What is to be done...

Ralph has got to be one of the most comical names in human history. Before that would be Bozo and after it, well, Buddy would seem appropriate.

I have no idea why I'm opening the post with this but it just occurred to me.

Anyway, I once mentioned before that a probable impossibility is preferable to an improbable possibility. What I'm going through now, has the virtue of both being improbable as well as impossible.

How's that for firmly getting a fix?

In any case, I'm chasing the dream, not quite living it yet so I'll still have to give myself some time; also, I think that there's little doubt after Saturday's event that I've officially been appointed the company's photographer which means that I get to attend almost every event organised.

Which is good actually because not only are the staff encouraged to go to company organized events, they're required to and I have a specific task to perform each and every time. It gives me an objective as well.

And today's word of the day is...Permutation a significantly more commonly used word than the others that I've put up so far.

Sun, Sand, Surf and BOTEF!

Well done and not medium rare is what I'd have to call my skin at this moment. If someone were to ask me to discribe myself in 2 words, it'd be "Simply Red" <- this courtesy of Shaun who as it turned out, become redder (if that is at all possible) than me.

By the end of the day, he pretty much looked like a cooked lobster absolutely glowing red.



Battle of The EPL Fans (BOTEF for short) was organized by SAFRA Radio stations Power98FM and 883Jia FM. The event was held at Sentosa (yeap...the perfect place to get burnt under the sun. Actually, the weather was a little threatening in the morning but the winds co-opereated and sent the clouds packing and scurrying which meant loads of sunblock for us office dwellers.



The Nivea tent was a godsend to some of us and the babes at the Nivea tent were hot (metaphorically as well as literally).

Being my first on-site event, I must say that I had a great time there as well. Most of us were busy with tasks given and my job was photography. I must say, having shot whole day events before, this was a heck of a lot easier. It also gave me more opportunities to hide from the sun compared to what some of the other guys had to do.

The photos of the event itself are HERE and leave a comment if you feel that a shot grabbed your attention.

I must add now though that a thurough cleaning of my gear would seriously be required.

Some of us were busy playing Futsal, and some others, well...this is what the spouses and children did...



There were the SAFFC players..



There were VIPS...



And...there were Babes and Hunks!








New word for the day : Soliloquy

Ah...the Nostalgia...

I don't know if you remember this but when I was in like my second year of kindergarten or primary 1, they had this cartoon going on Channel 10 (RTM 2 I think). After searching for it, I managed to track it down.

This was one of the most beautiful theme songs for a cartoon that I've heard. Almost brought a tear to me eye.

After remembering this cartoon, I sorta began digging for others and found this one too.



Remember Marine Boy? He had to chew some gum in order to breathe underwater...hahaha...

I'm gonna go search for more nostalgic TV Series Opening themes! :P

New Word : Syllogism

There's nothing worse than...

The inability to follow simple instructions...



We ordered a meal from McD's and asked for delivery. Because we're in a secure location they have to wait outside and call my mobile number which was clearly given and repeated back to me upon arrival.

Well, through the chain of command, my instructions must have been truncated since I never got the call from the delivery dude. Suffice it to say, that the main delivery office called me up and claimed that the guy called and someone who was my namesake said that they didn't order anything.

When I went down to the guardroom, the said that the delivery dude did turn up, didn't call but instead, asked the guards on duty if anyone ordered a meal from McDs to have it delivered. Of course, those poor 19 year-olds would say no because they didn't have a clue as to who ordered the friggin meal. That's was why I had pre-arranged for them to bloody call my mobile phone instead.

Anyway, besides that, the straws that came were broken and the curry sauce that I asked for with my nuggets didn't come but was given 2 packets of BBQ sauce instead. Geez! I guess even with all this technology of a central call centre/logistical distribution to the nearest restaurant for delivery etc, it still pins down to the guy that has to take the instructions and follow them.

God!

Word of the day : Megalomaniac <-- does it describe me well?

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

I think I suffer from that Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde type of schizophrenia. After all, once in a while, I do believe that I can be the Sensitive Peace-Loving, Tree-Hugging, Environmentalist/lobbyist Guy and other times, I turn into Mr Dominating Elitist All-brawn No Brain Fascist Pig.

Those that know me well enough would probably have seen both of these characteristics (especially the latter) pop up.

In any case, I feel rather tired that my relationships aren't getting anywhere. The job's really great so career-wise, I ain't got no complaints there. When it comes to relationships though, I think I've stagnated. I'd love to move forward but I seem to he held back all the time.

