For all man are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall -1Peter 1:24

Monday, December 31, 2007

Girly Mannnn!

Indian Thriller with English Lyrics!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKcevMFUCo


Someone took a MV segment from an Indian movie and did the lyrics of the song for what it sounds like in English, (not its translation). And so, the subtitles are just plain nonsense. Hilarious!

Released Dec2006, google for it and we can see Girly Man making hall of fame in countless humor sites

"GOSH, my old calculator ain't got a bow.
nippley man I met, he ate my motorboat!"

Thursday, December 27, 2007

College Saga - A Final Fantasy VII Parody Video

Video of the month
Quoting from GameAxis Magazine where I found this:
"Folks there is simply no contest for the hilarity of this video. Anyone that has played a final fantasy RPG has to check this out. You'll laugh, you'll cry. But mostly you'll cry because you'll be laughing so hard."















I agree.

"College saga is the deranged creation of Mark Leung who is an obvious lifelong fan of the venerable Final Fantasy series of RPGs. IN what is one of the most hilarious and diabolically twisted low-budget videos I've ever seen, he tells the story of an adventure called "College Saga" as performed like a live action version of a Final Fantasy game. Combat, FF style as done in real life, is just about the funniest thing I've seen."

Enter College Saga

The high quality videos on the site doesn't seem to load very well, so here's the Youtube link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPutYwiiE0o

Note: If you've never played any Final Fantasy games before, you'll probably not understand this.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

原者上钩 2007 December

Finally broke my jinx* and caught 5 fishes in a row. Never mind that 3 were inedible and the remainder were hardly large enough for the dinner table. A catch was a catch. I will no longer be mocked by the "No Pressure" catch phase.

See the photos here 2007 Dec Boat Fishing

The Storm
Half the time it was raining, varying from moderate showers to heavy storms. Once again we made fun of Mike**.

The Boatman's Tale
Our boatman Ah Loong, spoke of the worst customers he encountered. A group which demanded to ONLY catch specific species and above the 3kg mark. An unrealistic feat that rarely happens in Singapore waters, not to mention uncontrollable by the boatman.
Although they landed several 1kg fishes, which was excellent by today's standard, the ametuers continued to throw tantrums.
Eventually, Loong decided enough was enough. He returned to shore and sent them off. To hear Loong put it “你们去NTUC,一定有五公金的!”taking in stride them making good the threats not to pay up. “不要紧,不用还我钱,你们就去NTUC买吧”

In mockery of those losers, we spend the rest of the trip demanding 5kg fishes...

*By chance, or some unknown reason, I was not able to catch anything for the last three trips. Not even a nibble, while the others were doing reasonably fine.

**It always seems to rain whenever Mike is around. On a few occasions, the rain literally arrives (and leaves) with the man. We nicknamed him 'Rain Man' and even tho I do not believe in superstitions, it was still fun to have someone to 'blame ' for the rain. Especially when there was little else to do while waiting for the storm to cease.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Mortality draws near

Fell sick agin.
Went to 老爷's mother's 60th birthday dinner, and I can't touch the wine. Couldn't even enjoy myself as I felt so tired. What a shame.

Been falling ill nearly every fortnight or so. Wtf's going on? Where is that infinite energy I used to be able to draw upon?
老爷 said I used to be quite healthy.
Momo said I seemed to have lost my drive.
CK thinks I pushed myself too hard and should learn to let go

"Greatness has its own rewards... and its own terrible costs."

Maybe I've finally depleted all my resources. Have I really that little to spare? Or have I, in all my unrealistic expectations, simply forced this body beyond it's natural limits too often and now am feeling the side effects? Could be I'm meant to die young.

But still, unlike most people, I have little regrets, have always tried my best, with no loose ends or unfinished business. Sooner or later I'll meet God, if my time comes early, so be it.

Lyrics: The Real Folk Blues
Original: Doro no kawa ni tsukatta, Jinsei mo waruku wa nai, Ichido kiri de owarunara
Tranlated: Sitting in muddy water, isn't such a bad life, if it ends after the first time

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Casually seeking some semblence of sanity

Following yesterday's ordeal, I've developed a new level of intolerance for alcohol. Its time to quit drinking once more.

I did a quick review. It seems my options are getting lesser when it comes to ordering drinks. Luckily there still is a reasonable list of available options for now.

Drinks I absolutely cannot take...
Soft drinks (Sugar)
Coffee (caffeine)

Drinks I am reluctant to take...
White wine (Phobia)
Beer (Phobia)
Hard liquor
Champaign (Phobia)
Chinese Tea (Insomnia)

Drinks I can still take for now...
Fruit juice
Red wine
Herbal drinks
Soup
Soya Bean
Green Tea
Pokka Carrot
Milo

Favorite Drinks...
Plain water
Ice water
Ice water with lemon
Warm water
Water on the rocks
Mineral water
Condensation...

