Last On NKF

CEO, TT Durai and along with 8 members of the NKF board have tendered their resignation yesterday.

Ministers will now step in to restructure/investigate and re-evaluate their accounts and management operations.

NKF have stopped all their donation events and may not resume for the next few years. Their last NKF 3rd show yesterday had turned from a charity donation show to a thank you show. No more 1900 something something.

The issue should come to a stop i feel.

However, i do pity the NKF operators. As they have to deal with the nasty citizens calling in to scold them shameless, asking them to resign, and they have to endure all their vulgarities. Some even made their trips to the company to make a scene.

I'm not surprised. Its typical of Singaporeans nowadays.

Its just that they are becoming overboard. Just withdraw your donation and that's it. Why do they have to insult all those who werent involved?

Some telephone operators felt so frustrated till the stage where that they even took out their own money to return to the donors.


PEOPLE! Just stop all the nonsense. Its not like they have done great injustice to you, even though you proclaimed that they had misused the money. But face it, the case had been there for so long, if you were affected, you wouldnt be donating to the shows this year. Come on, you did it for a chance to win the attractive prizes. No? Don't even try to pretend you are on higher moral grounds to judge.

E last 3 NKF shows had received a total of 10 over million dollars. But the case isnt new. So, don't even ride on the excuse.

Im not supporting NKF actions, its just that i find it so unreasonable for people to be so nasty to uninvolved parties. Spraying paints of evil words at their company is already such a bullshit. The CEO is not going to come out to clean the mess. The cleaners had to keep painting their walls back. How reasonable is that?

Think, people, think!

My sister is going to withdraw her donations. And she had just cancelled my mum's monthly donation to the NKF, whereby my mum was sort of cheated to donate in the first place. We let the issue rest cause its at least for a good cause. But now, my sis finds it meaningless.

We still have the 2000 over kidney patients (NKF lied it was 3000+) to think about. With their 30 years of reserves, why not increase their help for their current patients. Each patient is only receiving 30% of subsidise now. And its not that easy to be eligible for their assistance.

Alright, i hope that this is the last NKF entry. Let's just hope that the Gahmen will turn the table around with their influence.

Fare Hike

I've just watched the news on Shanghai's MRT fare hike, due to the fact that their MRT is overcrowded, so they decided to have a fare hike to solve the prob.

Ya right. Since when did fare hike help?

I do not understand why the countries have the same mentality. Its Singapore lately then now Shanghai.

When its congested, u use a fare hike to solve the prob. What kind of logic is that?

Even if you increased the fare, the same no. of people will still need to go home right? And if its convenient to go home by bus, who the hell will want to squeeze in a overcrowded train in the first place?

In Singapore, taking a public transport during peak hours is crazy. Be it Bus, or Mrt, or cab, or car. Every where is congested. Not becoz of cheap fares or watsoever.

Government has been trying to promote public transport to own vehicles. Thereby, they increase road tax, ERPs, with the idea that somehow, due to increase of monetary issues, people will take the buses and trains. But they have failed to see how packed the buses and trains already are.

Thats cause they themselves never take the public transport. SImple as that.

And then, now that you sort of want to clear the traffic on the road to force people to take public transport, u increase the MRT and Buses' fares. Ha, this is sooooooo clever of you, eh?

What crap. I am so fed up.

The morning and evening trains are so packed (cause i stay in the north region, by the time the train reaches my station, its already too packed). The buses are overcrowded. I couldnt get any taxis in the morning. And even if i do, i have to pay an extra of $5.50 for the ERP through CTE.

Even with the heart to pay more, i am still stuck in jams.

Fine, even if you travel along the roads without the increased ERP, you will be in a longer jam. Cause apparently, you are not the onloy one who know how to cheat.

U pay more, u jam, u pay less u jam, u take bus, u also jam, u take train, its so packed that sometimes u can't get on the train and you become miserable out of it. And the worst thing is, we have to live with these for the rest of our lives here in Sg. And for the freaking experience, we have to pay more and more.

Damn it. Now that makes me hate working.

Increasing the fares ultimately only result in one conclusion. It make us citizens grumble more and more. Cause apparently, the issues were never solved or improved.

Apparently, the problem is not with the fares. The whole freaking problem is clearly that we are OVERPOPULATED!!! We do not have enough roads, vehicles, public tranports for everybody. I know this is inevitable cause i don't expect you to start shooting us like the poor pigeons.

Yeah, i know the circus line is coming. But im not smelling it. And how effectively it is, we do not know.

Holy crap, you do not solve congested problems by increasing the fares. People still need to work, and people still need to come home.

I think this is the disadvantage of staying in a small developed city. I know New York's the same, and i also know KL's the same. I also know the scary prices of fares that Hong Kong, Japan, etc, have. But its different, you have to judge the standard of living in a country, not comparing durians to rambutans.

Sigh... I need to go take the mrt now. Non peak period.

Shorthands No More...

Had been jugglin btween going to e hospital n... Nonono, wait wait...

I SHALL PROMISE NOT TO WROTE SHORTHAND HERE ANYMORE!!!

Cause it has bloody hell grew into my blood and became a freaking habit of mine. (note i actually had to edit tis sentence for about 10 times. ) *tsk* tis = this!

Poor english, bad/broken english is ok, cause i never believe in writing perfectly in blogs anyways... Ok, that's an excuse! My english isnt perfect, i know, but hack... And tis "..." dotdotdot habit at the end of my each line is affecting me as well.

I learnt quite abit this week. I hear how I talk, see how I write, observe how I work. Well, cause i have stopped working for some time, and thus i became more reserved and stupid and slow and quiet and moody and watever. I need to know if I've changed somehow.

And I am so mad at myself!


Few things i noticed:

1) Singlish
I'm speaking in singlish! I never do that. Where the hell i picked that from? MSN! All the silly singlish icons! I actually spoke singlish to professional interviewers. Damn. I must slap myself for that. I am trained to not speak in singlish last time, and now i don't understand why I do that.

