Just what the hell do you want?
You want my life? You want my soul? Or you want me to get down on my knees and say sorry?
Just fucking say it and I will do it!
But for fucks sake stop torturing me like this!
I got back my lap top today. And I was sooo happy. Until "zap" the screen went blank. I reboot and 15 min later it went blank again. My lap top keeps shutting down by itself for unknown reasons. I don't know whats wrong. And I would have to send it back to IBM again.
Remember what I said about shoddy repair jobs? Once again Aristotle Toh had been proven right.
I fucking hate myself. I am a bloody fucking jinx to myself.
This feeling is exactly like the fasr march during OCS, when we reached wingline, only to be told we can't turn back in and have to continue marching...on and on and on.
For fucks sake, kill me.
For my time with you is getting shorter and shorter...
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Monday, March 14, 2005
Anders Frisk
From The Straits Times:
March 13, 2005
Thugs force top referee to retire
They threaten to harm Frisk, whose forehead was earlier split open by a lighter, and children
Rob Hughes
UNTIL this weekend, Anders Frisk basked in the challenge of being one of the world's leading football referees.
On Friday, he suddenly handed in his whistle and told the Swedish Football Association that he would never step onto a soccer field again.
Threats from Chelsea thugs against him and, more worrying, against his children, obliged the 42-year-old who runs an insurance agency in Gothenburg, his home city in Sweden, to walk away from the game he loves.
Last summer Urs Meier, the leading Swiss referee, quit when his Internet site was bombarded by 16,000 abusive e-mail from English fans - or so called fans - many of them making explicit threats to his life, his green grocery business, and his family in Zurich.
We are facing anarchy.
I know Meier superficially, but Frisk I know better.
A year ago, we journeyed to Sierra Leone together on a mission for the International Red Cross, who took three top Uefa whistlers to the refugee camps for children displaced by civil war.
Frisk was brave in circumstances where health was at risk from mosquito bites, from the lingering threat of terrorists, from the possibility of violence breaking out in camps where he refereed games of youths.
He was warm-hearted when we witnessed the homecoming of two young children to the father they had been told was dead five years ago.
He reacted like the father he is, with concern for the children.
This man has run the gauntlet of appalling violence this season. In Rome's Olympic Stadium, his forehead was split open by a cigarette lighter thrown deliberately at him after he dismissed Philippe Mexes of Roma in the Champions League against Dynamo Kiev.
Unable to carry on with such an open wound, and unwilling to allow a deputy to referee where safety could not be guaranteed, he called off the match.
Francesco Totti, the captain of Roma and the same player sent off in disgrace for spitting into the face of an opponent at Euro 2004, compounded the disgrace by telling the Roman press Frisk was biased.
Last month, Frisk sent off Didier Drogba, the Chelsea centre-forward, after five clear fouls from the player. Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, manipulated the situation by refusing to attend the post-match press conference.
Chelsea, increasingly run as if they are under the impression that, like the Russian mafia, they are a law unto themselves, then made insinuations that the Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard entered Frisk's dressing room at half-time and - according to Mourinho - distorted the referee's decisions after half-time.
It is the second time Mourinho has used the media to make such statements.
The FA in England last week fined him a paltry �5,000 ($15,500) for suggesting that the English referee in a recent match with Manchester United was too friendly with Alex Ferguson, and biased against Chelsea.
These are tinder box allegations. Mourinho is attempting to intimidate match officials through the media - and the newspapers are dancing to his tune.
After the Barcelona affair, I happened to call Frisk to suggest a major interview for the London Sunday Times. He happily agreed, and the interview was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
It is still on as far as I know.
But all calls to Frisk are being screened.
The man who has officiated at 118 matches, in all parts of the world over the last 10 years, has had enough.
'I do not dare let my kids go to the post office,' he says. 'The 16 days since the Barcelona match have been the worst of my life.
'It's made me realise what's important in life. I have never been afraid to make a decision on the field, but by letter, by e-mail, by telephone, my family has had such threats I cannot put them at risk.'
He still believes that he made an unbiased and a correct decision to show Drogba the red card.
Urs Meier still believes that he was justified in disallowing a late goal for England against Portugal at the Stadium of Light. But the Internet hooligans menaced him unmercifully with 16,000 poisonous e-mail, threats and abusive disparagement.
Newspapers in England made up quotes from Meier's estranged wife, and mounted vicious campaigns against him. Police had to guard his shop.
I may tell you more next week about the state of mind of Frisk, or I may not if he feels unable to keep our appointment.
But what I know is that this is a man who built his life around refereeing, built his body through daily gym sessions to be up with the play of modern millionaires, and built his reputation by never shirking a duty to implement the rules he does not write.
The theme of the Uefa refe- rees in Sierra Leone was to tell kids who lived under lawless violence that law and order is the only way in civilised society.
The world over, the laws of soccer are carried out by the man with the whistle - and in an African nation trying to re-establish respect for police and the law, Anders Frisk, Lubos Michel and Markus Merk were in the front line of taking out that message.
Now, because of appallingly ill-bred and, from their messages, ill-educated English louts who call themselves Chelsea fans, he has given up. He will run his business, close his doors, and take care of his kids.
Are you frightened by the image of the Beautiful Game this weekend?
I know I am.
For the first time I find myself agreeing with Rob Hughes. Anders Frisk is in my opinion the second best referee in the world after Pierluigi Collina. His performance in Euro 2004 is literally flawless. And it is a sad day that a top top referee has to retire because of such threats, especially given the prevalence of crap referees like Uriah Rennie and Mike Riley nowadays.
Sometimes you just can't help but feel helpless if you are small. For example, when you are a hawker last time, you are scared of gangs coming to collect protection money from you. When you are a tiny consumer, you are scared of scolding the IBM people for fear that they do a shoddy repair job on your laptop. Even when you are a top referee, you have to fear the hooligans even when your decision is spot on.
TosH says: Let's all buy guns and shoot each other to death. May the most powerful gun win.
March 13, 2005
Thugs force top referee to retire
They threaten to harm Frisk, whose forehead was earlier split open by a lighter, and children
Rob Hughes
UNTIL this weekend, Anders Frisk basked in the challenge of being one of the world's leading football referees.
On Friday, he suddenly handed in his whistle and told the Swedish Football Association that he would never step onto a soccer field again.
Threats from Chelsea thugs against him and, more worrying, against his children, obliged the 42-year-old who runs an insurance agency in Gothenburg, his home city in Sweden, to walk away from the game he loves.
Last summer Urs Meier, the leading Swiss referee, quit when his Internet site was bombarded by 16,000 abusive e-mail from English fans - or so called fans - many of them making explicit threats to his life, his green grocery business, and his family in Zurich.
We are facing anarchy.
I know Meier superficially, but Frisk I know better.
A year ago, we journeyed to Sierra Leone together on a mission for the International Red Cross, who took three top Uefa whistlers to the refugee camps for children displaced by civil war.
Frisk was brave in circumstances where health was at risk from mosquito bites, from the lingering threat of terrorists, from the possibility of violence breaking out in camps where he refereed games of youths.
He was warm-hearted when we witnessed the homecoming of two young children to the father they had been told was dead five years ago.
He reacted like the father he is, with concern for the children.
This man has run the gauntlet of appalling violence this season. In Rome's Olympic Stadium, his forehead was split open by a cigarette lighter thrown deliberately at him after he dismissed Philippe Mexes of Roma in the Champions League against Dynamo Kiev.
Unable to carry on with such an open wound, and unwilling to allow a deputy to referee where safety could not be guaranteed, he called off the match.
Francesco Totti, the captain of Roma and the same player sent off in disgrace for spitting into the face of an opponent at Euro 2004, compounded the disgrace by telling the Roman press Frisk was biased.
Last month, Frisk sent off Didier Drogba, the Chelsea centre-forward, after five clear fouls from the player. Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, manipulated the situation by refusing to attend the post-match press conference.
Chelsea, increasingly run as if they are under the impression that, like the Russian mafia, they are a law unto themselves, then made insinuations that the Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard entered Frisk's dressing room at half-time and - according to Mourinho - distorted the referee's decisions after half-time.
It is the second time Mourinho has used the media to make such statements.
The FA in England last week fined him a paltry �5,000 ($15,500) for suggesting that the English referee in a recent match with Manchester United was too friendly with Alex Ferguson, and biased against Chelsea.
These are tinder box allegations. Mourinho is attempting to intimidate match officials through the media - and the newspapers are dancing to his tune.
After the Barcelona affair, I happened to call Frisk to suggest a major interview for the London Sunday Times. He happily agreed, and the interview was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
It is still on as far as I know.
But all calls to Frisk are being screened.
The man who has officiated at 118 matches, in all parts of the world over the last 10 years, has had enough.
'I do not dare let my kids go to the post office,' he says. 'The 16 days since the Barcelona match have been the worst of my life.
'It's made me realise what's important in life. I have never been afraid to make a decision on the field, but by letter, by e-mail, by telephone, my family has had such threats I cannot put them at risk.'
He still believes that he made an unbiased and a correct decision to show Drogba the red card.
Urs Meier still believes that he was justified in disallowing a late goal for England against Portugal at the Stadium of Light. But the Internet hooligans menaced him unmercifully with 16,000 poisonous e-mail, threats and abusive disparagement.
Newspapers in England made up quotes from Meier's estranged wife, and mounted vicious campaigns against him. Police had to guard his shop.
I may tell you more next week about the state of mind of Frisk, or I may not if he feels unable to keep our appointment.
But what I know is that this is a man who built his life around refereeing, built his body through daily gym sessions to be up with the play of modern millionaires, and built his reputation by never shirking a duty to implement the rules he does not write.
The theme of the Uefa refe- rees in Sierra Leone was to tell kids who lived under lawless violence that law and order is the only way in civilised society.
The world over, the laws of soccer are carried out by the man with the whistle - and in an African nation trying to re-establish respect for police and the law, Anders Frisk, Lubos Michel and Markus Merk were in the front line of taking out that message.
Now, because of appallingly ill-bred and, from their messages, ill-educated English louts who call themselves Chelsea fans, he has given up. He will run his business, close his doors, and take care of his kids.
Are you frightened by the image of the Beautiful Game this weekend?
I know I am.
For the first time I find myself agreeing with Rob Hughes. Anders Frisk is in my opinion the second best referee in the world after Pierluigi Collina. His performance in Euro 2004 is literally flawless. And it is a sad day that a top top referee has to retire because of such threats, especially given the prevalence of crap referees like Uriah Rennie and Mike Riley nowadays.
Sometimes you just can't help but feel helpless if you are small. For example, when you are a hawker last time, you are scared of gangs coming to collect protection money from you. When you are a tiny consumer, you are scared of scolding the IBM people for fear that they do a shoddy repair job on your laptop. Even when you are a top referee, you have to fear the hooligans even when your decision is spot on.
TosH says: Let's all buy guns and shoot each other to death. May the most powerful gun win.
Email stories 8
You know who you are...
If I really don't get to see you tomorrow just remember these words...
If tomorrow, I should never wake up
I wanted to say I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for what I have done ....
And what I haven't done.
I could have done more
I should have done more
If I harmed u, yelled at u, ignored u, or didn't care....
I'm sorry. Forgive me, please?
If tomorrow I should never wake up I wanted to say thank u.
If me and u were the best of friends,
Thank u for always being here.
There were times when I thought I could never leave u
And if we HAVE parted...
Thank you for teaching me to love and let go.
Thank you for teaching me that it doesnt matter if we never see each other.
Because you taught me love can move past that.
And if we are still best friends...
Know I treasure that too.
I love you.
If me and you only talked once in a while
And didn't go to the same parties,
And were not good friends:
Thank you for not humbling me,
Or tearing me down.
I only wish I had taken the chance to love you more.
If you were someone I once had a crush on
I always did admire how you treated people...
How you lived your life.
I watched the way you walked down the halls everyday.
I admired how you always seemed to know the RIGHT thing to say,
Even if it was never directed to me.
I always saw the sun in your smile.
And the sea through your eyes.
Thank you for making me believe ...
That there MIGHT be someone PERFECT for me...
Even if it isn't you ~
Know that I even thought I loved you.
If you and I were once friends...
Even if for a little bit...
Thank you for teaching me about understanding,
And growing up,
Teaching me how to move on.
Thank you for the times we had together...
And I beg you forgive me for whatever happened
That tore us apart.
You are not perfect,
I am not either.
But thank you for having a part in my life.
If tomorrow,
I should never wake up,
I wanted to say everything I never had time to.
If I really don't get to see you tomorrow just remember these words...
If tomorrow, I should never wake up
I wanted to say I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for what I have done ....
And what I haven't done.
I could have done more
I should have done more
If I harmed u, yelled at u, ignored u, or didn't care....
I'm sorry. Forgive me, please?
If tomorrow I should never wake up I wanted to say thank u.
If me and u were the best of friends,
Thank u for always being here.
There were times when I thought I could never leave u
And if we HAVE parted...
Thank you for teaching me to love and let go.
Thank you for teaching me that it doesnt matter if we never see each other.
Because you taught me love can move past that.
And if we are still best friends...
Know I treasure that too.
I love you.
If me and you only talked once in a while
And didn't go to the same parties,
And were not good friends:
Thank you for not humbling me,
Or tearing me down.
I only wish I had taken the chance to love you more.
If you were someone I once had a crush on
I always did admire how you treated people...
How you lived your life.
I watched the way you walked down the halls everyday.
I admired how you always seemed to know the RIGHT thing to say,
Even if it was never directed to me.
I always saw the sun in your smile.
And the sea through your eyes.
Thank you for making me believe ...
That there MIGHT be someone PERFECT for me...
Even if it isn't you ~
Know that I even thought I loved you.
If you and I were once friends...
Even if for a little bit...
Thank you for teaching me about understanding,
And growing up,
Teaching me how to move on.
Thank you for the times we had together...
And I beg you forgive me for whatever happened
That tore us apart.
You are not perfect,
I am not either.
But thank you for having a part in my life.
If tomorrow,
I should never wake up,
I wanted to say everything I never had time to.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Can I submit this to ST?