Friday, December 14, 2007

Many many dancing bright lights. *stumble*

Woke up at 6.30am and the room was still spinning. Somebody get the number of that truck that just hit me.

Then I remember, I drank a bit last night.

Now is this what a hangover feels like? (since I never had one before) Somehow I'm more convinced its simply the effect of the sheer volume of alcohol still circulating my systems.

Went on to work in a semi-charmed state, greeting colleagues in a half-hearted manner. It somewhat cleared up after having Bak Kut Teh soup for lunch.

+ Evening +
It was either the after effects of drinking, or my latent dislike for working late. Was feeling awkwardly low morale and it didn't helped that Mother reminded me of Father's bankruptcy debts the moment I got home.

I've decided I still hate working in operations. Will take on the current role with a mission based approach. The only way I could beat this is by knowing it is short term. Therefore I'll excel in the job, so that I can quickly 'graduate' and move on. 述战述绝..

Thursday, December 13, 2007

We might have drank a fountain dry.

Was on leave and I went to Bottles & Bottles again as I couldn't forget the good wine.
With Chunz and Clarence, we had two bottles along with Sashimi and lots of chips. And they left.

Since this was Parkway Parade afterall, 老爷 came down to join me, along with a gang of his UTi colleagues, including Larry and Wei Khyuan. We had Oysters and sashimi and drank on till 9pm.
Then Momo and Elaine showed up too. We drank more and had sashimi again.

I had been drinking for 8hrs non-stop! Thats a new high, pun intended.
Far too much.
Reached home and hit the sack immediately, since I have to work the next day.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Bottles & Bottles

老爷Introduced us to this new wine shop located in the basement of Parkway Parade. Priced competively, with a bottle for SGD18.00, no corkage, and you can even bring your own food*.

*We got some shashimi from the nearby Japanese specialist store. Sashimi with wine was good. I'm managed to put behind my dislike for sashimi**

**Used to love sashimi until I went to a buffet and devoured an inhuman quantity. That time I still had a black hole inside my stomach. But nonetheless, I got pretty sick of the taste of uncooked dead fish.

Bottles & Bottles
A web search shows a few other branches across the island, the following is not a complete list.

Parkway Parade
Tanglin
Vivo City

Year end performance appraisal 2007

This time was refreshingly quick*, finishing within a clean half-hour, with both of us trying to rush it. My scores dropped as expected**, but *** SENSITIVE DATA DELETED *** I was better off focusing on the big picture. That seemed to sit well with her.

Overall it was still an above average mark, but it was not encouraging, that she was never able to move beyond her original perception. For the fifth time or so, I was exposed to another variation of this speech:

*** SENSITIVE DATA DELETED *** I chose to humbly agree with her, and asked for a pay increment.

*The June appraisal took 2 hours.
**Its the trend with appraisals by her


*Quote of the day*
Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Change is preferable to extinction

Air Export. Is the department that I have transferred to.
Today is my the first day as a Console Planner and I report to 夫人

Was feeling melancholic, as I unceremoniously evicted my former desk, early in the morning, before the 3rd floor denizens begun showing. Despite the preparations, leaving the CAM team was still a heavy hearted affair, particularly at the point when Momo asked if everything was alright.

But to be honest, that's only because I've gotten too soft and allowed myself to get entrenched in a comfort zone. It is now difficult to uproot myself, and all the more I should, while I still can. This will be a good change, to force myself into unfamiliar territory, take on new skills, and hone my edge once again.
In an awkward twist of fact, this change also draws some parallels to my previous company (which I despise). Albeit in a reversed fashion:
  1. My constant transition from one department after another, usually within overnight notices*.
  2. Ostracized framed and banished by team mates which I didn't cared about.
  3. Developing a phobia of console planners due to the years of intimidation by the CRCP aunties and ah lians.**

Back then, I was no more than a fortune hunter, with nothing to lose. Switching around was nothing more than changing desks among people who happened to be in the same team.
Unlike now, surrounded by friends, and with a good reason not to give up.

Also, what better way to overcome the phobia, than to become a planner myself.


*FLASHBACK: Back then in the old company, a conversation that went like this with my skeptical patron.

A####t (the CS AGM): ..would you like to..
Me: *interrupts* I'll do my best Sir.
A####t: well, the reason I...
Me: Yes, I understand there will be no increments for this.
A####t: the Motorola team is a challenging posting and I want your promise to stay on for at least half a year.
Me: *with a mad man's grin* I look forward to the training.
A####t: *in a last ditch attempt to frighten me off* ok I'll call E***** your new Manager immediately, and he'll bring you down tomorrow morning.
Me: Thank you for the opportunity
A####t: *a look of disbelief*

**There are exceptions of course. J was one of the kindest person to me during that dark period