wheezin!

day 1 in india

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:47:20 GMT

things that caught my eye

murphy

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:23:17 GMT

i don't like you murphy.

besides the traffic summon,

twice yesterday i order food and the servers forgot about our orders.

twice yesterday i kerbed my rims. on different wheels.

i don't like you murphy.

the impatient obasan

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:34:39 GMT

it's always interesting to observe the strange habits of obasans...

last week i had the opportunity to get something from old chang kee at kembangan mrt. 1 lady manning the counter, 1 frying, 1 manager in the office, and 1 on the phone for the entire 10 minutes i was stuck there.

the obasan in front of me, took a really long time deciding what she wanted, so i just stood there waiting for my turn. then in comes another obasan, one look at me, and then she promptly announces she wants 3 sardine puffs. no acknowledgement from the swamped and at this point in time, rather irritated counter lady.

to make things worse, the obasan in front of me, upon noticing that the packed of nasi lemask she chose didn't have enough peanuts/ikan bilis, very deftly swapped it for another box...

the obasan behind repeated her order a total of 3 times, before the lady behind the counter in exasperation curtly told her okay, wait.

eventually i got my items and left the shop.. rather bemused at the entire situation. never ever underestimate the obasan.

on a separate note, just kenna summon today. $&#@*$@#*$#. yellow lots in cbd need coupons till 5pm on SUNDAYS. pffft. only good thing to come out from that is the booking made at dynasty travel. ;)

walk-in fridge.. walking fridge?

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:10:32 GMT

and a follow up i thought was quite funny as well

and yes.. go watch the hangover.. its absolutely hilarious!

there's a tiger in the bathroom!~

back in sg

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:52:00 GMT

i packed my bags, checked out, went to the office and tied up some loose ends for the rest of the day, finally i bid my goodbyes to the colleagues there.

i said goodbye to the ducks too.

then i made my way to the train station and got onto the train bound for london euston.

got onto the train and had a nice view of the British countryside along the way..

was fed during the ride.. interesting bacon joint and potatoes in some gravy.. typical British chow according to the menu...

and then they managed to find the last few virgins on the island...

and then i made my way to paddington...

oh so crowded... and then onward to heathrow via the heathrow express.. it was supposed to take 15 minutes, but we got delayed for 5 because there was an infringement.. probably some poor animal strayed onto the tracks... no matter, i managed to get to heathrow on time.

and eventually i did some duty free shopping, went to the lounge and had a stella (wife beater beer, story another time), and koka instant noodles.

the flight back was relatively uneventful, except halfway through the air conditioning broke down.. but it was repaired fairly quickly.

and so now i'm back. i wonder where to next.

music soothes the savage beast

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:36:21 GMT

in this case, i'm the savage beast.

some last minute requests came in and i stayed till 8 to finish them up. while waiting for the cab i decided to listen to some music, and surprisingly, the upbeat tracks lifted my spirit. starting with lady gaga, rihanna, akon and so on.. i was grooving and nodding like a fool while waiting.

made it to the hotel in good time. the weather's been crazy. 10 minutes of sunshine, and 10 minutes of rain, but eventually it gave way to a nice breeze and beautiful wispy clouds in the sky.

i was still nodding and shaking like a fool when i got back to the room. made my way to new sum ye and got myself a dinner. and then i made my way back to the hotel bar. it's my last night here, why not i thought, and there were two clients there having their drinks. beer banter and two pints later, (3 for them), they decided it was dinnertime (10pm then), and i retired to my room...

i'm going home! i just hope there's no funny strike, or engineering works that's going to hold up the circle line from euston to paddington tomorrow.

a week or two

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:41:24 GMT

the email came out of the blue and here i am back again in birmingham.

good to be back without the lag from propagation delay. can't say much.

the trip here was mostly uneventful. having a plane that wasn't too full was a bonus. got off the plane, made my way to the heathrow express into paddington, and managed to catch a train out of euston to birmingham. the decision to not sleep on the plane finally became a bad idea when i arrived in birmingham new street station. i was cold, tired, and aching. i had strangely sprained my finger too. checked in without much hassle.

