Death vs Birth

I am just going to share something that recently happened at work that makes me wonder.

You see, my company has a lot of old timers so the number of deaths of a family member is rather high, from brothers to parents to relatives. There was even one time there were 3 deaths in one month; very depressing indeed.

It’s to a point that I make sure that I have $10 notes in hand just in case for condolence money. Yes, I give away that much regardless I how well I know that person. In the office, on a name list, I tend to see some $5, mostly $10 to $50 and on rare occasions, $100!

Where am I going with this?

Well, recently, a colleague’s wife just given birth to a baby. So the HR did their standard passing of list and an envelope for congratulatory (is that what you call it?) money.

Guess what? Everyone gave an average of $5. Why is this so? And why does this bother me? I don’t know!

Being the practical person that I am, I think should one give more or equal amount of money to a birth than a death.

Reason being that the only thing that you have to deal with death is a funeral whereas a birth has pampers, baby formula, clothes, countless of doctor’s appointment etc.

I just feel weird about it. It could not be the reason of lacking of money because we just received our bonus money.

Anyways, I know I shouldn’t let such trivial subject bother me so much but at least I managed to vent it out here and eventually forget about it until I come across this again. =D

   

Best Advice Through Song

This song is from the 90s and the lyrics were derived from an essay written in 1997 by Mary Schmich, a columnist with the Chicago Tribune.

And ladies and gentlemen, these advices about life would be one of the best you ever heard.

   

Secrets

Secrets, they are a very powerful thing.

It’s amazing how a secret and pull people closer and at the same time push other people apart.

It can strengthen one’s bond but with a superfluous secret, it can greatly lose one’s trust.

   

New Hairstyle With Remarkable Reactions

Those who are following me in the world of Twitter should know by now that I have donned a new hairstyle.

I have short bangs now and the last time I had them was probably more than 10 years ago. I decided to cut my bangs because I wanted to look like this.

Thanks for watching Emma Stone in Zombie land.

Well, I ended up looking like this.

You have no idea, how much fuss and reaction I get by just cutting my bangs!!

The most common comment was that I look different (which was partly the idea). In fact, my mom gave me the strangest look ever when she saw me, as if I was not her child. Haha

At first I had my love-hate relationship with it because I was definitely not accustomed to the new do but I am beginning to embrace it. hehe One thing I like about this hairstyle is that I look younger ;D

Oh yeah, I get rude comments too, on how I look like a PRC citizen. -_- Actually if you look up “PRC girls” in the search engine, you will see many pretty girls but unfortunately, the PRC girls that are commonly found here are from main land. They have this reputation of being obnoxious, messy, loud, ignorant and never/ hardly take showers. You know, the “tak mandi, tak cebok” kind.

So by saying I look like a PRC citizen (not just Chinese looking), the first thing in my mind is “You are saying that I look like I didn’t take a shower!?!?”

SIGHS

Not only that, the stares I get in public are different now.

Usually its “Dayuumm.. That girl is looking gooodd” look. Hahaha okay kidding. The looks that I get are the positive and sometimes flattering but NOW, I tend to attract spiteful looks!

OMG, the way they way people stare, especially women, it’s as if I was suspected of stealing their food or something. Now I know how the FT (foreign talent) feels because apparently, many Singaporean hates foreigners. Me, I am in love with one Filipino so yeah, I am pro-foreigners because they are doing jobs we don’t like to do, YAY!

But I digress.

I also get extra attention by looking like a PRC compared to a Singaporean/Indonesian/Malaysian Chinese because they are amazed by my command of English. Not that I’m implying that my English is superb but when people see me, they expect me to talk like this.

But instead, I pronouced my words much better despite of the standard singlish words like "lah"

So they will look flabbergasted and stare at me as if they are boring into my soul. If only I can give them a heart attack by speaking Malay! Hahahaha I can’t wait to meet up with Fizah to do that. =P

Well, yeah, I am kinda having fun with people’s reactions at this moment of time. It’s annoying but I am refusing to let my bags grow so I just got to deal with it. =D

Oh yeah, I also suddenly have FB friend requests by CREEPY GUYS!! Please don’t tell me I not only look like a PRC, but also a PRC GRO (Guest Relations Officer for gentlemen’s club or Karaoke Clubs).