2) English
I am not as confident and fluent in my thoughts as compared to last year (don't know is it the lack of work or i become more stupid or simply i old liao). All because i realised my mandarin had deteriorated till the stage i can't communicate properly with my mum. But now, my english is affected. I shall stop speaking mandarin for the time being. Also, it is due to the fact that i had been hanging out with mandarin speaking people this year, and i didn't wan to be the odd one out.

3) Shorthands
I bloodly hell typed my words in shorthands for my resume, cover letter, etc. Damn, it was so time wasting, i had to keep editing the documents. The dotdotdot habit kept popping as well... >>> THERE!!! I used to type in full for online chats, until people say that im crazy. Haha. Well, i shall switch back. I MUST!

I have many things to blog. But I am pretty occupied. I shall find time to blog all my thoughts as soon as possible before i lose my mood.

But for now, i'll go sleep. More tomorrow.

Sg 1st Bloggers Convention 16 July 05

• The morning session will be at the Woodlands Regional Library from 10am - 12pm
• The main session is at DXO, Esplanade - Sat, 16 July, 2pm
• The party is at DXO, from 6pm onwards (if you came for the main session, you’ll get free entry and 2 complimentary drinks)

For detailed information, look here. In case you have a question, here is an FAQ for Bloggers.SG 2005. Remember to come early if you want to get a Bloggers.SG t-shirt (only 150 are up for sale).

For all bloggers and blog readers... All e famous bloggers will be there... All e best to e event...

PS: I actually placed e banner at e top, but its too long for my template... Heh... Nvm, e contents wat it matters...

Unlucky Yesterday

I had a very unusual "Unlucky Yesterday", er, yesterday...

Everything wasnt going well e moment i woke up at 7 am and left e house...

I dun wish to go into e details except tt i haf 2 sprained ankles now... But its not serious, jus felt abit strained and cannot straighten...

It was so unusual till its creepy... Its as though someone is watching and hearing wat i silently say to myself to make those things happen...

Even simple things like sending a email to me can be screwed up...

I haf some stuffs to resolve today... If everything goes on well, then things may get alittle better...

Oh well... It will, hopefully...

Oh btw, i've watched e Fantastic 4 e other day... E movie's not bad, a very funny movie... Quite entertaining except for some dun make sense plots... Overall, if u r in for laughs, e movie can be watched...

NKF Is OUT!

SINGAPORE : The National Kidney Foundation's (NKF) defamation suits against the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) came to abrupt end on Tuesday at the High Court.

This, after its CEO TT Durai admitted during intense cross examination that some of the fittings in its headquarters, which were highlighted in a Straits Times article, were indeed extravagant for a public charity.

The article spoke of a glass panelled shower, a pricey German toilet bowl and a gold plated tap.

Mr Durai finally withdrew both his and the NKF's case against the SPH and its journalist Susan Long.

NKF's CEO was in the witness box for the second day and he was to be the only one.

Senior Counsel Davinder Singh's cross examination focused on several areas.

First, the business relationships Mr Durai had with NKF board member Ms Matilda Chua.

These were through two companies - Proton Web Solutions, a call centre operations based in India, which NKF had contracted its tele-marketing work to - and Global Net, in which Mr Durai himself had a stake.

Mr Durai also said he had held several directorships in addition to his work as CEO of the NKF.

Asked if he had informed the NKF Board of these appointments, he replied that it was not consequential and the Board gave him the liberty to do so. T

he court also heard the NKF had a fleet of eight cars and drivers, which Mr Durai and its visiting guests and VIPs could use.

NKF also paid for the road tax, repair and maintenance for Mr Durai's personal Mercedes Benz.

On NKF's reserves, the court was told it stood at $262 million as of July 2005.

Mr Singh argued that if the NKF stopped all fundraising activities and concentrated on treating kidney patients, it would still have enough money to see through its operations for 30 years, based on its expenses scheduled for 2003.

For that year, the NKF received $24.4 million for patient fees for dialysis but spent some $31 million for these operations.

So even if it was out of pocket of $7 million to $8 million per year, NKF's current reserves were sufficient for at least 30 years.

But Mr Singh says the organisation has been telling Singaporeans its reserves won't last more than three years, according to statements made by its officials.

Another issue that arose during the cross examination was that of patient numbers.

Mr Singh argued that NKF had overstated its patient numbers and this would have given the impression to the public that more funds were needed to run its operations. T

he final straw came when Mr Singh began to zoom in on the issues of contention - the expensive fittings which the Straits Times article had highlighted.

Mr Durai agreed they were expensive and extravagant for a public charity and withdrew his and the NKF's cases.

The trial which was to have lasted for ten days ended in two days.

Speaking to the media afterwards, Mr Durai told reporters that litigation is always fought with difficulty.

On public reaction to the revelations in court, he said the NKF is quite aware of what may happen but its track record spoke for itself.

He said the NKF has struggled to be perfect and he himself has tried his best for 37 years. He maintained that the NKF did not hide the truth in any way.

And there's no running away from the fact that NKF has discharged its obligation to the people of Singapore with a world class kidney programme.

In a separate statement, the NKF Board says it has discontinued its proceedings against Singapore Press Holdings and its senior writer Ms Susan Long.

And the decision to withdraw was a considered decision made in the best interests of the NKF, its supporters, donors and patients.

The Board also reiterated its whole-hearted support for Mr Durai as its CEO and looked forward to carrying on all its life-saving activities with full vigour and strength, and to continue to serve the public to the best of its ability.

Mrs Goh Chok Tong, an NKF patron who was present in the public gallery, told TODAY: "All NKF asked for was a retraction, because what was stated was not true. Instead they have expanded the case into other matters. I have no question on the NKF's transparency, and have complete faith in the NKF and Mr Durai."


Everything ended so fast... And its e second day only...

However, now u noe SPH is a scary monster... Dun play play wif them... Straits Times has been very aggressive these few days...

