Psalm Twenty-three (for 300 million people of our world)

I have no Lord, and I have no shepherd.
I have no one who meets my needs.

My bed is stony and thorny, so how can I rest?
My trails take me by treacherous roaring rivers, so how can I drink?

I am worn out and
no one cares about me.
I have no one to lead me in a better path.

I am constantly walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
I fear the evil that prevails there, but I am all alone.
I have no one strong enough to comfort or guide me.

My enemies are all around me and no one honors me.
No one invites me to be their guest.
My cup is empty.

I am miserable and expect to be so all the days of my life.
If there is a home or a better life than this, why doesn't someone tell me about it?

- Concept by Kenny Gammon, with revisions by PCF

what a cute panda

One day, a panda goes into a café and ordered a sandwich. After finishing his meal, he took out a gun. He fires two shots into the air and moves toward the door.

Perplexed, the bartender asks him why he did that.

"I'm a panda," he replies, tossing a badly-punctuated wildlife manual at the man. "Look it up."

Inside, the panda's entry reads as follows: "Panda. Large bear-like mammal native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

Wanna play a simple punctuation game? No prizes though.

thick thighs

Check out his thighs man! So thick. Wonder how he train to get those kind of thighs. Cycling? Heard that too much cycling can make your hips bigger.

greatest fear

The only thing we have to fear is fear it'self - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, 4 March 1933.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
- Frank Herbert, 'Dune - Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear'

Am I afraid of high notes? Of course I am afraid. What sane man is not?
-Luciano Pavarotti

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave.
-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

My greatest fear is to do the wrong things which I thought were right.

What is your greatest fear?


I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:4

vouge in vlog

In video blogging, mundane is in

...Some vlogs are cooking shows, some are minidocumentaries, some are mock news programs and some are almost art films.

Most simply are records of ordinary life.

The Das Vlog, at thedasvlog.blogspot.com, recently demonstrated the virtues of urinating in the bathroom sink.

Village Girl, found at villagegirl.typepad.com, has posted a video of her 2-year-old dancing with a friend. Josh Leo taped himself browsing through his old baby pictures and art projects at joshleo.blogspot.com. Fat Girl From Ohio is a man blogging largely about his wife's pregnancy at fatgirlfromohio.org.

As the video blog Reality Sandwich recently put it in a video of vegetable shopping, quoting a mantra of the vlogosphere: "Hey, mundane is the new punk."

...Already, though, it's beginning to look a lot like television, at least in spots. Some vlogs even share television's worries, chief among them the burden of coming up with fresh programming on a regular basis.

One of the most winning vlogs is the 05 Project, the work of an 18-year-old in Britain, Ian Mills, who has promised to post a video a day all year at noservicecharge.com/videoblog.

In January, he showed the inside of his closet to prove he doesn't have just one set of clothes, but two. In February, he filmed a stuffed kangaroo seeking directions from a stuffed teddy bear sitting in front of a microwave oven.

In June, when Mills found his well of ideas running dry, he asked his audience for challenges: an easy one, a moderate one and a hard one. In each "Challenge Ian" episode, he recites the three challenges, chooses one, and then makes a video of himself doing it.

One of his most charming features is that he always takes the easy challenge. "I'm not going to slam my fingers in the door," he said, in one episode. "This isn't 'Jackass,"' he said, referring to the television show on MTV.

So far, he has drunk a pint of raw eggs and vomited; jumped into a wading pool fully clothed; and spun around until he was dizzy. It doesn't sound like much, but Mills has a great sense of pacing and drama. In short, he has television charisma.

Right now it seems that video bloggers can't agree what vlogs are exactly, and some of them want to keep it that way.

"What's the rush to define it now?" said Michael Verdi, who wrote Vlog Anarchy, a manifesto. "It would be like trying to pick a career and a mate for a newborn."

But indeed, the newborn seems to have picked its mate.

Congratulations. It's television!

- International Herald Tribune, 'In video blogging, mundane is in', 27 Jul 2005.

