Ever had an event where everything just turned out wrong? Felt that you could go apply for redundancy? Felt unappreciated for efforts, that amounted to nothing much anyway?
yup... it was that kind of a night.
prologue
it was a while since the 9 of us did something adventurous, so one of us suggested reliving old memories by having another night cycling. despite some insistence there was no need, i thot we shd hv a safety vehicle for the following reasons:
- ok i admit it... i was doubtful my body could handle it reasonably.
- with some of us working already, not used to staying up all nite. we could take turns on the bikes.
- i was afraid of accidents involving us and drunk and/or speeding drivers.
a few incidents got me scared of this kind of thing, but the one that really stands out was alvin's... (for those who dunno) a drunk driver hit him from the back of his bike and he landed on his head. it had almost been two yrs since he passed on... i only spoke to him once, but (unfortunately) he taught me the frailty of life.
so, i turned up a little late with my car at ECP last nite coz i needed to sleep more before staying up. it started pleasantly enuff with me having dinner alone at mac while the rest got their bikes and moved off 1st... small, but a sign of things to come, on hindsight. one of us was supposed to join me in the car, and another was contemplating abt it, so at least i wld hv company. but the first one didn't come coz she was tired; without knowing that, the second decided otherwise - he wld cycle.
so i drove down the unfamiliar expressways and got lost, at one point finding myself at changi airport, and then at changi village. thankfully, i managed to catch up with the cyclists but they had already started on the roads instead of waiting for me to cover the rear... which was wat i thot i was supposed to do. at least i did once i caught up.
being sianzed at the thot of being alone the whole nite, i wasn't in best of moods. so i called to see if there was anyone who was bo liao, free and nice enuff to join me the rest of the nite... thankfully it only took 2 calls. 1st callee didn't mind, satisfying the criteria but didn't know the rest. 2nd callee, CS, who knew the rest, decided to be a wonderful fren and sacrificed her sleep to accompany me. only problem: she stayed in sembawang.
so i left the rest at changi village and picked CS up... meeting them at tampines mall and again they had rode the roads without me guarding. i don't blame them for moving on, i feel guilty at not being there.
after a rest, they moved on and i took some time to take a leak and get back to the car... by then they were far off. i caught up with them at bedok, but they were on the pavement, thus i cldn't and there was no need to slow down. unfortunately the route wasn't firmly agreed upon, so i cldn't find them and only caught up at chai chee... only after the last man had an egg thrown at him by 2 brain damaged turds on a motorbike. if i was there they wldn't hv dared, or i wld hv run over them. but i wasn't.
i followed them til geylang when the traffic was too heavy and i had to move on. so i wasn't there yet again. and when they left geylang they took an off road route soon after... so not only i had a delay going back to the car, i lost them 10secs after i found them. thot indoor stadium was on the route... went there only to realise it wasn't. it being late (5am), i decided to top up petrol and send CS back to sembawang. at the kiosk, petrol came up to quite a bit but CS made up for it... by sleepily trying to enter the wrong car!
so after sembawang, i zoomed to catch the cyclists from esplanade back to ECP. once again for the umpteenth time, i went round in circles trying to find them as they cycled, kept moving. finally found them at mountbatten rd and managed to do wat i was supposed to for a short while before they turned into the park. it being late (or rather early in the morning, 7am) and me being in a lousy mood, i promptly gave them their bags from the car and returned home.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
A Sianzed Nite Cycling - My Thots
In reference to "A Sianzed Nite Cycling - Wat Happened"
On the surface, i felt... unwaited for. i always had to search for them, chase them and catch up to perform my protective role, only to lose them to the pavement. i know i shdn't hinder them, but it felt as though there was no need for me to be there. not much acknowledgement from them except the last man anyway, that my vehicle was there.
So i started thinking: shd i have even turned up with my car? they seemed to be having so much fun on bicycles, hardly giving a damn abt me, no serious accidents happened, and i didn't prevent any. and the one who didn't think a safety veh was necessary wasn't talking to me much. if not for CS chatting with me the whole nite and the bags deposited in the backseat, i wld hv just gone home.
so why did i turn up with my car? a lovely fren had told me i was paranoid a few occasions. maybe i am... like wat they say in chinese, "not scared ten thousand, just scared in case". i even brought my 1st aid kit with me... i'm that kind of guy: if i see something that needs to be done and i hv the ability, i'll do it. and if anything happened to these close frens of mine, i dunno how i'll react.
maybe coz we are close frens... so they didn't think was i did was anything out of the ordinary, or maybe i placed too much expectation on them. but simply put, all i wld've liked is some form of appreciation, just a "thanx for being behind" or even "having fun in the car?". was that too much? felt like my role was largely ignored.
or maybe i had gotten to used to YEP, where i was always thanked for just simply doing my job, which i felt there was no need (coz it's my job mah). here i took on the risk of my car getting rammed by a drunk speeding driver but petrol costs... when i cld hv just thot abt having fun and cycled for $8. maybe only from my pt of view its different. or maybe the same and i expected same gratitude.
probably it has to do with my expectations that there wld be appreciation from them for sitting in an air con car while they are pedalling like crazy. expectation is such a perception shifter... i will get disappointed with close frens who i hv expectations of, and will get pleasantly surprised when frens, who i do not dare to hv expectations of, overdeliver in their concern and appreciation of me.
as yet, i might hv too high expectations of long time close frens, or none at all. i'm sorry, i'm currently trying to revise them into just appreciating when i do something for u guys. so to help me along... when u feel appreciative of me, pls do let me know. i promise i'll take it as graciously as i can. if u know my expectations of u are too high or are getting higher, let me know too; i like frankness, and will adjust accordingly.
so, to end off, a note to...