If it's not one thing, it's another. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong but it's probably and possibly due to the fact that I try too hard and not let things progress naturally. In any case, it's stuck in 2nd gear and it's quite uncomfortable.

Well, I found out that I've been requested by the highest authority sitting in our office to be the official photographer for this coming weekend's event, Battle of the EPL Fans (BOTEF). At least I get to go on site for the event...heh. It's gonna be great.

I've also managed to get the Photoshop software working on this Mac so it's gonna be great working on the pictures. Now all I need is to calibrate the display so that it renders the colours accurately.

Interestingly, there are only 2 words in common usage that end with 'gry'. Angry and hungry. The rest are not common usage words and can probably only be found in the complete oxford dictionary.

Word of the day: Neologism - Podcast is an example.

MacIntel Whispers the Time!

Yup...it does! You can set the clock to tell you the time every hour on the hour, more or less...I've set mine to talk to me, thus keeping me company once every 15 minutes.

I think I'm coming down with something...I've just about sneezed my nose silly, my eyes are swollen and I've got this uneasy, heaty feeling within. I sure hope I don't come down with anything though. I'm pretty sure the flu bug's running rampant though.

KXXZ is back! She's down with the flu though (but I'm pretty sure I'm not getting sick cause of her). She insists that eating ice-cream while having a bad cough will not make it worse...well, I rest my case.

Went to the lawyers today to get the property transferred from dad to mom and me. I guess they're really going forward with the divorce. I don't know why but I feel so caught in between them...I hate it. So many things to hide from parents, and having to take sides, that's the crappiest of crappy crap.

Anyway, I'm just rambling on and on and on...

Apparently, there's only one word in standard english usage that has 5 consecutive vowels. It's "Rousseauian". What does it mean? Well, according to the Oxford Dictionary, it means "pertaining to Rousseau or his views on religion, politics, education, etc." his full name's Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Well, whoever that was :P...I better go wiki it up.

How I wish I had a page on wikipedia dedicated to me...I also wish my name was as cool and had a Jean-Jacques or Jean-Luc in there somewhere.

Well, that was the word of the day...

Weekend's Over...

So a relatively uneventful weekend and it's over. Was out at ECP last night with Damian and gang...the usual. Nothing much to report happening there though.

So how do you console a friend whose GF has been caught cheating on him? At the same time, he's inconsolable as well as insecure. Would it work by bringing out clubbing and introducing him to more potential "players" out there?

In the end, he might curse at you for going along in the first place. I guess the only solace one can find in such a situation is in believing in oneself and keeping busy. With what though...I guess there're a million things one can do or think of to keep busy. Oh well...

I've been in those shoes before and I must say that it hasn't been a very nice experience.

I've got a pretty busy week ahead and I suppose that's good too. We'll see what crops up this coming week after the return of KXXZ

Word of the day: Polyglot

I'm on air!!!!

Guess WHAT!?

My first lines on air are "Brudder, must be disciplined. We are preparing for the SAFRA Benjamin Sheares Bridge run and Army Half Marathon."

So if you hear that on the air, you'll know who said it. Heh.

So what's been going on lately? Nothing much actually. Apart from the routine stuff that I'm tasked to do, once in a while, something interesting happens although today is not one of those days.

Amy did mention that someone told her that I'm very young...I do wonder who it would be that mentioned that to her. The fact of the matter is that I'm like the 5th oldest person in the company.

I think maybe when I renew my contract, I might ask for a different position...who knows? That's like 2 years away from now though so I've got plenty of time to practice.

I'm beginning to miss KXXZ who's spending the next few days in HK.

Next movie on my list after watching The Transformers will be The Simpsons. Can't wait for free time to go watch it.

Well, here's to working towards my celebrity status.

Word of the day : Interregnum

From 1986 to 2007...

"One shall stand, one shall fall" - Optimus Prime.

This is the exact same line spoken in the 1986 Transformers : The movie by Optimus Prime just before the big battle. As homage to the original, that same line was said in the Transformers 2007 movie as well. How cool is that?

With digital technology the way it is today, comic book heros are no longer restrained to the comic books. And what was seemingly impossible back in the 1980s and 1990s is now brought to life in such a spectacular manner.

It's interesting to note though that Star Wars, Ep. I, II and III does suffer from unrealistic CGI characters (a tall lengthy Jar Jar Binks being a prime example). Comparatively, I've always felt that Micheal Bay Movies had better CGI work. Take Bad Boys for example, you probably didn't even realise that there was CG Involved right?

There ya have it...

