Posted 11:28 PM

I spent pretty much a long time in NUH today. My mum felt that she was gonna faint in the classroom and called home. Uncle and I brought her to the hospital. She's been suffering from insomnia past few days. I feel guilty 'cos I feel I brought her some worry.

So well the waiting process was long. I'm glad I was there though, to be by my mum's side (especially after uncle left to meet clients). There were moments she cried, and there were moments she was ok and we chatted alot and she laughed quite a bit. The doctor sent her to a psychiatrist later on. I didn't ask what happened inside.

Consultation will be in a few days. I'll be bringing her to see a ENT specialist tomorrow. She has very mild flu all the time it seems.

She's on MC for the whole week. Nobody worry though. =)

-
I actually bought my first issue of the economist. Yeah I shunned the magazine since.. since. I remember the days I read Time and Newsweek because my brother subscribed, and I also subscribed for a short while, but when my brother had copies of Economist I never touched it thinking it's about.. well.. economics. But today at the hospital bookshop I browsed and decided to check it out. It's not that bad. =D It's also time to get more involved in the society, in the world now. Why? 'Cos that's just the way it is. I miss the times when I was kinda well read for my age. Now once again I gotta play catch up, but I'm sure I'll run pretty fast.

triggering Mr Ng HS |

Posted 11:36 AM

OH MY GOD!

First of all, I'm gonna say I'm not a Christian.

Whoopee! From that line and the title you guys can probably deduce what I'm gonna talk about.

Yes! Every evangelist's favourite topic! Religion! Or rather, something similar.

So you may ask, who am I to talk about religion? I'm not a priest. Nor a rabbi. Nor a monk. Nor anyone even remotely close to being pious. Heck, I myself am slanting towards being monotheistic, though on my report card it says I'm a Buddhist.

But. Does it matter? It doesn't! Because Christians can come and tell me my religion is not ok. Their religion is ichiban! My religion doesn't give me salvation. Their religion does! Join us, they say! Operators standing by.

Ok so that was some time ago now. I've been having more peaceful times recently. Why do we keep hearing about Christianity making issues in the news? WHY? Well maybe it's because 33% of the world subscribes to Jesus and gang. That's about 2.1billion people.

Latest hoo-ha? What else. The imminent screening of the Da Vinci Code.

Again, I admit, I've never read the book. I don't know what it's talking about. But why does everyone get so worked up? It's just a movie! It's not a documentary. It's a movie. Movies are supposed to sensationalise everything. They can make car chasing the most exciting thing in the world. They can increase Singapore's fertility rate by just a simple love scene. It's.just.a.movie..............

"'The Da Vinci Code' is a clever and dangerous book suffused with lies, distortions, Satanic imagery and historical inaccuracies, all designed to cast doubt in readers' minds about the deity of Jesus Christ," said Robert Knight, the director of the CWA's Culture and Family Institute.
(source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/207721/1/.html)

Nobody asked you to believe what you read. If your so called pious readers can have their mentalities shifted via the mere words of a book, then well, they're not so pious now are they? If they are new believers who suddenly cast doubt upon the religion, or upon themselves, then well, the religion doesn't appeal to them now that's all.

We would like to remind (people) that 'The Da Vinci Code' is a work of fiction, and it is not a reliable source of information on these matters," opus dei added

Huh? But of course? Why do people take things so seriously? Why don't Scientists come up and say "Oh you know, that scene when Mary Poppins floated down with an umbrella. Yeah that's not really possible. I'd like to remind people that it's a work of fiction and it's not really logical to science and stuff." And doctors please step forward and say "The one where the guy got beaten in the head 5 times and still walk, and the one that got shot in the stomach and still run, and the one that... yeah those are works of fiction.. and they're not..."

Oh don't get me started on cartoons/animations. How come the fish can talk?? Fishes go to school? Dory and nemo are friends? Daddy am I eating the dory Dory on my fish and chips platter right now?

I know. You'll say but that's totally fiction. What we're having here is facts portrayed into a fictional movie. But that's what movies are about! And again, if people are clear headed enough to know that tom cruise didn't really break real glass in Mission Impossible, but merely a concocted display of sugar glass, and that breaking real glass in real life will probably hurt a lot more, then it's fair to say people can decide for themselves. If you wanna issue reminders, that I can understand. Just like wrestlers issuing donttrythisathome reminders. But if you already agree that it's a fact, surely people's mindsets can't be manipulated so easily. Why are you so afraid? And please don't rally and form lobby groups and what have yous and ask for a ban of the film. We already have so many cases of so many films in so many countries. If you want, just make a rally speech and urge the believers of Christianity not to patronise the film, ok?

