Just made a $200 donation to him for his hospital expenses. It really isn't alot at all considering what others are donating. My contribution seems so insignificant. Just learnt that he's only got one parent and his sister just recovered from cancer, which took up a bulk of their family's finances. And worst of all he didn't have any hospital insurance and the company insurance doesn't cover overseas accidents. I'm like, wtf man. So the company's pooling donations for him.
I not really close to him. Even though we were from the same training batch and we used to talk alot of cock together and even played soccer after work together, we never really were close kinda close. Yet, hearing of him being in sucha state really tugs at the heartstrings.
As Rendell put it, we only live once, even if we had so much money, it would be useless if we never put it to good use. This is coming from a guy who didn't hesitate to donate 3Gs when he heard of the accident. And they're not even close friends. Knowing him, it's his hard earned money that he's giving away to help a friend he wasn't that close to. It makes me so proud just to say he's my friend.
Suddenly the batch is buzzing again. People're contacting one another and sharing a good story or two. Sometimes it takes an unfortunate event to bring people together again. Why does it have to be that way? Why is it that we always don't have time for them until something bad happens.
Do cherish what you have. And spend more time with them and be thankful of these moments.
Also it sometimes takes an event like this to really see who the true heroes in our lives are. I wonder who will be my hero? I wonder if I'm good enough to be other people's hero.
Lastly, please buy insurance for goodness sakes. I'm not selling insurance anymore so if any of you have got questions please just go ahead and ask me, or drop me a mail or something. I'll be more than happy to tell you more, with no hidden agenda and no commissions charged.
You never know anytime anywhere when something happens, it could save you, your family, and alot of friends, a ton of worry and burden. At least get a good life insurance plan and a good hospital plan. It doesn't have to be alot, but its at least a start. At least you know you've covered yourself a bit. If you think your company's insurance covers you sufficiently then you are so wrong. And even if it does, by the time you quit, the coverage is not there anymore and you have to get yourself reinsured all over again. Save yourself and your loved ones that trouble.
Because after an accident or a mishap, you may not be able to buy insurance anymore even if you damn bloody wanted to.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Miss Little Sunshine
Just got word that two friends got into a serious car accident. In Malaysia. One's back already while the other's still in ICU in a hospital in Petaling Jaya. Still too unstable to ship him back to Singapore yet. Just hope that he will get well soon and we'll all visit him when he's back.
Apparently they were with another friend walking by the side of the road when a car lost control and rammed into them from behind. The 1st guy was instantly killed while one of my friends was flung into a drain and the other onto a grass patch. The one who got flung into the drain was almost swept away, luckily he got pulled out and is now in ICU.
Sometimes things like this makes you realise how fragile life really is. While I do wonder if my insurance coverage is adequate, the more important note is that these things can happen anytime and anywhere. Will we be prepared for it when it happens? What will the people around us do? How will they react? Am I prepared for all this?
I wanted to blog about watching Little Miss Sunshine, but I've got no mood for that anymore. It's a good show though, very heartwarming, so catch it if you can.
I wish you a quick recovery, Sam.
Apparently they were with another friend walking by the side of the road when a car lost control and rammed into them from behind. The 1st guy was instantly killed while one of my friends was flung into a drain and the other onto a grass patch. The one who got flung into the drain was almost swept away, luckily he got pulled out and is now in ICU.
Sometimes things like this makes you realise how fragile life really is. While I do wonder if my insurance coverage is adequate, the more important note is that these things can happen anytime and anywhere. Will we be prepared for it when it happens? What will the people around us do? How will they react? Am I prepared for all this?
I wanted to blog about watching Little Miss Sunshine, but I've got no mood for that anymore. It's a good show though, very heartwarming, so catch it if you can.
I wish you a quick recovery, Sam.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
M7 Cleared
So happy.
Cleared M7 - Futures Products and Analysis.
Totally wasn't expecting it. I thought I studied quite hard for it but after doing the paper for 2hours I had this sickening thought that I was surely gonna fail it because there were alot of questions I was unsure of. And tikum-ing alot of questions was not a good thing.
