On The Train To Weymouth

Back in London and were now headed back to Weymouth to stay with Grandpa for the last bit of our vacation. It's gonna be a long train ride, and I think we're all gonna sleep through it.

Sailing To Paris

Heading onto a boat to cross the English Channel and visit Disneyland Paris and the city… Croque Madame here I come!

Off To London

Time to say goodbye to Singapore once again and visit the Queen with Adi & Angie.

Rest In Peace Eric Chung

Even though we didn't keep in touch much, it was still good knowing you. One of the big brothers in our class who always tried to see the brighter side of life. May your soul be at peace. 

Save My Eyes, Save My Sanity

Been talking to Amy and Angie about one of the best options we have on Facebook - the option not to follow the posts of some of our friends and family. I bet some people actually do the same to me anyway, so no love list there really.

The reasons, however, might shock some people. Well Angie and I seem to have "unfollowed" the same few people in our list. It was quite obvious that these bunch of people were just posting too much rubbish we weren't interested in. In fact, they usually posted rather irritating or petty comments, negativity we don't need. 

Then came the bunch of people who just love posting quotes from every corner of the Internet. I'm not sure if they are showing how resourceful they are with image searches, how emotional they can be, or how sad their lives are. I don't mind the occasional quote about life's ups and downs, funny jokes to brighten everyone's day or even emotional quotes about heartbreak and loss. However, to have a minimum of 10 quotes a day, mostly about how people have wronged you, and that it's ok for you to wallow in your self pity - no thank you bloody much. Once again I don't need all that negativity. 

Now, there's another bunch of people I've started to consider "unfollowing", although I already have one "victim". The reason to leave them out is a bit mean, but there's a breaking point for everything. So what is it that has got me irritated? It's the incessant posting of pictures or videos of their child/children. What I feel bad about is that I feel that their kid is ugly. I'm not talking about newborn babies that are still wrinkly - that is nature, we're all born like that (unless your the newborn baby on tv shows). Most babies are cute, especially when they have chubby cheeks and give their toothless grins. What I'm referring to are kids that look like trolls, or don't seem to get enough sleep that they have eye bags or dark eye circles. I understand how parents will be proud of their child but I think some people should have a gauge as to what is cute and what is not. I don't know why, but it seems like the emergence of the non-photogenic kids seem to appear only in recent times. Maybe it's the parents, or the lack of camera skills, or the convenience of digital photography. Going through old photos of friends and family, you don't see tired-looking kids or trolls. Maybe it's just that it seems I have beautiful people in my life? 

Networking Interests Or Social Stalking

Ever since little "apps" were available on our mobile phones, and almost everything was linked to Facebook, I sometimes feel as though some people are either lost sheep, stalkers or nosy.
For example, my sis got me to join Facebook as it was a social networking site, and it would help our family get quicker photo updates through it rather than emails which had a bit of a limit. This was just as they launched Facebook to the world instead of just universities. Then came the fun of getting updates about friends you've lost contact with for a while, some for about 20 years!

What I didn't understand were the request from strange people whom I've never heard of or met in my life. We might have a common friend, but that doesn't mean I know you, and I don't particularly like to give such people access to my photos. One might argue that it is called a Social Networking site, and so adding people is a means to socialising. I would then say I think I'm rather well socialised with over a 100 friends, excluding family. However, out of these friends, it seems that 90% of them act more acquaintances. So really, the social bit isn't exactly what Facebook is all about. Therefore, if I don't know you personally, I won't add you. And if you're dumb enough to put a cartoon photo with a made up name, then don't even bother asking. No one will know you really.

Then comes the weirder requests, which are on Twitter and Instagram. So the option available on these two sites are to follow someone you're interested in. For those who might not know, Instagram is a photo and short video (added recently) sharing sight with options to link to Facebook and Twitter should the urge arise. Twitter is a place to do shout outs - short and simple posts with photo addition options.