The Da vinci Code opens in Singapore cinemas on 18th May. Advance bookings now open!

triggering Mr Ng HS |

Posted 6:36 PM

Yay pictures and music =)

triggering Mr Ng HS |

Posted 5:37 PM

Election

Yeah, so all of you by now should've read about how PAP returned to power with 66.6% of valid votes in last saturday's election. Frankly, how do you return to power when you've never lost any in the first place?

It's only through this current election that I've learnt more about the politics in Singapore. So pap always wins. But there's a need for an opposition to exist. But pap always wins. Sometimes it's like a boy-girl relationship. The girl always wins. But there's a need for the guy to have some resistance, otherwise he'll be labelled a xiao bai lian hahaha!! =x But in the end the girl always wins.

And while there are so many 'unfair' things in the election, or of the Singapore political situation, at the end of the day our lives still go on. It doesn't even bother me at all. I didn't have to vote, nor do I believe that if I had to vote the election would have changed something. Unless the prime minister is different, or the government is different, everything's still basically the same. Who rules potong pasir? Who cares? Percentage of opposition votes increased? Who cares? How do you expect people to be non-apathetic? Just like what the taxi driver told me one night, regardless of who won, he's still driving the damn cab.

It's so funny, that they can just change whatever GRC and draw out new boundaries as to where the GRC starts and ends, to try and give themselves whatever advantages they can. MM Lee said in the recent chat on tv that he can't help his opponents can he. No we don't expect you to, but I don't expect you to create more bias towards yourself.

I tried to write something about the election. But. There's nothing! I wish I could have devoted some time to attend some rallies and hear out the opposition's voices though. Sometimes I don't get why people vote for them. Sure their opinions might be similar to ours deep inside our hearts, but what can they do if they're voted in? They have no funds, because the funds are approved and given by surprise surprise, the government ie PAP. I don't know what Mr Chiam can do for area. WP chief Mr Low said yeah yeah he'll upgrade whatever, make lifts stop at every floor whatever, that is if he gets funds. Hasn't been getting funds for like what? 10 years? While pap-dictated areas are showered with love. Sheltered walkways, security cameras in lifts and so on.

My mum issued me a good point to think about. Don't all Singaporeans pay taxes? Do people who stay in pap grcs pay more tax? Why do they get more benefits? In the big picture, do we really have a choice, and does it matter?

I only know my MP in my area by some Malay name my mother told me. I've never seen her (I think it's a she.). I don't know what she has done for me and my neighbours. I've hardly read the newsletter (though I blame my mum who probably throws it away) if any, and I never notice any political action around. Do other MPs really do so much? I've heard one or two showing up every weekend morning delivering breakfast. That's good, but what else do they do? I admit I'm really ignorant, but there's really no reason for me to get myself involved to know more. My life isn't affected by any of them.

Singaporeans are a weird bunch in general. We complain and complain. In the end we're afraid to stand up. Pap does a good job purging opposition. Whatever thing you say that doesn't please them. They sue your sorry ass. There's no freedom of speech. So then some hero/heroine will emerge and say "I'm sick of this bullshit I'll stand up against the damn pap. Please support me!"

People term him a nutcase. And eventually he gets sued and becomes a bankrupt. Hooray! You get sick. Then you get people like old grannys and grandpas that are most of the time unhappy with the government, but weeks before election they get a progress package bonus of like $1k+ and viola~ They only have good words out of their mouths. It's not as if PM Lee paid you out from his own pockets. -_-

So while certain people talk about lift upgrades, or promising to serve us better, the other people from the government don't have to do anything because their area is uncontested. I'm glad it's all over. Time to have new headlines from now on.

signing out,
your election virgin.

triggering Mr Ng HS |

Posted 1:30 PM

Today's life! published an article by Jeremy Au Yong, about what women want... really.

I think it's really funny. =D It's a poor copy and paste job. Just read it and enjoy.

----
Men wouldn't mind receiving gifts that have a lot of functions, but they don't appear to be what women want.

