Gabriel SkinCare 101

Was supposed to be watching over Gabriel when Faith came over to me with a storybook. Seeing that Gabe was quietly playing with the toys by himself, quietly in one corner, I put Faith on my lap and proceeded to read the story to Faith.

Perhaps we were both too caught up with story reading that we didn't realised that Gabe has sneaked off into the study. Come to think of it, Gabe is very good at moving around with stealth these days.

Anyway, as I read till "The End", I paused to take a breath and that's when I noticed the quietness of the house.

It was too quiet.
 
The rule of thumb in the house is that when the house is too quiet. Gabe is up to no good.

Instinctively, I checked the bedrooms before finding Gabe in the study and was shocked at the sight before me.

Gabe was eating Aunt's jar of hand cream though I doubt if he actually enjoyed the taste.

A quick grab of the jar away from him and it's off to the bathroom we marched for a thorough clean up.

But not before taking a snap first.

- Voxeros

1. spinnee left...

Monday, 30 April 2007 9:48 am

muahaahahhahahahahahahahaha!@!!@!!@ that pictures rulez! anyway curiosity really kills eh...wahahahah

2. sunflower left...

Monday, 30 April 2007 2:00 pm

aiyo... this ah pa... pls lor... wash your son more impt than taking this pic........... Xd

3. OLLie left...

Monday, 30 April 2007 2:03 pm :: http://ooohlah.lah.cc

I think he's stunned by you. hahaha..
Eh, where got people take pic likett one? Later he don't know whether what he has done is correct or not. Take pic = correct. Chiding = not correct. Will confuse him one leh. hahaha..

4. Gary left...

Monday, 30 April 2007 6:10 pm

hahaha.. new facial cream.. wonder what your aunt's response will be..

5. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 1 May 2007 7:13 am ::

Spinnee: Yah man.... now I myself curious what face cream taste like... but I sure as hell not going to be finding out for myself!


Sunflower: Pls lah... wash up already still got picture to take meh?

Ollie: This boy stone stone one. No reaction one. So hor, praise or chide also no effect one. Haizzzzzzz.....

Gary: Ok lah.... everybody just very amused....

6. yanzzz left...

Sunday, 6 May 2007 1:36 am

O PLS !! i thought u suppose to clean him up 1st ... this is so scary ... i wonder when gabriel grown up and happen to read all ur post will he thinks tat ur a "bad daddy " .....
hai ~~

7. JayWalk left...

Sunday, 6 May 2007 9:23 am ::

Yanzzz: Me bad? Nah... au contraire, mon cherie. I would be good.

I am see it now..... Gabriel's reaction....

tmd..... you GOOD!!!

So hor, I must be good lor. :P

Air, Sea & Land - Indonesian Style

Yet another disaster in Indonesia. Dozens are injured in Java island but the good news is that there hasn't be any reports of fatalities. It seems almost routine by now.

Officials were quick to deny liability stating that it was purely an accident as the heavy rain caused the ground below the tracks to slide, resulting in the trains derailment.

Weren't there regular geo-audits?

Nevermind, not about go into a debate over this one.

Anyway, it seems like Indonesia is out of a mission to score a disaster in every mode of transportation.
If every one of these modes of transportation is a circle on the tombola card, we would heard them shout "BINGO!" before anyone even has a chance to look at the card proper.

I wonder if Jakarta has a subway system? Hmm....

Image Credit: http://www.channelnewsasia.com

- Voxeros

Dying Inside To Go Loo

I was at the CowBoyBar when there was a thread talking about stuff back when we were kids. Then there was a mention of this song by Timmy Thomas named "Dying Inside To Hold You".

Ahh yes, it was 1993 when the whole nation was singing the jingle over and over and over. No thanks to the radio stations who kept it on the air a tad too frequently. It was a catchy tune that got everyone singing despite it being a crappy song to begin with.
Like Lemon Tree, nobody complained back then.
 
I got the song in one of those *cough* cheong *cough cough* CD compilations where I bought in Jurong West market. Yup, I was in NTU then and getting there was just a short walk away from Hall 3.

Anyway, it was the night before my Law paper and I was kan cheong as hell that I couldn't sleep. With my body at rest and my eyes closed. My mind was like a rabid hamster high on speed and xtc, running the exercise wheel.

Then it happened. My mind started playing the song in loop. I supposed that being a big fan of Wierd Al Yankovic was probably the reason why my mind started to parody the song.

So, it's lights back on and I sat down to scribble the new lyrics out. Granted that it was crappy but hey! The song is crappy to begin with and so what worse damage could I do?


My mind is warped. I know.

Below is a karaoke MV of the song that I found on YouTube. Click here or the play button to hear the song and read the lyrics. Then replace them with mine. Have fun!

Warning: The MV quite horriggible one. The imagery, the fact that the words and song don't sync among many other things, may leave you a permanent mental scar after watching it. Proceed at your own risk. I watched already, iBuayTahan.

p.s. Btw, I got a C for the Law Paper.

---

Dying Inside To Go Loo
(Sung to the tune of "Dying Inside To Hold You")

[Stanza 1]
It started off, just another day.
I woke up and I went on my way.
My bus 199, took me to the Spine*.
I smelled a fart and I knew it was mine.

Standing there, I didn't know what to do.
Shouldn't have eaten that leftover stew.

[Chorus]
(I think I'm gonna shit now baby.)

And I was dying inside to go loo.
I Couldn't believe that the loo was full.
Dying inside, I was dying inside.
Think I'm gonna have to do it in my shoe.

[Stanza 2]
There was this guy in cubicle two.
Reading the papers while he push out his poo.
When he got out, I thought he was through,
He rushed right back in with the Section Two.
[Chorus]
Standing there, I didn't know what to do.
Shouldn't have eaten that leftover stew.

(I think it's coming out now baby.)

