Go go go!!!

What is wrong with drivers nowadays? Are they really in such a hurry? Is there really a need to drive that fast? I thought safety first? Just because their cars have the latest technologies & safety protection doesn't mean they can escape unscath in an accident. And that speaks only for them. What about the other party involved?

Earlier this afternoon, I was travelling on the expressway in the extreme right lane. I was trailing behind a taxi at a speed of 100km/hr. Out of the blue a Nissan Skyline appeared behind me & was so close there's barely enough space to slide a dental floss through. Then the driver began flashing his headlights repeatedly. Being a model citizen, I gave way & changed to the next lane. If he had been any closer I would not have been able to blog this entry unless there's wireless connection available in the morgue. Anyway, after I gave way the driver with a heavy foot accelerated right away & began tailgating the taxi. I couldn't tell if he was flashing his headlights again as I was slowing down & preparing to exit the expressway.

My personal opinion is that matter how rush he is in, travelling at 100km/hr does not really make a difference to going at 120km/hr or higher. It's just a matter of a few minutes. As the saying goes, better late than never. Nonetheless, it is not a smart move to block his way either. If he suddenly decides to bump my rear fender I wonder where I would land & what shape I would be in then.

Tedious Procedures...

Now that we've actually confirmed on the location, next arduous tasks are all the legal stuffs.

Firstly, the landlord has to seek approval from HDB for the erection of a partition wall to segregate the premise into 2 sections. According to the contractor this process will take 3 weeks & only upon approval can renovation work commence.

Secondly, registering a company is actually quite simple & it takes only a day or two. It's just a matter of whether is the name taken or not. The thing that takes a much longer time to process is actually the 2nd hand license. That takes about 2 weeks. It seems that they have to do some screening on the person who is applying for this license. Perhaps applicants of unfavourable past will be denied of this trade therefore my partner & I unanimously agreed that we shall use his name to apply.

Third up is finalising & signing the legal contract of sub-renting the premise. This will be done upon confirmation of approval from HDB for the partition wall.

While waiting for that HDB approval, we'll carry on with thinking of a company name, registering a new company & applying for the 2nd hand license. There's also renovation works to discuss & consider, furniture & accessories to buy, goods to purchase, etc etc...

As the day draws nearer, there's definitely more headaches to come...

A New Start

Lately I've been busy travelling around searching for a place to start some small business. North, east & west. Distance is not an issue because close proximity does not equal better profits.

As we will only be running a small business so naturally we are only sourcing for a small space, preferrably half a shop.

My partner and I sort of set our eyes on this place in Teban Gardens. Yes, you heard me right. Teban Gardens. A small little stand alone neighbourhood. Not much activity & not much variety of retailers there too. The shop that is looking for sub-tenants is a hair salon with a rather clean & classy design. First impression was really good & the space they offered although rather small, seemed sufficient for our operation. I checked out the surrounding retailers & was quite pleased that there isn't any competition within that area. Everything look good indeed.

Yesterday I spent about 6 hours there to monitor the traffic. From 11am to 2pm & from 6pm to 9pm. The lunch crowd wasn't really up to my expectations but the dinner crowd was still acceptable. With Seng Siong supermart situated a stone's throw away, crowd was good from 7 to 9pm.

With our minds already half set on the location, now all we need to do is to confirm the weekend crowd. Frankly speaking, I have no intention to run a 5 day or 6 day retail business as that would raise my daily overhead.

What I'm most interested at the moment is the mosque standing right next to the hair salon, hopeful as we are that Fridays will be packed with muslims. As our trade is quite appealing to the malay race, their existence within the premises is a definite pull factor.

Once everything is confirmed, there'll be so much work to do. Liasing with contractors to renovate the place, buying of operation tools & miscellaneous stuffs, applying for a company & the license required, opening bank accounts, ordering of goods etc etc. It's actually a lot of work & it sure as hell takes a lot of time.

