SNDC

Sheares celebrated National Day a couple of days ago, and the guest of honor was some minister. He gave a speech of which I mostly ignored, focusing instead on the rubber of a chicken chop they served for dinner.

I looked up when he mentioned that he had just came from a session in parliament where they debated on having a by-election. I was interested to know the conclusion but I was sitting all the way at the other end of the hall and could not really make out his words. I did hear something along the lines of how young people these days can only see suntec city, and orchard road but forget what happened during the 1960s racial riots. Yes, I know, what the fuck has a by-election got to do with racial riots? Shrug. Maybe that's why I'm not invited to any tea parties. Political maneuvers are lost on me.

He went on to tell a story about a king without a thumb. It's a dumb story, and its moral is simply that "things could have been worse". I don't know about you, but it seems to me that when a country's leaders start talking like that, it's time to start worrying a little.

Screw that, here are some photos :)



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Now playing: Oasis - Slide Away (Acoustic)
via FoxyTunes

Obar

Prost? Get me orange juice.

Prost? Get me orange juice. It was a case of too many people and too many drinks. Last night's party might have been a blast, but if it was, I don't really remember. My clearest memory is of Terence buying me a Flaming. Ok, that's exaggerating a little; I remember most of what went on, especially being 2 inches away from the grass and merrily attempting to puke out my guts.

Thanks for coming guys and girls. Thanks for coming, friends. I'll post the photos up soon, cam whores :)

Next time, we'll have orange juice.

The Chameleon

And whatever remains of the flame went out earlier this evening, and what's left behind is a dank, cold, darkness.

-

The Chameleon approaches her prey. She has done this many times before without failure, and this one will be no exception. It's simple really. You sound the prey out, listen to his views, discover his personality and most importantly, what he lacks in his life and what he secretly longs for.

Strait-laced boys long for a girl to disrupt life's boring routines. Despite their most vehement protests, adrenaline in their blood's not unwelcome. Present to them the Rebel Girl, the Carefree Soul, and they'll lower the drawbridges to their hearts.

The self-professed player's probably jaded. Probably he has been cheated on a couple of times, played around a little on the side himself, and True Love to him is almost like a bad joke. Present to him a facade of an innocent girl, untainted by the debauchery he thinks the world is made of. Dangle the possibility of a ticket out of his hedonistic and empty existence; offer a safe harbor, and the battle's half won.

The Chameleon smiles. This is going to be easy.

Infatuate

I hate being infatuated. I hate feeling like my entire life's happiness hangs on a person's whim and fancy. Obviously that's not the case, but it sure feels like it. When you check your phone every couple of minutes, and when your heart skips a beat upon receiving a message, and skips twice upon seeing that the message is from the Object of desire.

You melt when the Object giggles and smiles, you are filled with warmth with the slightest of physical contact. Your bank account, sleep, and schedule need no management when you're with the Object.

This is when you've to, Stop Yourself. Any concessions made during courtship will come back and bite you in the ass. Surrender yourself utterly, and you might as well lie on the floor in front of the door and paint "welcome home" across your face.

Infatuation reminds me of who I am. It's comforting in a way, yet pathetic to know that after so many years, and after so many relationships, I'm still more or less, unchanged. I remember putting a lot effort crafting each text message, saying how much I miss, and/or love the Object of my affections. I remember not getting replies. I remember wondering whether the network was lagging, or whether the Object received my messages. I remember being utterly pathetic.

I won't deny that it still wrenches my heart to not get replies. But I get over it a lot quicker now. That's some improvement at least.

Phuture

LETTHE.RECORDPLAY says:
hahaha ok that good to know

[c-towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
haha its bullshit la

LETTHE.RECORDPLAY says:
if not, bully for your phuture girlfriend

[c-towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
HAHAHAH

LETTHE.RECORDPLAY says:
OH DAMMIT i mean FUTURE

[c-towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
what phuture girlfriend

[c-towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

[c-towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
ok that's blogworthy

LETTHE.RECORDPLAY says:
crapp.

Oh. The Glory.

Last night saw Singapore winning her second Olympic medal of all time.

Here's what the Guardian has to say about it:

Somewhat dulling the achievement for the country of 4.6 million, the players and coach that carried Singapore to victory were all imports from table tennis powerhouse China.

It was however, Singapore, that provided them with the nurturing that contributed to their success. After all, Li Jia Wei came over more than a decade ago when she was talent scouted in China at the tender age of 14.

The coach has this to say about winning the medal:

"I feel very honoured. I've been in Singapore for just over two years and can help it get an Olympic medal, at least a silver, for the first time in 48 years," coach Liu Guodong said.

Here's some info on Feng Tianwei on Wikipedia:

Feng Tianwei (Chinese: 冯天薇; pinyin: Féng Tiānwēi) (born 31 August 1986) is a Singaporean table tennis player who is ranked among the top ten athletes in her sport. She began training in Singapore in March 2007 and commenced her international career in competitive table tennis the following month. She became a Singapore citizen in January 2008.

Citizen in January, Olympic medal in August. Living embodiment of the benefits of foreign talent.

