winz's space

blog from android

2009-08-15T12:06:00.001+09:00

test test...
let's see if android can revive my blogging interest!

Sis in China Magazine...

2008-09-14T14:50:00.000+09:00

Ibaraki to Kobe

2008-09-02T00:51:00.002+09:00

Ibaraki to Kobe = 690 yen. This direct train passes by Osaka btw.

However,
Ibaraki to Osaka = 210 yen.
Osaka to Kobe = 390 yen.
Total = 600 yen.

Weird huh?? Pays to get off, and then on again. ;pp

And Kobe beef is THE BEST EVER...
that is until i try matsuzaka beef....

Recommended for all who visits Kobe! Splurge a little on a meal you will never forget!

back...

2008-06-19T01:54:00.001+09:00

and gone again...

;p

This is funny...

2007-08-30T12:42:00.001+09:00

When asked about how to defeat R. Federer in the US Open, some famous ppl have these to say and more:

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO, heavyweight boxing champion and a friend of Federer's:
...check in the hotel next room to Roger and make all the possible noise in the room that he couldn't sleep. Don't let him get any sleep, and steal his luggage and his rackets so that he couldn't play.
You can kiss his girlfriend, and maybe he'd get jealous, you know, he'd get upset and whatever.

JELENA JANKOVIC, third-ranked player on the WTA Tour:
Oh, gosh, I don't know how I could beat him. I guess I would have to tie his legs together so he couldn't move. If that didn't work, I would wear a short skirt, and hopefully that would distract him.

DIEGO AYALA, professional coach who, as a player in 1996, defeated Federer at the Coffee Bowl juniors tournament in Costa Rica:
Create a roadblock so he cannot get to the tournament. I'm thinking maybe blocking both exits of the Midtown Tunnel while he is in it.

RICHARD WILLIAMS, father and coach of Venus and Serena Williams:
There's only three ways to beat Roger Federer. You first pay him enough money not to show up — that's the first thing you do. If he turns that down, then you try your best to get a baseball bat and break his leg because he runs so fast. Now, if he gets away from you, then the next one is, honestly, is just to sit like I do and watch him play, then you can beat anyone just sitting in the stands because you never miss a shot. Those are the only three ways I know you can beat Roger Federer.

From nytimes.com

Yes sir, no sir...

2007-07-11T13:19:00.001+09:00

Having been out of mindef's attention for the past 7 years, i thot i had become a forgotten man...

But disaster strikes when you least expect...

anyway, in the short span of 3 months, I have been served no less than 4 saf-100s, ie. call-up notices. Sianz.

I've been receiving some calls from the NS ppl as well... but i have to admit that it felt perversely good to hear ppl address myself as Sir this, Sir that. wahaha.

"Hello, this is winston wong..."
"Ah... yes SIR, what can I do for you..."

"No problem SIR..."

etc. etc.

;p

Obese survive heart attacks better

2007-07-10T18:28:00.001+09:00

While being fat increases your chances of a heart attack, some studies suggest a puzzling paradox: Obese people seem to have a better chance of surviving one.

....

A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Medicine by scientists at Duke University examined nearly 16,000 people in 37 countries. The authors found that one year after a heart attack, the death rate for normal-weight patients was 4.3 percent. For obese patients, it was just 2.2 percent.

Several other studies have confirmed those findings, including a paper last month in the European Heart Journal. German and Swiss doctors tracked more than 1,600 patients for three years after their heart attacks, and concluded that only 3.6 percent of fat patients had died, against nearly 10 percent of normal-weight patients.

hehe... finally something 'good' about being obese...

However, experts warn, the results should not be used as an excuse for the overweight to indulge.

"We really don't want people to think that they should put on a bit of weight to have a better chance with their bypass surgery,"

"These results do not mean it's OK to be fat. Being fat is still dangerous to your health for lots of other reasons,"

darn.

article here.

sian

2007-05-30T16:00:00.001+09:00

now in the camp liao... yeah... for my ict briefing... darn.

as usual the camp quite cock up, dunno where to direct me initially, went from one office to another.

but in the end, now i'm in the mess liao... waiting for the meeting to begin in 30 mins time.

ah well. nothing's changed after 7 years. ;p

paikia elephants

2007-05-30T12:02:00.001+09:00

in malaysia, ppl scared of robbers waylaying their cars and rob their belongings.
in india, ppl scared of an elephant waylaying their cars and rob their food.

so cute ;p

"The tusker then inserts its trunk inside the vehicle and sniffs for food," local resident Prabodh Mohanty, who has come across the elephant twice, was quoted as saying.

"If you are carrying vegetables and banana inside your vehicle, then it will gulp them and allow you to go."

If a commuter does not wind down his window or resists opening the vehicle door, the elephant stands in front of the car until the driver allows him to carry out his routine inspection.

full article here.

funny...

2007-05-29T18:30:00.001+09:00

The association, which represents the big Hollywood studios, recently brought to Malaysia two dogs trained to sniff out DVDs -- with stunning results. The two Labradors, Lucky and Flo, have sniffed out more than a million DVDs and broken a fake DVD ring.

They have been so successful that authorities believe Malaysian pirates have put a bounty on the dogs' heads.

full article here.

FA Cup

2007-05-21T17:30:00.001+09:00

First of all, congratulations to Chelsea, who deservingly won the FA cup over the weekend.

The purpose of writing this blog is that I am sick and tired of people saying that Ryan Giggs goal should have stood as the ball crossed the line, or that he was fouled my Essien as believed by the likes of A.Ferguson.

Have a look at the video again.

1. Did the ball cross the line??

Ryan Giggs said it did. Even Cech himself admitted it did. But did it really??

From the video, it is clear that at its furthest point, the base of the ball was maybe 1 or 2 cm away from the line, if not marginally touching it. Anyone who studied elementary mathematics or physics can tell you that the ball is spherical, and so, if the base of the ball is so close to the line, the whole ball must have not crossed the line.

FIFA rules dictate that for a goal to stand, the whole ball must cross the line.

Look at the video again if you will, and have the liberty to pause at the precise moment and judge for yourself again. Based on the base of the ball, had the WHOLE ball crossed the line?

Of course I am not stating the obvious that Ryan Giggs actually pushed Cech over the line, which was obviously a foul.

2. Was Ryan Giggs fouled by Essien??

Ferguson and many others claimed he was. But was he??

Look at the video again in slo-mo. Essien's tackle came in almost at the same time when Ryan Giggs dived for the ball. Ok maybe a little earlier. But even in slo-mo, it's hard to make out whether there's contact before Ryan Giggs stretched for the ball, or whether he fell due to contact by Essien. Then who would know best the answer? Giggs.

In his own words, "I felt I was getting to the ball quite comfortably and felt someone touch my leg. But I was claiming for the goal not the penalty." He himself conceded that it was not a penalty.he was going for the ball comfortably, and felt someone touch his leg. What it means, do draw your own conclusions.

And then Ferguson said something which was more absurd. "...the goalkeeper's spilled the ball behind the line."

Now, "spill" according to dictionary.com, is
v. tr.
1. To cause or allow (a substance) to run or fall out of a container.
2. To scatter (objects) from containment: spilled the armload of books on the desk.
3. To shed (blood).

How this can classify as a spill is beyond me.

Obviously these are words from a sore loser.

Man U on top or great tactics by Chelsea??

Of course, there are many amateurs who feel that man u should win as they seemed to be the better team on the field that day. Were they?

Read the verdicts here. Chris Waddle was spot on.

"United only know one way to play and when they play slow, as they did in Milan and in this final, they don't win."

During the dreary 1st half, I like everyone else was feeling super bored. But it doesn't take an intelligent person to feel that Chelsea was slowing the game down. In some cases they can attack, but they chose to slow it down. Tactics? Of course.

Now read the full article on the Mourinho's tactics here.

In his own words, fans out there, "whether [you] want to enjoy the game or enjoy after the game?"

My answer too is after.

And I'm still enjoying every minute of it. :)

This is funny... Holy Church of the Order of Painted Breasts... rotfl

2007-05-14T10:34:00.001+09:00

There are so many scam mails from Nigeria etc. nowadays. For me I just delete them. But what this guy did was hilarious, and he scammed the scammers even.

On a hind note, was quite surprised to read that every year, US citizens alone are conned out of some $200m.

Anyway read the whole article here.

Tips for women to look better and lose weight...

2007-05-14T10:30:00.001+09:00

Errr... advice not from me, but from the usual crappy MDN source... heh.

Read about it here.

i'm 48% Bill Gates!

2007-05-14T01:00:00.000+09:00

if only i'm 48% as rich as bill gates....

New addition to the family...

2007-05-10T12:01:00.001+09:00

Ever since I bought my Nintendo DS, it has been lying patiently in wait that one day, it will be showed some attention by moi.

The wait is over.

Welcome to the family... of PSP, PS2, PC, and all the P's and that stands for games.

I was kind of reluctant to play NDS, as the games are pretty steep. Although I have heard about NDS game ROMs for some time now, I haven't actually explored the possibilities of playing homebrew on the NDS. I mean, I already have my trusty PSP which more than satisfies my gaming needs on the go, why vex myself by creating more competition?

That all changed when Tyrone, my colleague at work, introduced me to the NDS flashcards. With these nifty cards, homebrews, MP3, movies, web browing, ebook, etc. are all possible. So i got one for myself, and errr.... borrowed some games from people whom I may or may not know over the web ;p... and there! (Final Fantasy III, baby!)

That being said, the conversion from PSP to DS isn't really easy. The first impression is that the graphics on DS really sucks as compared to that of PSP. 2nd, I find it weird to use the pointer to play games. Eg. in Spiderman 3, I have to use the darn touch screen to shoot webs, else I can't play it. I know I know, that's the point of having the DS..... but still I find it hard to adapt straight away. So unless I find a game really hard to put down, for now I am sticking with my PSP.

Any good games on DS to recommend?

finally... a good result...

2007-05-03T16:34:00.001+09:00

2 nites of disappointments... (newcastle defeat on monday nite, chelsea on tuesday)... finally it's 3rd time lucky.

AC Milan for Champions League!

Comfort Women - the Sequel

2007-04-26T22:14:00.001+09:00

Japan's abhorrent practice of enslaving women to provide sex for its troops in World War II has a little-known sequel: After its surrender -- with tacit approval by U.S. occupation authorities -- Japan set up a similar "comfort women" system for American GIs.

It's sort of like a case of "I did it, but you did it too!!", but well... still an interesting read nonetheless.

Though they were free to do so, no Japanese women sought compensation.

"Not one Japanese woman has come forward to seek compensation or an apology," he said. "Unless they feel they can say they were completely forced against their will, they feel they cannot come forward."

well.... they did state that they were highly paid in the article... compare that to the plight of the original comfort women... (not that i know of course...)

read full article here.

Drink breast milk to lose weight!

2007-04-11T15:32:00.000+09:00

Guys, you know where to get your lactoferrin from.... =)

a substance called lactoferrin, a protein found in copious amounts in breast milk and a substance believed to cut visceral fat levels by as much as 40 percent.

Article here.

Fwd: Darwin Awards Newsletter -- March 2007

2007-03-06T12:15:00.000+09:00

Just got the newsletter from Darwin today...

Did the below really happen in Singapore?

What the heck is Hua Business School anyway??

-----

DARWIN AWARD: Rock Out
Confirmed by Darwin

November 2006, Singapore | Picture a college dorm room.
Textbooks, dirty laundry, sexy posters, food wrappers, and
in the middle of it all, a 16-year-old male rocking out
to loud music.  A typical student, a typical day.

