It's Hong Kong in 3 days.

And Taiwan in 4 weeks.

Woohoo!!!

enough said.

btw, my award came with cash =)

Goodness Gracious Me

The Government would like to promote this culture of graciousness amongst the people of Singapore. But is such a lofty aspiration even possible?

You seriously don’t need to peer very deep for a shitload of examples that showcase our ever-prevalent exhibits of selfishness and lack of civic mindedness.

You just need to wake up and turn your head. You may not even need to leave your house. Sometimes your neighbor blares the stereo as though the whole block is some kind of nightclub. And let’s not get started about weekend karaoke sessions at home. The government should notify those guilty parties that prolonged noise pollution can drive the mind insane.

Knives are still readily available in every sector of our sunny shores.

On any given day, you’ll be able to see an elderly person looking forlornly at the young able bodied person curled up in the seat specifically allocated for the needy on the bus. Sometimes, the young person shyly pretends to sleep. While the more thick skinned blatantly cement their large ass in the seat and have no shame whatsoever.

Or some pregnant woman having to do an impromptu pole dance on the train in an effort to keep her balance.

Some sales personnel have such poor attitudes their mannerisms are able to incite hate rallies. For goodness sake, it’s your blardy rice bowl. Can’t you at the very least put up an act so I will be more willing to part with my money?

I also pity people in the service sector. Look at the amount of complaints that rain down each day. Often, the complaints stem from an isolated chronic bunch; stingy with praise and super enthusiastic with airing their grievances. They’re never satisfied with whatever is presented to them.

And what about the people who refuse to learn from the recent pandemics and stubbornly continue to spit on the ground and everywhere in between? Although Lao Lee strongly recommends water preservation and active recycling, I don’t this comes close to his original intentions.

Clearly, any respect for anyone except ourselves has nose dived. And since the carrot and stick approach is unable to produce any clear improvements, I propose the following name and shame tactics.

Firstly, to ensure the seats allocated for the needy on public transportation serves its intended purpose, the government should empower station or bus inspectors the authority to take a picture and very (very) vocally instruct the person to leave the seat. The picture would then be on display near the top-up machines for all to enjoy.

Rude sales staff should meet their doom with punishment also. By all means, counsel them and allow them to keep their jobs. However, since lessons must be learnt, make them wear underwear over their head while working.

Neighbors with repeated audile deficits will need to soundproof their homes. Simple.

And chronic complainers should be identified and this information disseminated nationwide. And once they’re up to their nonsense again, the companies involved should be given the authority to just tell the involved a kindly, "fuck you". With a smile of course.

We are, afterall, aiming for a more gracious society, aren't we?

Orchard Revealed

Today, Kristabel and I met up to plough Orchard Rd. As usual, the road was packed with people; crawled out from gawd knows where, popping out of every available corner with people, people, and more people.

We went to pick up my sad sony T1, which had been struck with an incurable disease and soon will be meeting the end of its lifespan. I cradled the smooth curves in my palm and gazed sadly, reminiscing of better days. It’s silver coat, dulled with age; but nonetheless beautiful, lay silently, cooing softly under my touch.

Goodbye my friend.

My photographic adventure doesn’t end here. Now I have a new buddy. And it’s called the Olympus 850SW. It’s shockproof, dustproof and waterproof. Best of all, armed with all the presets for differing conditions, its idiotproof.

Just the way I like it.

After collecting my pathetic camera carcass, we headed for lunch at Olio Lido. The squid ink linguine was super! Though it comes across a wee bit grotesque, it’s a MUST try. We also had the chicken cordin blue, which is basically a deep fried chicken and ham roll. Kristabel also had the peppermint tea, which I must say did not agree with my taste buds, while I stuck to the comforting iced chocolate with gelato.

Yummy!

For dinner, we went to try Aji Sen at Taka B1. I had the tofu burger combo, with a side of spaghetti and boiled vegetables while Kristabel ate beef hot pot. Her dish was really disappointing. The soup base was far too sweet. You are advised to give this shop a miss.

