Prime Real Estate

*grin*





almost time to find some tenants for this magnificent mansion...........comes with surround sound system too.......lucky little bastards............

Bah..........Lousy Condom........

2mrw, or rather, today is my convocation...........16yrs of study and it all comes down to this day. another milestone will pass in jus a matter of hours, jus thought ill pen some thoughts......

to start, ive started work. today marking the end of my first wk. and im still adjusting to the lifestyle. young, fresh, willing and eager would be how i think my colleagues percieve me at the moment. the kind that many love to take a nice bite at. at this point, i am thankful my parents gave me the family jewels. think the girls have it harder when it comes to the danger of being "eaten".

ohyes, not to forget my now well trained "dun mess with me" look. im lucky to have pple be alittle more wary abt bossing me ard.

so back to the convocation. one phrase comes to mind, and this goes out to all those who are graduating within this same period, particularly those who have been slogging with me over the past few semesters, "We are champion sperm."

im guessing the reason behind it would be a certain reflection my mother made abt the whole course of my uni education and i quote, "You know, there was a period of time when your dad and I were afraid you wouldn't make it."

oh, the confidence my parents have in me.

but truthfully, there was a period of time when i myself feared that i wouldn't have made it.......graduated on time, that is. i was sure i would graduate, but i was afraid of not being able to do it with my peers.

made it i have, tho i might have gone a slightly different route. ill like to think of it this way, while most of the sperm have wriggled their way through that pin hole in the condom, im that wise-guy (sperm. guy. geddit?) who swam the opposite direction, squeezed his way btwn the skin and the latex, came out the main entrance and swam all the way back up front to meet the rest.

now, all that's left is to swim up to the egg. hopefully i dun try something else new.

i definitely made a few mistakes so far. however, i think i have my parents to thank for when i say i did not let the mistakes ruin my education. they taught me good values/lessons and of course, gave me good genes.

and im guessing, if my parents read this blog/post, they would be proudest not when i am up on the stage later today.

We are Champion sperm.

Fwah

over the past few days, ive learnt something abt my father. or rather, ive learnt where the genes of some of my behavioural traits come from.

on impulse, the guy can spend. and i mean SPEND.

like i mentioned in the last post, we had gone fish hunting the day before. and although at a certain fish farm where the prices were ridiculously steep (something which he only realised later in the hunt despite my apprehension at the price earlier), he did not even bat an eyelid. this morning's trip to more farms was no different.

the end result, we have a new 4ft tank coming in 2mrw afternoon, and earlier in the afternoon today, we had made a trip down to ikea to get the furniture for the tank. yea, they were jus cabinets, but considering their original purpose, we could actually have paid less.

actually, after doing the math, we still paid less than if we were to get the custom made tank with cabinets and stuff.

well, i guess the privilege of being able to plonk down this much cash without so much of a care in the world only comes with a lifetime of blood, sweat and hard work.

The Newcomers

new additions to the tank, they are called rams for short, dun think ill bother with the full name.........originally, i had only 3 of them........well, actually my dad got them......we had initially set foot into the fish shop with the intention of buying another fish but my dad was so taken by them that we ended up with the first 3..........

and today we got 7 more.........much to my partial dismay......."partial" being the operative word here.......i had only intended on having a max of 6 new additions after splitting the original batch of fishes into the old tank, but.........these are really really cute fishes........some with the black stripe running down the front of their spiky dorsal fins jus scream, "Bad Boy" or "Rebel". something that i kinda relate to in a way............





eyeballing the cam.........and getting blinded by the flash


well, the good thing abt getting these fishes is that my dad's found new interest in an old hobby.........we used to have a 4ft tank in our old place when i was small.......that used to hold tons of goldfish that my dad got from japan during his business trips.........they were a feast for the eyes then........but he gave up the goldfish hobby for the koi pond we now have in the garden...........

now, with these rams, my dad's started planning for a new 4ft tank full of these little twerps........im not complaining, in fact im glad he's gonna do it.......cos this way, i can get more fish too..........of course, ill need to put in my share by setting up the tank but it's gonna fun~!!!!

