Boxing Day, ir.re.gard.less

ir·re·gard·less/ˌɪrɪˈgɑrdlɪs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ir-i-gahrd-lis] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adverb Nonstandard.
regardless.
[Origin: 1910–15; ir-2 (prob. after irrespective) + regardless]
—Usage note Irregardless is considered nonstandard because of the two negative elements ir- and -less. It was probably formed on the analogy of such words as irrespective, irrelevant, and irreparable. Those who use it, including on occasion educated speakers, may do so from a desire to add emphasis. Irregardless first appeared in the early 20th century and was perhaps popularized by its use in a comic radio program of the 1930s.

The origin of irregardless is not known for certain, but the consensus among references is that it is a portmanteau of irrespective and regardless, both of which are commonly accepted standard English words. By blending these words, an illogical word is created. "Since the prefix ir- means 'not' (as it does with irrespective), and the suffix -less means 'without,' irregardless is a double negative."[1]. (Cf. inflammable, flammable.)
Irregardless is primarily found in North America, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, and was first acknowledged in 1912 by the Wentworth American Dialect Dictionary as originating from western Indiana. Barely a decade later, the usage dispute over irregardless was such that, in 1923, Literary Digest published an article entitled "Is There Such a Word as Irregardless in the English Language?"[2]

One way to follow the progress of and sentiments toward irregardless is by studying how it is described in references throughout the twentieth century. Webster’s New International Dictionary (2nd. Ed. Unabridged) described the word as an erroneous or humorous form of regardless, and attributing it to the United States. Although irregardless was beginning to make its way into the American lexicon, it still was not universally recognized and was missing completely from Fowler's Modern English Usage,[3] published in 1965, nor is irregardless mentioned under the entry for regardless therein. In the last twenty-five years, irregardless has become a common entry in dictionaries and usage reference books. It appears in a wide range of dictionaries including: Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged (1981),[4] The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (1988), The American Heritage Dictionary (Second College Edition, 1991),[5] Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary (2001), and Webster’s New World College Dictionary (Fourth Edition, 2004).[6]
_____________________________________________________

Boxing day origins

There are disparate theories as to the origins of the term. The more common stories include:

In feudal times, Christmas was a reason for a gathering of extended families. All the serfs would gather their families in the manor of their lord, which made it easier for the lord of the estate to hand out annual stipends to the serfs. After all the Christmas parties on 26 December, the lord of the estate would give practical goods such as cloth, grains, and tools to the serfs who lived on his land. Each family would get a box full of such goods the day after Christmas. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obliged to supply these goods. Because of the boxes being given out, the day was called Boxing Day.

In Britain many years ago, it was common practice for the servants to carry boxes to their employers when they arrived for their day's work on the day after Christmas. Their employers would then put coins in the boxes as special end-of-year gifts. This can be compared with the modern day concept of Christmas bonuses. The servants carried boxes for the coins, hence the name Boxing Day.

In churches, it was traditional to open the church's donation box on Christmas Day, and the money in the donation box was to be distributed to the poorer or lower class citizens on the next day. In this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that one gigantic lockbox in which the donations were left.
_____________________________________________

-----> all excerpts from Wikipedia.org (its so easy to find stuff there!)

Merry Christmas 2006!

Just before the day ends, here's a very merry Christmas to one and all! May everyone who reads this have a blessed and fulfilling new year too!

Yesterday night we had a Christmas party at Bock Lian's place. Its the biggest turnout of Hall 8 block 44 alumni yet thats NOT a wedding dinner.

Here's a namelist of attendees:

Me
Chun
Leon
Robin
Weiming
Bock Lian
Roy
Zhiqi
Xiuwen
John
Guoxing
Jianfan + GF
Mingxi
Janet
Kelvin
Fiona



And it was great fun! We had a cookout (thanks to all the ladies) and enjoyed ourselves into the night with crappy games ranging from the killer zhong ji mi ma (to finish Roy's ham) to some light-hearted Blackjack, to some heart stopping In-between.

All in all a really good gathering. Probably the best Christmas gathering for quite a couple of years for me in fact. At least it brought back the Christmas spirit that was found wanting a few days ago.

Oh, and I just bought myself a new Microsoft keyboard from the new Courts @ Tampines! Its like right beside the new Ikea so its really convenient to buy whatever you need for your car/house/room. Crowded on weekends though.

Merry X'mas everyone!!!!!!

Pain In My Neck

I've got a pain in my neck that wouldn't go away. I don't know how it got there, but its been around for the past few days.

Maybe something is bothering me.

I hate it when I don't know what's the matter with me.

I was lying in my baby at the carpark listening to my favourite music with the windows slightly down. It took me back to the days of USA where we spent our nights sleeping in our rented car. I listened and listened, till I dozed off for half an hour or so. I fell into slumber listening to Mansions Of The Lord from the We Were Soldiers soundtrack.

Maybe it helps sooth. Maybe it makes me feel good all over again. Maybe its therapeutical. Maybe it reminds me that I think too much.

Just maybe, baby?
______________________________________________

It's Christmas eve already, so here's a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Why don't I feel any Christmas cheer? Will someone spare me some?
______________________________________________

Man U just beat Aston Villa 3-0. But Chelsea is leading Wigan 2-0 and its still the first half. Xianz. And I'm winning alot of money just plonking my money on a Chelsea win. Hmph.

My New Car

If you haven't known by now, I've gotten a new car recently.

Its a Toyota Corolla Altis. Its simply awesome! Even the licese plate number is also a really lucky 8802. I've bought 4D three draws in a row and still haven't strike yet, but I guess with such a good number you really don't have to strike 4D to know its lucky.

Been driving it all over town as and when I can. Its a weekend car, so I only drive when I'm off work, which totally suits me since I get home around 7 these days. Right now I've gotta clock the first 1000km mileage so that I can get the lubricants and oils changed and the first servicing. Meanwhile I'm restricted to 80km/h and 3000rev/min on the road, which is quite a bummer cuz I really wanna see what my baby can do.

So I'm always on the expressways getting overtaken by little Picantos and speeding vans.

Bummer man.
____________________________________________________________

Life has been good so far. Getting busier at work, but with Christmas coming, all management can think of is the cheapest flight back to Europe to celebrate with their families. Don't you just love it when the already relaxed working culture is further relaxed by a premium western holiday like X'mas?