Perhaps I could make my own MTVs and post it up here and let the whole world admire. cool. Don't think anyone wanna watch how I pee in my toilet or how I snore like a dinosaur when I'm dead tired.

vuh-NILL-uh ice

vanilla \vuh-NILL-uh\ adjective
1 : flavored with vanilla
*2 : lacking distinction : plain, ordinary, conventional

Example sentence:
"The Razorbacks [football team] backed off the blitz and played vanilla* defense in the second half...." (Scott Cain, 'Arkansas Democrat-Gazette', 16 November 2003)

Did you know?
For lexicographers, "vanilla" has more flavor than "chocolate," because it adds a tasty synonym for "plain" to the English menu. The noun "vanilla" was first served up in 1662, but it took almost 200 years for its adjective use to become established for things, like ice and sugar, flavored with vanilla. By the 1970s vanilla was perceived as being the plain flavor of the ice-cream world, and people began using the word itself to describe anything plain, ordinary, or conventional.

Vanilla with Coca Cola/ Rootbeer or chocolate chips and it'll be plain no more. YUM! YUM!

run merf run!

Forget high tech and go barefoot

..."The technological advancements over the past 30 years have been amazing," said Dr. Irene Davis, the director of the Running Injury Clinic at the University of Delaware. "We've seen tremendous innovations in motion control and cushioning. And yet the remedies don't seem to defeat the ailments."

Since the running boom of the '70s, giants like Nike, Adidas and New Balance have released improved products nearly every six months. One shoe, the Adidas 1, even has microprocessors that analyze foot impact and adjust cushioning with each stride. New Balance has a motion-control shoe so finely engineered it costs $199.99.

Still, 65 percent to 80 percent of all runners - joggers and elite marathoners alike - are injured in an average year, according to Davis.

"Since the first real studies were done in the late '70s, Achilles complaints have actually increased by about 10 percent, while plantar fasciitis has remained the same," said Dr. Stephen Pribut, the president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine.

And so True began to wonder, does it even matter what footwear runners use? Or could protective shoes be contributing to the problems they're meant to prevent?

Hoping to discover their secret, True sought out the Tarahumara in Mexico. There they taught him to run lightly on the front of his foot instead of heavily on his heel. He experimented with running on his own homemade huaraches before trying the Bite running sandal, with its deft mix of ancient sparseness and modern cushioning. Eleven years have passed since True changed his technique and footwear, and even though he now regularly runs 40 miles over hazardous terrain, he has not had an injury since.

During the last decade two barefoot-style training methods for runners have been developed based on the same principle: that legs, not shoes, are the best shock absorbers. That is, you land on your forefoot, instead of your heel, and paw back.

Dr. Nicholas Romanov, a sports physiologist in Naples, Florida, created what he calls the Pose Method, and Danny Dreyer, a running coach in San Francisco, started a program known as ChiRunning. "The problem is, the fancy running shoes have allowed us to develop lazy feet," Romanov said. Pose runners, consequently, prefer the thin-soled Puma H. Street, which is actually a casual shoe.

Even Nike now sees the sense of running "shoeless." Just one year after releasing its most structured shoe ever - the Air Max 2004, with airbags and a motion-control footbridge - the company has switched tack by offering the Nike Free 5.0, a shoe it claims will "re-evolutionize" running by enabling people to run as if they were barefoot.

Until he met a reclusive tribe of near-mythical athletes at the bottom of a Mexican canyon, Micah True could never figure out why his running injuries got worse as his running shoes got better. Then, the Tarahumara Indians taught him a lesson that even Nike is now starting to embrace: The best shoe may be no shoe at all.
- International Herald Tribune, 'Forget high tech and go barefoot', Jun 28 2005.

Maybe I should show this article to fenfen when she wants to buy new shoes and tell her why bother to buy new shoes. heehee. Run merf run!

any questions?

How important is question-asking to developing and cultivating a good marriage? Very. Dale Carnegie once put it this way: "You'll gain more friends in three minutes by getting interested in other people than you will in three months of trying to get them interested in you." In a similar vein, you'll cultivate more intimacy in your marriage relationship in three minutes of thoughtful and considerate question-asking than you will in three months of trying to impress your spouse.
-'Creative Conversation Starters for Couples'.

on-WEE me

ennui \on-WEE\, noun:
A feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction arising from lack
of interest; boredom.

