a low price. I spend too much for my first saxophone because my mum reckons I should save some in an event when I get another type of saxophone. I think my first saxophone will be a soprano saxophone. It’s very similar to a clarinet, so it shouldn’t be too much different.
- Get dancing lessons next year. Obviously lessons are gonna cost something. Someone told me that it might be expensive, seeing that I want to learn ballroom dancing. Well, there goes a good amount of my money. It’ll be worth it. I’m sure it will.
- If by some miraculous miracle, I still have a glimpse of my savings at this point, I will invest in getting a car when I get back to Australia. There is no way I’m gonna survive in Australia without a car. If you don’t have a car, you basically don’t have a life. If there are so many demands in your life, and if you don’t have a car, you’re basically dead meat. Having to scab rides off people in the past has shown me that. Plus, I feel really bad when I have to beg people to drive me home each time. Can’t imagine if I were they when I get my own car. I guess we’ll just have to see.

If you notice, I am the sort of person who has to plan in advance. Planning my next step in life is what I do all the time. I really dislike heading into the future without a goal, without an aim in life. It’s silly. I can’t stand it. At least with these goals, I can see that my current sufferings are nothing compared to the big picture. Having to wake up each morning and going to work and coming back 12 hours later is quite minor to what is in-stored in the future. So I’ve decided to not focus on what is, but what is to come. And what is to come is money. Only a mere 5 weeks and 2 days to go in my temp job.

Derailed

"Surely, I could blog an entire blog entry on this!" I said to myself as I sat there, all awkward.

I will retell the story of what happened to me as I went to church today.
The situation was awkward and definitely strange. This is what happened.

Everytime I go to church, I gotta take the train. So this was like any other Sunday morning. I hopped on the train, planning to get there at 8:30am. It was cool. I only had to wake up at 6:30am after sleeping at 11:30pm last night. To me, seven hours of sleep isn't quite enough for me. I have to sleep at least 8.5 hours, if not, I'll be sleeping during some course of the afternoon.
Anyway, after witnessing Liverpool's whipping performance against Chelsea, I was finally able to sleep at 11:30pm. Staying up to watch Liverpool beat Chelsea is definitely worth the suffering the next day. The only thing which would make me even more happy would be to see Liverpool win the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, all in the same season. Now if that happens, I would probably do something which would make every one of you shocked. But that's another story, for another day.

But I'm getting side-tracked. Let me continue.
So I was on the train, all tired, and all drowsy. However, I wouldn't be drowsy for very long. As soon as we got to the interchange (ie. where trains of different tracks meet at a station), I took a seat at the end and closed my eyes. Then, this middle-aged, approximately 40-50 years of age, decided that of all the seats available, he would choose to sit next to me. 'Fine,' I thought to myself. One would reckon that it would be 'ok', that they would sit next to you and probably 'touch' shoulders because of the proximity of the seats. However, one would not reckon it would be 'ok' if they would 'press' their shoulders and legs into you. Now that's just weird.
And that was basically what happened. When I took my seat at the end, this guy, who should I mentioned was really dirty with paint stains, dirt stains, etc. decided, because he was 'sleepy', that he should press his body parts into my respective body parts. Now, if this was a young girl, doing this to me, I would be over-the-moon. Especially, if she didn't look too bad. But for a middle-aged man to press his grimy 'shirt-covered' arm and 'jeans-covered' leg into my arm and leg, I would feel so awkward.
I was quite literally pressing myself against the 'wall' of the train, just so I could have my 'privacy' and dignity as a man. It was to no avail as he kept coming closer and closer. I would have asked him to "back-off" but he was sleeping throughout. And from the looks of it, he didn't seem like the 'friendly' type.

This went on for the majority of the trip, which might I add was a 35 minute ride. Half-way through the trip, I couldn't stand it anymore, and attempted to 'push' the guy away with my legs. Surprisingly, everytime I pushed it away, it just kept coming back. Soon, I found that it was futile. So I just sat there, trying to maintain my dignity as I pressed myself against the wall.
Salvation came when the lady next to him dropped off the train, as he discovered that he could now spread his grimy body parts in the other direction.

Generally, these kinda thing does happen quite often here in Singapore. A lot of people tend to sleep on the trains and buses, so they do press against you at times. Sadly, nothing this intimate has happened to me before. Let's hope it doesn't happen too soon. Better still, never again.
Moral of this awkward experience; be nice to the other passengers on the train because you wouldn't want to be me.

Anger Management

One month, two weeks, fourteen hours, thirty four minutes and twenty five seconds.

That was how long it took me to finally get a job since coming to Singapore. It's a temporary full-time job at Amoz's previous workplace. I'm an assistant to this lady and I have to do some administrative work with her. Basically stuff like data entry, making phone calls, and a lot of other miscellaneous tasks which I don't even know about yet.

To be honest, I was a little bit surprised to get a phone call from this company, seeing that I sent my application back in December. Perhaps the reason why I found this surprising was because I had sent in so many different resumes and job applications to different workplaces, I was expecting something else. The last place I expected a job offer was from this place. I thought they had either forgotten me or have no need for a temp worker. In any case, here I am, with this job which I never expected to become mine.

To tell you the truth, I never really panicked about getting a job. Sure, I felt guilty about not working, but c'mon, who wants to work? I'm sure everyone who has done some kinda job would agree with me. Well, at least the 'normal' ones. ;P

Anyway, the reason why I didn't panic was simply because I knew that God had a hold of this situation and if I tried to 'force' something out, it might have been catastrophic. See, if God didn't want me to be a teacher, He wouldn't have allowed me find a place to work. Even if there was an opening, I'm sure there would be complications along the way like the distance factor, perhaps an unfriendly environment, or it could be really tiring. If I didn't have the grace of God, anything and everything could go wrong if I chose to force it. So I left it to God. And by His grace, I have been given this job and I will work my bum off to glorify His name. Who knows, maybe they'll love me and would be tempted to pay me more for my hard work. All in all, it's all in God's hands and there no need for me to worry. I'm just glad that He is guiding me to all the things He has prepared for me.

I start work on Monday, and the hours are 9am to 6:25pm. It seems quite long, but if I'm working hard, I don't think that will be an issue. Time will fly, hopefully.