All we can hope for is everything runs smoothly. Any hiccups means more time & money wasted. I wish us good luck.

I am sorry, my love...

To Ericia my love,

You know no matter how much in love a couple is, sometimes all it takes is just a thoughtless little issue to turn things around. Then again to the perpetrator the issue might seem non-existent at all but in the eyes of the victim, it is the greatest blow.

I know this is not the first time that you are upset over this. I know you can never get over it too. I know how impossible this situation can work out the way I hope for. The saying is true, You can't have the best of both worlds. I lived my life being true to all my friends but I realised too that I have been so unfair to you. I know that I've not been the best partner you so deserve. I know that no matter how many times I apologise, I can never undo the hurt I've inflicted upon you.

I do not ask for your forgiveness but please believe me when I tell you that I know I'm wrong. After reading the letter you left behind, I gave it some serious thought. It never did occur to me that way but I guess you are right. The 3 of us can never co-exist. Now I dare not speak on behalf of her that she has no feelings for me, not that she does. But believe me. Other than friendship, I have absolutely nothing else for her.

You have all the reason to doubt me now & I can't blame you for it. I have only myself to blame for not thinking before I act. Yes, use kidney to think I also know that I broke my promise to you. Now all I can do is to try to make it up to you. At least give me the chance to do so.

Thousand apologies to you my love. I'm really very very sorry.

Love you always,

Reese

An Uneventful Day

You know sometimes you get nightmares & just wake up right before the worst thing happen in it? Well, that happened to me today. I can't remember what the nightmare was about except that I was gasping for air. I opened my eyes & sit right up inhaling 1 big breath of air like I was almost suffocated. Guess what? I had a blocked nose. Yeah...

It's a kinda weird feeling when you can neither breathe in or blow out through your nose. Like you're scuba diving where everything goes in & out of your mouth only. I tried blowing it out but other than turning my face as red as a tomato nothing came out. Great! Another fabulous start to a wonderful day.

I made myself some ginger tea hoping that would help. Indeed it helped. It starting my nose running. Mucus started to dribble out but damn, I still can't breathe through it. I tried squirting some water in. Oh yeah, more mucus flows out along with the water but it's still stuck. Hey! it's getting better! Now even my ears are stuck. I can hardly hear anything except my own pulse.

I thought leaving it alone & it might just go away. But it's just that difficult to work when you can't breathe & with all that mucus trickling out of it. It took me twice as long to do my work with the constant trips to the washroom to clean it up.

This started from the moment I woke up till late afternoon when I decided to try & sleep it off. A nap I took & 2 hours later I woke up with 1 cleared nostril. Yeah! It's a vast improvement. At least I could breathe through 1 of the orifices.

Funny how a blocked nose can affect my appetite as well. Basically everything I put in my mouth is quite tasteless. Did I catch a cold? Flu tablets certainly didn't serve their purpose if I did. Now I really feel like I'm a fire breathing dragon. The functioning nostril feels so sore & warm, like it is a blow torch with flames shooting out of it. Took another 2 more flu tablets & it's time to pick up my lady.

Today is an interesting day for her. Her company has this annual event where all the staff will go to this home for troubled kids & do volunteer work. They spent half the day there playing with the kids & some other stuffs. Heard from her that some of the teenage girls there were those typical CALs (read: chow ah lians). Why, where else would you find problem kids?

The day did not end just there, by evening they proceeded to Singapore Expo where they had their dinner & attended talks by the upper management people. There was a lucky draw too. Being the luckless couple that we are, it wasn't a surprise that she did not win anything of value except 2 bottles of Pringles. Yeah, at least this was something we both have a passion for.

When I reached there, I realise that my nose is cleared! Now that is something worth celebrating. But now that I'm back home it's starting all over again. Am I allergic to my own house?

Sunshine On A Rainy Day

It is not exactly an exciting day. Although I hate to step out of the house when the sky looks gloomy but I do have some errands to run. So here I go, ready to complete my errands in the shortest time possible before the rain starts pouring down on me.

