Not As Frivolous As You Would Imagine
Lest you think my real education for the real world hinges on the frivolous, think again.
Our everyday lives are usually impacted by things that happen to us on the ground. In other words, something closer to our hearts. Be it at home, in school, at a shopping mall, on the bus or on the train and so on
And while KI is supposed to be a H2 subject, what about a H3 level for a subject so crucial as to critical thinking, critical analysis and critical writing?
A Political Shadow Lurks?
It was a deserted stadium when I arrive. But as soon as moi strip off his clothes (don't worry, I am still in my decent shorts) and start on my rounds, invariably there would be others joining in.
Hmmmm, BIG BRO, is this another one of your tailing and shadowing moves? And yes, the helicopter is here as well.
AGAIN!
Yes, This Bus Turned A Wrong Direction Too
Let me write about my other experience on another bus which turned into a different road and direction, just like what happened with bus service 132.
I must have boarded one of the three bus services, namely 55, 25 or 132, plying Hougang Avenue 2, very near the Hougang Stadium. They all ply the same route anyway, connecting Hougang to Ang Mo Kio.
Instead of just driving along Hougang Avenue 2 and straight on to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, this bus turned into Hougang Avenue 8.
I had to alight because I knew it was a wrong turn and cross over to the other side of the road to board a bus service 165 home. Of course there is bus service 74 as well.
Very strange, this!
Is this another one of your shadowy moves again, BIG BRO? Or as I came to know recently, it could be a substitute driver for our bus company.
Can't Explain This, Can You?
If my EZlink card isn't working for the second time now, then the blame cannot be pinned on my Cash Card .
Remember how the last time my Cash Card was identified as the culprit for the corruption of the chipset in my EZlink Card? I have since discarded it but this second replacement card is facing exactly the same problem.
Final verdict: it must be the EZlink card itself and that explains the new type of card they have come up with?
Bleary Eyes And Late Nights
My contact lens, corrected for astigmatism, aren't exactly helping me to see very well.
If anything, it is blurry and sometimes foggy. I can't read print very well (there is like a double) and alphanumerals can be easily mistaken.
Doesn't help that I am keeping late nights these days and I come back like 2am in the wee-hours of the morning.
The next day I can be really shacked.
Wrong Gendered Loo
Can you blame moi then for actually walking into the "Female" toilet the other day at Central shopping mall. Not that the maroon silhouettes of the two full-bodied male and female figures were any help.
I walked into a cubicle, shitted, walked out and lo and behold, a gall was looking at herself in the mirror. At first I thought she was in the wrong toilet (like there was once a gall who walked straight into a men's toilet at another major shopping mall) but after she convinced moi I was the intruder, I excused myself and staggered out.
Wrong Numbered Bus Service
Just like yesterday, my vision must have played tricks on moi and I read the yellow polka-dotted numerals of a SMRT bus service 960 as 980, duly boarded it and it took me to far-away Woodlands via a very circuitous route around almost the whole of the Bukit Panjang estate.
The toll my eyes and my late nights must have taken on me.
Missing Information
Speaking of which, it is really commendable we are gonna have all those bus route information displays put up at all our bus stops.
But I noticed some stops near Bugis Junction that now only show information of bus journeys going forward.
They used to map out the entire journey, greying out those before the bus stop while boldening the ones after. There is also information on the time of arrival for the last bus from weekdays through to the weekends and Public Holidays.
By not displaying information on the entire bus journey, one will now have to physically cross over to the other side of the road to know if the bus in question is the one that can take them to their destinations.
Don't forget we have linear bus stops here and if I understand the term correctly, some buses do not stop at a certain bus-stop but the next.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Akan Datang: Here's To High School Musical
If A Contract Or Deal Wasn't Fair, We Should Have Means To Opt Out Or Rescind It
Let us all get this very clear.
We should all keep to our word on any deal and never back out of one, unless of course if we find out later that the deal wasn't fair and it was a trick.
Just like Daniel, who asked moi to pay for a utilities bill, based on over and above his purported usual of $70.