Well you see, I am willing to go the extra mile for any task. It's in my blood. The only 'problem' in this is that I don't want to be underpaid for my hard work again.

Back in year 10 in Australia, I did work experience at Coles Supermarket and I quite literally worked my butt off. You could say it was on the verge of falling off :P Ok ok, metaphorically speaking, I worked my butt off.

Maybe it was because it was a good way to kill time, but I think it's who I am. When I've been given a task, I will make sure it's complete to the best of my abilities (Then there are some exceptions but let's just ignore them for now XD ) . Unfortunately, they weren't able to pay me more for my hard work because it was just 'work experience'. They even told me that they wished they could pay me more, but they couldn't (yeah, right). And as a result, I got my measly $5 per day wage. Sure, I was upset. Seeing that I work twice as hard as the other work experience kids, yet we all got paid the same.

I remember one kid telling me, "Hey! C'mon, there's no need to do that. Just leave it and we can go take a break."

I replied, "We're supposed to be working now. This is what we're supposed to do. If you want to take a break, you can go." He left after I told him that and I continued.

My point is, after this 'experience', I told myself that I didn't want to be underpaid, like that again, for my effort. If I'm gonna work, I'm gonna work hard. So they better be good when it comes to the payment because what I'm giving them is my best work. I guess it's in my blood to work hard. I dunno about my other family and relatives, but it's definitely in mine.

And so this is my plan of attack for this job. It's very long to work nine hours and twenty five minutes. For my first job, I reckon it's really long. Oh well, it'll be fun!! No need to worry! =D

On a completely different note, I've been watching episodes of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' on peekvid dot com and I have to say that are still the best TV comedy series on television. I haven't seen the original British version of the show, but the US version is still the funniest TV comedy series I've ever seen. All the other 'wanna-bes' are no where as good as them. Ok ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit. But these guys are consistent in every episode. So hats off to the comedians of Whose Line Is It Anyway? I recommend you watch it if you haven't seen it before. And even if you have seen it before, I recommend you still watch it.

Revenge Of The Nerds

A few days back, the first round offers for Uni spots in Victoria was issued.

I had applied for several courses in Melbourne and Monash Uni. Most of them along the lines of Science, Engineering and Chemistry. Actually, I placed commerce as my first preference in Melbourne Uni because I was thinking about getting into the Actuary course. Sadly, the ENTER score for that was 95+. I didn't make that 'nerdy' score which wasn't overly disappointing for me because I decided not to pursue this course.

What is an Actuary?

I'm guessing many of you are wondering this right now. Few have heard of this career, so I'll just briefly inform the many of you of its specifics. To make your life a whole lot easier, I'll just summarise the main points of this career.

Firstly,

dictionary.com defines an actuary as:

Insurance. a person who computes premium rates, dividends, risks, etc.,
according to probabilities based on statistical records.

wikipedia further defines it as:

Those with a deep understanding of financial security
systems, their reasons for being, their complexity, their mathematics, and the way they work.

Yes, mathematics, my favourite. No, insurance, I hate it. I hate anything that has to do with the economy actually. Bad, I know. But I don't find it interesting at all. I think my hatred for the subject sparked when I was doing Accounting in year 11. The only things I love about this job, are how much mathematics is involved and how amazingly high they pay you. Seriously, that was one of the highlights about this job. I liked the idea of how much you get paid from doing challenging mathematics. If you want an idea of how much an actuary gets, they get around $150,000 to $250,000 annually. That's $12,500 to $20,833 monthly. That's $625 to $1041 weekly. That's $70 to $116 hourly. Oh my. From where I'm standing, that's more than enough for me!

But it was not to be. The mathematics involved is extremely challenging and you have to be top class in order to do it. Otherwise you'll be struggling. I don't think that's me. On top of that, the maths involved is something like 'model making', ie. you have to make a rule of some sort to fit the 'situation'. That's not the type of maths that I like. I prefer applied maths. Gimme numbers, gimme rules, and I'll do it for you in a second. So this job isn't for me.

Which is why I've applied for the Science/Engineering course. The Engineering course will definitely have Maths. And Science, well, let's say I'm going for Maths/Statistics.

I applied at Melbourne Uni and glad to say, that my ENTER score was sufficient this time round. They offered me a spot in Melbourne Uni, so I got what I wanted. However, the sad part begins.

As many of you know, I'm in Singapore doing my NS and will be back in Australia in 2009. This meant I had to apply for deferment. I had to defer it till 2009. Well, I tried to do it today, but as obvious as the word 'tried' tells the story, I couldn't. I went into the right page, but it informed me that I am not able to defer my Science/Engineering course. So this means, I'll have to apply all over again in 2 years time and hope that no one takes my place because they made the ENTER score requirement a little higher. That's the worse that could happen.

Well, maybe not the worse. The worse would be if they removed this entire course when I return which would mean I won't be able to apply for it at all.

Wait, something worse would be the entire Melbourne Uni burning down which would then mean that no one would be able to apply for it at all.

Then again, a gigantic bushfire could engulf the entire Victorian state, but we won't go there.

The Little Mermaid

This was the best one. I wasn't expecting it to be that good, but it was. Despite how physically demanding it was, every breath was another few seconds of enjoyment. Believe or not, it was great. Maybe not so fun while I was doing it, but now that I'm out, I feel great. Now, I can't wait for the next time when I go back in. Who would have thought that someone like me would actually like something like this. Sure, I have done it as a kid, but I kinda stopped for years since we left Singapore. Now, I'm feeling great.


So what in the world am I talking about? If you haven't figured it out yet, I was talking about swimming. I just came back from swimming and my body is feeling really fit again. I feel like I could take on an elephant and probably get trampled in the process, but I feel ambitious! Let's try it!

This time, I swam leisurely for an hour and manage 20 laps in the process. I really took it so much easier this time and I was able to do more laps than if I had used lots of strength. Surprisingly, this 'accomplishment', so to speak, wasn't the highlight of my swim. The highlight of my swim was diving down to the bottom of the pool and swimming around like a little fish. Now that was so much fun. I felt for a moment there that I was one of those guys in Survivor trying to fish for food. Except they have to dive deeper and they actually get something from the water. Whereas I only get chlorine water all over my body when I surface. Still, it was absolutely awesome.

