My Blog

All i can say today is… MEE SIAM WHERE GOT HUM??
mai hum…. mai hum mai hum mai hum!!!!

It’s been a crazy first few days in Penang. I met some friends in Penang, made some more new ones. I want to say thanks to all the people who helped look out for me in Penang. You guys are the bestest. If there’s any way i can repay you guys, i would man. The food here is fantastic & the ladies here are all hot. Whoever said that Ipoh girls look the hottest in Malaysia must be on a serious dose of crack. Penang girls are way way hotter. This is a great place to chill out & hang out if food & fun are some of the things you look for overseas. I nearly got offered a job in a gym here but after seeing the road conditions, i have a few hesitations. I do have one big question i want to ask - How the hell do you guys put up with all that bad traffic?

All i can say is, i probably know the reason why Malaysia has an F1 circuit & a professional F1 driver. Compared to Singapore, if you think the orchard road traffic or the jams on CTE or ECP during rush hour is bad, you havent seen anything yet. The jams here are amazing. I have been in many traffic jams from Bangkok, Indonesia, Turkey & Singapore but Penang is without a shadow of a doubt the place with biggest traffic congestions within a 20km radius in all the places i have been to. Not to mention there are many kanchils, kelissas & many other small small cars that zip by that never seem to signal when they change lanes. How they can drive like an accident waiting to happen is way beyond me.

These few days have made me realised one of my roles in life - to be meat on the side. Not to be cryptic but im not going to elaborate here anymore. Ask me if you are interested to know. I believe i have been described before by someone as resilient in my own survival since im worst than a fungal itch that never seems to go away. Im no cockroach but i think i dont die that easily. I still can remember what many of my friends told me - It’s not how well you start the race, but how you finish it. I guess no matter what curveballs life throws at me, i would be able to come out good at the end.

During my journey to Penang, i slept throughout most of the bus ride (since i forgot to change currency, so no chance to eat for 10 hours at any of the stops). It’s amazing there was no gastric beckoning. In one of the hours of shuteye i caught, i had a dream of a school & something of school uniforms. Nothing kinky… just something about the way people had against green polkadots. I did manage to catch Bruce Almighty during the journey too. During one of the scenes, Bruce(Jim Carrey) saw a old beggar carrying a banner - “Life Is Just” after he lost his job, got his car vandalized, got beaten up by a bunch of thugs & basically lost his life. We (him & me) cant help but be cynical that Life Is Just. Watch this space to see if im proven wrong.

As we speak, my grandmother is still screaming at the top of her lungs about how around 3pm everyday the birds are flying over the skies with their afterburners in full throttle. Yes, its that time of the year again when Air Force Day is beckoning. 1st September this year i heard promises to be a better show than the last one.

I can still remember my childhood days when my dad would bring me to his office to watch the then superheroes of our age - Hunters & Skyhawks take off. If you blindfolded me 10 years ago & asked me to guess which plane was it, i would have guessed it correctly much to your amazement. Those were the days when i would wait every week for my Dad to give me another 50 plus stickers so that i can put into my Panini Daring Man & Modern Machines sticker album… much to the irritation of my friends who tried desperately to want to exchange with me to complete their albums. My teachers & ask me would i want to be a Major like my dad & be a flyboy or a minor since i always looked to have more of a career as a roadsweeper. Everytime i get free tickets to go in behind the barrier & mingle with all the pilots during airshows & there was nothing i couldnt answer when you ask me about fighter jets. You could ask me the difference between a F-14 Tomcat or Tigershark & i could tell you without batting an eyelid. Playing flight simulator games in the hardest sorties was a breeze & many thought that i would be like my dad & end up a pilot.

That was then… everything went downhill from there when i had to wear specs. You had to 20/20 vision & even though some said you could wear specs up to a certain degree, i wouldnt be able to fly because of my eyesight. I wouldnt be a commercial pilot or join the youth flying club & wear contact lenses because it just wasnt glamorous enough. I wanted to pull Gs & feel the rush of the blood getting into my head when i am sitting in the cockpit. The days of old… Oh well, i can just sit here & dream… or watch the planes go by during the Air Show at Paya Lebar Airbase on Sept 1st. Anyone interested to join me?