He glanced at his heavily laden bookshelves. Nothing there
appealed to him. The ennui seemed to have settled into his
very bones.
-Amanda Quick, With This Ring

He was ashamed and unhappy, adrift with a senseless ennui.
-Brian Moynahan, Rasputin: The Saint Who Sinned
_________________________________________________________

Ennui is from the French, from Old French enui, "annoyance,"
from enuier, "to annoy, to bore," from the Latin phrase in
odium, "in hatred or dislike."

Synonyms: tedium, boredom, listlessness, weariness. Find
more at Thesaurus.com.

This feeling of ennui is settling into my bones too. End of this month, I can start celebrating my two years anniversary working in this company. But the sad part is I'm still a contract staff and I just agreed on the extension for another year. Another sad thing is what a change of behaviour from my boss. From being courteous and polite into someone who don't look into my eye when he talks. Am I that ugly or what?!? *mumble mumble mumble* He did the same thing when I first got into his group. He doesn't look at me in the eye and talk, hence making me feel quite insignificant working under him. Imagine I ask him something and he answered my question to my colleague next to me. huh?!??! Talk about "I treat perm and contract staff the same". Bah. My boss need to see a doctor.

Another sad thing is that I might be taken out from the morning shift since most of the work are being brought to India. In the past, we were making racist jokes to one another about Bhangra people and how they are working as odd-job labourers in our country. But look at them now! They are the ones who can replace our jobs anytime in the skilled industry because the cost of labour over there is way way cheaper. So back to my morning shift thingy, my boss said it might happen in the next two to three months time which means my morning shift allowance will be gone. What to do?

Meanwhile, I have to open my eyes wide open for my 'escape'.


Therefore, I urge you, brothers,
in view of God's mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God
—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve
what God's will is
—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2

: "merf...must...not...conform...to the funny patterns of my boss..."

Never ever buy a car in your wife's name

Received this e-mail from my colleague:

DJ's wife sold his Lotus for 50p

A controversial radio DJ's wife sold his £25,000 sports car on eBay for just 50p after he flirted with Jodie Marsh on air.

Kerrang 105.2's Tim Shaw told the model he was prepared to leave his wife and their two children for her, reports Metro.

Wife Hayley was listening and immediately posted an advert for the Lotus Esprit Turbo with a 'Buy It Now' option of 50p.

The item description read: "I need to get rid of this car in the next two to three hours before my husband gets home to find it gone and all his belongings in the street."

The car sold within five minutes.

"The car is his pride and joy but the idiot put my name on the log book so I just sold it. I didn't care about the money, I just wanted to get him back."

She added: "There is no hope for a reconciliation." A Kerrang 105.2 spokesperson said the DJ was 'absolutely gutted'.

-Ananova, DJ's wife sold his Lotus for 50p

To sum it up:

Lotus sports car: £25,000
Wife sold it on ebay: 50p
Husband's expression when he saw his beloved car gone and the streets littered with his stuff: pricelesssssss

J.A.C.K.P.O.T!

The Japanese are such creative people. One of their banks had decided to incorporate slot machine games (I believe one of their top national hobbies) into their ATM machines while waiting for your transactions to be processed. Maybe the Integrated Resorts should consider installing such ATMs as a draw.

Japan's Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank adds slot machine games to ATMs

Japan's Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank is introducing slot machine-style games to its ATMs which will give customers the chance to win back bank fees or around $10 in cash.
The fruit machine-style games will run as customers wait for the cash machines to process transactions. Customers can play the games by hitting a stop button on the ATM screen.

Cardholders that hit a triple seven will have their after hours ATM fee - Y105 (around $1) refunded. If a set of 'gold' or 'super gold' pictures line up on the slot game, the customer wins Y1000 (nine dollars) which can be collected from a branch counter at a later date.

The chance of getting three sevens is about one in 10, while customers have a one-in-500 chance of winning the cash prize.

The bank says the games will not be available during regular business hours when cash withdrawal from ATMs is free of charge.