got a nice room from the holiday inn this time round. almost as big as the room at the IC tokyo bay, comes with a proper desk and the wifi connectivity's been improved as well. not sure if it's cost cutting, but there's no more complimentary chocolates or wine, but the water is still there.

was only supposed to be here for a week, but it ended up becoming two. not knowing how to spend the weekend, i paid a visit to the birmingham museum. it was an interesting experience, learning about birmingham, the bull ring, looking at stained glass up close. they have real mummies too! creepy.

well, since i'm back here, it was time to go stock up on bodyshop products. bought quite a fair bit. thankfully i'm not going to incur excess baggage charges this time round. the wii sports resort happened to launch here too. got myself the game and two motion plus add-ons. can't wait to give it a go back home. :D

when i'm back, it's time to continue shopping for a new place. getting a house in singapore is really difficult. and expensive. :(

leaving

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:12:35 GMT

going to the UK for a week. *fingers crossed.

not more than a week.

when superheroes grow old

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:39:59 GMT

by Donald Soffritti

Can you identify all of them?

hello kitty rifle!

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:26:31 GMT

hello kitty rifle... -_-

X-Men relationship map

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:00:55 GMT

Woah. Wolverine has so many links. Credits http://www.uncannyxmen.net/images/article/relationship/relationshipmapv1.htm and http://www.clubcarisma.com/viewthread.php?tid=19357

Tokyo

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:26:41 GMT

back from Tokyo.

was a 1 week break with the wife. flew SQ into Narita with a transit in Bangkok, and they made us get off, and walk one big round to board again.

the excellent cabin crew managed to rescue my personal earphones which I forgot to remove from the aircraft, and returned them to me when i re-boarded the plane. if the security crew found it, it would've become someone's brand new earphones. indeed a great way to fly.

not going to write much, as it was a whole week worth of adventure, but it was really great. 3 days in tokyo, then 1 at lake kawaguchiko at a ryokan, then back to tokyo, then 1 day in Disneyland. i'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Tokyo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyteoivan/sets/72157620714939130/

Tokyo Disneyland - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyteoivan/sets/72157620579983111/

Lake Kawaguchiko - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyteoivan/sets/72157620716831320/

i'm not exactly gone

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:31:11 GMT

but i'm not entirely here either.

it's just been pretty boring for me, with days starting at 3pm and ending at midnight, supporting a client in the UK and having to deal with a broadband connection that is best described as starhub LAGonline, coupled with a ridiculously stringent vpn system, life hasn't been worth updating at all.

but since i've returned from the land of our colonial masters, i've quite enjoyed the food, people, places, not so much of the weather, but hot beats cold and wet anytime.

and once i'm back, i get bitten by the mod virus. it's plain evil i tell you. first was the sprint booster, swapped out to the velocity, which basically is an adjustable sprint booster. then somehow the right wheel was rubbing against the bodywork, so i went to get it aligned, and it was still rubbing, and i replaced the mtech absorbers with koni fsds. occasionally there's still rubbing, but i'm not too sure why. waiting for a run up north to yong peng to figure it out.

went diving. :D

got a new lens for the camera, a 50mm f1.8/d, very happy with it. learning to do HDR now.

and last but not least, goodbye. i'll be in tokyo for a week from tomorrow. sayonara! pictures will be on flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/cyteoivan - has the last trip to barcelona, diving and all other wonderful things i could capture.

A $4.6 billion loss on a $5.9 billion dollar investment.

Tue, 19 May 2009 03:13:33 GMT

David Faber from CNBC:

“A $4.6 billion loss on a $5.9 billion dollar investment."

TPG lost $2 billion really quickly on Washington Mutual, but this one guys, is right up up there, as one of the worst investment during this period for one single investment fund.”
Now, what does the Lee family think of this latest investment loss?

