On the trail of Singapore's Good Food Stage #2
POSTED AT 09:53 PM

My friend and I have this food appreciation thing going - we meet regularly to sample some of the good food that this country has to offer. The last time we paid a visit to Changi Village's Nasi Lemak stall; today it was duck rice at Commonwealth.

The stall is just a short walk away from the Commonwealth MRT station - it's located at a coffee shop in the middle of a sprawling HDB estate. According to my friend, it's important to go early, because by 12 noon or so most of the good stuff would have been sold out. We were sure to be there early at 11 lest we had to contend with leftovers.

I had expected the place to be quite crowded, but actually it's quite out of the way and quite quiet. Perhaps it was due to the fact that we were pretty early, but my friend said that most of the customers just call to order and then come by later to pick up their food.

So we had a nice lunch of succulent duck meat with rice and some duck innards which I couldn't identify - probably the kidneys. It's pretty good. I love eating innards, but my mom doesn't, so I didn't really get much opportunities to eat them while growing up.

I would say it was a pretty delightful lunch, and thoroughly satisfying.
Next stop: Zion Road Northern Chinese Dumplings.

Pink is the new black
POSTED AT 06:51 PM



I've waited two years for this day. To try and describe all that I've been through since this was taken away from me would be unthinkable.

I think I've become a different person now.

I have too much time...
POSTED AT 06:30 PM

... on my hands. And I am pretty far removed from the academic/scholarly/analytical/intelligent/thinking frame of mind that I need to be in when I go back to school next year. Plus I want to see what local university life is like, considering I might never get a chance to experience it.

Which is why I decided to latch on to a friend of mine (read: siao woman) for half a day of class at her school. Actually more like one (three-hour-long!!) lecture.

And she astutely suggested that I come for the Biz Law lecture, which is more than remotely interesting and pretty comprehensible as well.

I thought it was quite an engaging lesson, plus there was even a mock trial at the end which was immensely entertaining. Most of the concepts that they brought up for discussion are pretty straightforward, so it wasn't too difficult to keep up with the lesson.

Granted, this is a business class and not a law class but I think I gained valuable insight into the study of law. It's quite challenging and requires a good logical sense , and can sometimes get very confusing, but I think it's extremely interesting and exciting as well.

Too bad I'd never get to do it, since I'm headed for the US. If I were applying for a local college course I think I would definitely give law a serious thought (much like the other 129092039128301928302 of my friends; it seems that at least half of the local college-bound people that I know are going to NUS law).

I think it might be quite worthwhile to slip into lectures on a regular basis to actually follow through with the whole syllabus of the class. Not sure if it would be feasible, though, without proper books, tutorials and instruction.

-------------------------------------------

On other out-of-point things:

SW: "hey hope u using firefox on that. link is for folks like me still having 11b..."

I have no idea what that meant at all. And I don't use Firefox.

Psyche: Thanks. Anyway I got the job on a friend's friend's recommendation so I think a bit hard to get more people in.

Income and expenditure
POSTED AT 09:05 PM

I received my monthly statement from DBS a couple of days back, which made apparent just how much lighter my wallet is these days. I spent a grand total of $1500 in October, and since my last paycheck clocked in at a little under $1200, it is the first time that I've actually spent more than I've earned.

And spending beyond your means is never a good thing, isn't it?

I think the extent of the army's clampdown on my life is pretty clear too. Throughout my time in NS my monthly expenditure would only be around $300, sometimes even less. I spent so much time in camp that there was never really time to spend any money, plus pretty much everything essential - food, lodging, entertainment - was provided for me.

Now, I realise, time spent out of camp is time spent spending money.

A jump from $300 to $1500 is pretty scary - a 500% increase - but in mitigation $500 went to fund my German classes and $400 went to my plane ticket to Taiwan so it's not totally a wasteful spending spree.

I am, however, spending a lot more money on public transport - $100 of the $1500 went to topping up my GIRO farecard. I must have gone round Singapore a couple of times to rack up that kind of bill. And that doesn't even count the money I spent on taxis. I don't know, perhaps I should start considering the monthly concession scheme.

At least now, I better appreciate the value of hard-earned money. It doesn't grow on trees and it certainly doesn't fall from the sky, so it's good that I feel the pinch of unwise and excessive spending. Which is why I haven't taken up YQ's offer to go wakeboarding, which costs a whopping $80 an hour.

Hopefully the regular working hours of this new job now will take up valuable time which could have been otherwise spent spending money on mindless purposes. Plus I need to store power for the coming Taiwan trip.

Famous Last Words
POSTED AT 03:59 AM

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator.

(Courtesy of Threadless.com)

I have a soul,
but I'm not a soldier

Self-actualisation
POSTED AT 12:47 AM

I met up with a couple of old friends the other day over the weekend, people whom I haven't seen for a long time. Friends from school, back when I was actually still in school.

We were talking about a whole bunch of things - reminiscing about the past, talking about the future, living in the present. Like I said, I haven't seen these chaps for quite a while now and it felt good to be able to catch up with them, to learn about what they've been doing all this time.

Spending time with them gave me a very different feeling as compared to when I'm with my other friends whom I see more regularly. It's just different - collectively we talk about different things, we have a different general outlook of life and we have different attitudes. It's as if a part of me shut down and went to sit behind in the back of my head, while another part stood up and took over. I felt like it was a different part of me that was interacting with these friends, as compared to my regular buddies.

