A Look Back At Resolutions 2008

Before I post my 2009 new year's resolutions in a couple of days, here's a look back at the performance of what I resolved to do at the beginning of 2008.

You can look back at my early Jan post here for a quick recap.

1) Drink less alcohol
This, for starters, has vastly improved. From three times a week at the peak, to the current once a week. So its not yet at the twice a month level and I'm beginning to like drinking beers on my own (yes, I am turning into a kopitiam uncle) in the comforts of my home, BUT it is significantly better than at the beginning of 2008.

2) Exercise more
This was achieved with relative ease since I almost definitely put in an hour's worth of futsal once a weekday for the corporate league, and another few hours on Saturdays playing soccer with the basketball gang (yes, we have evolved). If you're remotely interested to come support me on the weekdays at East Coast, the schedule of our games is here. Maybe also factor in stress from work, but I've managed to trim myself back down to a "thin" 73kg as of this morning's weigh-in.

3) Eat healthier
I'm not sure how to quantify this, but I don't think I succeeded in eating any healthier. I'm still the Mcdonald's kid i've always been. Maybe less potato chips at home might help. One things for certain though: I'm definitely laying off Coke a whole lot more than before.

4) Earn more money #1
Given the current economic climate and my promotion at work (which did not increase earnings :( ), I can safely say that I probably will earn 30% less than 2007 instead. Boooooo...

5) Earn more money #2
Feng Shui for 2009 seems to be as bad as 2008. But that's not gonna stop me from investing. Stock trades went to an almost virtual standstill since July when the crunch started hitting hard. I'm glad I cut my losses really early and considering 20/20 hindsight, alot of things could've been much worse. FX trading improved quite tremendously, so that may be my focus for 2009. Long term fundamental trading will probably be the way to go. Along with keeping as much cash as possible. Savings have improved a little in spite of the tremendous costs of our wedding, so thats a good thing. Aim to hold 75% cash if economic crunch continues in 2009.

All in all, its been a pretty good year from a personal perspective. Job's still intact. Got promoted. Got married (proper). Lets hope that 2009 will be even better!

This Was Supposed To Be A Happy Post

But I just received news of the passing of a friend. He wasn't the closest of pals and we hardly met up even, but when we did he'd always have the best stories. Over beers we'd talk about the intrigue of Mongolian chicks in Beijing and everything else that shook the world. I was even supposed to plan a trip to go visit him sometime soon. Haiz. A huge loss to us. Rest in peace, buddy. Stay young always.

Had a quiet Christmas. Spent Christmas eve watching movies on 5 with the wifey at home over some maggie mee. Christmas day was at Jinde's wedding rehersal and then we hosted a tiny Christmas party for the wifey's ex-colleagues. Got a really nice Man U t-shirt in the gift exchange. I like! Boxing day was a blah day at work followed by a gathering at Bock Lian's place with the uni mates. Nice catching up, albeit the boys spending most of the time watching Man U edge out Stoke City by a Tevez goal.

Saturday was Jinde's wedding. I was his best man and tried to live up to that. Gate crashing was possibly the easiest and least painful ever. No chilli, no wasabe, no sweat. Fun nonetheless. Church ceremony was pleasant and then the dinner went by without incident. My best man speech was quite well received although I suppose if I had mumbled even less, the laughter would've been louder.

Oh well, I can't really say much out of my head right now. Still absorbing the news that came just a while ago.

Life is short and unpredictable. Love, enjoy and treasure it while you can.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Just back from Macau and Hong Kong last weekend. Lost my pants gambling on almost everything that could have been gambled on. Was really fun though! Hopefully there're photos to come.

I even took a photo with the other Tony Leung! The wifey spotted him at the Agnes B store in IFC, HK! Pity he reeked of alcohol, though he spoke pretty eloquently.



Hectic days leading up to the new year!

Spending Christmas with the wifey's friends. Boxing day with our university gang. And then its Jinde's wedding! Really packed. Thankfully I'll be on leave next week.

I think I've fallen in love with Hong Kong!

Oh and I've been banned from visiting to Macau for at least the next 5 years :)

Annual Saxo Golf @ Laguna Bintan

Today was our annual Saxo golf game held at Laguna Bintan.

Think in total there were 13 of us. A couple of them pulled out because they were too cui from someone's stag party last night I think. I woke up at 6am to catch the 7.45am ferry, after partying hard last night somemore :P

Anyway we were pretty lucky to manage to convince Kaz to arrange for Youlong, Eugene, Benjamin and myself on the same flight (citing that we had a wager going). In the end we decided to challenge over a regular bottle in Dragonfly. It was gonna be Eugene versus the three of us combined, best-ball fashion. This meant that we'd take the best score for every hole and tally it against his, with no handicaps.


As anyone can easily make out, we got wiped-out by Eugene because he hit his first ever sub-100 score today. Xianz. Of all golfing days he chose today to be at his best. Even with our best scores combined, we still lost by 13 strokers. Haha. Then I also lost to Youlong by a single stroke. Cui. Then again it was a pretty good game for me (by my standards) also lah, so I shan't complain so much.

I'm burnt like a lobster!

Super Sized Hungry

Skipped dinner earlier before I went for soccer so I'm one ultra hungry hippo tucking into my mushroom swiss meal right now.

Xianz...lost to JP Morgan 1-5. Thanks John and Jannick for coming to help beef up our squad today. I thought we played pretty well against a top-of-the-table team, though we let in a couple of silly goals. Haiz.

Went to buy new Wii games last weekend and I've been hooked on this game called Tank, together with the wifey! Damn fun!

Manchester United's through to the quarter-finals of UCL.

December is a blah month for work. Everyone's going on leave all over the place. I'm clearing leave here and there too.

Saturday going to Bintan for Saxo golf once again!

Going to Macau next week! Whoot! Super looking forward.

Kissing Me Gentingly

Genting was awesome fun with da boyz(Brandon, Youlong and Ben)!!

Spent most of it gambling though. Haha. We tried almost everything. Every table and every game, we sat and tried at least once, trying to maximize the points earned with the Genting WorldCard.

In the end got saved by a HUGE(by my standards) bet during a drunken stupor at 4am. Was at the Pontoon table and had $150 of chips in hand. Suddenly felt the rush to go all-or-nothing. So I piggybacked what looked like a seasoned veteran and threw the whole pile of chips in. But he drew a grand total of 10 with both cards, so we had to double-up! I had to scurry to find another $150from my wallet just to let the game continue. And the 3rd card was a 4! Cui! I thought we blew it, only for the banker to go bust! Whoot!! The whole table shouted "Ah Pek!!" in unison, and cheered a collective hoorah when it WAS a picture! Walked away from the table with $600 afterthat. Shiok.

Ended up with only 4hrs of sleep and a 9hr ride back to Singapore all because we wasted 1 good hour at one of those touristy buy-local-food scamshops, and spent another 2 hours stuck in the 2nd link jam. Haiz.
________________________________________________________________________________

Its our first year anniversary for me and the wifey!!! Whoot! Love you dear!

Sis is in Dubai for the whole month!

