::.. Deranged Dan ..::

2007-10-22T16:10:00.000+08:00

Okay, I am now in Amsterdam. Been walking around the streets on Saturday and Sunday which were crowded with weekenders from all over Europe. Nonetheless, it was still nice to walk around just to see the buildings and the crowds. Surprisingly, it has been very cold here with temperatures around ten-ish. At night, it goes down to almost zero. Good thing I brought my jacket.

Today, plans would be to go on a canal cruise. Tomorrow, maybe a trip to the countryside.

Fun days!

2007-10-17T16:12:00.000+08:00

Well, I've been to and fro many places. The last being Auckland, and it was nice to be back there after a year. Not much has changed. Walked around the harbour just to enjoy the view and the weather. Despite summer being just around the corner, the temperature was still on the low side. Came back on the 777 so I managed to catch Evan Almighty and The Sixth Sense. Old movie yes, but just to enjoy it.

Looking at everyone spending their money, I also had a sudden urge to splurge my hard-earned cash too. But, maybe it is a good thing, but I am a person who doesn't buy first, think later. I am more of a think first.... and keep thinking type of person. But on my list of things to buy are a handphone, an mp3 player and a camera. My mp3 player is very cranky. Just yesterday I was listening to the FM Radio and it just froze. None of the buttons worked. So, I just had to let it play until it ran out of battery and right now, it is charging again. I am deciding between the iPod and Samsung. The new Sony T200 looks really nice, but just a touch expensive. Maybe the T100 is good enough. Either that or I should stick to the tried-and-tested Canons.

Oh and another one I was thinking of getting is a new laptop. My current one is showing signs of death, and I do not want to be stuck somewhere at the other side of the world when it dies. Looking into either a normal laptop with great graphics (I have deprived myself of computer games for too long) or a simple macbook. Again, decisions.

Tomorrow night I am off to have a four day break in Amsterdam. This time I am really going to break my backpack along with my water bottle, umbrella, cap, etc so that I will be ready for a really good day tour. Heck, if I feel like it, I may even take a train to Paris or Berlin. I mean, four days. Why not?

Ok, I think I will post when I am in Dubai, just before I head over to Amsterdam. Weather should be tolerable now.

2007-09-29T23:17:00.000+08:00

I just got back from watching The Lion King. I managed to get the second last ticket in the entire theater last night. It wasn't the one right in the middle that I wanted. Instead, it was the one at the back next to the door costing 175 rands, which is about SGD40. At first I thought they would have been sucky seats but it turned out to be a good one. Definitely won't be able to get a seat like that for SGD40 in the Esplanade.

Conclusion is that the show was superb.

Dinner later with both captains for the first time. Hopefully they will be in.

My laptop is getting very cranky. I hope it lasts the rest of my flight.

2007-09-28T02:03:00.000+08:00

First, appologies for disappearing all of a sudden. Actually, I was called up one day and was told that I would be away for 15 days, starting the day after that. So, as usual, the frantic packing started. As well as the laundry which had to be dry by the next day.

I did not have the time to say anything until now from inside the nice, cozy room in Johannesburg. This is my first time here and I actually was planning to go to the safari which is a few hours out of the city. However, it was pouring when I arrived this morning and it still is now. Forecasts say rain, rain, and more rain for the next few days. So, scratch that plan. There isn't anything much around the hotel. Oh, except for a casino. I went to take a look at the place just now after dinner. Looks like any other casino. The play The Lion King is currently being played at the theater nearby too. I feel like catching it on Saturday. The tickets are relatively cheap compared to how much they would cost in Singapore. First class seats are equivalent to 100 Singapore dollars. For that amount in Singapore, the best you can expect would be at the top where, as someone once put it, you see people as thin and tall only.

Oh yes, my comp is crashing.

Mac or PC?

2007-09-19T19:36:00.000+08:00

A colleague of mine who travels to Perth often because of HisGirl mentioned that he was going to pay the college a visit soon. When he said that, I almost asked him to say hi to....

Yeah that's the problem. I can't seem to find a name to put into the gap. After I left the college, a host of other instructors left. My two main instructors were among them. One of them actually left the same day that I did. The other left a few months ago only. They seem to be doing well. I am still in contact with one of them, who is actually younger than I am. He is flying further up north in WA together with a few other guys who were instructors in the college too. The other guy is flying for the regional arm of Qantas. He was initially supposed to come up to Singapore but he found it impossible to live in Singapore on a cadet's pay with a family of two kids and another on the way. It must have been difficult for him to abandon his dreams at that time. But looks like things have a strange way of working out.

If I do go back to Perth on a flight, maybe I'll go back there. Just to see how things have changed.

I bougth a Phoenix card from the grocery shop this morning to call home. While talking on the phone a while ago, I noticed that the picture on the card has changed. There used to have a rather happy guy with black hair on it. Now, the guy has blonde hair. Maybe he bleached his hair.

Went back to the simulator yesterday. Was very rusty. Hopefully things will iron out for the big sim day next Friday.

Mum has retired from work. She will be 56 years old tomorrow.

Happy birthday and happy retirement!

2007-09-09T01:36:00.000+08:00

Back in Singapore.

On Thursday, I brought TheGirl to Clarke Quay to have dinner. It's been a while since we've eaten at some nice place so I thought to treat ourselves to something nice. So after walking around with empty stomaches, we decided to eat at the first place that looked like serving some decent food, which was RenThai. As are all things in Clarke Quay, the food was overpriced. But the atmosphere was pretty alright. The last time I was in Clarke Quay was during TheGirl's birthday back in 2006 where we had seafood at Jumbo. Then before that, it was during the New Year of 2005 where some other guys, TheGirl and I counted down at Hooters. Counted down to the New Year, not counting down the hooters.

Today, I had a reunion with the rest of my JC classmates. Almost everyone was there. Two were working, one was in Malaysia, one was uncontactable, one is in Manchester, another in Michigan, another in China and I heard that one other guy is recovering from some illness. So, the remaining of us spent a few good hours at one of the girl's place catching up on old times. Everyone pretty much looked the same. Two are married. One is getting married. The rest are still swinging singles. I read on a blog where the writer and her friends met up after a long time and drove over to a friend's place to meet up. The writer remarked that times have changed because they used to take a bus or walk together back during her times in JC. Well, it seems that times have not changed for my class. We met at AMK Hub and took the bus to our friend's place. Only one guy has got a car and that is because he is a property agent. Times sure haven't changed for us.

After that, I rushed off to Vivocity to catch Ratatouille. I was supposed to meet TheGirl at 7PM so I left the party at 6PM. It took one hour to get to Vivocity. From Tanah Merah, it takes maximum 45 minutes. And I thought AMK was more central than Tanah Merah. Maybe it was just the waiting time.

Off to bed.

2007-09-04T18:28:00.000+08:00

Where was I?

Doesn't matter. Left Singapore last Sunday, and will be reaching back home after 10 days. A bit longer than expected due to some unforseen changes.

So, in total, I have spent 6 full days in Dubai. If it weren't too hot, I would have gone to the Burj al-Arab or maybe dune bashing. Too bad I can only last a maximum of 5 minutes under the direct sunlight. Do not believe the news when they say the temperature is only oh-39 degrees Celcius or something. It is definitely hotter than that.

Had the chance to visit Brussels this time. And I had company as well, two of my coursemates were there too. They arrived after me and left before me. Like I said, I am on a paid holiday. Now that I am pretty familiar with Brussels, the next time I have some time there, I may take a train to one of the towns outside the city. Or maybe a train to Paris. Sounds like fun.

Bought a new Samsonite suitcase to replace the old softcover one I had which was dying. And on the first trip out with this new suitcase, it just had to be bashed by the handlers. Well, I guess they didn't like the fact that it looked so new. It looks pretty seasoned now.

It is going to be ten years after leaving JC. And our class is having a mini reunion at one of our classmate's place. It should be nice to meet up with all the guys, some of whom I have not met since leaving the school.

Meanwhile, mum is retiring soon. So, mum and dad are going to visit East Europe as a retirement treat. Been giving them some tips on how to handle the east.

Couple more hours till I leave Dubai. Which is, based on number of days I have been to lately, my second home. If I am here anymore, I suspect I may have to pay taxes here. Sadly, KL is way down my "home" list. Way down.

I should go home once in a while...

2007-08-24T02:49:00.001+08:00

Last week I spent a couple of days in Amsterdam. During one of the really great summer days, I decided to try the public transportation system there and get myself to the Amsterdam Arena which is home to Ajax Amsterdam. Managed to get there eventually after I succeeded in deciphering the instructions on the walls written in Dutch.

Paid 10 Euros to join the guided tour of the stadium which was pretty impressive. Of course, it is the only stadium I have ever been to (excluding the ones in Malaysia) so it isn't really much of a gauge. Nonetheless, it still was pretty impressive.

So I got back to Singapore last Friday. And guess what? I am still here! One whole week in Singapore. That's rare.

While I was back, I decided to run some errands. Bought blank DVDs. Bought a new samsonite suitcase to replace my dying Polo bag. Bought some socks from GAP (50% off guys. Go get some!). Next on my list would be a pair of slippers. I was walking near Raffles City with my slippers in the rain and I did some breakdancing unintentionally. Been doing that a lot with my slippers especially around my block. Enough of that. I think that's all I need to get.