Ogaki Kyoritsu told newswire reporters the games will enable customers to enjoy "a little excitement" while waiting for an ATM to process transactions.

Cardholders from other banks will also be able to play the ATM games but will be charged a fee of Y210 (around $2).
-Finextra, Japan's Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank adds slot machine games to ATMs, 20 Jul 2005

eye-OH-tuh

I learn an interesting word today:

iota \eye-OH-tuh\, noun:
1. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding to
the English i.
2. A very small quantity or degree; a jot; a bit.

Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler taught us that the Earth
moves and rotates while the heavens stand still, but this
did not change by one iota our direct perception that the
heavens do move and that the Earth does not budge.
-Julian Barbour, The End of Time

He has not moderated his demands one iota in seven years.
-Charles Krauthammer, "The Last Deal, or No Deal,"
Time, July 17, 2000

I couldn't help feeling that in spite of every iota of
evidence to the contrary, something was about to happen.
-Jane Smiley, The All-True Travels and Adventures of
Lidie Newton
_________________________________________________

Iota is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet. The word
jot also derives from iota.

juz kidding

Gloria, Marcos and Erap were in a get-away vehicle trying to escape from the angry mob. The vehicle stalled beside three tall leafy trees. The three alighted and each started scrambling up the trees. Gloria on the first, Marcos on the second and Erap on the third.

The mob reached the vehicle.

Mob leader: "Shake the trees. They must be up there hiding among the leaves."

The mob started shaking the first tree.

Gloria, from up the tree: "Tweet-tweet...tweet-tweet..."

Mob leader: "Wrong tree. There's only a bird up there. It might defacate on us. Shake the next one."

And the mob started shaking the next one.

Marcos, from up the second tree: "Ssssssss...ssssssss..."

The mob ran to the third tree in terror, fearing that the snake on the second tree would fall on them.

From up the third tree, Erap was trying to seek Marcos' help from the second tree.

Erap: "Marcos, Marcos, what do I do?"

Marcos: "Just pretend to be an animal."

From below, the mob leader tells the people to start shaking the last tree. And they started shaking it hard.

To their surprise, a loud familiar sound came from up the tree.

"Moooooo.... moooooooo..."
-Sassy Lawyer, Gloria, Marcos and Erap, 14 Jul 2005

inSaniTy

The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.
-Albert Einstein

It has been our church favourite quote ever since it was shared over the pulpit by Rev. Wan. Stuck in our head like a chewing gum. heh.

still searching...

Sooooooo disappointed. I wasn't selected even after going through the second interview. Thought my chances of getting it was quite high. Oh well, perhaps God has a better job for me out there? In the meanwhile, I'll be continuing my contract with my present company. What to do? Was in a sour mood yesterday. So sour that my saliva can melt metals. Getting sick of sending resumes and taking leaves for interviews and not receiving good news after weeks later.

A very popular question during interview is "why do you want to leave your present company?". Please lor. I don't think anyone will tell you the whole truth so I don't see the point of asking. People leave the company for so many obvious reasons and one of them is definitely looking for higher pay and gain different work experience.

Led worship on sunday. I realised I'm singing too softly and the volume for my mic was already set to the max! Gosh. Usually my voice turns soft when I'm feeling sleepy. Was feeling tired despite having seven hours of sleep. Have to sing with more strength during worship next time. And open my mouth wider than a hungry lion.

what a waste

Prisoners' feces is converted into combustible "biogas," or methane gas that can be used for cooking. It has reduced by 60 percent the annual wood-fuel costs which would otherwise reach near $1 million, according to Silas Lwakabamba, rector of the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management, where the technology was developed...
-Wired News, Human Feces Powers Rwandan Prison, 16 Jul 2005

Amazing! I'm already imagining if human feces can be used to power automobiles in the near future. Maybe the driver seat will be made like a toilet bowl to fuel the engine. hahaha. Sweden tried using biogas to power trains!

Sweden has unveiled an environmentally friendly biogas-powered passenger train - said to be the world's first...