NKF VS SPH

Quote:

And first to take the stand was the NKF's CEO, TT Durai who made some startling revelations during cross examination by SPH's Senior Counsel Davinder Singh.

The article in question was written by SPH's journalist Susan Long, whom NKF is also suing.

It had an account of a contractor who had been hired to install some bathroom fittings for its new headquarters in 1995.

NKF says the article had many falsehoods and half truths. But Monday's hearing was more than just about toilet fittings.

It was a public scrutiny of how the NKF is administered and run, the travel patterns of its senior executives and the chief executive officer, and what salaries were paid to the CEO in the last three years.

The court heard that CEO Durai got a twelve month bonus last year. And between 2002 and 2004, he would have earned close to S$1.8 million.

From the outset, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh who is acting for SPH, emphasized the importance of transparency and public accountability on NKF's part as every cent which NKF spent came from public donations.

Several senior officials from NKF were in court to follow the proceedings, including its patron Mrs Goh Chok Tong.

Another one:

NKF sues SPH over 'gold-plated tap'

Claims it didn't even have 12-storey building then; SPH lawyer asks NKF chief about his salary

LAST April, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) made headlines in The Straits Times' (ST) on several occasions: First, for its corporate tie-up with insurance company Aviva, then for its $189-million reserves and again on April 19 — a day after an NKF fund-raising charity show — in a report that mentioned a "gold-plated tap" that cost "at least $1,000" at its Kim Keat Road headquarters.

The non-profit organisation is now making headlines again as it commences, along with its chief executive T T Durai, 57, a libel suit against the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Ms Susan Long, 32, ST senior writer and author of the April 19 report, "The NKF: Controversially ahead of its time?".

In the first six paragraphs of the report, Ms Long set out that her source — "a retired contractor … known only as Mr Tan" — told her of a "gold-plated tap" costing "at least $1,000", as well as a glass-panelled shower and a "pricey German toilet bowl", that he had to install on the "12th floor of the $21-million building".

She recounted how the contractor had "scream(ed) his head off" on learning of the assignment at the NKF's "new headquarters at Kim Keat Road in 1995", but was told to "just do" his job.

According to the report, the taps he eventually installed were "scaled down" to an "upmarket chrome-plated model".

These allegations implied that the NKF had — under Mr Durai's management — misused public funds, said the NKF in the Supreme Court yesterday. It is arguing that the newspaper had an agenda against it.

Following the report, the NKF had sought an apology and retraction of this allegation from SPH. But as none was forthcoming, the case will be heard out in court over the next nine days.

The NKF statement cited that in 1995, it was not yet housed in its current 12-storey premises, but instead, in a two-storey block on site.

The statement also said that there was no "gold-plated tap" nor any tap which "alone cost at least $1,000" in that building.

During his full-day cross-examination session by SPH's Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, Mr Durai stated that in 1994, a shower mixer and basin mixer had been installed in his absence. He "gave instructions for that to be removed" upon his return from an overseas trip.

Mr Durai did not want the office interior to appear luxurious. But, according to the NKF, Ms Long's report had implied that the alleged "gold-plated taps" were "scaled down" only because of the contractor's protestations.

Mr Singh said this incident supported his argument that the report was factual and that the "expensive bathroom fittings" were, in fact, installed and then removed.

Mr Singh also said that SPH had a duty to comment on the NKF's financial affairs in the interest of the public and questioned Mr Durai on his salary package and whether he had flown first class on NKF funds collected from the public.

Mr Durai, who initially told the court he preferred to keep his salary private, said he earned an average of about $550,000 a year, including bonuses varying from 10 months to a year's salary. Over the last three years, he earned a total of around $1.8 million.

Two years ago, when Mr Durai earned nearly $600,000, the NKF had an annual turnover of $100 million.

Mr Durai explained that his pay package and bonus was a decision made by the foundation's board and that the board had also pegged the flight entitlement for senior staff at Singapore Airlines business class prices.

Mr Durai said that he had flown all classes before and only started travelling first-class in the past two years.

He said he would pay the difference for any first class upgrades and that sometimes, it was cheaper for him to fly first class than on business class.

In the public gallery was Mrs Goh Chok Tong, patron of the foundation, and SPH chief executive Alan Chan.


Disgustingly evil... No?

Sigh... Oh wait, like tt wait i kena sue for deflamation wor... Nono, understand tis NKF CEO, im e disgusting evil one, ok??? Dun put words into my mouth...

Humans... Whoever said life is fair anyway...

U judge tis urself... I dun wan to comment about it tis time...

PS: Will be bz tis few days... May not blog... Very tired...

Pasta Cafe

I luv Pasta Cafe, even though i haf only been there under 7 times... And im not even tokin about Ngee Ann City's branch... Im tokin about Northpt... Yishun... Particularly located at North Street (Na Fu Jie)...

E food's great... Ambience's great... And e prices r great as well, very affordable...

They improvise their menu every now n then... Even though i miss their baked rice (e best), but taken off e menu... But e food is even better now... If i haf a big pocket, i would luv to try out their everything...

Shuzhen n I went over tt day on sat for dinner... I haf one fav table there... I usually sit tt table if im eating wif her... Somehow i had already labelled it mine... Ha... We both ordered set dinner... Which comes with either soup, or drink or dessert... We both chose soup...




Yum... Its chicken n corn soup tt day... E soup is extremely meaty and e bread is fresh, crispy n nice... U can see bits of garlic pieces on it... Very very tasty...




Our main cozes... She had Grilled Dory Fish as usual... I had Mushroom Chicken Chop Wif Cheese... I didnt noe both come wif rice... Look at their arrangements... SO classy... I haf never seen SHuzhen's dory fish so nice be4... E meat, sauce, rice, veges... Simply finger licking gd...

MAMA MIA~~~

Im hungry...

E rice's short grain rice, very fillin... Its tomato rice... E tomatoes r quite sour, but goes well wif everything...