Farewell drinks with Kevin Ashby tomorrow(sad to seeya go, boss)!

Time to tidy up the house abit!

Draw

Had to settle for a 4-4 draw with BNP Paribas today even though we completely outclassed them. Haiz. I think I hit the posts at least 3 or 4 times. Xianz. Really could've won this game. Too bad I was feeling quite sick. Think I caught the flu bug from Lasse.

Heading to Genting with Ben, Brandon and Youlong tomorrow evening! Think will be spending alot of time gambling there hehe.

Life still goes on at work...

And So The Streak Ends

Was fun while it lasted. I'm refering to our winning streak. We lost to Arthur Allens 2 - 5. Xianz, we'd surely have beaten them if we had more than the 5 people who turned up!

Oh well season 2 is finally over and we did better than our first so thats a good thing. Season 3 starts next week.

Was dining in Au Petit Salut last night with some HNW guests. I gotta says Chef Karl's food were seriously pretty good! Add to that the wine pairing with each course and I was in heaven with our very own Craig Russell for company.

Can't ask for more.

Tomorrow my secondment as PAM stand-in is finally over! Whooot! I've learned soooo much the last 2 weeks and it did cause abit of stress but hey, now that its almost over, it was fun lookin' back.

Looking forward to the weekend...

Bored in Bangkok

Wow.

I never knew Bangkok could possibly be this boring. Due to a national mourning event, alcohol and clubbing have been banned in the city for the weekend. Seriously!!! Bummer man. Cannot even have a simple beer at a local pub.

We were so demoralised last night that we ended up at the Sheraton Hotel lounge which was one of the few places that served beer. There was hardly anything else we could do. One beer and we were heading back to our hotel for an early night. Sigh.

Xianz.

Wish I were on the early flight home tomorrow.

Waaaaah!!!

First Cleansheet Ever

Today we beat the crap out of BarCap. Won 14-0. It wasn't even a contest. We were dancing all over them and toying with them as though we were playing against kindergarten kids. Very morale boosting, and this is our 3rd win on the trot. Never thought I'd see this day for Saxo FC.

Been feeling damn blah lately. Maybe its the workload (though it feels manageable somewhat). Time to freshen up tomorrow. Maybe I need a good smack in the face.

Heading to Bangkok over the weekend to conduct another round of seminars there. Hopefully it'll all go well. Need to remember to buy more dog shit for the wifey. Haha.

-_-

Some Weekend Inspiration

Speed Skating 1,000 Meters - Steven Bradbury 2002 Olympics

Where amazing happens.

Gets into semi-finals due to a someone else's disqualification. Then into the finals when 3 of the 4 in front of him fall down. Then wins the final above. Its never over till the fat lady sings. First ever gold medal in the winter olympics for Australia.

Ji Pa Ban

If anyone of you have the mp3 of this song, I will be ever so grateful.

2nd Win In A Row!

Beat BNP 7-5! And scored a hattrick! So happie to get the winning feeling. And we did it with only 6 people! Feels great.

This week has been a tough week. Hopefully next week wouldn't be as bad.

Keeping fingers crossed that I can watch Tropic Thunder tomorrow.

The Calling

"You can serve many companies, but you can only serve one nation in your lifetime."

I'm not sure if that's true since I know footballers and table-tennis players seem to be able to manage two or more at different stages of their lives.

But that's what a good bro of mine said earlier today. In utter seriousness. Of course what he was refering to was largely political. One of the few I've grown up with to be so active in that front since young. I'm impressed at the way he's led such a clean life (free from drugs, smoking, alcohol, women, gambling etc) so I think he'll likely go quite far from what I can see. He said it was a greater calling.

Such conviction.

I'll definitely cast a vote for him if he ever represented my ward!

3rd Win Of The Season!

Finally, after such a long time. We finally faced a team that was lousier than us, even when we played lousy! Thanks Dreager! Haha :P

Beat them 5-4 all thanks to a sucker-punch goal by Lasse who deflected an attempted clearance into the opponent's net in the last minute!

Whoot!

Wedding pix are out! Quite nice! Will try to post some during the weekend.

Its great to be back at work!

Another Game, Another Loss

*sigh*

This time to Nike FC 6-10.

But that intern at the Instituional desk is seriously good! Oh and I got smacked on the left side of my face by some big guy's shoulder. Left me concussed for a split-second. And it feels banged up. Haiz. Luckily the wifey was nice enough to boil two eggs (and peeled them as well) to let me roll it all over the hurt! Feels alot better. Happie!

Face kenna whack, knee grazed twice over, ankle feels busted. God I love futsal!!!

Top 10 Snorkelling Pix From Redang

Ooh ooh! They're out! And as promised, some pictures from our snorkelling escapade! Do note that the pix arn't 5mb-type quality hor, they're just standard Kodak disposable underwater cameras so must discount the quality abit! In total we took over 100 pix and of course there were the lousy shaky pictures, but then there were pretty nice ones too, so below showcases the top 10, in my own humble opinion (i will not give a hoot about yours, I happy can liao :)).

No 10



Ok, just for starters as proof that these pictures weren't ripped off some diving website (as if they were THAT good), I had to show everyone my adventurous skin-diving side (fine, I'm not THAT gung-ho lah). I'm actually grabbing the anchor line at our 2nd snorkelling spot which was also a dive spot with pretty good visibility. Current was pretty strong though.

No 9



Ok I know what you're about to say, nothing spectacular here, but this picture shows the tons and tons of fish just at the shore! They bug you around as though you were the Muffin Man hoping to catch some scraps off your hands. Most of the infestation swarm (ok at least they're friendly fishies) is made up of Damsels (Sergeant), Parrots, Sweetlips and Surgeons by the way.

No 8



Of course, who can resist looking for little Nemos. But to get right up close and take a clear picture of one isn't easy. You can see Nemo's nose somewhere in the picture peeking out of the anemone. I vividly remember the anemone being a much larger clump than this picture appears. No kidding!

No 7



While this looks like another one of those "WTF?!" photos, it is not. These here are Ikan Bilis (actually I'm not that sure) but there were tons and tons of them! All over the place! They hang around shallow waters and hang around in such huge schools that look like shadows. A tad scary sometimes. Strength in numbers.

No 6



This is the resident Giant Grouper at the Marine Park near the jetty. The mother/friend/protector/bitch of 2 other smaller Groupers chilling out at the giant rock. This photo is out of the top 5 largely due to the difficulty in spotting it. Its right there in the middle. And its much larger than it looks (all divers always say that)!

No 5



This pops right in at the top 5 because of its nice diverse colour! Taken at the shipwreck at the Marine Park. Current was really strong, dunno how the wifey managed to snap this. And thats just a crummy Parrotfish by the way, ooh and aah at the blue coral instead will'ya?!

No 4



This was the largest occasional Triggerfish we saw. So big and so fast we couldn't get the whole damn thing quick enough. It's known to bite sometimes as you can see from its sharp teeth. Plus it was huge. But it looks like its liking my camera attention. Cheese!

No 3



Just because. I'm a sucker for fancy shit that turns out nicer than I envision them to be. I like it so much that its my profile picture on Facebook for now! Whoot!