And I was dying inside to go loo.
I Couldn't believe that the loo was full.
Dying inside, I was dying inside.
Think I'm gonna have to do it in my shoe!

[Repeat Chorus]

[Bridge]
I can't recall this part of the song that I wrote. Sorry.

[Repeat Stanza 1]

[Fade Out]

* NTU has 2 sections. The North Spine and South Spine which is essentially separate wings of the campus.

---

- Voxeros

1. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 1:31 pm :: 

Question Of The Day
=============
I wonder how many people did actually sing the song with my lyrics? Time to own up! Don't pretend neber hor! Leave your name here!

2. aloe left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 3:48 pm

i din know wat that song was till I reached the chorus. LOL! I think I only remembered the chorus... =P
so yah, the answer to your question is "no" loh...

3. ihawk98 left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 5:04 pm

this song...this song...it is so hypnotic...strange desire to click play again.
must be associated with some repressed memories for me....heh heh

4. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 8:16 pm :: 

Aloe: Dun bruff lah... so paiseh one meh? kekekekeke.....

ihawk98: Must be some girl you use the song to bruff her right?

5. ihawk98 left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 8:57 pm

but jay....repressed memories leh....must have been very bad...

6. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 9:12 pm :: 

ihawk98: Crash and Burn har?

7. Gary left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 9:39 pm

wah.. this song very fitting to me right now.. lol..

8. ihawk98 left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 10:26 pm

gary: don't get hooked to this song....

9. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 7:24 am :: 

Gary: Why? You stomach ache now har?

ihawk98: Too late! Muahahaahah.... *evurl*

10. OLLie left...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 8:18 am :: http://ooohlah.lah.cc

Wah piang. So nice a song you write about going to the loo. Win liao. hahaha.. I nearly wanted to say the song too old liao, cant recognise. But apparently I'm not that young. Sigh.

11. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 9:53 am ::

Ollie: Ok lah... you still young in my eyes lah. Then again, Lao Chio also good what!

12. Gary left...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 11:08 am

eh.. not literally stomachache lah.. you should know.. haha..

13. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 1:22 pm ::

Gary: Yah lah... just kachowing you lah....

14. ihawk98 left...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 8:45 pm

let gary associate this song with his current situation....next time he will react to it like me...

15. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 26 April 2007 8:52 am :

ihawk98: Ahh... I see you passing your legacy to your young padawan.....

16. akk left...

Thursday, 26 April 2007 8:58 am

do it properly! sing it!!!

17. JayWalk left...

Friday, 27 April 2007 2:15 pm ::

Akk: Mai lah... how can?? After your Ji Ba Ban rendition, I don't dare liao.... iShy.

18. akk left...

Tuesday, 1 May 2007 12:41 pm

chicken....pak pak pak kehhhh.....

19. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 1 May 2007 3:07 pm :: 

Akk: You win. I don't have a comeback to that..... *cluck cluck*

Sian XMM Episode X - Aftermath

Remember the prank C.O.O.L and I pulled on hawk?

Well, I was part of a 3-way chat with the two of them when I left to grab a quick shower, having just return from gym. Yah.... I think I ish MSN addict liao :P


So anyway, when I returned to catch up on the chat, I couldn't help but started laughing and reading at the same time.

Looks like we scarred the fella for life and he now lives a life of paranoia.

Poor boy.

Heh heh.....

. Session Start: Saturday, April 21, 2007 (9:39 PM) C.O.O.L: 2-2 spurs draw level (9:39 PM) hawk: wait...i got delay!!!! f8&@ but happy if it is true (9:39 PM) C.O.O.L: jenas!! (9:40 PM) C.O.O.L: no more second prank lah.. (9:40 PM) hawk: i don't trust the 2 of you. heh heh (9:40 PM) C.O.O.L: nvm (9:40 PM) hawk: last time you got me good (9:41 PM) C.O.O.L: lol. last time is man u (9:41 PM) C.O.O.L: now tottenham.. wont prank (9:42 PM) hawk: still hasn't happen le (9:42 PM) C.O.O.L: the last min of injury time (9:42 PM) hawk: ok goal (9:43 PM) hawk: !!!!!!.. sorry...see delay reaction! (9:43 PM) C.O.O.L: lol.. is ok .

Image Credit: http://soccernet-akamai.espn.go.com

- Voxeros

1. Gary left...

Monday, 23 April 2007 1:22 pm

once bitten twice shy.. guess ihawk was afraid that we are up at it again.. lol.. maybe we can surprise him once in a blue moon..

2. ihawk98 left...

Monday, 23 April 2007 5:28 pm

it always pays to be careful nowadays...

3. Gary left...

Monday, 23 April 2007 5:32 pm

no matter how careful you are.. we are still ahead of you.. heh heh..

4. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 11:29 am ::

Gary & ihawk98: We see how it goes lah but definitely different pattern next time.

5. ihawk98 left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 5:13 pm

i'm not talking with you guys during matches again....

6. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 8:18 pm :: 

ihawk98: buahahahahahahaah!!!!

7. Gary left...

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 9:42 pm

i already got some mischief up in my mind liao.. no thanks to jay for the genes that passed to me.. hahahaahha..

8. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 7:26 am ::

Gary: Pass what genes? Harlow!! I am not your Lao Peh. How to pass genes to you? You think you Luke Skywalker, I Darth Vader har? 

9. Gary left...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 11:09 am

i dont want that dubious honour.. but is more of mischief pranks that i learn from you.. lol..

10. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 1:28 pm :: 

Gary: Ahh.. then cannot say I pass genes to you. Must say I 传授武功 to you.

The Rod On The Tot (Part 6)

Protected Entry --> Click Here.

The Rod On The Tot (Part 5)

Protected Entry --> Click Here.

