:: siboney...2046 ::

still in in my singapore-state-of-mind....been listening to the soundtrack again today. don't ask me..i just can't stop...damn monday blues..

so, u want to be hacked in your brains too?

here are some tunes to sample....link will expire in 7 days though...

have fun, sure...be melancholic too ;P

• track 6 - siboney (performed by connie francis)
• track 9 - casta diva, from the opera 'norma' (performed by angela gheorghiu/london symphony orchestra)
• track 10 - perfidia (performed by xaxier cugat)
• track 11 - 2046 theme (rumba version), (performed by shigeru umebayashi)

and yes...i feel loved too today....

:: mind hack ::

**added entry**

ok, ok..i will figure it out on how to 'share' these mind-hacking tunes with you all ;)
siboney.....

** ends**


not only paris hilton's cell phone has been hacked, but my mind is too, right now,...thank you very much.


blame it on 2046 soundtrack which i have been listening almost non-stop for the past week.

my singapore- state-of- mind of mine now is like tony leung's character in that movie, which really...is hard to articulate right now.

you got to be in the mood to watch this movie, i tell 'ya... the narrative is fractured and irregular...it takes lots of mind power to concentrate and to tolerate the slow paces.

but now, the tunes from that soundtrack that are stuck in my sound lobes in some corners of my brain are:

• track 4 - the christmas song - fast version (performed by shigeru umebayashi)
  
• track 6 - siboney (performed by connie francis)
• track 9 - casta diva, from the opera 'norma' (performed by angela gheorghiu/london symphony orchestra)
• track 10 - perfidia (performed by xaxier cugat)
• track 11 - main theme 2046 -rhumba version (performed by shigeru umebayashi)
• track 13 - dark chariot (performed by peer raben)
• track 14 - sysiphos at work (performed by peer raben)

if you want your mind to be hacked...let me know..i may share some of these tunes with you....

:: truth or dare : in bed with Sumoki ::

i have a confession to make.

i sleep with a neutered male cat who is 2 years old, EVERY single nite - but before you think of Michael Jackson...hold your horses.

Sumoki has been with us ever since he was a baby (around 3 months old), my sister found him at the foot of her apartment and took pity and look after him with another black tabby sibling.

one look at him was all it took, and i decided to adopt him...for life!

we had to let his black brother kitty go - we would always hope that he is also adopted too.

Sumoki is Japanese for 'Smokey" (which is the registered name at the Vet and in his certificate of being a Eunuch...hehehe), no thanks to my J-pop addiction...

Sumoki has a strange habit, almost every nite, without fail, he will make his way to my bed and will lie underneath my right armpit and rest his head on my shoulder or arm. But he knows how to divide his time well between my mom and me....in the day, he would nap with mommy and at nite, with the boss - ME.

i am amazed on how much he has grown for the past 2.5 years - he has definitely changed the household, he is the king actually.

every single thing has to be catered to his needs and temperaments...no more nice crystals for the house decor, he eats only meat that is fit for humans (they have such things for cat food), and my mom even tailored clothes for him .

right now, he is somewhere standing/lurking guard at the study and kitchen...and yes, he does cockcroaches well, thank you very much. have i also mentioned that he is toilet-trained?...and it is self-taught too..

he will enter my bedroom ater...somehow...maybe when i am in la-la land ...or sometimes, he would wake me up to make space for him in bed.

yes, he is my bed partner and i am proud to be his...

that is my truth for tonight, what is yours?

:: of tie and cheap ice cream ::

a colleague said that i looked 'spiffy' today.

well, i am spiffy alright, because i thought that i have an early last-minute presentation (which by the way, cost my beauty sleep last night)...only to be told by my house that it was a mis-communication as it is only an internal walk-through....sigh~ so much of the mad morning-drive with all the curses...

so like it or not, the tie will stay, as it is very unlikely to be seen in my current work culture (although i used to wear that everyday for the past 7 years in my previous jobs)

i've had the macdonald's ice cream cone for 25cents and luckily at suntec city..the afternooon breeze is good...although it is still humid.

i better plan to leave by 5.30pm, else i will have to pay $4.00 extra for already highly inflated parking charges after 6pm at the esplanade...