There is little shame in this though. For Chinese players compete under other nations colors as well, not just Singapore. Here's a good article: http://passtheword.wordpress.com/2008/04/12/ping-wrong-chinese-dominate-us-table-tennis/

Personally, I would rather see these Chinese grooming local talent, if there is any to be found.

Booze. Students. Residences.

It's a well-known fact that Students, Booze, and Student Residences are the holy trinity of colleges. They are inseparable. Obviously not every single resident in a Hall/Hostel will participate in drinking parties, or a get together with a couple of friends for some beers, it's safe to say that such activities exist, and there should be a framework of rules to govern such behavior.

For example, in Waterloo where I did my exchange, we were allowed to consume alcohol only in our rooms, and not in the common lounge as a drunkard brawl broke out the year before, resulting in the ban.

A quick search on Google brings up alcohol regulation from a couple of universities:

Queen's University:

Residents of legal age may consume alcohol in private or semi-private areas. Private areas are defined as a residence room or suite, while semi-private areas are defined as floor common rooms.

Bishop's University:

It is against the law to consume alcohol in buildings or public areas of the campus other than in designated "licensed" areas, in a private residence room, or residence common rooms.

Mount Allison University:

RESIDENCE ALCOHOL POLICY

The following policy for the possession and consumption of alcohol in residence applies to all residents of University residences and their guests.

Rooms
Risk Assessemnt forms are not required for consumption of alcohol by students in their own rooms.

Lounges
Floor or lounge party permits are not required for the consumption of alcohol in student lounges as long as the following conditions are respected and the Don of the individual residence agrees.

1) Only one drink per person and thus one container, which must be made of plastic or other non-breakable substances is permitted in the lounge at one time. Opened cases and bottles must remain in students' rooms.

2) Only containers which hold twenty (20) ounces or fewer are permitted.

3) The number of people in the lounge at any one time may not exceed reasonable numbers as determined by the residence Don.

4) Drinking games are not permitted;

5) Residents and their guests must comply with House By-Laws.

Ok you get the point. NUS has a much simpler solution though. NO ALCOHOL IN HALLS. Period. Simple solution by people only too eager to cover their own asses.

Balance

I get my moments.

Moments when I actually recognize myself.

Moments when I look at passably attractive girls and I start feeling self-conscious; looking everywhere but at them.

Moments when I ponder about the virtues of being in an exclusive, stable, loving, and supportive relationship.

Moments when I'm saddened upon hearing friends tell me all they're looking for are flings - instead of patting them on the back and saying well done bro, welcome to the world.

Moments when the emptiness of decadence hits while I am indulging, and not after like it usually does.

Balance. That's what I need. Yes, a revision is needed. Same path, but revised, slightly.

Stuffed

I'm stuffed. In fact, I feel mildly pregnant. Boss treated the team to Kushin-Bo as a farewell party for me, and I, naturally, was the biggest eater at the table.

That's not surprising. What's surprising is the Beluga sitting at the next table diagonally across me. She must have eaten at least 1.5 times what I ate.

Burp. Last day of work folks.

Diesel

High diesel prices? Bollocks. Or at least it is to the Malay driver of a Premier KIA taxi I took to work this morning (yes, i zouked last night, peeled myself off the bed at 10am, and was horribly late for my last day of work).

With the way he accelerated and floored the gas, one would think that diesel has fallen back to 60cents per litre. Not that I'm complaining cause I obviously wanted to get to work as soon as possible but I wondered a little about how his lack of fuel conservancy will affect his earnings. Personally, I've become a tortoise of a driver; slow, slow, pick up, and a cruising speed a couple of km/h +/- the speed limit. Gas is expensive, and I'm a poor bloke.

It was a pleasant surprise when I arrived though. It states clearly on a sticker on the window that there would be a 30cents diesel surcharge added to the fare. Given my abysmal math ability, I asked him how much it would cost after adding the surcharge to my $9.80 fare. Guess what? He smiled, shook his head and said "Don't worry about that! Have a nice day!" Wow. Nice dude. Nice guys lose out, don't they? 30cents per customer. Maybe it's immaterial, as Angela would put it.

Imagine

There's a motivational poster in my office that says:

As you think
so you are ...
As you Imagine
so you Become!

The graphic is of a caterpillar and a majestic butterfly. I'm guessing it's meant to show that even an ugly and worm-like creature such as the caterpillar can become a beautiful butterfly. Inspiring, is it not? No. It's depressing. Why? Because a caterpillar can only become a butterfly because it is _created_ to do so. It's encoded in its genes and all.

An earthworm gifted with exceptional imagination, will remain that - an earthworm. No beautiful colors and happy fluttering from flower to flower for it.

Of course we're not earthworms. With enough luck, blessings and hard work, we can succeed even without trust funds.

Unintended

"Life, of late, has been filled with unfinished pages in a chapter that never seems to have an end. Just like how a life consumed with worldly pursuits is a futile effort to fill the emptiness left by our departure from God, so is the life chasing the transient a mere imitation of the love God intended to exist between Man and Woman."

Dig the cryptic post, Junnie? Haha.