The Rod On The Tot (Part 4)

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The Rod On The Tot (Part 3)

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The Rod On The Tot (Part 3)

Protected Entry --> Click Here.

The Rod On The Tot (Part 2)

I came back from work the next day expecting the cold shoulder from Faith, after Sunday's incident. I was prepared for her to be holding a grudge after the last beating.

How long is this going to be? I don't know.

Instead, she was happy to see me home. All that has happened has been forgotten and put behind.

If I am feeling the pain in the heart from the wound inflicted the day before, her smile was the salt, lime juice and tabasco sauce, all mixed into one and dripping on the wound.

It hurt real bad.

 - Voxeros

1. OLLie left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 4:07 pm :: http://ooohlah.lah.cc

Ay, it's normal de la. Usually after my dad beats me with the cane, I would forget about it the day after. Don't feel so bad ok? *hugs*

2. Gary left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 4:48 pm

different people react differently.. for me, i will just stubbornly never talk to my dad.. instead i will ask third parties to pass the msg..

3. akk left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 5:29 pm

isnt that a good thing? my parents will be pissed if i give them cold shoulder. it means i dunno i'm wrong yet. so they hit me again.

4. mht left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 5:29 pm

do not worry, this is the first time and it will not be the last. though as parents we try not to use the cane, there are times when too many chances have been given and the kid just 'went off the track'. having said that, dun be too 'cane-happy'. use it wisely and it moderation. too much of anything is bad! dun feel so bad! okay?

5. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 8:37 pm ::

Ollie: Well, the good news is that she has forgotten all about it. We were playing together today.

Gary: When you were stubbornly refusing to talk to you dad, why? Did you feeling that you did nothing wrong to deserve the beating?

Akk: I think ultimately the main idea behind the beating is not solely just to inflict pain but to reinforce a message to you in a way that you would not forget easily.

MHT: Hey dude. Good to have you back. Long time no hear. Hor seh bor? Anyway, I also don't want to hit the kid one lah. But sometimes like an errant computer where you must do a hard reset.

6. Gary left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 8:48 pm

i donno.. lol.. maybe what i did was wrong.. i just dont like to admit it.. after tat, it will be back to normal..

7. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 9:26 pm :: 

Gary: Ahh... a case of too much pride to admit one's wrong and then act blur the next day. ;)

8. akk left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 11:19 pm

aiyo...now u muz think i psycho. i not saying beating is just to inflict pain, i'm just saying that it's much better than cold shouldering because someone's little gal is willing to let go and admit wrong or forgive and forget. in time to come, u'll appreciate fully her inability to cold shoulder, which is such a powerful passive aggressive tool to use on other ppl. I hope she'll never learn how to do it or have someone do that to her.

9. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 18 April 2007 8:05 am ::

Akk: Ahh... yes... the cold shoulder. The Achilles' Heel of the mighty Akk. Yeah. Let's hope we never have to come to the stage of being passive aggressive.

10. Gary left...

Wednesday, 18 April 2007 1:25 pm

it will be wonderful if your girl wont show the cold shoulder starting in the family.. like that sure got alot of suitors one.. hahahahaha..!!

11. mht left...

Wednesday, 18 April 2007 2:48 pm

after changing two jobs within the last six months, m still alive and kicking.
'password protected'? what is the password? 'open sesame' ah???

12. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 18 April 2007 3:34 pm ::

Gary: Ah yes.... some guys are suckers for this kind of passive aggressive psychological abuse. Haiz...

MHT: Get online and I will yahoo/msn over to you.

13. Qiaoyun left...

Thursday, 19 April 2007 2:29 am :: http://www.sheylara.com

I feel your pain reading your entry. I think, intellectually, you know that most of the time, children don't bear grudges and they love their parents unconditionally, but I guess it'll always feel terrible having to be the "bad guy". But, really, try not to dwell on it because you did what you had to do, right?

14. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 19 April 2007 9:05 am ::

QiaoYun: The thing about children not holding grudges must never be taken for granted and most certainly does not grant parents the license to take this as a first resort no matter how effective it may appear at first lash.

I have lived through it myself and so have quite a few of my friends. As a person, most if not all, turned out pretty alright. As for the holding of grudge, I'm afraid the picture isn't as rosy.

15. Qiaoyun left...

Thursday, 19 April 2007 12:14 pm :: http://www.sheylara.com

Yeah, I agree. Nobody should be taken for granted, not even kids. But I think kids are amazingly resilient. I read about this boy who gets physically abused at home for years and he still loves his mum and hopes for love everyday. That's something I will never understand.

16. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 19 April 2007 9:03 pm 

Qiaoyun: Yes but to every person/child, there is a threshold. Like a rubber band where some are more elastic than others. Cross the limit and the rubber band snaps. It will be permanent damage that one will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

I ask myself. "Am I willing to take that risk? Wouldn't the price be too high, just so you can figure out where the limit is for each child?"

I rather stay way under the point of no return.

The Rod On The Tot (Part 1)

If you recalled the Christmas gift I got for my kids last year, I am sad to say that I finally had to use it yesterday. It was a painful decision but I had to harden my heart to do it.

The screams pierced through the quiet neighbourhood on a Sunday night and the windows across my front yard started lighting up like a Wheel-Of-Fortune word board.

It wasn't a one-off incident where Faith was behaving badly that sparked the hantam session. It was the accumulation of her nonsense finally coming to an over-boil.

It wasn't her defiance of picking up her shoe and storing it properly that triggered the thrashing session. It was the tantrum that she threw in her attempt to cow us into relent that tripped the circuitry.

No way, Missy. Not this time and certainly not with me.

I gave her a count to three to go pick up her shoe.

1... 2... 3... Faith still sat there on the floor bawling in defiance.

*PIAK*

Her first reaction was shock. She didn't expect me to really go through with it. Nobody tried to stop me. Grandpa and Grandma just watched her in silence. She tried to call my bluff and lost this time.