One thing that really took my breath away was when I was underwater and when I looked up and to see the 'waterline' of the water on the surface. It was such a lovely sight. The light penetrated through the surface of the water and diffracted its way onto the pool floor; it was beautiful. If I could have an underwater tank, I think I could swim along the bottom of the pool floor for as long as the water tank can supply me with air. I reckon that would be so much fun.

The only thing which I am concerned about is the pressure when I am under water. Just going down the shallow end, where the water level is at a mere 1.30m, you could notice the pressure difference when you go down to the bottom. I fear that the pressure would do some damage to my eardrums if I do this too often. I really want to go into the deep end and swim down there but I have a bit of concern for my ears. Besides that, it's great.

I'm really glad that my dad taught us to swim when we were little. Despite how I know I'm not the greatest swimmer around, I'm so glad that I am able to swim in the pool. If any of you can't swim right now, you really should consider doing it cause it's so much fun! Plus, you get really fit in the process. Seriously, swimming is one of the best ways to get fit real fast, real good. I've realised that swimming is way better than running. It's fun, it's enjoyable, and it's not so strenuous on your legs. So do it! Or at least seriously consider it. If you want to be fit, this is a good way to start. You can take your time in the pool, and gradually build your stamina and fitness. If you get tired of doing laps, just relax in the pool and just do easy swimming motions around the shallow areas. You won't regret it, unless of course, you're hydrophobic. Then maybe you shouldn't listen to me.

Schindler's List

Well, I'm sitting here, staring at a blank blog entry, deciding what to type. To be honest, a lot has been rolling around my mind these past few days, and I've been given a lot to think about. Unfortunately, I won't be sharing it on my blog because I don't see the point in doing that. A lot of profound thinking happens in this head, and none of you are gonna catch a glimpse at it.
Oh fine, you can have a glimpse. You can all watch the 'immature' side of my head as you read the wild thoughts of my head in my blog, as many of you have witnessed in shock during the course of reading my blog. Good thing this isn't what I am like in real life. hehe ... I hope.

Not too much has happened with me in Singapore. Ever since Jo-an left, I've mainly been home. As for church, I've asked for a one week break from the band. So I didn't go to church on Saturday. Besides that, I've been 'relaxing', so to speak.

With the NAPFA test now behind me, I have to admit that physically, I have been taking it easy. The last time I went for an exercise was last Tuesday when I went for a swim, so it has been a while. Well, to me at least. Not really all that used to not exercising for several days, which is why I am feeling a bit guilty for it.

This morning I did try to swim. I planned on waking up at around 6am to hit the pool. Well, I did the waking up bit, but I never got to the swimming bit. Simply because it was still closed. Normally, the pool would be open from 6am onwards, but because it's Sunday, it only opens at 8am. Sadly for me, I only found out this morning. Anyway, that meant more time for me to get ready to head off to church. I walked to the hawker centre across the road and had myself a nice delicious bowl of prawn noodle and a cup of soya bean. All for the price of $2.50. ^^

Looking forward, these are the things that I am hoping to do.

Firstly, I hope to get a job in a school as a relief teacher until end of February. Tomorrow I'm gonna try to call up some schools to ask if they've got an opening. But yeah, that's one thing I hope to get before my NS enlistment. In all honesty, I'd rather not work. But I would really like some good pocket money to spoil myself in the near future, so I guess I would also like to work. I mean, I don't mind bumming around all day using the internet, after all, who wouldn't. Unfortunately, I have to be more 'mature' and 'independent' as I embark on the challenge to find a job.

I believe there's a purpose and plan for all things that happen. God is in control of everything and I believe when He sent me down to the job interview in my church friend's workplace that there was a reason behind it. I don't know what is the reason yet, but I will know in due time. Also, just last Wednesday, I got a call from this job agency in Singapore who asked me about my resume I posted a few days prior. He asked me a few questions about what I was doing and when I'm going into NS.

As he concluded, he asked me, "So what do you hope to do when you finish your NS period?"

I answered, "I hope to return back to Australia to conclude my studies there," and as soon as I said that, he replied, "Thank you. That is all I need to know. Bye."

Reflecting on this conversation, I pondered as to why I was 'allowed' this phone call. Why would I have this phone conversation when there wasn't anything beneficial to me. After thinking it through, I began to realise that the lesson in this conversation thought me on what to say in the case of a future interview. Perhaps I should have replied, "At the moment, I'm not entirely sure, so I will have to wait and see." Or something along that line. Because from their perspective, I'm thinking they'll want someone whom they can call again in the event of a temporary vacancy. So it's understandable that they wanted someone who they know will be able to return if they needed help again.

From their point of view, it's totally logical. From my point of view, I was confuse as to why God would initiate a call like that. I mean why not 'blind' the job employer's eyes from my resume. If He didn't want me to have this job, I'm pretty sure he could have done that. But He didn't. So I'm sure there's a reason to it. At the moment, I can only see that it has taught me what to say to convince the employer that I am good to go, and ready to work. And also at the same time, not giving them a direct answer as to my future.

Secondly, I have to get ready for NS again. And when I say 'get ready', I mean get ready physically, as well as mentally. Maybe not so much emotionally because I guess I'm not so attached to the people here. Not as much as if I were in Australia, so I don't think it'll be much of a problem.

Seeing how I fared at the NAPFA test, I have to say that I'm pretty proud of how well I trained during the 2 weeks I had prior to the test. I trained hard, and I played my cards right. I kept my training routine tight, and results were shown. Now, if I could play these cards again, to get ready for a longer run at the course, I think I will be much better off again. No way is the army gonna be any easier than that miniature 'test'. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be tough. So I'm gonna have to prepare myself again.

I know that once I'm in, they're gonna pound me to death. So I think it'll be good if I got myself fit before I go in. Just so that when I'm in, I won't have to worry about struggling as much as I would if I was unfit. Preparation is the key. It is very important and it is essential to making your life so much easier. I don't understand how or why people would go into new things unprepared. It's just silly and stupid. I mean, you see it coming, yet nothing is done about it. It's ridiculous. You have to be smart and wise, take preparations, it will be so much easier when the day of judgement comes.