In that split-second while waiting for the results to pop up on the screen I was already semi-prepared to book for a re-paper once I got back to office. But lo-and-behold, I passed!!! Just scraped past the 70% passing mark by a wee bit! So happy!!! No more stupid yield curves, straddles and delta hedges no more!!! Choot choot!!!!
Damn lucky lah really.
Oh but got M6 on Wednesday. That one is the mother of all financial papers.
Good luck to me! *pling!*
Anyway today I finally signed up as a Settlers Cafe member, for $10.
Anyone wanna go there and play can jio me!!!
Cleared M7 - Futures Products and Analysis.
Totally wasn't expecting it. I thought I studied quite hard for it but after doing the paper for 2hours I had this sickening thought that I was surely gonna fail it because there were alot of questions I was unsure of. And tikum-ing alot of questions was not a good thing.
In that split-second while waiting for the results to pop up on the screen I was already semi-prepared to book for a re-paper once I got back to office. But lo-and-behold, I passed!!! Just scraped past the 70% passing mark by a wee bit! So happy!!! No more stupid yield curves, straddles and delta hedges no more!!! Choot choot!!!!
Damn lucky lah really.
Oh but got M6 on Wednesday. That one is the mother of all financial papers.
Good luck to me! *pling!*
Anyway today I finally signed up as a Settlers Cafe member, for $10.
Anyone wanna go there and play can jio me!!!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Babysitter In Bintan
Happy Hari Raya to all my muslim friends!
Was in Bintan over the weekend with the branch. Robert had decided to organize the branch retreat to reward us for our hard work for the year, and since I was a big contributor to that, I got invited to the almost-all-expenses-paid trip too.
It was fun, though marred by the incessant bothering of Robert's son, Angus, who thinks of me as the greatest hero in his life thus far. The first day was especially terrible what with him forever glued to me and asking me to play silly childish computer games(which I sucked at) or interrupting our adult conversations. The next day onwards I was constantly telling him to GO AWAY.
Apart from that it was almost mahjong and blackjack all the way. The holiday villas were casinos, really. And stakes were really high, with Sam almost losing his pants, chocking up a staggering SGD600 in losses, all to Robert. Robert, whose luck was so good as dealer for blackjack(he bunbun like 5 times in 2 nights and bunluck like more than 10 times), swept all our money from our pockets. Even my SGD50 was not spared. I have never seen luck this good in my life time. Except in Stephen Chow movies.
Otherwise it was a good bonding session for the sales staff too. I think everyone's quitting soon.
Yesterday was back at work. Final week of training and then we've got our grand opening on the 9th of Nov so do look out for it in the media. Got exams at the end of the week. Just hoping to pass can liao.
Was in Bintan over the weekend with the branch. Robert had decided to organize the branch retreat to reward us for our hard work for the year, and since I was a big contributor to that, I got invited to the almost-all-expenses-paid trip too.
It was fun, though marred by the incessant bothering of Robert's son, Angus, who thinks of me as the greatest hero in his life thus far. The first day was especially terrible what with him forever glued to me and asking me to play silly childish computer games(which I sucked at) or interrupting our adult conversations. The next day onwards I was constantly telling him to GO AWAY.
Apart from that it was almost mahjong and blackjack all the way. The holiday villas were casinos, really. And stakes were really high, with Sam almost losing his pants, chocking up a staggering SGD600 in losses, all to Robert. Robert, whose luck was so good as dealer for blackjack(he bunbun like 5 times in 2 nights and bunluck like more than 10 times), swept all our money from our pockets. Even my SGD50 was not spared. I have never seen luck this good in my life time. Except in Stephen Chow movies.
Otherwise it was a good bonding session for the sales staff too. I think everyone's quitting soon.
Yesterday was back at work. Final week of training and then we've got our grand opening on the 9th of Nov so do look out for it in the media. Got exams at the end of the week. Just hoping to pass can liao.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
WTC
Visited Vivocity today.
