The Big Divide

Having spent the Last four days of this trip in Cambodia, whiLst my mind is stiLL fresh with what I have seen and that the emotions are stiLL pretty much stiLL Lingering, I suppose I wiLL just jot down some of the amazing stuff I have seen, if I can.

They caLL Cambodia the Land of Wonders, and it sure Lives to its name. From the minute I Landed in Siem Reap untiL the moment I crossed the border from Phnom Penh into Vietnam, nothing has faiLed to impress me.

The ancient tempLes at Angkor Wat, with its rich history preserved, brings one back in time, yet coming back to reaLity, you see that tourism has, in fact, been the main cuLprit in the acceLeration of ruining the remains of these wonderfuL man-made structures.

Tourism has no doubt been the primary source of income for many of the businesses in Cambodia, however, through it, many Cambodian peopLe have been infLuenced by the money-factor so much so that even the purest of a young chiLd's mind has been poLLuted to the fact that money is the reason they Live for.

There are chiLdren every you go in the tempLe ruins wanting to seLL souvenirs and books at obscene prices, and they sure have a way in how they speak. Two-year oLd, five and oLder ones .. its amazing how many Languages they have Learnt to communicate with the many nationaLities that visits their homeLand. We sure have met quite a number of chiLdren with very good command of EngLish, and other Languages incLuding Mandarin, Japanese and even Spanish.

On our finaL day in Siem Reap, waking up at the wee hours of four o'cLock to cycLe aLL the way from our hoteL to the tempLe ruins to catch the beautifuL sunrise, is to be the best decision we have made as we cycLed in totaL darkness aLong the roads, onLy to be Led occasionaLLy by passing vehicLes. ALong the way, staring at the vast sky fuLL of shining stars made the experience unforgetabLe.

At 5-ish, we got to our destination, I forgot the name of the ancient King's private swimming pooL which is an enormous reservoir and there we caught our sunrise in the greatest possibLe way we couLd. And there, we had fun with the chiLdren seLLing hot coffee and souvenirs. No, we did not buy any, but the few of them sure had given us Lots of fun there. And the chiLdren themseLves are as happy as they can be despite the poor saLes.

This is one sunrise I wiLL never forget.

TaLking about Cambodian chiLdren, one thing that I have been pretty much curious is that chiLdren have no say about what they want to do. If a chiLd is born a farmer's son, he wiLL be a farmer, and if a chiLd is born a fruit seLLer's daughter, she wiLL be assisting in the famiLy business. But is this what they want to do? Or is it what they have to do ..

Coming back in time to the present, it is New Year's Eve in Ho Chi Minh, whiLe I am to Log off soon inside this internet cafe, the note is to be continued as and when I can ...

.. tiL then, have a happy new year!


You can see more pictures of the trip from Facebook.

Eve of X'mas

Its here.

Do enjoy ur individuaL ceLebrations. For those who are not, fret not, for Santa CLaus is watching out for you.

Dun forget to hang the stocking by your window ...

Merry Christmas, one and aLL!

Late Night Drama

I am now fucking awake having been invoLved in a "get-the-car-back" incident.

Just an hour ago, my Dad woke us aLL up as our famiLy car went missing in the middLe of the night. The key was nowhere to be seen. Since aLL members of the famiLy are in except for one, there can onLy be one cuLprit - my younger brother.

Being the usuaL bLack sheep of the famiLy, this was just one of the stunts he had performed throughout the years. And we aLmost got the poLice invoLved this time.

After being abLe to contact him and his good friend with persistent caLLs and having sent sms-es that probabLy scared the shit of them, we managed to meet up at nearby. As I expected, there was damage to the front bumper, the driver was the friend, they drank, and they are not Licensed.

Infringements of three traffic ruLes (unathorised driving of car, drink-driving, driving without License) and two house ruLes (unauthorised driving for outsiders, freaking inconvenience caused). What the fuck are these bastards thinking?

The friend has been toLd off by me, and has agreed to pay for the damages. I rejected the apoLogies and Lame excuse though. The bLack sheep, as he is, shaLL sLeep in the Living room tonight.

And for me .. I shouLdnt even be awake. After so many years of discipLine and guidance, sometimes a Leopard can never change its spots.

I give up.

The immediate question now is how I shouLd turn in with high bLood? Maybe some games wiLL heLp. Off for some CaLL of Duty onLine to kiLL some anger .. out.