With that, I not only talk about things that we do in activities, but things for God. Most of us know that God is coming, so we have to be prepared. In the same way, it would be stupid and silly if we don't prepare. We know that the coming is just around the corner. Make your time at judgement a whole lot brighter by preparing yourself. Don't be foolish. Do what's right.

Man, I don't know how I got into preaching in my blog. lol

On a whole different level, I think God teaches me new things each day through different experiences. Especially how I'm alone now, and will be more independent in most of the things I do. God has surely been driving me through different challenges and tasks as I gain very valuable and unique experience. Now examining myself, I notice that I am one to learn from experience and not the experience of others. Quite silly if you look at it, but I'm naturally stubborn and will not 'listen' if I'm not entirely convinced. Most of my advice and suggestions are from first hand experience so you could say, I have been ignoring most of you when you give me advice which is not convincing. ;p hehehe even though I know it's for my own good, I still won't listen because I'm stubborn. Plain old stubborn. To my fall I guess. Only for me to pick myself up and make sure I don't make that stupid mistake again.

So the moral of the story is, I don't listen to other people, but other people should listen to me. Simply because I'm cool ... from experience.

Kindergarten Cop

I dunno how much time I have left on the internet, so this will be an unusually short post.

I don't think I mentioned this on my blog so I think I better do it now. I can't remember why I didn't post this the moment I got it but meh, better late than never.

I applied for Relief Teaching at the Ministry of Education website here in Singapore and I was granted provisional approval. This means any school can call me at any time until end of Febuary to 'relieve' a teacher in teaching. I've put down my preferences as Maths and Science for primary kids. There would be no chance in me being able to teach Secondary students. They'll probably kill me. My mum said that year 12 in Australia is probably equivalent to year 10 (N levels) here in Singapore. Standard wise of course. So that's why I've chosen primary. I hope it won't be too hard.

At first, I decided to be the really 'fun' teacher, but after talking to my mum and aunties, they say that I have to be 'firm' and 'serious' at first. Otherwise they won't give you that respect as a teacher. I guess that's true, but I hope to be able to have fun with the kids at one stage and not be serious all the time. I can't stand being serious all the time because where's the fun in being serious all the time?

I reckon laughing and having a great time is the best way to 'connect' with other people. It's the most efficient way to get the other person to be more relaxed and just to have a great time. But of course there are times when you have to be serious cause you can't be playful all the time. However, I do tend to be playful most of the time.

There's a time to be playful, and a time to be serious. I do hope that it would be more 'fun' when I'm teaching than serious.

I can't remember if I posted this in one of my previous post so I'm doing it now. hehe

The Prince And Me

I would title this blog entry, "A Day With Jo-An" but it would be cheating wouldn't it? I've decided that all (with very few exceptions) of my blog titles will consist of either a movie or a tv series. Just recently, I decided to go with tv series as well because that way, my choices aren't as limited. So, that's why I've decided to go the hard way and title this blog entry, 'The Prince And Me'. What's the relation? I don't know... :P Maybe you'll see it for yourself.

Anyway, today I spent the whole day with Joan who is gonna fly tomorrow evening, so I managed to pull her out from her busy schedule for an entire day. Yay! Go me! Actually we were suppose to go out yesterday but there were some 'complications' and we decided to postpone it to today. In the end, I think it was worth the postponement because that meant we could 'stretch' our time together and not worry about cutting our outing short.

Before I begin, let me point out that throughout the entire day, it was raining. Raining hard, raining strong. The ground was wet and the ground was slippery. Fortunately, none of us fell, but we both got wet.

Well ok, we meant up at Orchard Road at 11am and went to book our tickets for 'Blood Diamond'. After doing that, we went to get some stuff down at Far East Plaza which is on the other side of Orchard road. Right after deciding that we've had enough, we headed off to get some food. Initially, I suggested this place in Far East Plaza called "Han's", which serves quite a bit of western food. We went to have a look, but after looking at the menu, I didn't think it was worth our money and time because firstly, Jo commented that it was probably more expensive than if she had bought it in Melbourne. Secondly, the food was mainly western, and I'm sure Jo could get it any time she wished if she was in Australia. So yeah, we decided to walk to CK Tang and try out the restaurant there. When we got there, we looked at the menu and we were like, "eerrrr, let's go back and eat the Rojak at a hawker centre in Far East". Merrily, we skipped along the slippery bricked road and skipped some more, until we got back to Far East Plaza. We had a plate of Rojak and a plate of Hokkien Mee. Well, more like I had a plate of Rojak and I had a plate of Hokkien Mee and I drank a cup of Root Beer. Overall, the food was ok.

Personally, I recently realised that I don't have a sweet tooth and would rather refrain from very sweet things. What am I ranting on about? Well, Rojak is coated in this thick sweet nut sauce, that's what I'm talking about. Ahhh. However, there are exceptions. I like sweet tea and coffee. More so coffee. Mainly because coffee can be quite 'strong' at times, so I'd rather overpower it with sugar.

Anyway, back on topic. After lunch, we headed back to the cinema and by then, it was pouring hard. The roads were basically 'white' because of the heavy rain. Ultimately, my cargo pants showed significant colour change from a light brown to dark brown. Quite embarrassing actually, but good thing we were heading for the cinema so no one would know. hehehe

We watched Blood Diamond and overall, I quite enjoyed it. It's somewhat similar to Tears of the Sun, but this time, it was pretty much focused on a 2 characters and not a group. Anyhow, the movie was pretty well done. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Hmm, then after the movie, we went to Plaza Singapura to grab some stuff from Jo's dad's friend. While we were meeting the friend, we noticed that there was this really really buff asian guy. I reckon he was just a little bit shorter than me with biceps the size of my head. He was wearing a singlet kinda thing, so I could see everything. Unsurprisingly, he was ordering at Subway, so Jo was saying, "Ha. Subway. Why am I not surprised?" lol After seeing this guy, I've decided that I don't want to be that big. That's just insane. I saw his forearms, and although I liked the look of it, I doubt it would suit me. I think the amount of muscles which look 'good' on you is proportional to your height. I reckon I'm pretty 'ok' in the height section so I can get a little bit buff but I don't want to be anywhere near that dude.