No 2



Monsoon's coming, so jellyfish also come in search of warmer waters and nearer to the coasts. This picture has the funkiness of the earlier picture but comes with the pack of little buggers trying to chill out under da'hood. They got balls!

No 1



Nothing can beat the picture of a shark taken 3m away in total nakedness other than boardshorts (no undies even!) and snorkel mask! Take that you! But then this is a friendly Blacktip reef shark who wouldn't harm us, until it started swimming a couple of circles below the wifey. That was the signal to piss in the sea and get the hell outta there!

Redang - The Snorkeller's Paradise

Just back late last night from Redang, the snorkeller's paradise!!!

Indeed, I had my reservations going up so far north by bus. The 10-hr bus ride + 1-hr boat ride was enough to scare away most honeymooners. Even after the travelling ordeal, we were told that alot of resorts were closed because of the coming monsoon in November. Bummer man, must be no one come that's why. :(

For a moment especially on the first day, my head was filled with thoughts of regret as to how I ended up choosing such a destination and I was stuck in for the next 3 days with extension somemore! Eeks. Even Genting felt like a more enticing destination.

But.

We were soon amazed by the power of snorkelling! We had the intention to dive but then figured maybe we'll go on those cheapo free snorkelling trips first and see if the waters are really terrible and choppy in October. Well lo' and behold the waters in Redang were awesome!

So awesome that we were brought to a few dive spots to snorkel and over there the visibility was so clear up to 15-18m deep! We exhausted 4 disposable underwater cameras in all (spent all our money on those) and saw just about everything on this website including sharks (a lot of them), sea turtles, and giant garoupas!

The underwater pix are being developed as I'm blogging so I'll have to post them later (hope they're nice!) but below is a nutshell of our trip!


At the jetty entrance of our resort. As you can see, I didn't look very enthusiastic after some dude reminded me the monsoon was coming (as if I hadn't heard that a million times prior).


View from the resort lobby. Quite breathtaking really. Enough to hold off the hunger pangs of lunch for at least 15 more photo-taking minutes.


Yes. THAT house from xia ri de mo mo cha starring Sammi Cheng and Richie Ren? The resort was on the actual location of the movie and they didn't hesitate to remind guests of this by devoting an entire TV channel just screening reruns of that movie. I think I watched it like 5 times. Brrr....check out Guang Liang (of Tong Hua fame) in choppy hair!


We were blessed with extremely good weather while we were there. The only time it rained was when we were on the bus back to Singapore. That's the moon, bright as a blazing torch lighting up the night sky. Lovely.


Me, chilling on the beach. NEVER fall asleep while having a tan. You will regret it. Seriously.


And we woke up just to catch the sunrise! I think the last time I did that was like 10+ years ago. Awesome stuff. Too bad I was erm...drifting in and out of sleep on the deck chair!


Cui, sleep so sneakily also can get caught! Argh!


As you can see, my cheesy obsession with jump pix was never abated. Rock on! (on rocks -_-" hehe...)


Where's Bozo?

All in all it was a really fun trip. Totally chill and away from the bustle of our urban lives. I may never go there again (because the journey is simply too arduous) but if you haven't been there yet, do make at least one trip up north to see for yourself that the waters in Redang are a few notches above Tioman.

Hopefully the underwater pix turn out well! Then I'll post more online!

Now I'm REALLY Married

The wedding came and went and went well it did! So happy its over! That's a whole lot of pressure off our shoulders and now we can get on with our peaceful lives and concentrate on building our family empire! I'd like to thank everyone who came and everyone who helped make it all so successful. Really appreciate all your combined efforts, it really means alot to us both. On a whole, the wedding went really well. The only notable screw-up was the wifey's microphone during our surprise song item (which she got really upset over), but aside from that it all went superbly to schedule. Even the weather was perfect with clear blues skies all day. Great speech from Jinde (really appreciated that one) too and great gathering of friends all round. Even my brudders and her sisters got along so well it scared me *shudder* Our wedding reception was one of the most crowded receptions I've seen, maybe because everyone came earlier than we expected, and the overall food was well received (aside from the hard fish). Didn't get the chance to drink as much as and with as many people as I would've liked to due to time constraints so I gotta apologize for that. I'll make it up to those of you some other day. Its Redang for our honeymoon next! Leaving tonight... Thanks once again to everyone!!! Above was one of the pictures taken by Xiaohui at our home during the day itself. This was the infamous picture which included two HUGE mosquitoes on my wifey's arm (one smack right on the armpit!) which was very well photoshopped away. Haha, let me know if you want the contact of our bridal studio, photographer or videographer. :)

9 More Hours To Go

And I'm about to throw up...

5% Drop In US Markets Means Crisis Is Here

As of now US markets are down 5%. I expect tomorrow morning to see that the Dow has fallen more than 10%. We're into panic-selling mode, people! When the Dow dips way below 10,000 for the first time since 2005, thats a sure sign of things to come!

Oh and its 4 more days to my BIG day!

:)

The Rage of the Previously Rich

This is an awesome piece.

And if you wanted to know what happened to us, this is what you didn't read in the local papers.

Stay happy, people. The crash is coming.

The Big Layoff

Never a good thing.

We let 300+ people go in head office and 100+ in the rest of the global offices. Only 4 were released in SG, but still it is a rough time for all. Its also the 2nd time we pioneers are going through this. Never a good thing.

Suddenly Wall Street is nothing. The high flyers in Investment Banks are all worrying about losing their jobs and sales guys in banks are suffering and can't get a job elsewhere. What a difference a year makes.

When even the Baker Boy is asked to leave, it makes you wonder.

I'm really tired.

2nd Win Of The Season!

Beat BarCap FC 8-3! So happy! This beats last season's record!

Ankle hurts though. Think its been kicked around abit too much.

These are uncertain times in office. Wonder how many will be affected by the 'streamlining'.

Now even Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley made be bought over. Haiz, what's the world coming to?

Lehman & Merrill No More

Something is seriously wrong when two of Wall Street's storied firms fall together on the same day. More wrong than what everyone thought.

Such a buzz is never settling for anyone in the financial industry.

Now no bank is safe.

Time to hide cash under the pillow.

Buckle up guys.

Back In The Day

Wifey and I on a diving trip back in '02.

The hammock survived.

Mini Stag

Had a Mini Stag night at Luna last night after getting drunk at Urban Fairways. Golf and beer is always a potent mix. Think I'll have to go to the gym to sweat off the alcohol yet again.

Lost to BNP Paribas FC 2-6 on Thursday playing with almost just 5 guys throughout the game. Puui! I hate losing all the time. I'll stop Seaason 3 from happening if we end up last in the league this season. We're currently 3rd from bottom with 1 win and 4 losses. Cui.

Wedding preparations are kicking into high gear. Wifey is doing quite alot so I just try to help out as best as I can and try not to fuck things up. Less than a month to go before our big day!

Didn't mention about Wifey's birthday dinner at all on 30th August, but we went to eat at Tatsuya, a Jap restaurant at the old Crowne Prince Hotel. Hotly recommended by my good friend, Fann Wong (haha!).