To See

I bumped into Larry, one of my grassroots Leaders, at the coffeeshop yesterday. As he was to be fLying off that evening with his famiLy, we had a smaLL taLk and he shared about the goodness of home stays in Europe.

Great food, exceLLent hospitaLity are just two of the many Larry had been impressed in his Last visit at London.

His memorabLe experience couLd very much aLLow myseLf to visuaLise my traveLing pLans for 2010. CoupLed with the introduction of this pLace on TV right now, I wouLd most probabLy be gearing up for an exciting trip to ... New ZeaLand!

I can't wait to carry that out, but before that, my Cambodia-Vietnam trip wouLd be happening in a week.

FinaLLy.

If I Have A Choice

I wouLd run away from everything, find that LittLe isLand with beaches and waters so cLear, they make you think of nothing more than the present.

But do I have a choice? Nope, not at the moment. And that is why I stiLL have to get dressed in shirt and pants, enter the same damned office day in day out facing the same shit.

If onLy peopLe are Less competitive and ambitious .. workpLace wiLL definiteLy be a good pLace to be in. Whatever it is, do not incLude me in that equation for "I come in peace .."

.. my Long-awaited reward of a perfect getaway is so near, I can feeL it now. But then, it wouLd be a brief fareweLL to the fun-Loving temp who shouLd most probabLy be gone when I'm back after the cross-over to the new year.

I Love temps and interns .. they make Life much more interesting!  =)

The P-Factor

Even in a seemingLy innocent workpLace Like mine, you cannot escape what we caLL the P-factor.

As much as I do not wish to get invoLved, somehow or rather, I am dragged into it and become part of it.

This is the reaL worLd .. and sometimes, we do not have a choice.

ReaL. FugLy worLd.

Raindrops Keep FaLLing on my Head

Its been showering since Late afternoon, so much so that when I Left my office at 6-ish, the drizzLe was stiLL on.

I Love the rain though the majority might think otherwise. I cant expLain why but on this day I decided to waLk home in the Light rain.

Rain soothes one's inner souL after another taxing day in the office ..

SimpLy therapeutic.

The Sunday FootbaLL Affair

8.00 a.m - PubLic Service 7-a-side Soccer Tournament @ St WiLfred's with company, PeopLe's Association.

3.00 p.m - ESPZEN Soccer League

Hibernians vs Greats ..

PLaying with these ang-mohs aLways drains more than usuaL, and this time round Greats scored a convincing 4-0 win over the Irish expats.

Once again I missed a goLden opportunity to be on the scoresheet.

5.30 p.m - The Jumpshots

One of the Jump shots as taken with a very nice sky in the background.












6.00 p.m - Dinner

WeLL deserved dinner @ AMK Broadway food centre to repLenish the carbohydrates burnt from the game, or games rather in my own context.

LoveLy day spent in the company of my beLoved footbaLL.

WhiLe on our way home on Cong's Lorry, with Derek, Yongren and myseLf at the rear, I appreciate Yongren asking me how my Life is going, what I am doing week in and out.

I thought, and answered, work, footbaLL, work, footbaLL. And then he asked, is it time for us to move to the next phrase of our Lives? ObviousLy, it can onLy be ... dating.

WeLL, I agree. But, in contrast with Derek and Yongren, with a working environment and LifestyLe such as mine, the chances of meeting potentiaL partners are cLose to zero.

Latest Update :

Gen-X 1
Gen-Y 2

Does anyone know what the heLL hydrophiLic is?

When Gen-X Meets Gen-Y

You reaLise that somehow in the very wide base of the EngLish Language, there are idioms and words that appear to be a LittLe "chim" to yourseLf.

A good exampLe, 'buLL in a China shop' ... seriousLy I have never heard of this my whoLe Life untiL that day, my good Gen-Y temp in the office shot it at me via MSN messenger.

FeLt so insuLted.

LuckiLy, somehow she does not know the word 'versatiLe' either.

And so the game is stiLL on at 1-1 ...

JingLe ALL The Way

Despite a surprisingLy tougher time at work (its the season greetings), I shouLd have easiLy succumbed to severe fatigue, but no, that din happen.

I thought about it, and try to find the reasons for that. And I concLuded the foLLowing:

1. A positive mindset is aLL one need to stay on top.

2. Hanging around with the younger peeps keeps one refreshed!

3. Listening to the X'mas songs at supermarts and shopping maLLs make one feeL good.

I can sense it nearing, and coming.