But this particular student, bouncing on his bed as he rocked
out on his air guitar, was about to "take things too far,"
according to the coroner's report.  Li Xiao Meng, a student
at Singapore's Hua Business School, bounced up and down on
his bed with such enthusiasm that he rocked himself right out
of the third-floor window.

Normally the windows are locked, but students reportedly
force the locks so they can sneak a cigarette.  Perhaps
alluding to Ted Nugent's rock song, the court ruled it
a case of "Death By Misadventure."

Reader Comments:
"Did he fall, or did he dive into an imaginary mosh pit?"
"Dude! Where's my mosh pit?"
"Oingo Boingo"

References: http://DarwinAwards.com/darwin/darwin2006-09.html

Stingy!

2007-03-05T14:54:00.000+09:00

I have a colleague who just had a baby a month ago. As per tradition, we chipped in some money to buy a present for the newborn. This time the person collected at least $5 per person (usual practice was $2, or unstated).

Today he gave out cake vouchers since the daughter is 1-month old now. As per tradition. Supposed to give back blessings in return for blessings received.

However this Mr. S (S for stingy), only chose to give to those who contributed $10 and above. Warrao! Heard from my fren the cake costs ard $7 a piece. Meaning he earns $3 for every $10 received and $5 for every $5 received!!

I'm not fond of cakes, so that's not the main issue. Just sad that ppl are so unkind, especially towards ppl who are kind towards them.

Anyways... That's that. Just in a bitchy mood due to my cold. ;p

Some people just ain't got no senses...

2007-02-28T17:30:00.000+09:00

Yakko: The sense of sight
Is what guides us right
When we go out on walks.
Wakko: The sense of smell's
The way you tell
That you need to change your socks.
Dot : The sense of touch
Is what hurts so much
When you bang your toe on the bed.
Yakko: The sense of hearing is something good
'Cause if a tree falls in the wood
Would there be a sound? You bet there would
If it landed on top of your head
YW+D : Your head
If a tree lands on top of your head!

Wakko: The sense of taste
Affects your waist
Yakko: Which makes five senses in all.
Dot : There's a sixth sense, too, but it's hard to explain
It's a psychic connection that's inside your brain
So you can understand people like Shirley MacLaine
Yakko: Who wear crystals they bought in the mall
YW+D : The mall
Who wear crystals they bought in the mall!

Yakko: And now the other senses!

Dot : There are scents you can smell
Like cologne from Chanel
Or the scents of expensive perfume.
Yakko: There are scents of flowers
We hope overpowers
The kitty box next to your room.
Phew!
Wakko: There's a sense of pride
You have deep down inside
Yakko: When you practice a sense of fair play.
Dot : There are dollars and cents that you pay at a toll
Yakko: Or the census man who is taking a poll
Wakko: And a sense of confusion; we're out of control
YW+D : And they really should take us away
Away
They really should take us away!

Dot : There's a sense of humor
A sense of doom, or
A sense of awe, sense of timing.
Yakko: The sense of a word
A sense of absurd
Like trying to do all this rhyming!
Dot : There's incense
Wakko: And horse sense
Yakko: And common sense, it's true.
Dot : Sense of wonder, sense of beauty
Wakko: Sense of honor, sense of duty
Yakko: A sense of doubt, a sense of danger
Dot : A sense of fear, when you meet a stranger
Wakko: A sense of style, a sense of worth
Yakko: A sense of direction for knowing the earth
YW+D : A sense of dread as we're singing this song
That it's starting to turn out completely all wrong
And it's time that we end it because it's too long
'Cause it just doesn't make any sense
No sense
It just doesn't make any sense!

It's been some time...

2007-01-30T10:44:00.000+09:00

.. since I last posted anything over here.

but it's not like i didn't try... just that blogger is really going down... always cannot log in or cannot post... frustrating to say the least. while i am writing this, i am also not sure whether this will be able to be posted or not.. but well..

work has been busy... so will find a new host next time when i get less busy or something..

take care!

PSone on your PSP cracked

2006-12-27T13:04:00.000+09:00

Times like this make me regret trashing all my PSone games....

PSP owners rejoice. No need to buy PS1 games via PS3 and send over to PSP to play anymore... Hackers have created a PS1 emulator that your lower versions firmware can emulate.

I dun have all my PS1 games anymore, so for all of you like me with no PS1 games now, don't worry...

Expect a flurry of PS1 titles over at BT sites. ;)

Relive FFVII on PSP anyone?

link

Alternative Christmas Carol - for all ye soccer fans out there...

2006-12-22T09:54:00.000+09:00

Funny and cool.... I'm sure you will try to sing to it like I did!!

Here are some examples below.

(more from the original bbc website)

(even more if you click view all comments at the said website)

(to the tune of Away in a Manger)

Away in a strange land
A Frenchman saw red
When midfield God Zizou
Brought down his bald head
Floodlights in the bright sky
Shone down on his dome
As Marco cried buckets
And ZZ went home.

Away in a strange land
A nod and a wink
Put paid to Wayne Rooney
And caused a great stink
Ronaldo was heckled
From Oxford to Crewe
But Fergie played cupid
To fix Ron and Roo.

(to the tune of Let it Snow)

Oh the Race for the league is hotting,
Man U and Chelsea are romping,
Mourinho likes to have a moan,
ere we go, ere we go ere we go!
Everton's board a hoping,
For Stadium with added Tesco's Shopping,
it will be a first across the land,
Watch the game, buy your Milk, buy your ham!
Oh Charlton what have you done,
Should have give Pardew more time!
But if you really want to survive the fight,
Les Reed out ・straight away ・NO TONIGHT.
The season is slowly dying,
And, Lord Stevens Christmas will be a fine un,
The FA are in Disarray,
Sack em All, Not Tomorrow, No Today!!

(to the tune of Silent Night)

World Cup Night
Holy Night
All was calm
All was bright

Then Lord Zizou turned to red
smashed the I-Tie with his head
Crowd sat in disbelie-eef
Sheer disbelief

Champions League Night
Holy Night
Arsenal's Dream
Taking the lead

Step up Larsson 28 mins to go
Destroys poor Thierry Henry and Co.
Wenger couldn't believe
"How could Zis happen to me?"

JAL is CRAP

2006-12-21T17:12:00.000+09:00

went to the JAL site...

NO internet check-in... CRAP.

then went to the Japanese version of the same website... surprise surprise... there IS internet check-in..

seems that JAL, like many other Japanese services, only offer some of their services to their own Japanese speaking people.

Biased? well, wot can we gaijins do? (even the word 'gaijin' is derogatory)

Heng I know Japanese.

Clicked on the icon and was brought to a log in screen.

No problem. I just completed my flyers registration and obtained my log-in info.

I logged in, and was brought to an error screen. It read:

Service available only to people registered in Japan.

ie. people with Japanese address, ie. Japanese only (and those peeps staying in Japan perm).

CRAP x infinity!!!!

I can't imagine how an international company will do well internationally if they only provide simple services exclusively only to their own people!

C'mon, even a relatively budget airline like Northwest has internet check in available for all!

JAL is ... (see title)!!!!!!!!

Xmas Quiz No.1

2006-12-20T13:55:00.000+09:00

Guess who are these??

Dasher
Dancer
Prancer
Vixen
Comet
Cupid
Donner
Blitzen

And who else is supposed to be in this group?

hehe...

150 things you have/ have not done...

2006-12-18T13:20:00.000+09:00

from barf's blog...

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse <-I guess eclipse of the moon counts?
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country ( I think I did, vaguely)
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days

77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Rio Grande River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a radio show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

WUSS!

2006-12-12T10:32:00.000+09:00

hehe... i just discovered that a colleague of mine, whose surname is Wu, and initials S. S. (well you know who...), his login ID for work network is WUSS!!!

muahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa!!! What a WUSS!!

heng i go by a nice winstonwong, by request of cos. hehe.

Cry me an onion

2006-11-29T16:06:00.000+09:00

Yesterday was the first time that I actually cried, no, teared involuntarily while I was peeling onions.

Never understood why shows or books always says that onion will induce tears, well, until yesterday.

Wah... the eyes really super hot man!!

The Scarlet Tide

2006-11-28T17:45:00.000+09:00

Well I recall his parting words
Must I accept his fate
Or take myself far from this place
I thought I heard a black bell toll
A little bird did sing
Man has no choice
When he wants every thing

We'll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride

Man goes beyond his own decision
Gets caught up in the mechanism
Of swindlers who act like kings
And brokers who break everything
The dark of night was swiftly fading
Close to the dawn of day
Why would I want him just to lose him again

We'll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride

Oboe...

2006-11-21T19:23:00.000+09:00

I finally bought my oboe, PS3 sold or not.

Bought a relatively cheap one (but still expensive for me!) over the internet... 2nd hand of course.

Saw from a forum that this lady wanted to sell her instrument.

Although it's pretty scary dealing over the internet, by faith I proceeded with the deal, and was happy that the instrument came last Sunday.

Throughout the couple of weeks, I have been corresponding with this lady. Not really making small talk, but just talking about the oboe, band, love of music, and things in general.
I wouldn't say that we had became friends (because we hadn't), but there's still this certain amount of trust you have to give to someone especially when you have to transfer 1350 SGD to her without the instrument in sight.

I was supposed to mail her once I received the instrument, but it slipped my mind on Sunday, probably due to the excitement of receiving the parcel. Her mail came on Monday, which was yesterday, asking if I had received it already. I promptly replied saying I did, and conveyed my thanks.

She replied again, saying that she was relieved that the instrument has been delivered safely. And of course, she said her thanks.

Final thanks.

I replied her today, saying that I should be the one thanking her for letting me have the instrument at such a good price (debatable, but..). Immediately, I got a reply from yahoo, saying that the email is not in use.

I was pretty stunned.

Ok, it was evident that the email account was created for this sale only. She had followed through the deal, and closed the yahoo mail account once she received confirmation of receipt of the instrument.

But still I feel perturbed.

Not that I know her at all, I don't - except for her name, her bank account, which prefecture she is at, her current band life - and not that I enjoyed corresponding with her (just business talk most times). But somehow, I still feel a kind of relationship through the oboe that I got. Weird, but you get what I am saying?

This instrument was being used by her for the past 3 years. If I were her, I would have cared very much for the oboe, and it would like be an extension of me.... so if I were to sell it to someone else, I would firstly feel sad to see the instrument go, and secondly, I would want to know how it is being treated by the new owner. Whether the owner is pleased with it. Whether the oboe is being mistreated. etc. And for me now, I feel obliged to tell the previous owner how I feel about the instrument. updates on its well being, etc.

So in a way, somehow I feel connected to the previous owner through the instrument.

But with the cancellation of the mail account, the connection was severed for good.

It's also not that I want to carry on corresponding with her. But I do want to tell her, say for eg if I play the oboe in a concert next time, I want to tell her that the oboe was great! stuff like that.

I felt pretty lost.

I still feel lost and stunned. Silly I know...

That's why I wrote this post.

Not sure if any of you understand how I am feeling. But for those who do, thank you for sharing my feelings....

And to a certain Hagiwara Mitsuki san, since my last mail did not get to you,

Thank you once again for the oboe. I will take care of it from now on....

Nayuta!

2006-11-16T22:10:00.000+09:00

I visited Yasu and his family 2 weekends back. Yasu's doing good, he has a new job, a new house, and most importantly, a new baby!!!

From 2006-11-05 Ya...

Isn't he cuuuuuute???

Yasu, although with his unkempt hair looking quite haggard, has a glow about him. I can see that he is a truly happy man... Congrats!

From 2006-11-05 Ya...

By the way, this photo very cute hor? As if young Nayuta is waving to the camera.. heh.

