i had another interesting cab driver yesterday on the way to camp, but there was nothing wrong with this guy. he was just really friendly and a good conversationalist.

he did so many things in his life; he was a banker, a financial something-something, opened his very own cafe in town and is now passing life leisurely as a taxi driver.

as a cafe owner, he met many many different people, both expatriates and locals. it was highly amusing and damn interesting to hear about all the funky stories he had to share.

here is one of them:

ong (taxi driver): in my cafe, i had these chocolate muffins for sale. i didnt bake them but i had them ordered from some shop. the muffin was really dark brown, almost black because it was made from pure dark chocolate.

(wipe away that drool you disgusting neanderthal you! where was i... oh yea...)

ong: there was this group of ladies who regularly had those muffins and kept insisting me on giving them the recipe. i usually ignored them, pretending i didnt hear what they sadi till one day they gave me an ultimatum. 'either you give us the recipe or tomorrow will be our last time here'. so i agreed and told them that i'd give it to them tomorrow. i went back home and asked my missus for a chocolate muffin recipe. the next day, i passed this recipe to the girls.

one of the girls (who shall be named gertrude because its my story! so bugger off!): but this is the recipe for normal chocolate muffin.

ong: yes it is. to get the dark coloured muffin you enjoy, just mix up the batter as instructed, leave it in the oven and forget about the whole thing.


i laughed my ass off.

yesterday was a blast.

went over to daph's place and had a fantastic time just playing and goofing around. funny ow the simplest, uncomplicated things are always the best huh?

had my first ever tuition lesson today! i'm teaching this primary 6 school kid math. this girl has no voice. why do i say that? simple, i didnt even hear it today during our 150 minute lesson. a whole 2 and a half hours of math and not a whimper outta the young lady.

her social life is not heading anywhere i can tell ya that.

anyway this tuition thing is just for a month because her exams are in early october so its no biggie for me. at least i get to earn some cash along the side.

plus it helps to pass time and passing time is very important especially considering my current situation.

am at the national library now just chilling.

finished a run at the esplanade area just now; some army thing.

now i'm just lazing lazing lazing.

can you spell bored?

a quote by a specimen of the female species:

real strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into 4 pieces, and eat only one.


only a woman...

i have been having off since wednesday night and freedom never felt so good.

was suppose to go for sushi with daph on thursday, but she couldnt make it so i gussied myself up over to the national library for the heck of it. i was bored and didnt want to just wallow at home all day you see. called kit and it turns out that she was intending to head there too, and with that, it was a date.

friday night was suppose to see mel and myself at golddust (kumar's newest and latest place), but unfortunately that was blown to smithereens. i decided to make the best of the day and crashed kit's cinematic pleasures and the question of identity lecture in the afternoon at her uni. it was extremely enjoyable. finally some intellectual stimulation. it was bloody interesting.

since i wasnt actually suppose to be there, i had to be discreet and had to blend in. played the part relatively well if i do say so myself. unfortunately, with me, if something were to go wrong, it probably will (i'm probably murphy's finest living example). the lecturer actually asked me a question. it freaked the hell outta me, but hey, i answered and thank god i had something to say. so it wasnt that bad because they dont usually pick you twice in a lecture right, so i knew the worst had come and gone. at least i had something brainy to do and think about.

just came back from the interact installation at tpjc. i felt so into the whole interact thing again and it felt awesome to have to see your juniors do well and pass the baton on. i was actually proud of them. this is probably where the idea of becoming a teach came in for me, to see your kids graduate and all that jazz. man, that's just fantastic knowing that you actually de-fluffed their minds and replaced it with exciting knowledge about the world and all the kinks about it, and knowing that that sparked an interest and thirst for more de-fluffing.

its just an indescribable feeling.

tomorrow, i'll be going out with jeremy and spencer to watch a movie and hopefully, i'll catch up with daph later in the day.

like i said, freedom never felt so good.