... Santa CLaus sure is coming to town.

TaLking about No. 2, workpLace sees new additions with a young gaL, Shuxuan, and another guy, Jiahao, both of whom are waiting for their O' LeveLs. And I thought my sis at home was the nearest I can get to bridge the generation gap. Here comes two 17 yos to make my December an enjoyabLe one at work!

When I was just a LittLe Boy ...

The Innocent AccompLice

It was a quiet day in the Community CLub with few patrons due to the bad weather. The rain made the afternoon reaLLy peacefuL, which is pretty rare nowadays with the introduction of a new membership card that sent the masses rushing to sign up .. just for a free bag that comes with it.

As I was sitting at the counter doing other work, two young girLs in uniform entered. They Looked to be in their earLy teens.

"Excuse me, is there any teLephone nearby?" asked one of them.

I repLied, "The nearest one wiLL be at the coffeeshop few bLocks away."

Being the usuaL 'nice' me, in addition that the girLs are so cute, LovabLe and poLite, I offered them my office phone to use as she wanted to caLL her mother.

She caLLed, and I continued with my work.

"HeLLo Mummy ah ... its raining heavy now and I am at Hougang MaLL. I am not abLe to come home yet ..."

I turned to Look at them with my puzzLed and frowning face.

After a whiLe, she hung up and excLaimed happiLy .. "Yes! It (the Lie) worked. Let's go and pLay."

They ran out of the counter without a word of thanks. I sat there pretty baffLed.


Now, I know that kids are no Longer as simpLe and demure as they seem to be despite their uniforms.

I FeeL ..

Of Late, I am just feeLing so freaking emotionLess. There is a Lack of motivation for aLmost everything.

Maybe I shouLd visit a psychiatrist or something.

Somehow in the midst of being so LifeLess, I think of a phrase where it is just what's on my mind now.

"BeLieving in nothing, for there's nothing worth beLieving."

.. Christmas is so near, yet the mood of it ain anywhere cLose.

A LittLe isLand caLLed TimeLess

Last Thursday, after a good dinner with the two girLs of whom I spent my 2007 Lunar New Year with back in Taiwan, I parted company from them and randomLy waLked to The Cathay.

It was aLready about 10 p.m but there are stiLL a few Last screenings to choose from - The Song of Sparrows, 500 Days of Summer and some other horrow movies. ALL of which I reaLLy do not have any cLue or idea what kind of genre the movies beLong to except for the horror ones which the titLes are pretty straightforward .. Like HaLLoween something and stuff.

With hesitation, I did not catch any movie that evening.

A week Later, on another Thursday, I did a LittLe research on the movies. And there was no doubt The Song of Sparrows wouLd end up my choice as it caught my eye with its synopsis.

I went back to Cathay and caught an afternoon screening. SureLy this Lived up to the awards it has won as a Foreign Language fiLm. I wouLd reaLLy recommend that you guys give it a try even as you may not understand a singLe word the movie speaks (its Iranian).

You wiLL be amazed as I am, with scenes of artistic touch, and as the critics cLaimed, it is 'deepLy humanistic'. One of the rare fiLms with a simpListic sense and one I enjoy a Lot.


Somehow as the worLd progresses with the aid of technoLogy, one wiLL think if it is aLL worthwhiLe to work so hard, forget who you are, Lose the human touch and sLowLy forgo your favourite past-time and simpLe things that can make you happy.


I guess you couLd be Like me, Looking out for an isLand caLLed TimeLess.

The Content

PeopLe are just Like tea in a teapot. Warm and pure at the very beginning, and you know you feeL good at the first sip.

As time goes by, the surroundings chiLLs it. It becomes cooLer, Less fragrant, Less feeL at subsequent sips. But the tea is stiLL pure, just turned coLd.

Tea can change its feeL but not its nature.

Stumped

As aLways days passed and turned to weeks, weeks passed and turned to months. Time sureLy awaits no man.

Many events have come and gone, for me, to have participated in run events Like the SaLomon X-TraiL and Nike Human Race. Have aLso been Lucky enough to bump into a few oLd friends Like Lee Jiahui of whom shares the exact same first and middLe name as me.

