Fade to Oblivion

The Magic

2005-10-07T23:28:00.000+08:00

So i formed my group. We are getting really prepared for our very first assignment together. Although it is only 5%, i am giving it my heart and soul. People who know me will know that i have failed in an "event". And am hoping to use this opportunity to prove to myself that i still have some magic in me. There seems to be some communication breakdown between me and the lecturer when i was clarifying some details.

Facial Recall

2005-10-05T13:54:00.000+08:00

Second day yesterday, i am somewhat able to recognise people's faces although i do no have their names to match. i've got a secondary school friend in class. he has his own group of friends. we don't sit together, this is ok. i mean we have not seen each other since then. naturally there will be some strangeness between. i believe tonight, i will remember more faces and hopefully get a few names to match them. no one seems to like talking to new guys. the back seats are always noisy. i will have to sit in the middle today.

Locate Please

2005-10-04T10:31:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was my first day. Everyone seemed ok, except i kind of felt that the environment was hostile. Maybe it could be that part of the students had already made groups due to their being there a lot earlier than us. After all we were new students and they were old ones. This class had us joining together for this common module. It is rather confusing because i do not know who is from my class (The Newbies) and who is from the other (The Pros). I could not possibly shout out to locate them. So i sat alone in a corner. Hopefully things will turn out better today.

The Bag

2005-10-01T16:46:00.000+08:00

I bought this bag for school. You know to put my laptop, notes and stuff. I was so happy because the design is really nice and all. But it did not occur to me that the magnetic flaps would maybe corrupt my disks. I realised this only when i reached home.

Level Down

2005-09-27T12:29:00.000+08:00

My sister is a very avid user of friendster. So it was not very long later that she kind of persuaded me to get an account. Of course i was ever busy with other things so i just got the account and never logged on at all. You know, like getting it just for the sake of having one. Typical Singaporean behavior right? And so after so long i decided to log on to the abandoned account. I don't have much friends there so i just clicked on the only one! (You know who you are) And from there i quickly browsed through her friend's list to see what is going around the people i know. It would be too tedious to list out my findings but to simplify them:

Almost everyone has grown prettier and more handsome

Almost everyone is attached and some married

Almost everyone has a stable career

For those who do not they are studying ferociously

Almost everyone has friendster and are very linked to each other

Which leads me to think about myself. The sad thing about this story, is that it seems everyone has moved on with their lives except me. In fact, if James had not mentioned the other day that i had slacked for a year doing nothing. I would have never stopped to think. It is kind of scary. And at the same time when i compare myself to my ex-classmates i kind of feel one level down.

Wake Up

2005-09-25T11:53:00.000+08:00

Mother is really excited about my whole going back to school thing. She says it is my last chance to pull my academic self together. I have to agree with her on this one. Things always start out ok and develops into a chore. With regard to this, she says i have to start sleeping early and waking up early. Which means, no more late night shows. There must be a way to get the best out of both worlds.

Studying Soon

2005-09-24T11:54:00.000+08:00

So i just paid my fees for the semester. It is official i am starting school on 3rd October. Hopefully i can really re-collect myself and carve a new bright path for my future. The problem with me, is that i get distracted very easily. And this time i really have to work on this weakness of mine. The fees are expensive and i have to make it worth the while. No more disappointments, no more playfulness. At least that is what i am trying to tell myself at this moment.

Talk Attended

2005-09-22T14:57:00.000+08:00

So i attended the long overdue talk. It was not really much of a surprise when i saw some late 40s attending too. I figured it could either be for their children or perhaps they would like to upgrade themselves too. But then i saw this wheelchair guy come in. And i have to tell you i really respect his determination. The talk was boring not because the speaker was but rather because i already knew all the details he was going through. After all i have already read the brochure so many times.

What Talk?

2005-09-08T10:45:00.000+08:00

Spotting my new hair cut and dressing up to the nines i entered SIM HQ for the talk. I was really interested in this degree because it allowed me to skip to the final year. So the letter stated that 6pm was registration and refreshments. And the talk would begin at 630pm. I asked for instructions at the counter and proceeded to level 4. It was already 6 but no one was around the area. Could i have gotten the wrong building? I went back down to the counter and checked with the person about the talk. "You're here for the child psychology talk at 7pm right? IT talk is on the 19th"

Sketch Book

2005-09-03T13:28:00.000+08:00

A Popular bookstore has opened at United Square. So i decided to take a look. There was this big sign at the entrance that caught my eye. "20% Discount". It didn't matter to me i thought since i did not need anything at the moment. How about just a glance at this new shop. As i walked around the crowded area. It kind of dawned on me that there were very few people at the arts corner. The rest of the place was packed though. I paced around that section for a long time. I was deciding whether to buy a sketch book. It looked really cool and nice. And i could doodle on it when i had the time. I knew it was not practical but something inside me just wanted to have it.