Ho Ching, Temasek’s CEO, wife of Prime Minister Lee and daughter-in-law of MM Lee:
“No. I think if you want to run life with regret, you will end up doing very little.” (when asked if she had any regrets about leaving Temasek, Reuters 6 February 2009, source)

Lee Kuan Yew, GIC’s Chairman, father of Prime Minister Lee and father-in-law of Ho Ching:
“When we invest, we are investing for 10, 15, 20 years. You may look as if you are making a big loss today, but you have not borrowed money to invest. You will ride the storm, the company recovers, your shares go up.” (CNA, 7 February 2009, source)

Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore, husband of Ho Ching and son of MM Lee:
“Both Temasek and GIC are professional investment organizations, highly regarded around the world for their track record. Management hired all over the world. Boards are competent and experienced. They pursued sustainable returns over the long term, and avoided excessive risk-taking for short-term gains. Thus we have achieved good long term returns through ups and downs in the global economy and market cycles.” (in a speech on 21 October 2008, source)
Since we are investing for the long-term, why did Temasek sell of its stake in BOA so early and at such a low price? In less than a year, it lost 83% of its initial investment in Merill Lynch!
Is Temasek pursing “sustainable returns” over the long term by pulling out so early from BOA?

Does Ho Ching still have “no regrets” over such a disastrous loss? Of course she won’t, since the money is not from her own pockets.

Does Singapore still has a future when its SWFs are bleeding our precious reserves dry with such ill-judged investments?
Imagine using the $4.6 billion dollars to help ordinary Singaporeans tide over the current economic turmoil by subsidizing medical bills, providing retrenchment benefits and paying for the education of needy students.

The government kept telling the people that we should be self-reliant and not develop a clutch mentality. It is not as if it has no means to help the less fortunate in society. It is so filthy rich that it is able to blow billion dollars away in an instance without blinking an eyelid!
In her latest speech as Temasek’s CEO, Ho Ching said:
“We must do things today with tomorrow clearly in our minds. The story of Temasek is likewise a journey, each generation doing things yesterday and today with tomorrow very clearly in our minds – to make a difference to our fellow men and women, to support and build a future where Asia and Singapore can realise their full potential for their people, and to put in place the foundation for a better tomorrow.” (read her speech here)

Forget about Asia, Madam Ho. Haven’t you caused enough trouble in Thailand? Obviously the investment decisions made by you during your tenure did not take the future into account. How else can you explain the terrible losses suffered by Temasek from the purchase of Shin Corp, ABC learning and now Merrill Lynch?

The Singapore government must account to the people immediately on the latest loss by Temasek since it is a corporate entity fully owned by the Ministry of Finance which is in turn financed completely by taxpayers’ monies.

It is a shame that the PAP pay only lip service to transparency and accountability and continue to demand us to pay them exorbitant salaries only to screw up big time, again and again.

Article Extracted from wayangparty.com

mr taxi driver.

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:20:19 GMT

please look before changing lanes. i wasn't in your blind spot. i was travelling at my own lane, slowing down to turn right, you were on my right, the filter green light came on, and you did not turn, fine, but why did you have to suddenly decide you wanted the left lane and just swerving into my path?

had there been another car to my left, it would have been me sandwiched between you two... but thankfully there wasn't.

mr taxi driver, why are you on the extreme right lane of the expressway travelling at 90kmph?

knnbccb.

Please Help

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:02:16 GMT

Dear all

Please help...my friend has been feeding this pack of puppies and
their mom at Kallang Industrial Park for the past week or so now and
they are in desperately need of a home cos where they are hanging out,
there are all these trucks and cars going about and these puppies have
no idea that the cars and trucks are dangerous! Just recently, one of
the puppies accidentally fell into a drain and drowned!

So please either adopt one or pass on to your friends so they can all
be saved...incidentally, the pups are all coming to an age where their
mom will soon abandon them cos that's how it is so...