Don't really feel the X'mas spirit this year. Maybe because I've been busy with work and the car. Maybe because I haven't heard any carolling performances as yet. Maybe because I don't watch TV anymore. Maybe because I haven't walked down Orchard Road in eons. Maybe because there's no snow here where I live.

*sigh*

Nope. No Christmas-sy feeling whatsoever.

I have to worry about getting Christmas pressies though. Hehe.

Gosh, am I getting older?

Wedding Bells Galore

Just cleared 2 weddings out of 6 for the month of December. Its crazy man. Every single weekend got someone's wedding to attend.

So last Saturday we attended Bang's wedding. It was unusual because it was my first ever Church wedding, and it was an afternoon luncheon. No traditional Chinese dinner. Cute babes, ok-ish food, meaningful wedding would sum up the afternoon. Happy for him.

Yesterday was Esther's wedding. Esther from secondary school. I think its quite commendable considering that our sec 1/2 classes still can fill at least 1 table. And we totally enjoyed ourselves more because we were having fun amongst ourselves than because it was, erm, her wedding.

Haha. Jinde + wine + girlie giggles = lotsa fun. Jiajie didn't help with his influence on the table that got all of us playing punk by leaving the last yum seng so late that the WHOLE ballroom was looking at us. You can only imagine...

Shite. Sibeh paiseh.

That's about it. Next week, Yonghan from primary school and Guotai & Yifan from hall.

Fierce.

Today I went to cut hair after work and got into a coughing fit because of my flu. The hairdresser was so nice! Pre-empted that I was about to go into fits and got me hot water! Twice! So good of her. Maybe she just wanted to get it over and done with and not have me make a scene at Mode. Hmph. Still she was nice lah.

SITEX 2006

No hot models...

No XBox 360 playground...

No Osim massage for exhibitors...

Xianz.

Google Thy Name

I was so bored just now with no programs on a happening saturday night that I went to google my name. Yeah man, and you people should try it too, you'd be surprised by what you find.

I must have a damn common name cuz there was 30,800 results. But most of them yielded results of people with similar names or names which contain a part of my name. Sheesh.

Anyway I found 3 relevant pages after searching the first 10 pages of searches (yeah I was THAT bored!)!

Not bad by my standards. Though its more because of my Scrabble past than anything. So it goes to show that playing Scrabble in official tournements yields positive Google results. Hehe.

1) http://www.toucanet.com/ytsoc06c.html

Wow. Didn't know that I'm part of the cut-off and I can only play Intermediate category. Dammit, cannot go there fake fake that I can't play liaoz. Xianz.

2) http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rjackman/results2003.html#2CSCO

This is even more remarkable. My playing record during my only overseas Scrabble stint! In Johor at the Causeway Challengeback in 2003. I still have the campy t-shirt they gave for free. As you can see, I didn't fare too well there, but 8 wins wasn't all too bad, especially if Hubert is once of the top rated players in Singapore right now(isn't he Beth?). Anyway this tournement was perhaps the height of the fun we had with scrabble back with the Hall 8 Scrabble team.

3) http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rjackman/RBFN.html

I have no idea what this ozemail thingy is all about, but I'm actually rated! And I didn't even have to pay Singapore Scrabble for this! Haha. Well it's nice to be in the company of big name players, but if they've got my record down under, does it mean I can't play as a beginner there too?

Haha.

Happy googling.

Army Boo Boo

Guys, if you have a reservist recall, please call up your unit or check with your friends a couple of days before you report to your camp/unit.

KNN.

Angry.

I just reported to Maju camp this afternoon for a supposed half-day detachment IC briefing, then got there and there was a crowd of other NSmen only to find out that the location was changed to Jurong camp! Grrr...

Then after spending another 20mins getting to Jurong camp, they realised they made ANOTHER mistake. People like myself were the advanced party, not detachment IC! Like what the !@$#S&^*%A@#%$^(#F$@^%& is going on man!

Cannot even have the courtesy to cancel our online call up meh! SMS me so many times and email me so many times for flying fuck!?! Argh. Angry.

So now I'm back home after an hour's MRT ride from Boon Lay ranting away.
_______________________________________________

The only good thing to come out of all this is that during reservist callup, you never fail to make more new friends. In our distress, a few of us who got to Maju camp early only to realise the army's mistake actually hitched a ride with one nice guy from a different unit. I think his name was Amin. A teacher at Yew Tee Pri Sch, really nice guy, offered us a ride. So there was nothing much 4 grown-up strangers could do in a tiny Hyundai Matrix other than to get to know each other.

This other guy works at IT, and another guy(I totally can't remember names) works as a shipping analyst. At least it makes you feel like an all-Singaporean macho soldier all over again when the only thing we have in common was the complaints about the lousy army call-up system. We bitched about the army, then bitched about the 2.2months bonus civil servants would get, and then bitched about working in the private sector, and then bitched about how expensive cars were in Singapore.

And now you know why there's racial harmony in Singapore. There's always something that we all have in common to bitch about!

Ha.

Singapore Motorshow 2006

It sucked.

If you had intended to waste $10 to go there and look at chio cars, and tons of chio babes, you hardly missed shite(see my top 3 below enough liao!), so you're lucky you didn't get off your lazy ass for nought.

And for me to be there almost 6 days in a row made it even worse. Luckily I had good company and good eye-candy.

Our booth was so out of place. A financial institution(that didn't offer loans nor credit cards) in the middle of a motorshow. Sheesh.

Anyway luckily I had the good company of fellow car model buaya colleagues haha.

I know the girlfriend ain't gonna like this but below are my top 3 car models(and I took all the photos off my Olympus)!!!

Guys, don't nosebleed to death hor!

#3 - Lexus model

She looks abit fat, no, poofy in this picture and her bye-bye arms being so terribly obvious, are waving bye-bye to the #1 spot, but in person she's really saucy and kei. I didn't see a bigger crowd of ogly men happily snapping pictures of her on the first day of my manning the booth...

...until Nissan got jealous of the attention and brought in model #2 on day 3...