And e best part is, its only cost us $12.90!!!!

Where to find such gd food at such prices?

Even their refillable ice water comes in nice glasses n e waitresses will forever be refilling ur cup wif ice n water... But think coz they bored lah...

Swensens dun come close after being so commercialised n their quality dropped a bomb... Swensen used to haf really nice tenderloins, but they took it off e menu as well...

Great thing about Pasta Cafe is tt they never cut costs or shortcut on their food... Their food is very rich in taste and their cheese is e best... Im not so sure about e orchard branch though... But i especially appreciate tis one, coz u can see y fr e next 2 pics...



I dun like e cushion seats... E spotlights very bright over there... Open concept kitchen on e right...



See, i booked e whole place... Cost me a bomb on a sat night... Scary...

Haha, actually, its jus us there... Its usually quite empty... Coz its at e 2nd level, and most ppl doesnt noe it exists...

Tts y, knowing tt they r doin broke business, and yet they maintained their quality... I had been fearing tt they will close down, but i had been worried for more than a yr plus... Seems they r doin fine wif Orchard's profit... Orchard's one forever crowded, i dun like... No privacy...

I wan to go eat again, tis time, i'll try their lasagne... Yummy yum...

Brands Hamper

Tis is e Brands hamper my Dad received and gave me... Pretty ugly eh? Its bought at e hospital... But still appreciative to e sender... Though i duno who he is...

Will tis solve my tireness prob n sleepin prob?

Tis Is So Amazing...

I found my keys fortunately... Will be goin down tmr... Shun bian spot check e tenants... I hope they r not up to anything... Sigh...

Anyways, while i was browsing e pics of my frens on friendster few days ago... My dear Serene actually posted up 2 pics of her make up table...

Tis is simply amazing n amusing at e same time... Click on e pic for a larger view...



Wah... Look at her ultimate warfare collection of cosmetics man... It can last her a whole lifetime... I am so shocked so i saved e pic... To me, tis kind of pic is classic man...

Look at e right, i bet she almost bought all e lipstick colors of e same series... And so many sets somemore... Lipgloss, blushers... And e middle, slotted in e box are eye shadows... Again, u can see she mus haf bought all colors...

Tis is so amazing...

How to finish all arh? Will expire one u noe...

But of coz u noe right? SInce u work at a cosmetic counter...

Serene is my secondary classmate of 2 yrs... We soon lost contact after graduation, but i bumped into her alot during NYP days... She was studying Marketing i think... Ever since upper sec, she started to go thru a massive change...

Fortunately for her, she has found a perfect bf who seems to be her soulmate fr her descriptions...

So nice eh? Well, all e best to her...

London Bomb Blasts

Jus when things haf not been going on well...

E bomb blasts happened...

I believe many were taken aback... Who would haf guessed...

Feel so sad for all those who died and who were injured... My condolences to them... We all never expected tis... Much less fr an influencial state... Sigh...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4661059.stm

Like wat one blogger said... Wat kind of evil drove these ppl to do these?



A phone call jus now, and my mum's god son's grandfather jus passed away...

It was so sudden...

He didnt haf any illness... He was at e NTUC today, and when he was at e cashier, he tripped and jus died... Jus like tt... No warnings, no nothing...

My mum has fallen ill and she has been very grouchy this few days due to my Dad's medical fees...

My sis has not been doing well in her sales tis few days, after going to e hospital to visit my Dad... Coz my Dad nagged at her... To sales ppl, naggin can coz ur wealth n luck to go away... Subsequently, she got scolded by customers n boss... And thus, she decided not to visit him...

Ppl say for those who r unlucky (like me), its best not to go hospital... It will get worst... All i noe is when im there, i got immediate headaches...

My Dad called me on Wed night n asked me y i never go down today... Sigh... He told me to buy orange juice and asked me to go down immediately... I told him i'll go down e next day... Kind SHuzhen accompanied me there again...

I bought 2 sunkist's orange juice bottles fr cold storage... THen i told him i bought liao... As expected, he already forgotten he asked me to buy e stuffs... Which of coz, e juices were jus excuses to ask me down...

Anways stayed there n stood for about 45mins... Washed alot of things... I took back a Brand's Chicken Essence hamper, which he doesnt drink...

Again, he told SHuzhen tt it is my honour to haf her as my fren and blah blah...

I thot he can walk already when he called me e night be4... But i realised he borrowed hospital's mobile phone...

He still cant walk, and his heart is having probs... Sigh...

We then headed over to City Hall, coz she had tuition at Bukit Batok at 6pm... We walked ard, and ate some takeaway sushi at Carrefour...

Then she left, while i continue to walk ard, until my mum called me to bug me to go home... THen i went home...

Sigh... I jus received a call fr my Dad... He asked me to go over to his place to settle his bills... Damn, i forgot where i put his keys... I took them out last yr, coz i haf a bunch of keys to 3 houses... After e repainting of e whole house, i duno where e keys r...

Sian... Hai~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Olympics & Disneyland

Yeap, 2012 will be at London...

Sad right? Seeing e nasty one gets e prize... Well, tis is life... Life is such... So many ppl were disappointed... Almost all i noe rooted for Paris...

Anyways, its funny tt Singapore even participated tis time... We all knoe its impossible... So wat if we rebuilt our National Stadium...

I saw e other countries' presentation clips... Gosh, their stadiums r tastifully gorgeous... And they r like building up their whole state to contribute to e olympics... Wif hotels, estates n such... It was extreme massive...

And i cant help but laugh when they aired our Sg clip... Wats wif ppl swimming in a mini pool? Wats wif showing e multi racial society? National Day Parade propaganda arh?

But then, while many ppl geered at our participation... Some media mentioned tt tis is e Singapore spirit... Knoe sure will lose but still wan to try... Tryin to ask ppl dun give up...

