:: 28 june 07 ::

this time round, the trip home to singapore is particularly painful - on this day, my brother-in-law has passed away...

i don't blog much private matters since i started, but in memory of this unfortunate and tragic day - i dedicate the entry to the first person whom i called an 'in-law' from a tender age of 5 .

sigh...i just can't write about this day, let this painful memories remain private...i'm sorry...

aGentX

:: death of a wrestler is very major news for berita harian ::

and it occupied 75% of the front page - for both printed and cybernews...

if not for my mom, i would not have bothered to pay a single cent for this junk! and i did not even bother to take a photo for the printed news, trust me, this single news is more news-worthy than tony blair's last day in office...to the folks at berita harian anyways!

i did email my views to the journalist about this news taking such a prominent spot.

while it is tragic, nevertheless, my main speculation is that many malays have bought the ticket for the wrestling match that will be held in singapore in 2 weeks...

pfff!

:: #1 to do list when back home - buy a Macbook ::

oh yeah, and a great book (with a nice hard shell mac cover)too...


of course, the question now is...which one of these windows notebook that i will bring along with me to my travels..




the faster one is not light, the light one is not fast enough, and the reasonable light and fast one is full of personal stuff which is not suitable for work use.

i really dislike to check in my notebooks for security clearance during flights, especially when you have to hand-in 2 notebooks for x-ray with long queues behind you.

but there are of course, worst things in life than this.

and i love my mac ;)

x

:: back in SG ::

after quite an eventful S323 flight from amsterdam to singapore.i am finally home.

two dramas:

1) an intoxicated passenger causing troubles in the plane, which required some assistance from me (to hold him down, and ask him in dutch, at the request of the flight steward of course). my reward is just words of thanks and gratitude, that's enough i guess.

2) a neighbour who lived 2 floors above me has jumped from the building. she was successful with her suicide attempt, unfortunately. my reward is that i didn't have to see through the whole ordeal (but my mom did), and by the time i arrived home, everything else is clear except for the police cars and the cleaning of the 'evidence'.

so, welcome back aGentX to Singapore (even though for a short while)

:: i am greener here than home ::

what i know for sure, is that i have become more environmentally sensitive since my arrival in the netherlands. everyone bring their own bags (or rather an expensive one to buy) when you shop at supermarkets, sorts out papers and glasses and deposit them at a local recycle bin, and gather your garbage which is collected once a week.

awareness and campaigns are just not enough - it's the infrastructure for practice and really having a civic conscious society are the key. we are required even clear our own trays at work, regardless of hierarchy (and i mean, really high level executives)...let's get inspired to do good to the environment and watch madonna's latest video below.




we can all do it...x

:: i love my SG ::

i may appear to be somewhat a "SG basher" lately (see neighbour and iGallop entries below). but trust me - i am not.

in fact, today - the last day of team workshops with folks from diverse nationalities, i do wear "Sin-Ga-Pore' t-shirt from Nike.


:: in bold 'red' some more... ::

and just because i do not blog about a nice warm feeling when i see something remotely singapore (which is very rare, honestly) does not mean that i am not fond of my country of birth.

i am just not-so-happy about the 'mis-placed pride' that many singaporeans are so guilty of. you know the same old-stories "best airport-one of the richest in asia-highest gdp-best place for expats" yada, yada .... which made us somewhat arrogant and big-headed in many aspects.
but really, when you are just a 'dot' in the map reality, nobody gives a sH*t".

to be honest, many europeans are more aware of our neighbouring countries (malaysia, indonesia and thailand) than us. many dutch have bluntly told me that singapore is never holiday destination for them, as we are not even 'asian' at all and when they asked me which place is a 'real asia', i always told them there is 'no such thing' as asia is so diverse and not so-close together like europe, africa and south americas.

so, i am happy when i see a-certain ms chong big poster in IKEA campus in netherlands....enjoy





so shiok!