Kristabel bought me a super cute sanrio letter set at Plaza Singapura for an exorbitant amount of money. Sanrio stuff are really delightful but their price is just indecent! We also went to Pull and Bear and saw some nice stuff but we're both on a tight budget for our upcomming Taiwan trip so we made made do with just trying the outfits and almost left the shop in tears.

As the night grew, we noticed this strange influx of prostitutes. Sniffing on the trail, we made our way towards Orchard Towers (the heart of the flesh trade in flashy old Orchard). Women paraded the streets in their gawk-at-my-assets ensemble and we watched them try to weave their magic on the all-too-willing men.

The transvestites wore next to nothing with their rock hard boobies on show. The Thais squatted on the corner of Orchard Towers, merrily tugging at each other and hapless men queuing at the taxi stand. The unidentified nationalities wiggled their assets like sirens hypnotizing their prey.

There was a mash of emotions as I watched transactions go on amidst the bright neon lights. On one hand, there was pity towards another person having to sell their body. On the other, there was an uneasy feeling watching another reciprocate and encourage the sale of flesh.

I’m extremely lucky I don’t have to walk down that same avenue.

On a lighter note, I received a call while in Esprit, Centrepoint. Lao Lao called, her voice husky and all weird. She asked if I was in a pub cause the music was blaring at the store.

Wei, Lao Lao.. can you cut the crap and get straight to the point?! Ok lah.. for the record, I like Lao Lao quite a bit. She’s nice, in her dramatically alternate special way.

I’ll stop digressing and get back to the story. Lao lao informed me that I got nominated for the Service Heart Award. Wah.. happy leh. But there’s no cash involved! Only a makan session and I think a certificate.

When will my organization realize the golden rule that when you pay peanuts, all you get are monkeys?! So start dishing out the dough lah! Piang eh.. the hospital's loaded leh.

Nonetheless, it’s a recognition of all the hard work and PR over the past year. And I’m sharing this award with F4 and my preceptor, without which, none of this would have ever been possible!

Digital Phobia

My age seems to be the recurrent topic for the YEAR(s). Indeed, there is no topic worthier of mention.

Sheesh.

People ask me a multitude of times how old I am, why I don’t look my age and so forth. Topics like world peace, starvation and the latest statistics in infectious diseases just don’t come close. How in the world does my age or whether I look younger then my actual age affect you?

It’s a good thing that I never ended up in journalism, because I predict the topic of my age being plastered over the front page if that ever happened.

Lao lao and ah chow attributes my shrinking uniform to a growth spurt.

Hello, puberty has long since past. Duh.

In all truth, it's due to an expanding butt.

But if it makes you happy, and after all the other topics have been laid to rest, it’s ok by me if you think you have nothing better to research then my age.

Whatever makes you happy lah.

The Lucky Ones

Sharon Lee had been feeling a little jaded in her current position for the past couple of months. With the routines of work and office politics, she felt the longing for greener pastures engulf like a tumor within.

She truly enjoys working with her colleagues and really shines in her job, juggling a large repertoire of clients and rectifying problems that mushroom ever so often.

What lacked was the spark of recognition.

She informed her company of her desire to leave and they left the topic on the fence for 2 weeks. Disappointed with the company for not counter offering, she felt that she was not being appreciated for all the hard work she had sacrificed for the company.

Talking to me on the way to work, she poured out her grievances and sought my advice over her dilemma. We worked out the pros and cons, pondering over the possible alterations that could emerge in an all new work environment.

Upon reaching work, her immediate supervisor called her in to a meeting with upper management. A little taken aback, she proceeded to enter the boardroom.

Lo and behold! They counter offered!!

And what a great offer they made.

Elated, she quickly confided in me (her lucky star), using our little hanyun pingying code in an all ang moh msn arena, typing furiously on the keyboard and straining my eyes to soak up the good news.