WE NEED to talk - the four words that will make any guy's heart plunge into his gut - she said, after opening the gift.
Sigh, what did I do now?
To be honest, I wasn't fully sure if she would like the gift I had bought, but I certainly did not expect to have to 'talk' about it.
As far as gifts go, I thought it was okay. It was something she needed and I thought she would appreciate it.
I had bought her a mobile phone charger.
I mean, she was always forgetting to charge her phone so I thought it would be useful to have a back-up phone charger she could take around with her.
But I realise now that I, like many men before me, had become embroiled in a bad gift disaster.
Nearly all men, I dare say, would have gone through moments such as this - where a seemingly well-meaning gift was received with 'the look'.
The 'look' is a non-verbal form of communication perfected by women that delivers the message that the 'lookee' is in big trouble.
We have a terrible problem buying gifts for women - as if we were born without required brain parts to pick out gifts that women will like.
My brother, for one, is a fine example of someone completely devoid of the gift-giving sense.
He is, otherwise, a rather thoughtful, considerate person but, for some reason or other, cannot bring himself to buy anything that doesn't need to be plugged in.
He once bought my mother - the same mother who was then only coming to grips with the Internet - a flatbed scanner.
A year earlier, he had bought her an inkjet printer and thought the scanner would complement it nicely.
Even though she has since embraced the Internet wholeheartedly, the scanner still gets only the most minimal use.
She finds that it makes a rather handsome shelf.
Then there is Sidney, an uncle who bought my aunt a top-of-the-line PDA phone. The thing was twce the size of a normal phone and had so many functions, it was like a small computer.
We all thought it was seriously cool.
It took my aunt two months to work out how to change the ringtone.
She hasn't told him, but she doesn't really want a phone that can play powerpoint presentations.
She wants a pink one.
Then there is Martin, a friend who must surely take the cake.
The chemist gave his girlfriend what he thought was a killer Valentine's Day present: a cordless steam iron.
She didn't talk to him for two days.
The main problem, you see, is that all of us were buying gifts that we personally wouldn't mind receiving.
Men like things with a lot of functions. They do not appear to be what women want.
American humorist Dave Barry once described the ideal gifts for women like this: 'The gift should not do anything, or, if it does, it should do it badly.'
I suppose that's why women like diamonds so much: They are essentially useless.
But consider the following pairs of gift options.
Gift 1: A one-litre pack of aloe vera scented Shokubutsu brand shower cream in a handy plastic dispenser. Good for the whole family to use.
Gift 2: A pack of five small decorative soaps, shaped like fruit.
Or...
Gift 1: A table lamp with a 3M polarising light filter to cut out glare and also uses a special energy-saving bulb that can provide 10,000 hours of light.
Gift 2: A small hand-made scented candle in the form of an angel that the recipient will never ever light.
To a man, any of the two Gift 1 options is clearly superior, but should they buy it for a woman, they will find themselves in serious gift-giving trouble.
And even when some of the more courageous among us try to adhere to this 'useless gift' rule, we seem able to mess things up.
A friend, Rachel, recently received for her birthday three jars of beach sand from her boyfriend.
They were taken from three different beaches in Australia. He no doubt thought he had, in that gift, achieved the nirvana of boyfriend sensitivity.
As Rachel described the gift to me, the jars were not decorative ones but rather simple glass bottles with a label on them, not unlike a geological survey sample.
Her reaction initially was to pour out the sand from each of the jars assuming the real gift - possibly something with diamonds on it - was buried within.
When it became evident this was not the case, she remarked: 'Haha, where's the real present?'
I understand the relationship is now a little rocky.
But whatever it is, men, I urge you not to give up. Just keep at it and one day I'm sure you'll buy that one thing you think is useless in just the right way and she'll open it, look at you lovingly and say: 'We need to talk'.

jeremyau@sph.com.sg

triggering Mr Ng HS |

Posted 12:46 AM

A week ago,

she and I had a fight over some issue. Not really a fight. She sort of ticked me off for something.
I felt guilty, but at the same time helpless. I didn't have the courage to really talk to her the next couple of days, though she told me later she had already calmed down. So on saturday night I took up a deep breath and smsed her asking her out to the Istana on Labour day. The sms conversation went pretty well. It was already 11.30pm. I was about to call her till she replied that she's on the phone with a guy.

My heart immediately sank. I had told her earlier I was going to bed at midnight. But at midnight she still didn't reply or call me. I smsed her good night some minutes after, and she replied good night.

I didn't sleep. I kept hoping she would hang up and call me. Call it jealousy? Haha. If only I called earlier instead of smsed. But I was afraid. I fell asleep at around 1am I think.

The next day I got upset and told her that I wanted to call her but I couldn't after she said she was on the phone. I also said it was the wrong time to talk to someone else seeing how well our sms conversation was going. She replied it's not her fault that people call her, and that she could still continue to sms me, it's just that I stopped replying.

How can I continue to sms chat knowing she is talking on the phone with another guy. I just felt that was such a wrong time to do so. So she didn't get what I was upset about. My girlfriend talks on the phone with a guy I'm not really all that comfortable with. Sounds easy to understand isn't it? Guess not.

Few days later during a conversation which linked somewhat to that, I casually asked how long did they talk on the phone.

2 hours she said.

My heart sank even deeper.

Today, almost 10 days after the incident, we had a mini little fight again, over the phone. It's not exactly the first time a fight occured over the phone. She said in Mandarin: now I know why I can talk to him for 2 hours and why I don't like to talk to you on the phone.

I've my last paper at 9am. Going to bed now.

triggering Mr Ng HS |