CS: thank you for being a wonderful fren last nite. staying up the whole nite toking cock with me even though u felt sleepy and had to go ur bf's place the next morning... thank you so much.
the last man: thank you for showing appreciation and acknowledging my prescence as a safety veh... even though i wasn't there most of the time. and apologies in the repeated calls abt location; i kept calling u was coz i felt u appreciated.
the one who didn't show up: no worries... i know u're tired from work. sianzed but dun blame u at all.
the one who didn't think a safety vehicle was necessary: yup, i'm the idiot who brought all this trouble to myself... no useful contribution watsoever. fine... i know wat to do next time.
the rest: sorry if my lousy mood affected u guys or the general mood.
self: stop giving frens unreasonable expectations. and stop doing unnecessary things. no one appreciates nothing contributed but trouble.
On the surface, i felt... unwaited for. i always had to search for them, chase them and catch up to perform my protective role, only to lose them to the pavement. i know i shdn't hinder them, but it felt as though there was no need for me to be there. not much acknowledgement from them except the last man anyway, that my vehicle was there.
So i started thinking: shd i have even turned up with my car? they seemed to be having so much fun on bicycles, hardly giving a damn abt me, no serious accidents happened, and i didn't prevent any. and the one who didn't think a safety veh was necessary wasn't talking to me much. if not for CS chatting with me the whole nite and the bags deposited in the backseat, i wld hv just gone home.
so why did i turn up with my car? a lovely fren had told me i was paranoid a few occasions. maybe i am... like wat they say in chinese, "not scared ten thousand, just scared in case". i even brought my 1st aid kit with me... i'm that kind of guy: if i see something that needs to be done and i hv the ability, i'll do it. and if anything happened to these close frens of mine, i dunno how i'll react.
maybe coz we are close frens... so they didn't think was i did was anything out of the ordinary, or maybe i placed too much expectation on them. but simply put, all i wld've liked is some form of appreciation, just a "thanx for being behind" or even "having fun in the car?". was that too much? felt like my role was largely ignored.
or maybe i had gotten to used to YEP, where i was always thanked for just simply doing my job, which i felt there was no need (coz it's my job mah). here i took on the risk of my car getting rammed by a drunk speeding driver but petrol costs... when i cld hv just thot abt having fun and cycled for $8. maybe only from my pt of view its different. or maybe the same and i expected same gratitude.
probably it has to do with my expectations that there wld be appreciation from them for sitting in an air con car while they are pedalling like crazy. expectation is such a perception shifter... i will get disappointed with close frens who i hv expectations of, and will get pleasantly surprised when frens, who i do not dare to hv expectations of, overdeliver in their concern and appreciation of me.
as yet, i might hv too high expectations of long time close frens, or none at all. i'm sorry, i'm currently trying to revise them into just appreciating when i do something for u guys. so to help me along... when u feel appreciative of me, pls do let me know. i promise i'll take it as graciously as i can. if u know my expectations of u are too high or are getting higher, let me know too; i like frankness, and will adjust accordingly.
so, to end off, a note to...
CS: thank you for being a wonderful fren last nite. staying up the whole nite toking cock with me even though u felt sleepy and had to go ur bf's place the next morning... thank you so much.
the last man: thank you for showing appreciation and acknowledging my prescence as a safety veh... even though i wasn't there most of the time. and apologies in the repeated calls abt location; i kept calling u was coz i felt u appreciated.
the one who didn't show up: no worries... i know u're tired from work. sianzed but dun blame u at all.
the one who didn't think a safety vehicle was necessary: yup, i'm the idiot who brought all this trouble to myself... no useful contribution watsoever. fine... i know wat to do next time.
the rest: sorry if my lousy mood affected u guys or the general mood.
self: stop giving frens unreasonable expectations. and stop doing unnecessary things. no one appreciates nothing contributed but trouble.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Yet Another Charity Show!
Currently Playing: I Just Wanna Live by Good Charlotte
In spite of the NKF fiasco 2 weeks ago, for this sunday, there's still yet ANOTHER charity show involving celebrities singing, dancing and doing other death defying stunts. It's the President's Star Charity Show! *Canned applause and wolf-whistles*
Don't worry good folks, I'm betting that the organisations involved in this show won't be up to any (expensive) monkey business... thanx to the NKF shooting themselves in both feet. And also, the Patron (unfortunately, a dirty word nowadays) is none other than our esteemed President! Obviously, there won't be any pocketing of money coz the Istana ALREADY HAS gold taps and designer bowls. (It's meant to be a joke, Mr President Sir... please please PLEASE do not sue me; my family does not own a peanut farm. I support your running for a 2nd term wholeheartedly.)
We all also read on a local tabloid newspaper that actually the celebrities on these charity shows were TOLD to cry (of coz, they're actors) and make all those phone dialling actions and act pitiful and sympathetic while doing crazy stunts forced upon them... If my earlier posting had shone any bad light on them, i sincerely apologise - they were just unhappily and blindly following instructions.
