Month of Joy
The first month of year 2007 ends today….time really flies! We will be expecting 2 different occasions. Valentine’s day and the Chinese Lunar New Year….
Maybe age is catching up, so that’s why I don’t find much anticipation anymore. I remember as kids, I used to look forward so much to Chinese new year. This is the time where I can wear new clothes, new shoes and make myself pretty. And of cos, who can ever resist the new year goodies!!!! Yum…my personal favourite is the prawn roll. I would always help my mum make them. And sometimes, I’ll even eat them raw in the process…ha…
And then of cos, there’s the irresistible angbaos as kids. We would always be so glad to receive them and counting the money thereafter. And not forgetting the visits to relatives’. As kids, you mix around easily, even with cousins whom u dun normally meet, except for occasion like this, you can still brush off the awkwardness and still play like there’s no tomorrow.
But now, as we grow older and become working adults, new clothes for new year seemed to be a thing of the past. With my own earning power now, I don’t need to wait till chinese new year to get new clothes and to dress up. And the angbaos receiving part have somewhat become a tad embarrassing, because after all the zhu ni xue ye jing bu (translates to-All the best in your studies) and the kuai gao zhang da(translates to blessings-May u grow taller each year) from the elders have since “expired” and transcend to zhi shi yao jie hun (translates to-When are u getting married) and zhu ni zhai dao hao gui shu(translates to-may u find a suitable partner?)
Well, anyway, it comes to a point where u still enjoy the yummy goodies but sorta dread the visits where your relatives will start posing questions about the M word. (Marriage)
Well, for starters I’ve had a really bad start to year 2007 as from my previous posts. I do hope with the arrival of the lunar Chinese new year…things can improve. I haven’t exactly gotten down to my cny shopping yet…I hope I may get my hands on it this weekend, hopefully it’s not too late still. I dun like all the red and brighty stuffs I see now…I’m a mellow person this year.
As for valentine’s day…. I guess it’s probably over-hyped…well…my recently acquired opinion at least. But I do remember back then and in schools as teenagers, valentine’s day has got a special place in my heart. It’s a time where u express your love to that special someone. You’ll make lovey dovey DIY cards or gifts and you’ll secretly hope to receive a secret love note, a vdae card or even a surprise present! Haha..could be just me but I’m really quite a romantic freak…Librans are typical romance hopeless…but unfortunately my OML ain’t such a person. So vdae’s really like any other day now…but I do agree it’s really been quite overhyped through the years. Dinners are super expensive, gifts are not cheap either. I wonder how do the kids nowadays survive all these. I remember I used to make my own special gifts then….not expensive and it’s truly made with your heart. But now…I doubt anyone still has the time to do that…
Things are just not like before anymore. Is this really gotta do with me catching up with age? Or are times really changing? There’s no more time to enjoy the simple facts of life when everything’s moving so fast! Everything is so easily and readily available now. The paper roses that we used to make ourselves are so readily available now on the shelves, nicely wrapped. Gifts and cards are abundance everywhere now. You just need to pay, write some notes and u can send it to your loved ones. I do miss the days when it takes a lot more effort to express how u feel towards someone….And not simply grab something off the shelf and say…”Happy Valentine’s Day”
I think time is running too fast…we need to slow down and enjoy the little things about life…
Drama!
It’s been a terrible week for me so far…I was down with flu for the most of the week before. And when I thought I had finally recovered and was ready to go shop for my new year stuffs…I was hit with some stupid ear infection as a “trilogy” to my flu and had caused me some embarrassment in the office.
Was Friday night late afternoon was I suddenly felt dizzy and my world was spinning. I had thought it was my blood pressure or something so I tried to rest my head. But the spinning did not get better. It got worse. I’ve never felt in such agony all my life as I tried to get up from my seat but I couldn’t, in the end…..I “merlioned” in the office and caused a huge amount of embarrassment for myself. A colleague (Indian guy) who sat beside me was kinda shocked…I didn’t see his face but I could feel his shock. Seriously, how often do u see someone puke in the office?