*holds phone in hand and contemplates next action*

' it's not like they're gonna pick up anyway. i mean this is definitely not the first time you've tried and guess what? they've never picked up so far, so why the hell should they do it now right? but i really do have nothing else better to do. oh well, here goes nothing, in the true meaning of the phrase even. '

*dials number and stares at the screen display of the handphone and shakes head*

' man, i cant believe i'm doing this. i must be really bored. i dont even know what to say exactly '

*ringing*

' hmmm. i actually got through. it's usually always busy. maybe they'll pick up eh? this could be my day... nah, who am i kidding. i've called before and i even got through, but it all ended fruitlessly. so yea, i'm just bored bored bored with really nothing else better to do. '

*still ringing. paces about the room, gazing out the window*

' sheesh, it looks like it might even rain again. ah well, at least the weather wont be blistering. god knows we've had too much of that already. so pour on baby, pour on. still a long way to book out and i could use the cool weather right about... '

"987 good morning!"

*panics and hangs up*

guide to travelling on the mrt:

the mrt is definitely a singaporean icon, and with at least a million commuters on in per day, its really no surprise. started in 1987, not only does the mrt provide good and efficient transport, it even tells us about the locals themselves. from the start to the very end of your journey on this marvelous mode of transportation lies hints of our culture.

the moment the train doors open, you find yourself face to face with an entourage of people, looking straight at you. although many of them look lost and totally bewildered, they are really welcoming you onto the train (we just need more practice with facial expressions). now you may be wondering why many assemble at the train doors, cramping together in a visibly uncomfortable state when there is obviously space in the centre of the train. dont be decieved by this act, singaporeans will do anything to welcome their fellow travellers on board to share the exciting journey. some even go to the extent of snuggling up close, stubbornly refusing to leave you to suffer the lack of their company.

singaporeans also love to talk loudly in the trains. this is a primitive yet effective way of getting people involved in the conversation. this is especially effective when you are right in the middle on the mindless singaporean banter of teenage girls. this method is so in-your-face that it's just extremely difficult to ignore, especially since singaporeans love to stay in tight clumps in trains. you can therefore see why this is so effective. topic ranges from the weather to hairclips to plucking ones eyebrows (seriously). feel free to join in; singaporeans just love random people joining in their conversation; dont be fooled by the so called asian conservertism.

upon alighting from the train, you will find that many of the fellow travellers will truly miss your presence, so much so that they do their very best to make you stay, without trying to be impolite or rude of course. blocking your way or pretending that your excuse-me(s) go unheard are usually the two most common ways of extending your journey.

your 'escape' is also made more difficult by the combined effort of the people wanting to get onto the train. this new group of people also express a strong interest in sharing their journey with you, whether you like it or not. this renowned form of teamwork is rarely seen in other countries and is well known in singapore. sometimes, they even succeed in keeping the passengers in, thus extending their stay on the mrt.

with this trusty guide to travelling on the mrt with you, we hope that your trip will be a pleasent one and that you will learn more about singaporeans on this journey.


watch out for the second installment of our guidebook where we delve deep into the singaporean psyche on the issue of why spitting on grasspatches actually help plants grow.

i am so bored it's just outta this world.
i need to do something fun really soon.

did the week just freaking flew by or what is just me?
it seems like the older you get the faster time goes.

heck, i could make a mathematical formula outta that statement.

*feel people slowly backing away*

was at the hospital today to receive my results for the mri test and i have to say that i was served by the most resilient and patient nurses i have ever seen.

it just so happened that the computer system was down. so everything had to be done manually; appointments had to be scheduled later when the system was up and running again, registration took twice as long because the nurses had to handwrite everything down and records had to be brought down from storage because they could not access the records online.

and with an unbelievable number of people in casts and in wheelchairs or crutches, it looked as if we were in a war.

you would think that the patients would understand the level of stress and pressure that the nurses, who were already visibly working their bums off, were in, but they clearly didnt. and even if they understood, they didnt care and impatience consumed them.

people just kept going up to the counter and saying stuff like: 'i have been waiting for half and hour already and i have not even been registered to see the doctor yet' or 'why is it taking so long' and 'how long more do i have to wait? i have been waiting for quite some time already', and all in impatient tones.

one guy even said this, 'i have been waiting for half an hour already. my appointment is at 11'. i looked at my watch at realised that it was about 1105. i mean c'mon, with the state that the clinic was in, do you think that you'd be served exactly at 11? i mean give the women some slack!

even when the nurses apologised and explained when they finally got to them, the lot didnt even acknowledge this. it was quite frustrating. i mean they are doing their best to serve you already and with the system down and all, what else can they do?