Thanks to Elvin and Tze Luck who sent me back this email...
last weekend i went up to cardiff to go watch the league cup final between man u and liverpool.....quite scared initailly...coz i dun have a ticket.....ddint know where the stadium in cardiff was either....just board the coach there and go try my luck...
so on saturday nite i board the coach then go to heathrow airport....then need to change coach there.....on the new coach, the driver counted the number of ppl then realised something was wrong....so he ask us to show him our tickets again.....thats when the driver realised some scruffy guy had sneaked onto the coach....i was sitting quite in front so could hear a bit.....the guy's breath smelt of beer (wat else?) even though i was like 2 or 3 seats behind i could still smell him....the conversation btw him and the driver went something like this....so where's ur ticket? i bought my ticket in victoria (london) blah blah...so where is it?.....i bought it but i dun have it wif me....no, u are trying to cheat me.....no i am not, i bought my ticket...so where is it?......i dun have it wif me....u are trying to cheat me, pls get off the coach.... eventually the guy break down...sorry i will pay for the ticket......no u are trying to sneak on the coach, tt's not acceptable....but i will pay for the ticket....no its too late, u were trying to sneak on.....pls, i got a football match to watch in cardiff tomolo, i got to go to cardiff.....no pls get off....eventually the guy sat down behind the driver and refuse to budge...the driver called security guards.....after gek seh for like 2 min....the guy mumbled sorry and went off......haha~ the things that a fan would do......
i reached cardiff bus station at like 420AM....it was just like those bus interchange in spore...meaning it is not a building and it was open....i froze like mad...but there was no place i could go at that hour.....a middle aged ang moh came to tok to me....he asked me where i came from...so i said spore....then to my surprise he said that we have a very good airline....i was pretty surprised...looks like SIA is indeed quite famous....but think i too boring for him.....so he quickly went to tok to another german guy who came all the way from cologne to watch the match...and he supported man u....haha~
i was walking round the stationand saw a map and to my relief...the millenium stadium was just across the street from the bus station.....great...tt means i no need to spend extra money to travel to the stadium.....but i was still damn cold...then i realised that the train station was just beside the bus station too......so i went inside....though not very warm...but at least it is better...there were quite a few ppl who were same as me....some even slept in those instant photo taking booths....and got laughed at....got one guy comment to his fren, wow how does that guy take his photos? take until sleeping.....quite amusing....
at dawn....bout 7 am.....i went out of the station to find the satdium....it was surrounded by buildings on all side and a river on one side....so could not take a good photo of the outside of the stadium......liverpool and man u posters were everywhere outside the stadium...i was getting desperate at that point....nearly wanted to climb over when there was nobody around...but my senses managed to stop me in time.....
so after circling the stadium once and takign a few photos.....i decided to go to cardiff castle...the only attraction that i knew....which surprisingly is also in the same area....lucky day for me.....on my way to the castle....i met 2 ang mohs and they looked at me and asked...do u need tickets for the match? ahh...the magic words....i asked them how much? then the guy replied...300 pounds.....i didnt choke...coz the guy at the bus station already mentoned that kind of figure and onlien agencies were selling at 400 pounds.....but still it was way too much.....i said no then the guy asked me how much i wanted to pay then i said hundred plus.....then he shook his head and said tt's too low...but he gave me his name card and call him on his HP if i changed my mind....as if i would....but the touting business is really big in uk....that guy had his own name card....and he even had his own website...think its www.90-minutes.com......professional rippers......
after the disappointment...i continued to walk to the castle...telling myself though i am desperate i would not put myself to ransom..... the castle itself was pretty small......comapred wif the one in edinburgh scotland......so i decided not to go in...(and i had to conserve money if i am to buy the ticket)......took some photos as usual and walked to the cardiff city hall......by this time i was tired of walking....all the thoughts in my mind was how to get into the fucking stadium.....on one hand i felt that it was really wasted since i am here in cardiff and man u might not reach another cup final in my 3 years here....on the other hand.....i really dun htink i can afford 300 pounds....even though i am crazy....i decided to walk back to the stadium.....
it was already bout 9 am at this point......on another side of the road...there was an old ang moh who asked me whether i want to sell or buy tickets.....another young ang moh beside me was also interested in buying....so he brought us to a fat ang moh who said he had contacts...he was just waiting for the guyto come out of his hotel......i wasnt really hopeful.....and to my "horror" (trying to be a bit more dramatic here) it was the same tout that i met earlier which the fat ang moh was tokking bout...my heart sank again....the fat guy came back wif 2 tickets and said it would be 400 pounds each...i nearly coughed out blood....i only walked for a while and theres such a big diff in the price??? that fat guy again asked me how much i was willing to pay and i said 100+ and he went over to the other side of the road wif the young ang moh to discuss....think my price was too low to make him interested....but i think he was trying to make a premium off the tout.....then the old ang moh commented to me that i aint gonna get anything wif my budget.....i replied i also know....but i am just a student and cannot afford to pay that kind of money...i only came here to try my luck...to which he said oh sure sure try ur luck....had a bit of sarcasm in his tone....made me rather irritated....but wat to do? money makes the world go round......
so on i walked for about 50 metres b4 i met another ang moh and a black guy beside him....again the magic words were said and they replied 300 pounds....by now i was super irritated at that figure and wanted to pack up and go home......i said no then the ang moh ask me wat was i willing to pay and i said 100+....clearly the ang moh wasnt interested.....so he said no and turned and walk away....the black guy looked at me.....then he said 200 pounds and u will get it.....i said cannot coz i only brought 150 pounds (i had 190 pounds wif me and could withdraw if i wanted to)....then he said 180....i said no as i only had 150 pounds....clearly he was slowy buying it.....he made the actions indicating i could withdraw from ATM but i said tt's all i have already...then he said 170...i still made the same expression...he turned to look at the ang moh who by now had walked away.....then he said follow me....so i followed him...he put his hands into his pocket and he had around 4 tickets wif him....presumably he looked for the one wif the lousiest seat.....and handed it to me....i asked 150 pounds? scarcely believing my eyes when i looked at the ticket wif worthington cup final liverpool vs manchester united printed on it.....he said yeah but then it dawned on me that 150 pounds itself wasnt a small sum either....i nearly wanted to give it up when i saw that the face value of the tix was only 40 pounds......but i stopped myself.....i told myself that i probably would find a ticket much lower than this.....if i give it up...i might never get this price again if i go back to the same guy.....so i fished out my wallet....squeeezed my balls and handed him the money......
at last i had a ticket.....but from that moment on.....i became scared again....i began to have doubts bout the prigins of the ticket...i had read on websites that some tickets had been stolen and ppl wif those tix would be refused entry......i cringed at the thought of that...the price was bad enough.....if it had been stolen then i can really go bang my head.....i checked out the entrance....and they had machines to pass the tix thru.....my head was filled wif thoughts of me passing the ticket thru and kanna rejected.....really scared.....but i didnt have a choice anymore.....
slowly and slowly united and liverpool jerseys began to fill the streets outside the stadium.....predictably i stayed near the united end......where i proudly displayed my jersey....those liverpool fans unfortunate enough to pass thru that area had "u scouse bastards" ringing in their ears.......(they call ppl from liverppol scousers)......the liverpool fans just smiled and walked away....presumably their fellows on the opposite end were also doing the same to the united fans.....
i stayed outside my gate for a long time....kick off was at 2 pm and entry was at 12 pm.....i saw one gate open and wanted to get in....but then i noticed the ppl in that queue were wearing nicely...and no jerseys....so i figured they must be the sponsors etc....better not to attract too much attention i thought so i patiently waited...about 11 plus at this point....at exactly 12..the gates did open so i slipped into the midst of the queue.....
after the steward tore the portion of my ticket to be retained...i could bearly contain my joy...all the suffering from last nite had been worth it......i was finally inside.....there was an extra spring in my steps.....even though i had to climb nearly 4 to 5 storeys to get to my seat...but it was a superb view.....even though it was high it still felt close to the pitch as it was steep......it felt like a very much bigger version of the basketball stadium in geylang which was torn down...we went to watch vj get beaten by rj in the final remember??? but this was of course very much bigger....in addition the roof was closed...had never been to a closed stadium b4.....the atmosphere should be quite whack.....after bz taking photos again i began to realise that i had forgotten that man u had the "small" task to beat liverpool and lift the trophy.....i began to pray..all that was left was man u winning to make my day complete..... there was a guy below who began to sang man u songs....to my surprise a guy about 10+ seats to my right began singing liverpool....liverpool......i was amused...how come he is in man u end?? (my ticket was in man u end, to make it even more perfect) i began to scan the stadium for any sort of barrier which divided the 2 sets of supporters.....ala national stadium style...remember those black metal fence which prevented us from going to the grandstand freely?? i didnt see any in the stadium....which was kind of weird....i shrugged it off....and tried to get myself comfy for the match including going to toilet and taking pics of the starting lineup on the big screen....
the pre match entertainment was kind of boring...singing...drums...flags...the usual...haha fake i go a lot of times....united players and liverpool players came out in their suits to inspect the pitch and no i didnt get to see whether beckham was wearing armani or hugo boss suits.....but to my horror man u wore white and liverpool wore red for the match.......in my memory the cup matches btw these 2 have always been won by those wearing red...first sign of discomfort in me.....
as the match started...the answers to the barriers became obvious.....there were none......i was just 10+ seats away from the liverpool half.....haha~ but it was pretty interesting....both sets of supporters didnt want to watc hthe match at all...preferring instead to irritate each other....i could only hear wat man u fans sang....like have u won the treble, have u won the league? and 12 long years (liverpool havent won the league for 12 long years.....but i scared man u also will be like that....so i didnt sing)....stading wasnt aloowed during matches but both sets of supporters still stand..until the stewards buey tahan come and tell them to sit down to prevent any trouble.....but like naughty primary schoolkids.....when the steward turned their backs they stood up again........i never once saw their eyes on the pitch.....pretty amusing.....i told myself to concentrate on the match.....dun want to make the same mistake as in the west ham match.....after a short while i hear foot stomping to my back right...ie the line btw liverpool and man u supporters.....i saw a lot of police standing btw them and fans restrainign their counterparts....apparently the mickeying around had got heated until a fight nearly broke out...i was scared for an instant.....but then i thought wat the fuck.....stupid ppl.....apparently the presence of police was still not enough.....and 2 men were brought down the steps and led away...i dun know if they were arrested or just ejected from the stadium.....but i just thought it so stupid...ruin ur own final.....only 20 min of the match had passed.....the united fans again shouted u scouse bastards and u cant take a joke.....they were to be silenced soon enough.......
there seemed to be no danger when steven gerrard picked the ball just outside the area but nobody closed him down...he shot....i shouted shit....and the ball was in the net via a deflection off beckham.......united supporters were stunned......it was silent....the opposite half in sharp contrast were a sea of activity....flags were waving....ppl jumping up and down.......it was a nice sight...except i should have been inside instead....this wasnt supposed to be happening...i was supposed to see man u win and fulfil a childhood dream.....but i composed myself....hoping for the best....halftime came and went and the rest of the match was a blur.....i alternated btw angry and desperate....angry coz the referee was biased towards liverpool....every 50 50 ball went their way....desperate coz man u were not showing much urgency and there was a clear lack of understanding as passes went astray....i remember shouting fuck the referee a lot of times.....but the unimaginable did happen.....liverpool scored another sucker punch.....both goals came against the run of play....if the first goal was a slap on the face...the second was like a stab in the heart.....and as if it wasnt enough...the guy is pushing the knife deeper and deeper b4 twisitng it round and round and then withdrawing out the blade.....it felt THAT bad....it really hurts......the final few min went normally....really did want the torture to end...but also hoping for a huge miracle ala barcelona to rescue me from the brink of despair.....but it never came and when the final whistle blew....my head dropped...united supporters were already leaving when liverpool scored the second goal....and by now the seats were already half empty......i didnt want to leave so early....forced myself to watch liverpool lift the trophy....it was a moving sight when the players lined up in front of their supportes and sang u'll never walk alone....(liverpool's anthem)......
i was so close to watching man u lift the trophy......and i can die a happy man......but no....aaarghhh in case u all think i xin tong the 150 pounds....i am not....if time turn back again, i would still have done that......i am really sad only coz man u lost.... and when i left the stadium.....it was filled wif liverpool jerseys......the carlsberg logo (sponsors of liverpool) popped out everywhere....irritating me to the max......but wat can i do? my team cocked up......it was about 430 pm when everything finished and i reached the coach station.....my coach back to london was at 815 pm....i had banged on man u winning and me celebrating......but now i got to pass away the lonely hours.....i tried to write this email on paper but just felt too sad to do it......luckily the 6 pm coach had extra space and i could hop on and return back to london.....overall i guess it was a fruitful trip...after all how many sporeans can claim they have watched a cup final wif man u in it?? i was possibly the only sporean inside the stadium that day...i hope...hmm guess thats all....sorry for boring u all........bye bye~~ anyway my pics are on http://sg.photos.yahoo.com/toshking got time then go and see okay?? seeya all.....
last weekend i went up to cardiff to go watch the league cup final between man u and liverpool.....quite scared initailly...coz i dun have a ticket.....ddint know where the stadium in cardiff was either....just board the coach there and go try my luck...
so on saturday nite i board the coach then go to heathrow airport....then need to change coach there.....on the new coach, the driver counted the number of ppl then realised something was wrong....so he ask us to show him our tickets again.....thats when the driver realised some scruffy guy had sneaked onto the coach....i was sitting quite in front so could hear a bit.....the guy's breath smelt of beer (wat else?) even though i was like 2 or 3 seats behind i could still smell him....the conversation btw him and the driver went something like this....so where's ur ticket? i bought my ticket in victoria (london) blah blah...so where is it?.....i bought it but i dun have it wif me....no, u are trying to cheat me.....no i am not, i bought my ticket...so where is it?......i dun have it wif me....u are trying to cheat me, pls get off the coach.... eventually the guy break down...sorry i will pay for the ticket......no u are trying to sneak on the coach, tt's not acceptable....but i will pay for the ticket....no its too late, u were trying to sneak on.....pls, i got a football match to watch in cardiff tomolo, i got to go to cardiff.....no pls get off....eventually the guy sat down behind the driver and refuse to budge...the driver called security guards.....after gek seh for like 2 min....the guy mumbled sorry and went off......haha~ the things that a fan would do......
i reached cardiff bus station at like 420AM....it was just like those bus interchange in spore...meaning it is not a building and it was open....i froze like mad...but there was no place i could go at that hour.....a middle aged ang moh came to tok to me....he asked me where i came from...so i said spore....then to my surprise he said that we have a very good airline....i was pretty surprised...looks like SIA is indeed quite famous....but think i too boring for him.....so he quickly went to tok to another german guy who came all the way from cologne to watch the match...and he supported man u....haha~
i was walking round the stationand saw a map and to my relief...the millenium stadium was just across the street from the bus station.....great...tt means i no need to spend extra money to travel to the stadium.....but i was still damn cold...then i realised that the train station was just beside the bus station too......so i went inside....though not very warm...but at least it is better...there were quite a few ppl who were same as me....some even slept in those instant photo taking booths....and got laughed at....got one guy comment to his fren, wow how does that guy take his photos? take until sleeping.....quite amusing....
at dawn....bout 7 am.....i went out of the station to find the satdium....it was surrounded by buildings on all side and a river on one side....so could not take a good photo of the outside of the stadium......liverpool and man u posters were everywhere outside the stadium...i was getting desperate at that point....nearly wanted to climb over when there was nobody around...but my senses managed to stop me in time.....
so after circling the stadium once and takign a few photos.....i decided to go to cardiff castle...the only attraction that i knew....which surprisingly is also in the same area....lucky day for me.....on my way to the castle....i met 2 ang mohs and they looked at me and asked...do u need tickets for the match? ahh...the magic words....i asked them how much? then the guy replied...300 pounds.....i didnt choke...coz the guy at the bus station already mentoned that kind of figure and onlien agencies were selling at 400 pounds.....but still it was way too much.....i said no then the guy asked me how much i wanted to pay then i said hundred plus.....then he shook his head and said tt's too low...but he gave me his name card and call him on his HP if i changed my mind....as if i would....but the touting business is really big in uk....that guy had his own name card....and he even had his own website...think its www.90-minutes.com......professional rippers......