He only showed moi one month's bill (which could happen to be on a low side) and as I am informed more recently, it could be that his air-conditioner wasn't serviced and so wasn't efficient which explains how the bill ballooned to 200 odd bucks for just the two of us.
Wholly preposterous! I will know because I didn't use the air-conditioner so much and most of it was its fan option like what I do at my old home the last time when my manual fan broke down.
I am so sorry, I will back out from a deal like this if I found out I was conned or tricked.
Yeah, while I sat at a coffee-shop at Serangoon Gardens, there was actually a pub named after him - "BullDog".....Yucks!
Playing More Devil's Advocate
When moi bought the cash card the last time from the AMK library, the woman manning the counter actually pulled one out from a plastic bag of just a few such cards.
Much like what those sales people did, pulling out those computers from their stores which were packed and sealed in cartons.
Just playing devil's advocate, how are we to know these are not the defective ones that they have re-packed and re-sealed, just waiting to send them back to the manufacturer, but while waiting, hoping to spring or unload (dump) on unsuspecting customers.
Coz that is what is happening to my HP lappy now!
Pull Down The Old CCs And Rebuild?
Guess what I spotted here while at the National Reference Library. There was gonna be a forum on "Remaking CCs" and a fresh-faced, newly-elected parliamentarian actually walked past me.
Gosh, long overdue man. Just look at the old Serangoon Gardens CC laying half rotting! Or even the Bukit Panjang one - old, run down and half empty of people.
Missing Label
While moi was at the Library@Orchard, I was hunting high and low for that day's copy of the newspaper.
It seems that newspapers have been archived in this manner : this week's copies, last week's copies and today's. Unfortunately for the today section of the English national newspaper, the label was missing.
The Chinook Is Here!
Oh yes, when I walked out of Thomson Plaza, the chinook helicopter was hovering right above it. I boarded the bus service 410 and as it was nearing the Bishan bus interchange much later, I spotted it in the distance.
Ok ok, BIG BRO, are you tailing moi?
NDP is all over, so what else can this mean?
Traffic Jam?
I was just reaching the bus queue when the bus moved off. There was a sign hung up which read that the next bus will be departing late because of traffic jam.
It was a full 20minutes before the next one arrived.
Seriously this is the bus interchange and I am not sure what traffic jam they were referring to. If it refers to traffic jam out on the roads (yes, it was pouring today), delaying the next bus won't help the bus keep to its time schedule.
When the bus went out on the roads, there wasn't the slightest sign of any traffic clog-up anywhere save for a short while on Victoria Street.
Why Did You Turn Into A Different Road And Thus Different Direction?
This is the seond time it has happened.
I boarded Service 132 somewhere near the AMK hub and the next thing I know, the bus turned into AMK Avenue 6, then coasted all the way down Marymount Road, turned into Marymount Lane, effectively bypassing the whole stretch of Upper Thomson Road, as it rightly should (unless there is a bus route change I don't know about).
It finally turned into Lornie Road and I had to alight here and walk back up to Upper Thomson Road which was about two bus-stops away.
The last time this happened was with another bus service near Hougang.
A Society Based On Science And Reason
Having read some chapters of "God Is Not Great", I am saying exactly the same thing. The sooner society gets into a more sciency and reasoning mode, the better it is for all of us.
But of course there is always consideration for emotions and for compassion too.
Last Last Word On Ma Property Investment
Well, the best is yet to be but it seems that the best are all gonna be much smaller units with different facing and that doesn't translate into a good view.
For now, there is one really prime set of units, even primer than moi's with a good view and really spacious with two balconies and even planters to boot.
But moi's can't be too far behind.
Simply Put: Running Its Full Course
In short, any illness will have to run its course and nutrition/medication can only help so much. It will have to end sometime, just a question of when, unless it is chronic or terminal.
Petty Politics And Political PlayWriting
All I can say is that petty politics meant to wield control of power at the workplace or at the country level just isn't beneficial to ALL OF US.
Yes the politickers benefit to some extent (in the short run) but certainly NOT THE REST OF US.
It doesn't translate into improvements in lives, work processes or bringing in the dole, let alone solving bigger issues and problems.
We are all just gonna stagnate and die from not being able to surge forward.
I Guess Not, Huh?