A Chef's Recco set for each of us cost me a bomb at half a grand. Each sushi/sashimi dish felt like I was running along the white sandy beach beaches of Hokkaido, shawl flagging in the breezy north eastern wind. Was THAT good. The clincher was the sashimi starters. Either you could still taste the throbbing freshness of just-dead fish or taste the sea water off the Japanese coast. No joke!

Am I finally getting another Ipod Nano? *bated breath*

Man United v Liverpool tonight. Crunch time!!

Internet's Back Up!

Lost it for 4 days.

:(

Happy Birthday Wifey!

Today's wifey's birthday!

Took the trouble to get flowers delivered all the way to her office last night. She must be touched. She was so happy that she emailed me a really ecstatic email!



Flowers, humongous balloon AND Hans and Hannah the hedgehogs, haha. Anyone interested in where to order just drop me an email. My first time sending flowers to her office and it worked wonders. Tacky balloon? NOT!

Anyway also caught up with Uni mates last night at Timbre @ Arts House. Me the clueless idiot of all people ended up at the one at SMU instead, so I have to take a taxi to the correct place. Quite chill and great catching up. Everyone's getting married or buying a house!!

Work was a mess yesterday, but hopefully things will get better come Monday.

We're choosing our wedding photoshoot pix tomorrow! Excited!

First Golf Tourney

Played in my first local golf tourney yesterday (no, I'm not trying to go pro here) at the Tanah Merah Country Club Tampines course. It was the Singapore Cricket Club Annual Golf tournament and since we were sponsors, we were invited to field a team.

I can't say I played well. In fact I sucked pretty bad. But then the rain came and spoiled all the fun with us ending up being able to play only 13 of 18 holes. I was so rusty I think I double-parred 7 of those holes and lost about 5 balls in the water (killer water bodies and canals). Nonetheless it was quite a fun experience to play competitively and its spurred me on to practice more at the range! Hehe.

Speaking of which, my $199 golf set has been holding up extremely well, but perhaps it is time to make a few new additions here and there. Maybe its time to invest in a Utility.

The event was pretty well organized although I felt extremely out of place. Felt like I stepped into an old folks home with all those old fogeys 50 and up. Haha.

A Quick Update - Another Thrashing - Season 1 Deja Vu?

Haiz. Lost to ICAP 13-3. Funnily its the first time we lost to them, so I assume they were playing with a vengence. Last season we beat them once and drew another. Kinda sucked because it all seemed like we were playing pretty well and at a level much above last season. Oh well...

My wedding photoshoot came and went. Was really tedious and I did want to blog about it being even tougher than the wedding gown fitting. I guess I was too tired after the shoot to even blog about it. Haha. I do vividly recall myself being upset by evening time because it was so bloody hot and the toopid photographer was still trying to force us to smile in the setting sun! So don't be surprised by pictures with forced-smiles by me! I'm happy though...happy that its over! Haha...

Somehow feeling abit lost lately. Maybe I'm in need of a holiday, maybe I've been worrying too much about things I know not of what, maybe I'm spending too much time in office. I really dunno. Need help.

The Singapore Song By Rony Tan

This is that Singapore song. Quite nice actually. Take a listen.

First Win Of The Season!

A 7-2 thrashing over Johnson & Johnson is just what we needed to start our Corporate Futsal League Season 2!!!

Whoot!

Ok, so I haven't been updating my blog for awhile.

Wedding photoshoot tomorrow! Excited!

No 5 Emerald Hill

Celebrated Alex's birthday last night at No 5 Emerald Hill. Its a nice little pub on Emerald Hill beside Ice Cold Beer, tucked nicely up a hill behind CentrePoint. Great place to chill (and get drunk).

Prior to that we had an awesome Chinese dinner (possibly my most expensive ever!) at Lei Gardens. First time I had lobster sashimi for starters with a lobster the length of my computer keyboard. Abalone, Peking Duck, Steamed Garoupa, you name it, we ordered it. Topped it up with more champagne and beer.

I also bought my first sex toy! Eugene and I thought it'd be a great idea to buy him a blow-up doll so we went to that House of Condoms place at Lucky Plaza. Expensive, but really cool! With 3 penetrable holes! If I could afford it I would've bought the glow in the dark version though! I think Alex is possibly using it right now...

The few of us shared a bottle of vodka (Smirnoff) while Eugene and I offed him with his first Waterfall in Singapore. I think he was pretty smashed at the end.

And the night before Eugene, J, Youlong and myself were checking out Thumper on their Ladies night which turned out lousy because it rained. We had chanced upon the place the previous Friday after the company bowling event. Even still, we managed to consume a bottle and a half of Martell while drunkedly serenaded by a youthful-looking John Molina and band.

My birthday on Monday came and went pretty normally, though I surprised to have received so many birthday greetings (you guys remembered?!). Really very much appreciated. I assume putting your birthday down on Friendster and Facebook helps.

Dinner was with the wifey at Ang Mo Kio Mcdonalds. Haha. Somehow it was a simple and enjoyable experience given the series of events that led up to it.

Next week is the Summer party! In Bintan!

Good luck to me!!!!

Thanks For Last Night, Guys!

Sorry I haven't been blogging for such a long time.

Last night was one spectacular night. We had our corporate bowling function, where the boyz helped celebrate my birthday as well, and then we went opposite to Thumper to drink ourselves silly.

The bowling event became a drinking game between Tony, A and myself. If one of us striked or spared then the other two would drink a third of a can of beer. If we didn't, then we'd have to drink a third of a can of beer ourselves. Knocked ourselves pretty high in two games.

Then J bought a cake for me and YL was on the speaker asking the whole company to sing me a birthday song hahaha. Was real funny. I'm not sure if anyone expected that.

Afterthat we still adjorned to Thumper to kill ourselves. I think we ordered 2 bottles of Martell just to get us a nice seat in the house. Then while half of the guys were searching for a seat at the liveband area, four of us (J, Tony, Brandon and me) sneakily finished up one bottle of Martell by ourselves in 20mins!!!!!

Right upon finishing that I went outside to puke my guts out by the drain. It was abit of a blur but I thoroughly remember on my re-entry the door-bitch allowed me to cut the queue to ask me "Were you that guy puking just now?" I just said yes and she let the whole lot of us back in!!! Hahaha...

Then it was back to the liveband area where we sang and drank somemore until we finally dragged ourselves home.

Was trully an enjoyable night. I love you guys. Thanks for everything. Memories are made of this.

I'm still drunk right now as I type...and the wifey is complaining that I reek of alcohol and puke...

I'm Tired Part Deux

Really I am.

So much so that I'm too lazy to blog about anything.

Don't worry I'll be ok. In a bit.

I'm Tired

ComicCon came and went. Loved it. It was so crowded with geeks and I had an enjoyable time watching all that cosplay. Weren't many hot chicks though. Wonder why.

Been quite tired lately. Havent been receiving the best of news over the last few days.

First this thing happened which was initially disappointing and then ended up pretty okay though it cost a bomb to solve.