after the disappointment...i continued to walk to the castle...telling myself though i am desperate i would not put myself to ransom..... the castle itself was pretty small......comapred wif the one in edinburgh scotland......so i decided not to go in...(and i had to conserve money if i am to buy the ticket)......took some photos as usual and walked to the cardiff city hall......by this time i was tired of walking....all the thoughts in my mind was how to get into the fucking stadium.....on one hand i felt that it was really wasted since i am here in cardiff and man u might not reach another cup final in my 3 years here....on the other hand.....i really dun htink i can afford 300 pounds....even though i am crazy....i decided to walk back to the stadium.....
it was already bout 9 am at this point......on another side of the road...there was an old ang moh who asked me whether i want to sell or buy tickets.....another young ang moh beside me was also interested in buying....so he brought us to a fat ang moh who said he had contacts...he was just waiting for the guyto come out of his hotel......i wasnt really hopeful.....and to my "horror" (trying to be a bit more dramatic here) it was the same tout that i met earlier which the fat ang moh was tokking bout...my heart sank again....the fat guy came back wif 2 tickets and said it would be 400 pounds each...i nearly coughed out blood....i only walked for a while and theres such a big diff in the price??? that fat guy again asked me how much i was willing to pay and i said 100+ and he went over to the other side of the road wif the young ang moh to discuss....think my price was too low to make him interested....but i think he was trying to make a premium off the tout.....then the old ang moh commented to me that i aint gonna get anything wif my budget.....i replied i also know....but i am just a student and cannot afford to pay that kind of money...i only came here to try my luck...to which he said oh sure sure try ur luck....had a bit of sarcasm in his tone....made me rather irritated....but wat to do? money makes the world go round......
so on i walked for about 50 metres b4 i met another ang moh and a black guy beside him....again the magic words were said and they replied 300 pounds....by now i was super irritated at that figure and wanted to pack up and go home......i said no then the ang moh ask me wat was i willing to pay and i said 100+....clearly the ang moh wasnt interested.....so he said no and turned and walk away....the black guy looked at me.....then he said 200 pounds and u will get it.....i said cannot coz i only brought 150 pounds (i had 190 pounds wif me and could withdraw if i wanted to)....then he said 180....i said no as i only had 150 pounds....clearly he was slowy buying it.....he made the actions indicating i could withdraw from ATM but i said tt's all i have already...then he said 170...i still made the same expression...he turned to look at the ang moh who by now had walked away.....then he said follow me....so i followed him...he put his hands into his pocket and he had around 4 tickets wif him....presumably he looked for the one wif the lousiest seat.....and handed it to me....i asked 150 pounds? scarcely believing my eyes when i looked at the ticket wif worthington cup final liverpool vs manchester united printed on it.....he said yeah but then it dawned on me that 150 pounds itself wasnt a small sum either....i nearly wanted to give it up when i saw that the face value of the tix was only 40 pounds......but i stopped myself.....i told myself that i probably would find a ticket much lower than this.....if i give it up...i might never get this price again if i go back to the same guy.....so i fished out my wallet....squeeezed my balls and handed him the money......
at last i had a ticket.....but from that moment on.....i became scared again....i began to have doubts bout the prigins of the ticket...i had read on websites that some tickets had been stolen and ppl wif those tix would be refused entry......i cringed at the thought of that...the price was bad enough.....if it had been stolen then i can really go bang my head.....i checked out the entrance....and they had machines to pass the tix thru.....my head was filled wif thoughts of me passing the ticket thru and kanna rejected.....really scared.....but i didnt have a choice anymore.....
slowly and slowly united and liverpool jerseys began to fill the streets outside the stadium.....predictably i stayed near the united end......where i proudly displayed my jersey....those liverpool fans unfortunate enough to pass thru that area had "u scouse bastards" ringing in their ears.......(they call ppl from liverppol scousers)......the liverpool fans just smiled and walked away....presumably their fellows on the opposite end were also doing the same to the united fans.....
i stayed outside my gate for a long time....kick off was at 2 pm and entry was at 12 pm.....i saw one gate open and wanted to get in....but then i noticed the ppl in that queue were wearing nicely...and no jerseys....so i figured they must be the sponsors etc....better not to attract too much attention i thought so i patiently waited...about 11 plus at this point....at exactly 12..the gates did open so i slipped into the midst of the queue.....
after the steward tore the portion of my ticket to be retained...i could bearly contain my joy...all the suffering from last nite had been worth it......i was finally inside.....there was an extra spring in my steps.....even though i had to climb nearly 4 to 5 storeys to get to my seat...but it was a superb view.....even though it was high it still felt close to the pitch as it was steep......it felt like a very much bigger version of the basketball stadium in geylang which was torn down...we went to watch vj get beaten by rj in the final remember??? but this was of course very much bigger....in addition the roof was closed...had never been to a closed stadium b4.....the atmosphere should be quite whack.....after bz taking photos again i began to realise that i had forgotten that man u had the "small" task to beat liverpool and lift the trophy.....i began to pray..all that was left was man u winning to make my day complete..... there was a guy below who began to sang man u songs....to my surprise a guy about 10+ seats to my right began singing liverpool....liverpool......i was amused...how come he is in man u end?? (my ticket was in man u end, to make it even more perfect) i began to scan the stadium for any sort of barrier which divided the 2 sets of supporters.....ala national stadium style...remember those black metal fence which prevented us from going to the grandstand freely?? i didnt see any in the stadium....which was kind of weird....i shrugged it off....and tried to get myself comfy for the match including going to toilet and taking pics of the starting lineup on the big screen....
the pre match entertainment was kind of boring...singing...drums...flags...the usual...haha fake i go a lot of times....united players and liverpool players came out in their suits to inspect the pitch and no i didnt get to see whether beckham was wearing armani or hugo boss suits.....but to my horror man u wore white and liverpool wore red for the match.......in my memory the cup matches btw these 2 have always been won by those wearing red...first sign of discomfort in me.....
as the match started...the answers to the barriers became obvious.....there were none......i was just 10+ seats away from the liverpool half.....haha~ but it was pretty interesting....both sets of supporters didnt want to watc hthe match at all...preferring instead to irritate each other....i could only hear wat man u fans sang....like have u won the treble, have u won the league? and 12 long years (liverpool havent won the league for 12 long years.....but i scared man u also will be like that....so i didnt sing)....stading wasnt aloowed during matches but both sets of supporters still stand..until the stewards buey tahan come and tell them to sit down to prevent any trouble.....but like naughty primary schoolkids.....when the steward turned their backs they stood up again........i never once saw their eyes on the pitch.....pretty amusing.....i told myself to concentrate on the match.....dun want to make the same mistake as in the west ham match.....after a short while i hear foot stomping to my back right...ie the line btw liverpool and man u supporters.....i saw a lot of police standing btw them and fans restrainign their counterparts....apparently the mickeying around had got heated until a fight nearly broke out...i was scared for an instant.....but then i thought wat the fuck.....stupid ppl.....apparently the presence of police was still not enough.....and 2 men were brought down the steps and led away...i dun know if they were arrested or just ejected from the stadium.....but i just thought it so stupid...ruin ur own final.....only 20 min of the match had passed.....the united fans again shouted u scouse bastards and u cant take a joke.....they were to be silenced soon enough.......
there seemed to be no danger when steven gerrard picked the ball just outside the area but nobody closed him down...he shot....i shouted shit....and the ball was in the net via a deflection off beckham.......united supporters were stunned......it was silent....the opposite half in sharp contrast were a sea of activity....flags were waving....ppl jumping up and down.......it was a nice sight...except i should have been inside instead....this wasnt supposed to be happening...i was supposed to see man u win and fulfil a childhood dream.....but i composed myself....hoping for the best....halftime came and went and the rest of the match was a blur.....i alternated btw angry and desperate....angry coz the referee was biased towards liverpool....every 50 50 ball went their way....desperate coz man u were not showing much urgency and there was a clear lack of understanding as passes went astray....i remember shouting fuck the referee a lot of times.....but the unimaginable did happen.....liverpool scored another sucker punch.....both goals came against the run of play....if the first goal was a slap on the face...the second was like a stab in the heart.....and as if it wasnt enough...the guy is pushing the knife deeper and deeper b4 twisitng it round and round and then withdrawing out the blade.....it felt THAT bad....it really hurts......the final few min went normally....really did want the torture to end...but also hoping for a huge miracle ala barcelona to rescue me from the brink of despair.....but it never came and when the final whistle blew....my head dropped...united supporters were already leaving when liverpool scored the second goal....and by now the seats were already half empty......i didnt want to leave so early....forced myself to watch liverpool lift the trophy....it was a moving sight when the players lined up in front of their supportes and sang u'll never walk alone....(liverpool's anthem)......
i was so close to watching man u lift the trophy......and i can die a happy man......but no....aaarghhh in case u all think i xin tong the 150 pounds....i am not....if time turn back again, i would still have done that......i am really sad only coz man u lost.... and when i left the stadium.....it was filled wif liverpool jerseys......the carlsberg logo (sponsors of liverpool) popped out everywhere....irritating me to the max......but wat can i do? my team cocked up......it was about 430 pm when everything finished and i reached the coach station.....my coach back to london was at 815 pm....i had banged on man u winning and me celebrating......but now i got to pass away the lonely hours.....i tried to write this email on paper but just felt too sad to do it......luckily the 6 pm coach had extra space and i could hop on and return back to london.....overall i guess it was a fruitful trip...after all how many sporeans can claim they have watched a cup final wif man u in it?? i was possibly the only sporean inside the stadium that day...i hope...hmm guess thats all....sorry for boring u all........bye bye~~ anyway my pics are on http://sg.photos.yahoo.com/toshking got time then go and see okay?? seeya all.....
STI articles galore, before they make me pay!
From The Straits Times :
March 13, 2005
Extra-marital affairs: Will you get fired?
S'pore firms likely to take action; but singles are mostly in the clear
By Joyce Hooi and Sharlene Tan
AN OFFICE romance may earn you a nudge and a wink but an extra-marital affair with a colleague will very likely get you the boot in Singapore.
Nearly 20 companies told The Sunday Times that while they have no issues with, and even welcome, consensual relationships between single employees, many consider affairs to be dangerous liaisons which can cost a worker his job.
That was the line former Boeing chief executive Harry Stonecipher, 68, crossed early this month when he was fired for having an extra-marital affair with Ms Debra Peabody, 48, a Boeing vice-president who did not report directly to him.
Mr Stonecipher is married with two children and two grandchildren, while Ms Peabody is single.
Like Boeing, Canon Singapore does not tolerate infidelity.
The digital imaging firm, which has about 750 employees, has a number of ways of dealing with extra-marital affairs among workers, though such a need has never arisen. These range from counselling to outright termination, if the relationship becomes a full-blown scandal.
A company spokesman said: 'While we do not have a written policy, we strongly discourage affairs between couples where one or both of them are already married.
'If it affects working relationships and the morale of other staff members, we will intervene. We do not tolerate any sort of behaviour that could embarrass the company.'
Ms Carol Ho, a consultant for recruitment consultancy Michael Page International, said some companies go even further - they forbid employees from dating.
This is ostensibly done to prevent a sharing of sensitive information across departments, she said.
Other companies The Sunday Times spoke to said they are open to workplace relationships - unless conflicts of interest threaten workplace morale, or a cheating employee's spouse complains.
Telco M1 said that it respects employees' relationships, but these 'should not interfere with their official duties, have any adverse impact on their respective areas of work or create a professional conflict of interest'.
Other companies such as Sentosa Leisure Group, Marina Mandarin, and KFC and Pizza Hut, take a similar stance.
A Public Service Division spokesman said the civil service avoids 'posting married couples to a unit where one partner is subordinate to the other'.
Although most companies take a dim view of illicit affairs, a handful adopt a totally hands-off approach.
A spokesman for a local company said: 'We do not have a moral code, but we have an ethical one. We are not a church. Who are we to tell people how to live their personal lives?'
He added: 'We do not interfere in our employee's personal lives as long as what they do does not affect their performance or the business. We leave it very much to the integrity of the employees to separate their personal lives from their business lives.'
Other people The Sunday Times spoke to said that even if a company had rules about extra-marital affairs in the workplace, they can be hard to enforce.
A former dealer with a bank revealed that he once had a two-year relationship with a female colleague from a different department. He said the company did not take any action, nor did colleagues bring it up.
'It's not like we were behaving inappropriately in the office and from what I know there's no written policy about office relationships. It's very human to fall in love, one shouldn't be penalised for that,' he said.
This reminded me of the situation of one of my friend whose relationship with his gf in JC was discovered by the school administration and they started to exert all sorts of pressure on them to break up. I can understand all the arguments about conflict of interests, work productivity blah blah. But still I can't help but feel that relationships in the workplace should not really be frowned upon (extra marital affairs is quite something else and I don't think I have a firm opinion on that). As the last line paragraph, it is very human to fall in love. If your boss (who controls your bread and butter) clamps down and nips your romance in the bud, it is a sad workplace indeed. After all, we spend a significant portion of our time working and the chances of liking someone in our work place is much higher than say love at first sight across the dance floor in Zouk. If we are going to clamp down on work place romances, then we really should not be surprised at the low birth rates etc. Singapore is also burdened by the NS system, which makes it hard for romances from school to continue through to adulthood. That basically leaves university life and workplace as the main areas to find a life partner (well at least without the help of SDU). If workplace romance threatens your rice bowl, then I guess if you come out of university life single, then perhaps what the MCDS guy said during DPPS in July is true: "You are basically screwed".
From The Straits Times:
March 13, 2005
Have game, will travel
But remember to buy your Premiership tickets early or you may end up punching yourself
By Chan Yi Shen
THE English Premiership's blend of fire and flair has been winning football fans all over the world. Not least the young generation brought up on Big League soccer. More and more Singaporeans are leaving home with their favourite English team's jersey in their travelling bags.
While VisitBritain does not have the exact number of Singaporeans visiting England to watch the Premier League, the tourism board's South-east Asia manager Alex Mawer reveals that football is a major reason why the country attracts around 90,000 Singaporeans yearly.
Arsenal fan Elvin Chong was among those who made his long-awaited trip to Highbury last May.
The plan was to watch his Gunners take on Leicester in their final home game of the season.
The significance of the match was not lost on the 26-year-old fresh graduate.
The clash was a historic occasion for the Gunners, who were hoping to end the entire season undefeated.
As it turned out, they succeeded with a 2-1 win.
But he did not get to watch history unfold before his eyes as he failed to secure tickets for the game.
So how does one avoid the disappointment that Chong felt when he was locked out?
Obviously, early planning is a must - or you may end up punching yourself for not getting the tickets earlier, paying an exorbitant price on the black market or having smoke blown into your eyes in a dingy pub while drowning your sorrows.
Fortunately for Chong, all's well that ends well.
After graduating from Nanyang Technological University in December, he embarked on another football trip.
This time, his 10-day trip included five Premier League matches, a Champions League match and a League Championship (last season's previous English First Division) match.