#2 - Nissan model

Before we saw her at the Nissan booth we were wondering what the fuss was all about, then we saw her, from far away, blocked out by 10,000 other hot-blooded pervs. I mean, there were guys queuing up just to take pictures with her(what car?)! Edmund refused to let me take pictures with her because he likes her and wants only his picture with her in my camera.

*roll eyes*

Oh by the way, she's only 18.

I know, there IS a paedophile in each and every one of us.

But the ultimately prize went to my personal favourite...

#1 - Subaru model

This was my all-motorshow fav(and not just because she took photo with me).

*blush*

She wasn't as popular among the photo-happy drooling perverts but she definitely was the sweetest of the lot IMHO!

OK, so thats it for the motorshow, it was fun lah actually, not as bad as I first made it sound.

Pru-ned

Suddenly, the agent said,

"You look really familiar, have I seen you somewhere before?"

I was taken aback.

In front of the rest of them.

All the light chatter immediately went silent.

Immediately everyone focused on our conversation.

"Were you from Dunman High?"

Stunned.

"Erm, how'd you guess?", I said.

"Oh! I remember liao! You were in scouts! Right?"

Stunned. Again.

Like, what the f...?!

"And you were in 1B and 2B right?"

... ... ...

"You are Zhiyang right?!"

Shocked.

Triple stunner.

"I played basketball with you guys before! And I was in the class beside you!"

Blank face.

*blink*

And I didn't know who the fuck she was.

Seriously.

*shudder*

A Very Short Blog

Just back from Borneo Motors at Leng Kee.

Finally got my first car. Whoooo!!!

Can't wait to collect it in a month's time.

I got a Toyota Altis weekend car!

Metallic red!!!

Whoooo!!!!

Feels great.

Yes, Joe, I finally did it.

1 year later than planned, but better late than never.

I'd love to plant a nice picture here but I couldn't find the right colour.

*sobz*

Weakness First

Went for a tour at Fitness First today.

For a club touting exclusivity for 3 times the amount I currently pay for Cali, its One George St branch was a complete disappointment. Sure it had the most talked about swimming pool - a panoramic unblocked birdseye view of the Cityhall/Esplanade area by the poolside, and they provided sweat shirts and pants for workouts, but everything fundamental was a letdown.

For starters the gym was terribly small, probably half the size of the smallest Cali outlet(I assume it to be the Bugis one). I think there were 10 treadmills at most. Its layout was terrible, with the lounge smack right in the middle of the gym(some might like it that way), giving the loungers a voyeuristic view of everyone else working out, and there seemed to be a shortage of equipment. The classroom was about half the size of the Bugis Cali outlet and it didn't even have a secondary bike room whatsoever. Finally the changing room was super small and cramped, shampoo dispenser was spoilt and only 8, yes 8 showers *gasp*.

Shaun had a funny incident where his bag clip got stuck in another locker and couldn't be removed(its hard to describe). But it just made our experience there even worse when the staff didn't help much.

I think I'll stick to Cali for the time being...

M6 Cleared

Wow. Can't believe it.

Managed to clear M6 Securities Products and Analysis, one of the toughest papers with the highest failure rate.

Damn heng.

The past year papers were a huge help.

All's cleared now so I'm moving on to doing housekeeping and preparing for work to start proper.

Whee!!!

Donation

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.

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.

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!!!

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.

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

Hazy Days Are Here Again

The haze is just terrible.

What's the PSI now? 90?

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...

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.

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?

Showdown In Genting

Okay, the stakes are on the table. HUGE stakes alright.

Really looking forward to the Genting trip. Its gonna be a good break for us both, and we get to gamble! Now what we've planned is to compete against each other mano a mano on our betting prowess. Setting is as such:

Each will get $100ringgit a day for the two nights we'll be there, the person with the most money at the end of the trip wins! Loser will have to pay for our next overseas trip(New Zealand?)! Exciting anot?!

Exciting! Okay so I won't be able to imitate a God of Gamblers entrance with a $100, but considering that I'm prepared to lose it all in several hours(very optimistic), better not spend too much. I did, afterall, infamously lose $50 on the roulette table in a mere 5mins on my last trip there. But this time I will show that I will win with skill, charm, good risk management, and a dumptruck full of luck! Good luck to me!!!!!

So its gonna be the risk-taker vs the ultra-super-duper-risk averse!

Who will win it?!

Stay tuned...

Genting Here I Come!

Yup.

The promised land.

My next best chance to become rich after buying Toto. I've geared up for it, and with the right amount of cash I have calculated that I will come back a millionaire! Wish me luck!

Of course if I lose my pants then I will just spend whatever free time I have left wasting Genting electricity by riding all sides of that giant drop thingy as many times as I can till I make my money's worth! Hmph.

This time around will be my first time taking the super VIP(they call it SVIP) Grassland bus, which only has 3 seats per row instead of 4. I think it will also be my first time staying in First World hotel(where did I stay the last time?). And it the first time I'm going up there with the girlfriend! Haha.

Fun! Fun!(with more Ringgit) Even more fun!
___________________________________________________________________

The Presidential Room

On a separate note, I just came back from dinner with Uncle Alfred and Kin Wah. We ate at The American Club, with which Uncle Alfred is a member. My, that place is ultra posh siah. I had the Prime Beef Steak which cost $43.99, extra filling, tender beef but still overly expensive. Our whole meal cost more than $200 but luckily Uncle Alfred picked up the tab. So nice of him.

Anyway, short of sounding like some suah guy, the restaurant also serves Evian(still water) or Perrier(sparkling) too! Just like Top of the M! So posh. Then they also had a card on every table reminding patrons that use of handphones and pagers were not allowed in the club except in the lobby. Wah seh. To top it off, the toilets have got free mouthwash! Wah. And the club gives away free The Edge magazines! Wah. Okay, I'm done with my suah rant.

Dinner was good. We had a good chat and catch up session. Nice to catch up with them and talk about all affairs current.
_________________________________________________________________

The Showdown

Last friday, there was the ultimate showdown between our very own Jinde, against our basketball kaki, Cheng. It was a battle of the tequila shots. Held at Winebar(like nobody gets drunk at Winebar right?), the whole lot of us(I think there was quite a lot of us!) sponsored all the shots while all they both needed to do was down them.