I reformatted my computer because all the problems it had were really getting on my nerves. It seems to be behaving itself properly now. So far so good.

I was busy surfing Wikipedia and decided to search for my secondary school back in PJ and there really is something about it. Actually, NOTHING about it. All they had was the school song and badge. Quite pathetic. Someone should go and do something about it. Not me. But someone.

Will be going off to Dubai (why am I not surprised) and Brussels next. I was talking to a friend and I mentioned that Singapore is now my first home, followed by Dubai and Amsterdam. KL is somewhere down the pecking order. How sad.

2007-08-14T23:45:00.000+08:00

Last night, the captain, a few other crew members and I were having dinner when one of them said that we may be operating into Baku in future. Yes, where in the world in Baku. According to my atlas, it is the capital of a country called Azerbaijan. Yes yes, doesn't answer the question. Where in the world is Azerbaijan? It's just south of Russia, east of Georgia. Apparently, the place is a very challenging place to go to.

Well, I say, bring it on!

2007-08-14T01:46:00.000+08:00

Well, Dubai, my second home, is sizzling hot as usual. At night, it is about 38 deg Celcius. Don't bother asking how hot it is during the day.

According to BBC, there will be some meteor showers these few days. Apparently, it is supposed to be one of the best for the next few decades. I watched this while I was in Amsterdam. Initially, I thought that I was going to miss the shower in Amsterdam because I was going to fly to Dubai in the evening. However, little did I know that I was going to have the best seat for the shower: at 35,000 ft in the dark skies. Either the TV commentator was exagerating or the meteor shower was concentrating more towards the UK because yeah, there were quite a number of really large meteorites, but not exactly that spectacular. Was a great view nonetheless, especially without all the light pollution that beseiges Singapore all the time.

So, tomorrow I am going back to Amsterdam. If weather permits, I may just take a trip down to the Amsterdam Arena. They have guided tours throughout the day and hopefully, I will be able to catch a glimpse of the team going through their training routine. If not, it should be a relaxing trip out of the city.

Will be back in Singapore this weekend for... one entire week!

That includes 4 days of reserved duty where I am on standby, but looking at the size of the crew, I am not exactly holding my breath.

2007-08-09T20:51:00.000+08:00

King and I was ok. Lots of sexy, beefy male bodies. If you are into those things...

And I am off to Dubai tonight again. Need a break from Singapore. Phew!

2007-08-07T00:48:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I couldn't blog in Dubai. I didn't have much time there, and I was totally knackered by the time I reached there.

This trip, I had FOUR long days in Amsterdam. Despite the apparent lousy Dutch weather, I was still able to take a look around this city. First day was a trip to the Anne Frank House. For Euro 7.50, you get to see the house that Anne Frank lived in until her family got captured and thrown into the concentration camps. We spent one hour queuing up to get in, and half an hour actually inside.

Next, we went to the Van Gogh Museum which supposedly houses the most number of the artist's works. We actually spent TWO hours looking at art works. I feel so cultured now.

From the arty farty world of Amsterdam, my next stop was Madras. A totally different world, avoiding huge puddles of water, zipping in between traffic in rickety tuk-tuks and eating unknown food. But, books are cheap here and I helped myself to three novels at the price of 10 Singapore dollars each. What a bargain. Other than that, I stuck to my room and only poked my head out to grab something to munch on.

So I am back in Singapore now. Will be watching The King And I on Wednesday. Hope it will be good. Good thing there won't be Bendul in this version.

Went to catch The Simpsons in the cinemas on Sunday. Was good for laughs, especially with kids everywhere reminding you where to laugh. They only forgot to laugh at one point where Homer said that Maggie was the best mistake that ever happened to him. Just a few nervous laughters from parents were heard.

On Thursday night, I will be off again. Once again, to Dubai. Like I mentioned before, it is officially my second home. Amsterdam will be my third. I think KL would be somewhere around fourth. Almost.

2007-07-26T16:58:00.000+08:00

So I was back in Singapore for five (long) days. In between, I ran my errants, met up with TheGirl every day, cleaned up my room and a whole lot. Oh right, the aircond was installed in my room while I was away and so I had quite a bit of cleaning to do when I reached back at midnight. It was almost 4AM when I went to bed. But, everything looks good for now.

In line with the new aircond, I headed down to IKEA to grab some things to spruce up the room. Or rather, to make things a bit neater with boxes and file holders etc. And as I was saying, things look good for now.

Ironically, with the aircond installed, the weather decided to pour some rain on us, which makes the feeling of switching on the aircond just wrong. But nonetheless, it is a good thing. Who knows, with global warming, it may be warm in December. Aircond these days do not emit CFC right?

Tonight, I will be heading back to Amsterdam via Dubai. And I will be flying to Amsterdam via Dubai many, many times for the next two months. I ain't complaining, but it is weird to be going to the same places all the time. Maybe I should make some friends among the hotel staff and get a free room upgrade.

Okay, I shall continue in the sweltering heat of Dubai.

2007-07-19T13:06:00.000+08:00

Alright then, so I have three full days in Kuwait with no friends around. Which leaves me with absolutely no excuse to not update my blog. So here goes.

After much harassment (I kid) I decided to see what this whole rss thing is all about. Looks pretty interesting, so I searched for the option in blogger which is supposed to exist. But I can't find it. End of interest.

I was in China and as usual, the air quality was horrible. I am having a little bit of a cough and sniffles and I bet it was due to the air over there. I wonder how the people there survive. Probably with those nose covers that people back home used to laugh at. Ain't no laughing matter anymore.

Next trip was to LA, traveling in ECONOMY class with a stop over at Narita Tokyo. After 19 hours, I pretty much had to peel my knees from my chin before I could get out of my seat. The rest of the crew went ahead except for one of my coursemates who waited for me while I went through the secondary screening (as usual). So, we took a cab to the hotel which was a whopping USD30. Now, to get to town from the hotel I bet it will cost 50 bucks. That would be about the price for renting a pretty decent car for one day. Next time I go there with a long layover, I plan to head over to Vegas. That would be cool.

Then, a couple of stops in Brussels followed by Amsterdam has led me to being in Kuwait right now. That's right, you can pick up your jaws from the floor now. And as you guessed it, there is nothing to see here! Okay, people will argue that there has to be things to do and I am just plain lazy to go explore. Fine, I am lazy. But I being so close to Iraq (we could actually see the lights of Baghdad in the horizon as we came into Kuwait), I don't plan to appear on CNN in orange pullovers with hooded men behind me. No sir. There are better ways to appear on CNN. So, it's now 830AM and I guess I will hit the gym before going for the free breakfast. Time to burn off those pints of Belgian beer.

Till tomorrow, if I have got anything interesting to blog.

2007-07-06T18:04:00.000+08:00

So it looks like the three of us homies are going to stay at our bachelor pad for another year. This time, with the addition of aircond! No more hot sweaty nights I say.

2007-07-05T03:26:00.000+08:00

Okay, been busy since I got back from Korea. Overall, the trip was okay. As usual, we were rudely woken up every morning at 7AM. Totally unreal for me who is so used to waking up at noon. But the sights were nice and the people don't speak English. And the KAL aircraft did not have personal screens. Lousy.

Got back, and went straight home to KL the next day. First ever Singapore to KL flight. Not really my choice of transport to go back, but it was a family emergency and I had to be back by 9AM that day. I just barely made it.

Then, when I returned to Singapore, I went to work the next day. Had enough time at night to have dinner with TheGirl and I was off again.

And I was working on my birthday. Thanks again to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. I was away when I received the messages (hey, Anchorage has no reception at all) so I didn't have the chance to reply them. Oh, the security guard at the aircraft noticed my birthday on the crew list too. Well, although I wasn't able to celebrate my birthday in Singapore, Hong Kong threw a big celebration with fireworks just for me. Nah, just kidding, it was their 10th anniversary of the handover which coincidentally falls on my birthday. But, the fireworks show was still a treat.

Back in Singapore now to spend three days (wow!) before I go off again.

Busy me.

2007-06-19T15:57:00.000+08:00

Okay, since I completed my training, everything has been going at supersonic speed. Being worked till I drop. Just the last couple of weeks, I was in Shanghai, Taipei (twice) and I just got back from Tianjin. I think my Mandarin is improving.

Anyway, time for a break, and I am heading up to Seoul for a holiday. So, no updates for a week or so. Not that it makes any difference. Haha.

But honestly, it has been really busy. I just saw my July and August schedules. Busy times ahead.

Till I get back, toodles.

2007-06-01T02:13:00.000+08:00

Okay, I am back from Dubai. Yes, Dubai again. But no dramas this time. I came back on time and in one piece as well.

Will be off again on Saturday which gives me very limited time to do some major shopping. I mean major because I am more or less a once-a-year shopper. And I have got my eyes set on some really great things. All to get tomorrow.

Watched Pirates today, which was quite a long movie which was draggy at times. But, still a good movie to watch. Next movies on my list are Shrek 3, Fantastic Four and Transformers. Transformers is an absolute must to see what Hollywood has done to the best cartoon ever! Okay, not really the best cartoon ever because I believe X-Men gave Transformers a run for its money.