1st stop is Ang Mo Kio Blk 500+. The sky was pretty sunny when I reach my destination but after about 20 minutes it started drizzling gently. Just a pathetic few drops. I checked the skies & my oh my! It's like an eclipse. Half the sky was bright & sunny while the other was covered with dark clouds. I decided to make a run for it

Just as I was about to turn into CTE from AMK Ave 5, it started raining cats & dogs elephants & hippopotamus. Fortunately I was not stucked at that traffic light long enough to get myself drenched. As I accelerated into the expressway, I raced ahead of the rain too. There's a kind of estatic feeling when the road you are travelling on is all dark & gloomy, compliments from the dark clouds above. Then you spot a clear area some distance ahead. A spot where the sun still shines & where it has not been devoured by the dark side yet. (Hmm... sounds remotely similar to "Luke, wa si lin lao peh!" & "Ahhhh! Bo ko leng!")

Anyway, back to reality. Although I'm riding just a scoot, but it ain't no ordinary scoot. It's an italian make, rather a distant relative of the Ferrari, maybe that's why the acceleration is so fast. I have no problem moving ahead of the rain & dark clouds. By the time I made my exit at Upper Serangoon Road, there was no sign or sight of a thunderstorm at all.

Bought my cheaper ciggies (read: cigarettes) from a source in Bendemeer area & made a trip down to a bikeshop that I patronised. Was telling the young boss to keep a lookout for me should anyone intends to trade in an Honda XR200. Yeah, my lady is interested in dirtbikes. Then he showed me a new model from Suzuki, the DR200. Doesn't really look that bad. Yellow colour, Not that high & seems just nice for my better half. $8,000 OTR (read: on the road). But as depreciation value for dirtbikes is rather high, we will have to take into consideration how long she intends to hold on to it as well. Anyway, intending to bring her down this Saturday to check it out & perhaps have a test ride too.

I was chatting with the mechanics when suddenly a flash lit the skies followed by a deafening thunder. I expected what to come next & sure as hell, when I looked up it was almost like after sunset. And again, I hurriedly made my move & sped off. As the long stretch of Upper Serangoon Road is paved with numerous traffic junctions, my pace is inevitably slowed down by it too. Every time I stop before a red light, the rain will catch up with me. I'd have to catch a few drops (a few times even more than that) before the lights turn green & off I go into the sun.

With the speed limit adjustments made recently, travelling along this road has been made easier on a gentle tone. At the very least I could concentrate fully on the road & travel at ease & not have to worry about some traffic police hiding in the bushes with a speed cam. (Am I suppose to thank the Traffic Police Department or LTA for this? Erm... wait hor... wait)

If It Ain't My Lucky Day...

And I thought birthdays boys/gers are supposed to be lucky on the day itself. Woke up just before 7am to take a leak & replenish my water tank as well. Opened up my fridge & Hell Aye, my bottle of chilli greeted me by throwing itself to the ground. What a great way to start my day I thought.

With my eyes half opened, I gingerly picked up the shattered glass pieces & unknowingly cut my thumb. Damn that woke me up! The cut didn't hurt but the chilli reminded me that i was bleeding. Oh yeah! Nothing beats that feeling when half your senses are still in slumber land.

After clearing up the mess & regaining my senses, I refrained from touching anything else in the house. I am not subsidised with any form of financial aid to replace any broken objects within my humble abode.

It seemed that heaven pitied & cried for me the rest of the day. Started pouring in the morning & subsided to a gentle drizzle for the rest of the day till sunset. My better half & I shared the ride under the rain from Novena Square to Suntec City, with an extra cost of $0.75 for passing through The Forbidden Gates before 7pm.

Dinner was a tough choice to make base on the vast variety of food outlets there located in the dungeons basement. We settled for Fish & Co & browsed through the menu. The waitress took our order & we waited eagerly for our meal. The oysters were great. So were the soup, salad & calamari. Main course was a seafood platter. Portions were acceptable & it was rather filling.