I have to admit, I really wanted to ask that guy for a picture but I thought he'll give me a good beating if I mentioned that his chests looked like boobs. So I held back and refrained from approaching him. I really did want a picture of that guy. I contemplated taking pictures of him without him knowing, but I don't think it would have been good for me because if he found out that I was taking a picture of him without his permission, he'd probably give me a good beating. So I decided it wasn't worth it. It would be an embarrassing fight if he decided that I deserved a beating.

After Plaza Singapura, we went back to Orchard Road to 'hang' around there. We wandered around Wisma for a while and managed to kill time there. As the day came to a close, we went to Wheelock Place to wait for Jo's cousin to bring her to the dinner arrangement they had planned for tonight. She came and I walked them off to Starbucks where they met up with some friends/cousins??? I then walked to the bus stop and waited for the bus.

This is where the interesting part happens. I got on the 502 express bus back to Jurong East. I sat down next to a lady, and since it was raining out, I placed my collapsable umbrella on the floor in front of me. While I was in the movie with Jo, I noticed that I was starting to get a little bit sleepy, so I took the opportunity to shut my eyes for a second. I could swear, but I won't, that I closed my eyes for a few seconds. Maybe 10-15 seconds. What I didn't realise, was that when I closed my eyes, I was fast asleep. That's ok I guess. But when I woke up, it felt like I slept for like 5 minutes or so. Maybe less. What I didn't realise was that I had missed my stop. Instead of dropping off at Jurong East, I found myself at Boon Lay. Boon Lay is 2-3 train stops away from Jurong East, just to give those of you who don't know the Singapore map an idea of how far off I stopped. In actual fact, I think I slept for 20-25 minutes in that awkward position where my head is resting on the head rest with my head rolling towards the lady beside me. How embarrassing. ><" When I opened my eyes, I realised that this place didn't seem familar. Questions like, "Why is there a light there?", "Where did that school come from?", "How come this place has a street name called Boon Lay Avenue?" they all came flooding in all at once. After contemplating the questions for a good few minutes, I suddenly realised that I had missed my stop! That's a first. I could have sworn, but I didn't, that I closed my eyes for just a few seconds. And now I'm on 'the other side'.

"Great" I said to myself. I quickly pressed the bus stop and hopped off the bus. I crossed the street and determined what other buses get back to my place. Not long after, a bus came and I jumped on. Fortunately, there were no other problems after this other than the light rain.

An enjoyable day to say the least. Jo-an was the last person from Australia to leave so now, it's time to carry on and not look at Australia. Now, it's time to focus on Singapore and what I can get out of this experience. Australia will be for another day. But for now, it's time for Singapore. Time to learn, and time to grow. Time to be the best that I can be! Singapore is where I'll be for the next two years. I've been here more than a month now. Only 24 months more to go. Let's go!

Friends

Living in first world countries, I think we tend to overlook the simple factors in life that we usually take for granted. For many of you who have read my blog faithfully since the start (or near it), you would know that I have commented on this topic several times and yet, I really do feel the need to point out again, the simple fact that we take things for granted. Strangely, the smallest factor in life can actually be the largest most valuable element which we would take for granted. For example, thinking about it, I really see that I take something as simple as clean water for granted. More still, I take water itself for granted.

I remember when we were in Geelong staying in the dorm, and the main water line burst, leaving residents with no in-coming water. Residents like us. This taught me a big lesson that we do take such a small unnoticeable element for granted. And when that element is suddenly gone, we then realise that we have to learn to try to get around it. Sometimes it's doable, sometimes you really can't do without it. And it's during times like that that you feel spoilt to an extent. Try imagining your life without in-coming water. It puts you in the situation where you start to wonder how people in places like Africa, India, etc. get by each day trying to live without something as valuable as water. How would you wash your hands? How would you brush your teeth? How would you use the toilet? Seriously, that's what we had to live through as well. Learning to conserve and be grateful for what we do have.

With that in mind, let me highlight some of the things which I have realised I have taken for granted. Even though I still would rather not live without it, I have to make a note that I shouldn't be so 'blind' to how valuable this element is to me. Perhaps you might want to take notes yourself.

• Health - Undoubtedly, this is one of the greatest things which we as people take for granted most of the time. We only truly realise that our health is important when we start to fall ill. Afterall, who wants to get sick? Who wants to be not 100%? Besides crazy people, I doubt any of us would like to be unhealthy. And by unhealthy, I mean to be ill. I feel so blessed when I'm not sick, even though sometimes I don't realise that I do take this for granted.

• Food - Without food, we would probably be dead. Whether it's a delicious 3 course meal or a peanut butter jelly sandwich, they're both still food and food is valuable. Personally, I love food, and I love eating it. So if I didn't have food, I would probably die, literally. Like most people would =P

• Clothes - If I didn't have clothes, I wouldn't leave my house. But if you look at it, not having clothes is fine if you're at home... alone. Unfortunately for us, this is a civilised world so we will have to do with clothes. But the kind of clothes that I am talking about is the type of clothes that we can wear which don't have ripped up holes who tend to display itself publicly like a breathing zit on a nose. Basically clothes that are not ripped, stained, smelly, permanently maimed, etc. are the type of clothes which we would actually take for granted. Think about it. Even simple house clothes. Imagine having clothes like those down the street in between the alley, behind the garbage bin, sleeping on a piece of toilet paper who suck on their 'magical bottle' to make all problems go away. I wouldn't want those kinda clothes to sleep in, yet alone wear else where. Now that I think about it, I like my clothes thank you.

• Friends - For the few of you who have been away from home, I congratulate you for your boldness and strength to maintain your sanity. For those of you who are reading this from a mental institution because you left home and went all certifiably insane, I still congratulate you for your boldness to admit yourself into the institution. But this is for those who are still sane. Moving here to Singapore, I've realised that friends can make or break you. They can either make your life an absolute torture, or they can make your life a wonderful experience. Either way, they will have an impact on your life. So on top of that, when you move, you will then be able to determine who are your true friends and who are not. Through all things, true friends will find a way to be in contact, no matter what. Even though the distance may be enormous, the relationship stands. It was only when I moved here alone, that I realised how much friends really do mean to me. There were some of you who encouraged me through the net and on the phone, and I have to thank all of you who have helped me one way or another. I don't think I would be as 'sane' as I am now if I didn't get the help that I got. Friends really are a great thing God has given us, and I am one very blessed kid to have made so many.