Mika looks genki too! She looks like (she IS) a very proud mother!

From 2006-11-05 Ya...

Family portrait (plus 1 visitor.. heh):

From 2006-11-05 Ya...

PS3 Playstation 3 for sale!!!

2006-11-13T00:19:00.000+09:00

I managed to buy a PS3!!!

So anyway, if you read my previous post, and want to support me in my quest of buying myself an oboe, please visit my auction page at http://auctions.yahoo.com/sg/auction/15079992 and bid on my item...

Please forward this around to help me!!!

My oboe dream can become a reality - you can fulfill my dream!!

Thanks!!

My 500th post... and it's about PS3!

2006-11-11T11:57:00.000+09:00

Today is a big day for gamers in Japan. As some may know, the long-awaited Playstasion 3 (that's how they spelt it in Bic Camera just now.. hehe) is finally launched. The first batch, that is. All 80,000 of them, for about 18 million Japanese.

That's hardly enough.

Because of that, many people, expectedly, rushed to queue overnight at places like Yodobashi Camera, where the sale of PS3's are on a first-come-first-served basis.

I nearly got my hands on 1 myself. I went to Kawasaki last nite to meet my Japanese teacher, Tanabe sensei for dinner. I was early, reached at 7, so I decided to check out the situation there. There wasn't any queue at all. All was peaceful and quiet. Not what I expected since in America, people started queuing 9 days before the launch date!

Anyway I proceeded to dinner with my sensei. Afterwhich, which was about 9+, I went back to Yodobashi. It was a crazy mess. The line was still pretty short when I reached, probably about 80 people in line already. I could have joined the queue then, but I hesitated. I went to ask a staff how many sets do they have for sale. He gave me a pissed off look and said it had not been decided yet. And then he ignored me.

WTF. never what I expected from a Japanese sales staff. some ppl just can't work under pressure.

The couple of minutes I took to hesitate, the line doubled already. I did some maths, figured that no matter how big Kawasaki Yodobashi is, I don't think they will have more than 100 sets available. And I think it is rather unfair that they don't tell the ppl waiting in line overnight how many sets are available, since most of them will probably go home empty handed. Ah well, whatever. I returned despondently.

But all was not lost. yet.

I decided to try my luck, and try for those "lottery" type sales. Meaning you go and get a number or ticket at the store between a certain timing, and a lucky draw (or lottery, if you prefer) will be conducted. The winners will then win the rights to buy the PS3's.

This system, fair or not I don't know, but at least it won't encourage ppl to queue overnight, is adopted by many major shops, such as Tsutaya, Sakuraya, Bic Camera.
Thinking that Shin Yokohama is very ulu (it is, trust me. it's a birds-dun-lay-eggs place), I may stand a chance to win myself one err.. rights.

So I industriously dragged myself out of bed this morning, and went to queue for the draw.

From 2006-11-11 Qu...

The reception started at 9, and my turn was at 930. Not too bad. For the draw at Bic Camera, membership card was needed, so I got my hands on one myself this morning.

From 2006-11-11 Qu...

I returned at 11 am, which was when the results were announced.

From 2006-11-11 Qu...

I didn't get it.

Darn.

I initially wanted one so that I can resell for a profit (yeah, shoot me), to earn enough money to buy my oboe. But well, it's not meant to be. I guess God must have given the sets to those with purer motives than mine. But then again, some say games are the works of the Devil.

Ok, I'm straying off here... just trying to justify my bad luck.

So anyway, it is not that I really wanted 1 so that I can play it earlier. Being the first 80,000 people out of a population of 8 billion in the world (about 0.001%) sounds cool, but I'll rather get it when it is more stabilized, and tried-and-tested.

So in a certain sense, I should not be dejected. But still, seeing those lucky bast**ds carrying brand new PS3's out of the store, I can't help but to feel a tinge of envy, and a pang of jealousy.

Ok, that's an understatement.

Sigh~~~ At least I tried.

At least I finally got a Bic Camera membership card. Which may not be a good thing though. I used to not have one, so I refused to buy anything from there, knowing that the same items in Yodobashi will get me rebates. Thus saving money.

Now the seal is broken. I finally have the license to buy things at Bic Camera.

Darn.

Updates

2006-11-10T22:25:00.000+09:00

Hi all,

Sorry about the inactivity around this blog.

Have been busy lately (never expected myself to say this one day), but not like I dun have few minutes to spare to blog, but you know the tired feeling you get after work? yeah.. compound that to laziness.. and you get the moulds in the blog.

Anyways, just a short update here to tell you of my new web album at this URL: www.picasaweb.google.com/winzwong . The old one at kodakgallery should still be surviving for at least another year, since I made a purchase recently. And because of this purchase, I have changed the password to that album, causing it to be "closed" to all you out there. A bit of a irony actually, make purchase to sustain the web albums, but in doing so, have to close it myself. doh.

The reason why i am closing it is because my account may have sensitive information of my credit card and address... info which may be dangerous if left open to all. So until I manage to get rid of such sensitive information cleanly, I'm sorry to say that access by the login method is currently off. Of course if any of you are interested to view the photos (which I highly doubt, considering the poor traffic recently), you can drop me a mail, and I can send you invites so that you can view via the usual visitor method.

Uploaded photos on the new picasa site in preparation for blogging... but seem to not have the 'feel' to do so yet. hehe. soon lah.

Take care you guys, love you all.

Winston

New Photo Album

2006-10-24T09:30:00.000+09:00

Dear All,

I have uploaded some new photos in a new web album- http://picasaweb.google.com/winzwong

Will be posting something over here as well (I hope), and adding more photos over there.

Irritating thing about picasa is the 250MB limit. But I guess they can't stop users from signing up multiple accounts to increase the cap.

Anyone has any better web albums to recommend??

It has to be clean, free, fast.

Other than flickr please.

Thanks!!

Fwd: Important notice regarding your KODAK EASYSHARE Gallery photos.

2006-10-06T22:53:00.000+09:00

WAH LAU!!!!

How can malau kodakgallery do this???

There goes all my hard work uploading all my photos to this stoopid website.

Should have just used flickr or something.

Even imagefly pays the uploader, and not the other way round.

KODAK I HATE U!!!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kodakgallery.com < Membership@smile.kodakgallery.com>
Date: Oct 6, 2006 5:40 PM
Subject: Important notice regarding your KODAK EASYSHARE Gallery photos.
To: Winston

We've missed you at the KODAK EASYSHARE Gallery. We're happy to store
all of your memories, but our terms of service require that you make
at least one purchase from us every 12 months in order to maintain
free storage of the images in your account.

We've been busy at the Gallery and have lots of exciting products and
projects to keep you creating. Choose from prints, our expanded greeting
card selection, new sizes in photo books including the mini photo book
and legacy photo book, plus favorites like mugs. Just visit the Gallery;
see your photos and we're sure you'll want to get started printing,
creating and sharing again.

Don't risk losing your photos!

Motosumiyoshi

2006-10-05T21:55:00.000+09:00

i took a train from kikuna to musashi kosugi, expecting to see the old and familiar motosumiyoshi on the way... but i was in for a surprise. the express train sped through super fast, on the new tracks above the old station!! i was like... WOW.

went to see good old kancho and mrs kancho. they both look the same, and were very nice. kancho even offered to cook fried rice, his speciality, for me the next time i go over.

there were a few changes besides the obvious train station. a new restaurant sprang up along the row where the long men ke zhan - home bar is. the gyoza shop near the train station no more liao. and paseos also gone liao. the new train station, well, looks really new and cool.

only 5 months, but so many changes.... natsukashiinaa..

as usual, photos later. heh.

Vodafone = Softbank

2006-10-04T23:03:00.000+09:00

First thing I noticed regarding handphones yesterday - got new service provider called Softbank.

2nd thing - when I went shopping to buy a prepaid card for my (JR's) vodafone hp, vodafone's nowhere to be found!!! Gasp!!

3rd thing - after i went to ask a big-eyed salesgal, she told me that Vodafone changed name to Softbank. dunno whether management got change or not, but the marketing quite aggresive this time.

dunno whether this company can make it now that change name or not. regardless... I got my hp activated!!

my number is 090-8561-XXXX

if you call from singapore, dial 001-81-90-8561-XXXX

i decided to censor the number in case i get prank calls. even though incoming is free, i think also better not.

so if any of you wanna call me, send me an email and i will tell u the secret 4 numbers.. heh.

Japanese Work Culture

2006-10-04T15:20:00.000+09:00

Quoting a Japanese friend of mine, who wrote this in an email to me. Darn funny... confirmed my hypothesis, right from the horse's mouth...

Yes, I agree with you. Japanese working habit is very strange. Some people stay at their office till late or on weekends even they have nothing to do. Taking rest makes them uneasy, I suppose. When somebody go homw early, he/she has to feel guilty. It's not good. Please do not work too much like them ne.

first day at work in japan

2006-10-04T13:12:00.000+09:00

freakin laptop... too small for my fat fingers... darn... heh... so if got typo dun mind hor?

after a tedious flight - i slept as soon as i boarded the plane, can't even remem the plane in taxi or take off ;p - and the lugging of my luggages through the train stations and shopping centres - it was so heavy that i couldn't write properly during check in - i reached the hotel finally and had my first meal in japan - a ramen for dinner.

anyway my toyoko inn hotrel is jsut beside a casket shop... so much for goodluck. luckily my window not facing that.

(ok i stopped bothering to correct my typos liao.. be warned)

after an uneventful nite, i went to work yesterday in my g2k suit... the one i wore once and onky once during my first day in toshiba. i must say at least i fit the suit better now. the other time was too fat for it. heh.

nothing much, except for a briefing by a japanese regarding the project, which i nearly slept in... and because i needed my passport for soething and i left it in the hotel, i went back after lunch to get it and thus was late for assuembly. apparantly theywere looking for me to introduce myself. and i wasnt there. in time. during my first day. well. talk about bad first impressions.

anyway introduced myself i did. in japanese. or shall i say, broken japanese. then went to read some specss, did some stuff (cant say cos of the information security bull), and then went for a long dinner, come back for 30 mins, and then left at 8 pm.

my record for longest time in office. eva. (dun count army days lah)

so now i am here. running simulations again. executed it, and have to wait an hour plus for results. if it ends earlier, it:s not a good sign. means got error and i;ll have tgo pull my hair.

which is what happened just now.

so with some hair gone, i have ran the simulation again, and thus have some time towrite the as-boring-as-my-work blog.

hope to have interesting things to write about in the weekends. but for now, dun see anything promising.

tata for now!

Japan - the Sequel

2006-10-02T08:37:00.000+09:00

They say sequels suck. I think most do.
Will this 2nd trip to Japan be so too?

When I first came back to Singapore,
I wanted so much to go to Japan again.
Now I don't feel so anymore,
But ironically am minutes away from my plane.

Sorry for this lame poem,
constructed purely out of boredom.
Hope to see you guys soon,
But for now - I wanna go koon!!

Didn't sleep a wink last nite,
cos i was getting ready for my flight.
I dunno how long this lame poem will last,
you must be so very bored i trust.

arrghhh...

ok. c'est fin

see you guys in dec!

Corrine May

2006-09-28T13:18:00.000+09:00

I know she's good, but didn't know she's gone international...

Anyway in Japan, according to MDN and Tower Records (yup, still surviving over there), she's at top of the Asian Charts (for a 5-month period), better than Jolin Tsai in 8th position. That's for her Safe in a Crazy World album.

however i went to towerrecords.co.jp, but didn't find her in any of the best selling charts. ah well.

regardless.

Congrats Corrine May, and well done.