"For the most part of it, I am glad."

so up my exercise routine i have......went to shoot hoops with vince and another fren yesterday, went running on monday and im gonna go for another run 2mrw evening.........time to shape up and get into a proper exercise routine........

i am officially employed as of today........went down to sign the letter of offer earlier this afternoon.........a few thoughts did run through my mind prior to the signing but mainly they point towards whether im being a little too rash in accepting this job.........

reason being i had gotten a call earlier from a recruitment agency and they were gonna submit my CV to a certain well known software consultancy firm......and the guy on the line had mentioned that this is the period when the companies are recruiting due to the graduation and convocations..........so, that kinda made me wonder if i am being alittle too quick in making my choice...........

well, i wun have the chance to find that out now........ive signed and im starting work this coming monday.........for the most part, i am glad actually.......looking at how things have panned out, i have managed to achieve the one important goal i had set out to accomplish - start my career as a business solutions consultant. tho it isnt in a large multinational, im still quite confident of doing well enuff to finally get where i want in future. jus alittle more sweat i guess. so for that, i am quite happy with how things are.

ive got a few choices for the next step. not sure which would point me in a good direction yet. so im gonna sit on that first.

time to enjoy the final few days of luxurious idleness.........ahhhhh..........wont have the luxury of such freedom for the next 30-40 years...........

ohyes, ive started on a new book - "The Wisdom of Crowds". good stuff.

Hazy

so i have been mulling over this fact that a few days ago i conjured up in my mind........

having seen how my family dynamics has evolved over these recent years and the way several events have panned out, i have come to the conclusion that since my sis and i consider ourselves mildy autistic (or in simpler terms, something a niggling in the noggin), a few more visits to the playground during our childhoods might have done us much good for the us of today........

reason for my saying this is cos on the one hand im still waiting for my supposed autism caused superhuman powers to manifest themselves while on the other, im sitting outside of myself and shaking my head with my face in my palm.

btw, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a hoot to watch.

P.S. i know the whole playground thing doesnt quite link to the whole autism thing. but im really just too lazy to explain. nitez pple.

Book Review

and so i have finished that book ive been reading, Freakonomics. in 10 days too. long by some pple's standards, but a record for someone who hasnt touched books for ages.

good stuff. introduces many interesting ideas and new ways of looking at things though i would think that the methods in the book are alittle biased towards an being too objective which the 2 authors have admitted at times as well.

i guess in many issues on this planet, handling them requires taking into account an objective view as well as a subjective view. bcos afterall, there is always that prevalent human factor in all of them.

good shit. goes into my collection of books which now stands at 3. and my book hall of fame which also incidentally stands at 3.

F*#k~!

those blasted stray cats...........overnight, they have friggin left scratch marks and paw prints on my newly polished/waxed car~!!

that's it........the claws are coming out.......no more mr nice guy.........the next cat i see will die a miserable death. cute or not cute.

Eureka

was reflecting on yesterday's interview alittle earlier.........i remembered feeling like the interviewer was remarkably similar to someone i knew.......and it was only jus a few minutes ago that i managed to place a finger on it. in fact, he resembled 2 pple i knew, a lecturer and my final year project supervisor.

same mannerism, same receding hairline, same facial shape/contours, same pale skin due to extended periods sitting in an enclosed environment, same dress sense (cotton checkered shirts tucked in) and not forgetting the paunch.

makes me shudder wondering if ill end up the same.......time to up my exercise routine.......