[by the way, Joe has a PRC wife with a kid =pppp]

*faints*

   

Origins of Whining

We all know the infamous sound of whining. Some use it to their advantage and some simply abuse it.

No, I do nooootttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt…………

Admit it, in certain way and to up a certain point, we all do; even Jhon does once in a blue moon. I guess it boils down to how often you whin, how draggyyyyyyyy and high pitched it is.

Anyways, I looked up the meaning and origins of whining and this is what I found.

So it’s sort of a whimpering sound in hopes the other party to empathize and/to give what you want.

Do you what is Jhon’s version of the origin of whining?

He proclaimed that the word WHINE derived from the word SWINE and that whining does sounds like a swine. He said, he would know because he used to take care and play with swine all the time.

Of course he said this light-heartedly but I just find the fact amusing and I will definitely see whining as another different level. Hehehe

Want to read more of Jhon’s other conceptions?

Click here! [Funny Reason to Refuse Spinach]

   

Facebook Face Recognition: A Major Concern?

Apparent it is an issue to a certain group of people that Facebook has enabled face detecting for easier tagging when photos are uploaded.

'Yet again, it feels like Facebook is eroding the online privacy of its users by stealth” - Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos

[click here for more details]

To me, it’s no big deal. If you are the one who wants privacy, why are you connected to the social media in the first place?? Lock yourself in a room with no internet connection at all. Now THAT’S privacy.

Anyways, the face detector is somewhat of a fail because when I uploaded photos from my Bali trip quite some time ago, it didn’t serve well.

My face was recommended to tag as my sis. It was understandable since we are sisters, naturally, there are bound to be some similar features on our face.

As for the dancer during the morning performance, Wati my old close friend was tagged. I really don’t know if that is a good or bad thing because that particular dance was somewhat pretty but scary.

Most of the faces where not detected at all so why be a worry wart? unless you DO have something to hide….. haaaa..

   

Saudi Arabia From The Eyes of a Filipino

Okay, the title sounds too dramatic than it ought to be. I just want to share some facts I found out via Jhon’s friend who had worked in Saudi Arabia. He was in Singapore for a while and they met up. I didn’t follow because I thought they deserve their own bonding time among old friends.

But the next day, Jhon told me some interesting stories his friend shared.

He said he ever saw 2 ladies in a Burka were walking down the street DRUNK and out of sudden, flashed the public. Yes, they were naked underneath!!

Syrians drink their coffee by adding one TEASPOON of water with coffee power and grounded tea leaves.

One day, while walking by the roadside, a man drove, stopped next to him and masturbated in front of him. Jhon’s friend looked around for a big rock and before he could smash it at the pervert, he drove off.

His boss smokes CIGARS in the air conditioned office. He would even talk with a cigar in his mouth.

It’s hard to see any females if you stay in the public compound.
He was lucky he stayed in a Filipino compound.

Guys there are usually gay.

Shops/restaurants there are usually closed 4 times a day due to prayers.

Cars there are have very little value to a point that if their car is broken down, they would leave it behind and never claim it back because they can easily get a new car.

I know Saudi Arabia is a beautiful place with beautiful drunk ladies but some of these stories are crazy. Don’t judge a country by what they are culturaly known for eh?

   

End of the World on 21 May 2011?

[Link]

Correctly predict the weather first and I will believe the the prediction of end of the world =D

 Anyways, why let a date scare us when we should have been scared in the first place regardless of the date?

Well, see you on 22 May 2011 but as a zombie! One thing for sure, I am not ready for a zombie apocalypse. I am most likely to be the irritating screaming and crying woman who dies early of the disaster.

   

Officially in the late 20s category

Yes, yet another year had passed and I have turned 27.

Age has never been an issue with me; it has been nothing but a number and I always believe that you are as old as you feel.

I feel young. I feel there are more things “out there” to explore and experience. I feel young at heart.

Although there are already signs of old age where I drink more hot drinks, I have this sudden need to look for the fountain of youth (to look young & fresh) and say things like “They don’t make music like they used to” and “I don’t understand the fashion nowadays. Metrosexual? Looks like gay to me”

I guess many would stress about it but I am not which makes me worry. Why I am not stressed?

I think it is because my biological clock is broken.