Word of the day : Punctilious

Sleep...eat...whatever...

Lets see, according to my calculations I stayed awake for...


OMG! 63 hours!!!! But I must admit that I wasn't alert for probably 1/2 the time I was awake with my eyes open. Catching little catnaps in between (in which the longest lasted for 45 minutes) did help though.

Cigarettes help as well.

Carl's Jr. Makes the best burgers, period. I seriously always enjoy the Bacon Double Western thingamajig.
It wasn't as messy as I thought it would've been though. I'm getting skilled @ burger munching. Anyway, dinner with KXXZ was great but sometimes I wonder if she really enjoys my company. Well, I guess I'd have to keep wondering.

There are TV series and then there's "The West Wing"...I've always enjoyed watching stuff written by Aaron Sorkin.

I must say that it did become less witty and interesting after the departure of Sorkin at the end of the fourth season. Naturally, their ratings took a nosedive as well. Of course there will be some fans out there of the series that are trying to get NBC to continue probably to like the 10th season or something.

How many times have I watched an rewatched the series...it's time I completed my collection and bought season 7...the final. I must say though that I think not enough credit has been given to the casting director because without such a great cast, it wouldn't be as good.

Oh well, sometimes, things just fall into place for no apparent reason and they also sometimes fall apart for no apparent reason.

I STILL LOVE MY MacINTEL!

I'm gonna start a section on "New Word of the day".

Today's new word is : Anthropomorpic

MacIntel...Hahaha!

Yeap...it's just another day. Amazingly, I had dinner with KXXZ @ Botak Jones. According to KXXZ, the hungry one will get his/her food last. In the case of today, her prediction came true. So I was enjoying myself stuffing her with chips from my Hot Dog set.

It was a rather good dinner actually. It also gave me the opportunity to flip flop and pour out my frustrations over the past few days, weeks, months and years. At least she can offer a listening ear which is really nice.

Dinner ended on a pretty good note for me although I keep wondering if that was true for her as well. In any case, I shall learn from Commander Taggart (of NSEA Protector) to "Never Give Up, Never Surrender!".

Lets see what happens after...

I did mention to her though that to live a moment of happiness is better than not to have experienced that happiness at all.

Oh...I've got my Mac X86 wireless working by using the D-Link DWL-G122 USB


I've also got an external speaker hooked up to the Travel Pac USB Audio device because the internal SoundMAX 1986 card doesn't seem to have any Mac drivers. So, the Philips speakers are doing their job pretty well.



So the final setup of the Asus A8Fseries laptop running Mac OS X 10.4.9 looks kinda like this:

Big Ass TV

Well, not as big as my old projector but 40 inches is pretty decent don't you think?

Went down to collect the "free gift" of an LG Home Theatre System only to find out that the wait was over an hour. Also, the friggin box is HUGE!

Word of advice to marketing managers out there...it's a bad idea to let 3rd parties handle freebie collections. RewardsLink was the place to go collect the HT set. Guess what? The queue of over an hour was also due to the fact that they were friggin understaffed. Out of 5 counters available, only 2 were manned. Can you imagine?

Obviously, the other three counters are meant to look impressive and serve no other purpose.

I feel that LG should've allowed people to collect their so-called "free gifts" wherever they purchased the principle product from. That would save a huge hassle of going downtown, thus incurring furter costs (such as parking, ERP and transport) to pick up the product.

Also, they ought to have a warning to inform people of the size of the box the HT system came in...most were taken by surprise. The fact that the collection place was so understaffed meant that customers couldn't get a hand in bringing the product to their cars.

The hotline? Gosh, I don't know why they even bother with it. It's impossible to get through and if you ask me, it's probably because they've left the phone off the hook...

Oh well...this is called service HAHAHA!

Night Shift...

It's the night shift in the studios again...

Oh...and I recently grabbed the picture taken by Vincent (Nightlife Sg - my namesake) of us guys @ Double-O for the Kawaii event.



Quite a good night for the three of them and Damian got sabo-ed by us too! Hahaha!

In any case, the night shift affords me some time between doing maintenance and writing my blog. I've also got this other photo of myself playing DJ in the OAS.



I'm still wondering what it is about me that makes me attracted to the wrong people...Oh well...I'll have to keep wondering I guess.

Out of it...

I'm so freaking out of it that everything's an eye opener for me now.

What am I referring to? The clubbing scene that is...

I guess after abstinence for so long, it's only fair to say that I'm no longer with the 'in' crowd. Things are gonna change though cuz tonight at Double-O, I began to realise what I've missed for the past couple of years.