Sighz.....

so the interview..........flopped........at least i think it was a flop..........

primarily bcos i had misinterpreted the job description........the interview was for the position of "Project Analyst" with the job description citing things such as:
- "Supporting the Project Manager in development of projects."
- "Perform Risk Management and transform user requirements into key data."
- "Follow up on user feedback and close issues."

etc, etc......which i had originally tot would involve customer interaction, and a certain level of involvement with the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) and design.........

little did i know it turned out to be a desk job involving goggling at tons of data figures and determining the feasibility of the projects presented and not so much of getting involved......

sighz..........curveball? yea......real curved..........so curved, it smacked me in the eye........

had already felt something wasnt kosher when i saw my interviewer.........he jus didnt look the project manager, meeting pple type.......and when the interview finally got underway, the questions he asked jus werent in the right direction as well........

when i finally highlighted the job description to him, he looked at it like he had not read it before and finally said, "Isn't it funny, the wonderful things they put in job descriptions in large organisations?"

needless to say, i had the wrong impression of the job, prepared the wrong stuff, so now im naturally not getting the job..........

well.......all is not lost pple...........your hero of this story (i.e. me) has a backup job offer......something that is good and might put me in a good position for future endeavours..........tho not as good as the job i had originally percieved to be interviewing for, but it'll do........

Gadgets

for the gadget addicts.....

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1008372006

Fuzzed

had my haircut today.......

i feel like a fuzzball.

The Finest of German Engineering.......

i have come to one conclusion abt the germans.

they are one technically advanced race. they make fantastic cars, in SAP they have a business software solution that is one of the most widely used in the world, third largest software company in the world in fact.

german engineering. precise and effective at its best. but the best thing that has come out of all of their technical ingenuity has got to be........

the bratwurst.

Hmmm...

jus recieved an interesting email from a certain huge financial body regarding an interview for a position with them.

i find it interesting bcos it has been months since the interview for another position at the same company which my fren got among a few others.

keeping my fingers crossed. let's hope this is the proverbial curveball.

Blah

something interesting:
Astrophysicists have their take on Superman

Food for Thought and the Thought of Food

maybe i shld take up that chef/butcher vacancy i saw recently........

i could then have my own cooking show that centers around my everyday life and showcases my culinary delights......or watever u might call them........like "milo a la dino" or "sauteed noodles with maggi essence of MSG"

ohyes, ever noticed how those men who cook always gets the girl? food for thought guys. a fren recently asked me wat i did to get my girl.......my answer was "nothing". but in actual truth, i cooked. :)

Am I a Savant?

watched this 2 part docu over the past fortnight titled, "Beautiful Minds". in a similar theme to the movie starring Russell Crowe, the docu is abt how the human mind is capable of superhuman feats despite with other normally consider a defect.......

in the movie and in real life, John Nash is a schizo who ultimately finds his way thru the dark (wahhh.....drama.....sob sob) and ultimately wins a nobel prize for his work in mathematics. the docu however, doesnt cover schizos. it explores the realm of savants or otherwise known as "the knowing ones". these are pple who are capable of superhuman feats like remembering the value of pi up to an accuracy of 50 decimal places, learning how to play the piano overnight and start to compose their own music right after that, being able to accurately draw the full cityscape of Rome right down to the alignment of every window after just one 45min helicopter ride...........

and interestingly, a majority of all these savants are autistic........so there's something to ponder abt for those out there who think u r autistic *wink*

in that light, the one central main theme, or question, that the docu kept focusing on was whether the human brain in it's own normalness, it in fact defected. or rather, does it take a defect to unlock the full potential of the human brain which is obviously capable of feats as displayed by these savants.

another intriguing characteristic that some of the savants share is the fact that they acquired their abilities not through birth like the autistic ones, but through some form of cranial incident, or accident whichever way you may see it. some had fallen on their heads as a child or got knocked out by a flying baseball. and they all woke up with their new found abilities.

which leads me to wonder...........what abt that knock i had as a kid in the airport which left a dent in one of the metal railings? i shld be able to shoot lasers out of my eyes now. or at least i shld have super memory that will allow me to remember every detail of the going-ons around me 24/7. that would save me tons of pinches from J for forgetting important dates/things.