Speaking of movies, I have completed watching tonnes of television shows. The first to finish was Dexter which ran for only eleven episodes. Can't wait for season two. Then, there was Six Degrees which ended prematurely. Can't say I miss it much. Then, Ugly Betty, Survivor: Fiji, Lost, Heroes, 24 and My Name is Earl are finished. All good shows to watch. Now with some time in my hands, I can catch up on some old movies as well as Prisonbreak... season one.

Went to the PC Show today and TheGirl got herself a really great Fujitsu laptop. The screen is really big, and I can testify to that because I am using her laptop to type this blog. I mean, she gave it to me to install programmes into it and how can I be so irresponsible that I don't test blogger on this laptop. Okay, it works good.

I just love the smell of a new laptop. Smells like, a new car. Which at the rate that prices are shooting through the roof, will not be in the near future. I am really tempted to get a new laptop. My laptop pales in comparison next to the new kid on the block. Maybe next year if my laptop has still not recovered from its system problems, I will treat myself to a new laptop.

Gosh look at the time. I better sleep. Or else I won't have the strength to fight the crowds to stock my wardrobe.

To the shopmobile!

2007-05-21T23:56:00.000+08:00

Ok, lots and lots of things have happened since my last post, which was really eons ago. So, let's recap.

My final two line checks were done. Weren't spectacular, but enough for me to be checked out. means...

I am now a First Officer and finally bringing in some decent money at the end of every month!

Meanwhile, I have done my first solo flight and it was a turnaround flight to Osaka. Captain was pretty nervous when he found out that it was my first flight. And rightfully so. But, like my first solo on the Cessna, this one was good. Many more flights to prove myself again. Like what many of my friends said, this is where we finally start to learn.

Work aside, I have also:

1. taken bus 3 from Punggol to Pasir Ris where the bus driver took a wrong turn and had to make a huge detour, resulting in me missing the last MRT from Pasir Ris and I had to take a cab.

2. taken bus 3 from Punggol to Pasir Ris where the Scania bus decided to die on us on the highway where we had to wait for the next bus 3 to come along to pick us up, resulting in me missing the last MRT from Pasir Ris and I had to take a cab.

I think that is enough adventures on the bus for a month.

I also went on a credit card application frenzy now that I am a Singapore PR. I got my cards from Citibank, been waiting for my cards from UOB for three weeks, and got rejected by HSBC.

I guess one bank is good enough for now.

Looks like I have wrapped up just about everything.

Okay, I promise to read up on rss guys...

2007-04-16T15:17:00.000+08:00

Went to visit Tiger Live on Saturday and we learnt a few useless things. For example, the "i" in Tiger looks like a number 1. The "g" looks like a number 8. And, the tiger is now in front of the palm tree while it used to be under the tree before. This is supposed to show that Tiger Beer is stepping out into the international arena.

We learn something new every day.

2007-04-14T00:44:00.000+08:00

Friday the 13th was really unlucky for me. I planned to go to the airport to update the office about my PR status. When I got there, I realized I forgot to bring my certificate. So crap. Since I was there, I thought I might as well print some charts of places that I will be going to next week. Feeling quite satisfied, I headed home.

When I got home, I found out that my flight has been changed. Which means, my trip to the airport was for f***.

Friday the 13th indeed.

And I am home alone! TwoDoorsUp is in Europe on holiday. Smokey has gone back to KL.

I have the whole house to myself....

Cool.

2007-04-13T17:58:00.000+08:00

I have joined the dark side...

2007-04-11T00:17:00.000+08:00

Okay, so I bombed today's session. Looks like I will have to redo it one of these days which will slow me down a bit. Just a minor blip in my books I guess.

Gonna wake up early tomorrow to get my PR application done. The last time I went there at 8AM, the queue was all the way round the building. Looks like a long queue again this time. Luckily I have my mp3 player, the life-saver.

2007-04-08T13:31:00.000+08:00

Lo and behold, I actually found some time to update this blog which has been rotting from neglect.

In between, I have been on that trip which was quite tough considering I almost lost my voice on my departure day. But the trip itself was nice. Anchorage was freezing at -15 deg Celcius, not including the wind factor. We just made a short trip from the hotel to a local joint to grab dinner. No time and balls to do any shopping this time.

Met up with Risky, Ah Joo and TheGirl for dinner at vivo as well. Risky gained a noticeable gut but he was quick to point out that he lost so much weight lately that he is now able to wear the jeans that he swore he could not wear in the states.

After that, it was the trip down under, which I believe is going to be my last. From my future schedules, I don't see any for the next few months. So, the trip down was okay as well. Had a nice pair of crew to talk with. I was basically resting for the flight back so it was a long and boring flight. But at least, with less workload, I was able to ogle at the massive light pollution at the city as well as the little people in their little cars along the highway just before we landed.

Getting back, I was thrown straight into the box once again with just over 24 hours in between my touch down and reporting time to the box. And it was TheGirl's birthday on Saturday too. On Friday, had lunch and spent 6 hours shopping (I swear men cannot shop) waiting for BigChin, oneying, adigal and Ah Joo for dinner. The whole time, I was looking at my watch. It was not even 9PM and I was busy yawning. I knew I was in for a really "fun" time later. After dinner, the rest went for movies while TheGirl and I went home. She went home to sleep, while I went home to work. At the end of work, I was all ready to collapse. Slept at 7AM.

1145AM, alarm clock wakes me up. Time to report for duty. This time at Suntec City which was surprisingly not crowded. I hate crowds. This is how Singapore should be. Who needs 6 million people? After having lunch and deserts with TheGirl, I went back home to get some rest. TheGirl was nice enough to understand that. I think if it was anyone else, I would have gotten some real ear bashing. Second round to work was okay, having warmed up nicely the previous day. After our session, GND headed to ECP McD for breakfast. Lots of SYTs around getting ready for a day out at the beach. Went to bed at 8AM this time. Woke up at 1PM.

And here I am now.

Next session: Tuesday afternoon (Thank God).

2007-03-24T11:31:00.000+08:00

Okay, all the guys have gone up to KL to attend a friend's wedding. But, I can't make it because I am going off to Hong Kong on Sunday, which is the day that the lunch is going to be.

And now, I have got a slight itch in my throat, which has changed my voice a little, maybe a bit more manly. But, I will still go for that flight because I did not wait TWO weeks rotting and giving free labour and missing a friend's wedding just to say that I am not feeling well.

Apart from that, nothing else happening. More rain that's all.

2007-03-22T00:34:00.000+08:00

Had a mini course gathering in Tampines Mall this evening. Just a few guys meeting up to talk about how we are getting along in our training and the usual banter. Then, it started to rain and we retreated into Burger King where I grabbed my dinner. The rest didn't because they had nice dinners waiting to be served at home. Sad.

Seems like the monsoon season is here. Strange, back in secondary school, we learnt that the north-east monsoon season is at the end of the year, not now. Must be climate change.

PapaBear was complaining to me that he is having a major headache with his new apartment. He can't think of how to do up his place. At breaking point, he is deciding to go with just a mattress in his bedroom. That sucks. I told him to just get a copy of some Interior Decoration magzine and copy the designs from there wholesale. But he doesn't want to. Instead, he insists on some really funny ideas.

I think he needs to play some Sims 2. Don't laugh.

2007-03-20T16:34:00.000+08:00

I have a really long break before my next flight out, which is this Sunday. So what did the office do? They made me do free work at the sims. And I am not paid extra for it! Sigh. Nonetheless, good practice since I will be doing the exact same exercises in two weeks. So I should not really complain. But, I would still rather rot at home instead.

It's been really hot these few days. Although the skies tease us with some drops of rain in the afternoon, it still remains humid and hot for the rest of the day. Night times are the worst. I guess this means that TwoDoorsUp will stop using the water heater and use his own bathroom again.

I was on my way to Punggol the other day in the bus when this kid just let go a deadly bio bomb. Everyone in the bus could smell it. Luckily, the bus driver was a strong man. If not, we would have crashed and burned.

I was listening to my music the other day and realized that I can relate some songs to different phases of my life. For example, the first song that I can ever remember is Beat It by Wacko Jacko. Then, when I discovered that there is more to music than what I played on the piano and my dad's Red River Valley era songs, I discovered songs like Winds of Change, 2Legit2Quit, Ice Ice Baby and a whole lot more. Then in secondary school, I started to listen to the radio stations like Time Highway Radio (before they lost the FlyGuy and went downhill after that), Hitz and Mix FM stations. Then, in Singapore, I realized that those radio stations actually were quite boring when I started tuning in to Singapore radio stations. I can't really remember that many songs from JC, but I remember the particularly irritating song called Big, Big World. During university orientation, I particularly remember Bent by Matchbox20 and Kryptonite by Three Doors Down (not related to TwoDoorsUp). In Perth, it was Gwen Stefani, Stereophonics, Black Eyed Peas (Thanks to GNeo). And now, when I look at my playlist and I see all these songs, which I actually consider as new, I realize how old I really am.

Ten years since secondary school. Haven't heard anything of a reunion, if anything is going to happen.

Time to get ready for free labour tonight...