Its so-so lah. Big, but I don't think its really THAT impresive. The aisles are quite narrow and considering the crowd(people mountain, people sea), there was alot of frustration wading through the skinny walking space on the 2nd and 3rd levels. And there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary that you can't get in Orchard Road.
Watched World Trade Centre at the GV cinema there too. The cinema seats are comfy but there's smaller butt space and more leg room, so some are gonna like it and some won't. I didn't.
WTC was quite an emotional show for me. Apart from the touching tale based on the true experience of two survivors, it also reminded me of my time there in 2004 with Joe at Ground Zero(not sure if you still remember, Joe). It felt kinda sad to be standing on the grounds where the buildings came down, and I don't really remember blogging much about my experience while I was there. After watching the show I wished I had logged down more in my blog during my USA trip though. Like the construction still going on around the various buildings even 3years on, or that little Chapel that miraculously withstood the crumbling towers and still stands to this day(Joe, you remember the name or got any pix to share?). I remember while Joe and I were inside that chapel, it was quite emotional with people crying by pictures of the missing and these pictures as well as notes and letters of condolences adorned the walls of the whole interior. We both even left our mark on a poster which they let visitors write words of condolence for the victims of 9/11. I can't quite remember what I wrote though.
So here I am penning down my limited thoughts and below I share some of the pictures of Ground Zero back in 2004.
Portrait of what used to be.
Ground Zero in 2004 is a fenced up construction area. Even 3 years on debris was still being removed and the surrounding buildings were being reconstructed. You can see this from the other pictures as well.
Ground Zero when we came out of the subway.
The morning Joe and I visited Ground Zero i think was on the 28th of September, more than 2 weeks after we first entered Manhattan and saw the 9/11 celebrations at night. The above shot shows the whole of Ground Zero with the surviving buildings in the background.
Another angle from out of the subway station.
Closer look of the construction.
More construction.
As you can see at that time we were there construction of the new Freedom Tower(is that what its called?) couldn't have even begun. I don't think the design was chosen yet even.
The force of the collapses shattered most of the windows of the neighbouring buildings and some of the buildings till this day still have to be supported with additional supports.
I remember when I joined Stanchart, one of the trainers told us that the Stanchart office in New York was in one of the towers that collapsed, thus wiping out almost the entire New York office.
Haiz.
And thats why the movie is a sad one for me. Having been there and thinking and enacting in my head the events that happened a few years ago, of course I feel sad for the victims of this tragedy.
But these days we do wonder, was it all a conspiracy?
For more information, read about it here
Its so-so lah. Big, but I don't think its really THAT impresive. The aisles are quite narrow and considering the crowd(people mountain, people sea), there was alot of frustration wading through the skinny walking space on the 2nd and 3rd levels. And there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary that you can't get in Orchard Road.
Watched World Trade Centre at the GV cinema there too. The cinema seats are comfy but there's smaller butt space and more leg room, so some are gonna like it and some won't. I didn't.
WTC was quite an emotional show for me. Apart from the touching tale based on the true experience of two survivors, it also reminded me of my time there in 2004 with Joe at Ground Zero(not sure if you still remember, Joe). It felt kinda sad to be standing on the grounds where the buildings came down, and I don't really remember blogging much about my experience while I was there. After watching the show I wished I had logged down more in my blog during my USA trip though. Like the construction still going on around the various buildings even 3years on, or that little Chapel that miraculously withstood the crumbling towers and still stands to this day(Joe, you remember the name or got any pix to share?). I remember while Joe and I were inside that chapel, it was quite emotional with people crying by pictures of the missing and these pictures as well as notes and letters of condolences adorned the walls of the whole interior. We both even left our mark on a poster which they let visitors write words of condolence for the victims of 9/11. I can't quite remember what I wrote though.
So here I am penning down my limited thoughts and below I share some of the pictures of Ground Zero back in 2004.
Portrait of what used to be.
Ground Zero in 2004 is a fenced up construction area. Even 3 years on debris was still being removed and the surrounding buildings were being reconstructed. You can see this from the other pictures as well.
