CowBoyCaleb REALLY REALLY Sucked At Pool

It was CowBoyCaleb's last night before he heads back home for the rest of the week when he called me up to go out for drinks.

We decided that we should go to H0llyw00d Baby since

1. Gecko was closed that day coz Robert (owner/neighbour) was celebrating his son's 8th birthday (Happy Birthday, kiddo!)
   
2. H0llyw00d Baby is within walking distance and
   
3. There isn't a 3rd option.

Now, H0llyw00d Baby is one of those drinking places where you have bar counters for barflies like us to chill with our drinks, a pool table, a dart board and a foosball table to basically let you unwind at the end of the day. And an added difference is that the place have many young, pretty and nubile waitresses (H0llyw00d Babies) ala Hooter Girls in their tight tanktops, mingling and chatting with the customers except that they are more like Mosquito Bite Girls  then Hooter Girls.

It's probably the perfect place for the lonely expat since the friendly babies love to talk to you. It's an interesting place where AngMohs try to speak Mandar1n to get into the Babies' good books and us two Ch1nese trying to speak English to prevent the Babies eavesdropping on our talking cock session.

Well, that lasted for like what? 15 minutes? That before one of the Babies climbed up the bar counter and nestled herself comfortably on the service counter just below the bar counter top, with cups of dice and started to chat with us. I think she likes CowBoyCaleb (You dawg!)


So out of basic courtesy for the lady, we had no choice but switch to speaking Mandar1n, thereby ending our talking cock session prematurely.  Don't get me wrong, it is not that we loathed speaking to her or that she cannot stop yakking but it's just that sometimes the two of us prefer to just sit back and talk about our own stuff. Let's face it, when she was talking to us, she was trying to entertain us to make us feel comfortable. Likewise when we talked to her, we were also trying to entertain her as a way of reciprocating the hospitality. Only difference was that she gets paid for it and we don't.

I guess it was just one of those nights where we prefer to just sit back and chill on our own terms.
So there we were chatting with one of the Babies and playing dice, when another announced that the availability of the pool table. We grabbed at the chance since

1. We needed to get off our butts and do a bit of exercise even though it only involves just walking around a pool table and
   
2. We can stop talking. Yay!

Ok, so we played a few rounds and chatting among ourselves around the pool table when this little petite Baby came over join us for a game. Her strokes were good but her aiming and placing damn jialat. In a nutshell, she sucked and her height, or rather the lack of, just made it worse. Still, you have to give her lotsa credit for her enthusiasm and passion for the game.

To interject a little, let me explain why we prefer to talk cock in English. The following conversation ensued while I was playing pool with the Petite Baby.

CowBoyCaleb: Eh... this one, her neh neh quite big ah!

JayWalk: Aiyah.. bruff one lah. All push-up bra one lah.

CowBoyCaleb: No. No... this one is real one!

JayWalk: Not possible lah. Here one by one all mosquito bite one lah.

CowBoyCaleb: Really! Wanna bet or not?

JayWalk: Bet? Siao ah? How to find out?

CowBoyCaleb: Pretend walk into her lor!

JayWalk: But it will be your word that my bet will be based on wor.

CowBoyCaleb: Then you walk into her lor!

JayWalk: No use lah. I walk into her also cannot tell if real or push-up one lah.

CowBoyCaleb: Big ah!

So now you know.

Coming back. I passed my cue to CowBoyCaleb to have a go after she kena whitewashed by me and here comes the interesting part of the evening.

There was a wager where the loser had to go buy mangoes (there was a fruit hawker just outside the bar).
Next came the most facepalm game I've ever witnessed. You should see these two lovebirds ding dong ding dong all over the table as if the pool table manufacturer forgot to install pockets for the balls to fall into.
30 minutes later, and they are still struggling to finish ONE FRIGGIN' GAME!

I think maybe CowBoyCaleb purposely one so that he can keep oogling when she bended over to take her shot. I wonder why he always stand at opposite end of the table from her. *scratch head* 

In the end, CowBoyCaleb gave up and bought the bananas.

p.s. I am so dead after this entry.

Image Credit: http://www.hollywood-baby.com

- Voxeros

1. JY left...

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 6:50 pm

What is with buying the mangoes and bananas?!

2. msvindicta left...

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 11:20 pm :: http://msvindicta.blogsome.com

so cowboy's a boob guy! hmm.

3. Posh left...

Thursday, 1 May 2008 12:50 am

omg omg omg.....i couldnt stop laffing!!! U pichar cowboy's lobang! Nottiee nottiee.... ;)

4. Chocolate gal left...

Thursday, 1 May 2008 3:33 pm

So in the end, the boobs real or fake???

5. JayWalk left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 4:40 am

JY: Dunno. Girl craving to eat mangoes and bought bananas instead? You have to go ask Cowboy yourself.

msv: From the looks of it, I believe so.

Posh: Now you know why he's always looking in your direction. *wink*

Jaschocolate: How should I know? Ask Cowboy yourself lah....

6. Chocolate gal left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 5:42 am

dont know how to ask... u two dont know how to take photos ah.. *pouts*

7. JayWalk left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 8:52 am :: 

chocolate gal: We not so bo liao like you lor.

8. Mistress Grace left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 11:01 am

Buahahaha this is damn hilarious. But why bananas?

9. starm|st left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 11:05 am :: http://starmist.liquidblade.com

yesterday cowboy did something to me...... :(
but i doubt he knew he did it .

10. Chocolate gal left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 11:49 am

take pics boliao meh?? *wonders*

11. starm|st left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 12:37 pm :: http://starmist.liquidblade.com

hmm? how come my comment became like that? :/

12. Posh left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 12:39 pm

did he?! iDont recall meeting him before.... honestly!

13. grasshopper left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 2:51 pm

short doesnt mean cannot play hor!!! Let's do it when we go back. Yay! CB never see your entry yet ah? No comments from him...tiam tiam wor~

14. JayWalk left...

Saturday, 3 May 2008 8:00 am :: 

Mistress Grace: I actually went back to ask the girl. It turned out that the fruit seller ran out of mangoes then and so she picked bananas as an alternative. Quite a healthy bar, I tell you. Eat fruits one.

Starmist: You mean he langah you har? ok ok.... I will ask him if he thinks yours is real one.

Chocolate Gal: Depends on what you take I supposed. If you are thinking of me taking the girl's pics for you to critique if her boobs were real, I think it's damn boliao lor. Starmist: Become like what?

Posh: Have! During the last DeathMatch lor... I tell you this guy is good. He "walked" into you liao, you still dunno....

Grasshopper: I never said cannot play. I just said that her height, or the lack of, made it more difficult. Lai lah. ONZE you at pool!

15. starm|st left...

Saturday, 3 May 2008 12:00 pm

no leh.. he didn't langah me..but yesh, mine are very real..(so small already how not to be real!?)

16. JayWalk left...

Saturday, 3 May 2008 2:10 pm :: 

Starmist: Small? I won't know, now would I? Find one day I come back, I langah you ok? :P

17. Mistress Grace left...

Saturday, 3 May 2008 3:31 pm

Sekali she meant the other banana and silly cowboy really go buy banana buahahaha

18. starm|st left...