2007-03-15T00:52:00.000+08:00

Woke up late as usual. TwoDoorsUp suggested we go out to have lunch at Siglap, which we did. Introduced the "world-famous" bak chor mee. Apparently, better than the Block 85 one. While we were there, we spotted a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Nissan Skyline GTR32 and a 350Z. The Nissan Sunny that we drove there paled in comparison, but it still got us there so who am I to comment? Also, we spotted a group of middle-aged men, wearing checkered shirts and khakis. Basically, the STC uniform for pilots. And we could spot them from a mile away.

So, lunch was so-so. It was the chilli sauce that made the difference. If not, it would have been really plain. Came back home and decided to reformat my computer for the second time this year. For some strange reason, the whole system just decided to slow down. I would not have thought much about it if not for the fact that my music and tv show frames were jerking. Wasted 2 hours getting everything done.

And still nothing on the roster.

2007-03-13T16:15:00.000+08:00

Back from a long one week trip, which was supposed to be only 4 days. However, it was extended, and although it was a good thing, I was totally unprepared for it. Luckily I had enough underwears and shirts for the trip.

So, now I am back in Singapore, and it seems like I won't be going anywhere for quite a while.

2007-03-03T14:06:00.000+08:00

Got back from Sydney two days ago. And it was a really tiring trip. I left on Tuesday night and flew through the night. All three of us were really tired. On top of that, my stomach started churning the moment I got into my seat. And it continued churning all the way until I reached way up there. And based on the built-in timer, I was able to hold my bowels for a grand total of 65 minutes. It felt really good releasing the bomb. And unfortunately for my colleagues, I released a few biological bombs before that. Lucky for them, they were relatively smaller bombs.

By the time we reached Sydney, I just went to bed. Had an early dinner before going with my colleague to the Sydney Opera House. It was good to be back there after 10 years. Still looked very grand. So much better than our durianade. We saw that the weather was getting really bad. The clouds reminded me of Independence Day. Later that night, I found out that the airport was closed and Canberra was hit by hail. Probably from the same thunderstorm cell.

Next day, we woke up at 530AM and dragged our feet to the airport. Flight back wasn't as bad as the one down. Only problem was my eyes were stinging from the lack of sleep.

Reached back to find out that it has been raining for days in Singapore. And it was raining yesterday too. Hope it stops raining soon.

I hate doing rain calculations.

2007-02-26T16:44:00.000+08:00

I am bored, so I am reading Wikipedia, looking up some information that were conveniently left out in our secondary school history books. I found this:

Remember JWW Birch who was killed in Perak by the local hero Dato Maharajalela? Well, apparently, Dato M was a slave trader who sells orang asli, and when JWW Birch outlawed slavery, he wasn't too happy. So, that was why Dato M killed the white man. I never knew Dato M was a slave trader. Wasn't mentioned in our text books.

Of course, the source of this information is not really very reliable. Maybe our books are right after all.

2007-02-25T01:04:00.000+08:00

Had dinner with some of friends from hall. Was quite an alright turnout considering it was quite a last minute arrangement. Total of six made it. Most of the absentees were still in Malaysia possibly still celebrating the new year.

Anyway, meeting time was supposed to be six o'clock. But as usual, people were late. Only adigal wasn't late, if we go by her definition of late being 15 minutes after the stipulated time. So, the others met up with TheGirl, adigal and I at the place that was a few minutes walk from Bugis.

Place was done up pretty nicely. It could have been a nice residential pad. Surprisingly, it was very quiet for a Saturday night. I think we were the only ones there for dinner. I wonder how they survive.

Time to go to bed. I have been awake for a grand total of 14 hours.

Sleepy.

2007-02-22T01:03:00.000+08:00

Ok, am back from KL. The bus trip back to Singapore was uneventful. Slept the first two hours because I was rudely awakened at 630AM to make it to the bus station on time. The previous two days, I was waking up at 12PM only. That was heaven.

I was supposed to be going to Korea tomorrow. Note the past tense "was". As expected, removed. So, all the jealous aunties I met over the New Year need not be jealous anymore. I won't be visiting any Korean hunk or Winter Sonata gibberish this time. Which means I will be idling a bit until next week.

Went to watch Protege today. Nothing special. So far, all the Hong Kong movies I have watched have involved police, gangsters and undercover duties. Which gives you an idea of what Hong Kong movies I have watched to date...

Just now, TwoDoorsUp amused me.

TwoDoorsUp: Hey, are you off tomorrow?

Me: Yes (refer to second paragraph above".

TwoDoorsUp: Eh, so could you clean the house? Vacuum the floor and all that?

For a few seconds, I just sat there staring at him. For once, I was speechless.

That was, as Ris would put it, legendary.

2007-02-18T01:02:00.000+08:00

Ok back in KL. The bus back to KL was, as expected, quite crappy. It was a last minute thing getting the bus so as I sort of anticipated, it had problems. Main thing was that the aircond kept going out of commision. So, the bus driver could only turn the aircond on for about 5 minutes before switching it off. And to get some air into the bus, he had to open the bus door. For us guys at the front, it was okay. But not for the old fogeys at the back. Understandably it was really stuffy at the back. However, the bus driver did at least call for a mechanic to meet us at our rest place to get the aircond fixed. And it was, after an hour.

So, reached KL about 40 minutes too late. By the time I reached home, I was dead tired. Furthermore, I had to wake up early to...

...meet the parents!

Okay, I give myself a "Pass" rating. But I don't know what grade I got. Hope to find out soon.

More updates soon, from the new laptop in the house.

2007-02-15T15:43:00.000+08:00

Had my annual medical a few days ago and it put me back more than a hundred dollars. Have to renew my licence next week as well and that will also put me back by a hundred dollars or more.

Papa Bear got his car on the day that the prices of COE dropped. He sounded pissed when I told him about it. But nonetheless, he still has the car. Can't really predict how the price of COE will change.

Will be going back to KL tomorrow and will return to Singapore on the 20th. Few days to catch up with family and friends. Time to meet the parents too.

Wish me luck!

2007-02-12T01:43:00.000+08:00

Back in Singapore for a number of days already, but have just been plain lazy to blog anything.

Trip was uber eventful. Think it was too many things for one trip. No wonder I have a breather until after the new year. Time to recuperate.

Had dinner tonight at a restaurant just next to the Seletar Airport. I remember having a drink or two with some of the guys about two years ago. It was nice to be back there reminiscing the good old days. Not exactly the good old days when you think of how we really whacked the books.

So, I have two weeks off. Can't say I am complaining. It's good to have some time for myself. But at the same time, it is probably a bit too long a break. Guess this is the time to sort out things like my money and the little issue about looking for property. Hopefully, there will be good deals with the new year around the corner.

TheGirl is looking for a new laptop. Was at Sim Lim looking around and I found that for the same amount that I paid for my laptop last year, I can get a really much improved laptop now. I mean, I understand depreciation and all that economy jargon, but it really is a big improvement. I guess technology has really caught up with my old faithful laptop. Which led to me reformating my harddisk just a few days ago. It took about 5 minutes to start up the O/S and when that happens, its just time to reformat. Good as new again.

2007-01-27T13:53:00.000+08:00

Flight got delayed.

What else is new...

2007-01-24T21:37:00.000+08:00

Trip to Melbourne was nice. Weather wasn't that nice when we first arrived, but by evening time, the clouds all cleared. And, it didn't get dark until about 9PM. So, a lot of time to walk around the city. Also, the Australian Open was going on and apparently, Marat Safin was at the same hotel where I was. Did not see him though.

But, Mauresmo was on the same flight as me coming back to Singapore. Did not get the chance to get an autograph also.

Back in Singapore, we landed on the runway where we would usually see the planes overflying the expressway. But, again, was too busy to check out the little cars below as we zoomed by.

Nonetheless, I did have the time to take a peek over the bridge as we went across the airport boulevard. So many times I have looked up at planes going across the bridge. Finally, it was the other way round. Had to be careful not to fall over though.

Will be off again on Saturday.

2007-01-18T16:35:00.000+08:00

My long stay in Melbourne has been removed.

Not nice.

2007-01-18T00:31:00.000+08:00

Adigal asked me to gripe about the traffic outside my window. Okay, it is nowhere close to where one of Mr Brown's students (from Mind Your Language) lives, where his whole flat shakes when the train passes above him, but it is still quite noisy. I hear trains, buses, cars and motorbikes (easily the worst) every morning starting from 7AM until past midnight. Sometimes, really gets to me. Closing the window doesn't help much. Using earplugs makes it worse. Just got to get used to it.

Having heard F-16s fly past at MacPherson, I'm really glad I don't live there.

And training resumes. And I have a really nice, long stay in Melbourne.

Nice.

2007-01-16T13:52:00.000+08:00

Training is being delayed again.

Boring!

2007-01-14T23:18:00.000+08:00

Went to play table tennis yesterday morning since I had a rare Saturday in Singapore. I must say that compared to the relatively intermediate-level people who were occupying the next table, my standards are pretty low. Then again, so has been my swimming, badminton, piano playing, etc etc.

Also, I found out that TheGirl has been telling her mother some pretty disturbing things about me. Rather, things that are not really helping my impression when I meet them during CNY. I mean, we are supposed to be on the same side! Going to be a tough one...

Today, PapaBear and I headed over to the west to test drive a couple of cars. It was actually quite fun. Nothing like checking out homes where the people there are more pushy. Over here, you can test drive for fun without feeling obliged to get your cheque book ready.