To show my remorse, I have decided to join into the charity show fray (there were 6 last year)... Yes, next year TV audiences will have yet another forced down their throats and into their phonelines - The Rockie's Star Charity Show! It will be organised for what the name really means... yes, it's a Star Charity! No more fake crying and no more fake concern and no more fake sympathy... the money collected will go to helping the star celebrities themselves!
Dear Readers, I see your shock and concern. "Do we really want more golden toilet furnishings?" Hear me out, please. After a recent study done by an uninterested engineering student from a local university, it has been found that the majority of individuals who suffer from Unfortunate Name Syndrome (UNS) in the Asia Pacific Region are in/or are connected to the showbiz/music/entertainment* (pick one) industry! Samples range from the unpronouncable ("Fann" pronounced "fun", "Ix") to the obviously-spelt-wronngly-somewhere ("Nnadia", "Ezann") to the non-humanoid noun (Fish, Noodle, Apple)
To help these celebrity victims and sufferers of UNS, the Rockie's Star Charity Show(RSCS) will endeavour to raise S$4.2m to help 7 victims change their name. Why so much money, yet only 7 victims, you ask. Well it so happens that recently a stat board found out that it costs S$400,000 to change a name back to the same one! Therefore, the board at RSCS realised that to have an actual name change, more money would be needed - their patron casually commented that each name change would cost a peanut. So thus only 7 victims can be helped, with no peanuts going into patron and board member pockets.
Unfortunately the Asia Pacific Region has more than 7 victims of UNS, so riding on the popularity of voting reality shows on every local channel rite now, the RSCS board has decided to change the charity show format: the full name of the show would be "The Rockie's Star Charity Show: Unfortunate Name Idol"! (it was supposed to be called "Unfortunately Named Idol" but apparently local TV does not care for grammar)
So now instead of risking neck, life and limb doing stunts, those who will be benefitting from the Show would perform for the show! TV Audiences would vote via SMS who should get the funds to cure UNS. for transparency sake: each SMS would cost $1, with 20 cents going to telcos, 20 cents going to organising the show, 20 cents for marketing the show, 5 cents going to the unfortunate celebrity voted for and 15 cents going to paying auditors for making sure the rite amt of money goes to all these ppl.
The format of the show would be as follows:
The 2 possibly-retrenched hosts of the possibly-axed NKF show would intro each contestant, who would talk abt how hard it was growing up with UNS, how much he/she suffered and a short re-enactment clip would be played.
Sample Script: *Sepia tones, pitiful music, sympathetic voice-over* Fat boy sits down on old-style canteen table full of other kids carrying a bowl fishball noodles and an apple. loudly announces "You all look! I'm eating *insert name*!!" Camera shows many many kids standing in front, pointing to camera and laughing loudly. scene suddenly changes to kid giving pirated Ru Lai Shen Zhang to bigger kid, ends up being beaten, kicked and pee-ed on. a little girl offers lollipop, but kid runs off. hmmm seems familiar... *pitiful music fadeout*
TV then shows hosts and contestant drying their eyes with ever present tissue. host asks "so what will you be singing for us tonite?" reply: "i hate my childhood/name/parents/fat kids/lollipops* (pick one) which can be found in my latest CD, even though i can't sing well and should just stick to acting, which i already suck at."
Repeat umpteen times for each contestant each weekly show, kicking out one contestant every show until 7 are left. After the celebrities have all been cured of UNS, themed variations of the show can be done... like ordinary ppl suffering from UNS (Premier League Soccer Teams). Eg. Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester, Chel...
Stay tuned!
Disclaimer: the above posting is solely for entertainment purposes; it is not meant to defame, insult, or ridicule any individual or organisation, dead or alive/disbanded or functioning. the events depicted are also purely fictional and from the author's imagination, or can be found in local newspaper reports. the author sincerely hopes anyone who may be adversely affected by his work sees the humour beneath, for no malice is meant. the author does not own any designer toilet bowls, gold taps, peanuts, or company cars which can be sold for legal costs in a defamation suit.
In spite of the NKF fiasco 2 weeks ago, for this sunday, there's still yet ANOTHER charity show involving celebrities singing, dancing and doing other death defying stunts. It's the President's Star Charity Show! *Canned applause and wolf-whistles*
Don't worry good folks, I'm betting that the organisations involved in this show won't be up to any (expensive) monkey business... thanx to the NKF shooting themselves in both feet. And also, the Patron (unfortunately, a dirty word nowadays) is none other than our esteemed President! Obviously, there won't be any pocketing of money coz the Istana ALREADY HAS gold taps and designer bowls. (It's meant to be a joke, Mr President Sir... please please PLEASE do not sue me; my family does not own a peanut farm. I support your running for a 2nd term wholeheartedly.)
We all also read on a local tabloid newspaper that actually the celebrities on these charity shows were TOLD to cry (of coz, they're actors) and make all those phone dialling actions and act pitiful and sympathetic while doing crazy stunts forced upon them... If my earlier posting had shone any bad light on them, i sincerely apologise - they were just unhappily and blindly following instructions.
To show my remorse, I have decided to join into the charity show fray (there were 6 last year)... Yes, next year TV audiences will have yet another forced down their throats and into their phonelines - The Rockie's Star Charity Show! It will be organised for what the name really means... yes, it's a Star Charity! No more fake crying and no more fake concern and no more fake sympathy... the money collected will go to helping the star celebrities themselves!