I am unconvinced that a beltway for a highway won't help us alleviate, if not, eliminate traffic jams.
Here, our beltways are looping around the whole island and when one gets clogged up, another will appear in concentrics to the first.
Well given that we have developed as we have, I guess it is gonna be ONE HUGE redevelopment costing billions just to redraw our road map again right?
Petty Politickers, Get Together To Tackle This
This would be ONE PRIME example engineers of the world can get together and think of SOLUTIONS to beat traf fic congestion.
Maybe even underground highways that are multi-levelled?
Only A Woman (Or A Sissy Gay) Will Do This
What is happening at Andy and Mabel's?
Well I just noticed how the netting in the filter had torn and she had replaced two of the five blue kitchen balcony laundry sockets with red ones. And yes, let us not assume that the fairer sex is all frail and weak. They are capable of much more inner and outer strength than we think.
I hope this is not a ploy on her part to blame moi for damaging them.
I know I didn't because after every cycle I clear the filter of its debris and it was ok. The same goes for the sockets.
Women! Bah!
And yes who is Winnie holing up with coz the clothes hanging out are usually men's!
And is Mabel helping her wash her laundry too (she does not have a washer perhaps?) because there are all these bags of clothes lying around the washing area.
Even till now.
Let us all get this very clear.
We should all keep to our word on any deal and never back out of one, unless of course if we find out later that the deal wasn't fair and it was a trick.
Just like Daniel, who asked moi to pay for a utilities bill, based on over and above his purported usual of $70.
He only showed moi one month's bill (which could happen to be on a low side) and as I am informed more recently, it could be that his air-conditioner wasn't serviced and so wasn't efficient which explains how the bill ballooned to 200 odd bucks for just the two of us.
Wholly preposterous! I will know because I didn't use the air-conditioner so much and most of it was its fan option like what I do at my old home the last time when my manual fan broke down.
I am so sorry, I will back out from a deal like this if I found out I was conned or tricked.
Yeah, while I sat at a coffee-shop at Serangoon Gardens, there was actually a pub named after him - "BullDog".....Yucks!
Playing More Devil's Advocate
When moi bought the cash card the last time from the AMK library, the woman manning the counter actually pulled one out from a plastic bag of just a few such cards.
Much like what those sales people did, pulling out those computers from their stores which were packed and sealed in cartons.
Just playing devil's advocate, how are we to know these are not the defective ones that they have re-packed and re-sealed, just waiting to send them back to the manufacturer, but while waiting, hoping to spring or unload (dump) on unsuspecting customers.
Coz that is what is happening to my HP lappy now!
Pull Down The Old CCs And Rebuild?
Guess what I spotted here while at the National Reference Library. There was gonna be a forum on "Remaking CCs" and a fresh-faced, newly-elected parliamentarian actually walked past me.
Gosh, long overdue man. Just look at the old Serangoon Gardens CC laying half rotting! Or even the Bukit Panjang one - old, run down and half empty of people.
Missing Label
While moi was at the Library@Orchard, I was hunting high and low for that day's copy of the newspaper.
It seems that newspapers have been archived in this manner : this week's copies, last week's copies and today's. Unfortunately for the today section of the English national newspaper, the label was missing.
The Chinook Is Here!
Oh yes, when I walked out of Thomson Plaza, the chinook helicopter was hovering right above it. I boarded the bus service 410 and as it was nearing the Bishan bus interchange much later, I spotted it in the distance.
Ok ok, BIG BRO, are you tailing moi?
NDP is all over, so what else can this mean?
Traffic Jam?
I was just reaching the bus queue when the bus moved off. There was a sign hung up which read that the next bus will be departing late because of traffic jam.
It was a full 20minutes before the next one arrived.
Seriously this is the bus interchange and I am not sure what traffic jam they were referring to. If it refers to traffic jam out on the roads (yes, it was pouring today), delaying the next bus won't help the bus keep to its time schedule.
When the bus went out on the roads, there wasn't the slightest sign of any traffic clog-up anywhere save for a short while on Victoria Street.
Why Did You Turn Into A Different Road And Thus Different Direction?
This is the seond time it has happened.