All these reminded me of e Hong Kong's opening of famous Disneyland on 12 Sept 2005... All e hotels n plane fares increased 50%... Can u believe tt? Admission fees alone is already 70 sing dollars... Due to tt... My family (excludin me) trip to Hong Kong has been changed to Bangkok... Haha...

Lucky for those who went there earlier... Well, lucky for e poor ones... E rich ones wouldnt bother, would they?

I recalled many yrs ago, they had actually decided to built it in Singapore instead of HK... They planned to built it on Sentosa... But then, we dun haf enough space n land... Sentosa was too small... So they moved on to Hong Kong... Sad arh? Maybe e integrated resorts may really boast our economy then? If not, its hard for our stagnant economy to move on... We need to break e current status...

Not many opportunities ard for a small island...

Argh! Wat E Hell's Wrong Wif Me?

I cut out 10 job ads fr last sat's recruit... Wanted to type n send my resume n all on mon but after all tts happened to my Dad, i didnt... And i didnt yesterday, too... Wanted to do it today and yet, i cant do it...

I haf them slotted under my keyboard, and i couldnt be bothered wif them... I need a job badly, i need money badly and yet im still not doin anything about it...

WAT THE HELL'S WRONG WIF ME???

Since when did i becum like this??? Wat happened to e old me???

Sigh...

Disillusioned is still e word... How e hell am i going to live thru tis shit... Arrggghhh....

I bothered to online to check mails... I bothered to online to surf... I bothered to online to blog... I bothered to take time to edit some silly photos... But when i opened my microsoft word... My mind jus started to rebel against me and i closed it...

Sigh... THink im a hopeless chap...

Maybe its true wat they say about me... I jus plain lazy, and useless...

Some Distractions...

I cant sleep, i need some distractions... I need to be away... Somehow...

Maybe i shd go do my late late entry of e genting trip... At least it might keep me occupied for hrs?

Sigh... I miss Genting...


U haf no idea how much i love tis photo...



Taken using my cam somemore... I love my camera, sometimes... It was a very fast shot jus before we left e garden... We haf no idea it actually turns out quite nice...





Coincidentally, i saw tis image while i was editing... I actually find it nice... It is fr e same pic as above... Dun even ask me y i haf double eyelid... I didnt photoshop tt...

Some Misc Updates...

I received e $100 for pet sitting of Bondie tt weekend le... Not tt it'll last long, but still glad...

I cut my hair tt day coz its simply too long, already reached my waist... I chopped off e ends myself about 1.5 to 2 inches... Wanted to shorten it even more, but managed to stop... Straight chop, i didnt trim e layers coz i wan e ends to be heavy...

I removed my firewalls... So tt i can be a robber... Yes, u'll get wat i mean...

Had been listening to so many songs lately... So happy... I found so many el songs... Mostly blues... Yea, soft rock fever may be over, now its time to emo... To suit my mood lah...

ANyways, tt day, i transfered a great deal of songs into my mp3player... All of them were el female songs... I had been used to listening to music till i sleep recently... So while i rest my tired body onto my lousy bed, and on my mp3 player...

Seconds later...


I LEAPED OUT OF MY BED!!!

Yes, i did...

Y?

Coz, there was one song, which was supposed to be female singer... Turned out to be a ghastly MAN'S voice on my player...

I checked e other songs by e same singer and yet they werent affected... Funny thing was i even listened to tt song on my com before i transfered and it was fine...

SO CREEPY...

Wat a way to shock e hell out of me in e middle of e night when i was jus about to sleep...

Sigh... Technology~~

Giddy At E Hospital...

It was so suffocating, and e air was so thin n dirty... I wanted to sneeze and my sis's face started to itch badly, and her eye sore worsened... Me n Shuzhen felt so giddy... Yup, tts how bad C class is...

Got abit lost there, then we found it... Though it was over e visitin hrs, but we went in anyway... Visitings hrs r 12-2pm, and 5-8pm... Me n Shuzhen reached there 2+ pm...

Woke my Dad and chatted wif him awhile, then some therapists came to run a check on him... Meanwhile, my sis came, coincidentally... She left early fr work... Haha...

Then we stood there for some time and then left... Then we separatedf our ways...

Results were not positive...

They ran a test on his blood and the results were abnormal... SOmething is wrong wif his heart... They r going to run more test on him and do a brain scan... Hes going to stay there for a wk or so...

Blood pressure is high and his diabetics is back...

Tis is bad...

Tis Is E Worst Night Ever...

I cant sleep, even though im yawnin n tearing n extremely tired...

Before i left, my Dad told me he felt miserable... I couldnt do anything... I really cant... He held my hand before i left...

I hate tt... Hear my reasons y... We never touch each other, E 1st time he held my hand was when he was on e hospital bed when i was in secondary... I called for e ambulance as well then, but i didnt follow... His artificial heart failed and had to go thru a major operation...

He had no money, so initially, e doctors were going to let him die... My family wished tt though so tt we can sell his house... Sigh...

But in e end, they decided to operate 1st, money tok later... For a while, im so proud of Singapore's generosity...

But chances fo success was like only less than 30% or something... Before e operation, he held my hand n told us his last words and all...

Even though he pulled thru then, I dun wish to go thru it again...

Jus now, he held my hand and asked me to take care of myself... So sad...

I hope his heart's not going to fail again...

E moment i reached home, i was reprimanded upside down... My mum was scoldin how stupid i was to follow n sign e papers... Now e fees will be my burden... Now i landed myself in shit... But i thot i shd do tt... If not who will do it???

Even so, i cant pay for e fees, even if they chase after me...

And then she said my Dad's really selfish, he shd jus said his last words... Sigh...

Then she n my sis scolded me for not taking his wallet... If not will get stolen... How was i supposed to noe... He wanted his wallet wif him n asked me a hundred times... They said i shdnt listen to a sick man... Wa liao... As though im not stressed enuff... Now i got to worry tt his stuffs will be stolen... Then when i walked away coz i wanted to cry then they said i throwin tantrums...