So conclusion is that I will wait a couple more months before I make any decisions. PapaBear, on the other hand, may be getting his soon. Looks like I have a ride back home to KL in future.

It's good to have friends who drive.

2007-01-11T01:31:00.000+08:00

I forgot to mention that I finally decided that I will be going back to KL during CNY by bus. And this will be the last expensive bus ride I will ever take. Hopefully, by next year, I will be driving home.

Finished my sim training for this week. Going to have a week of chilling before heading into the box one more round. Then hopefully, everything would be ok and I will be back into the skies again.

Was down with a flu a few days ago. Luckily I recovered in time for the last sim session.

2007-01-07T23:34:00.000+08:00

My Motorola V3 just went kaput for no reason!

Am back to my ever-reliable T610.

2007-01-05T14:10:00.000+08:00

So the New Year passed with me being in Dubai. The second time in a week. I actually wanted to be up for the clock to strike 12 but I hit the sack at about 11PM since I had an early wake-up call the next day. Nonetheless, the fireworks woke me up at midnight which sounded like bombs going off outside my room. Emerged unscathed anyway.

TheGirl has moved to Punggol. Which means the bus guide is my best friend again, looking for the shortest and easiest route to and fro. Found one way which takes about the same time to travel from her old place, but not as tiring since there is less walking distance. Most of the time is spent waiting for the bus or the MRT.

And now it is time to find a way to go back for CNY. This is the most stressful time of the year where everyone is trying to find a way to get home. All the train tickets are sold out. So have most of the reputable bus companies. The remaining ones are selling tickets at almost twice the usual price. And not only that, they will change buses at the border which means that these companies are sub-contracting other bus companies to send us back to KL. Normally this means that we enjoy the great "super-VIP" buses until the border, then it's back to a normal bus. And we pay a whole lot more. Considered flying, since I have staff travel to go back at a higher price than taking the train or bus, but a much more convenient way from my place. But, TheGirl will be paying through her teeth for the same ticket. Was considering crossing the border to take a domestic flight back but it is also very expensive.

So, planes, trains and automobiles have all been covered. Time to make a decision.

And it is times like these that I really wished I had my own car.

2006-12-28T18:05:00.000+08:00

Amsterdam was freezing! And weather was very gloomy. Pretty lousy actually. Not exactly the best time of the year to go there. Well, always another time.

And the flight back was horrible! Was dumped with the rest of the masses in a full Economy class cabin. Being full isn't exactly bad. Worse still was that there were kids everywhere who were running up and down the isles, and kids who were crying. And the adults weren't very helpful either with their noisy bickering the whole flight-long. I think I only managed to catch 10 minutes of sleep out of the entire eleven and a half hour flight.

No wonder I concussed when I reached back.

2006-12-25T19:22:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas from Dubai!

Weather here is surprisingly cold for the middle east. I was expecting sweltering heat, but I welcome to cool air. However, I heard it can hit 50 degrees in the middle of summer. I hope I don't come here during that time.

Free internet in the hotel so I tried using Skype. Apparently, the whole city is not allowed to use Skype or any other VOIP form of communication. I wonder what's the reason. But the internet sms still works, so it isn't that bad.

Ate the world-famous Briyani rice. It was not too bad and the portion was huge!

Will be leaving early morning to Amsterdam tomorrow. Too bad it is going to be a short stay in Amsterdam. Then I will be back to Singapore.

Next post: New Year!

2006-12-23T22:48:00.000+08:00

Went to catch Night At The Museum today and found it very entertaining. Okay, it is your typical comedy with Ben Stiller giving all kinds of funny facial expressions. But somehow, it was worth the trip to the cinema.

Also had to get a second pair of glasses that I have been meaning to get for quite a while. Trying a different style from the one I presently have. Shall let you know what the fashion police will think about it when it is ready next week.

TheGirl's sister and a friend came down from KL today. Drove all the way down, so TheGirl and the two will be going back to KL together on Wednesday. I sms-ed them the directions to get to TheGirl's place from Tuas and with the help of the map, they managed it quite well. Like I told them, all guys can read maps. Somehow, they interpreted that statement as "girls cannot read maps". I wonder what gave them that idea.

So, they gave me a lift back from Bishan after indulging ourselves with Sakae Sushi. Showed the guy how to top up cashcards for parking and where to get HDB parking coupons and how to use them... illegally too. For the greater good I say.

And tomorrow I will be off. Time to pack.

2006-12-21T21:44:00.000+08:00

I am now under the category of Old Blogger. Well, I am old anyway.

So, been on a break for four days. And back to work today, with a visit to the office. Did some work in the evening, and it is now night time.

Some of the gang are meeting up for Christmas eve dinner, but poor me will be spending it in a tube with two other males. At least the weather at the destination is supposed to be good. Not really a white Christmas, but at least a cool one, free of humidity. Was at Anchorage again last week and it was freezing. My ears almost dropped off after a five minute walk to the local mall. Enough cold for one year.

Still can't apply for PRship because the person in charge is not around. Something is wrong here. When one person is not around, the whole system comes crashing to a halt. I would have thought that with the whole network and system and the whole IT gibberish, this should not happen.

And considering my apparent laziness in updating this blog, in case I don't see you, merry Christmas from Dubai!

2006-12-11T19:46:00.000+08:00

Next stop is Hong Kong.

And it is delayed by 12 hours. Sigh.

2006-12-09T11:06:00.000+08:00

Back from Sydney. Oh, did I say Melbourne? The ever-changing roster strikes again. Sigh. Didn't spend much time in Sydney. I had just about enough time to grab a dinner, sleep for eleven hours, grab lunch, hurry back to the hotel room and scoot off to the airport again.

And now I'm back in Singapore.

Back to work on Tuesday morning.

2006-12-06T12:14:00.000+08:00

Wow, it's been quite a while since I have seen this page. Been really busy lately. Only around for a few days before I am off to work again. But I can't really complain because so far, things seem to be progressing fine. So far so good at least.

Next few weeks up to the beginning of January will be quite hectic as well. Was hoping that I would get a quiet and peaceful Christmas but it is unlikely to be the case. Oh well, maybe New Year would be better.

TheGirl is looking for a new place to stay since her landlord wants to rent out the entire unit and her housemate is moving out of the country. She is stress and it is just natural that the stress is rubbing off on me. Going off to Melbourne tomorrow night. That gives me a full Friday to relax and forget about this, temporarily. Nonetheless, a break is welcomed. Nice summer afternoon relaxing. Was supposed to be freezing Korea but I just can't imagine myself relaxing in the snow. Melbourne is good.

Also busy with my PR applications. Just need to wait for TwoDoorsUp to get my NUS certificate back from his home.

Another thing that came up is that my parents have been bugging me to find a place to stay. Permanently. They have been doing this for a few months already but I guess it is really time to get down to business. First thing would be to visit some showrooms. YC would be sharing his vast knowledge in terrorizing sales people (cars sales people included) with me. Should be starting this Sunday.

That should give me something to blog about.

Excellent.

2006-11-19T02:35:00.000+08:00

I am back in KL with some time to blog after spending serious time getting rid of viruses and trojans and all those rubbish from the computer. It is becoming a ritual now: everytime I come back, I need to clean up the computer.

Took another bus company instead of the one I usually take because I have come to the conclusion that the previous one charges way too much. So, time for a change. And the new one isn't too bad. Doesn't have all the little gadgets but who needs them when you need sleep instead. I think I will travel with this company next time too.

Wedding dinner was nice. Nice meaning there was no karaoke that had used to plague wedding dinners. Good to meet up with old classmates, some of whom I have not met for close to 8 years.

Oh, and the MyVee is not that bad for a local car.

2006-11-15T19:20:00.000+08:00

Back from a week of work. And to welcome me back was a letter from the tax collectors who wanted to fine me for some technical issues. However, cleared it up and after some grovelling, I managed to get the fine waived.

Will be going back to KL this weekend for a classmate's wedding. Then, should be off to Auckland next week.

Meanwhile, the router is still out of service. But, I managed to sneak into someone else's network to post this. Hope to get that router fixed soon.

2006-11-10T06:41:00.000+08:00

This is Daniel reporting from New York, after finally getting a hotel room with internet connection. Which is free too.

Reached here with my body clock all screwed up. But nonetheless, I set out to walk the streets of New York in my haggard state. I was staying at the intersection of Lexington Ave and 48th St, and I somehow managed to reach Madison Park somewhere south, but not as far south as I would have wanted. So no chance for Ground Zero or the Statue of Liberty this round. Maybe the next time I come here. Still, I was able to check out the National Library, Grand Central Terminal, Times Square, the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. Many nice buildings around here actually.

Several points to note about NY:
1. All the roads are in a grid, so no chance of getting lost.
2. UPS and Fedex trucks really look like what they appear on television. They have a seat for the driver and just a jump-seat next to him.
3. Cops are everywhere.
4. The fire department buildings are really like BaseOne from the Ghostbusters.
5. Gay men can kiss on the streets and nobody will have a second glance.
6. Helicopters can hover over the same spot for one hour without moving.
7. In movies, the reason why people walking in the background don't stare at the camera is because someone will walk alongside the cameraman and ask us to walk slowly and not to stare at the camera.
8. There is Wendy's in NY.
9. There are many dogs in NY.
10. NY time is 13 hours behind Singapore time.