...The biogas train is due to go into service in September on the 80km (50-mile) coastal stretch. It cost Svensk Biogas 10 million kronor (1.08m euros; $1.3m) to develop.
-BBC, Sweden tests first biogas train, 20 Jun 2005

But it's really smart of the Rwanda people to solve their river pollution and turn the situation around to their advantage. Kudos!

are you on the right side?

Don't take the wrong side in an argument just because your opponent has taken the right side.
- Baltasar Gracian (Spanish philosopher) 1601-58

Rather surprised that he died at such a young age of 47 years old. Most probably he was tortured and died during exile.

fight on!

The people who make tremendous differences ... are those who have decided to fight the battles that have to be fought while they're there.
-Ross Sandler, Former Commissioner of New York City Department of Transportation

F4

They look cool. They look fantastic! hah. With my bunch of colleagues we watched the movie last Fri at Tampines Mall GV. The movie lasted around 1 hr plus and the storyline is rather straightforward. Someone commented that the movie is not as action-packed as "The War of the Worlds".

There were a few cheesy lines here and there but still acceptable in my standard. Guess I'm quite easily satisfied. heh. But I still find the characters rather cool. hee. Didn't remember the character of invisible woman looks as hot as Jessica Alba. Like best the part when The Thing was saving the suicidal man from the oncoming monster truck. He's the MAN!

HC booked the tickets were booked through internet booking but we were puzzled to find that our "confirmation no." wasn't found in their database. Thinking that probably it was a failed transaction, we bought the movie tickets there and then anyway. Few days later, HC discovered that GV deducted the money for the tickets he had booked because he booked the tickets at GV Plaza instead of Tampines GV!

He tried calling the GV people and the customer service person was kind enough to help him check if he could get a refund for his error. Usually we would expect a very unpleasant replies of it-can't-be-done or there's-no-way-we-can-help-you etc etc and that's the end of trying to claim back the money. But the lady was nice to help HC check if something could be done to get the refund and she'll e-mail him to let him know the outcome. Hopefully she comes back to him with good news though HC is prepared to face the fact that it was his silly mistake. This kind of customer service is really rare...especially over the phone.

Grades aren't all that matter

Many people think, and I used to be one of them, that education is a one-way process: the teachers teach and the students learn. That is purely a myth. I learned more from my students than I learned when I was a student myself or could have learned had I gone to graduate school instead.

My 20 years of teaching was both a humbling and an enriching experience. In the course that I "enrolled" in (More than Life 101), there were no lectures because theories were not applicable; instead, we had more practical application, a lot of hands-on training, daily actual life demos. There were a lot of homeworks and no holidays (a teacher was like a 24/7 guardian, counsellor, shock absorber, information center all rolled into one), no "take two" (it's either you pass or your fail, period) and no syllabus - the twists and turns were unpredictable, you never have an inkling what the next test will be about, when you have to take it or who will give it, you just have to be always alert.

It was difficult to come up with a list to summarize all that I learned from my students. Here's my best try:


1. We're all in this together. Students have to be constantly reminded that they are not alone; that their dream was also my dream and their parents' dreams. You must always make them feel that working towards their goals is definitely not just a one-man undertaking but a collaborative effort. A teacher alone, no matter how good, cannot do anything.
"We're all in this together" was a motto that we adopted many years ago to emphasize that, with teamwork, we can do better, we can do more.

2. "Poverty is not a hindrance to success." I have to make a disclaimer: that statement did not originate from me, contrary to my students' claims. What I did say were: believe in your dreams... believe in yourself ... learn from yesterday then forge ahead and don't look back ... diligence can surpass intelligence ... travel light, don't carry stones (of anger, pain, regrets, etc.) in your pocket. I guess that in their hearts and minds, that quotation summarized all the things I said through the years like a broken record.

3. If it is not true, it is not necessarily false. Adults, in general, tend to have black-or-white, true-or-false mindsets. In a true-or-false quiz, for example, when I'd ask for the answer and the student would say "true" when he should have said "false", more often than not I'd say, "If it's not true, then it must be ..." But one or two students would sometimes argue - "... but that's true only if ..." or pose a hypothetical "what if ..."
This taught me that there are many ways of looking at things and some answers, though correct, are not always 100% correct. That gave me a better perspective in life - it was like acquiring a thousand magnifying glasses so I could look at things more clearly and from many angles. This exercise freed my mind and let my spirit and imagination soar.