:: tie and ice-cream - colour coordinated? ::

:: how insensitive ::

the irony with my workplace now is that i have more multi-national colleagues than before.

there's belgian, canadian, indian, malaysian (3) and singapore (3) ...and there's only 9 of us in the office right now.

however, the chinese clan (4 members) in the office always speaks mandarin/cantonese among themselves, which i find disturbingly rude. the ones from malaysia are particularly closed and this 'guangxi' factor is driving me nuts...especially i find out of they got the job purely by the referals of the clan.

even though i know they are not gossiping or bitching about anyone (as i understand some mandarin) , but i find it is downright rude to speak out loud in the workplace in a language that many do not or simply did not want to listen. i am aware that their spoken english is not as fluent as mine :P but at least speak english so that we can share the conversations (at times) with everyone in the office.

if you want to speak and do not want others to hear, either speak softly or go somewhere else...marangkusheebye...

that's why my canadian colleague and myself are listening to mp3s with our big headset the whole day, i will sue this firm should i become deaf...

:: female bosses - wonder woman or wicked witches?::

In the lifestyle section of the Sunday Times, some good 3 pages were devoted on analysis, articles, scenarios and interviews about lady bosses.

With 45% of the working population are women, it is no wonder many MCP*s are reporting to a lady boss.

Of my 5 jobs so far, I have only 1 male boss and he is my current boss. The others were all women (had no chance to work for a transexual yet, unfortunately ..hehe)

Among the women, there are many differing traits and management styles. One boss was more like a mother-figure than a boss, while another was more of a KTV hostess than a leader. But I do not think that whether male or female will have any difference at how competent they are in the job.

Yes, we are different because we have different physical and perhaps, emotional attributes. But I believe ultimately, to be a good boss or not, it is really about the person's management and leadership skills - be it man, woman or transgender.

And you don't need to read all of the articles in the papers to conclude that.

*male chauvinist pig

:: Budget 2005::

damn...just a blog about cigarettes..and now, it gonna cost even more.
but it is all all bad though, couple of good stuff too...
more details here

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

• Singapore revises FY04 $1.3b deficit to $160m surplus
• Budget aims to create opportunity, build stronger community
• Government to press on with economic restructuring, give extra help those who are struggling
• Singapore must foster culture of opportunity, make economy more resilient: PM Lee
• Top personal income tax to be cut to 21% in YA06, then to 20% in YA07
• Income tax cuts to save taxpayers more than S$150m in YA06
• Stamp duty for transfer of properties into REITs waived, withholding tax on REIT distributions halved to 10% for 5 years
• Decision on casino most likely by mid-April, Tourism Board to invest $40m over 3 years to enhance Orchard Road
• Tax relief for SMEs to help cope with cash-flow problems in downturn
• Lower cost for SMEs doing business with Government
• Government to allow 1-yr loss carry-back for corporate tax, capped at $100,000
• Govt to top up $500m for Lifelong Learning Fund to help worker re-skilling
• Govt to finetune foreign worker policies to allow controlled inflow, firms heeding more foreign workers can hire beyond dependency ceiling
• Another 3% cut in ministry budgets, for total reduction of 5%
• No move to current year basis of assessment for income tax
• One-off $100 top-up to Edusave account of primary, secondary students
• $50-$350 Medisave top-ups for adult Singaporeans, depending on age
• $100 top-up for CPF Special accounts for 50-year-olds & above
• Liberalise co-savings portion of Baby Bonus for child's development
• Foreign maid levy cut by $50 with effect from 1 Apr 2005
• Excise duty for cigarettes to rise 20%
• Horse betting duty doubles to 25% of gross betting profits

:: smoking itch ::

a fellow blogger, trisha has a smoking itch.

so she has decided to whoop out her culinary skills to a good cause to combat the urge to smoke...after all, it has since been 5 years since she ever lay her lips to the ciggies :)

fortunately for me, i am blessed with good genes of not having any cigarette cravings, i just don't and don't ask me why.

until now, even if i had smoke a stick or a pack, i have never felt the urge to continue the next day/week.month...whatever

my last ciggie was during the lunar new year eve and i have not touched any eversince....i have many unopened cigarettes at home (courtesy of my trips to JB).

and no, i am not in denial...