I boarded Service 132 somewhere near the AMK hub and the next thing I know, the bus turned into AMK Avenue 6, then coasted all the way down Marymount Road, turned into Marymount Lane, effectively bypassing the whole stretch of Upper Thomson Road, as it rightly should (unless there is a bus route change I don't know about).
It finally turned into Lornie Road and I had to alight here and walk back up to Upper Thomson Road which was about two bus-stops away.
The last time this happened was with another bus service near Hougang.
A Society Based On Science And Reason
Having read some chapters of "God Is Not Great", I am saying exactly the same thing. The sooner society gets into a more sciency and reasoning mode, the better it is for all of us.
But of course there is always consideration for emotions and for compassion too.
Last Last Word On Ma Property Investment
Well, the best is yet to be but it seems that the best are all gonna be much smaller units with different facing and that doesn't translate into a good view.
For now, there is one really prime set of units, even primer than moi's with a good view and really spacious with two balconies and even planters to boot.
But moi's can't be too far behind.
Simply Put: Running Its Full Course
In short, any illness will have to run its course and nutrition/medication can only help so much. It will have to end sometime, just a question of when, unless it is chronic or terminal.
Petty Politics And Political PlayWriting
All I can say is that petty politics meant to wield control of power at the workplace or at the country level just isn't beneficial to ALL OF US.
Yes the politickers benefit to some extent (in the short run) but certainly NOT THE REST OF US.
It doesn't translate into improvements in lives, work processes or bringing in the dole, let alone solving bigger issues and problems.
We are all just gonna stagnate and die from not being able to surge forward.
I Guess Not, Huh?
I am unconvinced that a beltway for a highway won't help us alleviate, if not, eliminate traffic jams.
Here, our beltways are looping around the whole island and when one gets clogged up, another will appear in concentrics to the first.
Well given that we have developed as we have, I guess it is gonna be ONE HUGE redevelopment costing billions just to redraw our road map again right?
Petty Politickers, Get Together To Tackle This
This would be ONE PRIME example engineers of the world can get together and think of SOLUTIONS to beat traf fic congestion.
Maybe even underground highways that are multi-levelled?
Only A Woman (Or A Sissy Gay) Will Do This
What is happening at Andy and Mabel's?
Well I just noticed how the netting in the filter had torn and she had replaced two of the five blue kitchen balcony laundry sockets with red ones. And yes, let us not assume that the fairer sex is all frail and weak. They are capable of much more inner and outer strength than we think.
I hope this is not a ploy on her part to blame moi for damaging them.
I know I didn't because after every cycle I clear the filter of its debris and it was ok. The same goes for the sockets.
Women! Bah!
And yes who is Winnie holing up with coz the clothes hanging out are usually men's!
And is Mabel helping her wash her laundry too (she does not have a washer perhaps?) because there are all these bags of clothes lying around the washing area.
Even till now.
A Kid Is A Binding Force
Because Of Ashley?
When Chris asked me why on earth did I ever move in here at Andy and Mabel's, I dug deep into my inner self and thought really hard. So hard I almost had a hard-on like I did at the men's club.
Apart from the desperate situation I was in, partly due to the short two week quit notice by Galen, the shuddering and illness from my cough and cold AND not forgetting the poor response I got from the classified ads I had rung up, I was also very much taken with Ashley.
Little boys like him and Louis (yes I spotted Roger from the "orphanage") just steal my heart away because of their pure innocence, their pure simplicity and their pure naturalness.
So Close Yet So Far Apart
But I have managed not to get too close. Who knows what Andy and Mabel think of moi? A child molester? A paedophile even? So it is always only a "hi and bye Ashley" with in-between short conversations. I would love to send him to school or "baby-sit" him or even take him out for long nature walks. But oh well.
More's Cooking Here, Even Spicier Than At Doray's
Of course "The Woman" had gotten much better. And it is confirmed now that Winnie is living two doors away from us. She slinks away every time I pass her home or walk out of the flat.
I really do not know what is going on around here.
Get This Real Right
Let me recapitulate again the life I have mapped out for myself, lest people forget and think that I may be interested in galls or have a chance to start a family so late in my life.