ＡＳＩＡ　ＣＨＡＲＴ（ＴＯＷＥＲ　ＲＥＣＯＲＤＳ調べ）

５月付

順位		シングル


１		セーフ・イン・ア・クレイジー・ワールド　Ｃｏｒｒｉｎｎｅ　Ｍａｙ

２		ＡＳＩＡＮ　ＢＬＯＷ　Ｒｙｕ　Ｓｉｗｏｎ

３		Ｍｉｓｈ　Ｍａｏｕｌ　Ｎａｔａｃｈａ　Ａｔｌａｓ

４		Ａｌｃｈｅｍｉｓｔ　Ｄｉａｒｙ　Ｖａｒｉｏｕｓ　Ａｒｔｉｓｔｓ

５		私の運命線　Ｓｅｎｔｉ　Ｔｏｙ

６		Ｔｈｅ　３ｒｄ　Ｍａｓｔｅｒｐｉｅｃｅ：　ＳＧ　Ｗａｎｎａｂｅ　Ｖｏｌ．３　ＳＧ　Ｗａｎｎａｂｅ

７		ＨＹＵＮ　ＹＯＵＮＧ　ＦＩＲＳＴ　ＳＩＮＧＬＥ（恋のマイアヒ）　（ＥＤ／ＣＣＣＤ）　Ｈｙｕｎ　Ｙｏｕｎｇ

８		Ｊｏｌｉｎ　Ｊ−Ｔｏｐ　Ｂｅｓｔ　Ｓｅｌｅｃｔｉｏｎ　Ｊｏｌｉｎ　Ｔｓａｉ

９		Ｓｃａｎｄａｌ　Ｋａｎｇｔａ＆Ｖａｎｎｅｓｓ

１０		２４／７：　ＳＥ７ＥＮ　Ｖ３　ＳＥ７ＥＮ

to what means will you go to get taller??

2006-09-26T13:19:00.000+09:00

from bryan's blog... damn funny...

go see the original blog here.

Congrats!!

2006-09-25T12:44:00.000+09:00

Congrats to Yasu and Mika on the birth of their newborn!!

DOB 24/09/06

Soooo cuuuuute!!!!

Not named yet, but I recommended the best male name to Yasu - Winston.

muahaha...

but don't think he will name the son that though. ;p

豆花

2006-09-19T12:34:00.000+09:00

just learned from my chinese colleague that in china, 豆花 is also known as 豆腐脑.....

its like eating brains of toufu... (altho toufu got no brains)

grosssssssssssssssssssss

On-Screen Keyboard not as safe as thought...

2006-09-19T12:12:00.000+09:00

I'm personally using OCBC, who of cos recommends users to use the on-screen keyboards as they are supposedly more secure...

so quite interesting to see this article...

you have been warned.

from BoingBoing (where else)

Cory Doctorow: A new trojan that records screen-movies has been discovered in the wild; the malware specifically captures your mouse as you laboriously enter your password into banking sites that use on-screen keyboards to defeat keyloggers.

I've written about on-screen keyboards before -- I think that these things are bad news. They make banking sites un-accessible to people who are blind or have some physical disabilities, and while they defend against keyloggers, they also force you to have short, weak passwords. What's more, it's apparent that keyloggers can handily adapt to these screen-boards.

Today we will analyze a new banking trojan that is a qualitative step forward in the dangerousness of these specimens and a new turn of the screw in the techniques used to defeat virtual keyboards. The novelty of this trojan lies in its capacity to generate a video clip that stores all the activity onscreen while the user is authenticating to access his electronic bank.

The video clip covers only a small portion of the screen, using as reference the cursor, but it is large enough so that the attacker can watch the legitimate user's movements and typing when using the virtual keyboard, so that he gets the username and password without going into further trouble.

Link (Thanks, Peter!)

So Cuuuuuuute!!!!!!!!!1

2006-09-19T10:16:00.000+09:00

From Kotaku -

The Mario Wedding Cake: " This Mario themed wedding cake doesn't look very edible, but when has a wedding cake ever been? At all of my previous weddings, I've usually been too drunk to even remember my new, pregnant child bride's name, let alone attempt to choke down some food without immediate forceful regurgitation. Edible, made of plastic or not, it's still pretty wonderful. Florian Eckhardt Mario Bros Cake [Flickr] (Thanks, Alice!) "

scary...

2006-09-18T13:27:00.000+09:00

i thot this kinda stories are fictional accounts, only found in 金田一 comics... gruesome...

from bbc news...

2006-09-15T18:53:00.000+09:00

Singapore branded 'authoritarian'

Mr Wolfowitz believes it is important to hear the views of
activistsWorld Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has described Singapore's
restrictions on activists for meetings of the Bank and IMF as
"authoritarian".

He said the decision to ban the entry of 27 accredited activists
violated a previous agreement with Singapore.

Other activists have been deported ahead of the next week's meetings,
which begin on 19 September.

Mr Wolfowitz's comments add further fuel to the row between the two
sides on how to deal with activists.

The bank and IMF argue the presence of pressure groups is key to
improving the work of financial institutions.

But Singapore says it has banned the group of 27 because all had taken
part in disruptive protests in other nations and posed a threat to law
and order.

'Self-inflicted'

Mr Wolfowitz said Singapore's move had harmed its image.

"Enormous damage has been done and a lot of that damage is done to
Singapore and self-inflicted," he told a meeting in Singapore.

"I would argue whether it has to be as authoritarian as it has been
and I would certainly argue that ... they would do much better for
themselves with a more visionary approach to the process," he said.

IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato echoed his comments.

"We have urged the Singapore authorities to reconsider their position
and I hope they will," he said.

"The people who have been accredited by us are people who work with us
regularly and we don't have any doubt about their capacity to behave
and to be respectful of the country's laws."

Mr Wolfowitz said he had raised the issue with Singaporean Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

'No Voice'

Singapore had banned public protests for the duration of the IMF and
World Bank meetings amid concerns they could lead to violence and
damage to property.

A small area has now been set aside for designated protests

Following the ban, pressure groups and non-governmental organisations
decided they would demonstrate on Batam Island instead - an Indonesian
island located close to Singapore.

Singapore has set aside an indoor area where activists can gather to
express their views, but it is only an eight metre by eight metre
square.

Around two dozen activists held a protest in the area, wearing gags
saying "No Voice".

"These limits are ridiculous," Reuters news agency quoted Haidy
Ear-Dupuy of NGO Forum on Cambodia as saying. "Singapore is a
developed country; it needs a developed perspective on citizens
speaking up."

muahaha

2006-09-13T15:41:00.000+09:00

my fren, the same fren who got injured by her mortar board (after tossing and failing to catch it), got her face smacked by a lab equipment today.

how?

well, she pulled it towards her, and didn't stop it with her hands when it was approaching her face...

at least her face stopped it...

muahahahahaha....

sorry rye (sorRye) hehe.

Goodbye once again.....

2006-09-13T13:36:00.000+09:00

My flight has been scheduled on the following dates:

Singapore to Narita - 2 Oct

Narita to Singapore - 23 Dec

To all my frens who I have not had the pleasure of meeting up with since I am back from Japan, sorry, but looks like I can do so after these few months... ;p

good parrot!

2006-09-12T17:43:00.000+09:00

forget about the Shuka Saptati, can i have the parrot instead?

making fauns...

2006-09-11T17:53:00.000+09:00

making of sudanese fauns? check this out...

Quotes from the US Open

2006-09-04T10:07:00.000+09:00

Quotes are lifted from bbc, some funny, and some just a bit xiao1 zhang1... heh.

"I watched it til the end. Fantastic. Loved it. I get nervous myself watching this stuff, like a fan. Get cold feet. I was in the bed, going under the blanket almost."
Roger Federer on Andre Agassi's five-set thriller on Thursday.

"I wouldn't mind playing five sets myself."
Federer longs for the days when he was taken the distance.

"Well I've beaten him too."
A confident Andy Murray after he was asked if this was the first Grand Slam he had come in to feeling the could beat everyone except Federer.

"When I lost the first set, I understood I had no more choice than winning the next two."
Justine Henin-Hardenne shows off her in-depth knowledge of the game.

Extremely poor experience at Le P'tit Breton

2006-08-31T12:11:00.000+09:00

Received the below email written by my fren through buckies =)

HL is a personal fren as well, so I would think that the matters reported are factual.

So helping out by publishing this mail, and hopefully people will be aware of this bad service and perhaps when ppl come online to look for reviews for this restaurant, they will be warned!

---

Dear all,

I regard myself as a foodie who prefers to support independent chefs and small food establishments over commercial franchised restuarants. I visited Le P'tit Breton, a French creperie at Upper Thomson Road today after dinner and suffered the worst service ever encountered in Singapore from the French chef and his waiter.

Date: Sunday, 27th August 2006.
Time: 8pm (approximate)

Scenerio:
Had dinner with my parents at the nearby Chinese restuarant and decided to bring them to try Le P'tit Breton's Brittany desserts which they have not had before.

Entered Le P'tit Breton and promptly sat down at the table near the door. 2 other tables were occupied. Mum went to the washroom. Bearing in mind the creperie's house rule of minimum expenditure of $10 per head, I started to order. I placed orders for the cider ($6), hot chocolate ($4.50), Chocolate and banana crepe ($9.80) and Apple and caramel crepe ($8.10). Total cost: $28.40. With the 10% service charge: $31.24. That would be more than the required $10/head.

I was informed by the Singaporean Indian waiter that my order was short of $3-4 after he calculated the order (which I believe was a miscalculation on his part). I asked if it would be ok to proceed with my order in any case. He asked the chef and he replied from the kitchen that his establishment is a French restuarant and there would not be any exceptions. He said that everyone should spend a minimum of $9.10 per head. (It was obvious that he did not check with his waiter what we had ordered). (Either that or he did not possess elementary mathematical skills).

Any case, the waiter asked me to order another drink and I pointed out that if anything, I was $1.60 short of their target charge and would order a fruit juice ($1.90) to make up the order. When I asked what juices were available, he turned away towards the kitchen counter and muttered 'Don't come here to find trouble'. A totally uncalled for remark which was meant for us to hear.

Despite being greatly disturbed, I still wanted my dessert and decided if it was a bigger order they want from us, so be it. I asked if I could take away and the chef replied with a loud "No' from the kitchen.

Then came the turning point, a lady emerge from the back of the creperie (my mum informed me that she saw the lady reading a book at the back when she was going to the washroom) and collected her take-away crepe!

The chef came to our table and informed us that we have to abide by their house rules and it is difficult to find a French chef making fresh French food for $10/head in Singapore. I asked him why someone else was allowed to take away and we were not. He replied with a "I do my business my way" and invited us to leave. I told him that he was being rude but he scolded us back for being rude to HIM!

By this time, I was greatly offended:
1. I had made conscious effort to abide by their rule of $10/head by placing an order of $28.40/ $31.24 post service charge but I was informed that I was still $3-4 short. (Still amazed at the poor maths and the fact that they did not bother to double check).

2. In case I interpreted their rule wrongly, I offered to order a fruit juice to bring the order to $30.30/ $33.33 post service charge but I was ignored and a rude remark about me looking for trouble was made.

3. In final effort to way exceed the minimum spending required, I offered to take away a crepe but was told that I cannot, only to see that he had allowed some else to do so.

We left the place and I was so outraged at the rude service that I left my handphone in the creperie. The Singaporean Indian waiter came out to return me the phone and I clarified with him about his miscalculation that he made (he agreed) and advised him to do himself a service to find another job and another boss. While it was a mistake on the waiter's mathematical skills, it was an even greater fault of the French Chef, Mr Christian Ley not to check, to blame the diner and to be rude.