I gave her another count.

1... 2... 3... Still refused to get moving.

*PIAK*

She couldn't believe it. She told the worst was over after that last stroke.

Sorry, Missy. We have only just begun.

She then started scrambling for her shoe but was still screaming and bawling at the same time. She is still defiant as if I have wronged her.

I told her to get in the house. She stubbornly refused to budge.

1... 2... 3... Still sitting there.

*PIAK*

This must have gone on for quite some time and if I were to count the total number of lashes. It would come somewhere close to 20.

That's how stubborn she was.

However, while the first few strokes were really hard, the subsequent ones were controlled or missed her "by accident".

I bought 5 canes during my last trip back. I am left with only 1. The rest were all "accidentally" destroyed by the kids using them as a toy. Perhaps the ease of destroying the canes led them into a false impression that I just bought them for the sake of buying to scare the kids. I supposed Faith really did not expect me to really follow through with it. But I did.

What followed was a big tiff with the wife as I shut myself up in the Faith's bedroom for the night.
The lashes were no doubt painful, but it was I who have to bear the permanent scars.

- Voxeros

1. Gary left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 4:05 am

wah lao.. think your princess daughter will be crying for mummy for the next few days.. and the second time wont be that soon either!!

2. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 11:10 am :: 

Gary: She is always crying for mommy on a daily basis. I doubt if that actually made any difference. I really hope I don't have to do it again.

3. Marcus left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 1:28 pm

I come from a 'martial' family and when all forms of explanation and reasoning have been exhausted, the cane is the final answer. And I am glad to admit that I turned out better and stronger for it.

4. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 8:29 pm :

Marcus: Welcome to the blog! Let's put it this way, we were all brought the old skool way i.e. kena hantam left right centre when we were young and guess what? We all turned out pretty ok.

So how is it that this age-old tried-and-tested method be wrong and that we need all these new age fancy smancy teaching methods to replace the old way of bringing up a child?

5. winter left...

Thursday, 19 April 2007 9:53 pm

hmmm.. i am sure it's painful in ur heart to hit her with the cane.
i guess u can explain it to her in the later part the reason for the caning.
so tat she knows that she will be punished when she does something wrong

6. JayWalk left...

Friday, 20 April 2007 1:28 pm :: 

Winter: Well, I didn't conduct a debrief or something to that matter. I laid out everything up front before I start the caning.

Faith The Fashion Disaster

This is Faith the other night. Not exactly her brightest moment. I have no idea what she was thinking donning the bucket on her head.

Whatever it is, this photo will definitely come back to haunt her some day in the distant future. Heh heh heh...

Looks like I need all the help I can get from my fashionista friends.

Haiz...

- Voxeros

1. sunflower left...

Thursday, 12 April 2007 4:10 pm

tsk tsk ><

2. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 12 April 2007 5:04 pm ::

sunflower: Damn unglam lor!! How can!!??

3. akk left...

Friday, 13 April 2007 9:16 am

is that an easy-chair?

4. JayWalk left...

Friday, 13 April 2007 6:40 pm :: 

Akk: Nope, that's a high chair for kids.

5 Gold Plated Peanuts

There has been a lot of talk with regards to ministers' pay hike of late and the overall sentiments were pretty mixed, though the negative ones tend to be heard and seen more.

Here are my 2 gold plated cents' worth.



1) Bulldozing. When Gahmen announces something that is not popular, it is only natural to have people jumping up and down, kpkb in protest. But seriously, ask yourself this.

Got use meh?

Just because many people write many negative letters to the newspapers, the Gahmen will heed the people's advice and reverse their decision? Wake up lah! You saw what happened when they propose the GST increase? You saw what happened when they proposed the casinos integrated resorts? You seriously think the Gahmen listens to the people meh?


2) A Pair Of Sng Buehs. Speaking of newspapers, I was told that it has been pretty quiet as far as reflecting the negative sentiments from the people. Again, one-sided journalism at its best. After what they have seen over the mrbrown saga, all the editors started having shriveled nads. Why ah?

Makes me wonder why people are still paying good money keeping them around. There are more credible news website out there that are free.


3) Transparency. What is transparency? Transparency is when Gahmen want money hor, they openly take it from you. Better faster learn this word. Exam will come out one.  As much as people du lan over the sheer size of their pay packets, at least they never do it behind our backs with golden taps, non-existent software contracts and first class tickets. Remember Durai?


4) Bird Talk. MM Lee was quoted as saying "The cure for all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government..." This is known as Gong Jiao Wuey (讲鸟话). Please lah. Any idiot also know that a useless gahmen is bad. We don't need to fork out millions of dollars to pay someone to tell us that. Stats and figures were brought up about how the $46 million spend on paying top civil servants is 0.13% of total gahmen expenditure, 0.022% of GDP and how his (MM Lee) salary is a "fraction of what the top manager in the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) earns".

Lucky, MM Lee is smart, with all the small small percents floating all over the speech, he never utter the word Peanut. Otherwise, he would have set the local blogosphere on fire.


5) Peanut. I was chided last year by a friend's mom for agreeing that 600,000 was indeed peanuts. However, I was misquoted. What I originally intend to mean was that the number of 600,000 is indeed peanuts in relation to a number as big as 262,000,000. I have never intended to belittle $600,000 as a sum of money. Some how, my delivery just didn't come out right resulting in a tongue lashing which was actually a simple case of misunderstanding. Imagine what RunForFunds can do with $600,000? Imagine how many kids we can feed, clothe and send to school with that sum of money? Now how is that ever a small sum of money?


6) Money To Attract. Quite sad to see that the only way left to attract good people to the Gahmen is with the lure of money. Are there no one left in Singapore that would do it because he/she loves the country? Monetary incentive is indeed a logical option but there is one problem. There is no soul.