:: neighbours - there and here ::

i have lived in singapore almost all my life, and all of my fond memories of neighbours happened when i was a kid - not as a house-owner. the relationships with my neighbours are cordial - simple "hellos" and "hi" when our path crossed, then closed the door and never talk again (thank you very much!)

the experience in the netherlands, have been so different for me, so far.

in less than a year of living here (at a real apartment, not at various hotels!) i have 2 summer bbq invitations (which unfortunately, i had to decline due to business trips elsewhere) , helping to keep my mail packages while i'm not home, paying for my window-cleaning services first and basically, being neighbourly.

and the latest invite that i had came literally by shouting across the balcony!
an english and taiwanese couple invited me over for tea (when it actual fact it involved kebab and snacks and lots of drinks).

the invite was spontaneous and casual - i was at my balcony, watering the flowers - they were at theirs , basically soaking the sun, and two days later, we met.

it is nice to meet new people in the strange land, and despite all, we do have lots of things in common... in this case, our love for cats, and not able to speak dutch well enough!

they have beautiful siamese (watch their youtube video below to see how really toilet-train cats are) and notice how close and adorable they are together.





and how i miss my cat, but it will be soon, when i will be home again (well, for a short trip AND the great singapore sale).

x

:: this really makes my day! ::

If you come from outside the EU or the EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein), you can still have your driving licence exchanged, if you come from one of the following countries: Andorra, Taiwan, Israel, Japan, Monaco, and the Netherlands Antilles, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

in times like this, i am glad that our driving lessons and tests are so expensive, and world-standard proof ;-)

:: 'youtube' singer makes good ::

Dutch 18-year-old Esmeé Denters is the first artist to be signed to Tennman Records, Justin Timberlake's new record label.

Denters became known worldwide on video website YouTube. The Oosterbeek native posted films of herself singing cover versions of songs from artists like Shakira and Beyoncé. Some of her videos have been viewed by 1.5 million YouTube visitors.

this youtube video tells all, enjoy!

:: i feel soo sorry for paris hilton ::

moments before she surrendered herself and go to jail - she was ridiculed 'LIVE' at the MTV movie awards 2007.

hang in there....paris! and everyone knows how i love her...

low blow sarah silverman....biatch

:: the apprentice UK and iGallop ::

the apprentice (uk version) is coming to a close soon.

however, there is some unflattering publicity about singapore's products and osim in the episode 3 weeks ago.

i managed to capture them in the repeat telecast last week ;D

look at the subtitles of the tv screen to see what i mean...










needless to say - it was not chosen by the candidates to be marketed and sold :P
so much on uniquely singapore products...

:: see what I mean? ::

even the straits times is reporting it... also news about how durai can become bankcrupt if he fails to pay $787,012 to the charity (a peanut sum in his world)

kidney donation anyone? well, i am. i hope NKF is learning something.

:: dutch controversial reality-tv triumphs! ::

there has been so much flak about the decision by the controversial BNN network to broadcast 'the great donor show' - with accusations of being in bad taste, and a new low in reality TV.

read here, here and here...

Watching the controversial 'the great donor show' - a reality program in Netherlands

From agentX Blog S...

the concept is simple: a terminally ill woman who has up to 6 months to live, choose 3 candidates out of thousands. She will make her choice based on the contestants' history, profile and conversations with their families and friends. Viewers will be able to send text messages advising her during the 80-minute show. After which, she will decide....

despite the outroars, the dutch government has decided that they cannot stop the broadcast of the show, because of the freedom of speech and liberty (and not being a nanny-state).

i was full on anticipation with my chicken rice dinner and watching the telly.

The donor interviews 3 candidates which she has selected out of thousands.



i was all nerves, until the last seconds...when they announced the 'selected' candidate.

and guess what?

it was a hoax - the show's aim is to highlight the plight of millions of kidney patients waiting patiently for kidneys and put a face on those oh-so-familiar stories. it also had resulted in more awareness in kidney donation, i believe. the 3 'candidates' are real kidney patients while the supposedly terminally ill woman is an actress.

personally, this is definitely much better publicity and it has succeeded its aims. and it is surely better than the embarassing NKF fiasco back home.

how i love the freedom of personal choice and how a civilised and mature society is at work here....

The 3 kidney patients and the presenter ..