Dear Readers, I see your shock and concern. "Do we really want more golden toilet furnishings?" Hear me out, please. After a recent study done by an uninterested engineering student from a local university, it has been found that the majority of individuals who suffer from Unfortunate Name Syndrome (UNS) in the Asia Pacific Region are in/or are connected to the showbiz/music/entertainment* (pick one) industry! Samples range from the unpronouncable ("Fann" pronounced "fun", "Ix") to the obviously-spelt-wronngly-somewhere ("Nnadia", "Ezann") to the non-humanoid noun (Fish, Noodle, Apple)
To help these celebrity victims and sufferers of UNS, the Rockie's Star Charity Show(RSCS) will endeavour to raise S$4.2m to help 7 victims change their name. Why so much money, yet only 7 victims, you ask. Well it so happens that recently a stat board found out that it costs S$400,000 to change a name back to the same one! Therefore, the board at RSCS realised that to have an actual name change, more money would be needed - their patron casually commented that each name change would cost a peanut. So thus only 7 victims can be helped, with no peanuts going into patron and board member pockets.
Unfortunately the Asia Pacific Region has more than 7 victims of UNS, so riding on the popularity of voting reality shows on every local channel rite now, the RSCS board has decided to change the charity show format: the full name of the show would be "The Rockie's Star Charity Show: Unfortunate Name Idol"! (it was supposed to be called "Unfortunately Named Idol" but apparently local TV does not care for grammar)
So now instead of risking neck, life and limb doing stunts, those who will be benefitting from the Show would perform for the show! TV Audiences would vote via SMS who should get the funds to cure UNS. for transparency sake: each SMS would cost $1, with 20 cents going to telcos, 20 cents going to organising the show, 20 cents for marketing the show, 5 cents going to the unfortunate celebrity voted for and 15 cents going to paying auditors for making sure the rite amt of money goes to all these ppl.
The format of the show would be as follows:
The 2 possibly-retrenched hosts of the possibly-axed NKF show would intro each contestant, who would talk abt how hard it was growing up with UNS, how much he/she suffered and a short re-enactment clip would be played.
Sample Script: *Sepia tones, pitiful music, sympathetic voice-over* Fat boy sits down on old-style canteen table full of other kids carrying a bowl fishball noodles and an apple. loudly announces "You all look! I'm eating *insert name*!!" Camera shows many many kids standing in front, pointing to camera and laughing loudly. scene suddenly changes to kid giving pirated Ru Lai Shen Zhang to bigger kid, ends up being beaten, kicked and pee-ed on. a little girl offers lollipop, but kid runs off. hmmm seems familiar... *pitiful music fadeout*
TV then shows hosts and contestant drying their eyes with ever present tissue. host asks "so what will you be singing for us tonite?" reply: "i hate my childhood/name/parents/fat kids/lollipops* (pick one) which can be found in my latest CD, even though i can't sing well and should just stick to acting, which i already suck at."
Repeat umpteen times for each contestant each weekly show, kicking out one contestant every show until 7 are left. After the celebrities have all been cured of UNS, themed variations of the show can be done... like ordinary ppl suffering from UNS (Premier League Soccer Teams). Eg. Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester, Chel...
Stay tuned!
Disclaimer: the above posting is solely for entertainment purposes; it is not meant to defame, insult, or ridicule any individual or organisation, dead or alive/disbanded or functioning. the events depicted are also purely fictional and from the author's imagination, or can be found in local newspaper reports. the author sincerely hopes anyone who may be adversely affected by his work sees the humour beneath, for no malice is meant. the author does not own any designer toilet bowls, gold taps, peanuts, or company cars which can be sold for legal costs in a defamation suit.
Monday, July 25, 2005
First Day of School Tml! Will it be my last?
Currently Playing: Nothing. It's a school nite and i dun want my mummy to know i'm still awake at 2am!
Aiyoh... first day of school TODAY. hopefully i grad this sem. really been dreading this... been putting off going to sch for FYP... rather stay at home and nuah. the past 2 days been spent running ard getting things in order. at least packed my room, bought a new hamster cage and cleaned out the others, managed to meet frens.
BUT... didn't bring hamster girl to see vet abt her balding, still hvn't totally unpacked from YEP, didn't spend time on the treadmill like i told myself to. and i badly, badly need a hair cut.
besides doing FYP and juggling 6 subjects, i'll also need to handle "curious" acquaintances...
Acquaintance, whose name i probably forgot: "Eh?? I thot u grad liao?!"
or: "Eh?? U hvn't grad ah?!"
or: "What happened to you?!"
To which I would reply: "Nope, my course 4 1/2 yrs, u dunno meh?"
or, if it applies: "No... I see you've decided to extend as well."
of coz, my course is Engineering for Uninterested Students (EUS)
well... those who matter to me already know, so doesn't matter to me much. just something i hv to deal with. but in any case most of my non-lesson and non-eating time wld be spent either in FYP lab or library. recently, I told someone this coming sem wld be siong... she told me dun think it is siong, but think that u must chiong... hahhaa how true.
but feel free to come look for me if u happen to be in sch... always hv time for frens, esp when i shd be doing something else.
need to fall asleep fast... will read a chinese picture book to do so. ;-)
note to self: work hard to end it this sem! and for goodness sake go cut ur scruffy hair!