The highlight of his itinerary? The London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea on Dec 12.
Unlike before, planning for the big trip started as far back as September.
He said: 'I knew there was no chance of getting a ticket for that game through the club website, so I went for the hospitality package instead.'
At a hefty £250 (S$780), it came with a talk by Arsenal legend Charlie George, buffet lunch, souvenirs and post-game tea.
Said Chong, a fan since the age of 10: 'Somehow, I don't feel like a real Arsenal fan without watching a real competitive game.
'It's that special buzz that comes with being at the stadium itself.
'To avoid disappointment, plan early. The night matches on weekdays are not as popular, so it's easier to get tickets. Still, you have to apply at least a month earlier.'
Or pay the Premium packages price, such as match ball sponsorship, which can cost as much as £1,000 per person for a single match. A normal ticket costs between £25 and £50.
In all, Chong spent close to $6,000 for his entire trip.
He is among thousands of Singaporeans flying halfway round the world just to catch a glimpse of their Premiership heroes in the flesh.
Last year alone, at least 80 Liverpool fans made their way to Anfield.
Many of them made arrangements through the official Liverpool fan club in Singapore.
Said club secretary James Lim, who travels to Anfield yearly: 'Because of our close affiliation with Liverpool, our members get special benefits, such as visits to the museum, the Melwood training ground, the academy and also attend reserve matches.'
These privileges are part of the travel package which the club offers.
Company director Seet Puay Seng, his wife Mary and son Gabriel were among the 18 Reds fans who made the trip for the club's Southampton and Chelsea fixtures earlier this season.
'Everything was taken care of,' he said. 'We didn't have to worry about anything. It was just talking, watching and living football.
'We were seated right in front. I even shook hands with the manager Rafael Benitez and got his autograph.'
For Manchester United fan Dennis Foo, first-class treatment at Old Trafford comes free.
The nightlife entrepreneur, who owns Devil's Bar here - part of the Manchester United franchise - is invited to the Theatre of Dreams every year for one of the biggest matches of the season - Manchester United versus Arsenal.
He even gets to sit in the directors' box and receives the full VIP treatment.
In 2002, he was seated behind David Beckham in the box, something that got his wife Jenny excited even though she was not a football fan.
He also managed to get up close and personal with both managers, Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
And he found that the Arsenal manager Wenger was not the sourpuss the media made him out to be.
'We had a conversation and he struck me as a friendly and soft-spoken man. Quite humble as well,' he revealed.
Last September, Chelsea fan Colin Pereira spent two weeks in London with his wife Susan.
Among other things, they visited Big Ben and the London Eye, shopped at Harrods and enjoyed theatre at The West End.
But Pereira's priority was to visit Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea.
'My wife is not a big football fan,' he said. 'But for me, that was the icing on the cake.'
Everton fan Damon Wee proved that no one needs to break the bank to watch their dream team.
Air tickets aside, he spent less than £200 on his three-day visit to Liverpool two years ago to catch the Toffees play Leeds.
He did that by staying at a hostel which charged £40 for three days, and roughing it out.
'I've no regrets,' he said. 'It's all about fulfilling a life-long dream.'
From The Straits Times:
March 13, 2005
Destination Premiership
How to get tickets?
The Premier League clubs themselves, through booking hotline, online or postage application. But demand is high and it is near impossible to obtain big-game tickets unless one is a club member.
Official supporters' clubs in Singapore. Many fan clubs are able to help secure tickets and some, such as Liverpool and Chelsea, actually offer tour packages. You have to join the clubs first, of course.
Online ticket companies, such as ticketmaster ( www.ticketmaster.co.uk ), offer tickets for sale but mainly for smaller matches.
Tour agencies, like Diners World Travel and Tradewinds, do organise tour packages but they are subject to availability of match tickets. Tips for your EPL trip
The most important thing is tickets. So plan early. Big games are usually sold out months ahead.
If you are willing to pay more, buying tickets on the black market is fine. But do check if they're genuine and where the seats are. Sitting among rival supporters will really restrict your enjoyment.
On the same note, do not wear club jersey unless you already know where your seats are.
Stadium tours are not conducted on match days, so plan and book in advance if you want one.
Beware women fans. The English tend to be more passionate than Singaporeans and it can get pretty rowdy at times, especially near the pitch and behind the goal.
Learn the club songs and sing along. English fans are generally more receptive if you join in their songs and chants.
Check train schedules. Navigating London's tube and England's rail system is not as simple as taking the MRT. If in doubt, just ask.
Budget travellers can consider accommodation near university campuses, where food is generally less expensive than the city centres.
Try to avoid the Christmas period. There are reduced services for trains and buses, and many shops are closed.
Cold weather. Be prepared for freezing conditions, especially in the North during winter.
Watch your belongings.
I only have one complaint in the article: WHY AM I NOT FEATURED INSIDE???????
Hahahahaha, ok lah just joking. These dudes who fly halfway round the globe just to catch a 90 min football game have to be pretty hard core. Some of the advice given are also pretty sensible, but some perspective is needed.
For example the line that the Everton guy proved that no one needs to break the bank requires some qualification. Everton tickets are easily available over ticketmaster and so getting tickets for normal matches (definitely not against Liverpool) is pretty easy. It is definitely not THAT easy for Man United or Arsenal tickets. Paying over the odds is often necessary if you don't have contacts.
Secondly, staying at youth hostel does not equal roughing it out. It all depends on your luck really. 15 pounds can get you a fairly decent youth hostel bed which I don't consider to be roughing it out.
Roughing it out = sleeping on your ground sheet with your field pack on, on top of a hill in Pasir Laba, but not daring to fall totally asleep in anticipation of a turnout.
As for the wearing jersey part. Its all common sense really. If you are going to Old Trafford to watch United then what the hell is wrong with wearing a jersey? Of course the touts are going to sell tickets to you which are with the home fans simply because they are more available. Who is going to sell you an AWAY ticket? Duh.
As for the English fans being rowdy part, perhaps I am a violent person myself but matches these days are generally docile. (Rememeber I am only talking about Man United matches) The crowd is generally quite all right unless you really suey to sit beside those true hooligans, which are small in proportion. But you do have to endure the swearing and the loud voices behind you. If a person behind you sings loudly and passionately, I suggest you enjoy it, for they are rare. If you don't enjoy that, I suggest you go and watch an orchestra concert instead. Football is meant to be noisy, not like a fucking library.
I guess it does help and adds to your enjoyment if you know the songs and sing along. But to get truly accepted by the locals, it is even more important not to make stupid comments. And by that I mean when Ruud misses a chance, saying "Ruud is fucking useless, he should be sold" is a sure sign that you are a muppet. If United loses, complaining that Fergie should get sacked is an invitation to have weird glances cast in your direction.
Bah enough grumbling for now, still sore that they never ask me for my comments :P Anyway does anybody still have the email that I sent when I went to Cardiff for the League Cup final with Liverpool? Can forward it back to me? I want to preserve it as a memory.....
March 13, 2005
Extra-marital affairs: Will you get fired?
S'pore firms likely to take action; but singles are mostly in the clear
By Joyce Hooi and Sharlene Tan
AN OFFICE romance may earn you a nudge and a wink but an extra-marital affair with a colleague will very likely get you the boot in Singapore.
Nearly 20 companies told The Sunday Times that while they have no issues with, and even welcome, consensual relationships between single employees, many consider affairs to be dangerous liaisons which can cost a worker his job.
That was the line former Boeing chief executive Harry Stonecipher, 68, crossed early this month when he was fired for having an extra-marital affair with Ms Debra Peabody, 48, a Boeing vice-president who did not report directly to him.
Mr Stonecipher is married with two children and two grandchildren, while Ms Peabody is single.
Like Boeing, Canon Singapore does not tolerate infidelity.
The digital imaging firm, which has about 750 employees, has a number of ways of dealing with extra-marital affairs among workers, though such a need has never arisen. These range from counselling to outright termination, if the relationship becomes a full-blown scandal.
A company spokesman said: 'While we do not have a written policy, we strongly discourage affairs between couples where one or both of them are already married.
'If it affects working relationships and the morale of other staff members, we will intervene. We do not tolerate any sort of behaviour that could embarrass the company.'
Ms Carol Ho, a consultant for recruitment consultancy Michael Page International, said some companies go even further - they forbid employees from dating.
This is ostensibly done to prevent a sharing of sensitive information across departments, she said.
Other companies The Sunday Times spoke to said they are open to workplace relationships - unless conflicts of interest threaten workplace morale, or a cheating employee's spouse complains.
Telco M1 said that it respects employees' relationships, but these 'should not interfere with their official duties, have any adverse impact on their respective areas of work or create a professional conflict of interest'.
Other companies such as Sentosa Leisure Group, Marina Mandarin, and KFC and Pizza Hut, take a similar stance.
A Public Service Division spokesman said the civil service avoids 'posting married couples to a unit where one partner is subordinate to the other'.
Although most companies take a dim view of illicit affairs, a handful adopt a totally hands-off approach.
A spokesman for a local company said: 'We do not have a moral code, but we have an ethical one. We are not a church. Who are we to tell people how to live their personal lives?'
He added: 'We do not interfere in our employee's personal lives as long as what they do does not affect their performance or the business. We leave it very much to the integrity of the employees to separate their personal lives from their business lives.'
Other people The Sunday Times spoke to said that even if a company had rules about extra-marital affairs in the workplace, they can be hard to enforce.
A former dealer with a bank revealed that he once had a two-year relationship with a female colleague from a different department. He said the company did not take any action, nor did colleagues bring it up.
'It's not like we were behaving inappropriately in the office and from what I know there's no written policy about office relationships. It's very human to fall in love, one shouldn't be penalised for that,' he said.
This reminded me of the situation of one of my friend whose relationship with his gf in JC was discovered by the school administration and they started to exert all sorts of pressure on them to break up. I can understand all the arguments about conflict of interests, work productivity blah blah. But still I can't help but feel that relationships in the workplace should not really be frowned upon (extra marital affairs is quite something else and I don't think I have a firm opinion on that). As the last line paragraph, it is very human to fall in love. If your boss (who controls your bread and butter) clamps down and nips your romance in the bud, it is a sad workplace indeed. After all, we spend a significant portion of our time working and the chances of liking someone in our work place is much higher than say love at first sight across the dance floor in Zouk. If we are going to clamp down on work place romances, then we really should not be surprised at the low birth rates etc. Singapore is also burdened by the NS system, which makes it hard for romances from school to continue through to adulthood. That basically leaves university life and workplace as the main areas to find a life partner (well at least without the help of SDU). If workplace romance threatens your rice bowl, then I guess if you come out of university life single, then perhaps what the MCDS guy said during DPPS in July is true: "You are basically screwed".
From The Straits Times:
March 13, 2005
Have game, will travel
But remember to buy your Premiership tickets early or you may end up punching yourself
By Chan Yi Shen
THE English Premiership's blend of fire and flair has been winning football fans all over the world. Not least the young generation brought up on Big League soccer. More and more Singaporeans are leaving home with their favourite English team's jersey in their travelling bags.
While VisitBritain does not have the exact number of Singaporeans visiting England to watch the Premier League, the tourism board's South-east Asia manager Alex Mawer reveals that football is a major reason why the country attracts around 90,000 Singaporeans yearly.
Arsenal fan Elvin Chong was among those who made his long-awaited trip to Highbury last May.
The plan was to watch his Gunners take on Leicester in their final home game of the season.
The significance of the match was not lost on the 26-year-old fresh graduate.
The clash was a historic occasion for the Gunners, who were hoping to end the entire season undefeated.
As it turned out, they succeeded with a 2-1 win.
But he did not get to watch history unfold before his eyes as he failed to secure tickets for the game.
So how does one avoid the disappointment that Chong felt when he was locked out?
Obviously, early planning is a must - or you may end up punching yourself for not getting the tickets earlier, paying an exorbitant price on the black market or having smoke blown into your eyes in a dingy pub while drowning your sorrows.
Fortunately for Chong, all's well that ends well.
After graduating from Nanyang Technological University in December, he embarked on another football trip.
This time, his 10-day trip included five Premier League matches, a Champions League match and a League Championship (last season's previous English First Division) match.
The highlight of his itinerary? The London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea on Dec 12.
Unlike before, planning for the big trip started as far back as September.
He said: 'I knew there was no chance of getting a ticket for that game through the club website, so I went for the hospitality package instead.'
At a hefty £250 (S$780), it came with a talk by Arsenal legend Charlie George, buffet lunch, souvenirs and post-game tea.
Said Chong, a fan since the age of 10: 'Somehow, I don't feel like a real Arsenal fan without watching a real competitive game.
'It's that special buzz that comes with being at the stadium itself.
'To avoid disappointment, plan early. The night matches on weekdays are not as popular, so it's easier to get tickets. Still, you have to apply at least a month earlier.'
Or pay the Premium packages price, such as match ball sponsorship, which can cost as much as £1,000 per person for a single match. A normal ticket costs between £25 and £50.
In all, Chong spent close to $6,000 for his entire trip.
He is among thousands of Singaporeans flying halfway round the world just to catch a glimpse of their Premiership heroes in the flesh.
Last year alone, at least 80 Liverpool fans made their way to Anfield.
Many of them made arrangements through the official Liverpool fan club in Singapore.
Said club secretary James Lim, who travels to Anfield yearly: 'Because of our close affiliation with Liverpool, our members get special benefits, such as visits to the museum, the Melwood training ground, the academy and also attend reserve matches.'
These privileges are part of the travel package which the club offers.
Company director Seet Puay Seng, his wife Mary and son Gabriel were among the 18 Reds fans who made the trip for the club's Southampton and Chelsea fixtures earlier this season.
'Everything was taken care of,' he said. 'We didn't have to worry about anything. It was just talking, watching and living football.
'We were seated right in front. I even shook hands with the manager Rafael Benitez and got his autograph.'
For Manchester United fan Dennis Foo, first-class treatment at Old Trafford comes free.
The nightlife entrepreneur, who owns Devil's Bar here - part of the Manchester United franchise - is invited to the Theatre of Dreams every year for one of the biggest matches of the season - Manchester United versus Arsenal.
He even gets to sit in the directors' box and receives the full VIP treatment.
In 2002, he was seated behind David Beckham in the box, something that got his wife Jenny excited even though she was not a football fan.
He also managed to get up close and personal with both managers, Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
And he found that the Arsenal manager Wenger was not the sourpuss the media made him out to be.
'We had a conversation and he struck me as a friendly and soft-spoken man. Quite humble as well,' he revealed.
Last September, Chelsea fan Colin Pereira spent two weeks in London with his wife Susan.
Among other things, they visited Big Ben and the London Eye, shopped at Harrods and enjoyed theatre at The West End.
But Pereira's priority was to visit Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea.
'My wife is not a big football fan,' he said. 'But for me, that was the icing on the cake.'
Everton fan Damon Wee proved that no one needs to break the bank to watch their dream team.
Air tickets aside, he spent less than £200 on his three-day visit to Liverpool two years ago to catch the Toffees play Leeds.
He did that by staying at a hostel which charged £40 for three days, and roughing it out.