I don’t feel the pressure or need to get married and have children. Practically most of the girls in my clique are married and have an average of 2 children.

“So old already and still not married…” So? It does not have an effect on me and that is why I don’t feel the pressure. I think that is the reason why single people feel stressed.

I honestly do not feel that I am 27 and feel cheated as if the astronomical clock is way too fast due to Superman’s gravitational pull when he flew too fast around the world. [Geek alert]

Well, Happy Birthday to me, life is indeed beautiful even though several people tend to make it otherwise for me every now and then.

Here is to one more year and hopes 27 is great and let’s see if my biological clock is fixed by next year. hehe

   

Siblings or Lovers?

Recently, colleagues commented that Jhon and I look alike or look like brother and sister.

Well, lets just say that I was upset upon hearing that while Jhon was indifferent. Initially he did not like that comment too but he just brush it off.

Well, I can't.

To me, looking like siblings when you are supposed to look like lovers is sick. INCEST!!

But I do agree that certain couples look like each other especially those had married with each other for a very long time. So I look it up. I had to know, technically was it a good or bad thing?

[source]

I am glad to know it is a good thing! It means we are a very happy couple since we have only been together for almost 4 years. It does makes sense though since genetically, we are attracted to someone who has similarities to us and the fact that being together means living the same lifestyle.

We eat, laugh and do stuff together so it is more likely that both people have the same physical response to it.

Anyways, despite it all, I still disagree that we look like each other.

We have totally opposite features.

[this is the latest picture we have as a couple which was last month haha]

So if being happy together do really makes a couple look like each other, I hope in a few years, I will have Jhon's sharp nose and juicy lips.

yey!! kthxbai!

   

The Real Jabba The Hut (Star Wars)

I read an article from Straits Times today via twitter (@stcom)

that is so revolting!

How can he sit and not move around for TWO years?! I can barely survive a day without needing going to the toilet and lo and behold, he does not! He pee and poops right there. OMFG!

He even had maggots on his butt!!

You know what is the clincher? He has a girlfriend who comes over to give him food! There are guys who are way cleaner than him can barely get a decent date and this guy has a girlfriend. Not only that, he has a roommate.

After I cringed in horror for 5 minutes, I realized something. I strongly believe that he is actually

Jabba the Hut from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Princess Leia as his slave girlfriend and his right hand man is his roommate.

Oh the resemblance.. It is so uncanny. It HAS to be true!

   

Gay Regardless What

Last night while having Chapatti dinner at Tampines, Jhon and I saw a Caucasian guy with a transsexual. Besides the obvious, they were pretty much normal doing what everyone was doing, having dinner.

But I won’t deny that I stole several quick glances at the “lady”. Anyone would right? Usually I would only glance because I want to see how “natural” they look and be usually amazed at their makeup.

So while eating my delicious Chapatti with an interesting view. It came to me.

Why men think/say they are not gay when they are having sex with a transsexual (those who have not undergone 100% of the surgery)?

Even when you go to porn sites of lady-boys, you can see their ding-dongs hanging away and isn’t it the most profound attribute of a man?

The equation is simple.

Ding-dong + ding-dong = Gay

It is just for this case, the other guy looks like a woman. It’s like a gay manipulation.

To me, no matter how much they look like a woman, think or behave like a woman and sometimes but rarely sounds like a woman, does not mean they are a woman as long as they have the prolific ding-dong.

I can stick pubic hairs on a Longan and call it Rambutan but it is still a *pause for dramatization* a LONGAN!

A man is still a man with his ding-dong and therefore the other man is gay.

So guys, no matter how much you deny the semi-disguised truth, it is obvious. So do not be pompous that you snag yourself a tranny friend. In fact, an uncomfortable but respect for he-she than you because they have the balls (pun unintended) to show to all who they really are.

   

The Most Typical Face On The Planet

[credits to Yahoo! News]

National Geographic Magazine has released a video clip on the most typical face on the planet.

The video was very interesting and informative but I have to say, the results of the typical face is not at all surprising.

7 Billion: Are You Typical? — National Geographic Magazine @ Yahoo! Video

   

The Controversial Hari Raya Commercial

I didn't know about this until a friend shared this in Facebook; a Hari Raya commercial aired in Malaysia by TV3.