Aiyoh... first day of school TODAY. hopefully i grad this sem. really been dreading this... been putting off going to sch for FYP... rather stay at home and nuah. the past 2 days been spent running ard getting things in order. at least packed my room, bought a new hamster cage and cleaned out the others, managed to meet frens.
BUT... didn't bring hamster girl to see vet abt her balding, still hvn't totally unpacked from YEP, didn't spend time on the treadmill like i told myself to. and i badly, badly need a hair cut.
besides doing FYP and juggling 6 subjects, i'll also need to handle "curious" acquaintances...
Acquaintance, whose name i probably forgot: "Eh?? I thot u grad liao?!"
or: "Eh?? U hvn't grad ah?!"
or: "What happened to you?!"
To which I would reply: "Nope, my course 4 1/2 yrs, u dunno meh?"
or, if it applies: "No... I see you've decided to extend as well."
of coz, my course is Engineering for Uninterested Students (EUS)
well... those who matter to me already know, so doesn't matter to me much. just something i hv to deal with. but in any case most of my non-lesson and non-eating time wld be spent either in FYP lab or library. recently, I told someone this coming sem wld be siong... she told me dun think it is siong, but think that u must chiong... hahhaa how true.
but feel free to come look for me if u happen to be in sch... always hv time for frens, esp when i shd be doing something else.
need to fall asleep fast... will read a chinese picture book to do so. ;-)
note to self: work hard to end it this sem! and for goodness sake go cut ur scruffy hair!
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Being Different
Currently Playing: 1985 by Bowling for Soup
Yet another lovely fren shared with me her blog address. to date, i've been able to access abt 6 blogs of my frens... and all but 1 is abt feelings, emotions, what happened. Got me thinking... i'm not a blogger, i'm a columnist. haha! sounds so professional... so which magazine/tabloid is going to pay me to write?
but seriously speaking... y dun i write abt feelings? maybe coz that wld somehow make me more vulnerable? maybe coz feelings and emotions come and go? maybe coz i'll get embarassed abt reading how dumb i was few mths ago? (i realise this is not restricted to just emotions) maybe coz thots, that hv been maturing for some time now, have more credibility to last longer? maybe coz i'm looking for a writing job but need a fricking load of practise?
hey... i AM writing abt my feelings/thots/emotions. DARN! there goes my writing job!!
anyway... thank you, dear readers, for visiting my little spot in cyberspace so regularly. the praises i get for jabbering away at things that peeve me. the pride u guys give me when u mislead me into thinking i can actually write well. thank you and your comments are more than welcome. i really appreciate ur readership.
note to self: finish all entries before cyberspace time runs out! and stay different, coz i am.
Yet another lovely fren shared with me her blog address. to date, i've been able to access abt 6 blogs of my frens... and all but 1 is abt feelings, emotions, what happened. Got me thinking... i'm not a blogger, i'm a columnist. haha! sounds so professional... so which magazine/tabloid is going to pay me to write?
but seriously speaking... y dun i write abt feelings? maybe coz that wld somehow make me more vulnerable? maybe coz feelings and emotions come and go? maybe coz i'll get embarassed abt reading how dumb i was few mths ago? (i realise this is not restricted to just emotions) maybe coz thots, that hv been maturing for some time now, have more credibility to last longer? maybe coz i'm looking for a writing job but need a fricking load of practise?
hey... i AM writing abt my feelings/thots/emotions. DARN! there goes my writing job!!
anyway... thank you, dear readers, for visiting my little spot in cyberspace so regularly. the praises i get for jabbering away at things that peeve me. the pride u guys give me when u mislead me into thinking i can actually write well. thank you and your comments are more than welcome. i really appreciate ur readership.
note to self: finish all entries before cyberspace time runs out! and stay different, coz i am.
Am I That Approachable? Part 2
Currently Playing: Distractions by Zero 7
Just as I was saying frens who hv become MLM agents or "financial planners" using frenship to earn money... I caught another one over MSN! this guy did IA in the same company... but we hardly spoke over MSN after that. only said hi when we met in sch.
Fren: yo
Me: hey wazzup?
Fren: how's life?
Me: liddat lor. u? working as? (i knew something was up)
Fren: financial planner
Me: hahahhah
Fren: how many subjects next sem?
Me: eh dun bother selling me anything... i got plans liao
Fren: (proceeds to ask me abt my work load next sem, doesn't say anything abt his job nor my "dun bother" sentence) ........
was he genuinely asking abt me? or looking for a potential victim? a close, rather intellectual, fren once told me i'm damn cynical, shd give others the benefit of the doubt. yup, like in this case, i give him the benefit of my doubt... hahahah
on an unrelated note... i wonder why has this song by Zero 7 been catching my ears lately... wonder why i can't seem to settle down to get things done... wonder why things seem less fun these days... wonder why i feel so... distracted.
note to self: get a hold on yourself!
Just as I was saying frens who hv become MLM agents or "financial planners" using frenship to earn money... I caught another one over MSN! this guy did IA in the same company... but we hardly spoke over MSN after that. only said hi when we met in sch.
Fren: yo
Me: hey wazzup?
Fren: how's life?
Me: liddat lor. u? working as? (i knew something was up)
Fren: financial planner
Me: hahahhah
Fren: how many subjects next sem?