Singlish

Ok! I have to blog. I know I haven't blogged in a while so now, I have to sit down and blog it all out! I have so many things to blog about but everytime I come on, I blog on 2 or 3 points, and the rest all 'fade away'. Quite sad actually. If only I could get it all down in one blog entry, but it would be too long and you guys will get bored half way. Well, most of you would. Well, I would.

Coming to Singapore, I've noticed a few things that are quite different to Australia. But I'm not just talking about the price of food and the transportation. I'm also talking about how people interact with ... other people.
The most eye-catching point is how people on the train or bus can be quite inconsiderate to one another. Like for example, most elderly ladies on trains are like blood hungry wolves just preying for a seat on the train. Once the doors slide open, they'll dash to the nearest seat and plant their two round buns on it. And if there's another lady approaching, they'll have a 1 on 1 steel-train wrestling match right there and then. Screaming and shouting in who knows what language in front of a live audience. How wonderfully graphic!

Also, another thing which surprises me, is how train passengers can get quite inconsiderate when the two doors open. Generally, people in the train will pack towards the exit doors when the train nears a station. And then of course, they'll pack on the other side of the exit doors (ie. the station platform) too. With this in mind, imagine a colossal collision between two groups of people trying to get to the other side. It's like the Lord of the Rings when the two armies of Middle Earth charge into battle. Only difference is that it's on a Singaporean train. Usually, the ones on the platform have more 'fire power' and will usually win the fight of who gets to the other side first. I reckon this is pretty inconsiderate because if the people who are still on the train get stuck when the door closes, they'll have to wait to drop off at the next station and then go back. That's down right ridiculous. That shouldn't happen. Why couldn't the people on the platform just wait a few seconds till all the people who wanna get off, get off? Then, and only then, will they be permitted to push and drag [people out of the train] as the doors close. Silly people.

haha! This is a good one! (and pretty disgusting and disturbing and disrespectful to the female gender. Kinda) I just found out that, ...

... asian women can grow leg hair ><" Don't kill me ladies! My name is not Boaz Ang, and I don't live in Singapore. lol, it's pretty bad, but I have to blog about it because it's something I thought didn't happen to asian girls and to my dismay (which costed me dearly as it hurt my eyes), it does! However, since coming here for a month, I've managed to see 2 girls with hair on their legs!!!! ewwww!!! I mean c'mon ladies! I did know that you can grow leg hair, but that's why there are shavers for you girls too! Please use it and also please remember that I'm not living in Singapore and I am definitely not asian. Don't hurt me. I don't feel so good.

Ok ok, enough of that. Now let's talk about something much more comforting. Something we all like and love. Something we call food. mmm, here in Singapore, there's a lot of food to go round and they're all real cheap. That's something which differs quite a bit from Australia as you can get a bowl of noodles for $2 here whereas back in Australia, it would probably cost $7-$8.

Let me give a run down of some of my 'favourite' foods here in Singapore.

(Warning you may get hungry! View at your own risk!)

Readers with a low tolerance for attractive food who tend to squeal, squeak and scream are adviced to turn away now.

Prawn Noodles (Cost: $2-$5)

At the moment, this is the number one dish that I love eating right now. Maybe it's because mum can't cook this so I've been pondering on the thick brothed up soup made from boiling prawns and pork bones. Oh baby!

Hokkien Mee (Cost: $2.50-$6)

I like hokkien mee too because it's nicely coated with a layer of gravy and not swimming in it or dying to suck something up. It's just right. I dislike food which 'suck up' your saliva making you thirsty. Plus the gravy is usually made out of the same broth from the prawn noodles, but maybe a bit more concentrated. Yum!

Mee Poh (or Pork) (Cost: $2-$5)This used to be my favourite dish of all the others. I still remember ordering this everytime we went out for dinner. However now, I don't know why but it doesn't really appeal to me anymore. It's still nice, but I don't get overly excited when I order this.

Carrot Cake (Cost: $1.50-$5.50)

Yum, still like this. Generally, I'll eat this for breakfast because it's not too filling but also at the same time, not too light. For those who are wondering what it tastes like, it's salty and the texture is similar to that of rice cakes, just not as hard. You could basically put it on your tongue and run it through the carrot cake pieces. It's that soft. The main difference in ingredients between the black and white carrot cake is that the white one has no soya sauce and sweet sauce but instead has an egg or two cracked over it.

Mee Goreng (Cost: $2.50-$4.00)

Those in Australia, I now show you the real version of Mee Goreng. Nothing like the instant version of Mee Goreng. It's red, it's slightly spicy and it's 90% better than the instant version. The only thing I don't like about this dish is that it's red, and if I happen to be wearing a white shirt, it could mean public disaster.

Malcolm In The Middle

As usual, my weekend has been packed with a lot of activities. Let me try to recall the things that I have done this weekend. Let's see, the last blog entry was on friday, so...

on Friday, I finished up the day with a lot of 'That 70's Show' episodes. Seriously, I think it's my second most favourite comedy series after Fraiser. You see, thanks to a friend, I've made a new best friend called peekvid dot com. It has so many TV shows that I've seen in the past like, of course That 70's Show, Star Trek Voyager, Malcolm In The Middle, etc. So now with my new best friend, I am much entertained throughout the day. Sadly, I believe I will be starting work soon so I will be seeing my new best friend a bit less each day. Significantly less.