One of the strange things about this 2 sites is when a request to follow you is by an account for something that probably will never be in you search radar. Personally, I think these accounts are hoping that by following you, you'll follow them back, increasing the interest to their account. I honestly don't think I have posted anything so interesting for anyone to follow me. All I see is "attention whore" stamped all over their profile.

The other issue is actually with the friends/acquaintances who join sites such as Pinterest and Instagram. They send a request to follow me, and they would not post or pin anything on their account. This is where I wonder if they are following the flock and getting lost, nosy buggers or potentially creepy stalkers. What is so interesting about my pictures, posts or pins that you have to follow every account I have? How fun would it be if you decide to follow me and end up looking at no pins or photos on my profile? 

I need an Antisocial site. 

Stuck In The Middle

"Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Do with their death bury their parents' strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,

And the continuance of their parents' rage,

Which, but their children's end, nought could remove."

At this moment, I can say i feel like Romeo and Juliet combined. I can honestly imagine my dad as the house of Montague and mom as the house Capulet. Both don't seem to know how to agree, and I'm stuck in the middle. Just hope it doesn't take a tragedy to get them to agree on things. 

重口味

Amy always described me as a person with 重口味, or extreme tastes. Other than the fact that I am usually quite adventurous with food, experimental as well, she finds I seem to attract weird people in my life. These weird people also seem to have their own extreme tastes or borderline perversions, some of which I probably have mentioned before. 

Anyway, this is about the strange joy I find in inflicting pain on myself. I not talking about suicidal slashing or depressive burning on my arms and legs. Noooooo. I'm referring to relieving muscle aches by inflicting more pain onto the area that is already sore. I'm not sure if this would qualify me as a sadomasochist, and definitely not a physiotherapist. 

As the dictionary puts it, a masochist is a person who finds pleasure suffering physical pain (among other things). While a sadist is one who finds pleasure in inflicting pain. I can't seem to find any definition of sadomasochist - probably because it is two opposite personalities that shouldn't fester in one person? To also clear things up, there's nothing about the pleasure here being in the sexual context. I'd say it's more of the release of adrenalin and endorphins kind of pleasure. 

I honestly do enjoy rubbing in more pain to already sore muscles, or stepping on stones when I have rather sore feet. Wouldn't the latter count as foot reflexology? However, I do add more pressure to the pain, like my own version of super focused deep tissue massage, and sometimes shout (in shock and joy) at getting the bubble of pressure to pop. My mom says I torture myself, and I would agree, but she doesn't seem to mind being an accomplice to this madness. 

Maybe this is why I don't really enjoy getting massages at the spas in Singapore. No one really has enough strength to get the knots under all my thick skin and fat layers. Don't know about a Thai massage though, it looks good. 

Opening New Doors

Got the keys to the new apartments today and after 2 hours of signing papers, we got a bag with all the important documents and a smaller pouch with all the keys. That's the keys for a 3-room apartment. Imagine the amount of keys for a 5-room. Off to go test them all and check for defects. 

Changing Things Up

After cleaning out some blogs, I decided to play around with some of the templates, wondering what new ones blogger might have come up with. To my delight, I found one that allows me to add pages to a central blog, creating a look like they all fit into one website. So now I'm mucking around with a tester and I'm hoping it can turn out as nicely as it 's forming in my mind.

Arrogance Versus Intellect

Someone's post on Facebook the other day didn't seem right to me and so I asked for some clarification. Instead of getting clarification, it seemed like the person was just twisting things to make their statement a fact.

After writing a few papers for the short course in Applied Psychology, Amy and I learnt a lot about digging for evidence and support for the points we were attempting to put across. Each bold statement or conclusion usually meant we had to quote someone or cite examples. 

So when a statement is made, especially one accusing another of being wrong, I tend to itch for proof. But it ends rather disappointingly when one decides that the world is wrong, and yet can't produce any points to back themselves. Then it just leaves me to conclude that the statement they made was wrong, and that the person is just really arrogant and possibly, an attention whore. 

Therefore, I find in favour of the defendant and ignorance for the plaintiff  is ordered.  

Awesome Deals!

