There goes a hundred bucks...

Finally found these 2 models after a long long search... Haha...

The Journey to work

Every darn morning, I have to endure a terrible bus ride to get to work. For a ride which costs me only 64 cents, the journey takes almost half an hour.. At Buona Vista MRT Station, the damned bus stops for 10-15 minutes, coz these inconsiderate students simply cannot bother to MOVE TO THE BACK. Satisfied with their achievement in boarding the bus ahead of everyone else, they simply park their asses comfortably at the back of the bus while their peers pack like mashed potatoes in an Old Chang Kee curry puff in the front, the frustrated bus driver is yelling at the front, trying to accomodate the rest of the horde who are unable to get on.

I think SBS should consider teaching these buggers some simple bus etiquette. Just like arrows on lanes instructing us which way to walk, we can paint boxes on the floor of the bus to indicate to these people where they should stand. Every morning, I see students squeezing with each other at the front of the bus while their counterparts chat away at the back, with ample elbow space to scratch their backsides..

Even the pretty girls onboard can't make up for this frustrating moments...

Fictional Characters

In this world, there are some cool blokes who will hardly raise an eyebrow even if the merlion starts to drink water instead of sprouting it.. Likewise, there are some fellas out there leading a life so miserable that they fabricate a story and live their lives as a lead character where the world revolves around them..

The lead character is sometimes the SNAG, the superstar, the friend to the rescue or the hero, depending on which channel he/she switches on that particular day. He/she can be identified by an obsessive need to characterize people, evaluate situations and stereotype all kinds of stuff, coz you've got to have roles and themes in fantasy land.

As suggested by the role, the lead character has an overwhelming need to be at the centre of the things. His role is often flamboyant and loud, so as to compensate for all that is not. The lead character usually plays a self-sacrificing and suffering role, noble at heart as well as righteous. This is explained by the fact that beneath the character, the poor dude is really suffering, but the imaginary character along with the storyline makes the suffering seem a lot better..

We are surrounded by fictionous characters in our everyday lives, and we often, too take on a role of our own when the occasion arises. The question is, can you identify a fictionous character in action when you see one? That's very easy, my friend. Just turn on the blo*dy television...

Do you think you deserve better?

Many of us (myself included) spend a significant proportion of our lifes complaining about our problems, the countless dreams that elude us and what we really deserve..

Amongst our constant whining:

- "I don't understand what that bl**dy foreigner is doing here and robbing our jobs, he can't do nuts.."

- "I'm working long hours and earning peanuts.."

- "can you believe that hawker is driving a BMW?"

- "Even the Bangla can return to Bangla Land and live like a king happily after.."

- "what is the gahmen doing?"

- "OMG, he is earning peanuts!"

Well, children of Singapore, this is basically how the world works, so get on with it.. So that bl**dy foreigner is not exactly competent and you can do a much better job than him; you may not be the most ideal (or even close) person for your job either yet you're still getting paid...

If you're working long hours and earning peanuts, then for god's* sake treasure your hard-earned salary! If you're that talented and so hard-working, you should have gotten your break by now.. Farmers of the world work pretty damn hard either, some of them actually grow nuts... Merchants on the other hand, use their brains..

* not to be taken literally

(Some) hawkers drive BMWs, high level executives and managers drive BMWs, high-ranking army and police officers drive BMWs, genius criminals drive (sometimes stolen) BMWs.. Successful people get the perks, get it? If you can't even cook a decent plate of char kuay teow, why should you get the flashy car?

That Bangla dude you often see wearing the table cloth as a shirt and holding hands with his happy Bangla pal, is an expatriate among his countrymen standards.. Do you dare to go to a place where every guy is holding hands, has a Bangla smell and spend hours under the sun building useless sheltered walkways, pavilions, etc for them? Or go to a place where white skin is the dominant color and work as a waiter/road-sweeper while getting sh*t treatment from the locals..

The gahmen is doing what it believes in and the best it can.. If you feel you can do better, go run for a place in the cabinet or something.. Not enough credentials? You can always volunteer your services at the RC and help out.. Can't be bothered? Then don't bother us and shut up..

Sometimes it is easy to point the finger at someone but be honest.. How many of us would turn down such a huge packet of peanuts? Would you give up your nuts for a noble cause?

Btw, I'm just crapping... Don't get offended.. TaTa!

Small Talk

I have been introducing myself over and over again to my new colleagues for the past few days over lunch. Here is the standard set of questions to ask someone you're meeting for the first time:

"So did you study here previously? Which faculty were you from?"

"So where did you work previously? Why did you leave?"

"So which part of Singapore do you stay?"

"What do you normally do in your free time?"

Which is why I think I have had an interesting conversation during lunch break today:

Her: Are you the eldest sibling?
Me: Err. Yah.. Why? *puzzled*
Her: Okay... Coz differently ranked siblings behave differently mah. You have a younger sister.
Me: Yup *is she psychic?*
Her: Hmm... Studying?
Me: Yup
Her: NUS?
Me: Nope, NTU
Her: Studying Mass Communication. (note it is a statement)
Me: ... Business
Her: Whats your chinese name?
Me: Em.. Guowei..
Her: Are you hokkien?
Me: Yup *lost*
Her: Are you a Christian?
Me: nope *feeling amused by already*
Me: You're an interesting character.. Most people make small chat by talking about the weather, haha
Her: the weather? It's Singapore... Always the same mah..

Now, thats what I call conversation! Now you're talking..

Happy National Day

We celebrate National Day every year; it is truly a joyous occasion where everyone is happy, Singaporean or not, simply because it is a holiday and we get to rest even if we're not actually at the parade or watching the live/many repeat telecasts at home/tvmobile...