'I've no regrets,' he said. 'It's all about fulfilling a life-long dream.'
From The Straits Times:
March 13, 2005
Destination Premiership
How to get tickets?
The Premier League clubs themselves, through booking hotline, online or postage application. But demand is high and it is near impossible to obtain big-game tickets unless one is a club member.
Official supporters' clubs in Singapore. Many fan clubs are able to help secure tickets and some, such as Liverpool and Chelsea, actually offer tour packages. You have to join the clubs first, of course.
Online ticket companies, such as ticketmaster ( www.ticketmaster.co.uk ), offer tickets for sale but mainly for smaller matches.
Tour agencies, like Diners World Travel and Tradewinds, do organise tour packages but they are subject to availability of match tickets. Tips for your EPL trip
The most important thing is tickets. So plan early. Big games are usually sold out months ahead.
If you are willing to pay more, buying tickets on the black market is fine. But do check if they're genuine and where the seats are. Sitting among rival supporters will really restrict your enjoyment.
On the same note, do not wear club jersey unless you already know where your seats are.
Stadium tours are not conducted on match days, so plan and book in advance if you want one.
Beware women fans. The English tend to be more passionate than Singaporeans and it can get pretty rowdy at times, especially near the pitch and behind the goal.
Learn the club songs and sing along. English fans are generally more receptive if you join in their songs and chants.
Check train schedules. Navigating London's tube and England's rail system is not as simple as taking the MRT. If in doubt, just ask.
Budget travellers can consider accommodation near university campuses, where food is generally less expensive than the city centres.
Try to avoid the Christmas period. There are reduced services for trains and buses, and many shops are closed.
Cold weather. Be prepared for freezing conditions, especially in the North during winter.
Watch your belongings.
I only have one complaint in the article: WHY AM I NOT FEATURED INSIDE???????
Hahahahaha, ok lah just joking. These dudes who fly halfway round the globe just to catch a 90 min football game have to be pretty hard core. Some of the advice given are also pretty sensible, but some perspective is needed.
For example the line that the Everton guy proved that no one needs to break the bank requires some qualification. Everton tickets are easily available over ticketmaster and so getting tickets for normal matches (definitely not against Liverpool) is pretty easy. It is definitely not THAT easy for Man United or Arsenal tickets. Paying over the odds is often necessary if you don't have contacts.
Secondly, staying at youth hostel does not equal roughing it out. It all depends on your luck really. 15 pounds can get you a fairly decent youth hostel bed which I don't consider to be roughing it out.
Roughing it out = sleeping on your ground sheet with your field pack on, on top of a hill in Pasir Laba, but not daring to fall totally asleep in anticipation of a turnout.
As for the wearing jersey part. Its all common sense really. If you are going to Old Trafford to watch United then what the hell is wrong with wearing a jersey? Of course the touts are going to sell tickets to you which are with the home fans simply because they are more available. Who is going to sell you an AWAY ticket? Duh.
As for the English fans being rowdy part, perhaps I am a violent person myself but matches these days are generally docile. (Rememeber I am only talking about Man United matches) The crowd is generally quite all right unless you really suey to sit beside those true hooligans, which are small in proportion. But you do have to endure the swearing and the loud voices behind you. If a person behind you sings loudly and passionately, I suggest you enjoy it, for they are rare. If you don't enjoy that, I suggest you go and watch an orchestra concert instead. Football is meant to be noisy, not like a fucking library.
I guess it does help and adds to your enjoyment if you know the songs and sing along. But to get truly accepted by the locals, it is even more important not to make stupid comments. And by that I mean when Ruud misses a chance, saying "Ruud is fucking useless, he should be sold" is a sure sign that you are a muppet. If United loses, complaining that Fergie should get sacked is an invitation to have weird glances cast in your direction.
Bah enough grumbling for now, still sore that they never ask me for my comments :P Anyway does anybody still have the email that I sent when I went to Cardiff for the League Cup final with Liverpool? Can forward it back to me? I want to preserve it as a memory.....
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Email stories 7
A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog had been dead for years.
He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother of pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.
He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets." The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book. "Excuse me!" he called to the reader. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there". The man pointed to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog. "There should be a bowl by the pump." They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree waiting for them."What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," was the answer.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell.
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No. I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind."
He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother of pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.
He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets." The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book. "Excuse me!" he called to the reader. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there". The man pointed to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog. "There should be a bowl by the pump." They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree waiting for them."What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," was the answer.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell.
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No. I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind."
Mindless ramblings
Sometimes some people need to get a grip on reality. Having airy fairy ideas and not being realistic is the path to disappointment, if not destruction. If you are so good, private companies will still want you after you finish 6 years of your bond. If you are not good, there is no way that they will sign a contract with you to further your studies, much less pay you out of your bond.
If you want to earn big money, you have to endure long, irregular working hours, stress or unreasonable working environments. No two ways about it. If you are lazy, can't take hardship and stress, then you will be paid peanuts. Having a ai pin ai qi ai dua ni attitude only works in wet markets.
If this is what a significant proportion of the "brightest" students in Singapore think, then perhaps I really should start to get worried for Singapore.
Guys go through a lot of sacrifices in NS (another story for another day). You were sleeping soundly at 530am in the morning while males your age woke up for 5BX. Defence is necessary for Singapore and I accept it. What makes me fume is that some people don't appreciate it and simply knock down our sacrifices by saying that we should not get a higher starting pay. Perhaps we really need a WW3 to wake up some people.
I used to argue with my GP teacher that a bond is merely a contract and if people wish to break a bond, they should be allowed to do so. I think I no longer have such a selfish attitude. When you sign the contract, you should have a view towards completing the contract. After all that is the purpose of that piece of paper. If you are already trying to find ways and means to get out even before starting to honour that piece of paper which you put your name on, what is your name worth in future? I will try my best to be a good teacher in future. If I am not, it still isn't too late for me to get out after a few years. At least I will know I have tried my best but it wasn't to be and it is best that I do not screw any more students. But not before I have given it my best shot.
Ha! I sound like I am sitting on a moral high horse. Maybe I should just admit that I have a serious lack of ambition. Weak, no fighting spirit.
-----------------------------------------------
How can I trust anything that you or your company tell me if you told me on Thursday that the part had arrived and you will start repairs ASAP and then on Friday tell me that the part had not arrived and the estimated arrival date is Friday? I don't want to be a bastard, but you lot don't seem to be helping yourselves.....
But what can I do?
I want my girl back.....
I feel like a twat for complaining when my friend has an infinitely bigger problem than me. I guess it is true that I am a greedy person.
I should get myself off that moral high horse.
If you want to earn big money, you have to endure long, irregular working hours, stress or unreasonable working environments. No two ways about it. If you are lazy, can't take hardship and stress, then you will be paid peanuts. Having a ai pin ai qi ai dua ni attitude only works in wet markets.
If this is what a significant proportion of the "brightest" students in Singapore think, then perhaps I really should start to get worried for Singapore.
Guys go through a lot of sacrifices in NS (another story for another day). You were sleeping soundly at 530am in the morning while males your age woke up for 5BX. Defence is necessary for Singapore and I accept it. What makes me fume is that some people don't appreciate it and simply knock down our sacrifices by saying that we should not get a higher starting pay. Perhaps we really need a WW3 to wake up some people.
I used to argue with my GP teacher that a bond is merely a contract and if people wish to break a bond, they should be allowed to do so. I think I no longer have such a selfish attitude. When you sign the contract, you should have a view towards completing the contract. After all that is the purpose of that piece of paper. If you are already trying to find ways and means to get out even before starting to honour that piece of paper which you put your name on, what is your name worth in future? I will try my best to be a good teacher in future. If I am not, it still isn't too late for me to get out after a few years. At least I will know I have tried my best but it wasn't to be and it is best that I do not screw any more students. But not before I have given it my best shot.
Ha! I sound like I am sitting on a moral high horse. Maybe I should just admit that I have a serious lack of ambition. Weak, no fighting spirit.
-----------------------------------------------
How can I trust anything that you or your company tell me if you told me on Thursday that the part had arrived and you will start repairs ASAP and then on Friday tell me that the part had not arrived and the estimated arrival date is Friday? I don't want to be a bastard, but you lot don't seem to be helping yourselves.....
But what can I do?
I want my girl back.....
I feel like a twat for complaining when my friend has an infinitely bigger problem than me. I guess it is true that I am a greedy person.
I should get myself off that moral high horse.
Friday, March 11, 2005
You can take the boy out of VS...
but you can't take the VS out of the boy :D
Victoria School
which secondary school (singapore) should you be in?
brought to you by Quizilla
Whack...VS power!
Yeah, back from Milan. Had loads of good food and superb chocolate gelato. But very disappointed with the match itself. Yet another entry to remind myself of what to talk about when I get my laptop back.
Victoria School
which secondary school (singapore) should you be in?
brought to you by Quizilla
Whack...VS power!
Yeah, back from Milan. Had loads of good food and superb chocolate gelato. But very disappointed with the match itself. Yet another entry to remind myself of what to talk about when I get my laptop back.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Milan
Off to Milan for 3 days, to San Siro to see United get raped by Milan. Make no mistake about it, United will lose to Milan and Chelsea will win the league. I hate being Aristotle.
So I have left 3 new email posts to keep you all occupied and enlightened in the meantime. The one about carrot, coffee and egg is probably one of the best mass mails I had ever received...
It's a wonder how things can change in 1 month. Things that seemed so important to you 1 month ago may seem so insignificant now. That's right, after proclaiming how excited I was at going to San Siro (and listing an European away as one of the to do things in 2005), it seems almost anti-climatic now.
Man United isn't and will never be the most important thing to me.
So I have left 3 new email posts to keep you all occupied and enlightened in the meantime. The one about carrot, coffee and egg is probably one of the best mass mails I had ever received...
It's a wonder how things can change in 1 month. Things that seemed so important to you 1 month ago may seem so insignificant now. That's right, after proclaiming how excited I was at going to San Siro (and listing an European away as one of the to do things in 2005), it seems almost anti-climatic now.
Man United isn't and will never be the most important thing to me.
Email stories 6
Sent 29th Dec 2001:
Subject :
+*+*+ Worth Reading.... +*+*+
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six pack of Root beer and he started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkie.
She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave. Before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house, a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?"
He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!
Subject :
+*+*+ Worth Reading.... +*+*+
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six pack of Root beer and he started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkie.
She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave. Before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house, a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?"
He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!
Email stories 5
Sent 31 Mar 2001:
ADVERSITY
A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a mug.
Turning to her he asked. "Darling, what do you see."
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
She humbly asked. "What does it mean Father?"
He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you," he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
How about you my friend? Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength?
Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? Were you a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a divorce, or a layoff have you become hardened and stiff. Your shell looks the same, but are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart?
Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean changes the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain, to its peak flavor when it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better.
If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and make things better around you. How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
I think I am a cross between the carrot and egg. Both undesirable. What a weakling I am.
ADVERSITY
A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a mug.
Turning to her he asked. "Darling, what do you see."
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
She humbly asked. "What does it mean Father?"
He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you," he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
How about you my friend? Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength?
Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? Were you a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a divorce, or a layoff have you become hardened and stiff. Your shell looks the same, but are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart?
Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean changes the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain, to its peak flavor when it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better.
If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and make things better around you. How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
I think I am a cross between the carrot and egg. Both undesirable. What a weakling I am.
Email stories 4
Sent 26th Jan 2001:
Subject: Fw: Love your mum
When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you. You thanked her by crying all night long.
When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk. You thanked her by running away when she called.
When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love. You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.
When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons You thanked her by coloring the dining room table.
When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays. You thanked her by plopping into the nearest pile of mud
When you were 6 years old, she walked you to school. You thanked her by screaming, "I'M NOT GOING!"
When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball. You thanked her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor's window.
When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream. You thanked her by dripping it all over your lap.
When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons. You thanked her by never even bothering to practice.
When you were 10 years old she drove you all day, from soccer to one birthday party after another. You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.
When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies. You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.
When you were 12 years old, she told you not to watch certain TV shows. You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.
Those Teenage Years
When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming. You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.
When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp. You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.
When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug. You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.
When you were 16, she taught you how to drive her car. You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.
When you were 17, she was expecting an important call. You thanked her by being on the phone all night.
When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation. You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.
Growing Old and Gray
When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus,carried your bags. You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of your friends.
When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone. You thanked her by saying, "It's none of your business."
When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future. You thanked her by saying, "I don't want to be like you."
When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation. You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.
When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment. You thanked her by telling your friends it was ugly.
When you were 24, she met your fiance and asked about your plans for the future. You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther,please!"
When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried and told you how deeply she loved you. You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.
When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby. You thanked her by telling her, "Things are different now."
When you were 40, she called to remind you of a relative's birthday. You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now."
When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her. You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their children.
And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did came crashing down like thunder.
SHE IS YOUR HEART. LOVE HER MORE THAN YOU LOVE YOURSELF. LIFE IS MEANINGLESS WITHOUT HER...
Subject: Fw: Love your mum
When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you. You thanked her by crying all night long.
When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk. You thanked her by running away when she called.
When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love. You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.
When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons You thanked her by coloring the dining room table.
When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays. You thanked her by plopping into the nearest pile of mud
When you were 6 years old, she walked you to school. You thanked her by screaming, "I'M NOT GOING!"
When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball. You thanked her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor's window.
When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream. You thanked her by dripping it all over your lap.
When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons. You thanked her by never even bothering to practice.
When you were 10 years old she drove you all day, from soccer to one birthday party after another. You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.
When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies. You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.
When you were 12 years old, she told you not to watch certain TV shows. You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.
Those Teenage Years
When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming. You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.
When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp. You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.
When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug. You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.
When you were 16, she taught you how to drive her car. You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.
When you were 17, she was expecting an important call. You thanked her by being on the phone all night.
When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation. You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.
Growing Old and Gray
When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus,carried your bags. You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of your friends.
When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone. You thanked her by saying, "It's none of your business."
When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future. You thanked her by saying, "I don't want to be like you."
When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation. You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.
When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment. You thanked her by telling your friends it was ugly.
When you were 24, she met your fiance and asked about your plans for the future. You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther,please!"
When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried and told you how deeply she loved you. You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.
When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby. You thanked her by telling her, "Things are different now."
When you were 40, she called to remind you of a relative's birthday. You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now."
When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her. You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their children.
And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did came crashing down like thunder.
SHE IS YOUR HEART. LOVE HER MORE THAN YOU LOVE YOURSELF. LIFE IS MEANINGLESS WITHOUT HER...
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Email stories 3
Ever get that fucked up feeling during sales or shopping? You go into one shop, see something you fancy and really feel like buying. But then you pull out at the last minute. Why not look around more? There might be a better shirt, a more suitable shirt, or a cheaper shirt in the next few stores? Don't think so suey right, so fast will have people buy finish.
And so off you go to the next store. No, nothing catches your eye like the previous shirt. The next sotre again. Also nothing. At the end of the day, after walking down the whole of Orchard Road or Oxford Street, you realise the first shirt is still the best. And so you troop off hurriedly back to the first shop.