Then another batch of news meant counseling work and abit of a situation to handle.

And amidst it all is the uncertainty of yet something else.

The wifey's also working really late these days, sometimes past midnight even. Haiz, so tough on her.

Really looking forward to the trip this weekend. I think I need the break quite badly.

No Internet Connection At Home

No internet connection at home for the whole week. Need to spend some time calling Starhub to diagnose the stupid problem.

Drinking in office again today. I think I'm quite high.

Lost 5-13 to eWatersolutions last night. Got raped yet again. Got a huge gash on my elbow from a horrid tackle. Thankfully its nicely plastered.

Been a busy week of bad news. And there's more shite to handle in the coming weeks. My job sucks.

And there's no more aircon in office.

Fuck.

I Can't Believe Holland Got Dumped

I just can't.

1-3 by Russia? Wow.

The third runners-up to upset a top seed in as many games.

I've lost interest in Euro 2008 as of last night.

Welcome to the beauty of football.

You Can't Please Everyone So You've Gotta Please Yourself

As usual, we lost again. To the league leaders Barclays. 1-6 was the score. But we had 10 players all ready to play today and the problem, for the first time, was allocating enough playing time for everyone. In a 5-a-side futsal game that lasts only 40 minutes and 1 slot being taken by the goalkeeper, there're only 40 miserable minutes to keep 9 other players happy. Haiz.

Really not sure if we should even contemplate staying on in the league next season. We'd have been relegated by now if there were a 2nd tier. How difficult, the conflict between trying to win games and to give everyone ample playing time.
____________________________________________________________________

On a sadder note, I've had to let someone go today from my team and it is not a good feeling at all. Not especially when we've been together since we joined the company. It sure sounds harsh, but some things have to be done out of obvious necessity and corporate survival and so we must yield.

I will miss you. And I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

Catch up soon.

Embarassed Yet Again

As if the last time we were thrashed wasn't bad enough, today seriously took the cake. By the end of the match I just dried up, packed my stuff and left in a huff. We only had 4 guys playing against 5 in the first half while the others were late. What can I say? In the end we were thrashed 1-9 by Credit Suisse. Who, by the way, sucked. But we sucked even worse. Like a broken '70s vacuum cleaner or a 60yr-old hooker.

Hmph.

I really don't know what to say. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother playing soccer for the company.
_____________________________________________________________________

On a separate note, I had to quickly post something before I get more and more flak for my ordeal post prior to this one! All the ladies in the world are trying to murder me for baotoh-ing this painful process! I swear! Hopefully this post is long enough that people won't notice the earlier post.

What so good about that post anyway that its gotta be reposted on several blogs? Not that I mind but obviously NO ONE reads the first line warning where its supposed to be read ONLY BY BOYS!!!

Comic Con coming soon!!! Whoot!!!!

Anyone interested to catch prawns and snails at Pierce reservoir? I need more snails to help eat the algae-infested waters in my tank.

The Ordeal Of Ordeals

Ok, this post is for boys only and not girls. Please do not read this post if you're not male.

I just want to rant.

I want to warn every single guy out there who is about to get married, thinking about getting married, or hopes to ever get married.

YOU BETTER FREAKING LOVE THE GIRL YOU'RE ABOUT TO MARRY ALOT ALOT ALOT!!!

Today I spent 6 hours with the wifey at the bridal shop. Yes. 6 hours. Almost died. That was a true test of love.

At first I was quite happy to follow since I was told that it was a 2 hour slot to try out and pick 3 dresses: a wedding gown for the march-in, an evening gown for the night and a wedding gown for the photoshoot. How hard can it be, you'd think? 2 hours sounded like alot of time, maybe we could go catch a movie and a nice early dinner thereafter? Maybe if I'm lucky she might pick her clothes fast, and we can go to Pierce Reservoir to catch prawns.

NOT!

After the first 15 minutes I knew we were in for a tough time. Luckily for me, she had already pre-empted my hopelessness at giving useful opinion. By engaging two very good friends, Simin and Xiaohui, and her sis, my job was effectively narrowed to 'nod if you like' and 'shake head if you don't' type. Easy? No! While all the gowns looked great to me, I still had to pick one that her friends liked, that her sister liked, then that I liked, and lastly (she wants everyone's opinions first) that she liked!

All I had with me to while my time was my crummy handphone City Bloxx game which I intelligently played in between changing of gowns. I played so much of that game that I almost completed a whole city (those who know the game) and almost killed my handphone (no battery). Also sneaked a few photos and videos while the shop assistants weren't looking, until I was caught redhanded and had to be told to stop taking pix. Argh.

It all felt like a marathon. This was indeed a true journey. The first 2 hours, I felt zesty and full of energy, expecting it to be a breeze. Come the 3rd hour, I started wondering why I was here, am I making a wrong choice agreeing to come? Why is that couple who came later, leaving already while I'm still here? The 4th hour was the toughest. Delirium sets in and I was thinking silly, suicidal thoughts. I wasn't quite myself and didn't know what was really going on. People were screaming at me but I couldn't hear them. By the 5th hour (the waterpoint mark), someone brings food and water and things start to perk up when you can see the finishing line. There is light at the end of that tunnel. When the 6th hour comes, relief was all I could feel. And I felt like I'd accomplished something monumental and suddenly, I felt so proud to have gone through this rite of passage.

Actually, I'm quite glad I went through this experience. It felt like a requirement to go through and feels like something I can brag about to my grandkids. "Back in the old days, ah gong, waited SIX hours for your ah mah to try on wedding gowns hor!". And just like any normal guy, it took me only 15 minutes to find the tuxedo I wanted. Haha.

Kudos to the wifey for holding out so long also lah. We literally saw many many couples walk in, try and walk out and we were still there! Aside from one other couple (That dude and I almost became good friends) who stayed longer than we did), we actually made our trip worth almost every single penny we paid. She's so tired from the day's session that she fell asleep shortly after coming home about 2 hours ago.

Haiz.

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus indeed.

At least there's the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention to look forward to!!!!

Still No Victory, But At Least Something

Faced the mighty JP Morgan today. Thankfully we didn't lose again. This time we managed to draw 8-8! So happy. Considering that they lie 2nd on the table and beat Barclays last week, I think we did a pretty good job! Well done Eugene, who played goalie like a warrior, and Desmond, who's ceaseless forays paid off handsomely.

I'm feeling pretty good about our upcoming games. :)

Humiliation

It was so bad that it took me till Sunday to come to terms with it.

We were whipped by SAP 2-13 last Thursday during the futsal league game. I think we would've been better off if we just didn't turn up. I didn't help the cause one bit considering I spent Wednesday night drinking myself silly in office. Each step I took on the field pounded in my head, cramped my legs and induced vomit-churning feelings in my stomach. No more Wednesday drinking!

On the bright side, I've finally got down to joining Planet Fitness! All that with the company subsidizing the monthly fees! That comes down to what? 30 bucks a month? Extremely good deal!!

I think I need a holiday soon.

Champions Of Europe Once More

Its been a long time coming, but watching the match last night felt so much like 1999 all over again. Such was the drama that I thought we'd lost it after Ronaldo tried to be cheeky with his penalty and missed. Thank you John Terry!