Ground Zero when we came out of the subway.
The morning Joe and I visited Ground Zero i think was on the 28th of September, more than 2 weeks after we first entered Manhattan and saw the 9/11 celebrations at night. The above shot shows the whole of Ground Zero with the surviving buildings in the background.
Another angle from out of the subway station.
Closer look of the construction.
More construction.
As you can see at that time we were there construction of the new Freedom Tower(is that what its called?) couldn't have even begun. I don't think the design was chosen yet even.
The force of the collapses shattered most of the windows of the neighbouring buildings and some of the buildings till this day still have to be supported with additional supports.
I remember when I joined Stanchart, one of the trainers told us that the Stanchart office in New York was in one of the towers that collapsed, thus wiping out almost the entire New York office.
Haiz.
And thats why the movie is a sad one for me. Having been there and thinking and enacting in my head the events that happened a few years ago, of course I feel sad for the victims of this tragedy.
But these days we do wonder, was it all a conspiracy?
For more information, read about it here
Saturday, October 07, 2006
TGIF
Passed my module 2 paper! So happy! Considering that about half of us actually failed, I thought it was quite an achievement to pass albeit barely scraping through.
Afterthat it was Beer Friday! Haha. The fridge was stocked up with Tiger and Carlsburg and there we were in the office drinking beer and having cake! Wow. First time I've been in a company where consumption of alcohol is encouraged in office after work on Fridays.
Then(as if the beer wasn't enough) we went to Morten's @ The Oriental to chill. Had a good bonding session with the rest over 2 glasses of lychee martinis. Supposed to be happening but I think its more for ang mohs lah haha, and so small somemore. But they were routinely handing out free steak sandwiches to everyone! And by golly the steak is REALLY good. Will definitely go to Morten's Steakhouse for steak some time soon.
Finally we walked over to Glutton's Square at the Esplanade for some supper.
Tired.
____________________________________________________________________
My lousy ex-employer has just screwed up my last paycheck.
Super bummer man.
If it weren't for my bestest friends in the branch I dunno how I'm gonna cope. Thanks guys...
Afterthat it was Beer Friday! Haha. The fridge was stocked up with Tiger and Carlsburg and there we were in the office drinking beer and having cake! Wow. First time I've been in a company where consumption of alcohol is encouraged in office after work on Fridays.
Then(as if the beer wasn't enough) we went to Morten's @ The Oriental to chill. Had a good bonding session with the rest over 2 glasses of lychee martinis. Supposed to be happening but I think its more for ang mohs lah haha, and so small somemore. But they were routinely handing out free steak sandwiches to everyone! And by golly the steak is REALLY good. Will definitely go to Morten's Steakhouse for steak some time soon.
Finally we walked over to Glutton's Square at the Esplanade for some supper.
Tired.
____________________________________________________________________
My lousy ex-employer has just screwed up my last paycheck.
Super bummer man.
If it weren't for my bestest friends in the branch I dunno how I'm gonna cope. Thanks guys...
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Yet Another Chapter In My Book Of Life
Work has started and oh my goodness its just been so exciting so far.
The office is fantastic, I've got a huge table to call my own(although its by the pantry - not a good location) and I've got so many new friends!
The office has got a great view at the 30th storey. The open concept is amazing, there're no cubicles, everyone from top down is working in the same hall. Don't you just love the European style of working?
The training schedule looks very exciting. Alot of things are new to me, alot of things to learn and I've gotta maintain a very steep learning curve throughout this whole month. But the things that I'll learn I already know are gonna put me in good stead towards where I aim to move on in future.
Already, I've got to get more accreditations from MAS via the CMFAS exams even though I've cleared alot in my days in StanChart and UOB. I've gotta clear:
Module 1B Rules and Regulations for Dealing in Securities (Non-SGX-ST Members)
Module 2 Rules and Regulations for Trading in Futures Contracts
Module 6 Securities Products and Analysis
Module 7 Futures Products and Analysis
Well I've got 1B already so thats 3 papers I'll still have to take. The good thing is that learning doesn't stop even after our training program. It will be an ongoing thing in different phases tailored towards our own preference(career-wise) and by the end of 18months, we'll actually have attained a diploma credited by the bank! Wow, thats like getting paid to study lor! So thats really a very good thing.