are we singaporeans so impatient and why do we not even try to understand what the people behind the counter are going through. their work is already piled up to the ceiling, the least we can do is just grit our teeth and wait. sure you may wait a while, but seriously, what did you expect? to be served right on the dot? bloody ridiculous.

the nurses however were wonderful. they did not even bat an eyelid when people compained. they just took it in their stride and carried on. i'm sure all of them were stressed and if given a chance, would anesthetize the problem makers in a heart beat, because they were clearly irritated, even though they did not show it.

the patience and hardwork the nurses put in was incredible. that my friends is professionalism.

i dunno about you but i think that national day is becoming a tad irritating and extremely boring; and no i dont think its because i'm in the ns.

everything is always almost the same; from the songs to the segments during the parade itself. and it really doesnt help that they keep using gurmit year after year. but hey, i'm willing to overlook that because that factor's probably just me i guess.

nonetheless its still just starting to feel plain.

though i have to admit that the celebration at the heartlands thing was a really good idea and the people at tampines really seem to be enjoying themselves. but you have to ask, are they enjoying themselves because they can let loose with their friends and just scream and shout like hooligans or do they really want to celebrate the nation's birthday and all we've accomplished over these forty years.

personally i'm not patriotic and the likelihood of me ever being is as slim as nicole kidman. so it's really hard for me to believe that many are there just to celebrate the nation's birthday sincerely.

and that's probably the only reason why i would ever ballot for tickets to the parades; to just hang out with friends and scream and shout till i sound like kermit the frog.

moving on to bigger and brighter things...

i found two more things to add to my after-army to-do list: mountain climbing and learning the sign language.

i know what you're thinking (because initially i thought that way too). the latter is fine, but mountain climbing? well it was actually my sis who came up with this idea. she said that her tuition teacher will be climbing mount ophir during her holidays. at first i thought it was a really silly idea, but after a while, it just didn't seem that silly anymore. (dont blame me... i'm a little slow on the uptake)

random person: so what did you do after the army?
me (all proud and uppity): oh, this and that... went on a cruise, did lots of slacking and oh... i climbed mount ophir.

lol.

i mean isn't this just a great thing to do? something really unorthodox and out there. so this is definitely right up there on the list; together with the all important getting-a-life.

know the half day i was talking about on my last entry? well it doesnt exist! at least not for me. the only people who get them are the regulars and guess what? i rather give my head on a silver platter to cannibals than sign on. so i guess i'm fine with it. i have to be; this head is just too fine to be offered up so easily.

however i am suffering from a case of homesickness. having only 24 hours a week off is just not enough i can tell you that man. at least i'm going home this evening to spend some time with the lot.

cant wait for next week where i get 2 extra days off to make up for this period of crap i'm going through.

just came back from kit/darren birthday celebration with the lot. ate, talked non-stop, ate some more, laughed loudly, took pictures, presented presents (a shirt and a red thong for darren by the way), talked and laughed again.

basically that was the gist of it but it sounds more fun that you think. i love all these outings; bloody great. it's just that i cant really go into detail because i have to book in at 8 am on sunday morn (i mean, who the hell wakes up that early man! and on a freaking sunday even!).

at least monday is only a half day because of national day. but then i still have to be back bright and early the next day due to guard duty. ergh. plus, to top it all off, my saturday gets taken from me next week too.

just bloody brilliant.

went out with sis and bro to the mall for dinner today and we bought ondeh-ondeh on the way back.

yup. its those delicious green balls, coated with coconut flakes thing and filled to perfection with gula melaka, just like testicles with them good ol' sperms (no i couldnt resist).

it was my bro's first time eating them and i explained to him how to eat it properly. how not to take a nibble at it but to put the whole thing in his mouth because the gula melaka will just spill everywhere and stuff like that. i know its not rocket science to actually eat one of these delights but hey, it can be potenially dangerous as you will soon find out.

after the (pathetic) tutorial, i popped one into the nervous little boy's mouth. unfortunately, i forgot the part on closing your mouth when chewing. he chewed it like how you would a hot fishball, with your mouth half open. dont ask me why, maybe its a ten year old thing.

anyway, the ondeh-ondeh was really filled with the brown liquid and with that half opened mouth... lets just say it was a spitting image of the merlion.

it was beyond hilarious.