I can never love a gall. A kid yes and a boy kid at that.
So here goes my list, yet again:
Sports. World travel. Books. An education/training career or an enterprise. A beau (meaning a gay dude) and/or a kid. Helping my familial relations. Helping ONE KIND of the disadvantaged. A weekend car. A place to call my own.
When Chris asked me why on earth did I ever move in here at Andy and Mabel's, I dug deep into my inner self and thought really hard. So hard I almost had a hard-on like I did at the men's club.
Apart from the desperate situation I was in, partly due to the short two week quit notice by Galen, the shuddering and illness from my cough and cold AND not forgetting the poor response I got from the classified ads I had rung up, I was also very much taken with Ashley.
Little boys like him and Louis (yes I spotted Roger from the "orphanage") just steal my heart away because of their pure innocence, their pure simplicity and their pure naturalness.
So Close Yet So Far Apart
But I have managed not to get too close. Who knows what Andy and Mabel think of moi? A child molester? A paedophile even? So it is always only a "hi and bye Ashley" with in-between short conversations. I would love to send him to school or "baby-sit" him or even take him out for long nature walks. But oh well.
More's Cooking Here, Even Spicier Than At Doray's
Of course "The Woman" had gotten much better. And it is confirmed now that Winnie is living two doors away from us. She slinks away every time I pass her home or walk out of the flat.
I really do not know what is going on around here.
Get This Real Right
Let me recapitulate again the life I have mapped out for myself, lest people forget and think that I may be interested in galls or have a chance to start a family so late in my life.
I can never love a gall. A kid yes and a boy kid at that.
So here goes my list, yet again:
Sports. World travel. Books. An education/training career or an enterprise. A beau (meaning a gay dude) and/or a kid. Helping my familial relations. Helping ONE KIND of the disadvantaged. A weekend car. A place to call my own.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Hair Spray
My Cough Is Much Much Much Better
Today marks the 29th day of my whooping cough and guess what, it is almost all gone! I can just feel it within me, especially my throat. Usually it will get irritated for whatever reason.
And not necessarily because of the food I eat, coz I have been keeping away from cold drinks, chilli and oily stuff (according to the TCM sales assistant, even chicken, eggs and sugar, the last which I have not heeded at all) and yes, I have been downing bird's nest and the Chinese chuan bei pipa herbal syrup like running water.
I am not sure what did the trick for the complete cure or what irritates the throat (maybe it is the air-conditioner or the change of climes from hot to wet recently or even the pollution?)
All I know is that I should speak very soon about something bad that has happened while not speaking too soon about good things that have.
Maybe this was it.
Human Vagaries
Human nature can be fickle. Chris has proven this ten fold over. I don't know who his gay friends are within the circle. I hope whoever they are (if he joins that clubbing circle of the rent boi I know, I pity him), they are not leading him astray.
After promising to foot the rent before we parted, he went back on his word again. Only this time, he wanted to quit the place TOTALLY. I mean heck, he has wanted the household key and then he doesn't. So it was a complete case of a yo-yo.
I have broached the subject with Mabel if it is ok just for moi to stay at the place at a reduced rate and I am now awaiting word from her.
Nah, I Can't Really Depend On You
Yes my siblings, like so many others, could be all glib and tongue and assure everyone that because of our blood kin, they would look after moi.
But we can't really be sure, can we?
I have to think real hard about returning to the fold. I must make sure I can cope with what is gonna come my way.
That is because I know each and every one of their character just as they would claim to know me.
And this can be very disturbing to moi if you will notice the dark mood I am in recently.
Wimp, Blimp And Bimb (Again?)
Speaking of with, the Unholy Trinity prolly displays the most vagaries.
Smile Your Frivolous Fat-Arse Shit
So please He-Ape just shaddap with your "SMILE" sloganeering. You have every reason to smile because YOU ARE FILTHY RICH AND FILTHY SCUMMY.
And oh yes don't forget his bribes that help him snag his student enrolment in the first place.
Miss Teenage HairSpray
Yes I watched the movie and it was almost like watching "Grease" all over again.
Well almost.