Had some strange inkling to check out the events at Expo on Sunday and found out that Mayer was having a sale there. As I was told by Yana that prices of the KitchenAid mixers can drop quite low during their sales, I told dad to get ready to hunt as soon as he woke up. (I was on  some US time zone). At the same time, I wanted to check out the Bugatti Diva.

 

Even though the price was really too much, I wanted to see how good it was. 

So got there and once we got in, we were greeted by convection ovens. Oh boy, another item on my wish list for the new house. That started our journey through the sale hall and it somehow ended abruptly around the corner as the next 2 showcases were for KitchenAid and Bugatti products. 

There were so many colours to choose from, we had to stand back and take a deep breath before approaching our target, but dad noticed a difference in prices for similar-looking models. The professional range was easy to spot, but this looked exactly like the candy colored ones, but had a nicer shine to it. So curious about the price difference, dad had to ask and we found out that the pricier product would have alloy coatings to the attachments, while enamel-coated ones came with the cheaper range. So since I can be quite a klutz, I was leaning toward the alloy-coated ones. We would also get an extra mixing bowl with that choice. 

Down side, according to the sales people, was that we had to pre-order the mixer. That made it all better for us as we were thinking of buying it at a later date when we've moved to the new house. The deal was already sealed for the KitchenAid mixer, but the lady had to add one more bonus which was a $50 discount with any pre-ordered mixer. It was like an offer we couldn't resist just shoved into our faces. 

Then as dad was deciding between all the mixers, I stepped over the invisible boundary to the Bugatti showcase. I decided to check out the price, wondering if they would have a substantial discount on it so I could save up for the next sale. Lo and behold, the price was slashed from $1899 to $899. I thought it was a joke and asked the sales staff. She replied that it was a thousand dollar discount for all the display sets. Then I looked at all the display sets and one just called out to me, that chrome one just like in that picture above. It was a hundred dollars more, but at a thousand dollar discount, I took the extra fingerprints that came with it. The plus point was also the fact that only the body was displayed while the cheaper one had  all the parts out. At least I know my set wouldn't have had the portafilter  accidentally dropped while on display. 

I told dad I'm going to get it as it was another deal too good to pass up, and we end up telling the staff to ring us up for the two items. We were then told we would be getting a salad chopper as a gift and ended up with 2. Well, it could end up as a good present. 

After paying, we lugged the coffee machine and choppers to the car and returned for another round. Good thing we did as dad got some education on cooker hoods and realised that all this while he was thinking of it all wrong. Also found a good deal on air conditioner installation for the new houses, as well as a new fridge. The best part about the whole sale was getting stuff we needed but having them all delived at a later date. 

I told dad that mom might kill me for the coffee machine, but I think she was secretly happy that she would be able to make her own cup of extra shot long black once we get it up and running. 

Positive Versus Negative Shows

After my recent trip to Australia, I came back to a load of television shows mom had recorded over the six weeks.

There was a repeat season of CSI, the last few episodes of Survivor, 6 episodes of Mentalist, CSI: Miami, America's Next Top Model (ANTM), and also the start of some singing competition called The Final One. 

While in Australia, I had my fair share of shows that I caught other than having a Game of Thrones marathon. Started watching Arrow and Elementary, which I hope would be played on local free-to-air channels. Not forgetting the indulgence of Bondi Vet and Bondi Rescue. There was also a few times when I had a giggle with Judge Judy. 

As shown above, the list of shows I've been watching, with the shows I've yet to complete when I came back was quite extensive. So when my mom asked what I'd like to watch, I said reality shows were definitely not on the list. Especially since I already caught the results of Survivor. 

I realised that it's not the whole show I didn't like, but the stupid and irritating bickering that the contestants usually have on the show. So the arguments and nonsense the contestants come up with are usually the ones that get the ratings, but I don't want to torture my mind with that kind of negative crap. 