Well, a few things have happened this week, & it culminated to some smorgasm of events. This would be quite long, but i promise to be brief. Yesterday was kind of a drag & it made me realise some things… An epiphany. Today, i just planned to put those thoughts to action. Certain things i thought would be quite extreme, but its in my persona that if i want to do it, i might as well do it all the way. Pardon me for my banzai enthusiasm. Im not going to elaborate much on it, but let’s just say, its something i wouldnt do. Something out of the ordinary. Ask me & i might tell you. Having said this, im not trying to whet anybody’s tastebuds for gossip. Right now, its 5am Friday. Wednesday & Thursday had passed like a breeze. I just finished a 25km bike ride just to clear my head, sort out my thoughts. I havent packed yet, & as usual it will be last miunte again even though im bring a substantial amount of stuff to last these next days. I have to catch a bus in 4 hours to Penang with some 10 hours of shuteye to catch on the coach.(Just realised that its my bad habit that i never sleep the time before i travel)

Lets just say my day started with a 5am morning bike ride around the Bedok Reservoir-Eunos-Ubi-Circuit Rd-Macpherson area. I find it more fun to cycle around that area than Changi Coastal route. I have no idea why but i just do. Maybe its a factory thing. Needed to do some intuitive investigation to carry out my plans too. Went to work after that, trained my back & whilst working out my clients, a whole barrage of sms-es well wishes came in asking me to have a safe journey. Thanks to all who messaged. I wonder why everybody’s so nice all of a sudden. I cant help but be skeptical.

Smile. That’s what someone told me to do today again. Smile? I have been smiling. Even though deep inside its hard, superficially i have smiled.. & laughed. I was in the red shirt again & i even smiled at Glenn Ong(Arsenal fan 1st, Radio DJ 2nd heh) as he made eyes at my jersey(dam… he must be wishing he was a liverpool fan now! heh) during his workout with the gorilla. In the back of my mind, im thinking how do i really smile with sincerity since i cant with a heavy heart. The greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing the world that he doesnt exist. And the bestest advice i ever heard was that you can trust anybody… its just that you cant trust the devil inside of them… not even your own.

How to smile like that? Im so confused as it is. Even those on the 4 million smiles are not even smiling. Another person commented that im nice. Nice is such a default word… to the point it has lost all significance. Everything to everybody is nice as long as it doesnt offend. Yes, im a nice guy. Nice but so? Im always losing out… or looked over. Like a form of affirmative action on me. Tragically rejected. Im not trying to cast pity on myself but its about time someone gave me a break… not that i believe in purgatory or anything. The saying holds true… Nice guys always end up 2nd best. I also learnt that the 1st people who emphasise strongly on finding out if their significant other will leave them will always be the ones who jump ship 1st. Sadly ironic isnt’ it??… this role reversal.

Went to have lunch today with my dentist. Its fun having lunch with her, having her tell me lots of stories of her remarkable travels. I want to say thanks to her… was feeling dead sucky already but having lunch with her & seeing the photos of her dive trip made me grin from ear to ear… literally. Some people just possess that kind of charm.

Transport’s a bitch… literally. I had so many things to do today, running from one end of the world to another. Work, appointments, trainings, work, home, last minute farewell dinners & funerals & Im boosting the economy & making the taxi companies richer(read CAREFULLY!). The Taxi Companies. I heard that now the government wants to use natural gas or lpg(cooking gas) as fuel for cars. I also pity taxi drivers as they are forced by circumstances to be the bastards on the roads that they are. Its so easy just to finger them the blame as the culprits for the price hikes, not knowing that they take back already a small percentage of their supposed “extra” earnings from the price hikes. I cant wait for kereta cepat to come. It’s beckoning - swiftly(pardon the pun).

On a sad note, i want to say that im still shocked & saddened by the passing of one of my good friends. Weilian or Mavis as some of us may know her. She passed away on wednesday afternoon. Got news about it from Julz who emailed. Luckily i checked it in the afternoon or i would have been none the wiser. My news has been quite outdated. The last time i heard from her beginning of this year was that her bout with cancer was recovering & she was walking. I remembering calling her wonderwoman model ah lian for making it through twice & rib her about how she would make me stay in the hospital when i went to visit her after work(&visiting hours not to much delight of the nurses) to accompany her to watch channel 8 serials. The last time we spoke somewhere in march, i told her that when i pass my license, i would give her a ride in my new set of wheels. I guess i never would get the chance. She passed away at such a tender age of 22 with a life full of fun & friends. Even during her illness, she was still in good spirits & always a smiling happy person. She will be sorely missed. God rest her soul. We’ll see you soon in heaven.

When i woke up this morning, besides the “can i go back to bed?” feeling, i just realised how old i am getting. In 3 months time, im going to be bloody 30. Yes, 2 digits on my age have to change. It doesnt help when i realise that im getting deaf too.(Few of my heroes are Eddie Van Halen & Gil Grissom and how so much i wanted to be as talented in their field as them… but not when like they are deaf too!!) Believe me, i find it as irritating to me as you if i were talking to you (especially) on the phone when i ask you to repeat your sentence over & over again.