Very very briefly the movie is about how a fat gall had her shot at being Miss Teenage Hairspray (with the help of the hairspray sponsor of course) and in so doing, redefined what beauty should be on the show's station.
She didn't win but hey, that wasn't what the movie set out to do.
The movie sets out to espouse racism (eventually it was "Everyday Is Negro Day" when the show integrated both Black And White).
And in one short movie, the film captured love that cuts across racial and weighty considerations, a political media that played up these differences and yes nepotism (the station owner's daughter was rigged up to win the contest).
Oh and don't forget religious fervour that got carried away in the form of Nikki's best friend's mother who tied her daughter up and admonishes her as a devil child. A religious fanatic no doubt.
Interspersed with songs and dances and with veteran heavyweight actors and actresses like Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer (God, how they really have aged) and John Travolta (yes, he reprises his role as in "Grease" except that now he plays a heavy-set mother to Nikki Blonski, the Miss Teenage Hairspray wannabe) backing the show, the movie just couldn't go wrong.
And don't forget the movie soundtrack out now in major music stores. One track "You Can't Stop The Beat" sounds a lot like the Village People's "You Can't Stop The Music" in the movie "YMCA".
Today marks the 29th day of my whooping cough and guess what, it is almost all gone! I can just feel it within me, especially my throat. Usually it will get irritated for whatever reason.
And not necessarily because of the food I eat, coz I have been keeping away from cold drinks, chilli and oily stuff (according to the TCM sales assistant, even chicken, eggs and sugar, the last which I have not heeded at all) and yes, I have been downing bird's nest and the Chinese chuan bei pipa herbal syrup like running water.
I am not sure what did the trick for the complete cure or what irritates the throat (maybe it is the air-conditioner or the change of climes from hot to wet recently or even the pollution?)
All I know is that I should speak very soon about something bad that has happened while not speaking too soon about good things that have.
Maybe this was it.
Human Vagaries
Human nature can be fickle. Chris has proven this ten fold over. I don't know who his gay friends are within the circle. I hope whoever they are (if he joins that clubbing circle of the rent boi I know, I pity him), they are not leading him astray.
After promising to foot the rent before we parted, he went back on his word again. Only this time, he wanted to quit the place TOTALLY. I mean heck, he has wanted the household key and then he doesn't. So it was a complete case of a yo-yo.
I have broached the subject with Mabel if it is ok just for moi to stay at the place at a reduced rate and I am now awaiting word from her.
Nah, I Can't Really Depend On You
Yes my siblings, like so many others, could be all glib and tongue and assure everyone that because of our blood kin, they would look after moi.
But we can't really be sure, can we?
I have to think real hard about returning to the fold. I must make sure I can cope with what is gonna come my way.
That is because I know each and every one of their character just as they would claim to know me.
And this can be very disturbing to moi if you will notice the dark mood I am in recently.
Wimp, Blimp And Bimb (Again?)
Speaking of with, the Unholy Trinity prolly displays the most vagaries.
Smile Your Frivolous Fat-Arse Shit
So please He-Ape just shaddap with your "SMILE" sloganeering. You have every reason to smile because YOU ARE FILTHY RICH AND FILTHY SCUMMY.
And oh yes don't forget his bribes that help him snag his student enrolment in the first place.
Miss Teenage HairSpray
Yes I watched the movie and it was almost like watching "Grease" all over again.
Well almost.
Very very briefly the movie is about how a fat gall had her shot at being Miss Teenage Hairspray (with the help of the hairspray sponsor of course) and in so doing, redefined what beauty should be on the show's station.
She didn't win but hey, that wasn't what the movie set out to do.
The movie sets out to espouse racism (eventually it was "Everyday Is Negro Day" when the show integrated both Black And White).
And in one short movie, the film captured love that cuts across racial and weighty considerations, a political media that played up these differences and yes nepotism (the station owner's daughter was rigged up to win the contest).
Oh and don't forget religious fervour that got carried away in the form of Nikki's best friend's mother who tied her daughter up and admonishes her as a devil child. A religious fanatic no doubt.