Short of mentioning anything embarrassing, I will keep this short.

5 shots each and the showdown was over.

Dali-cious!

Yesterday, I had enough free time(as you all know I'm out of work for this two weeks and am exceptionally free) to decide to hit the town and search for all of Salvador Dali's works on display. Its not as though I'm a really big fan of his but I do specifically remember his trademark melting clocks, introduced to most of us by his most famous work, The Persistence Of Memory. You may not think you've seen it, but I'm pretty sure many of you have but never knew the name to the painting thats all(just like me up until now). Its the one which has got melting clocks all of the place with like a desert and a couple of barren trees as background. Yes? No?

I must admit I'm not really like super good with art(never been known to be arty-farty though sometimes I may surprise), but this trip was more of a treasure-hunt-and-document kinda thing for me. So my views of the art pieces may be abit more practical and dull than even the more casual of artlovers.

Anyways, I just thought since I've got nothing better to do, why not go on a solo hunt for these sculptures. Afterall, I've walked past two of the pieces at Capital Tower several times on my way to work during my last few days with my previous employer.

I took the 196 bus to Shenton Way and started my journey with the pieces at Capital Tower(obviously since they were the most obscurely located - notice that the pieces are also the cheapest of the lot)

Dance Of Time II

So this is the first of two pieces really easy to find, right at the entrance of Capital Tower. Its worth US$480,000. I like the whole melting-clock thing and it is very definitive of Dali's work, but I don't think I'd pay so much for this piece.


Dance Of Time II 

Looks like a mushroom if you'd asked me.

St George And The Dragon

This piece was just in front of the previous piece so you really can't miss it, its got more details, so in my perspective, its more worthwhile of its similar price tag of US$480,000(same price as above piece).


St George And The Dragon 

Notice the woman hiding behind the knight. I still think its way overpriced.

Surrealist Piano

The previous two pieces were more like the introductory performers of some megastar concert, so I guess they weren't that impressive. I walked all the way down Robinson Road to Raffles Place and then to UOB Plaza to catch the first of four pieces on display there. Somehow, this piece below didn't really look that awesome and I was kind of aware that people were starring at me take pictures of this art piece.


Surrealist Piano 

Not that special lah although a piano with human legs did look abit quirky. US$550,000. Must be the legs.

Horse Saddled With Time

This was the piece that featured in the front page of Life! last Thursday. I think this piece was what attracted me to embark on this Dali hunt. I can't really describe how I feel about this piece but I think its a very good piece. Maybe being always in need of more time myself, I find this piece more intriguing than the rest. US$550,000.


Horse Saddled With Time 

This piece would do very nicely in my room. Then again I'll have no place to sleep. This piece is just by the river, so its also not hard to spot.

Unicorn

This piece was right beside the Horse Saddled With Time piece, they were so close together there was no kick at finding this piece. US$480,000.


Unicorn 

The newspaper says this sculpture depicts a unicorn tamed by a virgin. I don't really see it that way. It looks more like the unicorn just stabbed the woman's heart and left her heartbroken. Beastiality fans will like this piece. 'Nuff said.

Woman Aflame

This piece was perhaps the toughest to find, and the only piece I couldn't get close to. Why would they put it where people can't see it clearly? Anyway it took awhile to find this piece, its on the left side of the building towards the direction of Boat Quay. Somehow the place was cordoned and this was the closest picture I could get of it. US$1.27mil.


Woman Aflame 

I gotta say she looks kinda weird with drawers sticking outta her and sticks sticking out of her back. Too abstract for me. But this was a very big sculpture, maybe thats why the humongous price tag.

Space Elephant

This was another enormous sculpture. This was on the other extreme right of UOB Plaza, beside 6 Battery Road where Stanchart was. It was so tall I think the tip of the pyramid almost touched the roof of the overhead shelter. US$1.7mil. Lagi more expensive, maybe only because of its sheer size.


Space Elephant 

My only thoughts on this piece revolved around 5 letters: W-E-I-R-D.

Homage To Newton

I have to emphasize that this piece is not part of the exhibition of Salvador Dali's sculptures, but it has been standing at UOB Plaza for such a long time that I just had to document it as well since it was a Dali piece as well.

I think its more impressive than almost all of his pieces on exhibition and it has a higher chance of making people go,"Ooooh!". So its gotta be good.


Homage To Newton 

Somehow didn't have much of a chance to take a very good picture, what with the heavy security(IMF season) and the weird stares I'm getting from people around me. Coupled with the high chance that I was about to bump into an ex-colleague somehow, I was outta the main plaza square in a jiffy.

Profile Of Time

Finally, it felt like coming down the home stretch. Camera was running out of battery. I walked from Raffles Place all the way to Orchard(thankfully I was wearing a singlet, was sweating like a pig) and was glad to have made it to Taka without my berms showing any wet prints of my underwear(luckily didn't wear boxers).

This was another piece I liked, largely because of the melting clock. It was actually similar to the Dance Of Time II piece but alot bigger. US$1.3mil. Price justified. Big is sometimes really more beautiful.


Profile Of Time 

I liked the fact that the tree branch holding the melting clock up was more defined and stretch beyond the clock thereby giving it a more 'draped' look. This was nicer compared to the other melting clock piece which looked like a mushroom.

Space Venus

This was another impressive piece. US$1.7mil. Another super expensive piece. This was nice lah. Just nice. Oh yah, both pieces are right in front of the fountain at Taka, so its not hard to find.


Space Venus 

Note the ants on the body, and the melting clock at the neck. Totally weird.

Alice In Wonderland

The final piece to the puzzle. This piece is really easy to find, right at the Wheelock entrance. Looked pretty ordinary. US$1.48mil.


Alice In Wonderland 

Nothing much to comment on except Alice's face, if you look close enough, is actually a round shrub. Haha, interesting.
_______________________________________________________________

So that was my journey. I've got more photos if anyone wants to see more. Better yet, just go down and see for yourselves, quite interesting. I think they're on display until 14th Oct. Enjoy!

'Have no fear of perfection. You'll never reach it'
Dali

My Last Day

My mates at Tanjong Pagar 

Yesterday was my last day.