The pay hike is more or less a done deal. What I would like to see is for that one minister to step up and donate the excess to charity. While acknowledging that more pay is justifiable in retaining good people in the gahmen, I would tip my hat to that one minister who would give it back. Will there be such a person?

Afternote: Just as I was drafting this entry, it was announced that the Prime Minister is donating the hike to charity for the next 5 years. I applaud the gesture and hope more ministers would follow suit.
 
Like a student, from a well-off family, winning a scholarship. My utmost respect if the family could simply acknowledge the scholastic award and pass the scholarship money to the next worthy candidate who needs the money more.


7) George W. Bush. Reports say that our Prime Minister is currently earning over 3 times more than George Bush and will be more if the hike comes into place. Trust me on this one. Bush is an idiot. I think the people of America wasted money hiring this monkey. If Bush runs Singapore, our women will be maids of the maids in other people's country. Less money spent doesn't necessarily mean money more wisely spent.

Then again, you seriousy think Bush makes so little money meh? Confirm got sideline one lah. If Vice President Cheney got all the contracts for Haliburton, what makes you so sure Bush got no lobang and kangtows outside also?


8) Things That Make You Go Hmm... MPs are supposed to represent the people in their respective constituencies. I wonder if any of the MPs actually live in the constituency that they represent? Wouldn't it be really cool if your MP lives in the HDB flat next to you? That way, you can be sure that he is really there at ground level together with you.

Ok ok, it is not fair to impose that an MP die die must live in HDB. I mean if he is capable and makes good money, there is no way anyone should stop him/her buying landed property anywhere.

But hor, try to visualise this scenario. Imagine yourself living in Marine Parade a few years ago. Having voted for Goh Chok Tong means you are now having your flats upgraded. However, all is not smooth sailing as upgrading contractors went belly-up halfway through the project leaving many residents in limbo. So now imagine yourself in a dusty, dirty, half-done, half-fucked, living environment and your MP is staying in a swanky cool bungalow in Bukit Timah. How does that make you feel?

Still, credit goes where credit is due, the matter was eventually resolved and if I may add, rather quickly. Kudos to GCT on this one.


9) Not Happy? Too bad lor. We voted for these guys and we will have to live with them until the next election. Thereafter, the people gets to choose again. This is called democracy. The only thing undemocratic is the GRC concept where we have uncontested MPs coming in via the backdoor under the shield of the established incumbents that we die die will have to vote for.

I am thinking that if we are to fork out money to pay the salaries for these guys, at least let us have a say of yes or no to each candidate.

Is that too much to ask?

- Voxeros

1. ihawk98 left...

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 9:49 pm

i can suggest a few more "undemocratic" examples. one, the constant "redrawing" of constituency lines during elections resulting in a year where residents living along Holland Road ended up as part of Tanjong Pagar GRC, and two, not fixing elections at a fixed time like the way the US always have elections every 2 years in November.
what more can i say but this is one big wayang show...

2. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 10:58 pm :: 

ihawk98: Well, that's the GRC concept that I was referring to. As for the timing of the elections, I don't have a qualm with that.

3. sunflower left...

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 11:28 pm

Bravo! Nice post...
I am definitely very disguested over the recent debate.
WTF

4. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 12 April 2007 8:59 am :: 

Sunflower: It got me thinking that while this "decision-before-consultation" approach may be clinically efficient, it sure pisses a lot of people off. Now I am wondering if this is the very same reason why our neighbours are so upset with us?

5. akk left...

Thursday, 12 April 2007 9:17 am

but during election time, who will you choose? its not that we support them so much, it's that there isn't a good opposition to choose from.

6. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 12 April 2007 9:25 am :: 

Akk: An excellent point there. Those who voted for PAP are those who think their candidate is indeed the better or because they think the opposition candidate really CMI.

In the past, opposition has not produced any worthy successors to the likes of Chiam See Tong and Low Thia Kiang. Instead, we have clowns like Chee Soon Juan and Gomes running amok.

However, this is slowly changing and we start to see more credible candidates stepping up. Dr Sylvia Lim has impressed me very much in the last election. If she were to contest my ward in the next election and the PAP sends some minnow candidate, Dr Lim has my vote on account of who she is and not what political party she is from.

Beef Noodle

We noticed recently that the beef noodle shop just outside my factory was always packed with people. Yah, granted that with only 5 tables in the shop, it is easily to have a full house of a daily basis.

Still, the curiosity got the better of us we decide to go try it out.
As you would know, hygiene is not exactly a strong point for these holes in the wall and I think I must have had a death wish to want to venture there right after I just got over a bout of poisoning.

What was I thinking? Frankly? I haven't the faintest clue.

Anyway, the first thing that we noticed was the Musl1m headgear that they donned on their heads which meant that they were probably from the inner western Ch1na, around the regions of XinJiang.

Once we placed our orders, the chef immediately started to work on the dough which is to be the noodles that we are about to eat. Very interesting to see the noodles from the humble unglam looking piece of dough turning into graceful fine strands of Ch1na pasta.

Verdict?

Well, the portions were rather generous and the ingredients were definitely fresh, considering the high sales turnover of the shop. Noodles especially, since they were made right before our eyes.
Soup base was damn good but the only pity was the beef.

Damn tough. Easier to chew a pencil eraser and rather bland. The boss was aware of this and couldn't help apologising. He explained that the stew was only made in the morning as his business has been so good that the stew couldn't stay in the pot long enough!

As a result, the beef didn't have enough time to tender as well as to have the flavour from the stew infused into the beef proper.

A real pity, indeed.

Price? RMB 5.00 for a small bowl and the one I had is RMB 6.00.

- Voxeros

1. akk left...

Tuesday, 10 April 2007 1:46 pm

looks quite nice....

2. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 10 April 2007 4:57 pm :: 

akk: Yah. It was very tasty. Just too bad about the beef. A case of so near yet so far.

3. sunflower left...

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 11:30 pm

OMG this is bloody cheap!

4. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 12 April 2007 9:01 am :: 

sunflower: Cost of living is indeed very very low this part of town and if one can get used to the local living conditions, one can easily retire here very comfortably.

Meme - 6 Weird Things

I did the 24 Weird Things Meme and then the 5 Weird Things Meme. Now another 6? Where got so many weird things one? Shit man, I actually have to refer back to those memes to make sure I don't repeat them. This is getting harder and harder to do.

But for Ollie 's sake hor, I do lah. Grrrr.......

6 Weird Things

1) I think McDonald's is lousy. I am not against junk food. In fact, I loved them (Damn you, tummy!) but it's just that for everything big and small, it must be done proper and it must be done right. In my opinion, McDonald's burgers just plain suck. Granted that they have great fries, that does not make a good meal out of it. Does it?

Burger King is good with the generous veggies as well as variety while Wendy's burger patties are super juicy. I can't remember much about Carls Jr (except that I enjoyed the meal) for that was the first burger that I have eaten in the US waaay back in 1982 but the last burger I ate in the US was In-n-Out and it was damn good.

I also missed the Mushroom-n-Swiss of Hardees before they disappeared from Singapore back in the late 80s.

Before they had the crispy version at KFC, Church's Texas Fried Chicken was da bomb!


2) I think Starbucks is a rip-off. Well, it's not like their coffee is bad, but I just don't feel justified shelling those kind of dollars, for what I think to be slightly above average at best.

Give me the local kopitiam Java roast or the Vietnamese Arabica blend and I'll be a happy camper at a fraction of what I would be paying at starbucks. It's really a pity that our gahmen banned the practice where kopitiam owners, back in the day, could roast their own secret blend in their back alley. Man, those were the days of great coffee. Have you ever seen people adding a slab of butter to their kopi-kosong?

* I will tell the little story regarding that unusual little practice if there are enough interest.

Unfortunately, in the US, these are the only places I get decent coffee while the rest of the coffee is just brown colour water. So, I switch over to tea whenever I am in the US.


3) I think I am a smooth cruiser. Not a speedster. I am pretty much laid back and yet I can't stand waiting in line. I like everything to be one smooth motion. I can get in back of a long line as long as the line is moving, even if it means 100 people in front of me. I'm actually fine with it but it's when it's stuck like in the middle of a traffic jam, that's when it really gets to me.

Speaking of driving, I am not an impatient driver but I am a stickler for a smooth ride. Even if the highway is totally empty, you won't find me blazing down the road at crazy speeds (unless I get my hands on the S65 AMG again). Instead, I would be happy just crusing at a more manageable 120 to 130 km/h. I've come to realised that I can't enjoy my music if I am driving really fast for one, the noise of the car will drown out the music and secondly, I would be focusing on the driving that I'd probably not notice the music playing.

I also have the knack of picking the slowest line in queue. Once, I was at the Hong Kong immigration and I took the line with just 2 people in front. As luck would have it, I watched helplessly as 5 or 6 people in the next line clearing the immigration counter as I got held up by some guy with a passport discrepancy and then but the next guy whose grandma, wife, 3 children, 3rd aunt, 6th uncle, 2nd nephew, 4th niece and 4 maids suddenly showed up from nowhere and cutting in front of me as they are "traveling together".
Haiz....


4) I think I am a watch scratcher. I do not collect watches out of fear of scratching them. I am a very active person and for some strange reason, all my watches are scratched beyond redemption. Even walking along a corridor and I can find myself scraping the watch against the wall. Why do I walk so closed the the wall and on the left side, I haven't the faintest clue. So while these rich bastards friends of mine are sporting a Frank Mueller, Jaeger La Coute, Panerai, Patek Phillip or Omega, I am just contented with a quartz Tissot that runs on batteries rather than a whole ensemble of springs and gears.


5) I think I attract stoopid people. I would run into one of these basket cases on a daily basis. From the dumbass who presses the elevator button repeatedly to make it go faster, to the idiot who calls my phone and ask "Hello? Who's this?", to the moron who marks the floor positions with a permanent marker.

Mark my words, I would die of an exploding head eventually.


6) I think I have achilles' ankles. I exercise quite a bit and some of these exercises actually requires a proper warm up session e.g. gym, run, etc. There are times when the laziness in me just decides to skip it or at the very least make it a very brief and haphazard go-through motion, however there is just one particular exercise that I absolute cannot take lightly.

Ankle Rotation.

Perhaps it is wearing out of my joints from my cross-country running days where my ankles may give way in mid-stride. The situation arises at the moment my foot makes contact with the ground and my ankle just suddenly unable to support the impact of my landing, resulting in a awkward twisting of the ankle. While it looks like I am bound for a sprained ankle, the impending pain would suddenly fire up all the muscles for a full rebound. It is as if my ankles have a split-second response delay.

Well, that as I found out is if I do not do a proper ankle rotation warm up.

The other warm up related problem albeit more minor is that if I don't warm up my rotator cuff, I can't in a tennis game. The pain would be so excruciating that my racquet would fly out of my hand as I lose my grip.

- Voxeros

1. OLLie left...

Monday, 9 April 2007 11:42 pm

hehe.. paiseh paiseh. I know you do before le.
Anyway, where got weird?!?!?!?! All these are like normal. Except for the watch scratcher la. I must take a good look at your watch when you come back. =))

2. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 10 April 2007 1:10 am :: 

Ollie: Perhaps you are right. I've run out of weird things to write about liao!

3. ihawk98 left...