Tuesday, 6 May 2008 10:30 am :: http://starmist.liquidblade.com

you langah me, my auto-reaction will be the langah you where it hurts. :P

19. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 6 May 2008 10:58 am :: 

Mistress Grace: Don't ask me. I REALLY don't want to know.

Starmist: You go ahead and try to langah my horse lor. I only scared it's you pain, not I pain.

A Winnar Is You - Malaysian Police & Thief

CBS New (18 Apr 2008) - Malaysian Cop Allegedly Breaks Into Car, Falls Asleep.
 
This is all so wrong on so many counts!

First you have a cock thief who fell asleep in the car when he was stealing the car stereo system.

Then he is a cop.

And he was high on drugs.

Walau.

This one confirm champion liao.

A winnar ish you!

Malaysia Boleh!

Ok ok.... perhaps it is unfair to pin point Malaysia for this type of stoopid thing but it is unfortunate that Malaysia just suay suay happen to be the country to have this stoopid cock incident.

Suddenly, Mas Selamat's escape doesn't sound like such a bad thing at the end of the day...

... or maybe not. 

Image Credit: http://limlaopeh.blogspot.com

- Voxeros

The Car That Wouldn't Go

For those who been following my Twitter and/or read KosherJellyFish's recent entry, you must have caught the above recently.

This is a story of my timber supplier whom a few months ago, pulled into my factory's parking lot with a spanking new Nissan Cefiro 2.5L Royal Edition. A car even more staydee than his own boss' who was driving a relatively more modest Spitland-made car. He even bragged that his boss had to borrowed his car to ferry some local officials when the latter were coming to visit recently.

Forward to last week where we met up for lunch and he was lamenting about selling his car. We are surprised when he dropped the bombshell coz selling a car barely a year-old is definitely looking at a loss of 30% or more of the orignal sum paid for.

He explained that he has been struggling to keep up with the upkeep of the car. The breaking point came at a time where he was stuck at the petrol station only to realised that he has no money for gas.

If I have taught KosherJellyFish the word "facepalm", here's another phrase to learn.

"Sudden Gush Of Shit To The Brain"

Now before, we start laughing at other people's misfortune, I suggest taking a look around us. How many of us are/were ever caught in the same situation?

I have seen friends driving fancy smancy cars when I couldn't figure for the life of me how he/she was able to afford a car of that price tag based on his/her salary? I have seen many folks take up maximum term car loans just so that the monthly installment is barely reachable. Makes me wonder why the need to struggle so hard?

Can they just get a less expensive car?

I am not against buy expensive cars but please, buy within your range of affordability.

I used to drive a Beemer 320i back in the late 90s, where I took out a 7-year car loan of SGD 1,300 monthly payment. That seemed a bit excessive but if one takes into account my renumeration package that included a $400 car allowance, a $500 petrol allowance and unlimited parking allowance. The $1,300 price tag doesn't look too daunting, right?

Well, yes and no. I left that job a year later and gave up the car allowance and other goodies that came with it. That was when I felt the full impact of the car loan where I had no choice but to immediately downsize to a Toyota Corolla 1.6L and slash my month installment to half. But only after taking a $30,000 loss for disposing of the car prematurely.

Expensive gush of shit to my brain back then. *facepalm*

Image Credit: KosherJellyFish

- Voxeros

1. spinnee left...

Monday, 28 April 2008 1:21 pm

there has been an increase of ppl pumping fuel @ petrol stn & drive off without paying.
Some pretended to buy a $1 chocolate and take the receipt, misleading those petrolmen that he/she'd paid for the fuel.
so i guess..... it's normal nowadays? HAHA *facepalm too*

2. JayWalk left...

Monday, 28 April 2008 4:53 pm :: 

Spinnee: All petrol stations are fitted with CCTVs. I don't think anyone in Singapore is able to pull off a fast one on them.

3. littlecartnoodles left...

Monday, 28 April 2008 10:33 pm :: http://littlecartnoodles.blogspot.com

If only they can produce cars that run on spit, there'll be more oil for the rest of the world.

4. spinnee left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 9:34 am

pss pss the petrol stn near my home never install cctv ... that's why those ppl working there have to pay for those who drove away!! *hmmm evil thots* :D

5. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 5:13 pm :: 

LittleCartNoodles: Next we will have a documentary where an expose showed greedy employers forcing their workers to live in cages like farm animals, to produce spit.

Spinnee: psst.... where is this petrol station?

6. Chocolate gal left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 8:09 pm

Moral of the story: dont wear a big hat if your head is not so big ah...

7. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 10:41 am :: 

chocolate gal: I thot it's dun wear big swimming trunks if your lam pah is not big enough?

8. Chocolate gal left...

Thursday, 1 May 2008 1:29 pm

lam pah is what dialect.. me no understand wor.. no big lam pah can put banana inside mah.. just cannot go swim.. :p

9. Chocolate gal left...

Thursday, 1 May 2008 1:31 pm

opps.. sorry.. if it mean testicles, then can only use hard-boiled eggs liao.. taped tight tight.. sure okie..

10. JayWalk left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 4:42 am :: 

Chocolategal: Dotz....

11. Chocolate gal left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 11:51 am

wrong meh.. what do u usually use then? :p

12. JayWalk left...

Saturday, 3 May 2008 8:09 am :: 

Chocolate Gal: Wear a smaller sized trunks then! Duh..........

13. Chocolate gal left...

Saturday, 3 May 2008 3:20 pm

*speechless*

Four Treasures Rice

This is one of my favourite dish at a CharChanTeng just outside my factory.

It's called 四宝饭 (Four Treasures Rice). The so called Four Treasures are Hum Dan (Salted Duck Egg), Char Siew (BBQ Pork), Yao Gai (Soy Sauce Chicken) and Siew Ngor (Roast Goose), generously smothered on top of the rice which you could hardly see underneath all the goodies and of course the obligatory portion of Siew Pak Choy (chinese lettuce) to give it the impressive of a balanced meal.

Truth to be told, the yummy part aren't the meat but the rice itself. How so? Because of all the meat on top, the juices all flow downwards only to be soaked up by the rice.

SEDAP!!!!!!!

There is a life's lesson there to be learn. As humble as the rice may be, it was the best part of the entire lot.

p.s. As you can see in the picture, there is something "extra" there. I called it the icanhasMaLingzLuncheongMeatz Four Treasure Rice. wakakakakakakak.....

- Voxeros

1. Posh left...

Friday, 25 April 2008 11:16 am

yummlicious though i am not a fan of ham dan and siew ngor! and haha, the siew pak choy looks pathetic *Snigger*

2. JayWalk left...

Friday, 25 April 2008 1:30 pm :: 

Posh: Like I said, the vegetable is obligatory. Nobody really bothered about it.

3. cakie left...

Friday, 25 April 2008 5:13 pm

*tummy rumbles*

4. JayWalk left...

Friday, 25 April 2008 6:16 pm :: 

cakie: pat pat.