What is so controversial about it? Watch for yourself.

Naturally, we would have two groups of opinions.

Group 1
Totally opposing to the the commercial since the Pak Cik (Uncle) on the flying rickshaw resembles a lot like Father Christmas and the lotus flowers that symbolizes Buddhism. I think the only factor that can be related to Hari Raya is them wearing Malay traditional clothes and cooking Malay food.

Group 2

People who don't see what is the big deal about the commercial and thinks people in Group 1 should have an open mind and not to over think about such factors. It is a creative presentation and it is a fantasy concept that ought not to take too seriously.

What do I think?

Generally, I think it has nice graphics but since it is a religious celebration, I think it should reflect more on its values and ideas instead of extracting that is very commercially relatable to other religions.

I mean, it is already bad enough by misleading that Hari Raya is full of magic and not faith but to take example from other religions? -_-


Pak Cik on a flying rickshaw? That is soooo "Original"

You know what? the fact that it is unoriginal in the first place, fails as a good commercial; never mind the religious factor. =P

The Reality of Paul The Octopus

Even if not a football fan, everyone knows by now the famous Paul the Octopus.

The funny thing is that there are few people who didn't know that Paul is an actual octopus and thought it was some dude whose nickname was octopus. lol

Apparently, he is an oracle that predicts which team wins by "choosing" between two boxes containing food that is labeled with respective country flags. So far he is 80% accurate for UEFA Euro 2008 and 100% accurate for Fifa World Cup 2010.

 

Since he has been right for the World Cup so far, I am sure he has gained more believers. To a point the supporters of the winning team want to protect and 'sayang' (love) the OCTOPUS and who supports the losing team are swearing and planning seafood recipies.

 

It's always somebody else's fault right? Blame the octopus for losing, NOT the players. *rolls eyes*

 

If everyone really thinks the matches are determined by an octopus, then why bother hiring people to play football?

 

Why not everyone sit in a circle, surrounding the octopus and let him determine the winner and that's it.

 

 

Since World Cup 2010 is ending real soon, 11th July, it boils down to

Uruguay vs Germany for the third place and Netherlands vs Spain for the finals.

 

You know what? I think it will be hilarious if Paul's first wrong prediction is on the finals when he has gained many believers and bet alot of money on his prediction. I will be laughing so hard!

 

By then, people can't accuse the octopus and the people surrounding him for fraud and they would answer with "You are the stupid one for believing an octopus!!!" and laugh their way to the bank.

 

Fraud or not, I am not suprised that it would happen since Paul only predicts only for Germany's matches!!!

 

Well, it can go any way right? the odds are only 50-50.

P/s: I know I have resorted to the overated story of worldcup and Paul but I just have to get it out of my chest. =P

Working on a construction site?

Followers of my twitter account would know by now that there is a possibility of me moving to a site office for my Marina Bay tunnel project.

For those who don't know, I work in a construction industry as an Asistant Quantity Surveyor.

Thanks to my new Executive Director, he now insists that all QS is stationed on site instead of the HQ and from my knowledge, this is not neccessary since most of the work can be done at the HQ and QS would visit the site every week for meetings & monitor the progress of work.

But cannot say cannot right?

Anyways, it is not a container site office but an actual 3 storey structural office (4 years project leh) and my mentor will negotiate on the terms since our intial terms state otherwise but I have this feeling that we will still be going to site.

So I got to thinking, is that bad? Thats why I did this.

The more I thought about the politics that I have to deal/witness everyday, the more ideal it is to go to site although I could not hang out with my Jhon at work. I am taking it as a test for us since we are like super glued to each other. hahaha

I really hope everything goes well and smoothly for me when THE day comes, meanwhile, I shall enjoy my pros of working at the HQ.

3 Reasons Why Aunties Should Not Be A Sales Promoter

 

1. Gift of the gab is not exactly a good thing when you simply wish to browse for items and you are bombarded with information you don’t wish to hear. Sure, you politely smile and say you are just glancing through items but she won’t give up. She will press on and try to stuff all kinds of information in a product that you looked for 3 seconds.
   
   
2. From my experiences with some aunties, they are tactless. Quite a number of times, as I was browsing some hair mask/conditioner, the auntie would blatantly tell me “You have very dry hair ah!” while touching my hair and continues with “So dry you know, very dry” and shakes her head.
   