Saturday, I first headed down to my other grandma's place to drop off my things for the following day. I left the house around 11am and got there in time for lunch and other miscellaneous tasks like vegetating. Amoz and I headed off for band practice at 1pm. We left the church sometime after 7pm, so yeah, we spent a lot of time at church practicing and 'socialing'. lol

I left home at 7:30am the next day because I had planned to go out with the Tohs that day. So I left a bit earlier to try to get movies tickets for a 2pm show. Yes yes, what an idiot. Who would be working at 8am on a Sunday morning at a cinema? Well, my auntie said that they had a 24 hour machine that allows you to book and purchase your ticket in the cinema. I went super early to try to get the tickets. Unfortunately for me, my flawless plan to retreive a ticket wasn't so flawless in the end. It became so flawed, that the meaning of the word flawless would be terribly flawed. How horribly flawed this statement is flawed.

I'm lost.

Anyway! ... I've lost all sense of direction. And that was how I felt when I was unable to find the ticket machine. So I mournfully headed for the elavator down to the ground floor. I then took the train to church and arrived 10 minutes early. I tried to drag my feet to church to waste time but I was unable to walk without a leap in my step. To my dismay, the door was locked. So I weaped ever so bitterly into the morning air crying out, "Romeo Romeo! Where art tho--" What in the world am I saying?! Argh! It's 11:30pm and I'm talking rubbish. grrrr

Lemme try to fast forward without getting too ridiculous.

The church serviced prolonged a bit longer than expected. I had planned to be out of there by 12:10pm and on the way to the cinema to purchase the tickets. There, I hoped to jump on the bus to the Toh's place to pick them up and bring them back to the cinema. That was the plan. Sadly, my plan was taken by a mother bird and regurgitated and then fed to the little birdies for them to poo out into what became to be. What actually happened was...

I left the church at 1:05pm, rushed to the MRT station, took the train to the cinema, looked at the clock, panicked at the fact that it was 1:30pm, rushed up to the cinemas, bought the tickets, found out that the movie was at 1:50pm and not 1:55pm (the internet lied! unless I was seeing doubles), ran back down to the bus stop, waited for the bus for 5-10mins, the bus stopped at thirteen hundren bus stops (it seemed like eternity), dropped down at the correct bus stop, ran eighty nine kilometres (it seemed like eternity) to their block which was like 'hidden' among the other housing estate, ran up the block to the forth floor, found out I was on the 'wrong side' of the block, ran back down, ran to the other stairs, ran up the correct flight of stairs, stopped at the wrong floor, went down one more floor, ran around the floor like a headless chicken, notice an asian head pop out from an apartment, rushed to that head, and discovered that it was the right apartment. But wait! There's more! Ran with the Tohs down the stairs, dashed across the blazing Singaporean sun, started to bleed sweat and also crying for a taxi as we had to get to the main road, noticed that a taxi where we were running were coming our way, waved to check if it was taken, and it wasn't. We leaped in and told the driver to break every possible law to get us there as soon as he can. By then it was 2:10pm, so we missed quite a bit. We got there at 2:15pm and ran to the elavator. Stood there for another 5 minutes just screaming for a lift to bring us up 4 stories. Normally, we would go take the escalators but the Plaza had a poorly designed escalator system and would take forever to get up to the 4th floor. On top of which, there were hundreds of raging Singaporeans roaming the plaza. We got up there, and I told them to go in as I got the food. That took another 5 minutes so I reckon I missed 30 minutes of the show. I took the 4 drinks and popcorn into the cinema and as I open the door, I walked in and smacked the drinks into the door. Go me!

That 70's Show - Class Picture

Yesterday, I was invited to come down to Raffles City for a job interview. A church friend's workplace to be exact. She had called me the night before around 7-8pm but my mobile was recharging behind me as I had my Ipod in my ears. Also I had left it on silent. ><"

I discovered all this in the morning when I contemplated sleeping in longer, and to my dismay, my screen read "4 Missed Messages". I was so shocked to realise that I had missed so many messages in a single night. I felt so ashamed. I read one of the messages and it said to come down for an interview at 9am that day. By then, it was already 8am and I wasn't really prepared to go anywhere. I called her and she had the interview rearranged to 1pm, which gave me plenty of time to 'muck around' ;p

To cut a long story short, I went for the interview, they asked me to do things on the computer, like entering this survey thing, and to test my typing speed. In all, it took 2 and a half hours to finish. I went back after they had told me that they'll call me either tonight or tomorrow about the job.

And today, they had called me to inform me that the job has been filled. So I'm on the hunt again. I just recently saw in the papers that they were looking for a "Part-time Eng & Maths teacher in Jurong. Under grads welcomed." Jurong is where I stay in. I considered it for like 10 minutes, then talked to my mum and she said that graduates are people who finish Uni. So I'm like..."yeah, I don't think I want it now."

Also, the Tohs are gonna be here anytime soon, so if I started work, I won't be able to 'entertain' them, as my dad quoted. I don't mind just staying home for 2 months and not working. Hey! Perhaps I should find a company who wants me to use internet all day so I can get paid for what I do daily! haha!

With that aside, lemme start a completely different topic; pimples. I guess at this age, pimples erupt at any unsuspecting moment. You can wake up the next day to discover you have a zit on the tip of your nose. It really is the case. For all you little kiddies out there who haven't experienced the wonderful nature of pimples, they can appear in the oddest places. Let me educate you kiddies of some of the oddest places they can appear, and they can be both irritating and painful.

Note: Everything I mention now is 100% true as I speak from first hand experience.

Location 1) In your hair. ><" I guess if it's in your hair, it's not too bad. It gets quite painful when you're in the shower and you accidentally scratch it. Then you can cry and scream like a little girl. Besides that, it's pretty much hidden.

Location 2) Planted right in the middle of your forehead for the whole world to see. haha, no hiding now. It's like this beautiful breathing monument placed on top of an altar placed upon an oily surface placed on top of an astrodome that I call my forehead. Usually they don't appear too often, but when they do, it can get quite embarrassing because it's in open view. lol

Location 3) At the corner of the mouth. This is one of the worse locations for a pimple to be at. That's because whenever you open your mouth, it hurts and sometimes, you may even rip the pimple open for more bacteria to party. Once again, one of the worse places for a pimple to be 'breathing'.