5. littlecartnoodles left...

Saturday, 26 April 2008 6:13 pm :: http://littlecartnoodles.blogspot.com

Wah, doesn't that make it FIVE Treasures Rice ?
Some places in HK even offer SIX Treasures Rice, like "Canteen" near my office (a nicer clone of Cafe de Coral and Maxim's MX Cafe) Besides the four "treasures" that you mentioned, it also has slices of "red sausage" (not lap-cheong but the thicker meatier type) and boiled squid.
That plus a milk tea (total HK$39) make for a splendid lunch, which I have once a week.

6. Rachel left...

Saturday, 26 April 2008 11:27 pm

Wah!! Ma Ling!! I want!!!
eh, I thought we is have xmm privileges? LOL!!

7. Everton left...

Saturday, 26 April 2008 11:50 pm

I faint every time when I see my ang moh colleagues and students pour black soy sauce into their steamed rice! They don't know the proper way to enjoy a bowl of delicious rice :-)

8. JayWalk left...

Sunday, 27 April 2008 9:51 am :: 

LittleCartNoodle: Welcome to the blog! Well yeah, with the luncheon meat, it technically makes it 5 Treasures Rice albeit the last one is not officially recgonised. Yes, I have heard of 6 Treasures in HK but if you ask me, it's a bit of overkill liao.

Rachel: Sure! *teh*

Everton: The only time I add dark soya sauce to the rice is when having chicken rice.

9. starm|st left...

Sunday, 27 April 2008 12:52 pm :: http://starmist.liquidblade.com

this is a really belated reply to my last comment which you probably don't remember but it's ok. yeah i have the book, i can lend it to you if you want. :) it was just a random comment though, when i read that entry of yours, it seemed to me like i was reading that exact passage from the Tony Parsons book. :P

10. Chocolate gal left...

Sunday, 27 April 2008 12:57 pm

that time i went hkg with my friends, one of them, a guy, ordered 八宝饭.. i forget what it consisted liao.. super tempting but sinful.. i only dare to order 2 meat.. dont dare to eat too much.. the shop we went is near the toy or movie collectibles museum..

11. sunflower left...

Sunday, 27 April 2008 9:41 pm

It looks good pls don't eat every week... cos of the salted egg... not good for u

12. rachel left...

Monday, 28 April 2008 2:50 am

wah lau. Sibeh bo hua leh. And eh why I dun have flower one! *sulk*

13. Winsor left...

Monday, 28 April 2008 2:53 am :: http://winsor.blogspot.com

MALING LUNCHEON!!!!!! I've not eaten luncheon since god knows when. SPAM is no good. haha!

14. JayWalk left...

Monday, 28 April 2008 10:55 am :: 

starmist: Yes, I remember. If you can spare the book, I'd be glad to take it. :)

Chocolate Gal: I think you got it confused with 八宝粥 which is a dessert. Different thing.

Sunflower: Won't eat every day or every week lah.... Eat too much also will sian one.

Rachel: I scared Mandy later jealous then iTioHoot how? *teh*

Winsor: Ya lor... I oso say! Spam CMI one. Must be the real stuff, cannot bruff.

15. Rachel left...

Monday, 28 April 2008 4:15 pm

since when you scared ppl hoot one? and stop tehing lah! sibeh bo hua lor!! *grumble*

16. JayWalk left...

Monday, 28 April 2008 4:56 pm :: 

Rachel: I only scared Mandy hoot coz he damn dua jiak. *teh teh*

17. aloe left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 9:34 am

You scare Mandy hoot and yet you dare to teh her?!! u ish winnar... -_-|||
LOL!!

18. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 5:18 pm :: 

Aloe: That one got apply license one. No scared.

19. Rachel left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 5:27 pm

aloe: dun believe him!! He ying lai one!
I struggled but... *weeps*

20. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 5:34 pm :: 

Rachel: You geh geh struggle one lor. Still got help adjust position when my aim was a bit off leh. *teh*

21. Rachel left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 5:38 pm

Sigh. Dun say mah. I will hai xiu one ok..
Eh, last month's bill still not paid yet. You think what, I have 30 days credit one ah? Some more scared ppl find out and ask me to disguise as F&B "teh guni" bill. tsk.

22. Chocolate gal left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 8:41 pm

Daddy, no lah.. i didnt get confused.. the shop i went to really got it.. i got pic as proof...
Shop - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaschocolate/2451995036/
Rice - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaschocolate/2451994340/

23. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 10:30 am :: 

Rachel: You hai xiu? I don't see you hai xiu when you help readjusting hand position wor.... Anyway, bill I always settle properly one. Mandy never pass the moolah to you meh? Orrrr....... he makaned it!!! die!!!

Jaschocolate: Wah... overkill liao!!

24. Rachel left...

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 10:42 am

Hahahahaha!!! Touch you cannot stick lah..

25. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 10:58 am :: 

Rachel: alamak! forgot to teh just now!

*teh*

*teh* for this comment.

26. Rachel left...

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 11:02 am

**faint.................................................................... ....**

27. Chocolate gal left...

Thursday, 1 May 2008 2:09 pm

not overkill lah.. just dont eat all the time can liao.. can i teh you tooooo? btw, what is teh.. i still dont get the tehing joke.. :p
*teh*

28. JayWalk left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 4:37 am

Rachel: Too hot for you? *teh*

Jaschocolate: Just a private joke between Rachel and I. It's not the "teh" that you think it is and so I wouldn't recommend you get into this.

Don't ask. Don't tell.

29. Chocolate gal left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 5:47 am

orh... i think i know what it is.. better not to touch those grounds.. :p

30. JayWalk left...

Friday, 2 May 2008 8:56 am :: 

chocolate gal: Ask me no question and I will tell you no lies.

icanhasMaLingzLuncheonMeatz

Cakie and I were yum cha-ing when she said she was craving CharCharnTeng fare from PoLo Buns to CharnYokeGongZaiMeens.

"I want MaLing luncheon meat!" She squealed.

That at a time where we were polishing off har gao, siew mai, san zhoke ngao yoke kao, siew ngor, pei dan sao yoke zhoke, lor butt gol and char siew farn cheong on our own and she still wanna go eat CharChanTeng?


I tell you, this girl is deliriously optimistic.

Alas, by the time we actually finish every morsel of food on the table (you should see her eat the ENTIRE siew ngor on her own!), she finally admitted that we can forget about heading over the CharChanTeng.

Clever girl. I was glad she came to her senses or she would be bending over puking her guts out....

.... and I have to be there to hold her hair for her. >.<

Strangely, the words "MaLing Luncheon Meat" got stuck in my head so much so that I decided to pop into the supermarket after gym last night to grab a couple of cans for breakfast this morning.

Heh heh.....

I had them this morning.

Mmmmm..... sedap!

I was sms-ing CowBoyCaleb telling him now that Singapore has banned them, they are Singapore Chewing Gum v2.0.

Maybe 10 years from now, they will be available at your nearest dentist.