I went to work at around 11am, cleaned out most of my rubbish in Tanjong Pagar and Shenton Way, then went to Plaza Main for my clearance and exit interview around 3pm.

At the exit interview, I was asked the expected questions like why I wanted to leave and how I think things can be improved. I raised a few good points(IMHO!), namely,

A) Overall remuneration for personal bankers was not as competitive as most foreign banks,

B) There was no use having the best commission structure but the worst fines or penalties for breach of even the smallest compliance issues.

C) The company's Branch managers were probably the most overworked and most underpaid in the finance industry. Period.

I thought the feedback I gave were really constructive and even the HR lady also said they were strongly validated by my arguements. Well, hopefully I've left on a good note and have helped aided in making the company a better employer.

After all that I went back to Tanjong Pagar for dinner with the rest at our regular kopitiam and attend a training session for our latest fund. Infrastruture? Geez. Anyway, I just went through the training with the rest and even asked a couple of challenging questions here and there as if I was really gonna sell it to my customers. Haha.

Boss was real nice to have allowed them to skip teleconsulting on a Monday night just to come out and celebrate with me. Too bad he couldn't make it.

We ended up going to this shady karaoke pub in Union Square called Sha Sha. Thankfully we had two cars available(Led & Stacy) to ship us all there. Had a great time, took lotsa pix, lotsa beer(cheap!), and learnt how to play Bluff on dice! Haha. By the time we left the place it was already 12 midnight. The rest still had to work the next day.

Sobz. Farewell my lovely colleagues!

In a drunken stupor, I came home to pen the inspirational email below to everyone(even the ops people) in the branch. Now that I'm reading it again in my normal state, I think its super cheesy! Hahaha.
_____________________________________________________________

Dear UOB Tanjong Pagar,

As most of you are aware, today is officially my last day.

It brings me great sadness to be leaving such a loving and caring family.
Honestly, I have NEVER ever felt closer to a bunch of colleagues as I have
with each and every one of you, and the fact that I have to leave for
perhaps greener pastures brings me great regret of the things I will be
missing out in the days ahead.

I honestly do not know if corporate life will ever be the same again or as
good in my new job, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank each
and every one of you for bringing a special little something in my life
during this period that I have been with you. Certainly without each of you,

I would never have enjoyed my stay in UOB Tanjong Pagar so much.

I must impress upon each and every one of you that what we all share in UOB
Tanjong Pagar is a very special bond, a very special comraderie that helps
keep everyone moving along, enjoying the role that he or she plays for the
branch. We have had alot of ups and downs, stress and pressures, but at the
end of the day no one can deny the fact that when we strive together, we can

be the best small cluster(we've achieved that) or even the best
branch(hopefully someday) in the whole Singapore.

I vividly remember the time when I first came in, the grapevine about
Tanjong Pagar was that the branch was like a dead end especially in the
sales point of view. However, things changed. We all worked together and we
brought out the best in each other to achieve what we are today - a branch
that other people are envious of. And that is something we should all
cherish and appreciate, for it would all be lost easily if we started to
give in.

I trust that the culture of this loving family will continue to live on long
after my departure, especially under the guidance of our workaholic bm,
Robert, and that success for the branch will continue in the distant future.

Furthermore, I wish everyone of you health, wealth and the same happiness in
your lives as this branch has brought unto me. I am easily contacted through email and handphone, so do remember to pull me along(bo jio!) for any branch functions, and I look forward to seeing you guys in Bintan very soon.

To end this farewell email on a good note, I would like to dedicate my favourite song, You've Got A Friend, to each and everyone of you. Go take a listen, the song tells everyone of you how I feel about you. I wish all of you the best in your future endeavours be it in UOB or not, and may we remain friends forever.

Lots of love,

Chee Yong
97905402
cylum@hotmail.com

Listen to it here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aVZNXtJs7c8

When youre down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name,
And you know whereever I am
Ill come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And Ill be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Youve got a friend.

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
And soon I will be knocking upon your door.
You just call out my name and you know where ever I am
Ill come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you got to do is call
And Ill be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, aint it good to know that youve got a friend?
People can be so cold.
Theyll hurt you and desert you.
Well theyll take your soul if you let them.
Oh yeah, but dont you let them.

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am
Ill come running to see you again.
Oh babe, dont you know that,
Winter spring summer or fall,
Hey now, all youve got to do is call.
Lord, Ill be there, yes I will.
Youve got a friend.
Youve got a friend.
Aint it good to know youve got a friend.
Aint it good to know youve got a friend.
Youve got a friend
_____________________________________________________________________

See? So cheesy right? Haha.

20,000 and Counting!

I've hit the 20,000 page views mark for my blog! Whoo! Thats quite a milestone by my standards. But then again considering that existence of this blog began in February 2004, it doesn't seem like alot eh? How long's it been? 2 years and 7 months.Thank you everyone for your support! *clap, clap, clap* Hopefully this blog will still be alive for the next 20,000 page views.

In any case, need abit of help here. I took out my archives almost a year ago because of the Standard Chatered incident, and I really like to have it brought back into my blog.

Does anyone know how to do this?

Would greatly appreciate if anyone could advise.

Another New Chapter: The Preview

Went for a teambuilding exercise organized by my new company last night. The afternoon I sprained my ankle(again!) during basketball, so I was abit apprehensive about what we were about to do to teambuild. Considering that we were told to wear berms and shoes I was prepared for an amazing-race kind of exercise.

Well I took a cab to Sentosa ferry terminal where we were supposed to meet. When we met I was quite surprised to find out that there were alot of people from my old company, like almost 7 of us, though not all were persoanl bankers. I was also surprised that there were more girls than I thought. Also, out of my interview group during the group round(the assessment centre), only one other guy made it though besides myself. We also got to meet our future managers and even the vice president of the company(he's Dane, along with a few other ang mohs) who would join us for the exercise.