-- smoking is bad, but sucking your mouth to look like Naomi Campbell...disasterous!--

:: healthy guide for men and boys ::

here's some advise on "Keeping Fit: A Health Exhibit for Men and Boys".



I am going home now to bathe :P

via : The Ultimate Insult

:: total defence day ::

today at 12.00 noon sharp, the civil defence sounded the public alarm system to commemorate the total defence day.

today, too, some 60 years ago, singapore was attacked and occupied by japan and renaned "syonan-to".

i wonder, if we are still being a japanese colony, what will i become?
will my japanese be superb?
will i end up being the next ken hirai?
will i have sharper nose?

oh....what ifs...

:: i survived VD! ::

valentine's day is one of the corniest and mushiest nite ever...especially with what i call the 'awkward couples-syndrome' whereby ordinary and plain boys and girls are walking in the air of cupid, holding the roses, bear, toys, chocolates, etc...., but yet 'pai-seh' at the same time.....like want and don't want like that....you know what i mean. they are sure to fail in any catwalk or beauty pagent.

relax lah people, today is the day that you can show off...that you too, are now a couple and have VD presents and say I Lup you. it is your day....so cherish and chest-up and walk up high..

anyhow, even though it is now past my bed-time, i am still gleeming.

despite of the face that my face is full of non-productive oil, my hair is in the mess and i have not showered for more than 12 hours ;p

but i am not complaining ... coz love is really all around - for the ah bengs, ah lians, the mats, minahs, tangechis and so on... even for the good old moi :)


too blurr coz today many people are blind what...

**stupid gleeming self-pic deleted**

:: buble to get in the mood ::

michael buble and hirai ken CD purchases for Valentine's Day today....



- ken hirai is so damn talented -




- Michael Buble trying hard not to look like Bubbles, MJ's old chimp-

jalan-jalan kebun bunga*

i think, for most men and (perhaps some ladies too), to say that 'i like walking in the park' is outright phoney - especially so when it is used as part of the whole courtship process.

phoney or romantic or otherwise - i don't give a shite about what others think.

well, i am not sure if walking in the park can be listed as one of my hobbies, but it is definitely one of my favourite activities (besides sleeping and being a couch-potato).

with good weather, good running shoes, a digi-cam and free parking, i went to the botanic gardens (bukit timah sector) for a lovely stroll in the evening.

it is just me and my cam...



however, the real reason of my walk in the park today is to check out if roller-blading is allowed at the botanic gardens or not.

if yes, i wanna know if the slopes and distance are sufficient for my blading workouts.

if not, i am really, really, really disappointed.

the verdict is shown below:



sigh! like anything that has links with the government, it has its rules and regulations everywhere!!

*for those who are national-language-challenged, it means walking at botanic gardens

:: imagination run wild ::

Chinese New Year dawn...at lonely road 


a friend of mine (ie: Bob) has this HUGE 3-and-a-half storey townhouse somewhere at the private estates of Bukit Timah.

his place is one of our favourite hangouts to chill and merriment.

at the stroke of mid-nite to mark the beginning of the year of rooster, i remembered that our conversations revolved around the ridiculous job offers of a lawyer-friend (who has just returned for good from europe and usa for the past 2 years). he mentioned that the salary offered to him by the 2 local law firms here was what he was paid in 1990, yada yada...

anyhow....

let's just say that the nite ended when most of my friends were knocked out from all the booze...except yours truly :)

they stayed over at bob's while I left around 4.30 am.

now. you tell me.

1) the distance from the house to the main road is some 1.5 km away (yeah, i had the distance measured when i drove there before).

2) the road name is called "Kampong Chantek" (which is still retaining its old Malay spelling, and it means "Beautiful Village"). the old village was reputed to be spooky and haunted. there was even an old tale made into the TV show in channel 5.