Staff welfare is still in bits and pieces here and there, but from the looks of things its gonna be quite good. Already the European style of working is more relaxed than what I've previously been exposed to, working hours are obviously less(maybe things may change) and morale in the office is fantastic. Seems like everyone is really excited and happy everywhere I go(maybe its the novelty of starting out anew). And I'm sure I've mentioned this before, Fridays are happy hour days! Where the office goes wild and party!!!! In fact the pantry fridge is stocked to the brim with BEER on a daily basis! Spectacular!
Colleagues are a great bunch. I think because we're all new to things around here, we've bonded very quickly(thanks to the teambuilding session no less) and in just 2 days we're pretty comfortable with one another liaoz. Which is a good thing considering the unfamiliar environment we're all in. Thankfully there're not alot of smokers here too. Hehe.
There's just so much more to gush and praise but I guess I'll only be able to make a better judgement of the situation only when things settle down. But one thing that we all agreed on, is that this job surely opens a huge window of opportunities even if we were to leave this place after a year or so. But based on the career paths and options that're available to us here, I could be in here for the long haul.
The main priority now is to do my job well, and not get sacked. Haha.
The office is fantastic, I've got a huge table to call my own(although its by the pantry - not a good location) and I've got so many new friends!
The office has got a great view at the 30th storey. The open concept is amazing, there're no cubicles, everyone from top down is working in the same hall. Don't you just love the European style of working?
The training schedule looks very exciting. Alot of things are new to me, alot of things to learn and I've gotta maintain a very steep learning curve throughout this whole month. But the things that I'll learn I already know are gonna put me in good stead towards where I aim to move on in future.
Already, I've got to get more accreditations from MAS via the CMFAS exams even though I've cleared alot in my days in StanChart and UOB. I've gotta clear:
Module 1B Rules and Regulations for Dealing in Securities (Non-SGX-ST Members)
Module 2 Rules and Regulations for Trading in Futures Contracts
Module 6 Securities Products and Analysis
Module 7 Futures Products and Analysis
Well I've got 1B already so thats 3 papers I'll still have to take. The good thing is that learning doesn't stop even after our training program. It will be an ongoing thing in different phases tailored towards our own preference(career-wise) and by the end of 18months, we'll actually have attained a diploma credited by the bank! Wow, thats like getting paid to study lor! So thats really a very good thing.
Staff welfare is still in bits and pieces here and there, but from the looks of things its gonna be quite good. Already the European style of working is more relaxed than what I've previously been exposed to, working hours are obviously less(maybe things may change) and morale in the office is fantastic. Seems like everyone is really excited and happy everywhere I go(maybe its the novelty of starting out anew). And I'm sure I've mentioned this before, Fridays are happy hour days! Where the office goes wild and party!!!! In fact the pantry fridge is stocked to the brim with BEER on a daily basis! Spectacular!
Colleagues are a great bunch. I think because we're all new to things around here, we've bonded very quickly(thanks to the teambuilding session no less) and in just 2 days we're pretty comfortable with one another liaoz. Which is a good thing considering the unfamiliar environment we're all in. Thankfully there're not alot of smokers here too. Hehe.
There's just so much more to gush and praise but I guess I'll only be able to make a better judgement of the situation only when things settle down. But one thing that we all agreed on, is that this job surely opens a huge window of opportunities even if we were to leave this place after a year or so. But based on the career paths and options that're available to us here, I could be in here for the long haul.
The main priority now is to do my job well, and not get sacked. Haha.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Gentle Genting
Ok. For the record, our next trip will be diving in Pulau Tioman!
I lost. Yeah, that's right. I got whipped quite bad so I should just ban myself from ever going to that mountain ever again. Haiz...