After dinner & with an over-sized waistline, roaming through the retail shops in Suntec City is not an option but a journey we must take. As usual, our last destination is always Carrefour. we were strolling within the premises when I suddenly remembered that I had conveniently left my cashcard in the IU unit on my ride. Damn it! As expected, my money card is no longer there when I rushed to retrieve it. Unfortunate it may seem but there was only $1 left in it. Lucky I had yet to top up the value. Losing $1 is better than losing $21 (rather lame way of consoling myself but it certainly helped a little). Still, I hereby curse the thief that may he be blessed with an itchy ass & may his arms be too short to even scratch his waist. Nonetheless, we carried on shopping & bought some groceries before going home.

On second thought, it wasn't such a bad day afterall. I just broke a bottle of chilli, cut my finger & lost my cashcard within a 12 hour time frame. It could have been worse...

Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some -- Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

The Day I Stepped Into This World

Today is my birthday so I shall sing a birthday song for myself.

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me

To the couple who handed me into the arms of strangers, I pray that whatever's up there has mercy on you, for I don't.

Every year on this very day I will be reminded of how irresponsible the 2 of you are. 29 years ago you did not create a life. You ruined 3.

Children might or might not be a blessing, but to create them and then fail them was surely damnation -- Lois McMaster Bujold

l33t speak

As time passes & technology evolves, the language used on the internet & cellular phones are becoming more & more foreign. AFAIK, there is no absolute definitions to the abbreviations used but foremost, a salute to the nameless folks who came up with these short forms.

We all know that SMSs are limited to 160 characters per message. Anything exceeding your quota per month means an additional 5c per message. That unit price may seem negligible but trust me, you wouldn't know how much you've bled till you are dry.

I have a close friend who SMSed alot when he was living on his own. His first bill came & he almost choked on his own saliva when he saw the charges for his SMS. A whopping $130, & that is excluding his monthly subscription & talktime charges. $130 worth of SMS equals to more than 2500 SMSs in a single month. That is like slightly more than 80 SMSs per day! WTF?!?!

160 characters at times seems really limited & incapable of expressing your thoughts in 1 single SMS (if you abide strictly to proper english that is). But needless to say & history has proven wise that whenever we encounter a difficulty, we will always find a way around it.

If you have taken a look at your SMS lately, especially from young kids, you'll find unexplained symbols, characters and spliced up words. This is the latest form of l33t speak or should I say SMS speak.

Let me just list a few examples to update the ignorant ones while you dumb-ass twits poor chaps continue figuring out the rest of the alien language:

AFAIK - as far as I know
AFAIR - as far as I recall
BION - believe it or not
BTDT - been there, done that
CWYL - chat with you later
HUH - have you heard?
ICCL - I couldn't care less
in4ml - informal
KISS - keep it short & simple
KUTGW - keep up the good work
XLNT - excellent
NAGI - not a good idea
ONNA - oh no, not again
SWAK - sealed with a kiss

And the list goes on & on. I'm pretty damn sure there's a whole lot more unknown to me. Maybe network providers should compile a list of SMS speak & distribute it out to the general public. Yeah, dream on. I thought so too.

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak -- Hans Hofmann

Ching Ming Festival

It is the annual event again. Paying respect to our beloved past family members. It is on such occasions that you can tell who respects the dead & those mother-fucking bastards who couldn't care less.

I feel exceptionally fortunate that my relatives value the kinship. Every year without fail we will pay respect to my grandparents and eldest uncle during Chinese New Year, Ching Ming & on their death anniversary. It is a time to remember & share memories of them & also for those still suffering alive to get together.

As usual, the day before is always the busiest. Buying ingredients & preparation of the variety of delicacies to be offered to the dead. I assure you that this is not an easy task as compared to some who just buy takeaways on the day itself.