Avoid Trouble

2005-09-02T12:53:00.000+08:00

I sort of know this guy selling Fried Kuay Teow downstairs. Actually quite well. I do not have to say anything whenever i buy a packet and he will know my little preferences. It goes the same for Mother and Sister. Father not so since he does not buy a lot from him. The thing is i went down to buy a packet today. And it was quite crowded. So i noticed a guy sitting down near the vicinity. He must have ordered already. So this hawker sees me and i tell him one packet. So i figured the guy who had already ordered would get his packet first right? Halfway through my wait, the guy suddenly got up and asked whether it was ready yet. The hawker said no. Fair enough. Then i see him packing up a packet and figured i had to wait a little while more. What do you know, the packet was for me. As i walked away i could see the guy was sitting down and his face as black as charcoal. Hope they don't get into a fight. If the hawker would just served the other guy first i wouldn't mind though.

Purple Hue

2005-08-28T17:58:00.000+08:00

I've noticed only recently that there seems to be a purplish patch at the upper right of my TV. Ever since it was repaired it was there. So i quickly asked Father to call up the repair man. His explanation was very unsatisfactory. He said that while he was repairing there could be other TVs around and somehow the electromagnetic waves affected it and thus the purple patch. He says it will go away in a day or two. I'm counting down just to be sure.

TV Repaired

2005-08-19T19:26:00.000+08:00

Father decided to bring my TV to a shop at Sim Lim. A friend he said. Last ditch of hope so why not. The very same day it came back and it was repaired. Apparently the guy said some screw inside was loose. Actually it was a whole lot complicated. But it all came down to that screw. So he screwed it hard and good. And as of now, it is working perfectly. Praise be to God.

Jumping Lines

2005-08-13T22:35:00.000+08:00

Then me and Mother figured something out. Everytime we hammer the top of the TV, it suddenly responds for a while with clear picture. But after a while it returns to it's sickening white line. So we thought it could be possible to hammer out at least an hour worth of TV. And so we did. Needless to say after all that hammering the TV can no longer be turned on.

Confess Sins

2005-08-13T22:33:00.000+08:00

So now without the TV the computer is being heavily abused. I figure it would be a matter of time before it breaks down. Leaving me with no viable entertainment except the radio. And if that breaks down i will be going to Church to confess my sins. Since that will be the only reason all of this is happening.

TV Broken

2005-08-12T17:49:00.000+08:00

Yesterday i was watching "Lost" when suddenly my TV started to act funny. It only showed a single horizontal line across the screen and nothing else. The sound was still there so i was pretty sure my TV was still working. After many tries of hammering and tweaking. It seems that the tube is broken. No more TV means alot. It means no more late night shows, DVDs, PS2.

Snore On

2005-08-06T17:38:00.000+08:00

Second time already. I've been deprived of my sleep because of it. I swear somehow, he has taken snoring to a whole new level. The noise now is able to pierce through walls, doors and even through my pillow. By the way the pillow was wrapped around my head and it still went through. I have to find a solution to this before i go crazy.

Key Found

2005-08-03T13:05:00.000+08:00

Yup, she found the key. Thank god.

Sad Day - Part 3

2005-08-02T18:05:00.000+08:00

Lots of sad events today. This time it happened to Mother. She returned home with a very frustrated face. And normally i would stand by the door and ask for a password before opening it. She was not in the mood and simply demanded it to be open. So i find out that she lost one of her super duper important office key. She kept on grumbling and i can understand why. You see she is THE most careful person i know. And for her to lose something like a key is real taboo. So as soon as she laid down her stuff she hurried off to search the path she came home from. I feel so guilty because she must have lost it when i asked her to buy me some Macdonald's Fish McDippers. I could not help myself - 2 dollars offer! Hopefully she finds it.