My First Book

it has finally rained~!!!!! ahhhhh.............relief..........now, let's hope the sun doesnt come out till 2mrw morning. cos if it does, and with the loads of water on the ground, it's gonna be very humid. VERY VERY humid.

guess wat pple.......i have bought my first book~!

yep, "Freakonomics" by Levitt and Dubner.........first saw it being talked about on Oprah some days ago.......it is something along the lines of "Blink" and "Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. both which i enjoyed alot and explores the going-ons of everything........think it would be categorised under a social science thingy.........

i think i might be making more trips to Borders from now on. this is wat months of idleness does to you..........

Hmmm...

this does not bode well..........perhaps one day we will see mosquitoes similar to those in the king kong movie.........

Super Mosquitoes

And the winner this World Cup is........

the weather is too friggin HOT. ive found that it is life threatening even to jus lie still in one position for too long.........

tonite, or rather tomorrow morning, we enter the final stages of the World Cup........so i believe it is almost time i give my predictions........my predictions often come true in case anyone's wondering........i predicted that greece would win the last euro and they did........and i also predicted that porto would win the previous champions league..........

all these from a person who doesnt watch or play soccer............

so punters reading this, take out your pen and paper..........and ill post my predictions after i see portugal play france on thursday...........like my dad said, portugal is the dark horse this time.......and i didnt have the opportunity to watch deco play yet..........so ill make my choice after that match.........

~ . ~

the danger abt being idle without a job is the possibility of getting too comfortable..........and therein lies the danger of rationalising..........

that of course depends on how we see the rationalising...........

then again, i think im the only one who suffers from this...........

I AM BORED SHITLESS PEOPLE~!!!!

tempted to go out and drain my bank account dry.........

He's Back

before i forget, here's something i heard off the Class95 while on the way to meet J for dinner and "Superman Returns"

note: i bothered to add the proper punctuation for "Superman Returns" so needless to say, i enjoyed it pretty much.........

so it goes something like this:
A *someone of some profession i cant remember which i shall now refer to as X* was out hunting and when he looked up in the sky, he saw something that looked like a duck. so he thought to himself.....

X: it looks like a duck, it flies like a duck, so it must be a duck

and with that, X took a shot at the bird but by then the bird had already flown too far off.

a little further down, a pathologist was out hunting too. and when he looked up in the sky, he noticed the flying bird. so he whipped out his book of animals and deduced...

Pathologist: it has a bill like a duck, it quacks like a duck, green head and brown body like a duck. so it has to be a duck.

and with that, he lifted his gun to take a shot at the bird but again, it was long gone.....

a surgeon was out hunting that day too with his buddies X and a pathologist further behind him. when he looked skyward, he saw wat might be a duck and with nary a thought, he whipped his rifle to the air and shot the bird down. then he turned to his buddies and said....

surgeon: now go see if that's a duck.

the end.......

interesting story with an interesting meaning behind it..........ill leave that to you guys to interpret it your way..........

~ . ~

so like i mentioned, i found "Superman Returns" pretty enjoyable..........brandon routh fits the role pretty well.........he even looks like wat supes shld look, that christopher reeve look tho alittle bulkier compared to the skinny reeve..........

was pretty excited when that famous intro started that i hummed along with it.......leaving J wondering wat in the world is with my adoration for superman........

supes is iconic........he can run faster than a speeding bullet, he is invulnerable (save for kryptonite), has immense strength and most importantly, he can fly.........he is i believe wat every guy dreams of fundamentally becoming.........we'll leave the figure of justice and truth aside cos that's really a subjective thingy..........

every kid probably has at one time or another dreamt of flying.......im no different.......that is the probably one thing that has me in awe despite the red underwear and blue tights.........sure enuf many other heroes can fly too..........but heck, supes was the first......and like many a human activity and in life, being first seems to trump everything.......

ohyes, i guess there is the thing that he was my first superhero..........tho i think for a period of time my parents and grandparents tried to dupe me into believing ultraman was superman........

sure spidey saves new york city, the xmen probably saved the states, but supes, he saved the world. and he did it doing superhuman feats...............

so, supes is back. finally.........after so long........we finally have a superhero again.......