If you are interested, please either call Christina at 97478468 or
email her at venus.lim@gmail.com

Thanks so much

DSC_1103

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:33:32 GMT

DSC_1103
Originally uploaded by nytemare1979

YNWA!

DSC_1058

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:32:04 GMT

DSC_1058
Originally uploaded by nytemare1979

happy pills in barcelona... we need some more happy pills

STUDY: Women More Attracted To Men In Expensive Cars

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:59:28 GMT

A UK university's released a study proving what any car salesman's ever told us, women judge men primarily by wealth and status, digging guys in expensive cars more than those driving an econobox.

The survey, run by researchers at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, claims it shows women rate a man higher if he is behind the wheels of a "fancy motor rather than in an old banger." The University team showed women pictures of the same man sitting in two cars — a $100,000 silver Bentley Continental and a battered Ford Fiesta.

The women, aged between 21 to 40, picked the man sitting in the Bentley ahead of the same man in the Ford.

The researchers say findings confirmed women judge a man by his wealth and status, but men tested in the same way are not impressed by whatever car a woman drives. But guys, don't go running off to throw a copy of this study into your significant others' face as the same researchers also determined men judge their choice purely on a woman's face and figure.
Dr Michael Dunn, who worked on the study, claims: "Females focus on questions of wealth and status because if the male possesses those, that male would be in a better condition to rear healthy offspring."

So in other words, do middle-aged men in expensive cars seem more attractive to women despite their grey hair and expanding waistline? Dr Dunn admits yes, but also that his research could be interpreted as evidence that women are shallower than men. He claims: "Let's face it - there's evidence to support it." We always knew it.

[ Telegraph UK ]

Don't drag your other half shopping if he isn't interested.

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:45:18 GMT

rip Nokia 6500 slide

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:13:22 GMT

last week i was back in SG for awhile. on tuesday i was out and about looking for a camera bag, and the phone decided to die on me, rather dramatically.

first the screen went blank, then it displayed with 180degree rotation, and finally sputtered back into "life" in a puke like mix of bile green and blood red. i had no choice. i needed a new phone. went looking for a singtel shop, found a reseller in cityhall and eventually settled on the iphone. and then the salesperson tells me my plan isn't due for recontract. 15 days. but he was nice and helpful and said he'll ask singtel for a waiver. give him half an hour.

so i left my phone number with him and ran off to look at crumpler bags. oh such cute names they have. the 5 million dollar home, 6 million dollar home, and 7 million dollar home, different sizes for different needs. they're actually camera bags. settled on a 5 million dollar home camera bag. han made a rather logical statement that helped me seal the deal. a crumpler bag doesn't scream, "LOOK! I'M A CAMERA BAG! STEAL ME!".

got a call from the guy saying the waiver was approved. and so it was goodbye nokia, hello apple. got the 8gb one with the cheapest plan available. not going to be around SG enough to use that much. we'll wait till june for the wife to get her white one.

nice little clip explaining the mess we're in

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:31:41 GMT

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

homeward bound

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:45:05 GMT

why in the world do i have to go through passport control to get from one terminal to another? i'm not even interested in entering the country, i just want to get from terminal 2 to terminal 1, where there are more shops, and a vat refund counter that is manned.

the alternative is to walk. walk and go through 3 security checks to get to the transit area. with a laptop inside the bag and jackets, and possibly the need to take off my shoes, it's not an inviting prospect.

why the hell does star alliance have such expensive tickets, such that i can't earn more points on my star alliance FF, and use terminal 1, and i can actually enjoy the lounge facilities during a 5 hour transit.

rant over.

i'm going home. screw this place.