It turned out that we would end up playing a game of mobile lasertag. Quite interesting, really, and probably costly, whereby it was like paintball except alot cleaner with laser guns and sensory belts very much like the army when fighting ATAC. Army boys will know. The weapons were quite realistic and the simulation and aim was good(not like you anyhow-shoot-sure-will-hit type). However unlike the one previously at Marina Square, we played over an open park area near the ferry terminal where there's alot of freedom to roam and natural obstacles(more realistic mah). Now playing in the hot and humid night in the Sentosa jungle sure made us sweat like pigs, but essentially it did help to teambuild alright. In fact, the exercise was so effective that by dinnertime we were all hanging out like a buncha old school reunion classmates catching up with each other's lives. Such was its effectiveness. But sweating like dog and not bringing a change of attire made me smell real bad. But then so did alot of the rest I think, especially the girls who probably didn't expect to sweat so much.

Dinner was at this old steamboat-turned restaurant also close to the ferry terminal. I forgot the name. Food wasn't very good but I shared the table with the VP(his name was Eric) and we had quite a good chat. Really humble guy and all, even though he was such a big fuck. He was already in his 50s and he still joined us for lasertag. Wow.

By the end of dinner we even wanted to go back to the mainland for some drinks together but after some careful thought, it was called off. But that was a preview of things to come I guess. All in all it was a good preview of my future colleagues and everyone seems really nice to work with, so I guess work will be something to look forward to come Oct 2nd.

My Final Days Here

Monday's my last day.

Can't help but feel a tinge of sadness all week long. Haven't been able to sleep too well, bad dreams, though I can't remember what they're about. But I assume its cuz I'm leaving.

Here and there will feel nostalgic about my days here. Even though I haven't been here for too long(approx. 1 year and 2 months) but I've had alot of fond memories here. The last few weeks somehow whenever we go for our dinners we'd be talking about the 'good ol'days' - albeit only about days gone several months back. Its also partly because alot of policies are changing, alot of new things we're just getting used to with the management's change of direction. So everyone's in a nostalgic mood. Which makes me sad sometimes cuz I also want to be a part of their current transition.

When I first came in it was Robert's first month as branch manager. Maybe thats why he's got a softspot for me, me being his first 'student'. There was only Steven and Simon. Then came Led, then Evelyn, then Ah Huat, then Sam, now Paul. So many people now when back then at our lowest headcount we had like Steven and I running for hte month of November while Simon was on leave. Or Simon, Led and myself cheonging for the month of February. It was tough then, but those are what memories were made of.

There're still alot of things to do, alot of rubbish to clear around the branch, alot of personal items to giveaway before Monday. There's gonna be a branch farewell tonight, and then a PB gathering on Monday too. So touched.

More updates while I waste away in Shenton Way.
_______________________________________________________________________

On an absolutely separate note, I'm glad Man U got off to a good start by beating Celtic 3-2 at Old Trafford on Tuesday. Good start, good ending. Hopefully this season they'll win something more than the League Cup.

Go Man Yoo!!!!!!

Weirdest Taxi Driver Ever

Today I came off at Kembangan MRT and took my regular taxi ride home.

"Siglap?" were his first words to me. I was thinking how the hell this guy knows where I'm heading, but just brushed it off as if he just got lucky.

The whole ride he was yakking and yakking away about the IMF blah blah blah non-stop and had the laughter of an old man who need to catch his breath in the middle of a laugh.

Then at the entrance of Mandarin Gardens after he turned in, he said, "Block 3?". I was totally shocked that he seemed to know where to go. It was totally weirding me out. Then I asked him if he'd fetched me before but he said no. So I asked him how he knew?

Then the taxi driver said, "When uncle was born into this world, uncle asked my God to give me six million dollars. But God refused and instead gave me six cents(sense)! Muahahahaha". Argh. I was like, roll eyes. Buay tahan uncle can even gimme this kinda of corny jokes.

Once he reached my block I quickly paid up and got out liaoz. Really wonder how he knew where I was heading.

Weird.

Worst Showflat Agent Ever

We were at The Trumps showflat in Kembangan yesterday. Really nice place, but the showflat agent was terrible! Somehow we weren't really pissed with his gaffs, but were laughing at him most of the time more like.

For starters his breath smelled as though he had eaten skunk. Wah lao go eat a mint for goodness sakes lah, macham like he rinsed his mouth in shit just before we came into the showflat lidat. So throughout the ordeal we both tried not to get too close to him.

The buffoon proceeded to blurt out loud, upon me writing 'Siglap Road' on the signing-in book,

"Wah you live in Siglap ah? That's where the rich people stay!".

Roll eyes.

Good Showflat Agent Rule #482: NEVER IRRITATE POTENTIAL CLIENTS AS ABOVE.

We just kept quiet and wandered away from him towards the condo model as fast as we could.

Then he started his introduction of the condo with damn lousy English(more on that). Plus he said that the condo "had the FULL range of facilities" and then proceeded to inform us that FULL means swimming pool, children's playground, bbq pit and indoor gym. Wow. What an array to justify the high maintenance fees of $250/mth.

He then mouthed off the biggest boo-boo of our meeting, while introducing the full range of facilities, he accidentally said swimming 'pee' instead of 'pool'. Geez, wonder if he was trying to irritate us. The dear and I almost burst out laughing. I dunno about her but I had to look down, bite my tongue and think lousy thoughts just to prevent myself from bursting out in laughter. Damn funny.

We took a lift up to see some of the showrooms thereafter, and didn't really bother him enough for him to make more of a fool of himself, but a couple of times I'd ask him something and then he'd reply something totally unrelated. So random. Like when I asked if it gets noisy around the area, he quickly replied "1430 sq feet!". Like damn proud that he know the answer lidat.

WTF.

Shortly after when we were about to leave the first showroom, we stumbled upon his 2nd biggest boo-boo. As I left the flat to put on my slippers, there I found exactly on top of my slippers were his freakin' leather shoes! Win liao lor. BOTH SHOES on BOTH SLIPPERS. Win liao. Maybe he was poking fun at us. I think he got embarrassed and quickly kicked his shoes off my slippers. And there on my slippers were his leather shoe dusty shoemarks, which I suppose would only come about if he had STEPPED ON THE SLIPPERS TO REMOVE HIS SHOES! Argh.

Finally, his last boo-boo occured in the 2nd showroom. I think he ran out of things to say liaoz, so to make conversation he said that just to inform us that IF we were under 18, our parents had to come down to purchase the unit.

!@#$#@^%@%&$&$^*&^$*&^

Argh.