At least we did the double with the EPL title and CL title, though I thought we could've repeated the treble if we'd played better against Portsmouth in the FA Cup.

Still I thought the way we won the 1999 Champions League trophy is unsurpassed.

Sometimes, all you need is belief.

Glory glory Man United!!!!

___________________________________________________________________________

And to top things off, we ended our futsal losing streak by holding ICAP to a 5-5 draw! I'm so happy because we only had 6 guys (which means 1 sub) to play with and we actually survived a very rough game (almost fight yet again!)

Go Saxo go!

Now I have a sore ankle (as usual) and a grazed knee (freshly grazed) yet again. :(

That Baby I Saw

Bock Lian gave birth this morning around 10+am! The wifey was so excited cuz she really wanted to see the baby. So after my work at Suntec, we rushed down to Thomsen Medical Centre to see her.

Both mother and the little princess are in great condition. In fact I commented that for a baby thats only approximately 8 hours old, she was very active! I think her name is Le Xuan or something. Hehe. Ryan looks so proud to be a father!

Welcome into this world, little girl!

I think she likes me already...

Fun Friday

Spent most of the day putting out serious fires. Afterthat we had teambuilding playing Lasertag at Clementi Woods Park. It was quite fun though very sweaty and tiring. Its been about a year and seven months since we first played Lasertag when we first joined Saxo. Dinner at Sakura sucked though.

The big surprise is that I remained strong and didn't go out drinking! Wow.

Yesterday we lost our match (again) against British Telecom. Lost 9-5. Haiz. Keep losing, quite xianz. But I gotta say we played really hard yesterday so even though we lost, I'm still proud of my guys.

I wonder what's in store for me at the weekend?

One Blah Day

Spent the better part of the day at a T3B Educator seminar.

And then had dinner with the in-laws.

I think I need an outlet soon.

Such a pity I've got no energy to watch possibly the most important Man U match of the season. Well there's always the Champions League.

Haiz.

Lousy Day For Two

The wife woke early morning today for an early jog and fell while trying to run without her glasses (roll eyes). So she's quite badly grazed around her left elbow and right knee. Falling flat on road is never fun.

Then I went for my soccer game and got my knee nearly twisted by Cheng when he tried to tackle me but instead fell on my right leg. Now I've got a bruise on my right knee and I've got to limp. Argh

Nonetheless still managed abit of housework. And we're both chilling at home waiting for Ma and Pa to come visit. Its nice to chill at home especially now that the weather is getting less hot and humid. The wind is coming back.

Another Loss

Lost to eWatersolutions this time 5-7 at the Corporate Futsal League.

This is getting frustrating man.

Having the sorest throat of my life!!

Ack!

Back From The Philippines

Came back on Sunday. Was quite a fruitful trip. We met some obscenely rich people and had a really good outing. Hopefully it means more trips to come. Trip was highlighted by several memorable moments including an incident involving Arnold and Youlong that we will still talk about when we're 50yrs old.

Humbled by the poverty there. The rich and poor divide is just so wide that one just can't help feeling sorry. Even Jason says he'll quit partying out late anymore. I'll believe it only when I see it.

Been so much busier with work these days. Middle management is taking its toll, but this is not a place to complain.

We bought a Nintendo Wii! Unfortunately I don't find it as fun as I remembered it to be. Maybe its more for groups thats all. Playing it alone is just no fun at all. Next stop is an Xbox for myself. That should kick some ass.

Sofa's coming in this weekend!

32:51

I ACTUALLY survived the JP Morgan run. Ran all 5.6km of it. So proud of myself.

Flying off to the Philippines for business over the weekend tomorrow morning.

Will be safe.

Physical Restructuring

The wifey's back from Japan! *no comments*

Went back to the office today and saw the newly arranged front office. I actually love it! My new seat's got pretty bad fengshui cuz its facing the back door, but at least I get to see everyone who walks into the office. And my 3 computer screens effectively provide me with a little enclave of privacy! And the views pretty good when I look up too! Then I get to interact with my whole team so much more easily now and I'm happy with all the people seating around me, where there's tons of buzz. Lets just hope that the work that keeps piling up will hit a plateau soon.
_________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes certain knowledge of something unwanted or feared, throws life into a whole new perspective. On the one hand, there is genuine fear of the possible worst that could happen and questions are raised as to how it could happen and how it was caused. On the other hand, there is the constant struggle to decide how best to mitigate this piece of news, how to tell the world it is nothing serious and how to react to the questions that you yourself cannot answer. And how to prepare everyone, including yourself for what might happen.

Come what may.

I just want you to know that I will be there whenever you need me, for better or for worse, and I will ride with you through your darkest fears and deepest sorrows. To support you and to hold you, and to guide you along this new chapter that we've inevitably flipped to.

As long as you allow me to embark on this journey with you, I promise to firmly hold your hand and face all your fears and challenges with the fiercest of defiance and resistance together.

People say that God works is the most mysterious ways. Stay optimistic and positive, and let us be guided along this journey together and we will all come out stronger for this.

I love you.

Lost To JP Morgan

We lost our Corporate Futsal game 9-6 to the team from JP Morgan.

Even a hat-trick each from Desmond and myself couldn't save us.

Haiz.

Also time to rethink how to give everyone sufficient playing time.

:(

Going to Philippines end of this month!!!

Whooot!

BKK

Sorry if I didn't switch on my handphone or reply any calls or SMSes. Was in Bangkok over the weekend conducting FX Seminars. It was a hugely successful trip and we're heading to the Philippines next!

All this work has been very tiring and has taken a toll on my health. Been down with a bad cough thats bugging me for awhile now.

Thats it for my simple update. Alot of housework to do before the wifey comes home!!!

Maybe I'm just missing her quite abit. :(

SMART

Was a tiring weekend. Worked bothed days at the SMART expo and this is one of the worst expos we've worked. And it was so tiring.

Manchester United 4 Aston Villa 0!

The wifey got me a nice pair cufflinks! My very first! Will have to make more shirts in Bangkok now.

Manchester United 3, Liverpool 0

Caught the match at Sembawang S21 kopitiam. Damn shiok. Feels damn shiok. Yet again, the scorer that made the difference wasn't Ronaldo, Rooney or Tevez. Wes Brown's first goal of the season and 3rd goal of his career, which came off his head/neck/shoulder started the ball rolling. Of course we gotta thank Mr Mascherano for his dissentful display, a red card we all saw coming. Go Manyoo!!!!

Read match report here.

Otherwise it was a nice quiet weekend and a good Easter holiday to rest abit.

An update on my tank. Its getting very green with the hydrillas and arrowheads growing very well. Both my Bumble Bees died for no apparent reason, so I buried them in the sand to be fertilizer for my plants. There are 9 (at last count) baby guppies hiding in my plants. Just got myself a cute little Puffer fish. Snails are infesting my tank (which is supposed to be a good thing).