God moves in mysterious ways.

He reads our deepest, darkest secrets. And judging from our conversation, Sharon Lee just needed to reignite the feeling of being appreciated for all her efforts in her current setting.

Isn’t that what just we all hanker after?

I genuinely feel happy for her.

It’s never easy being so far away from family, alone in a faraway land to carve out a niche for oneself. I applaud her courage and independence. Words can’t define the pride I have for having a friend like her.

My rock.

We're now closer to our goals and striving harder for our dreams. Together, nothing is impossible. Together, we can make miracles.

Some friendships brew competition and jealousy. Some can’t withstand the test of trial and tribulation. Others wilt over time.

It’s the rare ones that strengthen with experiences.
I’m praying that I’ve many more rarities to come!

And aren’t we the lucky ones… Sharon Lee, Kristabel Chong (aka my stick insect), you guys rock my world.

Aren't we the lucky ones?

Ps - I wish to thank all the people (esp Kristabel, Patrick, Mokie, Snoopy, Kelvin, Leni, Sharon Lee, Crescentia, Ross, Ramlah..) that have made my birthday a worthy celebration.

Thank you for the surprises, the gifts and the love.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Aren't we the lucky ones =)

Kristabel brought me to Carousel earlier in the month. Uncannily, my classmate also wrote about her trip to Carousel on her blog. Yes, it’s at Park Royal on Scotts Rd.

It was pretty crowded, even on a weekday. The buffet spread had quite a variety, though the cakes were a little disappointing. I enjoyed the choco fountain the most and managed to stop myself from diving into the flowing mucky liquid.

I don’t think anyone would e able to resist me drenched and dripping in chocolate. Waka waka.

It seems that no one works in Singapore. The streets are always crowded. The shopping centers are always packed. The MRT is constantly sardined with hordes of people. And all the buffets are always filled with hungry hippos like the drink glasses at weddings.

Always full.

Maybe I don’t get out enough lah.

Anyway, the hospital has decided NOT to give us (poor laborers) any cash incentive for passing the audit. %#@*$…!!!! They threw some lame shit of a party with free massages and hand treatments which I was never informed of, since I was on my round of night shifts.

Luckily for me, I’m going to HK!! Heehee.. the details are still being ironed out and I’ll probably know when I attend the briefing on the 19th. It’s slated to be from 26th-30th Aug. We’ll be visiting a few hospitals in Hong Kong and hopefully have enough time to shop and roam the streets at night.

It’s ironic that Kristabel and I cancelled plans to visit HK in Sept as we weren’t sure if we’d be quarantined due to possible avian flu outbreaks when we returned, so we booked our tickets for a Taipei adventure instead. In the end, God heard my wishes and luck of all lucks, I’m getting a free trip to Hong Kong =)

I hope I get a good room mate, and not some psycho bitch with diarrhea.

As for Taipei, we pretty much have our itinerary set in stone. We’re going to cover Taipei only. We have to manage our time well so we can cover what I’ve painstakingly researched over the past few months. And I’ll be bringing a whip over to help her STICK to the schedule.

101 now! Wu Fen Pu now! Keelung now! Whip whip whip

WARNING
The following entry was inspired by a true life account. It also possesses strong opinions and beliefs upheld by the author. The author will in no way be made liable for any consequence resulting from or after reading this post.

Reader discretion is advised.

Murder, She Wrote

A few days ago, hippo shared with pig her sticky predicament. You see, hippo told of her impregnated womb, not fathered by her long time lover. Flabbergasted, pig tried to ask vague questions in a feeble attempt to keep the topic light. Alas, hippo wasn’t bothered by the whole drama of it all and proceeded to share with pig the details that led up to the intercourse.

All pig could do was try to channel beautiful, asexual thoughts and pray for a swift end.


During the next few days, hippo would often verbalize lethargy and moan publicly. At work, she would cement herself to the chairs and avoid whatever work she could. Not that it was very much of a change then her previous self, but this time, she’d divulge little snippets to pig as they passed each other.