味道

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:35:30 GMT

今天晚上的星星很少
不知道它们跑哪去了
赤裸裸的天空
星星多寂寥
我以为伤心可以很少
我以为我能过的很好
谁知道一想你
思念苦无药
无处可逃
想念你的笑
想念你的外套
想念你白色袜子
和你身上的味道
我想念你的吻
和手指淡淡烟草味道
记忆中曾被爱的味道

今天晚上的心事很少
不知道这样算好不好
赤裸裸的寂寞
朝着心头绕
我以为伤心可以很少
我以为我能过的很好
谁知道一想你
思念苦无药
无处可逃
想念你的笑
想念你的外套
想念你白色袜子
和你身上的味道
我想念你的吻
和手指淡淡烟草味道
记忆中曾被爱的味道
想念你的笑
想念你的外套
想念你白色袜子
和你身上的味道
我想念你的吻
和手指淡淡烟草味道
记忆中曾被爱的味道

Blue Doors Ahead / F.I.R.

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:01:39 GMT

1. Put your iTunes on "shuffle".
2. For each question, skip to the next song to get your answer. You must use the title of that song as your answer, no matter how silly it may sound.
3. Tag at least 10 friends who might enjoy doing this, as well as the person who tagged you. (I'm not going to tag anyone. Whoever feels like doing this please go ahead and do it! :D)
4. Tag someone you think has good shit on iPod
5. Tag someone whose music you dunno about

1. What would you say if someone were to say, "Is this o.k.?"
Don't Let Go / En Vogue

2. What do you like in a guy / girl?
Os Pastores Da Noitte / Gelka (I don't speak Hungarian? )

3. How do you feel today?
Queen of Hollywood / The Corrs (I AM THE QUEEN OF HOLLYWOOD!)

4. What is your life's purpose?
Boy On A String / Jars of Clay (To bungee jump of course!)

5. What is your motto?
Psyncopit / DJ Van Der Holt (Be a psycho??)

6. What do your friends think of you?
女儿红 / 周杰伦 (Alcoholic.. -_-)

7. What do you think of your parents?
Whole Again / Atomic Kitten

8. What do you often think about?
Superstar / Cheryl Crow (Becoming one!)

9. What is 2 + 2?
Knight on the town / Kula Shaker (Wrong answer, wrong answer)

10. What do you think of your best friend?
Flamenco Diablo / Yngwie J. Malmsteen (The devil he/she is)

11. What do you think of the person you like?
Big pimpin'/Papercut / Jay-Z and Linkin Park (A big pimp that gives me papercuts?)

12. What is your life story?
I'm Lovin' It (At McDonalds') / Poopee (Wow, I actually have poopee's songs?!)

13. What do you want to be when you grow up?
I Won't Tell / Keysha (Good answer!)

14. What comes to mind when you see the person you like?
Nights Interlude / Nightmares On Wax (:D)

15. What do your parents think of you?
The Long Day Is Over / Norah Jones (I'm not that difficult to handle! Honest!)

16. What will you dance to at your wedding?
Piece of Heave / A7 (Techno at my wedding, reaaaally...)

17. What will they play at your funeral?
是一个误会没甚可悲 (国) / 王菀之

18. What is your hobby / interest?
翠湖寒 / 翠湖寒

19. What do you think of your friends?
Shimmy She Wobble / Othar Turner (Wobbly wobbly jelly)

20. What is the worst that could happen?
Unit-5-2-Activities-9-10 / Oxford Dictionaries (My language learning CDs)

21. How will you die?
Lost In Hell / Various Artistes Initial D OST (Hahaha.. very apt)

22. What is the one thing you regret most?
Just A Girl / No Doubt (Which girl...?)

23. What makes you laugh?
Manalive / Devilfish (That we could be alive this long?)

24. What makes you cry?
Mexico / Incubus (Maybe it's the jalepenos)

25. Will you ever get married?
Technotronic / Runaway Blues (Why do both wedding questions end up with techno songs?!)

26. What scares you the most?
So Fine / Guns n Roses (A girl that's oh so fine?)

27. Does anyone like you?
不管 / Energy (:P)

28. If you could go back in time, what would you change?
Kimi wa Boku ni Niteiru / See-Saw (Mi no speak no nihongo)

29. What hurts right now?
倒带 / 蔡依林 (That would definitely hurt)

30. What will you post this as?
Blue Doors Ahead / F.I.R.