Anyway, no one really bothered to help me. Most people already left and those who were around were either strangers or…let’s just say…they mind their own business. My colleague next to me offered to bring me some tissue papers and a cup of water…well…I asked him to help cos I was having my face to the bin and couldn’t stand up…while trying to keep my world still…I had to clean up my puke. I hadn’t had much in the afternoon, some sandwiches, so it wasn’t that bad…
I had to sms OML to come pick me…I couldn’t stand and I wondered how I was to make it to the door, nonetheless the toilet and no to imagine out to take a train!
As I rest my head on my desk…I heard a familiar voice calling out my name….No…it wasn’t OML….it was my MD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I flustered and didn’t know how to react. Apparently my MD had just returned from a meeting and met OML at the door. And so…he offered to come get me for him. Imagine this, a puked face, blur look and totally incoherent response from me….I couldn’t think straight, couldn’t stand straight and absolutely cannot walk straight. I didn’t even know what to respond when he asked me “What happened to me and if I need help blar blar….” All I could do then was mumble…and said it was okay. He saw how I looked and decided to grab my things for me. Not only that, when he saw I was totally walking sideways, he offered his arm for me….OMG!I swear I would have dug a hole and hid in it if I hadn’t been totally spaced out..
Honestly I was kinda glad he helped me, I seriously couldn’t even stand properly not to even mention walking and carrying my laptop. But the moment I stepped out…it was a 100m dash to the toilet again. The nausea was really bad…
My MD was really helpful, he tried to locate the nearest doctor for me, asked me if I was alright and stood by with OML and waited for me outside the toilet…sigh…he was so nice I was so totally embarrassed by the whole incident. I felt sorta like a fool…like this silly damsel in distress!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think I spoilt everyone’s Friday night that day…the doctor said I had some slight ear infection caused by my recent flu and had resulted in the water level in my ear all haywired. The “merlion” stint was the result of the dizziness.
It was all so terrible, I had to miss a good friend’s wedding the next day because of the whole episode….how drama!
You know, I somewhat think I’m cursed to undergo some drama this time of the year…last year just before CNY, I went through
this. This year…it’s this shite! Unbelievable! How’s that to welcome the new year! Sheesh….
Do I think I need a break? Desperately!
Taxi Woes
I think the cab drivers in Singapore are a very protected bunch to the extend of being pampered.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not prejudiced against them or trying to put them down. In fact I do know some taxi uncles out there that are nice and hardworking. There are however, some rather unethical uncles. Not only do they choose their passengers, they will find all means to incur a better deal when picking passengers like waiting for bookings to come in or go via a longer way to clock more mileage. Some I’ve heard, even try to cheat unknowing foreigners by adding additional costs that they might not even be aware of. How unethical!
Yesterday was pouring at my office. I had wanted to skip the rain but couldn’t make it in time. So I attempted a mild luxury to try and hail a cab home since it’s raining so heavily. As I trouted to the nearest taxi stand with my heavy laptop, there was already a slight queue for taxis. As I stood waiting, there were a number of cabs coming in, however they were all On-Call by the people around. One after one, they were all displaying the On-Call sign. I was rather bewildered because I could see many available taxis on the roads outside the taxi stand that I was queuing. It was as if they could not see that a taxi queue was forming.
As time passes, one by one impatient passengers took out their mobile and called for a cab. After waiting for about half hour or so, there were only a few others left. As the rain was getting smaller, some even went out to the roadside to try and flag for one. 2 passengers succeeded while I did not. In the end, I decided that was it and I tugged my laptop sulking back to my ever faithful transport- the MRT. I reached home a lot later than I had anticipated but oh wells….
I did try to call for a cab but the lines couldn’t get through. I guess most people were fed up waiting for a cab and decided since they can afford, they might as well call a cab. This explained the phenomenon of seeing so many cabs out joy riding, just so they can wait for a booking and earn more for the same ride.
I can’t help but wonder…why do we need to pay extra for calling a cab? I mean isn’t the logic of calling a cab mean you need a cab and will definitely bring business to the taxi driver? If so, why the extra charge? At the end of the day, both parties will benefit from the call right? Passengers don’t have to wait that long, don’t have to pay extra, taxi uncles don’t have to go round joy riding wasting fuel, and in turn be environment friendly emitting less pollutants…wouldn’t that be great? I mean this would greatly reduce these unethical taxi drivers to avoid passengers deliberately to “force” them into calling a cab for that extra cash? Times have changed now, most people posses a mobile and it’s so convenient to call for a cab now. They should abolish this to stop all these nonsense of hiding out and waiting for calls or hiding out so that they can clock the midnight charge. It’s just unfair to the passengers!