I Think I'm In Love

this is to all the gents reading, we have a new lady in the house. Miss Ching-He Huang of Ching's Kitchen~!

think steph soong + jamie oliver cooking. not old/middle-aged (she's only 26~!), no wide child bearing hips, has silky non ahlian dyed black hair, is soft spoken mild mannered, has her own cooking tv show, she's the perfect person to bring home.........to mom or otherwise.........

unfortunately, she's attached........

heck, ill bet if they showed her show more on tv, she'll have her male/female audiences eating out of her hand........literally............think abt it, she potrays the perfect woman every guy would wanna bring home to mama and that many cooking interested ladies would wanna be........how the hell does she look so good spending so many hours of the wk in front of the stove?!?!

ahhhhh........the powers of tv..........ill bet she could endorse a few cosmetic lines.........

cant find a nice pic of her to illustrate my point, those online are not nice.............jus turn on the tv at 12pm channel 5 on wkdays............

im sorry ladies, she trumps u all..........except J of course.......

or rather, she's got me by the scruff of my stomach........

Hmmm...

now this is something interesting..........



a tornado and rainbow. taken in kansas. let's hope we dun lose toto (in both senses of the name/word) this time.

My Tank

my fish tank~!

Blabber

funny things have been happening recently.........

1. 2 guys tried to sell me a full speaker system abt 2 days ago - in the middle of a carpark.......we are talking center, front, surround speakers and a subwoofer at a retail value of US$1200.........it seems they were trying to get rid of 2 sets of surplus stock and earn some drinking money in the process...........

they had approached myself and another guy in a green old E-Class merc with an offer price of SGD$500 for a set......the guy took the offer..........me, im jobless........and even though i am able to fork out the moola for the set, i probably wouldnt have much left to live on if i did...........

2. for the past few weeks, i had the lucky fortune of not having any bird shit hit my ride.......but on the same day as the above incident, i got 5 bombs on the car...........

3. so J and i went for dinner at the Ellenborough Market Cafe of Merchant Court Swissotel last night.........and like in the prev post, i'll give the whole experience a 4 out of 5.......highlights of the buffet include fresh scallops (with tons of roe~!!!), fantastic crayfish, stewed pork with kim chi and my favourite, the chocolate fondue served with, get this, jambu (water apple)..........

now who would have thought that a humble little asian tropical fruit would fare so well covered in thick rich dark chocolate..........

4. brunch at the new Tiong Bahru market was pretty eventful........at least i over heard this conversion between 2 chinese ladies with western accents standing behind me in the queue for soya beancurd.......

guy in front of me is ordering something that is locally called "black white", basically chin chow (grass jelly; black coloured jelly) mixed with soya bean milk.........

Lady 1: oooo......wat is that man ordering? it looks interesting.
Lady 2: ohyes.......it is.....i wonder wat is it called.
Lady 1: i think it is called the "michael jackson".

Photo Mania

so i was going thru my mobile cleaning out any junk and freeing up some phone memory when i realised i had forgotten to post a few of them up when i had intended to.....so here goes, in somewhat chrono order starting with the most recent..........



this is the pic of my bumper after a taxi scuffed it - this morning..........surprisingly, after the whole matter was resolved (i accepted a $100 settlement from him) i didnt really feel that bad..........in the sense, i would expect to have had a pretty strong reaction and suffer immense heartache............but..........i didnt........i even continued on to have a hearty brunch with J at the new Tiong Bahru market...........more abt that in the next post

perhaps if i were still driving my old ride, things would have been different..........

next up is something i call "Weapons of Mass Destruction"


the chocolate on the knife was still warm when i took the pic........despite the surgery green napkin, this was taken after a buffet dinner at Merchant Court Swissotel's Ellenborough Market Cafe...........ill give the place an overall 4 rating..........more abt it in the next post......

ill leave the next 2 pics to the imaginations of you pple............taken at east coast park during one of the events the indian and I did part time stints in.........




on to the next post.........