So much talk about poor service in Singapore and one would think that Singaporeans are the culprits. This episode clearly shows that some of these expats are none the better.

I will not return to this place personally and strongly discourage your patronage of such establishment.

For your information,
HL

time to say goodbye

2006-08-21T18:47:00.000+09:00

避けることのできない　別れという場面が

その度に私を　強くしてゆく

あの日出逢えなければ　あなたを知らなかった

当たり前だけれど　そんな偶然が嬉しいの

もう行かなくちゃ　 time to say goodbye

一番の笑顔で

別れの数だけ強くなってゆく

瞳を閉じて　いつでも会える

あたたかな想い出　いつまでも胸の中

純粋な気持ちを　思い出させてくれた笑顔

最後は kissで　 time to say goodbye

ありがとうを込めて

出逢えてよかった　またいつか会える

忘れないように　抱きしめあって

離れても前よりも　あなた一緒に居るから

今私　前向いて　歩き出せるよ

別れの数だけ強くなってゆく

瞳を閉じて　いつでも会える

最後は kissで　 time to say goodbye

Un-torendii Words...

2006-08-01T08:51:00.000+09:00

there's this article in MDN news on how some words which sounded cool when spoken in companies in japan in the 80's are out of fashion now.

one caught my attention though...

Horenso is the Japanese word for "spinach", but it's also a contraction of the words "hokoku" (report), "renraku"(contact) and "sodan" (consult), and it's another office word that sparks sniggers among OLs.

"Just the other day, my boss told me that I had to do horenso properly. I wondered what the hell he was talking about and had a laugh with one of my friends, saying that perhaps he wanted me to have a bit more of a healthier diet," a 22-year-old OL tells Shukan Post.

Guess what? the company i am in right now is still very much using the term ard, thinking that it sounds cool. heh. I had to go for this horenso training shortly after i came here, and i also asked "what? spinach training?"

Graduation's in the air...

2006-07-24T11:21:00.000+09:00

happiness' in the air... frens meeting up at scenic spots, wearing their gowns, taking commemorative photographs...

finally it is all over, after 4 long long years!!...

she, like her frens, readied herself, and with a signal, tossed her mortar board up to the air, posing for a shot.

only for the mortar board to fall back down, hitting and bruising her nose in the process.

doh.

such a scene isn't unheard of, but well, it just happened to a colleague of mine yesterday; i found out after spotting a cut at the bridge of her nose.

poor gal. and she has to take graduation family portrait as well... let's just hope that the studio's photoshop skills are good. hehe.

just a thought...

2006-07-17T13:02:00.000+09:00

Q. Who is arguably the world's most famous Alien (fictitious of cos)?

CoolBiz is Uncool

2006-07-07T15:43:00.000+09:00

hot.... and.... c-cc..can't work....

*faints from overbearing heat*

Return of Cool Biz...

2006-07-06T18:28:00.000+09:00

.... this time in Singapore.

Yup, guess what? My company going to adopt Cool Biz over here in Singapore too, air cons set to 28 deg C.

sigh. kenna tekan.

ROTFL!

2006-07-06T15:12:00.000+09:00

ouch...

how smart...

2006-06-28T15:10:00.000+09:00

lol!

2 months soon...

2006-06-22T18:55:00.000+09:00

today is finally my last day of work here. although i feel that somehow i haven't achieved much during my stay here, still there are some valuable moments that i will always treasure from my experience here.

work is pretty non-existant today, and we didn't have to do any clearance even though this is our last day. just now after lunch, we made our farewell and thank you speech to the whole department. i'm sure my japanese was still kinda broken, but compared to my introduction speech just 18 months back, pretty proud of it. tomita-san even said that our speech was good (though you will have to discount 70% of the praises japanese say usually).

it was pretty touching for me still, standing in front of these bunch of ppl, who have been together under this same roof for so long, yet not having the chance/ linguistic skills to talk or hang out with them. i wonder how many of them will remember me/ us few months later.

***

having dinner with our manager and trainers, probably for the very last time in our lives. again, it is amazing to see that, when we first came, we really had big problems communicating with them. but now, we could at least get our points across and carry out some conversation. too little too late, i guess.

they have brought us to this fish restaurant - a restaurant that serves only sashimi (all kinds of them) and little else. i think this was because i casually mentioned to them during our formal farewell party that 1 thing i wanted to try in japan but have not is fugu (pufferfish). so we were here to try some. felt so grateful for their thoughtfulness. the pufferfish was nice, but the trainers nicer. how i will miss them.

***

on my way to band practice now.. again my final time with this fantastic bunch of ppl. it was sad to say my final goodbye to the trainers, and quite paiseh to leave early. but well, it is already 830 pm and will only make the last half hour of practice. promised some of them that i will show up today. so here i am.

***

a less emotional farewell than the one i had last saturday with the band. last saturday was real tear-jerking. after band practice, i was asked to say my farewell speech to the band again, and to my surprise, the band specially arranged to play the 2 encore pieces for me. the first was friends for life. i started to tear through the 2nd bar. and shortly after, couldn't control my emotions and cried, when i heard miwako, who was just sitting on my left, crying out loud. many others did too, especially the clarinettists. even tsuno-san did. just couldn't continue playing.

i played friends for life since secondary school, but this was the first time in my life that i actually felt what this song is all about. truly friends for life indeed.

it was not much different for disco kid, the second piece, the piece that i played a solo in. thank you everyone.

***

tomorrow i will be going to kimura's house for home-cooked curry rice with the rest of the gals in clarinet section. last time i will see them, no doubt. how i will miss them.

***

of cos these didn't happen today. these are my recollections of events that happen exactly 2 months ago today. still vivid in my mind. still i can remember walking the quiet road from motosumiyoshi back to dorm. still can remember watching shows while having dinner in cal's room. still remember playing magic all night with frens. still i miss all my frens and everything there.

dun get me wrong, not that i dun like it back here in singapore, i do. but there are just some things you won't forget.

i haven't been updating my blog for so long. partly because this blog reminds me too much of my time there, so it's kinda painful for me to return here to do so.

ironic isn't it? 1 of the reasons this blog was first started was to preserve my memories in japan. but now, dun even want to look at it. ok not dun want as in dun want, but... well i am sure you get what i mean.

hopefully i will start to write a new chapter in this blog. should first of all change this blog description "my life in japan" to "my life in sillypore" or something.

hmm.. shall see.

see ya guys, and wish all of u great health!

china.

2006-05-22T03:26:00.000+09:00

OMG! Blogspot really blocked in China!!!

hehe.

still here in shanghai, and will be back on tues!

home-made...

2006-05-16T02:44:00.000+09:00

omigosh... check this out!!!

changi airport

2006-05-16T02:20:00.000+09:00

just 2 weeks ago, i was at my current location, taking the escalator down to the immigration counter at terminal one. now i am here again, using the free internet access blogging.

and darn the 15 mins time limit set my the SA. irritating...

anyway am blogging now cos my flight is at 245 am... and now is 120...

and just found something scary. when the time limit of 15 mins is up, and it logs off, my blogger is not automatically logged off!! wah.. talk about free internet security man... should hire me to revamp this system... muahaha...

anyway just being dumb... and waiting for my flight at the same time...

any requests for anything from shanghai, do let me know!... think will go and sleep in some corner now... ciaoz!

back from japan, off to china...

2006-05-15T03:02:00.000+09:00

been home 2 weeks liao, and still haven't fully unpacked my luggage.... and tomorrow nite, i will be flying off to shanghai to visit my sister...

was wanting to be a full time blogger when i first got back, but my broadband wasn't up until just recently. blame the poor service of a certain pacnet.

anyways, will be back a week later. will those ppl whom i got some pockys for contact me??

take cares.

I AM BACK!!!!

2006-04-29T01:30:00.000+09:00

Hisashiburi!

Back! In Singapore!!!

My internet's not up yet, so do call me on my handphone for now!

See you guys and gals soon!

last day of work...

2006-04-21T10:59:00.000+09:00

waltzed into my office this morning for my last day of work in japan.

after powering on my computer, as was greeted, as usual, by my desktop...

added an active desktop thingy for the html countdown timer like half a year ago... and finally it came to this...

0 days.

time passes really fast.

sometimes too fast.

Somewhat true...

2006-04-14T10:46:00.000+09:00

Read this joke at jumbojoke.com http://www.jumbojoke.com, pretty funny, and yet somewhat true...

what do you guys think? ;)

The Problem with Being a Woman

The nice men are ugly.

The handsome men are not nice.

The handsome and nice men are gay.

The handsome, nice and heterosexual men are married.

The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men, have no money.

The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men with money, think we are only after their money.

The handsome men without money are after our money.

The handsome men, who are not so nice and somewhat heterosexual, don't think we are beautiful enough.

The men who think we are beautiful, that are heterosexual, somewhat nice and have money, are cowards.

The men who are somewhat handsome, somewhat nice and have some money and thank God are heterosexual, are so shy they never make the first move.

The men who never make the first move automatically lose interest in us when we take the initiative.

And yet, women are thought of as the "confusing sex"?

when old pics come back to haunt...

2006-04-09T16:45:00.000+09:00

a fren of mine who doesn't really like Koda Kumi (but adores Hamasaki Ayumi), mentioned that he saw on TV how Koda Kumi looked like in the past and even she herself was embarrassed by the old MTV of hers.

of cos i went to look for some old photos of her, for some laugh myself.

Koda Kumi now:

Koda Kumi then:

Ok lah, although she's not as hot as she is now, at least still not too bad ;)

I looked up photos of other Jap singers that I like as well...

Utada Hikaru now:

Utada Hikaru then:

she isn't particular known for her looks in the first place, so can't fault her on this. she's still one of my fav singers though ;)

Mika Nakashima now:

Mika Nakashima then:

she's the only one out of the 4 mentioned here that actually blossomed since her early teen days... cute hor?

and finally... Ayumi Hamasaki as you (may) have never seen before! She's not one of favs, but I'm just putting it here so as to show my fren who's the lesser of the evil between Koda Kumi and Ayumi hahaha...

Ayumi Hamasaki now:

Ayumi Hamasaki then:

no need for me to comment further ;p

$1,800 poorer...

2006-04-09T02:15:00.000+09:00

but proud owner of a Antigua Winds Soprano Saxophone!!

Went shopping for a saxophone (although at one point, tempted to get a cheap 2nd hand oboe) with some band friends and calvin. My band friends, especially Ozaki-san and Aizawa-san, really helped a lot, the former bringing me to a cool shop called DAC at Shin-Okubo, where I could try any instruments without bringing anything. Imagine, I tried the oboe, and the shop actually provided me a 3000 yen (45 SGD) hand-made reed to try the instrument with! Good service siah!

I started the day with a 200k yen (3k SGD) budget, and Ozaki-san and Aizawa-san were so kind as to research up what are the possibilities that was available to me. Perhaps the best help I got was that Aizawa-san roped in her saxophone teacher - a real sax professional - to help find and introduce good but cheap instruments for me. On her recommendation, I tried out Yamaha's YSS-475, which wasn't very good, sad to say. I also tried the Yanagisawa's S991, and an expensive Selmer S-III, just to test out the difference, at DAC, and as expected, the Selmer blew away all competition. I tried the oboe after that, but besides learning how much I sucked now, there's nothing pretty much to say about it.

We then adjourned to Shibuya's Yamaha, to meet up with Kayashita-sensei, the sax pro, who kindly sacrificed her time just to come down to help me, a total stranger, to pick the best sax that is within my budget. We tried the YSS-475 again, this time 2 kinds of the same model - one new make, one old make. The old make was the one I tried earlier, which wasn't very good, and was selling for an affordable 150k yen. The new make was surprisingly very good! Almost as good as the Selmer I would say. It was that good. Price was 228k yen, over budget.