I know the taxis in Australia don’t have booking charges. They don’t even have what we call the midnight surcharge. That’s why I feel the taxi drivers are well protected here, yet they do not see it and complain all the time. Especially those uncles who choose their passengers, I don’t quite understand the reason for this. When u drive a taxi, the more passengers means more money? Otherwise bother to drive a taxi, instead drive a bus? It has its designated route all day doesn’t it? Heh!
Snippets
30th DecemberCousin’s wedding to attend…she looked so beautiful that day…
Had a good time seeing all my relatives again. My mum’s side has got a huge family and someone I’ve always enjoyed the tight knit family ties we’ve always have…
But with everyone settling down and becoming mummies and daddies…things have somewhat been different…
Somehow I’m being asked when’s my big day…it’s kinda weird hearing these questions because it seemed like yesterday when I was that little rascal running around in the restaurant during such events…
It brought a little reality check back to me…that I’m “officially” the right age to settle down. Deep inside me, a little part of me kinda longed for that day….I mean..ultimately I would want a family of my own. I like kids and I don’t want to be in my 40s and running around after a 1 year old…but if that’s the case…I’ll need to settle down like…in a couple years time? Somehow I dun feel too ready at all for this…is this commitment phobia? Or am I just over reacting? I think too much….
31st DecemeberNew year’s eve…I finally thot of my new year resolution…I need to STOP procrastinating on things…well..assuming I will stop procrastinating to stop procrastinating?Haha…I’m a goner.. I know…perhaps I should strive to not be a goner..LOL.
Went down to Vivo to watch the Curse of the Golden Flower…Gong Li’s acting cool! Jay Chou….omg…I think he should stick to singing?Hmm..then again..maybe writing songs. The show’s pretty good...lots of boobs watch for the guys..haha
Watching the show at Vivo was a mistake..too crowded..no cabs...had to call cabs and fight the cab snatchers..I really no like our Indian pple..i dun mean to be racist…but they are really a bunch of rude pple!
Oh…and I made my first bobo of the year…I had stored the wrong number all the while in my mobile for comfort cabs and dialed to DBS bank! Wahahahaha…yes..I’m a sad story. Lol! The lady who answered the call must be damn pissed off…she’s prob sleeping or something and I woke her up…for the wrong reason somemore…haizz…
1st JanuaryCaught Death Note 2- the Last name. I would say it’s a pretty good show with very good suspense. The storyline’s great, it’s amazing how someone can come up with such a script. It’s been a long time since I had such an opportunity to watch movies side by side. It was a good treat…it’s a pity I missed the fireworks thou…heard it was good. I didn’t want to squeeze in crowds ever since…..
2nd JanuaryPlayed tennis after a long break…my skills seemed to have been given back to my coach. Then it was dinner with my family at a new Japanese restaurant at the tampines stadium. The restaurant is of a new concept of self service, where you go around collecting sticks of the item at different stations that you wish to order and place then in a straw basket where the waiters or waitresses will come by your table to collect them, punch in your order and subsequently deliver your order.
The sushis are pretty much self service too, all at 99cent per plate. It goes round a belt so u basically choose what u want and bring it back to your seat. The concept is pretty interesting but I found it rather unnecessary. I mean…going around each station scrutinizing the “menu” can be quite annoying because there’s so many pple squeezing arnd and fighting for a spot. For some who are really inconsiderate simply take their own sweet time browsing without considering about the people behind. Some simply bochup and choose the block the walkway.
Haiz…Singaporeans…when will we ever learn that courtesy is a virtue and that showing consideration is THE way to improve our society?
We’ve got a long way to go I suppose…
3rd JanuaryIt was so difficult waking up today…still reminiscing about my holidays. And oh..i actually forgotten about my ofc pin code this morn…had to get the receptionist to let me in. How pathetic right? I know…
Back to reality…Work work…