But alas, its gone. Either they don't have that design or colour, or there is no size anymore. Whatever, your chance to own the shirt had gone. And you are left kicking your feet in disgust. If only you had not been so fickle. If only you had been a bit more decisive in what you want. But no, the chance had already gone.
Do not let the opportunity of a lifetime slip away. It may never come back, just like that last shirt which is going out of season.
Continuing the email stories series. Don't think this one is very coherent, but some paragraphs are really nice. Sent on 14 Mar 2001:
Subject : tHe 50rrOw Of LoV3
It's not that i dun love you... but i juz dun haVe the courage to do so. You are so near but yet so far...WHenevEr i sEE you, i am sCAred to tAlk to you or to evEn saY a simple "hi"...It's not that i dun want to, bUt dun dARE to...
It's huRt to loVe suMoNe anD n0t to be l0vEd in reTuRn. BuT wAd is moRe paInFuL is to loVe suMoNe anD nEvEr fiNd É c0uRaGe to leT tHe peRs0n noE.
When i've experienced a day of hell, your presence lights up my day. You gave me the strength, and the will to live on. You showed me the way to keep my faith strong. You are the motivation for everything i do, becos i know, i do it for you...
Many people ask me why am i wasting my time, cos loving you will not come to any end. I know that my love for you won't be paid through. No matter what i do, you cAN't be moved. And so I thought for a night, seeking for the answer, only to realise that it is a waste of time. Cos I have no reason to love you, it's juz a feeling my heart turns to...the more i try to ferget u, the more i think of you...
Hundreds of questions filled my mind...
Will i still love you if you had somebody else?
Will i still love you if you wun return my love?
Will i still love you in spite of all the pain?
WIll i still love you if you were not meant to be mine?
I admit that i was heartbrokened when i knew u liked someone else...i tried giving up on u and told myself that u weren't worth me...
What's the point of loving you when u wun even love me back? It's only one-sided...and it brings nothing to me... only pain and misery...
I fought against my miNd, wanting to tell myself that the answers are "no"...unfORtuNAtelY i am weak, as my love for you is even stronger than i thought.
All these are challenges in the game of love...true love comes when one doesn't give up despite of all the obstacles.
"If you love someone, let them go. If they return to you, it was meant to be. If they don't, their love was never yours to begin with..." What you can only do is to love her more, and be content that she will remain in your heart forever~!
I know that have no right to tell u tt i love you, to show you that i care, to cry for you, to miss you, or even to love u...becos u were never once mine... But, I juz wanna tell you that my love for you is like a river...cos it flows forever and never diE...
It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone and a day to love someone. but it takes a lifetime to forget someone...
if i had the letter "hrt" i can add "ea" to get a "heart" or a "u" to get a "hurt" i would choose a "u" to get a "hurt" den a "heart" with out U
what is love? love is giving until it hurts, & hurts until you feel like giving up, but you do not give up because you love...
Time will take us apart that's true But I will always be there for you You're in my heart and you'll be in my dreams No matter how many miles between I promise you that I won't forget The day we kissed of the day we met The sky may fall and the stars may too But I will still, I will still love you
And so off you go to the next store. No, nothing catches your eye like the previous shirt. The next sotre again. Also nothing. At the end of the day, after walking down the whole of Orchard Road or Oxford Street, you realise the first shirt is still the best. And so you troop off hurriedly back to the first shop.
But alas, its gone. Either they don't have that design or colour, or there is no size anymore. Whatever, your chance to own the shirt had gone. And you are left kicking your feet in disgust. If only you had not been so fickle. If only you had been a bit more decisive in what you want. But no, the chance had already gone.
Do not let the opportunity of a lifetime slip away. It may never come back, just like that last shirt which is going out of season.
Continuing the email stories series. Don't think this one is very coherent, but some paragraphs are really nice. Sent on 14 Mar 2001:
Subject : tHe 50rrOw Of LoV3
It's not that i dun love you... but i juz dun haVe the courage to do so. You are so near but yet so far...WHenevEr i sEE you, i am sCAred to tAlk to you or to evEn saY a simple "hi"...It's not that i dun want to, bUt dun dARE to...
It's huRt to loVe suMoNe anD n0t to be l0vEd in reTuRn. BuT wAd is moRe paInFuL is to loVe suMoNe anD nEvEr fiNd É c0uRaGe to leT tHe peRs0n noE.
When i've experienced a day of hell, your presence lights up my day. You gave me the strength, and the will to live on. You showed me the way to keep my faith strong. You are the motivation for everything i do, becos i know, i do it for you...
Many people ask me why am i wasting my time, cos loving you will not come to any end. I know that my love for you won't be paid through. No matter what i do, you cAN't be moved. And so I thought for a night, seeking for the answer, only to realise that it is a waste of time. Cos I have no reason to love you, it's juz a feeling my heart turns to...the more i try to ferget u, the more i think of you...
Hundreds of questions filled my mind...
Will i still love you if you had somebody else?
Will i still love you if you wun return my love?
Will i still love you in spite of all the pain?
WIll i still love you if you were not meant to be mine?
I admit that i was heartbrokened when i knew u liked someone else...i tried giving up on u and told myself that u weren't worth me...
What's the point of loving you when u wun even love me back? It's only one-sided...and it brings nothing to me... only pain and misery...
I fought against my miNd, wanting to tell myself that the answers are "no"...unfORtuNAtelY i am weak, as my love for you is even stronger than i thought.
All these are challenges in the game of love...true love comes when one doesn't give up despite of all the obstacles.
"If you love someone, let them go. If they return to you, it was meant to be. If they don't, their love was never yours to begin with..." What you can only do is to love her more, and be content that she will remain in your heart forever~!
I know that have no right to tell u tt i love you, to show you that i care, to cry for you, to miss you, or even to love u...becos u were never once mine... But, I juz wanna tell you that my love for you is like a river...cos it flows forever and never diE...
It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone and a day to love someone. but it takes a lifetime to forget someone...
if i had the letter "hrt" i can add "ea" to get a "heart" or a "u" to get a "hurt" i would choose a "u" to get a "hurt" den a "heart" with out U
what is love? love is giving until it hurts, & hurts until you feel like giving up, but you do not give up because you love...
Time will take us apart that's true But I will always be there for you You're in my heart and you'll be in my dreams No matter how many miles between I promise you that I won't forget The day we kissed of the day we met The sky may fall and the stars may too But I will still, I will still love you
Friday, March 04, 2005
Email stories 2
Before I let you all read the story, just wanna say sometimes it really pays to persevere. I was beginning to feel dumb by logging onto MSN literally every waking minute despite not having my lap top but today it finally paid off. Luckily I decided to log on for that 5 min before I was supposed to go to school and managed to do a good deed :D
Anyway here goes the story. Received 6th Mar 2001:
Subject :
I Wish I Did...
10th grade
**********
As I sat there in english class, I stared at the girl next to me. She was my so called 'best friend'. I stared at her long, silky hair, and wished she was mine. But she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it.
After class, she walked up to me and asked me for the notes she had missed the day before. handed them to her. She said 'thanks' and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I dont know why.
11th grade
**********
The phone rang. On the other end, it was her. She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how her love had broke her heart. She asked me to come over because she didn't want to be alone, so I did.
As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine.
After 2 hours, one Drew Barrymore movie, and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep. She looked at me, said 'thanks' and gave me a kiss on the cheak. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I dont know why.
Senior year
***********
The day before prom she walked to my locker. "My date is sick" she said,"hes not gonna go" well, I didn't have a date, and in 7th grade, we made a promise that if neither of us had dates, we would go together-just as 'best friends'. So we did.Prom night, after everything was over, I was standing at her front door step.I stared at her as she she smiled at me and stared at me with her crystal eyes. I want her to be mine, but she doesn't think of me like that, and I know it.
Then she said- "I had the best time, thanks!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I dont want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.
A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before I could blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angle up on stage to get her diploma. I wanted her to be mine-but she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it. Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as i hugged her. Then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said- 'you're my best friend, thanks' and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.
Now I sit in the pews of the church. That girl is getting married. That girl is getting married now. I watched her say 'i do' and drive off to her new life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn't see me like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me and said 'you came!'. She said 'thanks' and kissed me on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I dont want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.
Years passed, I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my 'best friend'.
At the service, they read a diary entry she had wrote in her high school years. This is what it read: "I stare at him wishing he was mine; but he doesn't notice me like that, and I know it. I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love him but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me!
'I wish I did too...' I thought to my self, and I cried.
Do yourself a favor, tell her/him you love them. They won't be there forever.
------------------------------------------------------
Sometimes I wonder along the way where did all these emails disappear to. Is it because all of us had grown older and the impact of such stories are not that strong anymore? Is it because we are busier nwo and we don't bother to forward such things anymore? In my JC days I used to receive at least 2 such emails per week. Now all I get are junk mails and emails telling to to sign up for this website for free sms, update my birthday particulars or to update my address. I know you all mean well, but the last thing I want is to have my details online and exposed to some idiots. I already received a funny msg from a guy on sms.ac So yeah, please don't add me to such websites. Anything just email me or add me to your MSN. I am nearly always online (at least before I go to Tekong anyway). So yeah back to main topic, if got such emails forward to me lah, I am a sucker for such tragic/sweet emails :P
Anyway here goes the story. Received 6th Mar 2001:
Subject :
I Wish I Did...
10th grade
**********
As I sat there in english class, I stared at the girl next to me. She was my so called 'best friend'. I stared at her long, silky hair, and wished she was mine. But she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it.
After class, she walked up to me and asked me for the notes she had missed the day before. handed them to her. She said 'thanks' and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I dont know why.
11th grade
**********
The phone rang. On the other end, it was her. She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how her love had broke her heart. She asked me to come over because she didn't want to be alone, so I did.
As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine.
After 2 hours, one Drew Barrymore movie, and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep. She looked at me, said 'thanks' and gave me a kiss on the cheak. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I dont know why.
Senior year
***********
The day before prom she walked to my locker. "My date is sick" she said,"hes not gonna go" well, I didn't have a date, and in 7th grade, we made a promise that if neither of us had dates, we would go together-just as 'best friends'. So we did.Prom night, after everything was over, I was standing at her front door step.I stared at her as she she smiled at me and stared at me with her crystal eyes. I want her to be mine, but she doesn't think of me like that, and I know it.
Then she said- "I had the best time, thanks!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I dont want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.
A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before I could blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angle up on stage to get her diploma. I wanted her to be mine-but she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it. Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as i hugged her. Then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said- 'you're my best friend, thanks' and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.
Now I sit in the pews of the church. That girl is getting married. That girl is getting married now. I watched her say 'i do' and drive off to her new life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn't see me like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me and said 'you came!'. She said 'thanks' and kissed me on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I dont want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.
Years passed, I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my 'best friend'.
At the service, they read a diary entry she had wrote in her high school years. This is what it read: "I stare at him wishing he was mine; but he doesn't notice me like that, and I know it. I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love him but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me!
'I wish I did too...' I thought to my self, and I cried.
Do yourself a favor, tell her/him you love them. They won't be there forever.
------------------------------------------------------
Sometimes I wonder along the way where did all these emails disappear to. Is it because all of us had grown older and the impact of such stories are not that strong anymore? Is it because we are busier nwo and we don't bother to forward such things anymore? In my JC days I used to receive at least 2 such emails per week. Now all I get are junk mails and emails telling to to sign up for this website for free sms, update my birthday particulars or to update my address. I know you all mean well, but the last thing I want is to have my details online and exposed to some idiots. I already received a funny msg from a guy on sms.ac So yeah, please don't add me to such websites. Anything just email me or add me to your MSN. I am nearly always online (at least before I go to Tekong anyway). So yeah back to main topic, if got such emails forward to me lah, I am a sucker for such tragic/sweet emails :P
So its true!
From The Straits Times:
March 3, 2005
Dating site's weakest link exposed
Security flaw on SDU website allows access to members' accounts and personal details
By Chan Chi-Loong
OVER 30,000 members of the Social Development Unit (SDU) have been locked out of the matchmaker's website, after a computer security flaw was uncovered.
This flaw on SDU's website, which has been up since 2001, allows members to access other members' accounts in addition to their own, and leaves their personal details open to exposure.
The member login portion of the site was taken down for maintenance on Tuesday night after The Straits Times alerted the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), which oversees the SDU, to the problem.
If uncorrected, the flaw allows users to see other members' personal details like name, age, salary, telephone numbers and e-mail address.
The accounts are thus wide open to hacking and impersonation, but as of today, there has been no case reported.
An SDU spokesman said the 'possible breach of security' was being investigated, and online services would remain suspended until further notice.
Security on the site would be enhanced and members would be informed of the new login procedure when service resumed, the spokesman added, apologising for the inconvenience.
The alarm was first raised by SDU member Glen Tay, 26, on Monday. Mr Tay wrote to The Straits Times, saying he had keyed in the wrong user ID - a string of six-digit numbers - instead of the one given to him, by accidentally transposing the last digit.
Without realising that the ID he had typed in was wrong, he keyed in his default password and unwittingly stumbled into another person's account. To his alarm, he also discovered he could change the details as he liked.
Said Mr Tay, who works in a bank: 'I am not trained in IT and my IT skills are definitely basic.
Had I been a conman or hacker, this information could have easily led to fraud.'
When The Straits Times tried a sample of different six-digit strings, we managed to get into more than 10 different accounts to which we had no right to access - in the space of half an hour.
What made it so easy?
SDU sends the same default password to all users. If a member does not change the password, the default can be used by anyone to access that member's account.
The login user IDs are sequential six-digit numbers, so it is easy to accidentally key in the wrong user ID by transposing a digit.
Every university graduate in Singapore is given a free two-year SDU membership upon graduation unless he or she opts out. Not all graduates access the website and change their passwords, so their personal information is available on the site to anyone who knows the SDU's default password.
A security consultant for Ernst and Young, Mr Gerry Chng, 33, said: 'This is very insecure. Most organisations will at least generate random passwords for new users.'
Terming it a case of 'poor security management', he said login IDs should also be randomly generated. Some SDU members The Straits Times spoke to were appalled at the lax security.
'I'm angry that my private information is not protected,' said Mr Winston Ng, 25, a writer.
Mr Tay summed it up best: 'It is kind of disappointing that such a thing can happen to the SDU website. After all, it is not some obscure site but a well-known one with many members.'
So what Zhenhong said IS true (see above bold and enlarged paragraph)! Big Brother is watching, better start chasing girls....
March 3, 2005
Dating site's weakest link exposed
Security flaw on SDU website allows access to members' accounts and personal details
By Chan Chi-Loong
OVER 30,000 members of the Social Development Unit (SDU) have been locked out of the matchmaker's website, after a computer security flaw was uncovered.
This flaw on SDU's website, which has been up since 2001, allows members to access other members' accounts in addition to their own, and leaves their personal details open to exposure.
The member login portion of the site was taken down for maintenance on Tuesday night after The Straits Times alerted the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), which oversees the SDU, to the problem.
If uncorrected, the flaw allows users to see other members' personal details like name, age, salary, telephone numbers and e-mail address.