And I realise it's the same with other group of friends as well. It's as if there are different versions of me and each group of friends know and recognise a different version. Some know parts of my life that others do not. And vice versa.

So who really sees the big picture - sees, knows and understands all? I guess that would be what you would call a soulmate?

86 Boys
POSTED AT 02:52 AM

My friends and I decided to head down to Harbourfront and check out the newly opened St. James Power Station. I've never been there before, but since we managed to get ourselves on the guest list it was as good an opportunity as any to have a look around.

What struck me most about the place was the average age of the patrons; everybody looked much older than us and we felt like young punks out past our bedtime. This was especially so at Movida - it was a pretty exciting place playing retro music, but I think nobody on the dance floor was below 25?

We managed to get into Bellini Room too - I think it's the best of the lot. It's nice and cosy, plus there's a live jazz band to keep you company.

Strangely enough, we walked out to explore the other areas, and when we decided to head back to Bellini Room to settle down, the doorman didn't let us in. We were underage, which is true, but he was the one that let us in the first time, after checking our IDs.

So anyway we eventually settled down at Power House to while away the night. The drinks there aren't half bad, plus it was fun talking to the friendly waitress there.

Amen.
POSTED AT 09:59 PM

By chance I found this (10 years too late!) crawling around the depths of cyberspace. I'm not Christian, but I think it puts many things in perspective. It's a pretty conservative opinion, and I'm not saying I agree with it, but it really gets you thinking.

The original prayer delivered January 23, 1996 by the
Rev. Joe Wright to the Kansas House.


Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek your direction and guidance. We know your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fore-fathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, The Rest of the Story, and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called one nation under God.

The End Of A Dream...
POSTED AT 11:26 PM

Thank you for your submission of the online reply form on 29-Nov-2006.

We have noted your rejection of the above course of study in Academic Year 2007 - 2008. We wish you all the best for your future endeavours.

Please print or save a copy of this acknowledgement for future reference.

Regards
Office of Admissions
National University of Singapore

Gott hat die Erde nur einmal geküsst / Genau an dieser Stelle wo jetzt Deutschland ist
POSTED AT 12:52 AM

It was yesterday during my weekly German class when my teacher handed out forms for a continuation of lessons next term that I was prompted to reexamine the nature of these classes that I've been attending.

Time isn't really a problem; it is honestly quite a pleasure to be able to spend my Wednesday evenings enagaged in some intellectual pursuit - which is quite hard to come along these days - not least the fact that I welcome the opportunity to brush up on the standard of my German.

Rather, I have to ask myself if $360 for 10 3-hour lessons is really the best way to spend the money. Despite the length of each session, and the authenticity of having a native German teacher, I've found that the level of immersion in the language is simply not there. Of course this can be improved by a greater participation in class discussions and a greater willingness to speak up in German in class but this is of course marred by a lack of confidence and more inarticulate command of the language than I care to admit.

Definitely the class has been generally beneficial thus far. But most of the improvement has taken place in areas of reading and writing, and not - as I had so hoped, and desire - speaking. I haven't even managed to reach the level I once was at.

For now, I'm holding firm to the belief that you can't put a value on knowledge and education which means I'm going to persevere. Unfortunately I don't have the self-discipline to continually expose myself to the language through actively reading books or searching for other similar sources of language practice. This structure is my impetus for success and improvement.

-----------

Gestern während meiner deutscher Klasse, die einmal pro Woche passiert, hat meine Deutschlehrerin uns einen Einschreibungsvordruck geben. Wenn wir Deutsch weiter lernen wöllten, dann müssten wir den Vordruck ergänzen und ihn ihr zurückgeben. Das hat mich veranlassen zu überlegen, ob ich Deutsch weiterlernen soll.

Für mich ist die Zeit kein Problem. Tatsächlich finde ich toll, wenn ich Mittwoch abends ein bisschen etwas zu lernen kann. Und wenn es Deutsch ist, was ich lerne, ist es am besten.

Aber ich weise nicht, ob es sich lohnt, wenn die 10 3-stundenlänge Unterrichten insgesamt $360 kosten. Obwohl eine Unterricht 3 Stunden dauert, und es ist auchzwar gut, dass meine Lehrerinaus Deutschland kommt, aber ich bin der Meinung, dass die Unterrichten nicht so wirksam sind. Wenn wir mehr auf Deutsch sprechen und reden würden, dann könnten wir unsere Deutsch ofter übungen und dann würden wir schneller lernen. Aber ich fürchte mich, dass ich nicht so oft während der Unterricht mit der Lehrerin oder den anderen Kursteilnehmern auf Deutsch rede, denn ich habe kein Vertrauen zu meiner Deutschkenntnisse.

Natürlich hat meine Deutschkenntnisse verbessert, aber meistens haben meine Lesen- und Schreib-fähigkeiten verbessert und nicht die Sprach-fähigkeit. Jetzt ist meine Deutschkenntnisse nicht so gut wie als ein paar Jahre vor, wenn ich erst 4 Jahre Deutsch gelernt habe.

Trotzdem bin ich der Meinung, dass Kenntnis und Erziehhung wichstige als Geld sind. Deshalb möchte ich immer noch Deutsch weiterlernen. Ich glaube, diese Deutschunterrichten sind die beste Art, um meine Deutschkenntnisse zu verbessern. Hoffentlich, wenn ein Deutscher dieser Text lesen würde, könnte er verstehe, was ich sagen möchte. Und dann weise ich mindestens, dass ich nicht so schlecht bin.