The teacher "chu-ma" and spoke to the staff, and managed to get the price lowered to 189k yen, a whopping 600 dollars off! Whoever thought that even shops like Yamaha can also bargain? Was tempted to buy it there and then, but the sensei had other ideas.

She promptly walked to a nearby shop called Actus, and found that there was one model within my budget. Actus was a shop specialising in Selmer instruments, but what she found, which the shop recommended, was the said Antigua Winds model, specifically the A590-LQ PRO Bb Soprano Saxophone. The shop said that it was a computer copy of the Selmer S-III, hence producing a sound that can match even the said model. (I searched the web, and some site claimed that it is in fact a computer copy of the Yanagisawa S991, but well, either way, it's no denying that it is great!)

The sound was great, even better than the new Yamaha YSS-475, comparable to the Selmer, and even the pro sax teacher/performer was very impressed. With her seal of approval, and all my other band friends and calvin's confirmation, I settled on this saxophone finally! Furthermore, it was listed to be 155k yen, but again due to the teacher's help, I got it for a little under 130k yen (1800 SGD)! So grateful that she's here. And yeah, she plays some mean saxophone! I mean, can't expect less from someone who teaches sax and performs recitals and solos for a living, can I?

For this cheap price, I got a sax as good as the top-of-the-line Selmer, as well as some other goodies. Bundled in with the instrument is any Selmer mouthpiece of my choice, a Selmer ligature, Selmer cork grease, and a pack of Vandoren reeds of choice. Shen rite!??! A real steal I must say! (so says the teacher of course).

The teacher picked the best instrument out of the available 3, and tested it thoroughly, and handed to the shop to tweak to perfection. If you asked me, I wouldn't have found anything that needs tweaking. So anyway, she will be going back to the shop on Monday to help me select the best Selmer mouthpiece and ligature to go with the sax, so as to achieve the "best settings" (actual quote). So nice right?

Following which, we went to a nice izakaya, where Calvin and I was treated to dinner. I mean, after all the help I got from them, I should be the one giving a treat, but in the end, I couldn't get them to take my money... sigh... so paiseh. After which, we went for an hour of KTV, and again, were treated by them... triple paiseh... Feel so indebted to them... really grateful for all their help. Without them, I would probably have forked out a larger sum for a lesser instrument.

Anyway, one more thing before we part. While walking towards the train station, we spotted a large crowd gathering around a busker. From far, we can here the sound of trumpet and keyboard playing, but we were really surprised to see what we saw. This young guy, he was playing trumpet with his right hand, and providing complex baseline on the keyboard with his left hand, simultaneously!!!!!

SHEN!!!!!!!!!!!

You really have to see to believe how good he was. I mean, talk about multi-tasking. And the thing is, this guy is actually GREAT. His trumpet sound is great, and his piano is deniably good too! And his music moves. I just can't say in words how good he was. Saying that he is the best busker I have ever seen is probably still an understatement.

Too bad I forgot my camera today. If I ever catch him again, will definitely record a video clip of him.

A real good end to a great day!

Thanks Calvin, thanks all my dear band friends, and special thanks to Kayashita Chieko sensei, without her, I would never have got such a great instrument.

Thanks!

It's been over a week...

2006-04-03T10:01:00.000+09:00

since I last posted...

having no mood to update this blog because the end of my japan days are fast approaching.

the d-day is 26 april - will be taking SQ11, if my memory doesn't fail me - and will arrive on 27 april morning (ard 1-2 am).

i haven't told many ppl about this as i don't wish to have many ppl welcoming at the airport. no.. not that i don't want to see my friends - in fact i want to - but i dun want to trouble my frens to come to the airport late at night, wait for half an hour, just to see me for 10 mins before leaving, since of course i will be spending time first and foremost with my family.

anyways, now you know ;) really hope to catch up with you guys and gals soon!

been busy lately with the wicked. a real wicked game it is, currently stuck at level 34. can anyone help??

Onigiri

2006-03-24T16:28:00.000+09:00

When I first came to Japan, I didn't really fancy onigiris, and never understood why it was such a popular snack/ breakfast among the Japanese.

But these past few months, I have sort of developed a liking for these japanese rice dumplings. The default of choice for me are the salmon ones, because salmon tastes nice and salty, so onigiris with it can hardly go wrong.

Just now, I went down to the conbini to hunt for snacks.. hehe... and to my surprise, I saw a (maybe) new onigiri - cha-han onigiri. Cha-han means fried rice (chinese style). It looked pretty good, so I bought one to try... and it tasted great!! yum yum...

Too bad they don't have it every morning.. or maybe they do, but by the time I arrive, they are always sold out??

Good simple innovation I think, I wonder whether it will catch on? Haven't seen anywhere else selling this.. hehe.

Sayonara... Soon...

2006-03-24T09:54:00.000+09:00

Haven't been updating this blog for like ages... also can't bear to see what state this blog is in now...

Have been busy with some work, as well as doing up my Sayonara Sale blog. ermm... sayonara sales are sales organised by ppl who have been staying in Japan for some time but are leaving soon, to sell off their stuff at low prices to mostly other foreigners, who also need the items on a short term basis.

Yup, my time in Japan is finally almost up. mixed feelings about this, but guess whatever the case is, I will still be coming back in a month's time.

Talk to you guys again, gotta do my sayonara thingy again.

expo toyota pavilion

2006-03-13T00:33:00.000+09:00

finally uploaded this after Xander asked me for it. ;)

do see if you are interested....

sure hope i dun get into any trouble with toyota regarding this...

mourinho...

2006-03-12T03:19:00.000+09:00

watched the highlights of the champion's league...

and came to the point when ronaldinho scored, and the camera focused on mourinho's fed-up face....

the japanese emcee was saying... モリニョー...　モリニョー...　もういいよ! (mourinho... mourinho... mouiiyo!)

haha... mouiiyo = enough already.

so now you know what his name means. ;p

We are Top 3 in the Whole World!!!

2006-03-12T02:06:00.000+09:00

There's a list of various things which are top 3 in their own category (list drafted out by japanese i think, hence subjective ones are, well, rated from japanese viewpoint), for example:

World's 3 largest Rivers - Amazon, Nile, Mississipi.
World's 3 best Musuems - Hermitage (Russia), Lourve (France), Metropolitan (NYC).
World's 3 top Cities - NYC, Tokyo, London.
World's 3 best Nite Views - Napoli, Hakodate, Hong Kong.

etc. etc.

but not to worry... Singapore is top 3 in one of the categories!!!

世界三大がっかり - シンガポールのマーライオン, コペンハーゲンの人魚姫, ブリュッセルの小便小僧, 日本・札幌市時計台, シドニーのオペラハウス

If you can read Japanese, well guess you will be laughing your heads off by now... if not, well, I am proud to say that Singapore's Merlion is one of the Top 3 disappointments in the World!!

Copenhagen's Den Lille Havfrue (Mermaid) takes up 2nd spot, and the 3rd, most lists say Brussel's Manneken Pis (Peeing Monk), but some say Sapporo's Clock Tower, or Sydney Opera House. But undeniably, Singapore comes out tops here! (since 1994 according to here)

and interestingly, to Japanese, the first thing that comes to mind when they hear Singapore is Merlion. and if its so disappointing, its quite sad to see what their initial thoughts of Singapore is rite? hehe... anyway give a few more years and I think they will update the top 3 to include the Esplanade too ;p

anyway this came up when I was chatting with my band mates during a booze session just now... heh.

For the whole list, you can view it here. In Japanese though.

errr... wong-sama??!?

2006-03-11T00:18:00.000+09:00

jason and anne came over for a holiday, so we met up, first time in harajuku, and 2nd in odaiba..

the moon so bright liao, i have to be brighter ;p

wonder when they will get married... soon perhaps?

we spotted some kimono gals, so grabbed them to take a picture together...

well... its funny how he linked me from his blog.... although not the first one to say that, but seriously, think many people will laugh lor!!

getting a car?

2006-03-02T09:51:00.000+09:00

After Lexus, Honda and Toyota, the brands rounding out the top ten for reliability were Mitsubishi, Subaru, Acura, Scion, Mercury, Mazda and Suzuki. The ten lowest-rated brands were Audi, Infiniti, Saturn, Lincoln, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Land Rover, Hummer and Porsche.
-based on a Consumer Report done in America.

it's interesting to see that many Singaporeans think that European cars are the most reliable, but that is not so true. well, at least this year's report says something about this.

ice bar anyone?

2006-03-02T09:46:00.000+09:00

now this is one place i definitely wanna visit before i leave japan...

The newly opened Absolut Icebar in Nishi-Azabu. Everything, from the walls, bar and artwork, to the cocktail glasses, is made from crystal clear ice from the Torne River in Sweden. Guests are provided with capes and gloves upon arrival. The temperature is set at minus 5 degrees Centigrade. (Source: Crisscross.com)

this bar looks so cool!!!!! one way or another it must be... heh.

trash news again...

2006-03-01T11:20:00.000+09:00

headlines read "Man handed 12-year term for murdering wife after she scolded him for not working"...

58 year-old man, who had some chronic disease and so couldnt work, stabbed his 46 year-old wife who ran a restaurant, because he had enough of being regularly scolded by her for not working.

interestingly, he got only 12 years behind bars... and more interestingly are the words of the judge...

"The defendant committed the crime in a fit of anger, but it cannot be denied that the defendant was at fault for her attitude toward him..."

that sounds ok, but when i checked the original japanese story (as i suspected that there might have been some error in translation), it is written as follows...

「一時の激情にかられた動機は短絡的だが、被害者の言動に落ち度がなかったとも言えない」

in english, the words in bold above should actually read "... it cannot be said that the victim had no fault in her attitude towards him..."

yeah... amazing hor? it seems that in the jap society, the wife cannot anyhow scold the husband...

aspiring wives to japanese, do take note ;p

read source here.

河津の旅

2006-03-01T10:06:00.000+09:00

august, damien, calvin, joanna and I went to Kawazu, in Izu, on rented car last saturday. The purpose? To see early sakura blossoms and to have a nice dip in a nice onsen with nice view. so lucky readers, you can expect to see some nice pink flowers and some naked guys in this post!

we reached the place just after noon, and there were expectedly, a lot of people there. I'm not sure whether it's for the whole of japan, but I heard that the sakura blooms earliest in these parts, hence august, the planner who doesn't plan, jioed us along there.

ojisans taking pictures under the sakura tree.

close up shots - this breed of sakura are supposed to be pinker than the others... or are they? hmm..

3 shuai ges and 1 fatso.

it wasnt a particularly pretty place - imagine kallang river beside, say potong pasir. what's nice are the sakura and the yellow flowers...

yellow flowers... nice hor? nicer than pink anyway ;)

there were of course lotsa stalls set up to earn the tourists' money... mostly food stalls, but there was a monkey busking as well.

of particular interest was this...

guess what?

closer view... still dunno?

yummy.... for those who still dunno... its CHICKEN SKIN!!! 400 yen for a cup, a tad expensive.. but the enjoyment - priceless!!

what can be better than having chicken karage on one hand, and chicken kawa on another... ok lah.. lots ;p but still.... pure bliss!

there was a shop selling fishes, and got samples with which we can bbq by ourselves... tasted like ikan bilis.

the monkey on stilts... amazing how he picked up the long stilts all by himself, climbed it without any help or support, and walked ard on it!

not sure what this building is for, but its here cos it looks interesting!

afterwhich, we proceeded to a nearby, advertised onsen with nice seaview... we sort of didnt know where it was in the first place, and was pretty apprehensive about going in when we saw the outside view...

looks kinda gross rite?

well, fortunately the interior looked new, and it was half-priced at 500 yen, because some parts are undergoing renovation! hence it became a real too-good-to-miss deal.

there they have an open-air onsen overlooking the sea, and another mixed-sex onsen. sadly, you have to wear their swimming costumes. and even worse, no gals whatsoever when we were there ;p only gribe about the place - not enough shower heads.

a bit paiseh at taking pics at first, so august took one through the doorway of the changing room.

realising that the uncle with the nice butt was taking pics liberally, august became more liberal with his shots as well.