I have never been to the National Day Parade(NDP) and I think the last time I caught it on tv was during my lower secondary school days.. Searching thru my memories, I vaguely recall my primary school life where they used to play a series of national day-related songs (there are five stars arising, out of a stormy sea..) during assembly and how it gave me goosebumps when we were all singing aloud together happily.

In retrospect, I realised that the period where I stopped enjoying singing National Day songs and the actual event itself actually coincides with the breaking of my voice. If you apply induction here and stretch things a little, you might even conclude that it has something to do with maturity, haha..

Happy National Day, my friends!

Disappointing Show...

Caught the movie, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' last night and have to say that it was a complete waste of time.. Although it has been long since I last read Roald Dahl's books, (and rightfully so) I remember that I had always been filled with a sense of wonder and adventure by his amazing stories and captivating style of writing.

I had no such experience at all.. There was no magic nor adventure, only a lousy script accompanied by a very average soundtrack(Danny Elfman losing his touch?) and irritating songs.. It's worrying how a poorly directed movie can tarnish the good reputation of a classic, especially for young children who have yet to read books like the Great Glass Elevator, the Big Friendly Giant, the Twits, Matilda and many more. I just hope they won't do the same to Chronicles of Narnia!

Rating: 3.5 out of 10 chocolate bars (You have been warned)

First Day at Work

Drastic change in lifestyle... Got up at 7 in the morning and barely got to the office on time.. All the bloody students boarding and alighting... And school hasn't even officially started yet! Surprisingly, 830am sharp and everyone is already in the office! OMG...

Morning passes so slowly without the routine trip to 'dabao' kopi and breakfast.. Already started doing work on the very first day! Had economical rice for lunch, which cost me $1.50! Had to wipe a foolish grin off my face as I paid the uncle... $1.50 is about the cost of one can of Coke in the food court where I used to work! Ain't that cool?

Really going thru' a culture shock... Its so quiet in the office, all you can hear are people typing furiously away.. Sort of miss walking around to talk cock with this and that colleague.. Oh well...

I suck at mathematics

I'm currently reading this interesting book, the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.
[Credits: Alfred Lim who made the recommendation, Joyce Leow who bought me the book]

The book is about this fifteen year old kid, remarkably gifted at mathematics but has got severe issues with people.. In summary, a dog got murdered and this kid wants to know why.. (I haven't quite worked out the night-time part yet, though I'm nearing the end of the book already...)

Anyway, I'm sure you guys are more interested in finding out why I suck at maths, ain't I right? To quote a certain tutor in my uni days, with friends like you, who need enemies? Well, just to satisfy your need to feel superior, I suck at many things, among which is my poor judgement in making friends.. =P

Anyway, the book mentions what the author refers to as The Monty Hall Problem, which I have actually came across as a tutorial question years back. My sadist version goes like this:

You are in a scenario where there are 3 closed doors in front of you; only one of the doors lead to treasure(a ton of cigarettes, hot chicks, whatever...) but the other two will release an enormous rock which will smash you to bits, haha.. Suddenly, this joker appears and asks you to choose a door. Reluctantly, you choose one but instead of opening it, the fella opens one of the other doors which instantly drops a boulder, killing him immediately.. Wiping his blood and guts off your face, you now must decide whether to remain with your first choice or switch to the other remaining closed door. What should you do?

According to the theory, you should always change doors as in doing so, your probability of getting the treasure will be 2/3. Of course, you can also think that now that there are but 2 doors left, your chances must be 50-50!

So, what do you think?

Using maths, you can indeed prove that by switching doors, your chances are getting the treasure is 2/3 and not 1/2.. While I managed to work out the maths part, I never really understood why until reading the book illustration.. To put it across to you simply, the idea is that there are 2 wrong doors out of 3, so the chances of you choosing the wrong option is 2/3. Thus if you have chosen a wrong door initially, switching later will get you the treasure. Hence by switching, your chances of getting the treasure is actually 2/3. In contrast, if you choose to stay with your initial door, in order for you to avoid getting killed, you must have chosen the correct door in the first place, which brings you probability to 1/3..

But as my friend JA will say, it's all bullsh*t, it all depends on luck!

Private Education

After working in the private education industry for the past 1.5 years, I guess it might be a good idea for me to share my thoughts and feelings about this area..

I guess the most important misconception to clear is that private education is not a poor substitute for those who are poor in their studies or not good enough to make it into the local establishments. The real difference here, apart from financial considerations, is the experience offered to the student. (The context of student here may refer to a young school-leaver or a part-timer who is holding a full-time job and possibly years of industrial experience)

In the case of most private schools, the organizations are profit-driven even if the nature of their primary product somehow has an intrinsic moral value. There are so many constraints that go against the benefit of the students who opt for a private education.. Unlike government schools who receive public funding, private establishments are very much affected by stuff like expenses, profit margins, etc. Tutors/lecturers who work in the private sector earn very humble salaries when compared to their counterparts in the government sector. As we all know, when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Those who are holding regulars jobs and teach part-time have many commitments which affect their ability to teach well. As such, it is detrimental to young students who require good teachers who serve to provide them guidance and even inspiration. As for part-time students, the last thing you need after dragging yourself to class after work, is to have a dubious tutor from some other part of the world who can't even articulate properly..

However, I must once again stress that going for private education does not necessarily make you short-changed or gives you a competitive edge. Similarly, graduating from a well-ranked school does not guarantee anything either.. I know of very capable people who are holding qualifications from so-called lesser schools, rich and spoilt brats in both private and government schools who don't even care for studying at all, brilliant individuals who are graduates from local universities and a few towkays who don't even hold a diploma..

To the people who like to ask whether this or that programme is recognised, I can give you a definite answer; everything is relative.. Talented people sometimes need a paper qualification to open a door for them, young people with potential require a solid foundation to help them develop. You have to decide what works for you.