Me: eh dun bother selling me anything... i got plans liao
Fren: (proceeds to ask me abt my work load next sem, doesn't say anything abt his job nor my "dun bother" sentence) ........
was he genuinely asking abt me? or looking for a potential victim? a close, rather intellectual, fren once told me i'm damn cynical, shd give others the benefit of the doubt. yup, like in this case, i give him the benefit of my doubt... hahahah
on an unrelated note... i wonder why has this song by Zero 7 been catching my ears lately... wonder why i can't seem to settle down to get things done... wonder why things seem less fun these days... wonder why i feel so... distracted.
note to self: get a hold on yourself!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Am I That Approachable?
Currently Playing: Nothing. It's late at nite.
It all started with a YEP fren telling me he just came back from business. since he seemed eager to make conversation, to humour him, "what kind of business?" i casually asked.
BIG MISTAKE. he was in a cosmetic selling MLM. i am neither interested in the products nor sales method. yet he proceeded to rattle on over msn trying to recruit me into his fold and/or sell me cosmetics. i am unable to quote him becoz i ignored the msn and went out.
when i came back home, my hp was full of his SMS - asking me when wld be free to meet to discuss abt the business or even if i wasn't interested in the business his gf (also went YEP, also in the business) was looking for ppl to practise her demo (read: sales) talk on.
i replied that i wasn't interested and wld be too cynical to encourage his gf. anyway all the best.
since Plan A: Innocent Requests for Help failed, he put Plan B: Emotional Blackmail into action, by saying it's ok he understands but his gf wld be so disappointed to know that her good fren from YEP didn't want to help her out...
oh come on... i hardly spoke to her during the trip unless it was abt work or health. so i replied he was being pushy (he claimed he wldn't on msn earlier) and told him i was too cynical to be affected by emotional blackmail. gdnite.
so out comes Plan C: Guilt Trip! he smsed saying he did sms his gf abt it and she really got disappointed but he told her she had to respect my wishes as a fren and in seemingly no connection whatsoever, proceeded to thank me for a job well done during the trip and told me i am really a good fren to have.
i mean, no offence, but becoz he has MLM up his sleeve, i take all his words with a large dose of salt. i wldn't know if he was saying those things coz they were true and he meant it, or it was just a sales pitch. precisely y i dun like selling stuff to frens and dealing with salesppl who are frens... you don't know when they are using the friendship to earn extra cash.
i hv a good fren (since sec sch) who also came to tell me abt MLM... either with or without the guise of passing me lecture notes. i endured abt an hour of sales talk and he endured an hour of cynical questions, afterwhich neither convinced the other. but at least we kind of agreed to disagree, and we never mentioned abt it again. at least we're close enuff for me to be straight fwd and tell him no, but know our frenship would still be as strong. KB, i appreciate that. thank you.
my cousin and his sis are into MLM as well... 3 of us used to be very close when young. all it took was a happie birthdae sms from me to him for the sales talk to begin. my 2nd sms told him i wasn't interested, but thanx. last i heard, they're not doing too well, having a dearth of customers.
besides frens in MLM, strangers approach me as well... either churchy ppl or insurance agents/financial planners/life planners/whatever they are called now
used to give the religious ones a chance... thot they mean well. until this guy claiming to be a major in the air force approached me when i was a young naive recruit in BMT and talked to me from 11pm to 2am, robbing me of my precious bookout time. which recruit dares to tell a major to stop wasting his time? i never gave them a chance to do so again.
and now, i have lots of fun handling insurance agents. used to such say "no" to their questions and try to walk away... but i've learnt to identify them from far... those ppl wearing office wear (sometimes with a red lanyard) standing at busy bus interchanges with a clipboard while everyone else rushing ard has better things to do. (those with no clipboard are the religious ones) among my best rejections are:
(when the agent approaches expectantly)
- stick my hand out in front of her like a traffic police stopping a car and saying "no! not interested."
- agent: "would you like to help me do a simple survey?"
me: "about insurance rite?"
agent: "no, it's abt financial planning..."
me: "insurance lah!" (walks off)
- smile sweetly and ask "insurance? not interested" (just happened few hrs ago!)
- (agent walks alongside me at my speed, which was quite fast)
agent: (breathlessly) "hi."
me: (cheerfully) "hello!" (still walking moderately quickly)
agent: (still breathless) "would you like to stop for a while?"
me: (still cheerfully) "no, not really."
the short, sharp interactions thus end, saving me and the unfortunate agent time to pursue more rewarding encounters. it is a pity i never turn around to witness their reactions; but my main motivation is not malicious, it is not to damage their egos. although i admit it can be fun, i also do this so that i do not waste any of my valuable time on futile sales talk. i only have so many years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds... none to spare for salesppl i will nv see again... i feel no empathy for them - they chose their own career.
note to self: Never get a sales job!
It all started with a YEP fren telling me he just came back from business. since he seemed eager to make conversation, to humour him, "what kind of business?" i casually asked.