Location 4) Inside the nostril. lol, believe it or not, it has happened to me. It's quite irritating because you could feel it pulsating in there but you can't reach it. Touching the nose only aggravates the pain. Moral of the story, be sure to wash your nostrils. ^^

Location 5) On my butt. ><" That's right. Don't ask me how, don't ask me when. Just know that it is possible. For me, I had it when I was back in Australia. hehe, gruesome, I know. When I had it, it was during the time when I played a lot of PS2. And when I wanted to play, I'd have to sit on the floor. So of course when I played it, I'd force myself to 'lean' to one side so that the 'pressure' would be redirected. Then again, it didn't help that I played for hours straight. It was a little bit annoying because I could cry out in pain whenever I lost my 'position'. eww.

Why would I talk about this? Simple. It's funny, it's silly and it's pretty much something that everyone would get one day or another. All we can do now, is just laugh at how silly it is, and be done with it. In my case, I'd laugh at how numb my right cheek was after playing PS2.

Big Momma's House

Firstly, let me start off by thanking the Lord for a good few days. For everything that happened during the weekend until now, it has been nothing but good. Thank you Lord.

Secondly, I'll like to say that I managed to grab Gold for my NAPFA test. A score of 25 out of 30 was what I got. Surprisingly, I didn't do as badly as I had thought. Fortunately, with God's help, I was able to pass with quite pretty flying colours. These were the results:

This is a very close replica of the result slip that they gave me. The only difference is that mine is very similar to a receipt and the typing is quite puny. So I reckon this result table looks just as nice if not better :)

I really have to thank God for this help in getting me ready mentally and physically. More so physically because when I left Australia, I was still ill and felt like a pig; seeing that I usually eat in large quantities and exercise in not so large quantities. Obviously, I had to shape up before I left, and yesterday when I did my final morning run in preparation for the NAPFA test, I was on the verge of collapsing because I was breathing so heavily. Not to mention how I was unable to train for 3 days, so of course this did play a factor in my struggle to be physically ready. I remember saying after the run, "Lord, You better help me! I'm going to die if You don't, so please, HELP!"

Low and behold, He did! I was actually the fastest on the track for the 2.4km run as I ran all 6 laps at a considerable pace without stopping. Even though my legs were screaming in pain, and my lungs crying out for air, I did it in 11 minutes. I reckon, when I go to the army, I should be able to cut 2 minutes off the time, as we would have to run 2.4km in under 9.44minutes. No worries mate.
Everything else that I did was pretty good. The only thing I was quite disappointed with was the Broad Jump. I got above 240cm when I was in Australia. I dunno why I didn't break 240cm when I did it today. Maybe Chariz didn't record it properly when I did it =P Chariz! It's all your fault! You brought my hopes up! Now, I'm crushed! *weeps pathetically*

Nah, I don't think it was Chariz's fault. I think I just didn't try hard enough. I thought it would be really easy so I didn't really add any 'ummph' to it. If I did, I believe I could have done a little bit better. Meh, it's still good. 3 points is still gold XD

Believe it or not, I was actually the 'star' on the field. I came in first for all the tests and I believe I was the only one who actually completed the 'purpose' of the NAPFA test, ie. the purpose of going there is to get Gold or Silver. I believe I was the only one to get Gold as no one else got Silver. It was amazing, and of course, I give all glory to God for His creating my physique. Surely if He didn't, I'd be sitting at home, slugging all over cheese crackers, hoping that for some justified reason there's a purpose in getting out of my seat where my fat fliters through the cracks of the chair. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

Truth be told, I really didn't expect to shine above everyone through the test. I was there simply to pass the test and get the 'prize'. I knew I could do well in half the tests. What I didn't realise was how I was able to do well and excel through the tasks ahead of all the others. All in all, it was great fun to come in first :)

On Sunday, Amoz and I were invited to a BBQ for dinner at pastor's house. Unfortunately, Amoz had an army function and couldn't attend. I ended up going down myself, seeing that I would be in church in the morning and at night, I might as well go and not be a party pooper. I went, and to my amazement, the food was excellent. It was one of the best BBQs I've had. For those who know me, I am very critical of the food and wouldn't give any dish a whooping score of 9.5 out of 10 if it was just 'average'. However, this time, I have to say that I'd give the food at the BBQ a score of 8.5 to 9. In my books, this is really good. If I get the dish a 9.5, you know you've stolen my heart and I would consider taking your hand in marriage, lol.

I wasn't expecting much from this BBQ, but after taking the first bite, I was taken on a magical joyride somewhere over the rainbow. Almost everything was really really really well done. Everything from the potato entree to the pepper crab main, was really well done. I ate and ate and ate until I couldn't eat the ice cream desert, which turned out to be nearly a dozen tubs of Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream. (In actual fact, I was quite content with the food and eating icecream would have ruined the 'memories' of the night. So I decided not to eat it. Plus, I don't really have a sweet tooth). All in all, almost everything was delicious. The only 'bad' dish that night was the chilli squid. As much as I love chilli and squid, this was really quite too much. There was simply too much chilli, it spoilt the dish, so after taking a single piece, I had to decline the rest because it would burn your mouth and there wouldn't be any more fun in eating if you were panting in agony of the burning sensation in your mouth. Besides that, everything else was awesome!

Anyway, the reason why I've retold this story was because of the funny table conversation which took place at our table. It goes like this, there's this 'large' lady who really likes to talk a lot and it just so happens that she loves food, and this skinny guy sitting next to her. I sat just across from where they were seated, and I could hear everything. Then, there are 'extras' in this story, so let's call them extra1, extra2 and extra3.

Scenario: Pepper crab has just landed on our table, and everyone is complimenting on the deliciousness of the dish.

Lady: mmm! Wah! So nice wan! *sucking on the crab*
Guy: Yahhhh..!! Valy nice! (yeah, very nice)
Extra1,2,3: *suckling noises*
Extra1: *suck saliva* but you know ah, the meat ya? A bit dry no?
Everyone: yeah uh?!
Lady: Yeah, I think I know. The crab, overcook!
Guy: Must be lah. (that must be it!)
Everyone: *with crab in mouth* mmmmm!
Lady: If you overcook ah, crab dry wan! Then not nice already.
Guy: mmmmmm (I understand you perfectly! You are so very intelligent!)
(Pastor's wife comes over to table)
Pastor's wife: So how is it?
Lady: Wah! very nice! Only thing ah, the crab overcook.