Im a lover of loud music & the louder it is the better, but as of now… Im kind of regretting it.For the record here, on the phone or in person, locally or overseas, please i plea with you not to get angry with me if i cant hear you correctly(im happy i can lip read). Please bear with me if i ask you to tell me again & again, & again, & again… till the bloody cows come home. Now that this disclaimer exists, we can all go back to our regularly scheduled lives. I just realised too that i have this soft spot thing for older women… (not as in aunties) but Milfs… women in their mid 30s. Sharon Stone, Monica Belluci, Katherine Willows from CSI(Marg Helgenberger), Charlize Theron…. i find them all pretty hot. If i have a wife like that at their age, i doubt i’d ever look at another woman again.

And i thought i had alot of problems… well, its like comparing a apple with a banana… my problems & theirs… But what inspiration this would bring man. Brings a tear to my eyes. A glimpse of the remarkable father-son bond of Dick and Rick Hoyt, and their inspirational journey together in a triathlon and life itself. Together, Dick & Rick Hoyt have run in marathons, competed in triathlons and once even trekked 3,700 miles across America. What they have accomplished together is simply amazing when you consider that Rick cannot walk or talk.

Music: "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me

When someone has alot on their mind, there are many ways to relieving stress & getting over hurt. There were times in the past where i used to cycle all the way to Woodlands & back just to release some tension. Some believe in wanking although i feel that since my right hand is much stronger & me not being ambidextrous, i would rather not use my left hand altogether. Some of the guys in the gym have a go at the punching bag. Some go for really long 15+km runs. I still believe in working out.

Football is a good way to relieve some tension. Playing all out since its such a power inducing & physical game would leave you with some marks, bruises & maybe a bruised ego. But in all part of the game, it does wonders to make a good tackle or bang into someone in the name of fun & challenges. My legs are the evidence of those "fun challenges". On saturday, i was given the encouragement to go in harder & use my body when i play. On the other hand, i have been told by lots of people not to go in rashly in fear of injuring others & myself. It’s a fine line to walk on & i have to work on that part of the game. Before i digress, its good form of releasing physical in exchange for emotional ones.

Call me sadist or sucker for pain but (since those chinese sinseh masseuse have told me that im si bak or dead meat) i took it to another level when i went looking around for more physical pain. I have no hesitation to say the worse form of self inflicting torture is when i went for a wax… in all the wrong places. Wearing boxers is very uncomfortable indeed. There might be wrong(long .. sic) things sticking out.

Well, i have been asked the proverbial question one too many times (on MSN, iChat & verbal face to face) & to answer that same question from someone who asked me "So how are you?", here’s my answer in response -

I am not good, i havent been a very good boy & im trying to sort out many things in my life especially in terms of coming to terms with finding out the truth. Its amazing how much information you can find out about people here on the internet.

I am livid that i was lied to, rejected, screwed around with & taken for granted by a few people. Shit happens & i just have to live with it. I have been tormented after people who say will call or meet dont end up doing anything (So much for the sincerity!). If you dont want to meet up or talk, dont bother saying… its hard to take things & people seriously nowadays.

I am tired(forever getting hungry i might add) physically after a daunting match on saturday where i got kicked in the ankle a few times(all part of the game i have to stress), struggling through a 15km bike ride & 8 km run around my house in aid to getting over certain issues & certain someone who used to be a big part of my life.

I am wretched that most of my weekend was spent not doing much productively in spending with my friends & that much of it has been loading up videos here & checking my mail. (Ok, im just whiny because i saw a bunch of Tears For Fears videos& i realised how old im getting now)

I am happy that Liverpool won the Community Shield(Charity Shield & no its not just a plate) & outplayed Chelski again. I am delighted to see the sour face of our favorite boo-boy Jose MOANrinho trying his best to remain professional in giving us credit. I am still wearing my new(not so new now!) Liverpool jersey which i bought on thursday & have been wearing for 4 days(probably 5 days because we won!)

I am clasping my hands in anticipation of Russell Peters coming to Singapore in October. Somebody gonna get hurt real bad!!!  And it wont be Slayer i suppose. Oh yeah by the way, if you are interested, i have not been shaving for a few days.

I am waiting to get my kereta cepat in a few weeks time & it will be all hands to the pump in the work i supposed when i start to use it. The new enhanced website will be up & so will the flyers & ads in the newspapers. Imagine getting up at 5am to go for a 6am client. I cant imagine without it.

I am going to Penang at the end of this week for some time.