BIG MISTAKE. he was in a cosmetic selling MLM. i am neither interested in the products nor sales method. yet he proceeded to rattle on over msn trying to recruit me into his fold and/or sell me cosmetics. i am unable to quote him becoz i ignored the msn and went out.
when i came back home, my hp was full of his SMS - asking me when wld be free to meet to discuss abt the business or even if i wasn't interested in the business his gf (also went YEP, also in the business) was looking for ppl to practise her demo (read: sales) talk on.
i replied that i wasn't interested and wld be too cynical to encourage his gf. anyway all the best.
since Plan A: Innocent Requests for Help failed, he put Plan B: Emotional Blackmail into action, by saying it's ok he understands but his gf wld be so disappointed to know that her good fren from YEP didn't want to help her out...
oh come on... i hardly spoke to her during the trip unless it was abt work or health. so i replied he was being pushy (he claimed he wldn't on msn earlier) and told him i was too cynical to be affected by emotional blackmail. gdnite.
so out comes Plan C: Guilt Trip! he smsed saying he did sms his gf abt it and she really got disappointed but he told her she had to respect my wishes as a fren and in seemingly no connection whatsoever, proceeded to thank me for a job well done during the trip and told me i am really a good fren to have.
i mean, no offence, but becoz he has MLM up his sleeve, i take all his words with a large dose of salt. i wldn't know if he was saying those things coz they were true and he meant it, or it was just a sales pitch. precisely y i dun like selling stuff to frens and dealing with salesppl who are frens... you don't know when they are using the friendship to earn extra cash.
i hv a good fren (since sec sch) who also came to tell me abt MLM... either with or without the guise of passing me lecture notes. i endured abt an hour of sales talk and he endured an hour of cynical questions, afterwhich neither convinced the other. but at least we kind of agreed to disagree, and we never mentioned abt it again. at least we're close enuff for me to be straight fwd and tell him no, but know our frenship would still be as strong. KB, i appreciate that. thank you.
my cousin and his sis are into MLM as well... 3 of us used to be very close when young. all it took was a happie birthdae sms from me to him for the sales talk to begin. my 2nd sms told him i wasn't interested, but thanx. last i heard, they're not doing too well, having a dearth of customers.
besides frens in MLM, strangers approach me as well... either churchy ppl or insurance agents/financial planners/life planners/whatever they are called now
used to give the religious ones a chance... thot they mean well. until this guy claiming to be a major in the air force approached me when i was a young naive recruit in BMT and talked to me from 11pm to 2am, robbing me of my precious bookout time. which recruit dares to tell a major to stop wasting his time? i never gave them a chance to do so again.
and now, i have lots of fun handling insurance agents. used to such say "no" to their questions and try to walk away... but i've learnt to identify them from far... those ppl wearing office wear (sometimes with a red lanyard) standing at busy bus interchanges with a clipboard while everyone else rushing ard has better things to do. (those with no clipboard are the religious ones) among my best rejections are:
(when the agent approaches expectantly)
- stick my hand out in front of her like a traffic police stopping a car and saying "no! not interested."
- agent: "would you like to help me do a simple survey?"
me: "about insurance rite?"
agent: "no, it's abt financial planning..."
me: "insurance lah!" (walks off)
- smile sweetly and ask "insurance? not interested" (just happened few hrs ago!)
- (agent walks alongside me at my speed, which was quite fast)
agent: (breathlessly) "hi."
me: (cheerfully) "hello!" (still walking moderately quickly)
agent: (still breathless) "would you like to stop for a while?"
me: (still cheerfully) "no, not really."
the short, sharp interactions thus end, saving me and the unfortunate agent time to pursue more rewarding encounters. it is a pity i never turn around to witness their reactions; but my main motivation is not malicious, it is not to damage their egos. although i admit it can be fun, i also do this so that i do not waste any of my valuable time on futile sales talk. i only have so many years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds... none to spare for salesppl i will nv see again... i feel no empathy for them - they chose their own career.
note to self: Never get a sales job!
A Missing Entry!
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What happened? well i was banging away furiously to post an entry abt my waterfall trek with ODAC orientation camp, and especially abt the guy who turned my headache into a full blown migraine when my internet connection died on me... resulting in complete loss of the post. since i as a writer believe in literary integrity (read: laziness) i shall not attempt to re-write my 1st hand thots as every time it wld be different. so the blank space above is for u, my dear readers, to imagine the horrific true account that would hv been...
but no worries... the account (with some liberties taken) will be the subject of a book i shall be writing in the near-future. from my recent market survey, children and adults (with child-like interests) seem to go crazy over certain books with titles of little variation. in that light, i shall name my book "Rokky Panner and the Half-Wit Who Wouldn't Stop Talking"
In this episode, Rokky, the young "magician" (read: street con-artist) and his 2 young frens (who have no real role whatsoever, and are only there to make up the numbers so the lead doesn't seem like a social outcast) meet the Half-Wit within the long windy corridors of NTU where the Half-Wit talks the 2 frens out of their minds. Rokky, as usual, after various encounters, saves the day and the world from destruction by locking the Half-Wit in a soundproof room with LOUD chinamen who doesn't understand english. Everyone in the room dies from too much bleeding from the ears.
Wow. from a mere explanation into a full-length entry. this thing is addictive.
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What happened? well i was banging away furiously to post an entry abt my waterfall trek with ODAC orientation camp, and especially abt the guy who turned my headache into a full blown migraine when my internet connection died on me... resulting in complete loss of the post. since i as a writer believe in literary integrity (read: laziness) i shall not attempt to re-write my 1st hand thots as every time it wld be different. so the blank space above is for u, my dear readers, to imagine the horrific true account that would hv been...
but no worries... the account (with some liberties taken) will be the subject of a book i shall be writing in the near-future. from my recent market survey, children and adults (with child-like interests) seem to go crazy over certain books with titles of little variation. in that light, i shall name my book "Rokky Panner and the Half-Wit Who Wouldn't Stop Talking"
In this episode, Rokky, the young "magician" (read: street con-artist) and his 2 young frens (who have no real role whatsoever, and are only there to make up the numbers so the lead doesn't seem like a social outcast) meet the Half-Wit within the long windy corridors of NTU where the Half-Wit talks the 2 frens out of their minds. Rokky, as usual, after various encounters, saves the day and the world from destruction by locking the Half-Wit in a soundproof room with LOUD chinamen who doesn't understand english. Everyone in the room dies from too much bleeding from the ears.