Waking up at 7am to cook & pack the food then setting off & reaching the temple by 10am is the normal routine for this occasion. Parking is 1 big problem on these days. There are even Cisco personnels there to help direct traffic as the temple is situated in an area where the road is narrow & not many parking lots available. Needless to say, it is near impossible to park our vehicles just outside the temple. We'd have to relocate it to the next street or perhaps even further.

Valet parking is provided by my uncles while I carry the offerings in & lay it out on tables provided by the temple. Upon the arrival of all my relatives, we will each offer joss sticks signifying commencement of feasting.

My family's custom is that we give the dead 1 hr's time to feast. During which we'll just hang around & do some catching up among ourselves. Around 45 minutes later we'll gather the joss papers & other stuffs for burning, pack them up in paper bags, again provided by the temple. Last but not least, there's this little slip of paper to be attached to the bag. We will have to write the names of the dead on it in order for them to receive the items. Whether or not can they really receive it we will never know. But it sure eases our conscience by doing so.

When the time is up we will each offer 1 last round of joss stick before packing up & retreating to 1 of our relative's place to finish off all the food (this is on a rotating basis). This year it so happens that it is our turn so the 30+ men strong force invaded my neighbourhood for an illegal assembly.

As my humble abode isn't exactly meant for accomodating so many people, we have to take turns to gorge feast on the sumptuous spread. Since the day I was old enough to know what's going on around me, I remember there was never an instance where we could possibly finish all the food.

End of the day even after packing leftovers for each relative, there was still alot left for my family to clear. It is on such days that I feel so damn guilty because alot of good food is wasted. Think of those who cant make ends meet, who can't afford a decent meal. Haiz...

People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. It is the poor jerk who is shy a half slug who must tighten his belt -- Robert Heinlein (1907-1988)

April Fool's Day

It's April Fool's Day. Lucky for me nobody tried to pull a fast one on me. Even if anyone tried to they might not succeed. Hey, I ain't no fool (or so I think).

Managed to complete the work that my dad left behind for me before he left for his PRC trip. Although it was just a simple job of summing up total sales for the year, this particular client of his wasn't really the tidy sort. All in all, the sales are separated by 2 kinds of receipt books.

1st is categorised by companies (with payment terms) while the other is daily cash sales. I had no problem with the former but the other was kinda messy. No, let me rephrase myself. It was a total mess! Receipt books had no serial numbers & the dates overlapped each other. Nothing was in running order. There are booklets with dates starting from Nov '03 & abruptly jumped to Sept '04. WTF? Used the booklet for 1 month & then forgot about it till 10 months later?

Many of the receipt books had missing pages too. About an average of 30-40% loss. Maybe they made mistakes & tore off the pages. That I have no concern of. I only know the lesser the pages, the easier is my job. Hehe. Then there are pages where there's like 10 or more items listed with unit price but no total. WTF again? You mean you pricks people actually sum everything up in your head when you issue the receipt to your customers? Or do you guys expect the customers to do it themselves? Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. Whatever.

Ok, the thing that really really piss me off is the quality of the fugging receipt book. The pages seemed to be glued together & I had a hard time separating them. Even when I wet my whole hand I still can't split them. I had to resort to crumpling the whole receipt book. That certainly helped but I don't suppose they will want it back base on the state the booklets are in right now.

Seriously, accounting is not for those with a short fuse. There were oh so many times when I got so pissed doing it that I flung the receipt books all over. Some almost flew out of the balcony. Then there was my faithful sidekick, the calculator. Not only did the receipt books suffer from my abuse, but the calculator was not spared either. I pounded my fist on it when I miscalculated more than twice. My highest record for miscalculation of a single receipt book was 6 times. I could feel the arteries around my neck pulsating so violently I thought they were going to burst. Temperature was running high & I definitely could use a cold shower then.

But for all that is worth, I did get the job done. Nothing beats the satisfaction of accomplishing something which you think you can't.

We find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve -- Maxwell Maltz