They made things sound so simple n easy m emotionless... I only got a few minutes to settle everything wif him coz they were chasin me out...

If im a patient... If i haf existing family, of coz i will leave e stuffs wif them... But if im alone, of coz i will keep e stuffs wif me wat...

They nearly drove me to tears... Nope, they already did...

I feel so emotionally drained...

Nobody will help things ard... But if my Dad ever passes away, they will be e 1st to snatch his assets... *sob sob*...

Everything happened so fast, he was ok e day before...And tt morning, things jus happened so suddenly...

They both said they feel tt his time is up... *in tears*

I Would Never Wan To Send Someone To E Hospital Again... I Hope...

I received a call of e noisest ringtone i haf... And of coz, i knew it was fr my Dad's house... But when i was picked it up, half asleep, it was a woman's voice... I opened my eyes and realised i wasnt dreaming...

I knew it... Shit... Something mus haf happened...

Understandin e china woman (my Dad's tenant) was not easy... Not becoz of her mandarin but coz of wat she said...

She told me to go over coz my Dad is sick... He cant walk...

Immediately, i woke up and left e house after awhile... Coz it takes a long time to reach there... But tis time, i let my mum noe tt i go visit him coz i left wifout eating anything...

When i was at his door at 1+pm, i saw him sitting on his chair, facing e door, apparently waiting for me... His eyes r closed... I seldom see tt... When i called him, he opened his eyes and i could barely recognise him...

His face totally changed... Not a gd sign... He looked really sick n weak...

He didnt haf any food... He took plain bread in e morning but vomitted everything... He tried to stand to go toilet... But he cant, even though he tried for an hr... I couldnt stand it, i fed him water, i prepared bread, which he didnt eat in e end... I persuaded him to go to e hospital...

I noe its a financial burden, i knoe its troublesome... But wat choice is there??? He cant walk, he cant stand, wat can i do?

So i dialed e ambulance... I packed a big bag of his medications, a big bag of toiletries and dressed him up...

E paramedics came... But i was so disappointed...

Maybe i watched too much tv... I thot paramedics were supposed to be professional, fast, mature and knoe wat to do... But apparently, i was slapped back by reality... They were but mere, singaporeans, wif e fucked up singaporean attitude...

2 Malay guys (one old, one young) and a chinese gal...

E chinese gal was more ok, she was trying to tok to my Dad in a relaxing n funny way... But e young malay guy gave a fuck up face... He looked as though it was a chore... Tt aside, i caught him roll his eye balls so many times at e comments my Dad made...

My Dad insisted tt he wans to go toilet 1st... But e paramedics stood there n didnt noe wat to do... E 2 malay guys chatted so much in Malay till i dun even noe wat were they doin...

I stood there n watched wat e hell e 3 of them r doin... Apparently, e simple thing is for 2 guys to carry my Dad to e toilet... SImple as tt!!! But they didnt... Either they didnt wan to, or simply they didnt haf e strength...

Instead, they pushed my Dad on their ramp to e kitchen... They stopped outside e toilet, and allowed him to stand up on his own, holdin on to e window pane, n pee to my Dad's mug... Wat the??? Meanwhile, 3 of them started to chit chat leisurely... My Dad couldnt pee in e end... I find e whole situation a waste of time...

I sat at e front seat in e ambulance... It was strange coz its my 1st time... I dun wanna a second anyway... On e way there, e ambulanced actually stalled in e middle of a road... Damn... Think e batts down or something, coz they couldnt get e air con to work, and it was hot (complained by e female paramedic, not me, i didnt even bother to feel e temperature)... But they got e vehicle started again, minimising e elect on certain operations...

When I turned ard to look at them... I saw e young malay chap sleepin... Gosh... I remember his name somemore... FA_ _ _ _ ... Sigh... Ppl...

E siren is noisy like hell, and in my opinion, disturbing to patients... If i was e one lying on e ramp, i would find e siren directing me to hell... Even though its noon, e traffics cramped up... SOme selfish ones dun bother to give way, while many others did...

Finally we reached e hospital's emergency department...

I had to Q a long Q jus to get screened... They took my temperature twice, strangely... Think it was high on e 1st... But i couldnt understand them, coz they were tokin to each other in Malay... Suddenly, i find SHuzhen's learning of Malay so useful... Not to understand wat e hell they r tokin... But to scold them... Damn...

Coz it was so packed, and many others, like me, were blur at e unfriendly procedures... One approached e security malay chap to enter e waiting rm, e security took e ear thermometer fr e counter wifout askin, and jus insertin into e guy's ear!!! Wifout any covers!!!

I hate hospitals... E procedures unfriendly n slow... E signs r forever confusing... E staffs r forever unfriendly, rude and grouchy...

I waited for ages... Meanwhile, alot of aunties kept chatting wif me... IM NOT IN E MOOD TO CHAT!!! I dun understand y aunties like to tok to me... And then they called for me, i entered e rm tt they instructed, saw my Dad on a temporary bed, heard they call for me again, went to e counter to check, and e staff bloody hell asked me which patient, how long ago patient came, when they jus called me over... Worst, she said nobody called, asked me to check e other rm's nurses, whereby no nurses were there...

I saw one nurse scolded my Dad when he tried to ask her something... She even gave him a irritated look and didnt even bother to hear finish wat my Dad's trying to say and simply left wif sacarstic remarks... WT???

Tts y i hate hospitals... Theres too many indonesian/phillipino nurses and they r forever grouchy n impatient... I sob at e government hospitals... Of coz, if u r rich and in e 1st class... I can assure u e nurses r way different... They even hand feed u milo!!!

Doc said she will put my Dad under stroke querry and never say anythin more... Coz i think e docs will only check after patients r warded... She told me to do his admission registrations...

I went over and waited for long again...

E hospital full so he will haf to wait till tmr morning to see if there r any beds... Meanwhile hes being packed in a rm full of patients on moving temp beds... No visitors allowed, so I left him wif his belongings and his clutch... Im so afraid he'll lose them...