Then at the various checkpoints, especially the second link and causeway, imagine the customs officers asking if you have "Luncheon Meat". *facepalm*

icanhascheezburger.com? Nah. It's icanhasmalingzluncheonmeatz.com ! LOL!

- Voxeros

1. Posh left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 1:39 pm

maling i like also........ nothing like maling! oohh, poster's real cute, king charles!!

2. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 2:48 pm :: 

Posh: Come to think about it, it was wrong to use a dog who misses MaLing. Considering the fact the dogs will drop hair if they eat stuff with too much sodium.

3. r3gular left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 4:28 pm :: http://r3gular.liquidblade.com/

I want luncheon Meat as well!

4. cowboycaleb left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 4:30 pm

My hotel has slabs of them for the breakfast buffet every morning. Grossssss

5. Kelly left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 5:09 pm :: http://www.kellchan.blogspot.com/

I had MA LING with instant noodles over the weekend.
*BLISS*

6. cakie left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 5:33 pm

not the whole siew ngor hor!! (i never eat the bones...)
now i regret! should have just forced the food in. I MISS MALING!!!
icanthazmalingluncheonmeat! :(

7. CoWg0eSm0o left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 10:45 pm :: http://cowg0esm0o.liquidblade.com

I can has MaLing too???

8. grasshopper left...

Friday, 25 April 2008 10:55 am

Oddly I never had MaLing before in SG, or rather, I don't know what brand was it on my fried rice plate. But I eat SPAM here. SPAMUSUBI!!!

9. JayWalk left...

Friday, 25 April 2008 11:03 am :: 

r3gular: A lesson there about how we take the simplest things for granted, only to miss it dearly when it's gone.

cowboycaleb: Welcome to Spitland!

Kelly: One of the little comforts of being away from home.

Cakie: You damn greedy leh!

CowGoesMoo: Yes you can. Just make your way up here to Hk/Spitland lor.

Grasshopper: Ang moh spam and tng lang luncheon meat not exactly the same leh....

10. Posh left...

Friday, 25 April 2008 11:12 am

iMIss maling with fried eggy rice and shrimps! boohooooo.........

11. JayWalk left...

Friday, 25 April 2008 1:07 pm :: 

Posh: Ooo... with the runny yolk being soaked up by the rice. And the curry gravy too!

12. Chocolate gal left...

Sunday, 27 April 2008 12:54 pm

I want my maling.. go and bring one carton back for us.. illegally lah..

13. JayWalk left...

Monday, 28 April 2008 11:18 am :: 

Chocolate Gal: You siao ah! You know 1 carton is how many cans or not??!!

14. Chocolate gal left...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 8:21 pm

one carton then enough to share mah.. u know your blog how popular? then u need to give all the xmms leh.. then your lover, cowboy leh, then your ex-lover, TK leh... see... so many ppl.. one carton not enough loh...

15. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 10:42 am :: 

Chocolate Gal: Nah..... I rather they come up, I bring them go buy.

A Typhoon Night In Hong Kong

Was in Hong Kong last Saturday night to meet up with Cakie only for her to zhun zhun pick the weekend Typhoon Neoguri was coming to town.

As I was looking the tropical cyclone tracking website, I calculated that we would feel the full impact of the typhoon shortly after midnight and so I made the call to go ahead to travel down to Hong Kong that Saturday afternoon.

   

Anyway, I got a Twitter alert on my mobile phone and it was from CowBoyCaleb thinking that my buddy here was concerned about my well-being. Turned out that he only wanted me to take pictures of the typhoon for him. Tmd. >.<

It was raining heavily when I got to WanChai but the wind was weaker than I expected which I later found out that the typhoon has already subsided by the time it reached Hong Kong. Hence, the rather subdued photo above. One would have hoped to see trees bent and snapped by the howling gales, people flying in the air with cars flipping over and tumbling down the streets. How about tsunami crests crashing against the buildings of the Hong Kong skyline? Sorry, no such luck as all mother nature did was a heck of a weak bl0wjob. Still, it was enough to screw up all the flights over the weekend.

From historical data, the average of a first typhoon of each year is calculated to be 24th of June and this Neoguri was two months ahead of schedule, a record earliest in 60 years. Reports predicted that this could be a year of a higher number of typhoon strikes and of greater intensity. Good luck with that.


And yeah, I got myself soaked by the stupid rain but the company made up for everything as we had a pretty fun evening with excellent food and vodka.

- Voxeros

1. Chocolate gal left...

Wednesday, 23 April 2008 7:23 pm

haha... i like cb's twitter.. so funny.. and he did show his luv for you in it.. ^_

2. Faith left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 11:12 am

I remember the typhoon on Sat. Was bummed that the typhoon didn't come earlier on Friday or later on Monday. We stayed at home the whole day. Was too afraid that if we went out, there might be a slight chance that we might not be able to make it home. The ferries might be down or the Tsingma Bridge might be shut.

3. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 2:46 pm :: 

Chocolate Gal: Yeah, we have this love-hate thing going on......

Faith Sim: I was bummed coz I expected something stronger. Turned out to be so weak.

An Arm And A Leg To Dance

Got this youtube from Merryfeet, whom herself is a dance enthusiast, of a dance performance where the girl was without an arm and the guy was without a leg.

Yet their movement was so beautiful that the audience wept.

I watched the clip and I was very impressed. Not so much with the girl coz it's still relatively easy to dance with just one arm but to dance with only one leg with such grace and dexterity? Whoa!

I figured that this guy must be super fit to be able to grace those moves while supporting her entire weight at the same time. I also liked the way he walked with the crutch. One would have expected people to hobble on the crutch but in the dance it was almost as if he was on prosthetics. Despite the unnatural gait, it was all so graceful.

I was never a big fan of dance eventhough I have been to quite a few performances, be it contemporary, modern jazz, ballet, ballroom but only because I was dragged there by GFs 1.x and 2.x. If you see claw marks leading to the entrance of the usual places like Singapore Indoor Stadium or Victoria Theatre, they are probably mine.

But this was something I could have watched appreciatively....

.... and without nodding off, drooling.

- Voxeros

1. JY left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 12:53 am :: http://phatybomb.blogspot.com

Such grace! Arrgh I feel like an elephant with my crutches.

2. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 24 April 2008 2:44 pm :: 

JY: Ok lah.... still a chio elephant on crutches lor.

The Mother And The Errant Child

This is a story of a mother and her child. There is no father in this story and the whereabouts of this character is irrelevant. So the story opens with that of a single mother working hard to raise a child on her own.

As with your typical soap opera script, the child, as a result of lack of supervision since mother is out the whole day working to put food on the table, is a delinquent one. Disciplining of the child perhaps was something that had been overlooked and as the child grew older, it became harder and harder to control.

So there we have on one occasion the finally broke the camel's back. The errant child was throwing a bitch fit, thrashing things, cussing, setting fires and stealing around the house. The mother, upon her return to the house to witness the place being turned upside down, had no choice but to mete out punishment.