4 of us nekkid... hehe... nice view hor? the pics in the advertisements dun have the metal bars leh...

another of us, with another backdrop.

1 taken in the mixed onsen... nobody else one leh.

after the great onsen, we went back to take some night shots before leaving the place...

me, damien, joanna, august, calvin

we had our dinner at a nearby viking restaurant. viking meaning buffet in japan. for 2000, we had a nice yakiniku buffet, plus other food as well... quite good deal hor? considering what's available...

all scallops!!! muahaha... i must have eaten like 10 scallops on that nite!

sorry too busy for pics!

The Chronicles of Narnia

2006-02-24T15:48:00.000+09:00

With Narnia fast approaching (screening on 4^th March in Japan), I too joined the hype and anticipation, and have been reading the whole Chronicles of Narnia. I just finished The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (5^th book chronologically, out of 7), and to someone who have no prior knowledge about the books, was surprised with many parallels that can be drawn to Christianity.

Ok, no doubt, this nothing new to Narnian scholars around the world, or to Narnian fans, or even to those who may come across some articles, or overheard from a friend. But hey, it’s new to me, so don’t flame me for writing a post on an “old piece of news” can?

* Warning – Spoilers*

Similarities to the Bible:

1. Starting from The Magician’s Nephew, Aslan was said and known to be the Son of the Emperor-Over-Sea. Cf. with Jesus, who is the Son of God. [1] Why lion then? Well, ask any Christian and they can tell you that Jesus is also referred to as the Lion of Judah.

2. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan was put to death by the White Witch on the Stone Table in the place of a traitor - symbolic of the Crucifixion. [1]

3. Also, when he was resurrected, when many were scared (thought see ghost), he asked them to approach and touch his paws and his warmth. Much like what Jesus did when he asked some disbelieving disciples to touch his pierced hands, and his pierced sides.

4. Also in the LWW, Aslan magically fed his people. This is similar to several instances of God's providence in the Bible, including when God's provision of manna for the Hebrews in the Sinai desert and how Jesus miraculously fed the crowds following Him with loaves and fishes. [3]

5. After turning from a lamb (Jesus was often said to be the Lamb of God in the Bible) back into a lion (Christ was often called the Lion of the Tribe of Judea) in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he announced he was known by another name in our world, and while that name is not mentioned specifically, the connotations and imagery in Aslan's story strongly suggest that he was referring to Christ. [1][2]

6. In The Silver Chair, the dead King Caspian was brought to Aslan's terriritory, where Caspian lay in a river. Aslan commanded Eustace to prick his paw with a thorn, and Aslan let the blood drop on Caspian, who in turn came alive. This is symbolic of how only Jesus's blood when he died on the cross could bring man to heaven (and give them life), and the water that purifies. The thorn is symbolic of the crown of thorns, and that Eustace pricked his paw is symbolic of how man put Christ on the cross. [2]

7. When Narnia was destroyed in The Last Battle, Aslan judged every creature who had died. It turned out his kingdom was the real Narnia and the one that was destroyed was merely a copy. [3] Ring a bell?

8. The only explicit reference to Christianity occurs in The Last Battle, which is itself an allegorical version of the Bible's Book of Revelations. In it, King Tirian and The Friends of Narnia were marvelling at how the stable contained a complete world within it. Lucy mused, "Even in our world, a stable once contained something larger than the entire world," a clear reference to the Nativity of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. [3]

Of course, the centre of these all is Aslan.

“He takes the role of a Christ-like figure, though according to Lewis he is not an allegorical portrayal of Christ, but rather a different, hypothetical, incarnation of Christ himself:

If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, 'What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all.

Thus, Lewis claimed that the Chronicles were not Christian allegory because they are not allegory, not because they are not Christian.” [1]

“Lewis intended them (the stories) more to be “supposals” (rather than allegories). Suppose, he thought, a world existed where Talking Beasts roamed the land and the characters of mythology really sprang to life? Suppose Evil entered that world? Suppose the Son of God ruled that world? What form would He take? How would He reveal His character? Lewis’s “supposals” are contained in The Chronicles of Narnia. Through these stories, we gain a fresh vision of human nature and the interactions of a just yet loving God with the created beings of His world.” [4]

A letter written, supporting this view, from Magdalene College, Cambridge, where Lewis was a don, says, “Supposing there really was a world like Narnia . . . and supposing Christ wanted to go into that world and save it (as He did ours) what might have happened?

“The stories are my answer. Since Narnia is a world of talking beasts, I thought he would become a talking beast there as he became a man here. I pictured him becoming a lion there because a) the lion is supposed to be the king of beasts; b) Christ is called ‘the lion of Judah’ in the Bible.” [5]

Anyway, besides this Christian thing which some of you may or may not be interested in, here’s a bit of history in the beginning of the LWW as well. Ever wondered why the 4 children were sent to live with Prof Digory? Well, here’s some historical background to it:

During World War II, England was faced with war on its doorstep. The advent of fighter planes and bombers meant that civilians were not safe at home while soldiers fought England’s enemies in France, Germany, and beyond, especially since part of the strategy of the German army was to attack civilians and thus weaken the morale of Germany’s opponents. When England became engaged in the war, this danger was known, and heavy causalities were predicted among the civilian population, particularly in London. As the center of government and the most populous English city, London was often targeted for attack. Though the civilian loss of life was not as great as originally predicted, it was still quite heavy.

On September 1, 1939, two days before war was declared in England, efforts began to evacuate over 1 million children from London and the more populous areas of England. Many were sent to live with relatives or with foster families in the countryside, in Cornwall, and in Scotland. More than 16,000 were sent overseas, though some of these children died in enemy attacks en route. Despite the efforts at evacuation, the war took its ghastly toll. More than one in ten air raid victims were children under the age of 16. Official estimates place the child death toll during the war at 7,736. In addition, 7,622 were seriously wounded in the attacks. Including adults, more than 60,595 civilians were killed by enemy action in Great Britain during the war, with another 86,182 seriously injured.

The fictitious Pevensie children (Pevensie is Lucy, Susan, Edmund, and Peter’s surname) were placed with an eccentric but wise professor who lived in a large house in the country. According to Douglas Gresham (co-producer of the LWW film, as well as step-son of Lewis himself), C.S. Lewis himself harbored some children during the war effort. In fact, the Professor Digory character (who appears in several Narnian tales) shares many characteristics with Lewis himself. [4]

And lastly, a little trivia on C.S. Lewis himself. He was part of the Inklings, a literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England. Its members included such notables as J. R. R. Tolkien (yes, yes, the Tolkien of the LOTR), Charles Williams and Hugo Dyson. Readings and discussions of the members' unfinished works were the principal purposes of meetings. [2]

There. Hopefully for those who have read these for the first time, hopefully it will cast some new light to the series. As a final note, it will be fair to add that Lewis himself mentioned that he did not write the series to be Christian books; just that somehow, his Christian beliefs found its way into his stories.

References:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aslan

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia

[3] http://narniaconfidential.com/Christian%20Themes

[4] http://www.homescholar.org/unit_study.htm

[5] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1903338,00.html

interesting...

2006-02-23T10:42:00.000+09:00

from siownan, see if you can read the message:

This is to affirm that you are very intelligent and your mind is doing very
well-

Able to decipher such terrible writings :

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch
at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in
the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas
tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Ache...

2006-02-22T14:40:00.000+09:00

and by the way, I have an irritating numb pain at my lower jaw since last night...

issit a toothache? anyone knows how to identify a toothache? as in need it hurt more when you are touching/pushing some tooth (cos it doesn't, for me).

Thanks!

2006-02-22T14:35:00.000+09:00

To everyone who sent me well-wishes and gifts, thank you soooo much!!!!!!

Love ya all...

Gotta see you guys soon (ok I hear some groans), take care for now ya?

Valentine's Day Present...

2006-02-14T21:28:00.000+09:00

I got a great Valentine's Day present from a gal whom I dunno today...

nope, not chocolates...

I paid for my dinner in Kawasaki with a 10,000 yen note, and got back 9,000 yen notes plus a few coins, the notes i tucked temporarily into my hip pocket which i soon forgot about.

i finished up my dinner, took the train, arrived at kosugi eki, and while walking to the shiminkan for my jap volunteer class, a gal tapped my shoulder and asked me if i dropped some money, while pushing the 9,000 yen into my hand.. i immediately felt for them in my pocket, but obviously, didnt find them there.

even before i finished saying arigatou gozaimasu, she smiled and turned and left. i was left stunned. on one hand, i was touched by a stranger's kindness - her kindness. i didnt know where i dropped the money, and she could have followed me for some time to catch up with me to return. elsewhere probably it would be finder's keepers.

on the other hand, i totally didnt know where i could have dropped it. the feeling of dread or disappointment if i had found out that i had dropped my money somewhere and not able to recover overwhelmed me, even though i have the money in my hands.

anyway i am just glad that i have met a nice stranger today, whom i have not had the chance to thank properly. thank you, whoever you are....

good present eh?

KEWL!! よ～し！

2006-02-14T10:14:00.000+09:00

steady...

ok can start spamming my blog liao.. lol

if any of you guys read many other blogs, esp popular ones like boing boing, you would have undoubtedly seen this...

a puppy monorail...

cute hor?? for those who hadnt, well, there you go ;p. you can see the construction process here if you want.

more cute stuffs in this Cute Overload blog... hehe... no doubt will appeal to many little gals out there ;p

not forgetting the guys of course. if you guys are interested in michael owen (oops i guess more gals are than guys), you can view his online diary here. whether its truely authentic or if its hand-typed by him, i dunno... but well, interesting read nonetheless... linked from nufc.com...

okok.. thats all for now, but before i go....

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, FOLKS!!!

Mail-to-Blog?

2006-02-14T09:58:00.000+09:00

The below post you see was a test post by me - trying out this mail-to-blog thingy.

yah, i know this exist for quite some time liao, but havent actually tried it out until now.... actually i am doing this now because in office in most days, i cant get to the posting page - dunno why, it always lags out there.

but i'm not too sure how to put up pics in this way. i tried attaching a picture as you would do with a normal email, but no, it doesnt get uploaded automatically... so i guess i have to do it the conventional way then...

another test pic... let's see if this turns up ok ;)

test test

2006-02-14T09:48:00.000+09:00

can anyone see this??

2006-02-12T00:50:00.000+09:00

today was finally the day of my concert.... for a whole year, we have been preparing for this. and now it's over in a flash... how time flies, just like my time in japan...

i'll definitely miss the band here.. it's the best band i have ever played in...

the ppl here are wackier...

the clarinets have been so nice to me....

and from the surface, you cant see how seriously they treat their music. you can't see them going for extra individual practices on xmas day for example impressed, am I.

from the bottom of my heart, i thank all of you guys who made my stay in japan many times more enjoyable than it would have been. you guys rock, and i'm sad to leave...

today, i'll like to thank those who came down specially to support me.. namely ivan, yuhui, fangyi, chinheng, jianrong, calvin...