I have spoken about the Life that is going at an obscene pace. And it has been reaLLy difficuLt to sit down, spare a few minutes of time for thoughts and pen it here in my very own bLog. However, I guess the changes and evoLution of the worLd sure has been way too fast for anyone to capture any precious moments they may have.

It couLd be just me. But every change brings about joy and disappointment. Changes are aLways for the better in the Long run, but constant changes are not increasing the quaLity of Life.

I think a Lot these days. I think of the past, I think of the present, and I think of the changes that wiLL mouLd the future. It seems to be good, but transition wiLL be difficuLt, for some. NevertheLess, whats more important is that even with changes to the environment, peopLe can remain as they are.

I yearn for simpLicity.

101009

Friday evening. My good friend Yongren wouLd be ceLebrating his 25th birthday that evening at some pLace chiLLing out with some of the Lads.

Being the typicaL me, I do not have much enthusiasm to go, but ended up a Last minute addition to the cLique that night. Had to give some face to him, a great guy Lah.

Somehow one night out foLLowed by another the next day, right after a Saturday spent in the office, totaLLy ListLess. And then we drank and danced our hearts out that evening.

I cannot beLieve I am reaLLy there, and to think peeps Like Guofeng, Gan, Guowei and Robert were unusuaL absentees in the party. No standard (as they aLways Like to put it).

No doubt, it feLt good to Let Loose once a whiLe with paLs and meeting good new peeps, in this case, HazeL, of whom sure was pretty sporting, joining the group of us guys where she onLy knew a coupLe or so.

"I gotta feeLing .. that tonight's gonna be a good night ..."

It had to be, a weekend of sLeepLess nights spent in the company of music and groove.

Farmers

Like many, my Love for writing is diminishing with time. The cuLprit must have most probabLy been work. Either that, or Life has not been any interesting.

Over the Last week incLuding this has been pretty disastrous. Nothing much to be happy about but the compLete opposite. Saturday, pLayed a game, Lost. Sunday pLayed another, Lost. And that evening, LiverpooL Lost. On top of that, a LittLe cyber soccer League game me and the guys are pLaying, I Lost again.

These two weeks, I was simpLy a Loser.

In Losing though, there are stiLL positives that can be taken out. My coLLeague, Richard T. shared with me a story with regards to the corporate worLd.

He said, think of yourseLf as a farmer. How weLL your crops grow doesnt compLeteLy depend on how much effort you put in. But you gotta consider a Lot of factors. A farmer at the desert, no matter how hard he worked, he cannot reap anything. A farmer at the mountains, he couLd just throw in the seeds, do nothing, yet reap resuLts.

Same profession, different outcome.

WeLL, are you a farmer at the desert, or one at the mountains?

AngeL-A

A random French movie that caught my attention on teLevision, AngeL-A contains pure simpLicity and cLass added with Light humour.

This fantasy fiLm was projected in bLack and white, giving a totaLLy indifferent feeL of a modern movie. With its scenes set in the beautifuL city of Paris, the Love story of a faLLen angeL and a hopeLess man couLnt have been any more romantic than this.

After this, I guess I got pretty interested in foreign Language internationaL fiLms.

IngLourious Basterds

Note that the above movie is indeed as titLed.

And I wonder if refined peopLe wouLd reaLLy pronounce the Latter when buying tickets, which I did today at the state-of-the-art shopping maLL - ILLuma.

For $8.50 on a Thursday afternoon, it wouLd have been deemed pretty steep as normaLLy other cinemas offer discounts for certain credit cards, but not after I reaLised that the movie is actuaLLy more than two hours Long! Besides the bLoody scenes of brutaLity kiLLings and gun battLes, this movie has added a unique fLavour with its comicaL concept. To top it off, there were scenes where it got draggy, but those scenes provided the viewers with Lots of emotions in their heads, getting them to think what is gonna happen next. NeedLess to say, the fiLm comes with great props and visuaL effects. OveraLL this is good to watch, but not for the faint-hearted.

Took a short dinner at my former favourite HaLaL Thai-Chinese restaurant, Magic Wok aLong City HaLL area and then I embarked on my journey home after a waLk to see the bright Lights of the upcoming racing event to be heLd here in Singapore.

A typicaL Thursday, my off day, gone past Like usuaL. Not bad though when you know you dun have to entertain anyone.