Now this is a family back in the early days where we don't have new-age-super-nanny-reasoning-with-child-bullshit. This is the old skool days of the rotan as the mother go around the house chasing down the child and giving the child's backside a good old fashion whack-fest.

Screams and cries of pain rang out of the house and into the neighbourhood and it wasn't before long, that a crowd gathered outside the mother's house with torches and pitchforks, pounding on the door and ordering the mother to stop the child abuse.

"Child abuse you say? Firstly, discipline my child is not abuse and secondly, it's my child and so it's none of your business!" yelled the mother back through the front door.

Since that confrontation, the atmosphere in the neighbourhood has been tense. Whenever she stepped of the house to go to work, some neighbours would be throwing her dirty looks as she walked past them. Some even went to the extent of reporting her to the social services in the hope that perhaps the child would be taken away from her.

"Bad mother!" shouted a neighbour standing behind her white picket fence, while her own son was seen beating up their pet dog behind her.

Then it was the Fourth of July celebrations and the mother invited all her neighbours for a BBQ cookout in the backyard. The response was mixed. Some gladly accept, some declined and even some not only turned down the invitation outright but also went out of the way to persuade other neighbours to boycott likewise. Then there was also a group who said yes but with a hidden agenda to perhaps wanting to take the opportunity to disrupt the festivities and humiliate the host.

Anyway, that night turned out smoothly as those who initially came all gun blazing and ready to stage a mutiny turned out to be as meek as mice. All they had was talk of hot air but when it came to the crunch, no one wanted to be the first to step up to the plate.

The mother was pleased with how the evening panned out and dismissed the would-be mutineers with a pat on the head each as they left the front gate into the warm breeze of the summer's night.

Afternote: I realised a lot of people didn't catch this. I do concede it's a tad abstract. So msn (voxeros[at]hotmail[dok]com) me if you like to find out.

- Voxeros

1. aloe left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 11:58 am :: http://www.xanga.com/aloeve

urm.. and what is the moral behind the story? - dun judge people - pot calling kettle black - lots of hot air coming out but all no guts - one does not need to justify one's action to others - stand by what you think you are doing right and all will end well - ............ ???

2. Faith left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 1:12 pm

Thanks for posting the story. It served as a reminder to me to remember to discipline my future child in the future and also not to pass judgments unless I understand the true situation and circumstances. Having said that, I had a friend who was a teacher in a primary school and she was reprimanded by the Health Services when they came to the school for health visits and the child in her charge was severely abused physically and she did not know of the abuse at all. But to be fair to her, the mum hit at places that the uniform could cover. Therefore teacher didn't know of the abuses at all.

3. JayWalk left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 2:52 pm :: 

Aloe & Faith Sim: You both miss the catch here. I will explain it via MSN.

4. Faith left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 2:58 pm

Inviting your enemies and love them that curse you?

5. cakie left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 4:24 pm

no la. the moral of the story is, if you want to settle problem, you must have a bbq.

6. JayWalk left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 5:02 pm :: 

Faith: MSN you liao.

Cakie: Yah... set them on fire!

7. r3gular left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 7:44 pm :: http://r3gular.liquidblade.com/

I dunch geddit also.
There is always both sides to a coin?

8. Gabe left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 7:57 pm

Wah.. describing the current situation in China har..

9. Chocolate gal left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 10:02 pm

Okie, i am slow.. is this about the riots in US or what???

10. CoWg0eSm0o left...

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 2:26 am :: http://cowg0esm0o.liquidblade.com

eh...."Always beat ur kids", as what Russell Peters advocate?

11. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 6:17 am :: 

r3gular & chocolate gal: I told you on MSN already so I think you are fine now.

Gabe: Welcome to the bar. I can neither confirm nor deny your interpretation due to the sensitivity of where I am and what this is all about.

CowGoesMoo: I'll see you on MSN or you see r3gular, whichever is earlier.

12. Chocolate gal left...

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 5:45 pm

yes, ur story is very abstract.... hahahha... but we still luv u leep leep one...

13. aloe left...

Wednesday, 23 April 2008 10:22 am :: http://www.xanga.com/aloeve

a tad?? I tink it's more like very.... LOL!

14. ed left...

Wednesday, 23 April 2008 1:03 pm

har??
*scratch head*

Dave Draws The Line

Dave is an uncle-in-law of a good brother of mine here in Spitland. Good brother and I are so close that his uncle is my uncle, his dad is my dad and vice versa.

So anyway, I got to know Dave when my good brother got married and that's when we got to know the rest of the extended family. Dave may be an uncle in name but he is closer to our generation as he is still a swinging bachelor (young at heart?) in his early 50s.

Anyway, I see him quite often but we don't really talk much. Both of us are regulars at the gym which we see each other 2 to 3 times a week but I have my own training regime and he has his. We may adjourned for a beer or a meal after gym from time to time but that about it.

One thing about Dave is that he is one quirky character and half the time I don't know what he is talking about to which I more often than not do the obligatory nod nod, pretending I am still in the conversation.
So anyway, I got a call from Dave yesterday asking me not to go gym and to have dinner with him instead. Apparently, he has a friend who has 3 furniture retail stores and was in town that night. He wanted to link us up to see if we have any opportunities arising thereof. Initially, I was reluctant but seeing this as a plausible business opportunity, I relented to his incessant bugging.

As this was going to be an evening of dinner then going out to drink, I called CowBoyCaleb to come along so that he doesn't have to eat dinner and spend the evening alone in a foreign land. Also, I foresee a super boring evening ahead and CowBoyCaleb is always good company.

So after dinner, we drove to a nearby place to drink and I called Macro along too. Macro is the General Manager of the hotel which I put CowBoyCaleb in and he is a very nice guy, which we all got along great together.

I do have to concede that I was in the wrong to invite people when I was not the host of the night. The correct thing would be to ask the host as a form of courtesy. It was my bad to assuming that we are at the level of friendship where my friends are your friends and your friends are my friends.

Apparently not, as he went on and on and on nagging this. He didn't dare to create a big scene coz I would have just stood up and left. I don't think I can be accused of freeloading the party as I have enough money to pay for my own party too. What is a night of drinking to me? I carry enough money that it warrants its own money clip and in a separate pocket coz the stack of bills won't fit my wallet. I need to freeload meh?

So anyway, I made my apology and that was that but this incident kept playing in loop over in my head the whole of today.

I have come to the conclusion that I am sorry for two things.

1) I am sorry for my lack of manners not to consult the host prior to inviting an extra friend to the drinking session.

2) I am also sorry that Dave will never be my friend as he has so clearly drawn the line in the sand of my place as far as he is concerned. I tried to treat him as a brother, which is why I assumed that it was a given to be able to just call an extra friend or two, along for drinks. Obviously, Dave didn't think likewise and so I guess Dave shall forever be an acquaintance, for I too, would keep him at arm's length from hereon.

- Voxeros

1. OLLie left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 12:48 am

He sounds like a bitch to me. hahaha.. Male version. Oops. Pardon my french. hahahah.. So geh gow for what? The more the merrier mah.