Corporate Futsal League

We've been approved to represent the company! Finally, after so many months and months of organizing games and getting people together, we will be playing weekly at the cage (futsal courts) @ East Coast against other teams in the Corporate League. We've been grouped with other banks like Barclays, JP Morgan and Credit Suiss. Hopefully we won't get whipped so badly.

First game starts next week.

The thumb is slowly drying up and I think the blood is caked in pieces. Doesn't hurt anymore and am just waiting for the thing to peel off. Shiok.

Work is busier these days. Alot of restructuring and alot more admin stuff to do. Can't wait till next month.

Flying to Bangkok on business 2 weeks from now. Should be interesting trying to conduct an English FX seminar to a Thai crowd. But lets hope for tons of success!!!

Watched Horton Hears A Who! earlier at Century Square. Quite a nice cartoon albeit a really short and simple one. Just watching the Whos puts a smile on my face. Go catch it!

And then later I'm gonna watch Jay Chou's Secret again on VCD! Muahahahhahaha!!!

Broken Thumb

Ok, so things are not THAT serious but I think it could've been.

Yesterday's company golf trip wasn't the best. I was on the last flight and we got delayed by idiots cutting past our holes. This resulted in us completing 13 out of 18 holes because we had to take the 3.50pm ferry. I was having an OKish game with Nazeem, Klaus and Benjamin prior, and it was improving once we started the bottom nine. I had a final score of 108 which I really can't celebrate as my best performance ever, because our flight was given pars for the final 5 holes we missed. Going by the double-bogies I was hitting, I would say my final score was more like a 118. Decent nonetheless.

Then I was back and Chun picked me up from Harbourfront. I had sent her to Raffles Place and then while I was getting out of the car I rested my right hand clutching the roof and slammed the door with my left. Little did I realise my thumb was STILL IN THE CAR!

PAIN!!!!!!

The pain was so bad I was screaming in the car. My thumbnail's all black and blue now. And it was so painful I could hardly sleep. This morning I went to the doctor's just to get some painkillers.

Thankfully its gotten alot better and my thumb doesn't feel so numb anymore. The doctor also said its not broken. But the nail is gonna drop out in time. Haiz. And now I'm typing without using my right thumb. Peeing is tough. Buttoning clothes is near impossible. Taking out my wallet is a chore and I've gotta use my left hand to read my BlackBerry.

Haiz. Hope it dries up fast and drops out.

Emotional Times

Its all to do with the restructuring.

There will be tears in the coming weeks.

May we all enjoy the moment.

I love every single one of you fuckers ay!!!

:)

Tharp Trader Test

Spontaneous Trader

You are probably enthusiastic, warm and quite imaginative. You see life as being full of possibilities. In addition, you are able to quickly make connections between events and the information to which you are exposed and then make quick decisions. This quality can be good as a trader, but you also need to be very careful because you only have one of the three qualities that we find in the best traders.

You have the initiative to start ideas and projects and can usually succeed in any endeavor that you find interest in; but sometimes you have a problem with follow through or completion. Your enthusiasm encourages others to get involved in your projects; however this has no real bearing on trading. You should make it a practice to regularly check in with your values, center yourself on what you believe, and then make sure you are living on purpose. Doing so will help you tremendously with the discipline required for trading success.

You tend to want a lot of affirmation from others that you are not likely to find in the trading arena. You also like to give others appreciation and support and you are not likely to find people who want that in the trading arena. You are spontaneous and flexible, using your ability to improvise when needed. However, this is seldom called upon in the trading world in which your actions need to be preplanned and quite deliberate.

Details may seem trivial to you, because you tend to focus on possibilities. Thus, it would be easy for you to see the possibilities in trading success, but difficult to develop the plan that it takes to follow through with your vision. As a result, you may tend to struggle with certain aspects of trading/investing. In addition, you may also tend to take on too much risk before you are prepared to do so. As a result, you need to thoroughly understand the concept of position sizing and its ramifications before you enter into the world of trading.

Trading Strengths

Enthusiasm and a willingness to take action; you probably don’t have a problem with pulling the trigger or trying new trading systems.
You can easily trade a new system comfortably using real money and small position sizing.
If you understand low risk trading ideas then you should be able to trade quickly and easily. Although this is a great strength, if you don’t understand the importance of position sizing, then it could be fatal.

Trading Challenges

Discipline, follow through and attention to detail will always be challenges, and you need to find ways to achieve these that are automatic, scheduled and regular.
You are easily influenced by external sources which means you need approval from others to feel good about yourself rather than being able to trust objective data (this is probably why you want a mentor).
Because you get excited about new things, and like to share often, you can easily get distracted from something that works.
Good trading is boring, therefore you will need other external ways of fulfilling your need for excitement.

Wanna find out what kind of Trader you are? Take the Tharp Trader Test here.

Juno

Caught Juno over the weekend. Its really nice if you like watching Indie flicks like Superbad, Thank You For Smoking and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Very heart-warming dramedy. And the soundtrack is so nice that I'm so gonna buy it.

Catch the trailer here.

My fish tank also arrived! And now its filled with sand, 10 guppies, lotsa shrimp, and Hydrillas! I'll slowly let them grow and then I'll add other nicer looking plants and Tetras to join my water garden. Have to get a carbon dioxide producer from C328 soon. It is a damn good thing that Pasir Ris Farmway is only two highway exits from my place because it sells an awesome lot of cheap fish stuff!!!

We also went to Lower Pierce reservoir to catch snails, shrimps and tiny fishes too!

Oh and I've got this song from the movie totally stuck in my head all day. Its call Anyone Else But You by the Moldy Peaches and if you have it in MP3, talk to me please!

Dong Dong Dong Qiang

Its been a hectic CNY!

Reunion was spent at Long Beach East Coast with the family. Had a sumptuous dinner there.

Chu 1 started with going back home to bai nian, followed by going up to tai pak pak's place where the relatives gathered. Not the most exciting but festive nonetheless. The wifey was almost bored to bits, as were we. But we had another sumptuous dinner at Long Beach East Coast yet again (this time it was the main branch)! Dinner was with gu gu and her son and his wifey. The dinner was more spectacular.

Chu 2 started with heading to the wifey's parent's home. Shortly afterthat we shipped them to our home at Sengkang and decided to prepare dinner for them! Actually it was only a maggie mee dinner with crabmeat and pork balls, coupled with yu sheng. Still it was a huge success and everyone was happy. The brother-in-law and his wifey also joined. Further on at night we waited for Xiaohui and boyfriend to join us for mahjong at our place. Played till damn late, highlighted at first by the wifey's auspicious waiting of a final card that was already fully used up by herself in a kong. Ting zi ji de si pai (wait for her own dead card). Secondly was Xiaohui's two time za hu (wrong win). The first time her boyfriend told her she couldn't game with the cards she had, she went to do it yet again. But being the magnanimous folks we are, we asked her to keep her cards backs.