Sad Day - Part 2

2005-08-02T17:59:00.000+08:00

When i reached home from the magic card dealing, i changed out of my polo-t and into my t-shirt. So i said to myself thank god mother is not home yet. Because if she knows that i left my clothes all over my bed she is going to nag me to death. Having said that, it was time for lunch. I was wondering how come people at the coffee shop looked at me in a peculiar way. Must be my un-combed hair or something. So i did not really bother. But when i reached home, i discovered why. I was wearing my t-shirt inside out!

Sad Day - Part 1

2005-08-02T17:48:00.000+08:00

So today i had to meet up to transact with a guy. Actually the price for the cards were $160. But at the last minute i decided to up the price a little to $162. So the guy was a little reluctant. But finally he decided to give me 2 x 1 dollar coins on top of notes totalling $162. I figured it must have been his spare change today. Just as i was about to walk home it started raining. It made no sense to find shelter since i was about to reach home. So i dashed. I must have dropped both coins in my hurry! So either god decided to take my ill-gotten profit back or the guy is to blame for giving me coins when i clearly saw a 2 dollar note in his wallet.

Fight Training

2005-08-01T21:55:00.000+08:00

There is this guy in the forums discussing whether it would be important to train just in case you get into a fight one day. While others were contemplating that staying fit was good for health. We have the not so common logic that if one day you were in a fight,

Pepper spray is a cheaper and more deadlier alternative
Learning to take a punch is so much more important than serving one
No amount of skill will save you if you're up against 100 drunk gangsters

Read the full thing below.
Is it a good idea to train just in case you get in a fight someday?

Stop Snoring

2005-07-30T13:29:00.000+08:00

Last night was the longest night of my life. Already Father had moved himself to sleep outside in the living room. Reason - his snoring kept Mother awake past nights. So he seeked a Doctor's help on this. And was advised to sleep sideways. He refuses to do so saying that his head is squarish and it is very uncomfortable in that position. What to do? He thinks that as long as he sleeps outside, everyone will feel ok.

Lately his snoring has gotten a lot louder. And even with my door closed last night, i could still hear his "engine" roar. I had no choice but to roll my pillow around my head till the next morning.

Home Late - Part 2

2005-07-30T13:23:00.000+08:00

The juice he bought yesterday will expire next week on 4th August. He really rushes and never checks when he buys stuff. To tell you the truth, he kind of feels proud whenever he does something for the family. But sometimes it is not what you do to make yourself happy, but what you do to make your family happy. He feels that buying groceries and bringing them home will make him look so noble and great. But the thing is everyone is struggling at home and even after telling him not to go he still went. That's not cool.

Home Late - Part 1

2005-07-30T13:07:00.000+08:00

Sometimes i wonder whether Father knows. Know that things he do make Mother mad. The problem here is he is very stubborn. Yesterday he called back around 6 and "asked" whether he could go to NTUC to pick some groceries. Mother always need some help during dinner time to clean up the place. So she really depends on him to return home and help her. After saying no, he still insisted. And he knows this, i think. But for some reason he thinks that replenishing titbits is more important. So everytime he does it, he comes home late. And everything else is done late too. Dinner is late, cleaning up is late, washing clothes is late. And the best part is he only cleans up. Washing clothes is done by Mother. In which after Dinner he will just relax around while she still struggles.

Master Plan

2005-07-28T11:02:00.000+08:00

Andrew met Shawifi recently and got to know that James has a new Car. Of course i already knew about the car thing, so it did not really surprise me when he came online to tell me. So then we discussed on ways to make money fast. And when i filled him in on my master plan, he never replied.

Low Expectations

2005-07-27T23:20:00.000+08:00

So Father always prefers not to use the latest, bestest technology. He rather use what we call the slow but steady. Payphones over Handphones because they cannot be stolen, require no maintenance and billing. And in the very distant past, transit link cards over EZ Link cards. That is until buses no longer have the machine for transitlink. With only no choice, he then "upgraded" to the next best thing. And now with GIRO EZ Link cards, he still uses his non-GIRO one.

Richer Clothes

2005-07-23T11:32:00.000+08:00

Not that i have anything against Father's brother (Uncle). But i really do not understand why he does the things he do. He is definately richer than we are. As such he tends to buy more clothes, shoes, etc. So overtime, he acccumulates a lot of old clothes, shoes. So every month or so he "donates" these clothes to Father. Sounds ok so far. But i feel there is a hidden message in all this. The clothes, shoes are either worn out or really a disgrace to wear. And i can't help but feel that he treats us like a family of beggars.