3) i did not drive that night.

naturally, the best thing to do is to call a cab. but it would take me some 10 minutes before the taxi reached there.

since i am the sort who do not like to cause any anxiety attacks to taxi drivers (especially at a dead-end quiet road), i decided to go to the guardhouse and wait for the cab there.

bad mistake.

1) the guard was asleep...see even took that shot via my mobile cam. so, no little talks.

2) the damn road was damn quiet and eerie....too many nite creature sounds...i was trying to get my imagination at work so that i will be fully prepared if there should be any 'pontianak' (ie: malay vampire) that lurked. i imagined seeing her on top of trees, or a hand tapping my shoulder, etc etc....

3) i was kinda excited to meet the prospect of a beautiful woman in white walking alone of the street...but it didn't happen :(

finally, the taxi arrived and i just plonked my ass to the seat and doze off until i reached the my home.

guess all that imagination might of helped to prevent any encounter of 'what-ifs', because so far, my encounters with the other side has been warm and cordial....

:: an assh**e equivalent to the face::

:: beauty suspects:: 


it is said that the assh**e is the boss of all human organs. without it, all system will crash.

i think the same for anyone with regards to their appearance, especially to the face, is a good skin.

which is why i really, really hated acne and pimples.

during puberty and teenage years, i always wish that i will be older. quickly.
so that there will not be any more pimples too.

when i am older and wiser now, those stupid pimples still appear on my face.
it is not that i neglected basic routine of cleaning, toning and moisturizing, well, you see ... i had a lot of such products.

label me all you want...metrosexual or whatever crap it is. for me, it is just to take care of basic hygiene of clean skin.

and may i add...these products are for MAN's skin, as i read somewhere that our skin is thicker and rougher than the ladies (with pun intended, of course).

i think i must have spent quite a bit -- any brands with 'homme' is in it, you can bet that i have bought it. but i am not going to name drop here, else some think that i am a 'designer-brand' ______ (fill in your own label here).

BUT when it comes to the crunch...i realised i don't have anything to kill the bloody pimples on my face, which would appear as and when they please.

maybe if i was born somewhere with four seasons, maybe my skin will be like aaron kwok's and andy lau's?

anyone with any suggestion?

::cock-a-doodle::

Gong Xi Fa Cai...ang pow na lai! (hee2)

Prosperous and Lots of Fortune for the Year of the Rooster (ie: cock).
May you have more luck and much joy this time around.

ps: for those who are going for CNY visiting, please dress nicely, won't you. I saw so many today that wear clothes that I would wear at home or to the neighbourhood shops.....please people, it's the New Year....

:: of sand dunes and tunes...:

**added**

with special thanks to cowboy caleb's comments, this is the link to 'sample' (ie: download) this song.

ps: better be quick, it will expire in 7 days...period.
**

"If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air,
quaint little villages here and there...""
(repete muitas vezes)

- At The River, Groove Armada

That tune has been going on and on my head since yesterday.
But it is not fatal enough to be another song addict.

ps: no thanks to the 'house by the river' ads shown on TV. can't remember which development it was for, guess its one near the harbour front

::jay leno and liquid input/output::

i removed the surgical tape from my chin today.

it still swell like hell and my lower lip and jaw are numb.

and i have the chin of Jay Leno.

the stiches are looking fine, within the confinement of my mouth, of course - as i did not want to have any scars should the stiches be done ON my chin.

my brother said that i look so much older with this kind of jaw/chin. well, what did he expect? it was swelling and bruising internally.

i still have to remove the stiches on chinese new year's eve.

on another scientific note - due to the liquid diet, everything that came out of me is liquid form too (gross, but you get my drift :P)


::jay leno anyone? what say you?::


::freddie krueger with his metal teeth anyone?::

:: on MC liao ::

i am in pain right now.

luckily for the pain-killers, else, i do not know what to do.

i had a mini-surgery just now, and the pain from all that stiching has started to surface few hours after that.

you see, i fell and had few cuts in my gum and jaw.

the doctor had it stiched up and i am on medical leave until chinese new year eve.

oh well...swell!

ps: luckily i had tons of dvds from my shopping spree on monday, maybe i will do some movie review, ala agentX.