Chu 3 was at Bock Lian's home. We were worried that the turnout would be really bad, but it became overwhelming when we got there. We had us 2 plus Bock Lian, Leon, Shujun, Guoxin, Yiling (Guoxin's gf), Shumei, Roy, Zhiqi, Mingxi, Gladys, Alex (Gladys's bf). Had lotsa fun playing the Wii and then Blackjack after that. We then had to leave early to get to Joy's place for potluck dinner. Luckily it was in nearby Pasir Ris. Turnout was also better than expected, Joy and Bryan's parents and themselves whipped up a slurpalicious dinner for us all. We had us 2, Joy, Bryan, Jinde, Tsen Yeow, Conghui, Yushuang, Yushuang's bf, Chewyan, Mike (Chewyan's husband), Laetitia (Chewyan's daughter), Junming, Daniel. Next JC gathering will probably be at our home for housewarming.

Chu 4 was a relaxed day for me. The wifey is with her JC friends at Bock Lian's place again while I've got no program. Drove all the way down to Qian Hu fishfarm and ended up buying a full 4ft tank set with stand, filter, pump, lighting etc. Taking delivery next week or so. So exciting!

Thats about it for my CNY update.

:)

Happy Chinese New Year To All!

Here's wishing everyone good health, wealth and prosperity in the year of the Rat!

Just had a sumptuous reunion dinner at Long Beach Seafood at East Coast!

Housework

Been slogging since morning catching up with housework.

I'm tired.

Party Of The (New) Year 2008

Friday we had our company's crazy New Year Party, that was formally known as the Late Christmas Party. It was wild, to say the least. As usual, alcohol was free flowing and everyone was dressed fancy. Me the boring one was wearing almost the same stuff I wore last year with a few additions (like really tight leather pants, police baton and kinky furry handcuffs).



As you can see, I was quite drunk along with everyone else. By the end of the night my tight leather pants was torn all over and I had to throw it away. More pix when they're published on the company's website next time!

Thursday we went to try a new golf course (new because we hadn't played there before) in Skudai, Johor. Its called Pulai Springs and it was the worst maintained course I've seen, actually. I had no excuse for my lousy game and I ended up with a score of 133, Youlong 132 and Eugene 111. All of us didn't do to well. Maybe its the stress from the KPGA participants playing there.

The Soc Gen fraud case that cost the French private bank EUR4.9 yards is extremely disturbing. Largely, because it squared off most of its positions on Monday and Tuesday while the whole market was selling off (causing Dow futures to hit its limit down figure of -650!) thereby prompting the Fed to cut rates 75 bp. The question now is whether SG's liquidating of trades during that period was a factor in prompting the emergency cut (not seen since 911) because if so, then chances are that the Fed wun be so eager to cut rates this week anymore. And considering that the market has priced in a 50bp cut already, brace yourselves for more volatility ahead.

Monday is gonna look quite ugly.

Heroes Addict

Its true.

Just bought the set of DVDs.

Watching it all over.

Again.

Muddy Muddy LC

Posted by the wifey:

yes.. my ultimate name is LC :)

it's sunday again & boss & i were down at the SK field for our ultimate game *beams* early this morning we received news that we have a change in team. negative thots clouded our minds - were we so lousy that the previous team requested us to be out of their team? is the new team gg to be ok? are the pple gg to be frenly? would it be awkward to see the old team?

the thots all fall into place when we were there. the old team mates weren't aware that we are off the team (though i cannot be sure if they were happy to hear the news from us)... later the afternoon, after our game with the new team, we bumped into jason who apologied to us, telling us that he hope we wun think he purposely wanted or requested us out... and so i faked the "yah lor.. we were so upset cos we thot u guys dun wan us" keke..

the new team turned out to be good. :) lots of young pple who focused on the basics and the fundamentals. they were all damn pro so in a way there isn't much of a pressure when i dun really contribute, cos somehow i know if i play lousy, the others will just cover up. :p 4 girls today means lots of running... and they all thot i could run well and so kept asking me to watch the good runners.. i nearly puke from the running and my blister is getting from bad to worse...

couple of cute guys too! guess that is the main and super plus point! there is this guy with a weird name (cannot remember how to spell) who is damn pro and so cute!!! gosh!!! *blush* was talking to boss about it after the game and he commented that i was semi flirting with him... gosh! was it really so obvious?! keke!!! yeah!!!

got to go bathe liaoz... and this is the part that i hate!!! got to do all the washing of the mud-filled shirt, shorts, shoes and socks... wuah!!!

Saxo Soccer Saturday

Played soccer this morning at the regular place. Had quite a good turnout this time compared to the last. Still slowly chugging along my quest to slim down and live a healthier life. Now I've managed to keep a tight schedule of street soccer on Saturday mornings, ultimate frisbee on Sunday afternoons and cage soccer on Monday nights. Lets hope this keeps up. And if the company succeeds in plans of organizing the weekly cage soccer on Tuesday/Thursday nights, then my slimming reso should be in good hands. That means drinking on Wednesdays and Fridays won't be so bad anymore.

Meanwhile, its a really wet Saturday...

Dow Jones tanked 246 points yesterday night. The bear has begun.

Resolutions 2008

Happy new year everyone!

A new year has begun so lets hope its a better one for me!

I've given my resolutions quite some thought and decided to settle with the following resolutions that I want to achieve.

1) Drink less alcohol - This is quite a no brainer considering that since I started my current job in late '06, my drinking habits have mutated from occasional (once or twice a month) to heavy (one or twice a week) to washed up (more than thrice a week). Its tough keeping a tight lid on myself considering my boyz' partying ways, but sooner or later there needed to come a choking point. Friday, 14th Dec, 2007 was THAT day. I hope we have reached the peak in alcohol consumption. Things can only get better from here. Aim is to drink/party no more than twice a month.

2) Exercise more - I can't help but tie this in together with point 1. More time spent partying and drinking = less time spent exercising. And drinking is bad for my tummy while exercising is good of course. Even street soccer saturdays have failed to keep my ever-expanding waistline in check. I currently weigh in at a hefty 80kg. Aim is to perspire for half an hour at least twice a week (sex will not count!) and keep my weight below 80kg.

3) Eat healthier - This one the wifey had to add. A stressful job requires fast food. And fastfood is what I almost always eat. I probably have enough Macdonald's member points to redeem 11 cheeseburgers last I checked. Luckily the company provides ample fruit for snacky consumption in the office. Aim is to eat at home or eat hawker food more and have one fruit a day.

4) Earn more money #1- No resolution compilation of mine will be complete without something about my money! 2007 was a stellar year for me earnings-wise, and I hope the momentum continues! Making hay while the sun shines at work and trying to lift the low salary I'm getting will be continued into 2008. Aim is to earn 30% more than in 2007.

5) Earn more money #2 - While one hand gets, the other hand gives. To the market, that is. A stellar year in earnings has been offset by a lousy year in investments. Stock purchases have done pretty poorly throughout 2007 and I would've ended the year quite bloodied in the red, frankly, if not for one super purchase. Worse still was the foray into Forex which is burned my pockets deep and am only beginning to turn up. Still very much in the red nonetheless. And don't even bother talking about savings (cash in hand) for I have hardly any. (especially after the purchase of house & furniture). Aim is to earn a 10% yield on the total sum of all invested funds.

Thats it for 2008. All quite realistic and attainable, hopefully with enough will I can push myself to greater heights!