The accounts are thus wide open to hacking and impersonation, but as of today, there has been no case reported.
An SDU spokesman said the 'possible breach of security' was being investigated, and online services would remain suspended until further notice.
Security on the site would be enhanced and members would be informed of the new login procedure when service resumed, the spokesman added, apologising for the inconvenience.
The alarm was first raised by SDU member Glen Tay, 26, on Monday. Mr Tay wrote to The Straits Times, saying he had keyed in the wrong user ID - a string of six-digit numbers - instead of the one given to him, by accidentally transposing the last digit.
Without realising that the ID he had typed in was wrong, he keyed in his default password and unwittingly stumbled into another person's account. To his alarm, he also discovered he could change the details as he liked.
Said Mr Tay, who works in a bank: 'I am not trained in IT and my IT skills are definitely basic.
Had I been a conman or hacker, this information could have easily led to fraud.'
When The Straits Times tried a sample of different six-digit strings, we managed to get into more than 10 different accounts to which we had no right to access - in the space of half an hour.
What made it so easy?
SDU sends the same default password to all users. If a member does not change the password, the default can be used by anyone to access that member's account.
The login user IDs are sequential six-digit numbers, so it is easy to accidentally key in the wrong user ID by transposing a digit.
Every university graduate in Singapore is given a free two-year SDU membership upon graduation unless he or she opts out. Not all graduates access the website and change their passwords, so their personal information is available on the site to anyone who knows the SDU's default password.
A security consultant for Ernst and Young, Mr Gerry Chng, 33, said: 'This is very insecure. Most organisations will at least generate random passwords for new users.'
Terming it a case of 'poor security management', he said login IDs should also be randomly generated. Some SDU members The Straits Times spoke to were appalled at the lax security.
'I'm angry that my private information is not protected,' said Mr Winston Ng, 25, a writer.
Mr Tay summed it up best: 'It is kind of disappointing that such a thing can happen to the SDU website. After all, it is not some obscure site but a well-known one with many members.'
So what Zhenhong said IS true (see above bold and enlarged paragraph)! Big Brother is watching, better start chasing girls....
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Email stories 1
I should not be so negative in my blog. Anyway just want to share some emails which I have kept for a damn bloody long time in my Hotmail inbox. Even though I always run out of space, I still refuse to delete them. Here's the first in the series. Sent by Say Heng on 6th Mar 2001:
Subject :
A TOUCHING STORY
There was once this guy who is very much in love with his girl. This romantic guy folded 1,000 pieces of papercranes as a gift to his girl.
Although, at that time he was just a small fry in his company, his future doesn't seemed too bright, they were very happy together. Until one day, his girl told him she was going to Paris and will never come back. She also told him that she cannot visualise any future for the both of them, so let's go their own ways there and then ...
Heartbroken, the guy agreed. But when he regain his confidence, he worked hard day and night, slogging his body and mind just to make something out of himself. Finally with all these hardwork and the help of friends, this guy had set up his own company ...
One rainy day, while this guy was driving, he saw an elderly couple sharing an umbrella the rain walking to some destination. Even with the umbrella, they were still drenched. It didn't take him long to realise those were his girl's parents.
With a heart in getting back at them, he drived slowly beside the couple, wanting them to spot him in is luxury sedan. He wanted them to know that he wasn't the same anymore, he had his own company, car, condo, etc. He made it!
Before the guy can realise, the couple was walking towards a cemetary and he got out of his car and followed... and he saw his girl, a photograph of her smiling sweetly as ever at him from her tombstone... and he saw his papercranes beside her... Find time to realize that there is one person who mean so much to you, for you might wake up one morning losing that person who you thought meant nothing to you.
Her parents saw him. He ask them why had this happened. They explained, she did not leave for France at all. She was ill with cancer. She had believed that he will make it someday, but she did not want to be his obstacle... therefore she had choosed to leave him...
Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to,doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have She had wanted her parents to put his papercranes beside her, because, if the day comes when fate brings him to her again... he can take some of those back with him ...
Once you have loved, you will always love. For what's in your mind may escape but what's in your heart will remain forever.The guy just wept...
The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them but knowing you can't have them
I can't help but to agree with the last line. Cliched but true.
Subject :
A TOUCHING STORY
There was once this guy who is very much in love with his girl. This romantic guy folded 1,000 pieces of papercranes as a gift to his girl.
Although, at that time he was just a small fry in his company, his future doesn't seemed too bright, they were very happy together. Until one day, his girl told him she was going to Paris and will never come back. She also told him that she cannot visualise any future for the both of them, so let's go their own ways there and then ...
Heartbroken, the guy agreed. But when he regain his confidence, he worked hard day and night, slogging his body and mind just to make something out of himself. Finally with all these hardwork and the help of friends, this guy had set up his own company ...
One rainy day, while this guy was driving, he saw an elderly couple sharing an umbrella the rain walking to some destination. Even with the umbrella, they were still drenched. It didn't take him long to realise those were his girl's parents.
With a heart in getting back at them, he drived slowly beside the couple, wanting them to spot him in is luxury sedan. He wanted them to know that he wasn't the same anymore, he had his own company, car, condo, etc. He made it!
Before the guy can realise, the couple was walking towards a cemetary and he got out of his car and followed... and he saw his girl, a photograph of her smiling sweetly as ever at him from her tombstone... and he saw his papercranes beside her... Find time to realize that there is one person who mean so much to you, for you might wake up one morning losing that person who you thought meant nothing to you.
Her parents saw him. He ask them why had this happened. They explained, she did not leave for France at all. She was ill with cancer. She had believed that he will make it someday, but she did not want to be his obstacle... therefore she had choosed to leave him...
Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to,doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have She had wanted her parents to put his papercranes beside her, because, if the day comes when fate brings him to her again... he can take some of those back with him ...
Once you have loved, you will always love. For what's in your mind may escape but what's in your heart will remain forever.The guy just wept...
The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them but knowing you can't have them
I can't help but to agree with the last line. Cliched but true.
I knew it, I just knew nothing good was going to come out of having to register for STI. See what I mean about nice, small little companies morphing into giant annoying conglomerates?
From The Straits Times :
March 2, 2005
ST subscribers to get cheaper online rates
STRAITS TIMES subscribers to the print edition of the newspaper will get a 50-per-cent discount off the subscription rates of The Straits Times Interactive (STI) when the website becomes a subscription service on March 20.
The move, which was in response to reader feedback, means that print subscribers will need to pay only S$36 for a six-month subscription (S$6 a month), instead of S$72.
And those who take up a 12-month subscription rate will pay S$60 (S$5 a month), instead of S$120.
The full rates of $72 and $120 will apply to those who want online-only subscriptions.
The website, at will start accepting online subscriptions on March 11. Those who sign up for subscriptions between that date and March 19 will be given free access from March 20 till their subscriptions kick in on April 1.
This newspaper announced last Friday that it would levy access fees for its 10-year-old website.
I hope nobody subscribes to it and its 10 year old website can close down for all I care.
From The Straits Times :
March 2, 2005
ST subscribers to get cheaper online rates
STRAITS TIMES subscribers to the print edition of the newspaper will get a 50-per-cent discount off the subscription rates of The Straits Times Interactive (STI) when the website becomes a subscription service on March 20.
The move, which was in response to reader feedback, means that print subscribers will need to pay only S$36 for a six-month subscription (S$6 a month), instead of S$72.
And those who take up a 12-month subscription rate will pay S$60 (S$5 a month), instead of S$120.
The full rates of $72 and $120 will apply to those who want online-only subscriptions.
The website, at will start accepting online subscriptions on March 11. Those who sign up for subscriptions between that date and March 19 will be given free access from March 20 till their subscriptions kick in on April 1.
This newspaper announced last Friday that it would levy access fees for its 10-year-old website.
I hope nobody subscribes to it and its 10 year old website can close down for all I care.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
I hate myself
I hate being an Aristotle. I can predict with uncanny accuracy what bad things are going to happen to me. And so it has proved once again. Don't ask me what or why.
et alor? C'est la vie...
et alor? C'est la vie...
Monday, February 28, 2005
Trying not to complain...
*Breathe in*
-pause-
*Breathe out*
I will try not to complain, so instead its Straits Times articles time:
From The Straits Times:
Feb 27, 2005
Marry him, Fann
No longer a spring chicken at 34, is it 'time' Fann Wong marries Christopher Lee? Or does such an attitude demean women?
Sumiko Tan
YOU have noticed that I haven't been dwelling on the topics of love, marriage and relationships of late, it's deliberate.
When I started writing this Sunday column in 1994, hardly a few months went by when I didn't lament my singlehood. Musing on past, present and future romances was a constant theme.
But it's one thing to be hung up on love when you're in your eligible 20s and still-available 30s, and another when you've hit 40.
When you're 40 and still unmarried, it's unbecoming to be seen as pining for romance. In fact, it's desperate and pathetic.
Like it or not, the search for love and marriage is regarded as a privilege of the young.
While 40 isn't exactly 'old', it certainly can't be considered young, and pity a single woman of that age bemoaning her marital status in public.
The reason I'm revisiting the issue is Fann Wong.
Last week, the Life! section of The Straits Times carried a report speculating on how she and her alleged boyfriend, fellow TV artiste Christopher Lee, are getting married at last.
Both are 34.
One of the actress' fans was quoted as saying: 'At her age, it's also time she got married.'
It's a sentiment I share.
In the larger scheme of things, 34 isn't old (especially if you are, like me, 41). But when it comes to marriage, it's getting there.
If she loves Christopher, Fann should marry him, I think. And quickly.
A colleague was indignant when she heard this.
'How can you say something like that?' she asked.
I suppose views like mine do reinforce stereotypes about women.
Stereotypes such as how women - even beautiful, talented and rich ones like Fann - have sell-by dates, and if they miss the boat, will be left on the shelf, pardon the mixed metaphors.
Stereotypes like how women lose their attractiveness when they grow older.
Stereotypes like how women desire to be attractive to men.
Stereotypes like how, without a romantic partner, a woman's life isn't complete.
I'm going to get flak for saying this, but, guess what? I believe there is truth to all those stereotypes.
Women do have sell-by dates.
Women are physically less attractive as they age.
Women do want to appeal to men.
And having a man in one's life is better than none.
WHEN the HBO sitcom Sex And The City was launched in 1998, I, like so many other single, independent women in cities around the world, was charmed.
How we loved the antics of Carrie and gang as they flitted from one romance to another, loving and leaving men and giving them as good as they got.
The characters spoke for us liberated women on the cusp of the 21st century. We could take on men on our terms.
But the magic for me wore thin after a few seasons.
The older the characters grew (and the actresses too, visibly), the more their lives appeared more strained than swinging.
It's acceptable when you're in your early 30s to work a room full of men, showing off your cleavage. But when you're approaching 40 and still doing this, something must be wrong in your life.
Besides, much as the characters were depicted as gutsy and independent, what they were all chasing in the end was the man of their dreams.
They wanted a relationship or marriage, to be with a man and be looked after by him.
The sitcom drew to a neat close last year with all the characters happily partnered.
In real life, of course, this doesn't always happen. Many swinging single women don't have a happily ever after.
My theory is that 35 is the make-or-break age of a woman in the marriage market.
Miss it - either through lack of choice or because you are too busy or fussy to commit - and it will take extraordinary luck or hard work for you to claw back into the market and get hitched.
This is because 35 is also, alas, that age when one's looks start heading south (just check out those forehead lines that seemingly appear overnight).
And no matter how men and women will say otherwise, in the game of courtship, youthful looks always fare better than craggy ones. It's just a fact of life.
BEING still-single at 40 is a strange experience.
On the one hand, there's that part where your heart can still skip a beat when you meet someone dishy. On the other, you realise that you must finally start behaving with at least some adult decorum. It's just so sad to still be squealing over a 'cute guy'.
Complicating the matter is how, most times, you actually find yourself just not that interested anymore.
Dating is boring and meaningless, and a stress-free, asexual lifestyle with your dog and TV actually sounds inviting, especially when you come home pooped from work.
Yet, when you see happily married couples and their children around you, you feel a twinge of What If.
So, if I were 34 again and in Fann's shoes, what would I do?
Marry before I hit 35 or it'll be 'too late'? Or luxuriate a while more in singlehood, shelf-life be damned?
All things considered, I'd choose marriage.
If you are so lucky as to ever discover The One, don't let him slip away.
Because, as someone who has been there, but hadn't done that, you wouldn't want to wake up at 40 and regret it.
All along I knew women had a tougher lot in life, and I guess this merely serves to confirm it. A man at 35 is still very eligible, but a woman who is single at 35 is quite jialat already. That is if you subscribe to the view that marriage is the most important thing in life. I am not sure about you all, but I do. Of course there are other important things like taking care of your parents and your friends etc, but I do think that companionship is the MOST important thing. The last thing you want is to be working till late at 45, bring home a big pile of homework to mark, and then realise you are facing 4 walls alone. Got to cook for yourself, wash your own clothes etc (not that companion is equal to maid but you get the drift...). And what about the 'friends' argument? I have always been one to believe that the older you get, the more responsibilities you have, and thus the less time you have to spend with your friends. I mean, who has time to go kopitiam to watch football when you ahve to queue up outside Ai Tong Pri School to get your kid into Pri 1? You get the idea... So all you VS dudes out there, if you fly my aeroplane because of girl, I won't mind. I will understand ;)
From The Straits Times:
Feb 27, 2005
Failure No. 2: Haw Par Villa
Too gross, too hot - to succeed
HAW Par Villa was garish grottoes and frightening friezes of gods, spirits and animals from Chinese mythology. Entry to the park - built by two brothers in 1937 - was free but it slowly fell into disrepair, so the Government took it over in 1988.
Given its reputation for the macabre, investors believed that a jazzed-up version would attract regional tourists, especially superstitious middle-aged Chinese folk who may have had, in their youth, seen the original.
A joint venture undertook a $80 million remodelling and when it reopened in October 1990, the old 1.9 hectares had grown to 9.5 hectares while its static sculptures had been brought to life with electronic gadgetry. A boat ride down steep slides, as well as high-tech indoor theatres to tell Chinese folklore, were also added.
For the one-price ticket - $16 for adults and $10 for kids - everything past the gate was at your disposal. Its novelty value drew in 1.2 million visitors the first year, and a tiny profit - before interest charges. But the second year saw $1.8 million in losses and, every year afterwards, it bled. In 2001, it closed.
What went wrong?
First, the new park dissed its target group. Designed by a Disney offshoot who assumed it would attract American tourists, says NTU's Prof David Leong, Chinese stories were told through Western eyes, so Chinese-speaking visitors found the old spirit gone. The Creation of the World slide show, for instance, was presented in English.
It was not until 1995 that the operator would use Chinese to describe the exhibits and in its theatres, while stilt walkers and modern pop dancers gave way to opera artistes from China.
Secondly, it dissed you once you paid at the gate. It had too much concrete and too few shelters - like Tang Dynasty City - which made it too hot on sunny days. Yet people had to queue in the hot sun for 40 minutes to take the Ride into the Dragon's Belly, for example, because there were only two boats at any one time despite a capacity for four. Although only one person was needed to man each boat, the operator cut its workforce to curb rising wage costs, thinking that since it was a one-price ticket, long queues wouldn't directly impact upon revenues.