ZZZzzz...

2006-11-03T16:52:00.000+08:00

I was walking outside Taka with TheGirl yesterday night when we were approached by one of those dreaded people armed with a writing pad and a pen. Sometimes, they are financial advisors, or insurance agents, or people selling charity coupons. This time, it is a young guy who offered TheGirl and I a chance each to win some free things. TheGirl won a 25 dollar voucher from Isetan, while I won (wow) a free seven night stay at a five-star hotel at a country listed in the voucher, like Portugal, Australia, Spain, etc.

How could I resist? I want a seven night stay at a five-star hotel at a country like Portugal, Australia and Spain. But, of course nothing is free. We will have to attend an exhibition which, according to TheGirl, is aimed at selling tour packages.

The guy amused me a lot. He probably just finished his O-Levels (he took biology) and this should be his part-time job. And when he gave me a piece of paper to scratch (to find out what I was going to win), he took a look at the scratch pad. There was a line across and you could easily see what colour the star was. And when I "won" the trip, he was a hell lot more excited than I was, going "Oh my God, you won. Oh my God, this is like a one in a thousand chance".

Probably the only reason why I wasted 20 minutes of my life there.

On another note, TheGirl bought the K800i. I am very tempted to steal it from her.

And today, I woke up at 11AM when the planner told me that there is a last minute training trip to Bangkok and whether I was free for it. At first, I said yes. If I can expedite my training, why not right? Maybe I was too blur (hey I just woke up) and I forgot that I was going to reach back late, and will miss my date with TheGirl. So I called back and said I can't make it. No big deal. But didn't feel good.

And just when I got over it, she called back and said there was a later training trip to Jakarta.

Such is life...

2006-11-01T17:33:00.000+08:00

Took a few days to recover from the Sydney trip. Mainly because of the fact that I had only one night of sleep for the three days that I was awake. But nonetheless, I gathered enough energy to take a walk around Sydney, but I didn't make it to the opera house area. That wasn't caused by my lack of sleep. Rather, it was because of my new shoes that were killing my feet. Anyway, I got them changed, and the new ones feel so much better.

Next trip was supposed to be to Shanghai, but looks like I will be going to Frankfurt and New York instead. Going to be a long 3 day stay over at Frankfurt. So, maybe I will go to the countryside and look around. Maybe I can pick up some remnants of Oktoberfest too.

2006-10-27T20:13:00.000+08:00

Was called up just yesterday. So I'm off to Sydney tonight.

2006-10-25T17:37:00.000+08:00

I finally got my hands on a spanking new Creative Zen Vision: M. So far so good. Can't find any problems with it. Yet. Will be taking it on a trial run tomorrow when I travel on the MRT.

2006-10-24T09:32:00.000+08:00

Arrived back in Singapore early in the morning of Tuesday. After all the usual paperwork at the office, I reached back and did some unpacking before hitting the shower and then the bed.

Peculiar thing about China is that the soldiers at the airport will really salute aircraft as they taxy past them. They literally snap at attention and will not budge even if we give them a wave of acknowledgement.

Nanjing is extremely poluted, a lot worse than the situation here in Singapore. At first, I thought it was mist but later realized it was the smog from the rapid modernization taking place there. The city centre is really big, and this is just Nanjing, not the major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. And looking at the way the cyclists rule the roads, it is no wonder that some of them here in Singapore imported their mentality here too.

Next was to Anchorage. The night flight was great as we overflew Japan. The lights were really bright even from up there. We also saw some Russian trawlers out in the middle of the sea. Nearer Anchorage, the snowcapped mountain tops were peeking out of the clouds. Looked really big as we descended and at times were alongside the mountains. Things at Alaska are really cheap since it is tax-free. On top of that, the local shopping mall was having the autumn sale, so things were really, really cheap. Oh yes, and it was cold. But apparently, not as cold as it will get later this year. Temperatures went to negative one. My first sub zero temperature...

Next port of call: Los Angeles. Overflew San Fransisco on the way down and had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Los Angeles was shrouded in fog coming in from the sea. Whole reason for this phenomenon was covered in Meteorology Theoy but let's not get there. Also had a glimpse of the Hollywood hills over at the east as we descended into LA. As did dozens of other aircraft as the radar screen was filled up. No wonder they say that LA is really busy, but apparently not as busy as Chicago.

Coming back to Singapore, my coursemate and I took the flight back which transited over at Japan. Originally, I thought that I was going to have a night stop there. But no, we waited an hour in the plane and we were on our way to Singapore. We were originially allocated economy class seats, but eventually were upgraded to business class seats. My first trip on business class. Very nice. Had enough time to catch four movies and numerous episodes of the Simpsons. The band Iron Maiden was also on the LA - NRT flight on their way for a performance in Tokyo. The cabin crew took photos and got autographs from them.

Trip down to Singapore was quiet. No more movies to watch, so I caught a few hours of sleep. Went to the flight deck for the approach to have a chat with the crew and also to watch them fly into Singapore.

And now, I am going back to sleep again.

Zzzz....

2006-10-18T19:05:00.000+08:00

I absolutely hate packing.

And I need to plan my sleep for tonight so that I will be awake enough at some inhumane hour tomorrow morning.

Expenditures this month has been sky high! Although the amount included certain necessities such as winter clothing, foreign currency and the suitcase, it is still on the high side. Don't think my allowances will be able to cover everything too.

Googled my name and I found several other namesakes:

1. A guy in the Netherlands who is a computer expert. Think he is still in university. Very active with programming. Quite a lot about him on the net.

2. A teacher in a nearby JC. Involved in dance choreography too.

3. A pastor in California. Not much information about him.

4. A trombonist from Philadephia who performs in an orchestra.

5. A PhD holder also from Netherlands involved in electronics gibberish.

6. A guy from the UK who attended a boys school and graduated in 2003.

and etc etc.

And I can't find myself.

Good to remain annonymous.

2006-10-15T10:53:00.000+08:00

Got back yesterday morning. Was too tired to do anything, so I took a nap after loading the washing machine.

Melbourne was a nice place. It was great to finally breathe some fresh air and again, I am reminded of it as I look at the thick layer of haze outside my window. Temperatures were just about right but got a little cold at night. Spent the day just getting oriented to the city roads and locations, and that was about all the time I had. I should be able to do more things if I go down there again sometime soon.

As for next week, I will hae the chance to explore Nanjing, Anchorage, LA and Tokyo. That should be fun.

2006-10-10T21:56:00.000+08:00

What kind of undeveloped moron greets people "Asshole"?

Meet TwoDoorsUp.

2006-10-08T22:34:00.000+08:00

Graduation was on Friday. Nothing really special. But the family was down for it. Which meant... SHOPPING!

Bought a luggage bag on Saturday at a special price with the all-powerful staff card. Which will be put into good use this coming Thursday, when I will be headed down under. Work begins on Thursday, which is much better than idling around.

Missed out on a lot of tv shows over the weekend since the family was around. But will be busy catching up over the next few days.

2006-10-05T16:36:00.000+08:00

So what have I been doing for the past week? Nothing much. Been waiting for the licence which seems to be taking forever to arrive. Strange thing is that my colleague who submitted the licence to be updated did that in the morning while I did my late morning. He got his licence updated five days ago.

Meanwhile, I have been reading up some of the things that are "my bread and butter, god dammit". And it's a whole loaf of bread. Looking at it makes me want to go sleep, which I never thought was possible. Reading those physics and chemistry books didn't really put me to bed. Instead, now, the Z Monster is on the attack. I guess it catches up with age. Speaking of which, I am slowly creeping up to the 30-year-old age gate.

Graduation ceremony is tomorrow evening. Managed to get a blazer at the last minute from my friend when mine sort of disappeared in TwoDoorsUp house. A little bit too big for me but not much of a choice for me. No matter who I borrow a blazer from, it WILL be too big for me.

Parents will be down for this ceremony. Which means that TheGirl will be meeting them for the first time. Parents are excited. I doubt TheGirl shares the same sentiment. Sister is also excited, as proudly exclaimed on her MSN nick: "off to Spore to dispell rumours of my bro's gf being imaginary". Looks like I am not the only joker in the family. It must run in the genes.

Also, I finished yet another novel! I am setting a record! I have read more books this year than I ever have in my entire 26 years of existance.

And also, more movies this year (in cinemas, not on a 15 inch monitor) than ever before. Speaking of which, I will be catching WTC tonight. Sneak preview. First time.

Till I get my licence...

2006-09-27T00:17:00.000+08:00

It has been almost three years since I started this blog, and I must admit that my stamina is beginning to run out. I used to be able to post on average twice a day. These days (or rather, months), I struggle to post twice a week. Maybe it is because I run out of things to say. Or maybe it is because I don't feel like posting anything. Pure laziness.

Nonetheless, since I burnt calories opening the website and keying in my password, I might as well say something.

The trip to JB on Sunday was exciting. Spent about 3 and a half hours there going around in circles, and I brought us all back to Singapore after dark. So, now, I have a new title to replace the old one which lasted me 2 years. Hopefully, this new title won't be around for too long before it gets replaced again.

My sister is getting a new car, paid for by the folks.