Bloody Floor

2005-07-23T11:27:00.000+08:00

Andrew witnessed an assault at Suntec City yesterday. The man was with a knife and apparently he stabbed another person. The other person was lying on the floor with a lot of blood. When Andrew saw this he quickly left, not wanting to get hurt. Man i wished i was there.

Western Food

2005-07-19T18:29:00.000+08:00

Today i had this for lunch and it was really good. It is slightly different from the usual. You have to pick.

1 Main Dish (Chicken, Fish, Steak)
2 Side Dishes (Fries, Whipped/Baked Potato, Veg, Coleslaw, Pasta, Spaghetti)

The portions are generous, the seller is friendly and the price is reasonable.

United Square Food Court - Western Food.

Traced Finally

2005-07-18T20:43:00.000+08:00

Finally i got hold of my programming friend. This guy is really unbelievable i tell you. I had to actually call his freaking house. So the first thing he says to me in a very restless attitude.

Guy: "Whaaattt?"

I was so stunned. He freaking stole my line. Then i proceeded to ask him why he had not called when he promised to.

Me: So how come you never called?

Guy: I'm really busy.

Me: (Right ...) So how come you were able to reply my SMS when you lost your phone the night earlier?

Guy: Or i got it replaced.

Me: (Wow i didn't know they could replace SIM cards after office hours) So how come you also never replied me after that BUSY day?

Guy: Oh i changed a new phone with a new number.

Me: (Snapped) How come you never tell me?! Then how in the world am i supposed to contact you? Like that is it my fault?

Guy:(Kept quiet)

Following that i simply hinted that i had other jobs to do if he was not interested in the project anymore. So i asked his opinion and in that same careless tone he replied "Ok not interested". If he had just called me to say he was not interested, i really believe it would have ended better.

Not Tactful

2005-07-18T20:35:00.000+08:00

Father really ruined my dinner today. There was a blackout around 7pm today. So Mother was really concerned because she was frying veggies. So she told Father to go to the voltage box outside for the contact number. Suddenly he flew into a rage. He started shouting and saying to let the neighbors handle it. Why should he? Not knowing that the door was wide open. And i am so sure our neighbors heard the whole thing. But in front of our neighbors he acts like a gentlemen and shows tender love to his wife. I really cannot stand this hypocrisy. If you love you love if you're angry you're angry, what's there to hide or fake. During dinner everyone was silent except him, trying to act as if nothing had happened.

Prank Call

2005-07-18T10:56:00.000+08:00

Yesterday some crack head called Grandma's. Auntie picked up the call. This guy wanted to know whether they wanted to see his "thing". Sad for him, Auntie and Grandma has caller id.

Inquisitive One

2005-07-17T17:15:00.000+08:00

Sister decided to let Mother have a look at her class photos. So i think the urge in Mother finally erupted at the 3rd photo. She asked non stop about her friends, pointing to each one with pin point precision. Does she wear braces? How come her teeth like that? This one quite pretty. I think she needs braces. All questions were answered by Sister with a "Want to see the photos or not?".

Attention Seeker

2005-07-16T16:20:00.000+08:00

I really wonder what is going on in Father's head. He makes irritating whistling noises when he returns home. He irritates the crap out of everyone. And gives a "I don't care. I just want to have some fun" attitude. In which when you tell him off, he smiles acting like a joke. The jokes he makes don't make people laugh ever. But he still continues, as if hoping to hit a home run. Really fed up with this.

NKF Story

2005-07-15T19:25:00.000+08:00

Now that the dust has settled, I really hope that such a thing does not happen again. But even now, could the damage caused be too much? I really hope the people do not lose faith in NKF. Sad to say the patients are the ones being hit the hardest. Full story below.

The NKF story - and your faith in charities - CNA

Truth Please

2005-07-15T14:39:00.000+08:00

So the programming friend of mine replied me yesterday. Apparently he was overseas and he claims he lost his handphone at the airport. That would explain why i was not able to contact him for so long. So he also says he will call me back. Which he has not. So this morning i decided to have some fun and SMSed his "lost handphone". And guess what, he replied saying he was driving and he will call me later. Now I seriously have my doubts whether he lost his handphone or whether he really did went overseas. Fact is if he did touched down yesterday, unless customer service or the police are really efficient nowadays, i don't see the possibility that he is able to get back/replace his old SIM card overnight. Or perhaps the thief replied my SMS instead. I don't think so.