The one good function about having a recorded show is the fast forward button. I'd use it just to get to the good parts like the challenges and tribal council on Survivor, judging panel on ANTM, who did the worst job and gets kicked off The Block. But mom likes to watch the whole show and wonders how I can be blogging or playing games while the show is on. Rather easy when only 10 - 20 minutes of an hour-long show is actually fun to watch. 

Then I wonder, why is it I can watch shows like Judge Judy? Firstly, I don't actually watch it, but I listen in while doing something else. However, it's her sharp tongue and her no-nonsense approach that makes the show. Most people (most, but not all) who go on the show can be real idiots, but Judge Judy would never hesitate to put them in place or slap some sense (if she's lucky) into them. I guess I like it because it seems as though she's ridding the US of all these fools. 

Then came the point Adi said about watching Bondi Vet, and that I don't mind the yapping because Dr Chris Brown is handsome. I won't deny he is, and I bet he doesn't either.

However, compared to shows like Survivor, Judge Judy and ANTM, there are no mindless arguments in Bondi Vet. It's a show about vets helping animals, and the only stupid thing is when an animal dies due to a lack of a cure. 

The same goes for Bondi Rescue, Animal Rescue, Surf Patrol, and Piha Rescue. The shows are centred around getting a positive outcome at the end of the day.

Positivity that I gladly welcome every week 

Questionable

Are men more willing to photograph outdoors in the nude than women?
I think it's partially due to the fact that men only have one bit to hide should there be any emergency to cover up.
But I wonder, if there was no fee for the model, how many of each gender would a photographer really get.

Clearing Stuff Out

I don't know what got into me the other day and I decided to clear some blogs I had created. Looking at the blogs, I realised I like having things in their own separate corners, and that gives a problem when it comes to space. Good thing then for blogs being online, as well as sites like Pinterest where I can keep boards of ideas I have. To think of the million magazine cut outs we would be keeping if sites like that never exist.

Anyway, after deciding which blogs to delete, I noticed the first 2 were blogs that were shared with friends. It was also the reason they were deleted as most of them no longer blogged. So why bother holding on to something no one was interested in? It also taught me that if I ever wanted to start a business, I'd be better off just going at it alone. 

I think, however, I might like the idea of having guest posts once in a while.

Then came the question about deleting the blogs where I've been adding tons of photos. I haven't gone into my Flickr account for quite a while, then came the mess with adding the photos through blogger. So now I'm swinging back and forth about those blogs. 

As I'm now using the mobile version to publish this post, I realised that I had some really strange blog ideas 10 years back. More of which definitely needs to be deleted, and probably an update for 2 of them. 

Off To Babysit Some Dogs

Sis wants to celebrate her 20th birthday in style and asked if I could go over to help babysit her 2 fur balls while she goes of with Brendan to Bali. Since I have nothing better to do, and my visa is still valid… I'm off!

2012 Annual Awards

Remembering 2012 Awards Winner's Roll:

BEST HOLIDAY

* Koh Samui - Hen's Night *

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR

* The Sing Off *

SONG OF THE YEAR

* Drive By - Train *

MOVIE OF THE YEAR

* The Avengers *

BOOK OF THE YEAR

* NIL *

CLUB/PUB OF THE YEAR

* NIL *

DRINKING BUDDY OF THE YEAR

* Barkley (hahaha!) *

RESTAURANT/CAFE OF THE YEAR

* TCC International Plaza *

BEST EVENT OF THE YEAR

* Sis' Wedding *

BIGGEST DOUCHEBAG AWARD

* Wally LC Face *

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR AWARD

* Wally LC Face *

VALENTINES AWARD

* Aunty Carlolin, Hani, Mom, Barkley *

BEST RELATIONSHIP AWARD

* Adi *

WHAT WERE YOU FOR HALLOWEEN

* Stock Counter *

NEWCOMER AWARD

* Kamalrudin *

5th ANNUAL LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD

* Angie Ong *

BEST DECISION MADE

* Olympus PEN E-P2 *

BIGGEST CHANGE AWARD

* Leaving UCC *

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR

* Grandpa's Xmas Visit *

FUTURE PLANS

* Travel Further *