2. Pam left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 5:23 am

but...if Dave was intending for it to be a business discussion... then surely it wouldn't be ok for the others to come along? Perhaps if you had the 'meeting' over dinner and then adjourned for drinks then it would have been ok to have the other friends along? Afterall, it is supposedly common to have 'business meetings/getting to know you' over makan/drinks in your part of the world isn't it? it might also be a 'generation gap' thing - he might be young at heart, but he is from a different generation so it might have been a misunderstanding?!

3. Mistress Grace left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 9:23 am

U think everyone like me so swee pian ah...hahaha anyway its not good manners to not tell the host u are bringing a friend. But thats very lao gu pan thinking..

4. JayWalk left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 10:08 am :: 

Ollie: It was a rude awakening for me to be honest. It was my mistake to assume in the first place.

Pam: First of all, what business can you really conduct in a binge drinking session? Second of all, Dave doesn't know what kind of furniture business I am in and as such explains my initial skepticism of wanting to attend. Third, the furniture shop guy arrived only at 12 midnight which kind of tell you how "serious" this business meeting was. Last, I still dunno what kind of furniture he is selling and if my merchandise's styling is suitable for his target market. So the whole night didn't amount to much now did it?

Mistress Grace: Yes, it was my oversight as far as protocol is concerned as I foolishly think that we are on a carte blanc basis among close friends. Apparently, we are not friends yet nor ever will be as far as I can help it.

5. Faith left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 12:50 pm

I've realised over the years of living in different countries, friendships can be a tricky thing. And I thought that it's only a girl thing but thanks for letting me know that it's a guy thing too. Well, it can be a rude awakening when you realise that your level of friendship is different from the other party's. And that can in turn be rather hurtful on your part too. Had that happened recently.

6. thiang left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 3:23 pm

I agree. People whom you think are close at heart, for all you know, always turns out unexpected.

7. JayWalk left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 4:10 pm :: 

Faith Sim: It was a face-slap moment to realised that I have held him in higher regard then he me.

Thiang: Well, I won't go to the extent of "always" but just one is enough to ruin your day.

8. Pam left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 5:26 pm

in your blog, you didn't say it was a binge drinking session, nor did you say he arrived at 12mn. so.. apologies if that wasn't understood by me!
if it was a 'dinner followed by drinks' as you wrote, then i would have assumed that the dinner part of the evening would have been appropriate to conduct 'business'. or at least the preliminaries of getting to know each other/what kind of business are both parties in/are there commonalities.
If it was me, and someone asked if I'd go along for a dinner cum drinks with someone I didn't know for the purposes of 'work/business', I would have assumed that I can't bring friends along, until at least the drinks/dessert time. but that's me. different strokes for different people I guess.

9. JayWalk left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 7:18 pm :: 

Pam: No need to apologise lah.... you are right, I didn't have all the necessary information in my entry. But as far as I know, I don't entertain mix drinking with business coz I may forget what I say or promise.

10. Mistress Grace left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 10:42 pm

hahaha plus he may fall asleep and drool after 12 PM

11. JayWalk left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 11:22 pm :: 

Mistress Grace: Dun pichar my lobang lah.... can?

12. darkelfin left...

Saturday, 19 April 2008 2:15 am

lao su su is lidat wan

13. JayWalk left...

Saturday, 19 April 2008 9:03 am :: 

darkelfin: Yah lor, I also say!!

14. Chocolate gal left...

Sunday, 20 April 2008 4:17 pm

I guess it really depends on the individuals.. for me, i try not to join my friend if she is meeting with other people even if i do know them briefly too... cos most of the times, it will ended up with me being the outsider and just listening to their conversations, asking myself "why was I even here?"..
In his case, he probably feel so too, even though he was the host but he dont know the rest.. And he probably cant relate to the things you were discussing? Like i said, it all depends on the habits of each individual.. he is just shy like me?? :p

15. JayWalk left...

Sunday, 20 April 2008 10:06 pm :: 

Chocolate Gal: I was wrong to assuming that we are at the stage where your friends are my friends and vice versa.

And no, he is not shy and neither are you.

16. aloe left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 11:55 am :: http://www.xanga.com/aloeve

i'm weird... I won't invite my frens to another fren (whom they dun know) outing unless they say ok. But I dun mind if my frens invite their frens. =P I dun mind being the invited (outsider) too. So far... boh problems yet... *touch wood* There may be times where I do feel left out but those are few loh... heng!! =)

17. Chocolate gal left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 9:56 pm

Hello.. me very very shy one, okie.. dont pichar my lobang hor.. :p

18. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 6:20 am :: 

aloe: Well, in all fairness, I never said I was not wrong in this instances but I would expect a carte blanc of forgiveness and waivers on account of our friendship which I obviously have misjudged.

Chocolate Gal: Too late!

19. sunflower left...

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 9:01 am

Sometimes, some ppl might not might to be....
 

Most Expensive Mobile Phone Bill Ever!

I was away since mid-January when I went to Las Vegas for exhibition only to come back immediately to Hong Kong for a night's layover before rushing back to Singapore for the Ch1nese New Year.
And it was in Singapore that I spent two week blissfully at home.

Problem is that work carries on wherever you are and my Ch1na mobile phone was actively in service.
I guess the real problem was that I made the mistake of now downloading the maps via PC and instead relying on network to download the necessary maps as I also made my way to Kuala Lumpur and back during this period.

I guess I learned the lesson the hard way where I was downloading massive kb of map data. To further aggravate the situation, I was signed on to the various 3G network which was lagi more expensive.

At the end of the day, my January bill was RMB 5800. Just when I thought the worst if over, I was hit with a RMB 12,000 bill. Looks like it's going to be another as a Diamond Member of the Ch1na Mobile club.

Haiz......

Tips For Nokia Maps Users 

1. Load your maps via PC ahead of using. Do not download the map data via 3G/GPRS as the data flow maybe massive during usage and especially more expensive if you are roaming overseas.

2. With reference to (1), turn off download via data packet in the application's setup menu.

- Voxeros

1. dowagr left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 10:26 am :: http://dowagr.liquidblade.com

OMFG that's approximately SGD2400!?! More than enough for a macbook + iPod! *blink unbelievably*
and where is my flower!!!?

2. aloe left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 11:07 am :: http://www.xanga.com/aloeve

Is there any benefits to being a Diamond Member??

3. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 11:20 am :: 

Dowagr: Expensive lesson there for me. Lucky thing that bill was split over two months since I was away from 24 Jan to 19 Feb. Otherwise, the total bill would be 12766 + 5800 = RMB 18,000+
The bad news about your flower is that you are on the waiting list as I have a backlog. The good news is that you are on Page 1 of that waiting list. Haiz....

Aloe: Off hand, I know that I dun have to queue at the customer service centre. I have access to the VIP section where the customer service manager would attend to me personally. I also have a customer service manager assign to me during the year where I can call his mobile phone direct to request for assistance.

The best benefit is the airport for domestic flights where a staff will process the check-in for me i.e. I give her my passport, luggage, air tickets and then she will check in for me, get my boarding pass while I sip coffee at the lounge. Thereafter, a golf buggy will take me to security clearance where I will clear security via the staff channel i.e. no queue. After clearance, another golf buggy at the other end will take me to the lounge or directly to the gate to wait for departure.