Im worried, hungry, stressed... I will haf to wait till tmr to see if hes warded before i can see him... Hope everything's fine...

Master Celes Chef: Pork Cutlets

Heh, time for me to do cookin again...

I briefing mentioned to my mum tt i wanted to cook Cheesy Pork Cutlet Roll... And she got all e ingredients and told me to cook today after i woke up... Though unprepared, but its ok, im always unprepared anyways... Since e receipe is off my head...

But she told me she wan to eat pork cutlet... So i prepared 2 plates...


Wah, e lovely ingredients... Fr left, a pail of pork meat... Which i specially sliced n pounded n marinated to perfection... I spreaded on e pink pail to drain e liquid... Then bread crumbs, batter, egg, cheese, ham, toothpink, seaweed...

YUMMY, i couldnt wait...

My mum saw me while i was marinating, and she asked me where i got e receipe... I said its fr my own head, and she had a shock... She asked me if fail how? But i assured her it wun fail... Its a simple dish... Haha, over confident right? So corky!!!

Again, tis is my 1st time... SO i didnt noe how it would turn out to be... I thot e cutlets would be for snacks, then i realised its actually for e family's dinner of 4... Stress!!!

Im trying 2 types, one wif batter (flour n egg), and the other wif wif egg only... Conclusion was, e one wif batter is better... Much more tender...

Ok tis is e outcome... But dun laugh... E pic didnt do justice to my cutlets...


Look how perfect e cutlets are... U can ignore e Cheesy Cutlet Roll though...

I screwed up e appearance of e rolls, coz i was over confident and realised it wasnt as easy as wat i imagined... And i took a long time frying... Coz i got to control e fire properly to ensure a even deep brown fry...

I used total Cholesterol Free vege oil. So its much healthier... And i drained e oil off properly as well... So e final wasnt oily at all... Im so damn proud of myself... I even showed my sis e 1st piece, and said, "See my cutlet, fry until so perfect... Nice hor?"...

While i was frying, my picky sis came in and ate a piece of e cutlet... She then exclaimed, "Veryyyyyyyy niceeeeeeeeeee!!!"...

I acted cooly and said, "Is it?"...

She shouted, "Yah... Veeryyyyyyyy nice.....!!!"...

I mumbled loudly, hehe, "Im so proud of myself!"...

She asked, "Wan to open shop?"...

I said i wan of coz... I love to cook...

But e rolls really took me down.. Coz it was late and my ktichen's lights, one spoilt, one wasnt bright enuff... My eyesight was failing me... So stressed... And i had to rush coz its near dinner time soon... I was so busy e day... Bath and groomed Pappy, change e sheets, take him for a walk and had to prepare these...

My rolls became ugly... But i didnt care, i knew e taste's going to turn out great... Being corky again...

Meanwhile, my mum came back, my excited sis took a piece for her to try and asked if its nice... Guess wat my mum said...

Mum: Of coz nice lah, Mun Mun (me) cook one mah, sure nice, if u (my sis) cook then i dun dare to eat...

Haha, i wanted to laugh, but i was too stressed to laugh coz i was very focused on e fire... Lately, i haf been a better cook than my mum... Her skills haf gotten worst due to age and poor memory... She used to cook very well... I cook wif my heart, i always tell her tt... Tts y its different...

ANyways, heres a better closer shot...


E yellowish thingy fr e roll is actually cheese, of coz, its not supposed to leak, but i told u, its ugly...

Tis is dinner for sunday... Usually we eat better for SUnday coz my sis eats wif us, and she is real picky...


Ive been eating brown rice for some time... Its mixed wif normal rice... I dun like it, but my mum haf to take it... So i dun mind...

Its pretty much a waste of oil... I tried to save on e oil n thus affected my fryin of e rolls... There wasnt enuff oil then, and theres too much particles in e oil... I fried e cutlets 1st, so they turned out beautifully...

My mum ask me to cook these again... Coz she like it... I knoe she like tts y i cook pork... She loves pork cutlet... If not i will use chicken... For e second time, im sure it will turn out better...

Taste:
Its simply great, not becoz i cook it... I was expectin it to be nice but not tis nice... E meat is very tender, and it tastes better than e cutlets fr outside stalls... Which some r hard n tough, but mine totally melts... Heh... My marination works and taste superb...

E rolls... Aiyo, im droolin at e thot of it... E rolls r EXCELLENT!!! I simply simply love e taste... So nice... If i make it look better e next time, it will taste perfect...

So happy, 2 more successful new dishes...

PS: If u think its fuckin easy, then go try it out... I was too corky n naive... I then realised deep fryin is not as simple as i thot... Wif limited oil and stuffs, its was pretty tough... Maybe if u get those specially for deep frying pot or if u can afford e whole pot of oil, then i believe it makes things easier... Dun u think???

My Beloved Toys

I am absolutely going to love tis entry...

I bought some figurines of my fav animes some time ago... Bought it e day i bought Inuyasha box 11 and 12, (also e day i met Aeron 2nd time for KTV along wif SHuzhen n Zhimin)... Whereby e cashier cheated me of 2 posters, which they were supposed to give me as free gifts for buying e inuyasha anime... I found out e following day...

Anyways, i went to browse ard e shop beside e VCD shop... And i saw n bought these...




A complete collection of Howls Moving Castle... I was so shocked to see them... And its cheap also, and e mini figurines r relatively big for its price... Or at least they r bigger than wat i expected... Only $1.90 each... Where to find such gd deals...

I took a long time choosing... Fortunately for me, coz e gds jus came but its limted... Theres 2 set for each character... And i duno y, e quality was one set gd, one set flawed... Haha, so i had e opportunity to choose e better ones to my content...


I wasnt thinkin of buying all at 1st... I saw Howls stuff and i was surprised... I saw e dog... So cute, i like... And i took tis, and then realised theres more...