   Well, since I am in the hair products section and looking at hair treatments, I would think it is obvious that I am well aware of the condition of my hair and if I wished to be pointed out the obvious, I would go to a modeling agency where they can freely slam me from head to toe. Thank you for publicly damaging my already low insecurities, auntie...
   
   Just yesterday (which made me write this post), I overheard an auntie sales person calling her customer’s feet fat.
   
   
3. If they “like” you, they will get too personal and talked about their family members. About how her daughter is very choosy in choosing a partner or her son is as tall as me. It was clearly a call for help for lack of communication at home but as a customer/stranger, it is very awkward and all you can do is smile, nod and slowly taking 1 inch of a step back as they follow you.

I am not saying that they should not work as Sales Persons in fact, I am happy for them for getting a job and get their body and minds moving but I just wish they are aware of the boundaries between a customer and a promoter. 

Do you have your experiences with the typical Auntie Sales Promoter?

 

'Abang Keropok'

'abang keropok' is in malay translated as 'the guy who sells chips/snacks'

Despite the title being 'Abang Keropok', he is not the sole reason of this post but merely a trigger of another topic.

Trust

It started when my mom told me a malay man, probably in his mid thirties came knocking on the door at about 3pm to sell his 'keropok'. Not only that, he asked my mom if he could come in and pray for his afternoon prayers. Of course, being cautious, my mom politely refused for obvious reasons. He accepted my mom's rejection but asked if he could leave his 1 big bag of kerepok (he had 2 with him) for a while so that he can do his prayers and rounds. My mom said yes and asked him to leave it in the corridor and she will take care of it.

Minutes became hours and by the time my mom shared me the story, it was close to 6pm. Where is this man?

With my wild imaginations, i began to wonder this man's intentions. 

Why would a stranger trust another stranger to guard his half a day's worth of goods?

Is he just a naive man who trusts someone too much just because of our similar religion and race? I can think of some people despite of any religion and race who would steal his goods without a heartbeat.

Is he really a con man whose 'Plan A' failed when mak refused his request to pray in our house and wish to secretly take back his 'kerepok' and then claimed that he never did and framed us in stealing his?

Is there a robot/evil spirit hidden in the plastic bag and will only come out when we were sleeping in the middle of the night and steal and kill us!?

Yea, I went back to reality when i got to that point but you can't blame me when 6pm turned to 9pm. Beside the obvious fact that i have severe trust issues, i came to think of what has the world has become.

To know that someone has his full trust on a mere stranger is almost preposterous.

Am i the only one who thinks this way? Is a stranger's trust is so rare that it has to be doubted?

Anyways, it was getting late and we don't want to be bothered by a knock on the door when we were sleeping so we left the bag covered outside our door.

 50 minutes later, the man came back for his kerepok. He apologized, thanked us and went on his merry way. 

He was lucky, we don't have bad intentions but would he be lucky the next time?

My Blogging Journey with Nuffnang

What i love about Nuffnang?

In just 3 months of joining (since August 2009), Nuffnang has unleashed my creativity in a way i could never imagine!!

With the help of my lovely Jhon, I made curtains out of Pringles chips just for their first blog awards!

I have to say, i am very proud of our curtains. More here.

I even try my hand at photoshop-ing 1 of my kitties into the streets of Singapore. It's pathetically-funny and that was the intention. haha

Due to those posts and wonderful Nuffnang, i was the selected few to attend the prestigious blog awards!!! 

 
Can you imagine? Just a newbie and i won for my first Nuffnang contest and in a instant, i was surrounded with bloggers asia-wide.

It was the only Nuffnang event i ever attended but it was the most memorable event of the year. I finally get to see my 2 favorite bloggers,  Xiaxue & Kenny Sia. tee hee!! by the way, the trophy is sooo cool!! So jealous!

But i got to admit, the initial reason i joined Nuffnang is for its moolah but i would have never thought that i would have this much fun blogging with Nuffnang. hehehe

I can't wait for more crazy posts and events from Nuffnang and i never regreted moving to another blogging community for 5 years to this one.

To those who are having second thoughts about Nuffnang, Don't!

You won't regret  it. ;)