Time for me to move back into the scene before I pass my use-by date. Hah! It was good fun today with D taking the stage and making a fool of himself infront of all of us (and for the benefit of some girls). I say girls because women and ladies would probably not find him as attractive. Youth has its benefits I suppose...

Damn, I sound like a grumpy old man now...

Suckers...

Sometimes, I just wonder what will make me learn the lesson...

Am I such a masochist? or just plain suckered?

When matters of the heart are concerned, I guess I'll never learn from the past. It's kinda like a cycle which happens to me once a year or more...

Lets see....it started post-puberty when I was 14 and it's been having it's semi-annual cycle...

As usual, in the end I get burned but what do I do? Never give up hope...geez.

Such is the power of nature and instinct that I doubt if I'll ever stop. Heh....

Sometimes I wonder...

If I'm placed so low on the "strategically important" list of people that they tend to forget that I exist...

In any case, the dust has pretty much settled on how I feel so it's of little consequence to anyone out there. I just got back from getting a new backup drive which is 500gigs...at least now I can copy the stuff over from the 320 gig drive that I got that's a little defective.

In any case, my tossup now is...should I get another 300gig drive as a replacement? Do I really need that much space?

Yeah, the mind boggling things that I think about. I'm beginning to feel that 1 terabyte ain't enough for all the stuff I had...minus the 120 gigs that I lost when my friggin Seagate died on me. Not to mention the fact that even though I purchased the HDD in 2003, the warranty started from 2002 which means that its 5 years are up. Dammit.

Contradictions...

"Woman's at best a contradiction still." - Alexander Pope

It's strange that one would contradict oneself without knowing it. Perhaps given the situation, one might not realize the contradiction at that point in time.

Women and time are contradictions. One complains about another forgetting the time after falling asleep yet while having a conversation with another friend, she forgets the time herself.

Having passed on other appointments on a saturday night I was eager to at last be able to spend more time together. But alas, it was not to be. Oh well, I shall be magnanimous and say that it's okay, and that it happens especially when conversations about the heart, family and relationships are concerned...NOT!

It was a sore spot I guess which ruined an entire evening for me. Having spent hours driving around wandering aimlessly while waiting for "the call' which never came to be. I guess it's the kinda thing that happens to me more than to others.

The person in question would obviously be reading this and might or might not be bothered about the fact that I was. I guess I did make good use of the earlier time I spent waiting grabbing some songs from my CD collection and compiling them into 1 disc. At least it wasn't a complete waste of my evening...

Aristotle...

"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

However, in this case, it should read

"Improbable possibilities are to be preferred to probable impossibilities."

Confused? Yeah you ought to be. This is almost exactly how I felt after having a conversation tonight. Now I won't go into details as to the conversation per se but suffice it to say, that I was probably more confused after it than before it. This is begging for another quote "Post Hoc, Ergo Procter Hoc" or "After it, therefore because of it"

Once again, I am left with a greater dilemma than ever; but as someone very close has mentioned very recently that, "matters of the heart are both confusing and complicated." I couldn't agree more except that my heart is very clear, so is my conscience but I'm confused as to the reaction I received.

In any case, I have no choice but to keep pursuing the matter I suppose until one day, it can be resolved. I need more resolve than what I have now so it's time for high resolutions. Hahaha!

Interestingly as well, I was dropped a bombshell in that that particular heart belongs to another. Well, the ironies in life never stop and fail to amuse me. For once I thought things were great and well...as usual, it got worse again.

C'est la vie, eh?

What's going on?

Things are falling into place, 1 piece at a time. But matters of the mind and heart are pretty different. How does one regard the confusion that sets in when matters of the heart are concerned? It's close to impossible.

But then, impossible is possible with an im....

Does one draw courage from knowing the fact that matters of the heart can and often destroy friendships?

It's such a catch 22...

Power sial!

Hey...it's been a while since I've updated this page. Many apologies to my faithful readers out there. It's been a pretty hectic couple of weeks really. With the job interview that lasted for 3 hours, the contract signing which took another 2, and the super rush to start the job (within 3 days of signing the contract).

That didn't give much time for it to sink in...that I'm now at least getting paid on a regular basis. Hahaha!

The pay was a little disappointing but it doesn't matter cuz it'z the working environment that's important (well, at least it is to me). The people are nice and friendly and even the big boss gave me a nice first-day talk which is pretty rare here.

I must say that I enjoyed my first day at the station so it looks like a good start.

Hope everyone's been doing well too!