We were at Golden Mile Complex early in the morning to take the luxurious double-decker, 3-seats-instead-of-4-per-row, 25 seater bus. I gotta say that the buses these days are more and more comfortable(c'mon even Moses Lim can squeeze into them comfortably). So we reached around 2pm, and it was quite cold. Looks like it had been raining for the last coupla days, foggy most times. On the way there the girlfriend found out that she forgot to bring her/my Adidas jacket *roll eyes*, but thats a totally different rant for way below.
The check-in was pretty efficient(gotta get you to the casinos fast right?) but the First World Hotel is pretty cheapo(7" tv anyone?) I gotta say. Then again its ultra budget, so I wasn't complaining.
We hit the casino soon after. Remember we each had RM100 for the day, meaning max loss per day was -100.
______________________________________________________________
Our first foray was with the electronic Roulette machines(min.RM5) where we both started off on a winning note! Afterwhich we were so happy we decided not to play anymore and go explore more of Genting.
Chun +65 : Me +15
Then came the downest part of the trip. We went to try the electronic Tai Sai machines(min.RM5) and ended up losing an ultra huge chunk of what we had to spend, so we thought maybe if we played Roulette(where we previously won) we could recoup some of our losses. But instead we lost almost it all! Sadz...
Chun -85 : Me -80
The rest of the night I ended up wasting what was left of my money playing Keno(min.RM1) while I tried to prolong my stay in the casino while Chun just accompanied me, apparently shocked and distressed at the rate with which we bankrupted ourselves.
Chun -85 : Me -100
After a night's resuscitation, we prepared ourselves for a comeback by...going to the theme park! We were lucky enough to ride almost every ride and I even rode on the Super Toboggan which in my previous travels to Genting before I've never been allowed because I was too heavy/tall. Life-threatening scary but fun! I also rode the Grand Prix Fun Kart for the first time. Even though my snail of a kart was overtaken by even an old auntie, I had fun! Then it was down to serious business for day 2...
This time round I decided to play something with a live dealer, and a chio one at that! So I choose to play French Boule(min.RM5). I once had this experience of losing RM50 within 5mins at the table during a previous trip to Genting. But this time, I broke that record with 0 wins out of like 8 attempts! I think we left the table after like 4mins. I think even the dealer kinda pitied me. I was a wreck after this...
Chun -85 : Me -150
So it was Chun's turn to choose her game, and she decided to play Casino War(min.RM10). Guess what? Her luck was so good that she ended up recouping all her losses, and then some! In fact she played so long that we got friendly with all the people around us including the dealer! Argh. Anyway gotta give it to her man, her luck was THAT good. And there I was, sitting beside her, watching her rake in all that dough.
Chun +115 : Me -150
Being the distraught wreck that I was I decided that since I was gonna lose the whole bet anyway might as well try to hang around the casino as long as I could. So after Chun was done I was in between the Slot Machines and Keno games...
Chun +115 : Me -175
But finally with only RM25 to my name, I decided maybe I should try the Money Wheel(min.RM5) before we call it a day. Lo and behold that would be my lucky game, which kickstarted my flacid comeback, I ended up betting on the right notes most times and ended up winning RM25! I could've won more if not for my final bet that landed on the RM5 note(which I had bet on) only to slip back a click due to the weight of the wheel!
Chun +115 : Me -150
Then we latched on like leeches onto a Pontoon(min.RM25) game and won another RM75! Damn lucky, but because too many leeches were clinging on him, there was a money dispute, so we decided to make ourselves scarce.
Chun +115 : Me -75
I thought I was a memorable comeback waiting to happen, but it wasn't meant to be. I went to whack on Casino War and lost, then we went to play Pontoon but still lost and even chided by some old uncle for not knowing how to play professionally! Haha. But in the end the comeback wasn't meant to be, so I decided to surrender and call it a night. Haiz.
Tough luck.
Chun +115 : Me -125
So our next trip will be erm...Tioman! Hahaha...