Some kids are just so lucky.

2006-09-23T00:15:00.000+08:00

Phone call came, and it begins come Sunday.

2006-09-21T15:58:00.000+08:00

To quote a colleague's msn nick...

Paid to bum.

2006-09-17T00:39:00.000+08:00

Went to Suntec City today and the place was, as expected, much emptier compared to an average weekend. With all the security, getting there was a headache. I had to detour from the pedestrian crossing to Marina Square, then to Millennia Walk and finally, cross a main road (jaywalking in front of the delegates) to reach Suntec City.

At least you will feel safe shopping there. No chance of any acts of terrorism. In fact, there weren't any protestors there at all. What happened to them? Maybe the 8m x 8m space was too small for them.

Went to watch The Host which was quite disappointing. If it weren't for the fact that it was a Korean show, it would have just been dismissed as a B-grade monster flick.

Should have watched Monster House instead.

Anyway, workwise, I am still waiting for the call.

2006-09-12T14:45:00.000+08:00

It's been a long absence, and I blame it on Civilization 4. Guys, get it. It rocks.

Had a midnight session on Saturday morning, took a 4 hour nap, then headed to Bishan to play some table tennis with the significant other. Witnessed some out-of-this-world table tennis playing by kids who are just able to peek above the table. I think they will thrash me if I were to take them on.

That night, GNeo, the significant other and I decided to pay a visit to Zouk. Been a while since I've been there so not a bad time to check it out again. Looks the same. Same 'ol, same 'ol.

Also, some famous quotes from Saturday:

Quote 1:
-------
TheGirl: I have an ulcer, I want to get watermelon.
Me: Can I call you watermelon?
TheGirl: Er, why?
Me: Because you are wo de mei ren.

Quote 2:
-------
TheGirl: Check my bag again? They think I am a terrorist or what?
Me: You really want to know why?
TheGirl: Why?
Me: Because you are da bomb.

There IS hope!

2006-09-06T15:24:00.000+08:00

645AM session is just as bad as 115AM sessions.

I was walking towards the side glass door which needs a card to open from the outside, and a button to push from the inside. Seeing two female colleagues walking from the opposite direction, I pushed the button and stood at the side so that they can walk in. As they pushed the door open, I just held the door open for them to come in.

Colleague A: "Oh, sorry, you want to go out?"

Me: "Yeah, after you."

Colleague B: "So, you didn't open the door for us ah? You opened the door for yourself is it?"

At this point, they were both inside and i was halfway out with Colleague A holding the door open for me to pull my troley bag out.

Me: "Er, I opened the door for you to get in, and then for me to get out."

Colleagues A and B decided to walk off then.

Now, what the hell just happened? Colleague A wasn't that bad. Colleague B must be a senior crew.

2006-09-05T11:35:00.000+08:00

Finally got the long-awaited hard disk space yesterday. And what a tough time I had searching for the specifications of the casing. Almost gave up.

Let the fun begin.

2006-09-03T23:42:00.000+08:00

Went over to Comex on Friday thinking that it would be relatively empty considering it was a week day. GNeo came over to pick me up and we went just down the road where we were greeted with the sight of cars and more cars. Then, it dawned on us that the crowd must consist of mainly teachers and students, since it was Teachers Day. I never knew students drove cars.

So, it was packed with people justling and shoving. But it was nothing great. Not that many great deals for people like me who just wanted to get some data storage devices. What a let down.

Had a movie marathon of three movies today. By the end of the last one, my eyes were all ready to pop out. Two is enough for me. Not only is my shopping stamina in need of fine-tuning, looks like I have to work on my movie watching too.

Oh yes, and the check went fine. Could have been better of course, but what the heck, I passed and that is all that matters. Once again, my hypothesis proved right: tests = mediocre performance by me.

Going to grab a beer. Captain's orders.

2006-08-31T15:18:00.000+08:00

When it rains, it really pours.

While it did wreck some havoc in the living room, the wind and rain did bring some comfort. Not including the mad dash across the road in the rain from the shopping mall to the car park yesterday. This kind of rain always reminds me of home: driving in my old dingy car, hoping water doesn't leak in through the faulty window, trying to avoid concealed, and if I am lucky, not be a bastard and give a poor passerby an unwelcome bath. The only form of rain I encounted down under was the one-off drizzle which is not even considered "rain" by my standards. Except for the one instance when I almost aqua-planed off the road while driving home from a haircut.

Tomorrow is the day.

More harddisk space, here I come!

2006-08-29T20:42:00.000+08:00

Was having dinner downstairs at the regular place when the peace was interrupted by loud crying. I turned and saw a very angry mother, carrying a pink school bag, dragging a boy who was lying on the floor bawling. He was screaming "bu yao bu yao" for no particlar reason. Meanwhile, the mother was trying to get him to stand up and stop making a scene, which got most people watching the spectacle. Mum then began scolding the boy, and the kid just kept on screaming. After which, she gave him one thump on his back. The boy kept quiet for a second, then started screaming again.

Screaming from that thump I presume.

Sigh, they just don't make kids the way they used to...

2006-08-28T18:35:00.000+08:00

Went to town to run some errands. And on the MRT, I saw the longest pair of legs ever. The part where the legs join with the torso (ahem) was at my eyelevel when I was sitting down. And Legs was standing right in front of me because her friend was sitting next to me. They are foreigners anyway. Speaking some kind of foreign language. I bet the older uncles standing around us were having a field day. Better keep tabs on your blood pressure guys.

2006-08-28T12:20:00.000+08:00

Three day sim marathon ended last night. And we managed to trick the instructor into believing that we are ready for the check. Hopefully his trust is well-placed.

2006-08-26T21:41:00.000+08:00

Discovered a new stall that is a no-go if you are really pressed for time. I spent 40 minutes playing Golf on my V3 (bought a new golf ball too) while waiting for the prawn noodles to be ready. If it were any longer, I would be a fossil embedded in the plastic chair.

2006-08-25T14:14:00.000+08:00

Got back from work this morning at 7AM. No joke trying to be productive in the middle of my sleep time. Towards the end, I was going to just collapse.

The instructor this round is nice. A bit too nice in fact. If I did some of the things I did today with the previous one, I would have been eaten alive. Can't let my guard down. My check may be done by a man-eater too.

Two more rounds this weekend. God had mercy and no more midnight sessions. At least for now.

2006-08-24T17:04:00.000+08:00

Just found out that the IT Show is next week.

So maybe I can have more time to check it out.

2006-08-24T12:17:00.000+08:00

Back from KL and back with my laptop.

Going to be busy this weekend, not with the IT Show, but with work. And I have got all funny hours but I got to get used to it. May be able to sneak a few hours to go to the IT Show.

And I have finally found out my housemate's definition of "clean". If he wants to be that clean, he will get it.

2006-08-14T17:47:00.000+08:00

Watched F&F III last week and I am all the more convinced that my dream car is still the Evo. However, living where I am living, I may just have to settle for its more affordable cousin, the Lancer. But that is a few years ahead.

Going back to KL again on Wednesday. And just today I found out that I have a session tomorrow. Luckily I went over to the office today because my partner and I both had no idea that we were on tomorrow. What a bad way to start things if we missed it.

And ownership of my laptop will be transfered to another person tonight. Will be getting it back next week once I return.

Till then...

2006-08-10T23:37:00.000+08:00

Met up with some of my friends today at Plaza Sing for dinner. Haven't seen some of them for a few months, and one of them for about two years. Good to be able to catch up again.

When I was walking from one end of the MRT station to the other at the interchange, this guy came up to me asking me which platform to go to Toa Payoh. After pointing out to him, he just made small talk with me since we were walking in the same direction. And yet another person thinks I am 15. This is way too irritating.

At the platform, I pointed out to him where he should wait, and I told him I am going to the other platform. Then, out of nowhere, he asked if I have a contact number. I said yes, then he asked if I had a pen. Thank God I didn't have one. So I quickly scrammed. In any case, even if I had a pen and he wanted my contact number, I wouldn't give it to him. I mean, the only people I would give my contact number to would be girls or the police if they had a gun to my head.

But even with these two choices, I haven't had much luck dispensing my number. Maybe I should be less choosy. I should have given him my number!

Darn.

2006-08-09T22:49:00.000+08:00

Decided to go to the Asian Civilization Museum over at Boat Quay today. Lots of old antique stuff that belong in museums. But some camping equipment under the category "Nomad Homes" kind of spoilt the exhibition. We are not talking old camping equipment, we are referring to equipment donated by the NUS Sports Club. It is that new.

And if you are around that area, you have got to try out the 15 dollar fried rice at one of the restaurants across the river. Just for the sake of tasting what 15 dollars worth of fried rice.

2006-08-08T23:46:00.000+08:00

Was walking from PP to the bus stop using the new route which runs along the canal. Apart from the usual couples snuggling on the benches along the path, this guy who was walking along the same direction asked me if the 15th day has come or not. Well, unfortunately no. And fortunately, today was not the day. It can get quite freaky walking alone in the dark at that place. Just last Friday, I saw some of those papers being burnt just before I crossed the bridge. I swear I had goose bumps all the way from the bridge to the bus stop.

And to think that two years back, 20 of us were spending our 15 days with who-knows-what in the jungles of Lumut. Boy we were brave back then.