Baby Shield

2005-07-14T15:46:00.000+08:00

A baby girl was used as a human shield in a shoot out in LA! The guy who apparently was on drugs or booze was shooting random people on the street. I have no idea why LAPD decided to take him down with him holding the 19 month. They are conducting an autopsy on the baby to determine whether she died from police bullets. If you ask me, i think this guy has been playing too much Counter-Strike. The full story below.

Baby used as shield in fatal gunbattle - ABC News

Card Remains

2005-07-14T14:09:00.000+08:00

There is like so little of my Magic cards left for sale. Although it pains me that i am selling away my collection. I know it is for the better. The fact is what can i do with all the card board when i really need the money.

Web Comic - Metal Gear

2005-07-13T19:53:00.000+08:00

There is this web comic that i have been following for a very long time. It is very funny and interesting even though the art is kept simple. It is based on the world of Metal Gear. For those of you do not know what that is. Metal Gear is a popular video game known for it's story and plot twists. The author of the web comic updates very frequently too. Check it out below.

The Last Days of FOXHOUND

Pre-empted Advice

2005-07-13T15:11:00.000+08:00

So Mother is buying us a whole black pepper chicken from Cold Storage for dinner. And she sees this offer that it is cheaper if she buys two. So she gives me a call asking my advice. And before i could give it, she suddenly decides that we won't be able to finish two and hangs up. Haha.

Fantastic 4

2005-07-13T11:03:00.000+08:00

With all the hype recently about the Fantastic 4, i googled up a small topic about them. The people over there were debating which of the fantastic 4 got the better deal in terms of powers. It got pretty out of control and hilarious when some random guy entered and insisted that "The Flash" (An altogether unrelated superhero) would own all of them. And he had the evidence to back it up. You can read the full story below.

The Fantastic 4. Who got the better deal?

Constant Reminder

2005-07-12T19:57:00.000+08:00

I love my Mom's cooking. Everytime at the dinner table no matter what, my Mom will constantly remind me to eat more of this, eat more of that. I try to pre-empt her by picking up the food and making it VERY noticable. However the plan did not work. So i came up with a new plan today. I asked her to take the food for me instead. Feeling smart and all. Halfway through dinner, she told me to drink more soup!

Erred Judgement - Part 3

2005-07-12T14:27:00.000+08:00

Without hope, i accidentally googled a forum for selling Magic cards! The power of technology i tell you. It was so simple to find a buyer. I sold alway all the cards at one go. I will not disclose how much profit i made but i did make some. That day also had Andrew being my bodyguard in case the guy decided to play snatch and run. I also made it a point to wear sneakers to run after the idiot if he did think about it. The feeling of relief now is priceless.

Erred Judgement - Part 2

2005-07-12T13:55:00.000+08:00

Realizing that i better get rid of them A.S.A.P. I consulted my friend Andrew. With his endless connections of people networks. We soon were able to get a buyer. There was this fear that the guy would just snatch the cards and ran away. But it was a risk we had to take. The first meeting, this guy open up the protectors and inspected the cards. He even slightly bended the card to see whether there were layers! I would have punched him if he was not a serious buyer. So he says he is pleased with the cards and attempts to slash our prices. He came knowing the price was 5.5K and still insisted to lower to 5K. I was not going to lose 500 bucks to this scum. So i took my stuff and said the deal was off.

Erred Judgement - Part 1

2005-07-12T13:42:00.000+08:00

There was this period of time in N.S where i decided to invest my money on Magic Cards. The plan was to buy those super expensive ones and keep them for a few years. When their value increased i would just sell all of them and make a pile. At least that was what i hoped. So i got whole of the single most expensive cards which almost costed me my spleen - $5500 SGD. Mother was very against this decision of mine. But i was blinded by my dream to ever listen. The day i bought them was also the day i carried so many 50 dollar notes in my pocket. After a year, the value did increase - woopee. But no one was particularly interested in my cards anymore.

Unclear Waiting

2005-07-12T13:22:00.000+08:00

So i was working on this program right. The program that took up so much of my time that i had to stop blogging for a while. For some reason after i handed in the first version my friend suddenly became untraceable. SMSes received no reply, and phone calls were directed to voicemail. At least tell me that you do not need my services anymore. Rather than keep me waiting like this.