The Frustration

For this match, I had made necessary adjustments to my work, and weekend as weLL as preparing the necessary equipment to ensure that I do not miss much of it.

I took haLf day off in Lieu, and practicaLLy ended work at 1pm, time when the match kicked off. FortunateLy this time round, the venue is Bowen Secondary, my sister's schooL, which is just in the Hougang vicinity.

With much eagerness and excitment, I even brought the bicycLe to my workpLace so that I wiLL take no more than 10 minutes to reach the pitch. As expected, I arrived at the pLace and the match has just kicked off.

In the end, I had onLy fifteen minutes of pLay. So much so for aLL the efforts and expectations of an enjoyabLe footbaLLing affair.

Sometimes, potentiaL can onLy be reaLised with the necessary tooLs to harness, and unLeash it. I am not a star pLayer, but I dun think fifteen minutes is enough for me to change anything from a match, though won by our team.

NevertheLess, respect has to be given to the one who pLans the team, and aLL I can do is but either try harder, or just expect Less.

Being Free

Lawrence msn-ed me earLier. He said he is now jobLess and asked me to introduce him some job.

I toLd him ... he shouLd be thankfuL. At Least, he is a free man.

And he said he is, and thanked God every singLe day.

There were no further conversation.

I dunnoe .. dun think its supposed to begin and end Like that, but it sure happened this way. StrangeLy, communication with friends nowadays are so short, sweet, a LittLe humour but not funny and straight to the point. Not good, not bad either. At Least we dun beat around the bush, not anymore.

The Same Shit, The Different Day

When I arrived in the office today, sweating as usuaL, I sat at my workpLace and took a deep breath, Looking at the heaps of paper piLed neatLy the other day to compLete it this week.

CompLete? I gotta be kidding myseLf. If work can be compLeted, you and I ain required in the company. And so, I dug into my work and started my same shit, different day routine.

.. that must be the Monday bLues I suppose. Tomorrow shouLd be better ... SHOULD be. Whats new?

NevertheLess, chiLdren and oLd foLks in the neighbourhood does make my day once a whiLe. I dun hate my job, but Life couLd be better.

So, wats the pLan?

The pLan is, send in a resignation Letter, grab aLL the savings, buy an air ticket to nowhere and dun ever come back. Easy said, what about done Leh? We see how La huh ..

CaLabrian BLue Eyes

Yet another so-caLLed big scaLe event my office has coordinated that went pretty smoothLy with a healthy crowd. At Least, there were no sudden hiccups, without which is normaLLy considered good.

But waking up at 5-ish on a Sunday morning is pretty unusuaL for me .. yup, I enjoy sLeeping through the mornings, seriousLy. On this day, I had to ensure that the goodie bags are in pLace, the LoveLy emcees from the Youth Executive Committee foLLows the programme accordingLy and the LogisticaL side of the Brisk Walk. There was not as much pressure as the Last one at Hougang Stadium, which was sureLy of different scaLe.

So, you see, working in a community cLub is not just pure sitting at the counter. There are stuff behind the scenes which the generaL pubLic dun get to see. And so far, I am stiLL doing fine on the job, at Least for now.

Tracking back to Friday when I attended a course on New Media Awareness where the speaker taLked about the impact of Facebook, Twitter and BLogger on the worLd, it sure is true how much one can tap onto these tooLs to express what they want and what they need, at the same time widen the horizon of not just what we normaLLy see physicaLLy.

Here on Facebook, I happened to meet one new friend from CaLabria, ItaLy. EmanueLa is her name and she has reaLLy beautifuL bLue eyes. Not that I know this pLace beforehand, but now that I do, I am excited by the prospect that this pLace couLd be yet another traveL destination for myseLf.

THE REVAMP IS NOW

On NationaL Day Eve

Some of you may have seen before, but I suppose these pictures of the Singapore oLden days are just too good not to share. Enjoy ...

THE PHUKETEERS 23-27 JULY 2009


The Nature's caLL


The summary shot


The Boxing Stadium


The Beauty and the Beast

The target of mischief

The eaten

The theme park

The rafting

The Elephants

The supper by the roadside

The ATV ride

The 'Fight'

The Evening @ BangLa Road

The Sunset

The Sign

The Buddha

The View

The Fast Food

The Beach Parachute

The Patong beach

Day 2 - The Dawn

Day 1 - The FLight

More photos of the trip can be found on Facebook. Ciaoz ..