Wow. from a mere explanation into a full-length entry. this thing is addictive.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Looking for Job? I got Lobang!
Currently Playing: Nothing (coz scared my mum wake up and scold me for being online so late)
First of all, finally i'm back online!! Dear readers, sorry for making u guys wait so long... u can all thank my very first fan (she read finish all my entries in one sitting!) for dragging me to starhub to apply for broadband... if not i'd be sleeping right now.
Anyway, back to the current topic. Updates on YEP can wait...
Frens who hv just graduated, are you still looking for a meaningful, well-paying job? look no further than our local charitable organisations!! it's true!! usually ppl hv the concept that being a social worker means little pay, no perks, and working with sickly, old, problematic ppl. not true!!
nowadays, charitable orgns are likening themselves to publicly listed companies, and are willing to pay their employees matching salaries!! wat's more, the orgn will value your privacy and not disclose your pay package. so u can continue to act poor in front of free loading frens!! first pay just treat them 40 cent you tiao can oready! then say u nv bring out enuff cash for dou jiang... and when they ask u why u urself never order? smile sweetly and say u're full oready. the smarter ones will get the msg.
not only they match salaries, they match perks and benefits as well!! ensuring comfort locally and when abroad, each employee has their own personal toilet with fittings in the colour of their choice!! (but dunno y, now least popular is gold colour) when travelling overseas, employees are given a choice of the best airlines... or a choice of taking the lousier airlines and get a free upgrade in seats!! those who choose to travel by land may rent the whole bus for themselves as well!!
and how abt the ppl at work? no worries!! now the scope of employees have changed. last time, employees were volunteers, made to run circles round the beneficiaries. now, employees make volunteers run round in circles! what's more, now the "volunteers" are pretty faced hunks and babes under contract by their company to do wat the charitable orgn tells them to do, so no more 1/2 past 6 volunteers! can make them juggle dice, stand on eggs, and even stand on each other!! (see previous entry) so fun!!
so what are you waiting for?? sign up at your nearest charitable orgn outpost todae!! just take a quik peek at the list below before doing so...
Do's:
-Let your frens use ur lovely office toilet... i've got requests for mine already
-Maintain a not-so-well-to-do image (eg. using 10cent public toilets, giving cheapo treats, taking economy on flights)
-Sue anyone who thinks otherwise, preferably with good lawyers
Don'ts:
-Let your beneficiaries or donors know about ur lovely office toilet
-Hire kaypoh contractors who will blow ur not-so-well-to-do image
-Sue print companies who hire even better lawyers
First of all, finally i'm back online!! Dear readers, sorry for making u guys wait so long... u can all thank my very first fan (she read finish all my entries in one sitting!) for dragging me to starhub to apply for broadband... if not i'd be sleeping right now.
Anyway, back to the current topic. Updates on YEP can wait...
Frens who hv just graduated, are you still looking for a meaningful, well-paying job? look no further than our local charitable organisations!! it's true!! usually ppl hv the concept that being a social worker means little pay, no perks, and working with sickly, old, problematic ppl. not true!!
nowadays, charitable orgns are likening themselves to publicly listed companies, and are willing to pay their employees matching salaries!! wat's more, the orgn will value your privacy and not disclose your pay package. so u can continue to act poor in front of free loading frens!! first pay just treat them 40 cent you tiao can oready! then say u nv bring out enuff cash for dou jiang... and when they ask u why u urself never order? smile sweetly and say u're full oready. the smarter ones will get the msg.
not only they match salaries, they match perks and benefits as well!! ensuring comfort locally and when abroad, each employee has their own personal toilet with fittings in the colour of their choice!! (but dunno y, now least popular is gold colour) when travelling overseas, employees are given a choice of the best airlines... or a choice of taking the lousier airlines and get a free upgrade in seats!! those who choose to travel by land may rent the whole bus for themselves as well!!
and how abt the ppl at work? no worries!! now the scope of employees have changed. last time, employees were volunteers, made to run circles round the beneficiaries. now, employees make volunteers run round in circles! what's more, now the "volunteers" are pretty faced hunks and babes under contract by their company to do wat the charitable orgn tells them to do, so no more 1/2 past 6 volunteers! can make them juggle dice, stand on eggs, and even stand on each other!! (see previous entry) so fun!!
so what are you waiting for?? sign up at your nearest charitable orgn outpost todae!! just take a quik peek at the list below before doing so...
Do's:
-Let your frens use ur lovely office toilet... i've got requests for mine already
-Maintain a not-so-well-to-do image (eg. using 10cent public toilets, giving cheapo treats, taking economy on flights)
-Sue anyone who thinks otherwise, preferably with good lawyers
Don'ts:
-Let your beneficiaries or donors know about ur lovely office toilet
-Hire kaypoh contractors who will blow ur not-so-well-to-do image
-Sue print companies who hire even better lawyers