I then saw tis, Micheal, Howl's apprentice... I love tis image of his... It was so interesting for him how he use his hood to transform e beard and all... Heh... But e original novel, he was supposed to be a teenager instead of a small boy... I read it fr Miyazaki's site... I also crazily went thru their yrs of production diary, i felt like ive been thru it wif them... Haha...

Actually tis is another version of him, e normal boy in a running pose... I dun like so i didnt get it...


How can i resist owning Howl's castle? Ive always wanted to buy e castle and when i found tis, i quickly pocketed it...


Ah, e sweet scarecrow, Kabu (Raddish head)...


Sophie, female lead, carrying Howl's heart... Though i dun really like tis personally... But since i was getting so many i might as well complete e collection...

Howl's figurine told me a long time to decide... Coz i really love him and wish to complete e collection, but on e other hand, his figurine is damn ugly, hes in his birdy state, so ugly...

But then i thot, hack lah, $1.90 only...

SO here goes, Howl...


I got a nice view of tis anyway, and i like e pic...

Love them to bits...

Next i saw something else jus when i was about to go to e cashier clumsily carrying all e loose packages...

INUYASHA KEYCHAIN SET!!!!

Immediately, i wanted to get it for SHuzhen, for thankin her to give me e Inuyasha HP accessory when she herself wanted it so badly...

Coz tis is new, i was again fortunate... I haf never been so lucky be4... Behind e set, i saw another set... YEAH!!! So i got 2, one for me, one for her... If not i will cry after giving them to her... Heh...

Tis set is of coz more ex... But its less than 10 bucks... SO still ok for me then... I dun care, i like can liao...

And e characters r in e cute cute states, which SHuzhen will like...


Somehow tis pic looks better wif flash... Weird, i dun like to use flash... But it did turn out better and clearer for tis one...

Fr top left: Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Kikyo, Sesshomaru and bottom 2 e most memorable villians, Bankotsu (Leader of Shichinintai) and Jakotsu (a gay himbo)...

Main characters missing: Sango n Miroku... But its ok, i prefer e 2 villians instead anyways...

Shuzhen has e character Kikyo (e character we both dun like) attached to her key chains now, coz its red and matches her keys... Inuyasha also red mah... Haha, but his hair is light green instead of white... But guess wat, i like!!! As though its made for me...


Close up of Inuyasha and Kagome, e sad couple... So cute... I haf never taken them off e plastic and for photo takin sake... I shall do it...


My fav character, Sesshomaru!!! Shuzhen used to like Inuyasha initially, now she starts to fancy Sesshomaru too....

I put all of them in tis... I didnt noe where else to put them...


My fav box, a Valentine Day's gift during Secondary... It came together wif chocolates and many other small stuffs... I love tis box e moment i saw it... It was love at 1st sight... And its blue-green, my fav...

Inside e box, i haf a bigger collection...


PLasters!!!! I used to collect plasters like mad, especially during poly days... I will spend about $50 each time, coz i will buy one of each kind, but im quite selective as well, i dun buy all, especially those ugly ones... And e stupid thing is coz there r so many, i tend to buy repeated ones, forgetting tt i even bought them... Haha...

I wanted to pour out everything to shoot... But then, my plasters were reaaranged by someone... So i thot i shdnt mess them up, coz i simply jus dumped them in last time... Heh... I only messed up e top stuffs to show...

I like them, especially those in small cases... Heh...

I love e photos!!! Enjoy!!!

Initial Feedback

Hmm, my sis watched Initial D le... And she said she find e anime much better... Hahahah, finally somebody who saw e anime and e movie feedback to me... All those ive known who gave me their reviews, had never seen e whole anime series... Thus they love e show... Of coz, i was e one who introduced e anime to my sis then...

Like me, she find e movie lackin alot on certain elements tt she cant pinpt... E movie was too condensed and e original focus was lost... She hate e way they protrayed Takumin's Dad which is totally off... She also hate e silly love story tt they included... Coz it wasnt so impt in e anime... Also, she doesnt like e Takumi role whereby they made him so weak and easily influenced...

In e orginal anime, e legend is about Takumi's remarkable skills... How he could keep his car jus 1cm to e fence during his turns, how he managed to keep his cup of water's surface to rotate 360, etc... All never say in e show... E show is more focused on his car... His engines, etc...

She also mentioned she believe those who had never seen e anime, will love e show... Her comments were exactly how i felt... Heh... Of coz, there were gd pts, like e nice cars...

Anyhows, its still a better movie compared to War Of The Worlds...

I had rewatched e anime... Fr stag 1-3, i haf 4 epi of Stage 4, am comtemplating whether or not to buy e stage 4 series... $19. Anime series used to be so cheap, now its all so killer hoo ha... Scary...

Superstar is getting so boring... I was shocked by e 1st grp of 6 guys, but subsequently disappointed wif e rest in e end... Not gd... E girls r lousy... E boys cannot make it... Only e 1st 6 guys, of which, one gd one is already out... SO unfair... Singapore Idol was so much watchable... There were more talents...

Of coz, e reason behind tis is tt in Superstar, they r looking more for gd looks and average singing... Singing can be trained, but looks cannot... And thus e disappointin performances... So boring...

I love Shaman King man... Jus simply luv e show... Its so bloody hell interesting... E show features a few japs, a few chinese fr china, a black fr new york, a westerner fr duno where, a grp of tribal race... All these put together, it becums one so interesting show... And e grp of them went to so many countries... So impressive...

Even though its a multi-race anime, they all speak in Japanese of coz... Haha... Guess wat e Black's name called... CHOCO LOVE!!! So cute... I like... He has afro hair too... Heh...

Shuzhen told me, tt in order for her to finish whole series of Shamn King downloads, it will take about 2 mths... 2 MTHS!!! I was so shocked... And i would need to hand her 64 discs... Tis is crazy...

Oh well, we'll see how it goes...