2006-08-08T15:52:00.000+08:00

IT Fair is coming up. Deciding on which mp3 player to pamper myself with since the old one died a horrible death. Again, it is between apple and creative.

Not wanting to feel left out, bus and mrt services have decided to increase their rates a few weeks after cab fares went up. And of course they need to increase their rates! Look what happened when on the day they announced their intention: part of the NEL went kaput. Then just today, trains on the East West Line were delayed due to "track problems". If only this price hike was implemented earlier, we would not have had to face these incidents.

And I received strong feedback due to my previous post. To set things right, I welcome a certain distraction from a certain person. And this certain person always showers me with presents.

Who needs the government to censor when I have my personal censor.

2006-08-07T00:03:00.000+08:00

Found out that I will be going back to KL for another round of training. Some of the good points about being away from Singapore is that I will be free of distractions. Then all I really need to do is to make sure that I can get through the training properly. And also, there will be room service, a quiet and airconditioned room and great food. Looking forward to progressing in my training.

Speaking of which, my course's second anniversary is coming up really soon. Quite hard to believe that two years have passed since we signed our lives away to a not-too-bad corporation. Will be in KL on anniversary day, which means Bob and I will probably celebrate it over a nice cup of beer.

After coming back from Perth, I was contemplating getting one of those street Adidas shoes. Yesterday, I saw one in my house. Since nobody ever buys me things around here, I concluded that my housemate bought it for himself. So that's decided then, I won't be getting the shoes.

What should I do this week....

2006-08-02T23:17:00.000+08:00

Back from KL.

Lots of happenings back home. Managed to see my parents three times, stayed at home for a night, and managed to assemble two cupboards during that night. I have another two more waiting to be assembled when I go back next. I feel so useful.

Going to be relaxing for the next two weeks again. Feels good.

2006-08-02T01:46:00.000+08:00

I is back.

But more updates tomorrow. Or later today.

2006-07-23T22:18:00.000+08:00

I am leaving on Tuesday morning and I have not settled the most important issue before I leave: my passport.

First thing tomorrow morning, I promise.

Was at TB on Saturday night when I finally got some live entertainment by two bickering middle-aged women. Started with bickering but almost erupted into a full-fledged catfight. Pity that security intervened.

This pressure cooker island is finally blowing its top.

2006-07-22T11:37:00.000+08:00

Did a whole lot of traveling in a futile attempt to get some things done before I head up north next week. But out of the three things I wanted to accomplish, I could only get one of them done. One and a half, there is another task that I need to do later today. And I believe I spent about 4 hours of the day being ferried around in a bus or a train. Mentally draining.

Time to get my checks in tip top condition.

And just a point to note, some forms of amusement when traveling on public transportation:

1. Someone sitting with another person on the same row of seats in the bus runs over to an empty row of seats when people alight at a bus stop, thinking that he/she has an empty row for himself. Then, some innocent person comes on and sits next to this person. Back to square one.

2. In the MRT, this person rushes in front of everyone to get into the train, quickly looks left and right thinking he managed to beat everyone to the last empty seat. Too bad that the last empty seat was taken at the previous stop. Stand with the other people you shoved.

Without any music to entertain me, I HAVE to get something to keep me occupied right?

2006-07-18T23:40:00.000+08:00

From today onwards, TwoDoorsUp shall now be known as OppositeDoor.

Yesterday, OppositeDoor and I went over to City Hall to get our shoe rack, only to find out that it is out of stock. Okay, maybe I will check out some other shops nearer our place. No point going all the way to town just to find there is nothing there.

During the long walk from the MRT station to Suntec, we came across a group of primary school children. Probably a school trip to the underground shopping mall. Then, I remarked that one of the surprises that I found out when I came to Singapore was that their school trips were always to places such as Australia, UK, France or Germany. If it is not one of the above, it will be some even more exotic place. Maybe I am generalizing this. I am sure some other schools have more down-to-earth school trips. The schools that organize overseas trips are probably the rich independent schools. But nonetheless, trips like these were unheard of back in Malaysia. I remember the best school trip I ever had was the trip to the Planetarium.

I guess I am just getting old.

2006-07-16T19:09:00.000+08:00

Went to church today. It's a miracle!

TwoDoorsUp decided to throw a party over at our place at about 2AM this morning. Three girls and two guys. Not that bad for him.

So, this week will be quite a slack one. Will be busy running errands while I have the time actually. Got some things to do before I head up north. Haven't met up with the ol' chaps from hall since I got back from Brisbane. I should arrange something sometime this week. Who is game?

And were my eyes playing tricks on me when I saw Jack Bauer in Episode One of 24 Season 5 on Channel 5 yesterday evening? Why on earth is it on such an ungodly hour? Such injustice for such a great movie. Reminds me of the crazy hour that they screened The Gilmore Girls (don't laugh) a few years back.

Maybe they should bring Channel i back. They need some competition.

2006-07-13T23:22:00.000+08:00

Course is ending tomorrow. The studying part at least. After this, the real fun will finally begin. And it begins back in KL.

Will be heading up to KL with another 3 of my colleagues in two weeks. The wait is really short compared to what other guys had to put up with. Not bad actually, daily allowances of RM ###, transport to and fro Changi (excellent, that solves the problem about me being lazy to get a bus ticket) and I get to take care of my expiring passport. Apart from the lesson proper, I am to expect to be taught on the usual things that people do during long stopovers. So exciting. I am finally going to explore a different side of my own hometown.

2006-07-11T00:46:00.000+08:00

World Cup is over. What else to look forward to now?

Visited the two aeroplanes this afternoon. They sure are huge. I can't imagine little me at the flight deck of one of these monsters. Nonetheless, the powers-that-be think I can do it, so that is what is important.

Course is ending soon. Should be taking a break to go home.

Feeling a bit lazy to go through the hassle of getting a ticket though.

2006-07-09T19:32:00.000+08:00

Contrary to popular belief, this blog is has not been abandoned. Yet.

The parents came down over the weekend to check out on their only son. The condition of the flat passed their test. Good thing I cleaned it up before they arrived. It would have never passed on any other day.

With the parents over I decided to grab some last minute clothing from the GSS. The cousin, who came down with the Uncle and Aunt, did some major shopping as well. Bought a t-shirt from FCUK (typed it wrongly the first time, think I use it too often) which cost 50 bucks. First thought would be that it is a reasonably priced t-shirt, but when you multiply it to the ringgit equivalent, that is my secondary school allowance for 2 months. Or even more, if you consider lower secondary. He also got himself two pairs of shoes that looked quite good actually.

When I look at how he spends money, I can't help but wonder if I was like that before. I think I was. I mean, I spent 500 bucks without blinking on the LCD monitor, 660 bucks on my ticket to Paris and 1000 bucks on my digital camera with the extras. And that was before I started to earn my own money. I guess it is true that you are more reluctant to spend money that you earned.

He should move down to Singapore soon and live on his own.

One more week of ground studies before I start my enforced break.

2006-06-27T00:32:00.000+08:00

The third person is coming back soon. Hope he will like his room.

On my way back home at City Hall MRT station, an elderly chinese couple made the mistake of asking me how to get to Tiong Bahru MRT station, in chinese. I did my best and apparently I said they had to go upstairs because they were on the wrong level. They went up, and I thought all was good until I saw them coming down the escalator a few minutes later. Good thing my train came by and I quickly scooted off before they spotted me.

I think I better do something about my practically non-existent mandarin.

2006-06-22T17:46:00.000+08:00

Had a dinner at Serangoon Gardens last night, and I stuffed myself silly. There was the 5 dollars Char Kuay Teow (Capt Tucker's favourite), the sambal stingray, satay and to wash it all down was the supersize glass of sugar cane. While I was stumbling towards the car, I couldn't help but wonder why I am still the size I am with all the input I have been subjecting myself to. WYSI-not-WYG in this case.

I wonder, am I more of the islander or more the mainlander now. I spend about 5% of the year back at home. I don't know as many people back home as I do here. In fact, I don't think anybody back home knows about this blog. Good thing nobody from my house does.

It's not my fault that I am thinking about this. It has been eight years. It is a long time.

2006-06-19T18:00:00.000+08:00

Day one of studying began this morning. But before that happened...

Weekend was busy sprucing the place up. We managed to sweep, vacuum and mop the place (most of the place anyway, don't look under the beds), buy plates, bowls and a stool for us to wear our shoes. Thinking of getting a shoe rack too. My room is great. Just a little bit too close to the MRT tracks. Well, I wanted near the MRT, I got it.

Back to today. We reported in at 9AM, four cadets and twelve direct entry guys. After the initial admin briefing, we were herded into the computer room aka the nap room. And there, we napped.

Tomorrow is another day...

2006-06-15T16:38:00.000+08:00

Hello there folks!

I is back! And I am now a East Side Massif! Bigupyourself to all you East Side Massif too!

Okay, back down to earth, I am back from Brisbane for good. Staying near the workplace too, which is good. More sleep is always good. My new pad is quite nice too. Nicely furnished. Just need to add some personal touches here and there.

And of course, first things first, I am hooked on to the internet. And no thieving involved this time. In fact, I think I better prevent some enterprising kid out there from getting free internet.

Work will start again on Monday. Should be loads of fun. Can't wait.