Like think he must have thought we were shotgun newlyweds or something. I shot him an insulted look, then he said like no offence but you guys really look really young blah blah blah, need your parents' consent blah blah blah. That idiot couldn't even believe that I was 27. Sheesh. Like wah lao, then we bochup him and carried on with exploring the flat in our own happy little world. Haha.

At least we went back to the office to get a quotation of the units from him, and still had to tahan his shit breath for a good 10 minutes before we could leave. Geez, that poor sod must've thought we were serious buyers.

But still somehow he looked like he wasn't the malicious sort and more like the clumsy clown type, so I guess we didn't really fault him or felt really insulted. In fact I think we were just dying to go back to the car to have a good laugh about him. Geez, this guy must've lost alot of customers with his antics man.

The Trumps is a nice condo in Kembangan which I like!
_________________________________________________________

In another episode earlier, we visited One Amber at Tanjong Katong and pretended to be really interested buyers. Hell that place is damn expensive siah. Sell backside also may not be able to afford!

Suay Bong

Warning: This is really a boring rant.
____________________________________________________________________


Tonight was damn suay bong.

Was tasked to lock up the branch since the boss wasn't gonna be around. Now I've never encountered any problems the previous couple of times that I've locked it up. Just arm the branch, lock the doors and thats it.

This time was somewhat different. At 9pm the remaining trio of us, Eve, Huat and I, were about to leave the branch and I was setting up the alarm system. After arming the system, we noticed that the aircon wasn't switched off.

Shit.

So I had to disarm the whole alarm system and go back in to shut down the aircon. Then armed the system again. As we left the branch I called Cisco to inform them that we were leaving as we always do. Cisco, however, spotted some problems. Apparently, their system showed that the branch wasn't armed yet.

Shit. Shit.

So I went back in and repeated the whole arming process once more, then called them back, but AGAIN they still said it wasn't armed yet. So I asked them to check on their system maybe its faulty because obviously the alarm system displayed that the branch was armed. So they asked me to speak to their technician to see if there was any fault but there wasn't. The technician couldn't help at all and tried to smoke me here and there. Pffft. Finally, after running up more airtime on my handphone checking with Simon, they called back to say that one of the vaults was not armed, thats why they are unable to see the full arming in their system.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Like the vaults are so not my pasar lor. Knn. Xianz. Eve then called Hui who said that maybe one of the operations staff leaving didn't arm it. Wtf. So the technician taught me how to arm the vault(it wasn't hard but he took like forever to teach me how). In the end I armed it successfully and we went out.

This time I verified with the Cisco personnel that everything was in order. So hooray! Me and Huat went to take the MRT. Heng got Eve and Huat to pei me through this ordeal, helping me contact so many different people. But then stupid Cisco people had other ideas up their sleeves. They waited till I was all alone in Kallang MRT then called me to say that one of the doors still hadn't been locked and that I didn't lock it properly or something to that effect.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

What?! And you want me to go all the way back to lock one stupid door?!?!

The Cisco officer still had the cheek to retort back unless I was willing to take full responsibility if anything happened. Like hell!

Argh. So I took the train all the way back to branch. Cost me an extra half hour just to go back there. Argh.

Then on the MRT ride the dear called. As I pulled on my doggie handphone chain, it snapped. Fuck. My beloved doggie. Xianz.

Aiyah damn suay bong lah all in all. Enough ranting. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Two More Weeks

Only two more weeks to go.

Today whole day in Shenton Way slacking and surfing my life away. Hardly had anything to do or care about except sell our structured deposit to a walk-in rabbit. I must say the current strutured deposit is really not bad though, so it kinda sells itself.

Its abit weird to while away my final days here this way. Especially since I still have two more weeks, it feels like an awfully long time. Already I'm thinking about the emails I'm gonna be writing to my Tanjong Pagar mates, and how I'm gonna spend my last day which is next next Monday. Otherwise I'd be daydreaming and surfing the web for stock update and other non-work related stuff(no porno though).

Even during teleconsulting I didn't make a single call. More like I spent it doing housekeeping and tidying my work area. Haha. Then claim OT somemore.

Geez.

Le Birthday

T'was the girlfriend's birthday yesterday.

Didn't really do anything spectacularly romantic and you can read most of the details with pictures(really good stuff!) in her blog. We had our dinner at the Top of the M @ Meritus Mandarin. Those of you who're like me, hardly-dined-in-such-top-end-restaurants-before types will wow with such suahku-ness at the 5-course dinner that took almost 2 and a half hours.

The gist is that the place is a revolving restaurant with a splendid view of the city(lucky the rain stopped) serving french cuisine. So we had for dinner in the following order in layman english(bloody French everything also pattern pattern):

Escargo(you spell it like that?). Snails lah wtf.
Mushroom Soup
Salmon Salad(with caviar ok, dun pray pray)
Fish OR Lamb(medium rare)
Pudding(creme brulee?)

How the meal actually took 2 and a half hours don't ask me but time flew quite quickly which was a good thing and before you know it we'd revolved one round around the restaurant liaoz. Amazing.

Oh then we were also serenaded by a trio of really talented musicians(one of them with cello even) whom we didn't tip because they didn't know the song I wanted ("Welcome to My World" - Jim Reeves?) but they made it up with a really good rendition of "Only You". Oh well. Muahahaha...

Very very recommended for those who want to celebrate a special occasion with that special someone of yours, like 5 stars out of 5. Hehe. Will set you back about 100+++/pax though. And make a reservation prior hor.

Catch the rest in the her blog.
_________________________________________________________________

Just 2 and a half more weeks to go before I call it a day in my workplace. Quite xianz of running for sales lately since I'll be hardly earning anything and the boss's pms-sy attitude isn't helping much. Hope I can ride out the rest of my days more carefreely.

Those of you wondering where I'm headed or haven't heard of the place when I told you the name, check out their official website here.

No negative connotations please.

Totally looking forward to starting work.
_________________________________________________________________

Was out with Uncle Alfred and KW for lunch yesterday. I always enjoy meeting up with them since there's always lots to catch up with and alot to discuss regarding economic issues and current market trends.

Its amazing that we each represent a different generation(me being from the youngest generation) and yet we get along so well. So when KW and Uncle Alfred talk about events from way back when(even as recent as the UOB-OUB takeover, all I can do is sit quietly and absorb their immense discussion and experience and remind myself to google for more information when I get home). Haha.