A sort of coded message that only they knew.

Throughout this time, only the notion of aborting the growing fetus within the layers of her womb was ever imagined. Financially strapped, hippo had not considered any other option.

This child simply has to go.


Pig offered suggestions.


Marriage? Impossible. That guy is a friend’s friend.


Keep the child? I could never afford it.


Adoption? No. That would never work.


Pig understood the dire situation hippo was in. However, what pig could not imagine was how prevention was never practiced. If hippo simply loved to frolic, that is hippo’s business. But hippo should be clear headed enough to minimize or eliminate the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.


Pig tried to reason with hippo.


Two wrongs don’t make a right.


The child is innocent.


Don’t rob your child of a destiny he has yet to fulfill.


Adamant, hippo had decided upon murder as the best method of disposal, and that was that.
Pig simply could not understand how hippo would be able to partake in the murder.

Let alone, the demise of her own flesh and blood.


Then one day, deep into the night, pig sneaked in to hippo’s room while the overweight animal snoozed nosily. The darkness broken only by the reflection of the blade as pig plunged the long blade repeatedly into hippo.


Pig felt a burden lift as the warm blood oozed out, staining the bed linen.


The logic was simple. If the sanctity of the unborn child’s life could be so easily forsaken, so could the bearer’s.

LOVES!

Today, I’m working the graveyard shift. Incidentally, it’s also my birthday. I didn’t change my shift because it seemed too much of a hassle to swop nights with someone else. And yes, with great (nursing) power, come great responsibility. Wahahaha...

Today started out just like any other given day.

Unknown to me, a conspiracy was brewing!

My long time friends wished me on the stroke of 12 but I seriously didn’t expect anyone to remember my birthday and I didn’t think much when Bini wished me. I just thought it was strange that she knew. Then she patted my butt and I heard what she said as, "Got baby inside."

Piang depressing leh.

Even though Kristabel hadn’t wished me, I reckoned she was just tired.

Kelvin called near 12am, saying that he was nearby. He said he would reach in 15minutes and asked me to collect my boogers in a plastic bag for him. Of course I obliged! I said I would prepare a shit load for him. He asked to come out a little while, so I went to meet him to chase him home.

Initially, I didn’t want to bring Kelvin into the ward as you know how tongues wag, but he was so insistent. So I relented. I told him 5min tour only hor!

He said my ward was eerie and scared me with ghosts stories (especially with this being the 7th month). He said he also wanted to tour the nursing station. I thought this guy was seriously super kaypoh but since I could scare him with the needles, I allowed him in.

Then he said he wanted to see our toilet.

Good grief!

I thought he was some loony. Nobody I knew ever wanted to tour a toilet.

Toilet leh.. wanna smell shit meh? But with Kelvin’s intellect…nothing is quite impossible. No lah.. this Ah Wang not bad wan. So to all you Ah Lians-turned-good, do take note. We have a bachelor here! (I'm typing this while foaming at the mouth)

Inside the counter, I saw the toilet door slide close. I held my breath and gasped. I thought lethargy was serving illusions and didn’t want to fuel the imagination with rubbish. Then suddenly the door slid open and out popped Kristabel, Leni and Mokie (whom was holding a plate of fries).

I had the shock of my life.

They just burst into song and started to sing me a deafening birthday song. I was super touched.
Super (really molested) touched.

They had managed to devise such an eeeeeeeeeeevil plan to throw this surprise party for me at work. And the logistics involved must have taken a lot of planning. Going to the extent of getting Kelvin to lure me out of the wards so as to smuggle the stuff in.

Thinking back, they did drop hints but I was too dense to think anything was amiss.
Man, I love these people! I thank God they came into my life.

Thanks again. You devious, conniving, and most heart warming bunch of Homo sapiens anyone could ever get.

To uphold the anonymity of the internet, the above mentioned has been edited to protect the privacy of the people involved.