4. Try and try until you die ... My favorite Japanese proverb that I shared with them was "Fall down seven times, get up eight." I saw them do this through the years, without complaining about the falls, and I couldn't help but marvel at their perseverance, their fighting spirit, their guts. They just never gave up!

5. All things, even little things, matter. The little notes that I wrote on their papers ('very good" or "I'm impressed" or "I appreciate your effort" or just a smiley) ... a pat on the back or on the head, even if given once in a blue moon ... a text message to congratulate them ... remembering their birthdays or asking about a parent's health. I didn't realize how much these meant to them until they wrote back about how important these "little things" were to them. To this day, some graduates can still remember what I wrote on their papers. I never thought that what took me just a few seconds to do would long be remembered.

6. Walk the tightrope between being a teacher and a friend. It was an everyday struggle to keep my balance - not too friendly, not too strict. The former wasn't too hard but the latter required herculean effort on my part. It was difficult to shake off the influence of an upbringing that centered around almost clockwork, military-like discipline. But through the years, I was compelled to reinvent myself, to be more flexible, to wield both a carrot and a stick and to know when to use one or the other.

7. Grades aren't all that matter. My most successful students aren't necessarily those who got the highest grades. Maybe because the criteria for success in life is quite different from the criteria that schools generally use to compute grades; maybe because success in life requires a different kind of intelligence, sometimes only gut feeling, at other times, your heart more than your brains and still at other times, your brains and not your heart.

8. I want to succeed because ... Many would say, "I want to help my family" or "I want a good paying job." It didn't surprise me a bit to hear these answers. But when I learned that some of my students want to succeed because they want to be able to show some relatives who apparently do not treat them kindly that, despite what they had gone through, they can still reciprocate with kindness, I was stunned.

9. Smile and smile a lot. This was something that I had to practice - to smile more often, to smile a lot. Well, I learned that a smile says more and gets the message across faster.

I just want to add something to grades aren't all that matter. Some people think that a high grade (90+) will always make a student happy. I found out from my students that this is not so. In a class where they were asked to comment in general about the grades that they got, many complained about getting high grades in a course where they didn't learn anything. Of course, this also meant that they gave the teacher/s low marks in the evaluation sheet.

"To teach is to touch lives forever" - that's my favorite saying about teachers and teaching. Actually, it goes both ways. A teacher's job is not easy - there are long hours, low pay, lots of responsibilities, lots of problems. But all the lessons that I learned from my students more than made up for all the headaches and the heartaches.

And if I were asked to go back and choose again, I'd still choose to teach.

-Bugsybee, "What I Learned From My Students", 21 May 2005

Being a teacher is tough work. They seem to be juggling more administrative work than before. Among the things that had changed significantly from the past is that a lot of parents expect teachers not just to be educate their academically but also morally. I think it's sad because parents (and even relatives) in the family should be the main people teaching and instilling in their children the correct values and principles. It's not fair to expect teachers to be the ones totally responsible for their children moral upbringing. Do I expect a stranger to teach how my child should live correctly? That's a rather surprising phenomenon I notice.

you make me drool

Chance upon this foodblog done by Sassy Lawyer. She has really appetizing cooking recipes in Filipino, Asian, Western and even Japanese style on her foodblog. The pictures of all those food she cook can make you drool man. Basically she just improvise and came up with the recipes of good food she had tried. Gonna try her recipes someday.

when the cat's away, the mice will play

In a few hours time, my boss will be on the plane to New York. He won't be back till next tue. yipeeyeyaa! Really envy those people who get to go on business trips to such big cities. But I don't think they have much time to do sight-seeing and other touristy stuff there. Where got time? Don't think they include a free 'n' easy tour in your business trip unless you are some big shot in the top management. If I were them, most probably I'll just go back to my room and sleep after a long day of work and meeting and entertaining people.