4. cowboycaleb left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 3:27 pm

YOU ARE AN HERO!!! CONGRATURATION!

5. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 3:43 pm :: 

cowboycaleb: I thought you were going to say "A winnar ish you!".

6. Mistress Grace left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 9:07 pm

SGD 2400.. can buy 2 LV Speedy 30 liaos leh...

7. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 9:36 pm :: 

Mistress Grace: Thanks for rubbing it in ah!

8. alexander left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 12:01 am :: http://www.kakinan.com/alex

OMG! that is really a lot.

9. JayWalk left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 10:03 am :: 

Alexander: Yeah man..... expensive lesson learnt!!!

10. Ed, Edd, Eddy left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 11:50 am

Wah Biang!
eh, you download porn issit....

11. JayWalk left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 12:13 pm :: 

Ed, Edd & Eddy: If it were pron, it'd be cheaper! dammit!!

12. JY left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 7:27 pm :: http://phatybomb.blogspot.com

This is probably the annum salary of an average spitlander, loh. This one, your company pay, or you pay?

13. JayWalk left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 11:20 pm :: 

JY: Welcome to the blog. My company pay or I pay is the same thing.

14. aloe left...

Saturday, 19 April 2008 12:36 pm :: http://www.xanga.com.aloeve

*cough* it's also the average monthly pay or more than the average monthly pay of some sg people liao...

15. JayWalk left...

Saturday, 19 April 2008 2:22 pm :: 

aloe: Thanks for rubbing it in ah!!!! >.<

16. Chocolate gal left...

Sunday, 20 April 2008 4:11 pm

Hmmm.. should i rub it in too??
This is MORE than my monthly salary and probably also more than most ppl in Singapore.. like that uncle tending to the toilet everyday.. auntie selling vegs.. sighz..

17. JayWalk left...

Sunday, 20 April 2008 10:07 pm :: 

Chocolate Gal: Walau..... thanks ah!!

18. Chocolate gal left...

Monday, 21 April 2008 9:57 pm

No problem... you are very welcome one.. hehehehe ^_

19. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 6:27 am :: 

Chocolate Gal: Bish.

20. George left...

Sunday, 26 September 2010 2:52 am

I worked my mobile bill with vodafone australia up to $13,600 in 6 friggen days..ROFL
 

 

21. JayWalk left...

Fridaty, 01 October 2010 6:25 pm

George: Welcome to the blog! Actually there is another RMB 8000 spilled over to the following month's bill but you still win on account of the fact that yours is, which I presume, is AUD.
 

Rumblings On The Street

(Click To Enlarge)

We arrived at our factory yesterday morning to see a huge mass of people loitering around the streets. After finding out from my security guards, we realised that the shoe manufacturing factory diagonally across from us has gone belly-up and within the blink of an eye, close to 1000 workers don't have a job anymore.

Times are hard these couple of years, with rising raw material and labour prices as well as an out-of-control appreciation of the Ch1nese RMB against the Greenback in recent months.

The fact that Bush did a shit job of the US economy just further aggravates everything. This is what you get for electing an idiot to be president. Now the whole world has to suffer for it.

It is bad enough if you squander away the money buying guns and bullets for a war that cannot be justified (have we found the weapons of mass destruction yet?), it is even worse that the idiot squander away money that he didn't have in the first place. Now the rest of the American people are staring at a national debt of USD NINE FRIGGIN' TRILLION DOLLARS. That's USD 9,000,000,000,000.00!!! Thanks ah!

So anyway, everybody is lying low to wait out the storm. We believe that once we get rid of idiot Bush, the economy can only go up from there. Hopefully, by then with so few of us left, business would boom for us, as we will be the folks who would be first in line.

That is, if we are able to ride out the storm ourselves.

p.s. If you enlarge the photo, you will be able to see the people all the way up to the street. I believe that they were marching to the town mayor's office, probably seeking further assistance. I also heard that the factory's warehouse was looted as a result of the unrest with worker carting off boxes of shoes, possibly in lieu of the last 2.5 months' worth of pay checks that never saw the light of day.

Later in the day, my manager was stuck in traffic for an hour and a half en route back to factory, He said that all the workers barricaded a vital cross-road leading to the factory, refusing any vehicle to pass through. However, by the time I got there towards end of the day, the crowd has been dispersed, hoping on their own accord instead of tear gas, beatings and water cannons.

- Voxeros

1. cowboycaleb left...

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 6:48 am

Eh, how come I can't see the pic. Have the censors picked this up on the radar?

2. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 9:14 am :: 

CowboyCaleb: I don't think so. It loads perfectly fine from my side and besides, I didn't mention the location of this place anyway.

3. Ruok left...

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 10:11 am

Bro, I hope u r doing ok. Its gonna be a tough ride, we ain't see the worst yet.

4. cakie left...

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 12:27 pm

i'm scared.

5. JayWalk left...

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 2:27 pm :: 

ruok: Yeah tell me about it. I hope I can make through the storm.

cakie: You were saying you wanna come up here to look see the other day? I think you are better off visiting safer aka more civilised place like Shanghai or Beijing.

6. grasshopper left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 8:08 am

I already saw layoffs in my office. But I think I'm fine. Coz' I'm bao-kah-liao. If someone like me disappear, no one empty shitbucket and refill the toilet paper.
Can't wait for election day to arrive.

7. Faith left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 10:56 am

Yes, the greenback along with the Bush administration is pissing me off. Been losing like 10% or more of my salary ever since I started working in HK. And if Bush doesn't piss off fast enough and the US economy doesn't get better, I'll be losing even more money. Sorry, if this comment makes me sound like a selfish bitch!

8. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 11:12 am :: 

Grasshopper: Sounds like my job you're doing over there.

Faith Sim: Unfortunately, it's going to have to wait till November and like a big tanker, it is going to take some time to make that U-turn, so don't hold your breath just yet.

9. thiang left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 4:17 pm :: http://thiang.blogspot.com

And none of the 1000 odd workers asked you for a new job or help? Hmm. Very sad case they all.

10. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 4:42 pm :: 

Thiang: They are shoe factory, we are furniture. Different skill sets. Besides, I am also reducing my head count at the present moment.

11. starm|st left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 10:26 am

this entry (and you) sounds like one of those guys in Tony Parson's book 'My Favourite Wife'. Deja vu deja vu.

12. JayWalk left...

Friday, 18 April 2008 4:12 pm :: 

Starm|st: Admittedly, I have not read the book and so I don't really know how to respond to you comment. However, I will make it a point to get the book (unless you have a copy I can borrow), then come back to you on this.

It's One Of Those Mondays

Background Info:

Cakie was chasing my archives until it got to the entry where I was blogging about my experience eating donkey hotpot . The grand finale of the entry was of course my adventure of putting the donkey pen1s into my mouth...

... chew...

... swallow.

....ewwww.