Sometimes I wonder what I really contribute at our gatherings. My expertise in the current market trends? My knowledge of the current process and system? My general opinion of the global outlook? Not alot compared to what they care to share with me. I am indeed lucky to have made such friends.

Looking forward to our next meeting.
_________________________________________________________________

Just went to Comex'06. We each bought a portable 160GB harddisk at $125! Killer prices! I must be becoming a geek.

Almost bought a Sony PSP too. We thronged Comex but couldn't find any good PSP deals, then went all the way to Century Square and almost bought the PSP there. Original set + 2GB memory stick + data cable + protector screen @ $440!!! Cheap!

But alas, it was not to be. The shop didn't have anymore original sets! So its a sign that I can get it cheaper somewhere else! Haha.

This Sunday I will part with my money for a PSP.
_________________________________________________________________

I cannot take it anymore.

SINGAPORE IDOL IS A TOTAL JOKE

Much as I try to hide the fact that I keep myself posted on who gets voted out each week, I really cannot take it anymore. Almost everyone in SI2006 cannot make it!!! I thought only John, Mathilda and Hady still were somewhat decent, everyone else...geez.

But JOAKIM(thank God he FINALLY got voted out tonight - the misery is over!) is seriously such a joke that I have finally started to pity him. You can totally see it from his face that he was just dying to get voted out. I mean...let the man leave the stage pronto with his dignity intact lah please. Dunno where all his fans get all the money to vote from siah.

I still maintain that SI cannot adopt the same voting system as AI because our small plus giam siap(I am guilty too) population makes it just too easy for some rich organization(think Jerry last season) or deraged fans to vote in their fav idol-wannabe. No matter how sucky he/she is.

They should actually release the audited(independent) vote tally each week man. Maybe total votes cast is actually less than 1,000. Haha.

They should let the judges influence a larger percentage of the votes lah.

Viewers 50%
Judges(ex Ken Lim, ex Ja) 10%
Ja 0%
Ken Lim 40%

I mean it is Ken Lim's company that'll be doing the hiring anyway right?

Just my two cents.

Common Brown Elephant

 

First Day Back

Back at work today. Felt abit weird but when I got to office Boss wasn't around. So I left the letter on his table.

Boss came in around 10am(heard he's been acting weird, probably wants to quit too), saw the letter and just asked me if that's really what I want. Told him it was, then he said he'll talk to me about it on Monday. Hehe, means I get to slack tomorrow(no roadhow!)

The rest of the morning went by quite peacefully, everyone was trying to update me on what's been happening over the last coupla weeks. Not that much big news except that Mag.L actually quit. Was quite surprised because she just got promoted to that important post only. Probably too stressed lah. Quite a few people entertaining thoughts about quitting too. Seems like quitting season is here again.

Things were so normal I even had sales but I was nice enough to pass the sales on to them. Had to put up with alot of teasing though and the "so good you don't have to piah anymore" rants, but in all its great to be back. We all did lunch together at Wisma Atria. So onz.

Monday will be another challenging day, but once I get past the morning and get released to Shenton Way then I'm gonna be free! Whoo!

Can I visit the Shire please?

At last, the fight is over. After a rigorous 4-round interview process, I've finally been accepted. It wasn't easy, but I sure hope its worth it. Will be tendering my resignation this coming Saturday and moving on to a better place.

The contract is so European, comes with clauses like:

If the EMPLOYEE believes that he/she has been discriminated against or suffered harassment, bullying or vicitimisation he/she should follow the Grievance Procedure which is available on request from the COMPANY’s administrative staff.

Right.

They must be getting sued left right and centre from all this silly-dillys. Must watch my back(side) next time I drop stationary on the floor.

Hope it works out well. This is, afterall my 3rd job in as many years so sooner or later I'll need to settle down somewhere, and that somewhere might well be here.

Just right here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Reservist has been really fun and relaxing. There's nothing better than a good high-key, non-cheong-suah, aircon-environment reservist to brighten up that few weeks of the year that you don't have to run for your numbers.

And I've made a great bunch of friends here. Just a week and a half and suddenly its as though we've known each other for a coupla years. Add to that the fact that assuming none of us defer we'd be stuck with each other for the rest of our NS cycle, I'm really in for a swell time! Whoo!

If all goes well, next year we might even get to go to New Zealand together! So cool! I imagine we'd be going in the winter and we'll probably be shuffling around in thick jackets and woolen pants, threading in ankle-deep snow. As we talk we will be able to see our breaths. So cool!! And cold. Haha.

And if we're REALLY lucky we will be trekking the mountains of New Zealand a la Lord of the Rings lidat(cue Breaking of the Fellowship orchestral piece).

Can I visit the Shire please?

One Bold Prediction

In the next 2-3weeks, the Singapore market will crash one last time.

Down until the STI hits 2100-2000.

If you're holding anything with a short term horizon in mind then please exit soon.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Unless of course you're holding on to Put warrants.

Good luck!

------------------------------------------------------------------

On a separate note, I will be going in for In-camp this Thursday for the next 2 weeks which is such a total bitch because I WILL BE STAYING IN!!! Argh.

Hate staying in.

But good lah can save abit of money haha.

The Birthday That Went

So my 27th birthday came and went without much fanfare. Alot more people remembered it than I thought. Thanks everyone!

Being 27 is like way old. So old that its like 10years older than being 26.

Haiz.

The battle isn't over yet, there's still a fourth round but I'm already having second thoughts due to the nature of the job.

Geez.

Oh I'm now on a rotational shift in Shenton Way branch so come visit lonely old me!

Guess thats all to update right now.

Fingers Crossed

Dear Chris Lum

We refer to your recent telephone interview with Michala Michael regarding the XXXX position at XXXX.

We are delighted to inform you that you have been successful in progressing to the next stage which will be an assessment day held at our Hudson offices week commencing 17th July 2006.

We will be contacting you shortly with further information and look forward to meeting with you.

Yours sincerely,

Hudson Global Resources (S) Pte Ltd
9 Temasek Boulevard
#35-01 Suntec Tower Two
Singapore 038989

*crosses fingers*