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 4:30 pm

I love In-&-Out and Carl's Jr burgers. I had them first time while visiting Los Angeles almost 10 years ago and they rock. I still crave it every time I am Stateside...

4. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 8:12 pm ::

ihawk98: Another place where I enjoyed the burgers and it is at those local mom-n-pops diners. Super sinful!

5. Chocolate ah gal left...

Friday, 13 April 2007 11:35 am

Butter in kopi? Sounded interesting.. go write for me to read :p

6. JayWalk left...

Friday, 13 April 2007 6:38 pm ::

Chocolate Ah Gal: Ok, next week, I'll blog about it.

7. nadnut left...

Sunday, 15 April 2007 8:56 am :: http://nadnut.liquidblade.com

you and tiger the same. both dont like macs. i love macs!

8. JayWalk left...

Sunday, 15 April 2007 10:18 am ::

nadnut: What can I say? The man has good taste. After all, he is crazy about you. No?

Score One For The King

There are good fast food and there are crappy ones. Fortunately, Burger King resides in my "good list" amongst the ranks of In-N-Out, Hardees, Carls Jr, Popeye's (ex-Singapore), Wendys, Church's Texas Fried Chicken (defunct), A&W (the early years), just to name a few. Nominees in my bad list are McDonald's, A&W (present day), Popeye's (Singapore) and Long John Silver.

Surely, pro-Macs (not the computer) would be leaping out in defense at this point and gushed about their fries. Sure, they are pretty good but after you have tried In-N-Out's Fries (Animal Style)  i.e. fries lathered with melted cheese and fried onions, the prior is at best, No.2 only.

Anyway, today's entry is not about critiquing about who is good and who is not.

I am writing to pay tribute to Burger King for a good thing that they have done.

Burger King has recently committed to eggs and pork from farm that do not keep their animals in cages. Slowly this will move on to beef and hopefully be able to inspire other fast food chains to follow suit.
While it is required that we slaughter for food, surely there is a humane way to doing so?

PETA has lavished Burger King with kudos for this commitment and I cannot help but voice out my approval here as well.

One more reason for me to favour Burger King over McDonald's.

Click Here for PETA's article.

Click Here or above image to view MSNBC video link.

- Voxeros

Burberry Worker

I was doing my rounds in the factory when something caught the peripheral radar of my eye. I couldn't put a finger to what I saw when I turned around initially. I was asking myself why am I looking at this particular worker? Everything looked normal yet there is a hint of something unusual.

It took me a couple of seconds before it dawned on me.

WAH!!! BURBERRY leh!!!!

Liew.... either this worker is better paid than I do or his grandfather open Burberry factory one. TMD....
Then again, with fakes plentifully abound in Spitland, I doubt the authenticity of the jacket.

Nah.... that's just the sour grapes in me talking. :(

- Voxeros

1. OLLie left...

Thursday, 5 April 2007 12:20 pm :: http://ooohlah.lah.cc

you want ar? I go SZ i buy for you lorrr.. hahahaha..

2. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 5 April 2007 12:51 pm :: 

Ollie: Eh... you look down on people!! Must give benefit of doubt mah. Cannot one shot say people's Burberry is fake ok?

3. OLLie left...

Friday, 6 April 2007 10:53 am :: http://ooohlah.lah.cc

eh I got say I buy fake one for you meh? Go buy real one mah. The picture of it that is. =))

4. JayWalk left...

Saturday, 7 April 2007 10:38 am ::

Ollie: Lame!!!

Sick Chicken

It was strange how just a week ago, I was in a discussion about the difference between a virus and a poison. To be more concise, we were talking about when one is having a fever, how do we know if the cause is a virus 菌 or a poison 毒 i.e. if you caught it from someone contagious or if you ate/drank something wrong.

Virus would be the likes of influenza, cold etc. Poison would be the likes of stomach flu or food poisoning.
The answer, which I am unable to verify, is that of the runny nose.

Well, I am running a temperature of 39 degrees Celsius, puking my guts out from both ends but no runny nose. So I guess, I am having a stomach flu or food poisoning?

The climate changed drastically yesterday with temperature falling 10 degrees Celsius. Many would have assumed that I caught a cold or flu as a result but I was feeling fine all day until evening when I was heading home from work.

The moment I got into the car, I knew something was wrong and my condition started crashing rapidly. I was a different man when I got in the car and when I got out. I could feel my temperature rising and very bloated. The want-to-burp-but-can't feeling. Si beh gang kor.

I skipped dinner and headed straight to bed. The first reading of the thermometer was 37.1 and I knew it was just the beginning. I was freezing under the blankets for the first 2 hours before starting to burn up over the next 2. I was optimistically happy thinking that once I sweat it out, I should be ok but it wasn't soon before I enter the next cycle of freezing again.

Just when I was slated to return to the gym after my travels, some cosmic forces out there is trying to prevent me. Perhaps it's my karma to be cursed with a tum tum? Nooooooo..........

Anyway, I survived the night and the sun is slowly coming up. Temperature reads 39 now but I feel so much better than last night. Perhaps, I puked, burped, farted, pooped everything that I have?

Oh wait. Here's come another one.

BUUUUUURPPPPPPPP..........

ahhhhhh..... shee fook sai..........

Looks like I am staying in and working from home today.

Image Credit: http://www.fururu.net; http://www.tuberose.com

- Voxeros

1. aloe left...

Wednesday, 4 April 2007 2:54 pm

ooo... take care!
And that's an uber cute baby pic!

2. OLLie left...

Wednesday, 4 April 2007 6:06 pm

*pat pat* take care!

3. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 4 April 2007 6:16 pm :

aloe & ollie: Thanks.

4. Jaschocolate left...

Thursday, 5 April 2007 12:42 am

Aiyoh... Daddy, get well soon... Sick still can analyze whether is virus or poison ah... just go rest rest REST LAH!!!

5. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 5 April 2007 10:03 am :: 

Jaschocolate: The body may be weak, but the mind remained strong mah. Thanks for the well wishes though. I feel much better liao.

6. Missy left...

Saturday, 7 April 2007 2:47 am :: http://missyling.wordpress.com

hope u recover soon! take care!

7. JayWalk left...

Saturday, 7 April 2007 10:43 am :

Missy: Welcome to the blog, Missy! Thanks for the well wish. I am feeling much better now though not quite ready to hit the gym yet. I tried jogging (which I do these days rather than walking) the length of my factory (about 300m) and I was panting like mad to finish a shave off 1 minute.

I tried again this morning and was able to finish around the same time but breathing was much easier. No panting nor wheezing. People won't be able to know if I had just ran except perhaps I looked a little flushed.

Well, I see if I can get back on the treadmill next Tuesday.

Flight Back To Spitland

My US trip, by right, was shorter than usual and yet it felt like one of the longest. I was sick of it already and ready to fly back. Perhaps it wasn't anywhere fancy like New York or San Francisco, boredom crept up on me pretty fast as I found myself counting down to my ETD earlier than expected.

So anyway, it was the day before departure and I called my airline. Surely, any Business Class seats unsold by now would grant me the upgrade with my mileage. Initially, the agent said no and I explained, that if there are Business Class seats unsold 24 hours before departure, what are the chances that they would be able to sell the rest within that little time of window? I added that I wasn't asking for a free upgrade i.e. I will use 30,000 FFMiles to exchange for it. I told her it's either that or the seat flies empty.

She relented and I got my upgrades. Heng ah.

With that done, I called to make a reservation for an airport shuttle to get me to the airport next morning. This is my style when I travel. Everything must be planned to the detail in advance. I don't like the lottery of uncertainty. If I can nail everything dead shut before I make my next move on the itinerary, I would.
So shuttle would arrive at the lobby at 9.15am next morning and I woke up especially early the next day at 6am to head down for a big breakfast as I haven't had a proper meal in the last couple of days and it also looked unlikely that I would hardly have any chance of a proper meal on that day with all the flight connections. Besides, I like a slow breakfast. It's very relaxing.

After checking out, I walked to the front door only to see this van parked in front of me.

Clarion Airport Shuttle. 

What?!!

You mean this hotel got free airport shuttle one ah?

Alamak! Then I called to make booking for what?

It was too late to cancel my booking as I went USD 20 poorer. T_T

The consolation was that they sent a Lincoln Town Car to get me. At least, I would arrive at the airport looking good. The car arrived late albeit slightly as I realised why. The fact that he was driving with one hand and munching his ta-pao breakfast biscuit with the other kinda gave the clue away. Not that big a problem with me since I like the guy. Very friendly and chatty even though bits of biscuits were flying out of his mouth onto the steering wheel as he talked.

Anyway, first sector from GSO to DTW was uneventful as it was a small flight on a CRJ carrying only 50 people. I grabbed a quick lunch of a Coney Dog lathered to death with melted cheese and bacon. It was a small hotdog which I wolfed down in 4 bites but I could have sworn it clogged up 5 years of my arteries useful lifespan.

I arrived at my gate an hour earlier only to see people boarding already. I supposed they needed to board earlier since I noticed there were an unusually high number of Ojisans, Obasans, Ah Sooks and Ah Pors on this flight. Coincidence? Your guess is as good as mine.

So there I was snugly tugged into my seat with a book in my hand, sipping bubbly.

It must have been quite a while as I found myself dozing off. I was awakened by the blare of the PA.

WTF? Are we still on the ground? !@#$$#@$%&^*#!!!!
 
Apparently, they are still trying to fix the navigation system which of all times, choose to go nuts just before I fly.

"Nabeh... this one confirm Microsoft Windows one..." I cussed under my breath.

I looked at my watch when we finally pushed off from the gate. We have been sitting for an hour and a half already. Good thing we boarded earlier or we would have fallen even further behind schedule.

The Boeing 744 taxied lazily to the runway only to find ourselves with another PA announcement. Apparently the plane that landed on our runway before us, had landed quite hard, causing quite a bit of concrete to come off the runway, resulting in debris strewn across our path. In English, it translates to another hour for the ground crew to repair and clean up the runway.

I was telling myself in my mind that my connection from Narita to Hong Kong is screwed liao and was silently comtemplating if the airline would put us up in hotels in Tokyo. I was already planning where I wanna go liao. Akihabara? Roppongi? Shibuya? *day dreams*

Well, it wasn't long after we have taken off when the Captain spoke again. Looks like my ETA is now 18:30 +1 Japan time and they are holding back all connecting flights to wait for us. There goes my free night in Tokyo. Damn.

It was a good thing I was strategically seated in 10A where I was 2nd in line at the door when we disembarked. The last thing you want to be is to be behind 400 people at the security checkpoint at a time where you are rushing from one plane to another.

We landed at Gate 20-somethings and my connection is at Gate 15. Wah raoz!! Can be closer a bit or not? So I ended up dragging my wheelie carry-on and forced march all the way until my legs were crying out for mercy (if run hor, very unglam leh. So die die also must only walk.).

It must have been a personal record as I unbuckled my seat belt from one plane to buckling up in the next plane, with airport security checks and all, in under 20 minutes.

I sat there panting with my legs throbbing. Give me my champagne and make it a double!

I slept all the way to Hong Kong. Again, I opted for Seat 10A. First off the plane, first to clear immigration and it was a nice finishing touch to see your luggage first off the conveyor belt.

Just when you thought the journey is over, it isn't. There was a car waiting to whisk me into the darkness heading in the direction of Spitland.

- Voxeros

I've Moved!

This blog has been migrated to http://jaywalk.blog-city.com.

Please click to proceed.

Thank you.

- Voxeros