But all in all it was a relatively fun trip, though not much to do in Genting besides gambling. Its cold up there, so bring a sweater(I gotta start ranting about FORGETTING to bring one) else you might end up shivering alot more than you thought.
When it comes to the casinos, the bottomline is to play card games instead of games involving dice and balls because you CAN lose 10 out of 10 times if you try to play with statistics! Ultimately though, there's NO WAY you will win in the casino in the long run, so the best option really is just to stay outta these places.
CasiNO!
Haha.
______________________________________________________________
Now for that rant I promised.
This is just for the guys thats all...girls if you've read till this point you may stop. You still can choose to continue reading at your own risk though...
Guys, please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please MAKE SURE that if you ever go to Genting or any cold place, your girl BRINGS HER SWEATER/JACKET!
This is very important. No matter what you do, MAKE SURE you actually see her put it into her bag! OR force her to keep you on the phone while she puts the sweater/jacket in her bag. Just make sure. Else you will end up like me.
Why?
Because IF she forgets then guys, good luck to you. I mean, naturally being decision makers of all things important we ourselves won't forget to bring jackets for OURSELVES right? Well, once the girl forgets to bring hers what happens? YOUR JACKET WILL NO LONGER BE YOURS!
Its true, because you bopianz gotta be gentleman right? So be the knight in shining armour and hand over your jacket to her to keep her warm while you're shivering in the cold wondering why your shirt sleeves are so short. Of course all this while you're trying to milk it for all its worth by acting hero and pretending that its no big deal. Cold? What cold? Me-bathe-in-snow type of hero. This is nothing! But deep inside you will just be cursing yourself for not making sure your girl brought her jacket.
So whether its you the buffoon who forgot your jacket or the girlfriend, either way you're gonna have NO jacket for the trip. Moral of the story: In future, always pack 2 jackets just in case. The slight additional weight is definitely worth more than the chilling winds you will have to suffer.
Ha.
Enough of ranting. I did survive anyway didn't I?
I lost. Yeah, that's right. I got whipped quite bad so I should just ban myself from ever going to that mountain ever again. Haiz...
We were at Golden Mile Complex early in the morning to take the luxurious double-decker, 3-seats-instead-of-4-per-row, 25 seater bus. I gotta say that the buses these days are more and more comfortable(c'mon even Moses Lim can squeeze into them comfortably). So we reached around 2pm, and it was quite cold. Looks like it had been raining for the last coupla days, foggy most times. On the way there the girlfriend found out that she forgot to bring her/my Adidas jacket *roll eyes*, but thats a totally different rant for way below.
The check-in was pretty efficient(gotta get you to the casinos fast right?) but the First World Hotel is pretty cheapo(7" tv anyone?) I gotta say. Then again its ultra budget, so I wasn't complaining.
We hit the casino soon after. Remember we each had RM100 for the day, meaning max loss per day was -100.
______________________________________________________________
Our first foray was with the electronic Roulette machines(min.RM5) where we both started off on a winning note! Afterwhich we were so happy we decided not to play anymore and go explore more of Genting.
Chun +65 : Me +15
Then came the downest part of the trip. We went to try the electronic Tai Sai machines(min.RM5) and ended up losing an ultra huge chunk of what we had to spend, so we thought maybe if we played Roulette(where we previously won) we could recoup some of our losses. But instead we lost almost it all! Sadz...
Chun -85 : Me -80
The rest of the night I ended up wasting what was left of my money playing Keno(min.RM1) while I tried to prolong my stay in the casino while Chun just accompanied me, apparently shocked and distressed at the rate with which we bankrupted ourselves.
Chun -85 : Me -100
After a night's resuscitation, we prepared ourselves for a comeback by...going to the theme park! We were lucky enough to ride almost every ride and I even rode on the Super Toboggan which in my previous travels to Genting before I've never been allowed because I was too heavy/tall. Life-threatening scary but fun! I also rode the Grand Prix Fun Kart for the first time. Even though my snail of a kart was overtaken by even an old auntie, I had fun! Then it was down to serious business for day 2...