... and also yasu and mika, and the volunteer teachers from the musashi kosugi ward, including miyamoto sensei, jel who, although cant make it, introed shinichi, her english student who is also a clarinettist, and of course shinichi for coming...

and special mention to tanabe sensei for coming, and giving me some beer!!! as well as yuko, who gave me a bouquet of flowers!! gerberas!! how did she know i like gerberas?? haha.. to date this is my second ever bouquet received, not counting those from ex-gfs, hehe. first was from fiona and lynn, my dear classmates, and now the second from yuko!!

and to those who sent their well wishes, and to those of whom i forgot to mention, forgive me, and thanks to you as well!!

rather sad that it all ended cos this will also signal the end of my japan trip... sigh...

anyway i dun have any performace photos... once they are ready to be ordered, i will get them and them hopefully post some of them up here...

JLPT results out!!

2006-02-10T23:17:00.000+09:00

The long-waited results are finally out!!

In my entire life, the first time I failed any major examination was when I was in sophomore year back in NTU. It was the darned Analogue Electronics paper, and I knew I did dreadfully for it. And sure enough, I failed. :(

For the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level 2 that I sat last December, I knew it was a 50-50.

well...

I failed my Reading/Grammar section.... scoring 112/200 (passing mark is 60%).
sigh~~~~

I scored 89/100 for Writing/Vocabulary, and a 70/100 for my Listening...

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
270/400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks everyone for your help and support, especially buckies, who painstakingly scanned past year papers for me to try!!!!

I'm now JLPT 2 certified.. muahahahahaha.....

amazing..

2006-02-08T09:58:00.000+09:00

havent been able to log on for ages in the office... not that this was banned of cos, but well, it somehow freezes before it gets to this page...

anyway, today is my Dad's birthday, so just wanna wish him a big

お誕生日おめでとうございます!!
Happy Birthday Dad!!

Day trip to Ichinoseki - Geibi Gorge

2006-02-07T23:26:00.000+09:00

Since I had a JR nori-houdai for one day... hehe.... I was thinking of where to go by myself during one of the free Sundays...

Until this poster caught my attention...

ok... not exactly this one, but one nicer one in yokohama... So having nowhere else in mind to venture to myself, I decided to head there, which is near Ichinoseki Shinkansen Station. This was about almost 3 hours away via Shinkansen. Ah well, may as well take more bullet train rides when they are free ;) Oh, and, for those who went to/knows Sendai, it is about 30 mins further up north, so you can roughly have an idea of where this is.

From Ichinoseki (一ノ関), it took another 40 mins via local train to reach the destination - Geibi-kei (猊鼻渓). This turned out to be a bird-no-lay-eggs place, and so, I discovered that the train services every hour/ 2 hours. (I was done by 1350, and had to wait for the 1512 train back to Ichinoseki!!)

Well a little about Geibi Gorge before I go any further. It is reputed to be one of the top 100 sights in Japan. Well, from what I've seen, it should be in the top 10 instead. If only the surroundings are more urbanised, I would think it will be a fantastic tourist stop.

Anyway, there are flat boat rides that will take you through a nice little serene river sandwiched by 120-metre cliffs on both sides. The boat is "rowed" by a single pole - make that 2, if the person in front is helping out - much like those boat rides you see in Chinese pugilistic dramas. And the boatmen, as I had read prior to going there, traditionally sings a... errmm... traditional song as they are oaring... and I must say, it is quite ... errm... interesting as well.

ok, I think I overdid my introduction, so let's get on with the photos!

When I reached, there weren't much signs pointing to the boatride site, but I eventually found it...

Nearby, I saw this sign regarding the gorge.

It says "Japan 100 top spots, named Gibei Kei, 2 km long river flanked by huge stone walls 120m high. You can take the wooden boat ride, view Fuji flowers in Spring, view lush greeneries in Summer, red leaves in Autumn, or snow in Winter - enjoy the nature of each season. The song at the head of the boat echoes in the gorge and captivates all people present"

The gist of it, at least.

Too bad it was winter, hence it wasnt the usual open-top boat rides, but rather, a floating greenhouse. And the view was pretty much close to zero from the inside... Well, at least it kept us warm... we even had heater and futons to keep our bodies warm!!

Poor guy at the back rowing...

A boat that is going back to the start point... Really look like a floating greenhouse hor?

Our stop point in sight!

We reached this place where they had the lion's nose I think - not too sure cos I couldn't really catch the guide's japanese - where you pay 100 yen for 3 something, to try to throw into the small holes on the opposing stone wall. Supposedly, if the something enters the hole, your wish will be granted. Hence here you can see the guy throwing err.. something. Well at least he got one in on his 101th try. ;)

I just happened to be able to take this shot... cute hor??

Going back liao... sigh

Got a clip of that guy singing... but dunno if I should upload or not... hehe... see how lah ;p

Anyway the trip lasted 50 mins, when it was supposed to be 90 mins... hmphh.. maybe in winter cut short? I dunno.

And I seriously dunno why they need so many boats for. I mean, it is an hourly departure.

anyway, I dunno how you guys feel about the place after seeing the photos, but it was really nice, although a bit sabishii going there myself. I think it was one of the prettiest place I've visited so far in Japan...

ok.. so this marks the end of my first proper blog update after 2 months.. hehe... a bit of a rush job, but well better than nothing right? 230 am liao... I am so gonna suffer tomorrow... sigh...

take care ya, guys ;)

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

2006-01-29T23:43:00.000+09:00

happy new year, dear friends!!

anyway today i didnt play for my perf, cos one of us is seriously ill, so cant put out a show.... sigh... just wish she gets well soon...

nothing special this new year... no ang bao, gotta work... sigh.

ah well.

you guys play for my share too lor ;)

of intercourses and ejaculations

2006-01-25T09:55:00.000+09:00

She felt, and rightly, that before the strain of attempting further intercourse with Albert, it would be as well to fortify herself with a good supply of local colour.
...
Albert uttered another ejaculation indicative of delight.

whoa... hold your horses... this blog is not turning R-rated, I assure you... ;p

I was reading a little Agatha Christie - a throwback to my primary-secondary days - when i was waiting for my partner to complete some portions of the work... and I came across the 2 lines above... and really, was quite surprised to see "intercourse". more so because Albert, in the story, is roughly a 10-year-old lift boy! wats more he "ejaculated with delight"!! haha...

after reading each line twice to make sure i didnt read wrongly, i then remembered that Agatha Christie belonged to the 50s (?) and of course then, the words would mean nothing more than their original, and innocent, meanings...

interesting to see how words evolved over just a few decades...

imagine if i were to go to a gal i dun really know, and ask her, "Excuse me, may I have intercourse with you?" my, i guess i would have a slap in return or something! heh.

errmm... in case some of you dunno, in the original context, intercourse just means talk, or conversation. :)

and to end off this rather unsavory post, 2 more lines from the novel:

'What a pity!' I ejaculated.
- yup... indeed, what a pity ;p

"Holy snakes!" he ejaculated. "Is it really you?"

yoz...

2006-01-25T09:31:00.000+09:00

long time no blog... not that i have forgotten... but well... you know.. hehe...

last nite went back, slept at 9 pm, until this morning 8 am... so i'm pretty rejuvenated today!

as some of you may know, i have performances coming up... first is on the 29th, my ensemble performance....thats just a 6-7 mins performance, so i'm not so duly worried...

2nd of which is on the 11th next month, Toshiba Wind Ensemble's annual concert. we will be playing 3 segments (yes, with 2 intermissions)... dun ask me why, but apparantly some japanese bands like to adopt this pattern.... will be kick starting with some lighter pieces such as Colonel Bogey, TV Detectives, The Inn of Sixth Happiness. 2nd segment will be wholly Romeo and Juliet, and the third, Japanese-themed pieces - Geva Geva 60 minutes, Howl's Moving Castle, Japanese Grafitti 6 (period dramas). if it ever gets to the encore pieces, i will be having a solo (!!) in Disco Kid, and the 2nd (and final) will be Friends for Life, coincidentally the encore piece they have every year.

the reason why i mentioned "coincidentally" is that back in secondary school, we had a combined concert with STC and SPS annually under Glosz, and that same piece used to be our encore piece every year too! so it brought back some memories...

anyway, although it was free for audience, most of my friends won't be supporting... why? well they chose to go for their 4th (or 5th) skiing trip instead. well some claimed that skiing, go back Singapore cannot liao, but my concerts go back Singapore still can go... but well I think otherwise. firstly, they are not going skiing every week - i.e. they could have gone on another week other than mine - reason being that week is cheaper by 3k cos there's a Friday off from work for us. yup so its not so much of not having chance to ski if they choose to go for my concert, but its more of wanting to save up that 3k instead.

well, i dun really blame them, they of cos can choose whatever interests them most.... and of cos, thats just to show how many good friends i have around here - Calvin, Jianrong, Yuhui only. yup only 3 that i know so far... sad hor? its also good that they choose to go ski instead lah; i will not feel guilty for causing them to lose the chance of skiing that weekend.

anyway to Calvin, Jianrong, and Yuhui, if you happen to read this, as i'm sure some or 1 of you will, thanks for the support shown, I really appreciate it - really gives me some reason to strive to do better for the concert, and not feel that my 12,000 yen spent in taking part in this concert is to waste. sorry also for causing you guys the lost opportunity of going to ski as well... and hope you guys will enjoy the concert ;)

winz's space

blog from android

Sis in China Magazine...

Ibaraki to Kobe

back...

This is funny...

Yes sir, no sir...

Obese survive heart attacks better

sian

paikia elephants

funny...

FA Cup

This is funny... Holy Church of the Order of Painted Breasts... rotfl

Tips for women to look better and lose weight...

i'm 48% Bill Gates!

New addition to the family...

finally... a good result...

Comfort Women - the Sequel

Drink breast milk to lose weight!

Fwd: Darwin Awards Newsletter -- March 2007

Stingy!

Some people just ain't got no senses...

It's been some time...

PSone on your PSP cracked

Alternative Christmas Carol - for all ye soccer fans out there...

JAL is CRAP

Xmas Quiz No.1

150 things you have/ have not done...

WUSS!

Cry me an onion

The Scarlet Tide

Oboe...

Nayuta!

PS3 Playstation 3 for sale!!!

My 500th post... and it's about PS3!

Updates

New Photo Album

Fwd: Important notice regarding your KODAK EASYSHARE Gallery photos.

Motosumiyoshi

Vodafone = Softbank

Japanese Work Culture

first day at work in japan

Japan - the Sequel

Corrine May

ＡＳＩＡ ＣＨＡＲＴ（ＴＯＷＥＲ ＲＥＣＯＲＤＳ調べ）

to what means will you go to get taller??

Congrats!!

豆花

On-Screen Keyboard not as safe as thought...

So Cuuuuuuute!!!!!!!!!1

scary...

from bbc news...

muahaha

Goodbye once again.....

good parrot!

making fauns...

Quotes from the US Open

Extremely poor experience at Le P'tit Breton

time to say goodbye

Un-torendii Words...

Graduation's in the air...

just a thought...

CoolBiz is Uncool

Return of Cool Biz...

ROTFL!

how smart...

2 months soon...

china.

home-made...

changi airport

back from japan, off to china...

I AM BACK!!!!

last day of work...

Somewhat true...

when old pics come back to haunt...

$1,800 poorer...

It's been over a week...

Onigiri

Sayonara... Soon...

expo toyota pavilion

ＡＳＩＡ　ＣＨＡＲＴ（ＴＯＷＥＲ　ＲＥＣＯＲＤＳ調べ）