. Session Start : Mon 04 14 15:50:49 2008 (3:59 PM) Cakie: penis taste like what? (3:59 PM) JayWalk: you need to ask meh? buahahahaah!!! (4:00 PM) Cakie: oi! i never chew and swallow before leh. (4:00 PM) Cakie: perhaps i shall try it on the next helpless man. (4:00 PM) JayWalk: please don't chew. thank you very much. (4:00 PM) Cakie: mwahahha. Session End: Mon 04 14 17:20:10 2008 .

...and that led to my later Twitter.

It's one of those Mondays, I guess.

p.s. Here's my twitter in case anyone is interested. 

- Voxeros

1. Chocolate gal left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 1:20 pm

Woooo... those are the good old days..

2. JayWalk left...

Thursday, 17 April 2008 9:42 pm :: 

Chocolate Gal: Good old day? As in me eating donkey hotpot?

Get Your Own Damn Platform, Dammit!

We are counting down to the 2008 Be1jing Olympics and the torch relay started off with a shit load of incidents.

I can't tell for sure if the T1bet riots were timed to happen just before the start of the torch relay. How convenient to have it at a time where global media coverage is at its most? What better time and place to "tell the whole world" where eyeballs are at its max?

Frankly, I haven't made any effort to want to understand the Ch1na-T1bet portion of the current affairs and as such, I have no authority to say who is right and who is wrong.

However, what I do know is that mixing politics with the Olympics is wrong.

To me, the Olympics is a celebration of friendship through the discipline of sports. This is the one event where people from all over the world come together to pit their best against each other in friendly competition. It is a celebration of the human spirit. Friendships are forged in the name of peace and sportsmanship while goodwill, knowledge, ideas and inspirations are exchanged.

Instead, we have countries threatening to boycott the games on account of Ch1na human r1ghts issues. I mean come on, which country can claim a white slate? It's the biblical "...He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her... (John 8:2-11, KJV)" ! Every country has a blot somewhere. So quit being all holier-then-thou about the whole darn thing!

The whole torch relay too was a shame. A shame not on the organisers and runners but a shame on the protesters. A shame that the relay was cut short in Paris. A shame that the torch had to play the most undignified game of cat-and-mouse in San Francisco.

Get your own damn platform to shout your messages, dammit!

It was supposed to be a peaceful run across the globe as a symbolic act of linking everyone on earth together as people of one united planet. Instead, we have thoughtless protesters disrupting the torch relay, thereby risking harm to the runner, organisers as well as to themselves. The act of disruption is violent although not to the extend of risking lives but to me, it is still an act no different to that of a terrorist.

The runners are just relaying a torch and these protesters jumped them out of nowhere. So tell me, how are these people any better?

So when protesters jump out of nowhere screaming and yelling their messages like fanatics, what do you think the security authorities are going to do?

That's right, they will take them down because no one knows what the f*ck these maniacs were going to do. Drop their pants? Chant their slogans? Flash their boobs? Stab the runner? Steal the torch? Or detonate a bomb?

So fearing the worst is definitely the most logical approach and when the over zealous protesters start to struggle, it would take perhaps 3 or 4 security personnels to overcome each one.

Guess what? All these will be captured by the media and these protesters will turn around KPKBing how they were violently manhandled and thus justify their point about human right abuses.

Well, to that I flip my bird to them. That has got to be the most blatantly attempt to bait the relevant authorities into taking action against the protesters. I mean come on, the security pounced on the protesters not as a pre-emptive strike but as a reactive response to  the protesters' threat.

So to turn around and act like helpless victims is just entrapment.

Sorry dudes. I am so not going to fall for that.

I am not saying that the protest is wrong. Again, as I have said, I know not enough to make that judgment. What I am saying is that the time, place and method of the protest is wrong.

If there is unhappiness about the Ch1na-T1bet issue, take it up with the relevant departments. Get your grass-root leaders to represent you, or get your senator, your congressman, your MP, your PM, your President, your Queen, your Emperor, anybody who has access to the "global microphone". Get them to represent you at an appropriate occasion e.g. country-to-country dialogue, the United Nations Assembly, the APEC Conference etc.

Just not the Olympic Games, please.

- Voxeros

1. CoWg0eSm0o left...

Monday, 14 April 2008 2:01 am :: http://cowg0esm0o.liquidblade.com

eh......flashing of boobs' perfectly alright. Pls keep the pants on though. There might be trannies among the protestors for all we know....
But seriously, I find it quite ridiculous sometimes that certain key 'power' figures like the EU are siding the protestors and ignoring the deeper meaning behind the 'once-every-4yrs' Olympics... Not that freedom of speech's wrong, but as u've mentioned, the wrong use of platform for these stakeholders to voice out their concerns and make themselves heard.

2. Faith left...

Monday, 14 April 2008 10:54 am

Well said! It really got to me when these politicians try their best to stir shit. Human rights? Well, stop calling the pot black, kettle! And yes for those in the West that are protesting, pull out the huge plank in your eye before telling others that there's a speck of wood in the eyes of others. Why put the Olympics and the country that's hosting it down? Think of the athletes that have trained so hard just for the games and then....what? Just pull out?

3. JayWalk left...

Monday, 14 April 2008 11:10 am :: 

CowGoesMoo: Be careful what you wish for. Man-boobs.... not pretty......

Faith Sim: There are two groups of people here and I feel that we need to make a distinction. First, there are the politicians and then there are the activists. Politicians always have an agenda while activists while their cause is that of a noble one, can undertake approaches to matter that I would think as distasteful.

4. Pam left...

Tuesday, 15 April 2008 4:07 am

I think the protesters needed such a platform to make 'noise' as it were, only because their agenda's not been taken seriously till now. People have protested about Tibet for ages and no one's ever done much about it. Whether they'll do anything about it now that they've protested at the Olympic Games is debatable, but at least it's raised awareness. Afterall, as you said it yourself, you didn't really have a clue what the issues are, but at least now, you're reminded about it, and may be bothered to check it out... ? Just a thought...
on a separate note, you going home in a month? will you back there in August?

5. JayWalk left...

Tuesday, 15 April 2008 8:00 am :: 

Pam: It is just sad that the activists had to resort to guerrilla tactics. You can't really get an objective view on T1bet issue as this is a very unique case of very polarised bias reports from either side. Western media aren't as objective as you think. Look at all the western media reports justifying the US invasion of Iraq on the grounds of Weapons of Mass Destruction and then look how it turned out at the end of the day?

Just a thought here and I may be wrong. The issue of T1bet has been ignored for years is because there isn't any enough concrete ground to substantiate a case and as such no country would want to take the risk to spearhead this grey-area issue? I mean if it were really so bad, let's see the UN assembly vote to sanction against Ch1na then. But it didn't happen, now did it? Ever pause to wonder why?

When the Myanmar riots broke out, sanctions were meted out by the various countries targeting the Junta but you don't see any of these with the T1bet case? Why? No case? Or perhaps Ch1na is just too powerful to offend?

And no, I will not be back in August. There is a very very remote chance I may be back for the Formula 1 races at the end of Sep though.