I am inspired by what i read on Mr Brown.com about David Marshall & how we should have the courage to live & not be afraid. I am amazed at how much effort some guys went put a prank on their colleague. Here’s his reaction.

I am getting coffee now.

Frankly, i am just living life to the best i can & waiting for the dog to have his day.

I have no idea how true this thing is. I know aspirin & paracetamol are used for bringing down fevers & aches & pains. Like the subutex thingy, I guess its all down to responsibilities & moderation. I have noticed my grandmother’s legs have never seemed to get better after taking Panadol Actifast for the pains in her knees. My knees used to give me lots of stick also when i was in NS & i think its ridiculous that the specialists in the SGH would just dismiss it as pain, ask me to shoo more enemies instead of running  & give me lots of painkillers to eat. I hope they shoot that quack before i shoot him. It’s been almost 2 years since i last touched Panadol. Im not a big believer in TCM(Traditional Chinese Medicine also) but i strongly affirm in the midst of a healthy lifestyle with lots of exercise & a balanced diet - just plenty of sleep & lots of water with a good multivitamin supplement would be able to remedy a headache or body pains away. Personally, im not going to jump on the bandwagon & claim that panadol is totally bad but before we get away with the paranoia of old wives tales, i think we should just weigh the pros & cons & always stick to moderation being a big key in consumption of drugs. I just strongly feel that if i take too much panadol, it brings down my threshold for the tolerance of pain. I had a strong feeling that it was because my over-reliance to painkillers was the reason why i took like 5 mins to get knocked out before my operation on my knee few years back. I wonder what a medical professional would think?

DON’T TAKE PANADOL AND PANADOL ACTI FAST AND PANADOL SOLUBLE (ESP.PPL WHO HAVE GASTRIC). FYI… One real story from a guy…
My husband was working in a hospital as an IT engineer, as the hospital is planning to set up a database of its patient. And he knows some of the doctor quite well. The doctors used to tell him that whenever they have a headache, they are not willing to take PANADOL (PARACETMOL). In fact,they will turn to Chinese Herbal Medicine or find other alternatives.

This is because Panadol is toxic to the body, and it harms the liver. According to the doctor, Panadol will reside in the body for at least 5 years. And according to the doctor, there used to be an incident where an air stewardess consumes a lot of panadol during her menstrual as she needs to stand all the time. She’s now in her early 30’s, and she needs to wash her kidney (DIALYSIS) every month.

As said by the doctor that whenever we have a headache, that’s because it is due to the electron/Ion imbalance in the brain. As an alternative solution to cope with this matter, they suggested that we buy 1 or 2 cans of isotonic drink ( eg.100PLUS), and mix it with drinking water according to a ratio of 1:1 or 1:2 (simply, it means one cup 100plus, one cup water.or 2 cups water). Me and my husband have tried this on several occasions, and it seems to work well. Another method will be to submerge your feet in a basin of warm water so that it bring the blood pressure down from your throbbing head.

As Panadol is a pain killer, the more Panadol you take, the lesser would be your threshold for pain (your endurance level for pain). We all will fall ill as we aged, for woman, we would need to go through childbirth.  Imagine that we had spent our entire life popping quite a substantial amount of Panadol (Pain Killer) when you need to have a surgery or operation, you will need  a much more amount of general anesthetic to numb your surgical pain than the average person who seldom or rarely takes Panadol .. If you have a very high intake of Panadol throughout your life (Migraine, Menstrual cramps) it is very likely that normal general anesthetic will have no effects on you as your body is pumped full with panadol and your body is so used to pain killer that you would need a much stronger pain killer, Morphine??

David Marshall: Have the courage to live, don’t be afraid!

Dharmendra Yadav shares an interview with the late David Marshall, the first Chief Minister of Singapore and one of Singapore’s finest legal minds.

Excerpt:

When I was Chief Minister, there were men dying of starvation and because of ‘beri-beri’. I took my PA [personal assistant] and an Inspector of Police for night at midnight. For two hours, we toured Singapore and we estimated there were two ten thousand men sleeping on the pavements. No homes.

Today - no unemployment, no homeless. I started this business of building homes for our people. Compare the puny work I achieved and the fantastic HDB homes that are available today for our people. I am deeply impressed and I take off my hat to this very able honest government. Dedicated!

But I am seen as a critic and I am a critic.

I am frankly terrified by this massive control of the mass media, the press, the radio, television, antennae, [and] public meetings. You can’t write a letter to the Straits Times; if there is a shadow of criticism, it’s not published. And the Chinese press follows suit. It’s a very dangerous position because experience proves that no one group of human beings has got all the wisdom in the world.