Anyway travelling too much is tiring too. Pity my boss cos last week he was in Japan doing auditing work over solid three days over there. He was experiencing a bit of language barrier as most of the staff over there aren't really fluent in their English.

Rest assured, boss. The group will be in good hands while you are away.

Mr. & Mrs. blow-you-to-Smithereens

It was definitely worth watching it though HC commented that "there wasn't enough action" after coming out of the cinema. I wonder how much action he was expecting. "I like seeing explosions everywhere...chaos...world crisis etc...action up till the very end..." Sounds like he's describing a Arnold Schwarzenegger type of film. True enough, he also likes watching Independence Day, Armageddon type of movie. The up and coming Fantastic Four(aka F4) might suit his taste and I'm expecting lots of action out of it too unless the trailer is showing all of the actions there is.

The whole movie wasn't too crappy or simply just action-packed. Okay, maybe the actions are not enough but I still like it. Felt Brad and Angelina looks pleasant as a couple on the screen. Brad was really goofy in the show and made me laugh at some of his kiddish movements. Angelina was rather stiff in her acting but I prefer her to stay cool and give those cold one-liners. I like it.And there were touching moments as well. Wonder if there'll be a sequel to it. hah.

so close

We were so close to go into the finals tomorrow. So close man. We were around two seconds from the winner. Today was the first day of the Singapore Dragonboat Festival 2005 and we took part in the 12-crew(open)inter-corporate race and the 24-crew(mixed) National Championship event. For the inter-corporate event, we were racing against strong teams like HSBC and OCBC. Surprisingly, it turns out that HSBC and us were leading neck to neck in the race. Our pace was good but sometimes the boat was like tilting so badly that I could feel myself being thrown to my partner's side. Hard to keep my butts glue to my seat. So rocky.

When we came in second placing, I thought we could come back tomorrow and row for the finals but our timing compared to those who came in second in the other heats were the slowest. Was quite dejected man. At least we did our rowing beautifully during the race. No kancheong spider type of rowing during the start of the race. No punctured in the middle of the race. And we shout left right centre man. Trying the scare our opponents so that their boat will capsize.

It was during this year's race I get to see other people's boat capsize. When some of us just reach Marina Bay trying to set up our company banner at a nice comfortable and nice viewing spot that I witnessed a boat capsized during the race. Realised that almost all of those which shouted and yelled as they rowed to their starting point end up being the last few. Seems more like a barking dragon than a fast one. Usually those which came in the first placing are the quietest of all. They just quietly row slow and steady to the end point. I wanted to keep quiet and row but as I hear my fellow rowers shout like mad, I also join in. Wanna boost the team spirit man.

What fascinates me about dragonboat is the team spirit. It's not a one man show. Even if I wanna one man show play hero also cannot. Cos the boat dun move fast becos of me. There has to be coordination. If we row like catapillar will sure have rowing speed like catapillar. Every stroke has to be the same and there should be only one swoosh sound while rowing. One man's mistake can affect the whole team. And endurance cos no matter how fit we are, surely feel shack in the middle of the race, gasping for air and arms feeling stiff or feels like jelly. The stamina for dragonboat rowing requires much more than just jogging or swimming.

Haiz. But it's kinda demoralizing to keep losing when many of us put in effort to come for training and all. Wonder if I should continue for next season. Wanna use my Sat morning for sleeping leh.

He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
Isaiah 40:11

be a seat guru

There aren't enough mini scotch bottles in the world to numb the pain of a long, cramped flight spent next to an airplane lavatory. But now, thanks to a web site called SeatGuru.com, you never have to get stuck in such a lousy spot again. The site's team of evaluators inspects every seat on 24 of the world's major airlines, affording you crucial inside knowledge before you book. You'll find color-coded maps of each and every airline/model combo, featuring detailed information such as which seats have power ports and the best leg room, as well as those most likely to house kicking and screaming toddlers. Also useful: seemingly minor details like seat-cushion length and tray-table type, which, over the course of a long flight, can fast become major annoyances. Now if only there was a way to find out who you'll be seated next to...
Anne Sachs

hmmm...this website might come in handy someday...