Thirdly, it dissed tour agents, who were not paid any commissions. Prof Peggy Teo of NUS found in her survey that only a quarter of tour agents promoted Haw Par Villa.
Finally, it dissed people with a phobia about death, which is most people. It also turned off potential customers offended by its assault on the senses with a profusion of sex and gore themes. In its Ten Courts of Hell, for example, 'wandering spirits' - actors lying in the tunnel who rose to waylay guests - sent many visitors scurrying away, screaming in terror.
Where it wasn't ghoulish, it was distasteful, like the tableau extolling filial piety, where a legendary Tang Dynasty woman suckled her toothless mother-in-law while her infant starved.
So the place created not warm memories but grossed out or ghoulish ones.
In March 1997, entrance fees were slashed, but a third of its attractions were closed too and staffing reduced from 400 to 20. Things were battered and tawdry. It was too little, too late.
From 750,000 visitors in 1995, attendance dropped to 130,000 in 2001 and the operator threw in the towel.
Hmm I not sure whether you all went there when you were young before, I did and I was absolutely terrified by all the punishments dished out in the 18th level of Hell. What absolutely freaked me out was that you would be forced to hug a red hot pillar if you had sex with a woman (or at least I though so then) and I was like wtf! Am I supposed to be a monk then? Needless to say it had a very big impact on me, for better or for worse... Today there was one letter to the forum which argued that Haw Par Villa helped to promote Chinese culture etc. I think I can agree with both views. Haw Par Villa does help to promote Chinese culture which was the original aim of the 2 brothers who built it. But as a theme park, it did commit the error of being too gross and scary. Think Disneyland rides and compare it to THAT ride in Haw Par Villa and you get what I mean.
------------------------------------------------------
No I haven't got my laptop back, but still blogged coz there are just too many things to say. But without my laptop I can't talk about a lot of stuff. The list:
-pause-
*Breathe out*
I will try not to complain, so instead its Straits Times articles time:
From The Straits Times:
Feb 27, 2005
Marry him, Fann
No longer a spring chicken at 34, is it 'time' Fann Wong marries Christopher Lee? Or does such an attitude demean women?
Sumiko Tan
YOU have noticed that I haven't been dwelling on the topics of love, marriage and relationships of late, it's deliberate.
When I started writing this Sunday column in 1994, hardly a few months went by when I didn't lament my singlehood. Musing on past, present and future romances was a constant theme.
But it's one thing to be hung up on love when you're in your eligible 20s and still-available 30s, and another when you've hit 40.
When you're 40 and still unmarried, it's unbecoming to be seen as pining for romance. In fact, it's desperate and pathetic.
Like it or not, the search for love and marriage is regarded as a privilege of the young.
While 40 isn't exactly 'old', it certainly can't be considered young, and pity a single woman of that age bemoaning her marital status in public.
The reason I'm revisiting the issue is Fann Wong.
Last week, the Life! section of The Straits Times carried a report speculating on how she and her alleged boyfriend, fellow TV artiste Christopher Lee, are getting married at last.
Both are 34.
One of the actress' fans was quoted as saying: 'At her age, it's also time she got married.'
It's a sentiment I share.
In the larger scheme of things, 34 isn't old (especially if you are, like me, 41). But when it comes to marriage, it's getting there.
If she loves Christopher, Fann should marry him, I think. And quickly.
A colleague was indignant when she heard this.
'How can you say something like that?' she asked.
I suppose views like mine do reinforce stereotypes about women.
Stereotypes such as how women - even beautiful, talented and rich ones like Fann - have sell-by dates, and if they miss the boat, will be left on the shelf, pardon the mixed metaphors.
Stereotypes like how women lose their attractiveness when they grow older.
Stereotypes like how women desire to be attractive to men.
Stereotypes like how, without a romantic partner, a woman's life isn't complete.
I'm going to get flak for saying this, but, guess what? I believe there is truth to all those stereotypes.
Women do have sell-by dates.
Women are physically less attractive as they age.
Women do want to appeal to men.
And having a man in one's life is better than none.
WHEN the HBO sitcom Sex And The City was launched in 1998, I, like so many other single, independent women in cities around the world, was charmed.
How we loved the antics of Carrie and gang as they flitted from one romance to another, loving and leaving men and giving them as good as they got.
The characters spoke for us liberated women on the cusp of the 21st century. We could take on men on our terms.
But the magic for me wore thin after a few seasons.
The older the characters grew (and the actresses too, visibly), the more their lives appeared more strained than swinging.
It's acceptable when you're in your early 30s to work a room full of men, showing off your cleavage. But when you're approaching 40 and still doing this, something must be wrong in your life.
Besides, much as the characters were depicted as gutsy and independent, what they were all chasing in the end was the man of their dreams.
They wanted a relationship or marriage, to be with a man and be looked after by him.
The sitcom drew to a neat close last year with all the characters happily partnered.
In real life, of course, this doesn't always happen. Many swinging single women don't have a happily ever after.
My theory is that 35 is the make-or-break age of a woman in the marriage market.
Miss it - either through lack of choice or because you are too busy or fussy to commit - and it will take extraordinary luck or hard work for you to claw back into the market and get hitched.
This is because 35 is also, alas, that age when one's looks start heading south (just check out those forehead lines that seemingly appear overnight).
And no matter how men and women will say otherwise, in the game of courtship, youthful looks always fare better than craggy ones. It's just a fact of life.
BEING still-single at 40 is a strange experience.
On the one hand, there's that part where your heart can still skip a beat when you meet someone dishy. On the other, you realise that you must finally start behaving with at least some adult decorum. It's just so sad to still be squealing over a 'cute guy'.
Complicating the matter is how, most times, you actually find yourself just not that interested anymore.
Dating is boring and meaningless, and a stress-free, asexual lifestyle with your dog and TV actually sounds inviting, especially when you come home pooped from work.
Yet, when you see happily married couples and their children around you, you feel a twinge of What If.
So, if I were 34 again and in Fann's shoes, what would I do?
Marry before I hit 35 or it'll be 'too late'? Or luxuriate a while more in singlehood, shelf-life be damned?
All things considered, I'd choose marriage.
If you are so lucky as to ever discover The One, don't let him slip away.
Because, as someone who has been there, but hadn't done that, you wouldn't want to wake up at 40 and regret it.
All along I knew women had a tougher lot in life, and I guess this merely serves to confirm it. A man at 35 is still very eligible, but a woman who is single at 35 is quite jialat already. That is if you subscribe to the view that marriage is the most important thing in life. I am not sure about you all, but I do. Of course there are other important things like taking care of your parents and your friends etc, but I do think that companionship is the MOST important thing. The last thing you want is to be working till late at 45, bring home a big pile of homework to mark, and then realise you are facing 4 walls alone. Got to cook for yourself, wash your own clothes etc (not that companion is equal to maid but you get the drift...). And what about the 'friends' argument? I have always been one to believe that the older you get, the more responsibilities you have, and thus the less time you have to spend with your friends. I mean, who has time to go kopitiam to watch football when you ahve to queue up outside Ai Tong Pri School to get your kid into Pri 1? You get the idea... So all you VS dudes out there, if you fly my aeroplane because of girl, I won't mind. I will understand ;)
From The Straits Times:
Feb 27, 2005
Failure No. 2: Haw Par Villa
Too gross, too hot - to succeed
HAW Par Villa was garish grottoes and frightening friezes of gods, spirits and animals from Chinese mythology. Entry to the park - built by two brothers in 1937 - was free but it slowly fell into disrepair, so the Government took it over in 1988.
Given its reputation for the macabre, investors believed that a jazzed-up version would attract regional tourists, especially superstitious middle-aged Chinese folk who may have had, in their youth, seen the original.
A joint venture undertook a $80 million remodelling and when it reopened in October 1990, the old 1.9 hectares had grown to 9.5 hectares while its static sculptures had been brought to life with electronic gadgetry. A boat ride down steep slides, as well as high-tech indoor theatres to tell Chinese folklore, were also added.
For the one-price ticket - $16 for adults and $10 for kids - everything past the gate was at your disposal. Its novelty value drew in 1.2 million visitors the first year, and a tiny profit - before interest charges. But the second year saw $1.8 million in losses and, every year afterwards, it bled. In 2001, it closed.
What went wrong?
First, the new park dissed its target group. Designed by a Disney offshoot who assumed it would attract American tourists, says NTU's Prof David Leong, Chinese stories were told through Western eyes, so Chinese-speaking visitors found the old spirit gone. The Creation of the World slide show, for instance, was presented in English.
It was not until 1995 that the operator would use Chinese to describe the exhibits and in its theatres, while stilt walkers and modern pop dancers gave way to opera artistes from China.
Secondly, it dissed you once you paid at the gate. It had too much concrete and too few shelters - like Tang Dynasty City - which made it too hot on sunny days. Yet people had to queue in the hot sun for 40 minutes to take the Ride into the Dragon's Belly, for example, because there were only two boats at any one time despite a capacity for four. Although only one person was needed to man each boat, the operator cut its workforce to curb rising wage costs, thinking that since it was a one-price ticket, long queues wouldn't directly impact upon revenues.
Thirdly, it dissed tour agents, who were not paid any commissions. Prof Peggy Teo of NUS found in her survey that only a quarter of tour agents promoted Haw Par Villa.
Finally, it dissed people with a phobia about death, which is most people. It also turned off potential customers offended by its assault on the senses with a profusion of sex and gore themes. In its Ten Courts of Hell, for example, 'wandering spirits' - actors lying in the tunnel who rose to waylay guests - sent many visitors scurrying away, screaming in terror.
Where it wasn't ghoulish, it was distasteful, like the tableau extolling filial piety, where a legendary Tang Dynasty woman suckled her toothless mother-in-law while her infant starved.
So the place created not warm memories but grossed out or ghoulish ones.
In March 1997, entrance fees were slashed, but a third of its attractions were closed too and staffing reduced from 400 to 20. Things were battered and tawdry. It was too little, too late.
From 750,000 visitors in 1995, attendance dropped to 130,000 in 2001 and the operator threw in the towel.
Hmm I not sure whether you all went there when you were young before, I did and I was absolutely terrified by all the punishments dished out in the 18th level of Hell. What absolutely freaked me out was that you would be forced to hug a red hot pillar if you had sex with a woman (or at least I though so then) and I was like wtf! Am I supposed to be a monk then? Needless to say it had a very big impact on me, for better or for worse... Today there was one letter to the forum which argued that Haw Par Villa helped to promote Chinese culture etc. I think I can agree with both views. Haw Par Villa does help to promote Chinese culture which was the original aim of the 2 brothers who built it. But as a theme park, it did commit the error of being too gross and scary. Think Disneyland rides and compare it to THAT ride in Haw Par Villa and you get what I mean.
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No I haven't got my laptop back, but still blogged coz there are just too many things to say. But without my laptop I can't talk about a lot of stuff. The list:
- Anti-Glazer protest before Milan game
- Rooney in the Portsmouth game
- How I came within 5 cm of getting Ruud's autograph, only to fail :(
Anyway fuck doodleboard. Converted to a premium service onl website. FUCK YOU. This is how McDonalds and Nike came about. They started out as small friendly family enterprises and got popular before slowly turning into giant unfeeling conglomerates. Fuck.
Friday, February 25, 2005
The End
I rally don't know what to say. A whole lot of complaints inside me. Even the last glimmer of hope had been taken away from me.
Todat is supposed to be the 4th working day. And so I called IBM again. And no, nothing has been done yet. I asked the person to phone up the service centre to ask them what is happening. He instead put in a request for them to call me. And how long will it take? "Usually within 24 hours". I am willing to bet all my money in my bank account that come 3 pm tomorow, I won't get a single call from them. And the person said the 4 working days is just a "best endeavour".
SO FUCKING WHAT??? If you can't solve the problem within 4 working days shouldn't you at least inspect what is the problem and call and give a definite time frame which the person can expect to give his machine back? I am left grabbing the hope that I will be able to hear about the problem within 4 days, but left 4 days, right 4 days and I still haven't heard anything. What hope can I cling onto that I will hear anything AT ALLLLLLL?????? I tried to be optimistic, I tried to be hopeful, but day after day after day just brings disappointment. What reasons do I have to cheer up and be optimistic? Short of trying to go to Brentford and bash into the service centre, I really don't know what else I can do.
It is in times like these that i really detest the fact that I am not rich. if I am rich, i can just go to Tottenham Court Road and buy another laptop. End of story. No whining. No camping in cluster. I can listen to all my songs, sort out all my photos, key in my expenditures into Excel, read Stratis Times online without having to log on every single time. But no, I can't do that. Money is not everything, but it is the single most important thing. Maybe I should just fucking rob a bank.
And Roy Carroll did nothing to cheer me up at all. Fucking snowing in Manchester and freezing cold. Uncomfortable coach rides to and fro, to see a silly 1-0 defeat. Fuck Roy Carroll.
This will be my last ever post. This blog has brought nothing but bad luck. I think you all are sick and tired of me complaining all the time. I am pissed off at myself for having nothing positive to say at all. So its goodbye forever.
Fuck IBM, fuck Indians, fuck DHL, fuck Carroll, fuck 9am tutorials, fuck MOE, fuck no money.
Todat is supposed to be the 4th working day. And so I called IBM again. And no, nothing has been done yet. I asked the person to phone up the service centre to ask them what is happening. He instead put in a request for them to call me. And how long will it take? "Usually within 24 hours". I am willing to bet all my money in my bank account that come 3 pm tomorow, I won't get a single call from them. And the person said the 4 working days is just a "best endeavour".
SO FUCKING WHAT??? If you can't solve the problem within 4 working days shouldn't you at least inspect what is the problem and call and give a definite time frame which the person can expect to give his machine back? I am left grabbing the hope that I will be able to hear about the problem within 4 days, but left 4 days, right 4 days and I still haven't heard anything. What hope can I cling onto that I will hear anything AT ALLLLLLL?????? I tried to be optimistic, I tried to be hopeful, but day after day after day just brings disappointment. What reasons do I have to cheer up and be optimistic? Short of trying to go to Brentford and bash into the service centre, I really don't know what else I can do.
It is in times like these that i really detest the fact that I am not rich. if I am rich, i can just go to Tottenham Court Road and buy another laptop. End of story. No whining. No camping in cluster. I can listen to all my songs, sort out all my photos, key in my expenditures into Excel, read Stratis Times online without having to log on every single time. But no, I can't do that. Money is not everything, but it is the single most important thing. Maybe I should just fucking rob a bank.
And Roy Carroll did nothing to cheer me up at all. Fucking snowing in Manchester and freezing cold. Uncomfortable coach rides to and fro, to see a silly 1-0 defeat. Fuck Roy Carroll.
This will be my last ever post. This blog has brought nothing but bad luck. I think you all are sick and tired of me complaining all the time. I am pissed off at myself for having nothing positive to say at all. So its goodbye forever.
Fuck IBM, fuck Indians, fuck DHL, fuck Carroll, fuck 9am tutorials, fuck MOE, fuck no money.
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