This time round I decided to play something with a live dealer, and a chio one at that! So I choose to play French Boule(min.RM5). I once had this experience of losing RM50 within 5mins at the table during a previous trip to Genting. But this time, I broke that record with 0 wins out of like 8 attempts! I think we left the table after like 4mins. I think even the dealer kinda pitied me. I was a wreck after this...
Chun -85 : Me -150
So it was Chun's turn to choose her game, and she decided to play Casino War(min.RM10). Guess what? Her luck was so good that she ended up recouping all her losses, and then some! In fact she played so long that we got friendly with all the people around us including the dealer! Argh. Anyway gotta give it to her man, her luck was THAT good. And there I was, sitting beside her, watching her rake in all that dough.
Chun +115 : Me -150
Being the distraught wreck that I was I decided that since I was gonna lose the whole bet anyway might as well try to hang around the casino as long as I could. So after Chun was done I was in between the Slot Machines and Keno games...
Chun +115 : Me -175
But finally with only RM25 to my name, I decided maybe I should try the Money Wheel(min.RM5) before we call it a day. Lo and behold that would be my lucky game, which kickstarted my flacid comeback, I ended up betting on the right notes most times and ended up winning RM25! I could've won more if not for my final bet that landed on the RM5 note(which I had bet on) only to slip back a click due to the weight of the wheel!
Chun +115 : Me -150
Then we latched on like leeches onto a Pontoon(min.RM25) game and won another RM75! Damn lucky, but because too many leeches were clinging on him, there was a money dispute, so we decided to make ourselves scarce.
Chun +115 : Me -75
I thought I was a memorable comeback waiting to happen, but it wasn't meant to be. I went to whack on Casino War and lost, then we went to play Pontoon but still lost and even chided by some old uncle for not knowing how to play professionally! Haha. But in the end the comeback wasn't meant to be, so I decided to surrender and call it a night. Haiz.
Tough luck.
Chun +115 : Me -125
So our next trip will be erm...Tioman! Hahaha...
But all in all it was a relatively fun trip, though not much to do in Genting besides gambling. Its cold up there, so bring a sweater(I gotta start ranting about FORGETTING to bring one) else you might end up shivering alot more than you thought.
When it comes to the casinos, the bottomline is to play card games instead of games involving dice and balls because you CAN lose 10 out of 10 times if you try to play with statistics! Ultimately though, there's NO WAY you will win in the casino in the long run, so the best option really is just to stay outta these places.
CasiNO!
Haha.
______________________________________________________________
Now for that rant I promised.
This is just for the guys thats all...girls if you've read till this point you may stop. You still can choose to continue reading at your own risk though...
Guys, please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please MAKE SURE that if you ever go to Genting or any cold place, your girl BRINGS HER SWEATER/JACKET!
This is very important. No matter what you do, MAKE SURE you actually see her put it into her bag! OR force her to keep you on the phone while she puts the sweater/jacket in her bag. Just make sure. Else you will end up like me.
Why?
Because IF she forgets then guys, good luck to you. I mean, naturally being decision makers of all things important we ourselves won't forget to bring jackets for OURSELVES right? Well, once the girl forgets to bring hers what happens? YOUR JACKET WILL NO LONGER BE YOURS!
Its true, because you bopianz gotta be gentleman right? So be the knight in shining armour and hand over your jacket to her to keep her warm while you're shivering in the cold wondering why your shirt sleeves are so short. Of course all this while you're trying to milk it for all its worth by acting hero and pretending that its no big deal. Cold? What cold? Me-bathe-in-snow type of hero. This is nothing! But deep inside you will just be cursing yourself for not making sure your girl brought her jacket.
So whether its you the buffoon who forgot your jacket or the girlfriend, either way you're gonna have NO jacket for the trip. Moral of the story: In future, always pack 2 jackets just in case. The slight additional weight is definitely worth more than the chilling winds you will have to suffer.
Ha.
Enough of ranting. I did survive anyway didn't I?
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