Interspersed with songs and dances and with veteran heavyweight actors and actresses like Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer (God, how they really have aged) and John Travolta (yes, he reprises his role as in "Grease" except that now he plays a heavy-set mother to Nikki Blonski, the Miss Teenage Hairspray wannabe) backing the show, the movie just couldn't go wrong.
And don't forget the movie soundtrack out now in major music stores. One track "You Can't Stop The Beat" sounds a lot like the Village People's "You Can't Stop The Music" in the movie "YMCA".
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Great Affectation, A Whooping Cough, My Last Word On My Property Investment And A Penciling Portrait Artist
My Final Analysis On My Property Investment
I have been studying the papers and yes, there seems to be quite a lot of different asking prices for any one property.
I went down for like the third time to take a long and hard look at my property development project and when I saw what was going on, I realised what was really happening. The best is yet to be and right now there are two, so it seems!
Just to recapitulate again:
The said property development project is sheltered from the whizzing highway (unlike other projects), it is a high floor unit and its particular stack is an obstructed corner one with its living hall and bedrooms all commanding a prime view of the beach and the pool.
It is 131sqm (about 1410sqft), it is a 3+1 with a living room balcony (some don't come with this).
Period.
Translated it means a premium selling price.
A Whooping Cough That Won't Go Away
Today is the 26th day into my whooping cough which doesn't seem to ease up at all. What in God's name is this?
And this is precisely what I mean about how adults transmit unfounded phobias and biased values to the young.
I mean you remember how Winnie (the real estate agent) and her faraway kin Mabel had warned Ashely to keep clear of moi, lest he catches my cough and cold. But hey, Chris sleeps right next to moi and both he and Ashley didn't catch any of it!
Only the two women did!
How do you explain that?
You Die
As I spoke with ma new hair-dresser (yes, moi has gone for a hair cut but with a new hair dresser and regretted it - not keeping my hair long and not going back to Ringo, who I believe is the best among the lot so far), it was more in recent years when moi got out there that moi was terribly affected.
First when trying to buy a flat under the Singles Scheme (new flats out of reach of Singles, resale flats sky-high in prices), tried marketing programs in and around the public schools (a thousand and one whinges and demands among the "educators"), tried starting up a private school (ridiculous fire safety requirements to submit a whole building plan for just one office unit) and consulting at my constituency surgery (one session and I was already turned off) that I began to run into all kinda stupidity that the administration has placed in way of policy obstacles in my path.
So don't expect me to go with you and not complain as loudly as the next person on the ground.
Sports, World Travel And Books
Add this to my menu of must-dos. To buy and borrow all those really cool reads on Science, Language or whatever.
And it was with this in mind that I re-visited Kino after a long lapse and do they have so many more new arrivals!
I have picked up two books and I have started on both at the same time.
"God Is Not Great: A Case Against Religion Or How Religion Poisons Everything"
I am into chapter 3 and there are so many insights (which I already know anyway) and aside barbs, based on real happenings in the world.
I can relate to how when my Mom died, I picked a verse from the Bible for her tablet. And yes, I do admire some churches' very beautiful archiectecture, stained glasses and ornate carvings, even its plomb in rituals come Good Friday, Easter or Christmas.
"Critical Mass"
A read on the science of society. I have only started on its introduction.
Genetic Basis For Poor Familial Relations?
Mom has said it time and again. She has always pointed a finger at my Father's side of the family as the culprit of some of our bad genes going around. Dad is Straits Chinese and Mom is China-born.
She has consistently said that on her side, familial relations are always close and warm. She always grumbles about this when she has to deal with relatives from my paternal end. Relatives who are not really relatives but a whole load of trouble.
Maybe I have inherited half of both my parents' genes and I am more like my Mom in that sense, more Chinese rather than Straits Chinese.
A lethal cocktail perhaps.
But I place great emphasis on familial ties which I am sorely disappointed with within my own. Big Bro and Second Sis seem more outwardly inclined than inwardly so. As for Mom, oh well, you already know what I don't like about her.
How stupid! But what can I do?
What Is Happening At Andy And Mabel's
Chris wants out but I am holding him to his commitment for the next 6 months.
Mabel has gotten a bit better but poor Ashley seems to bear the brunt of her temperamental bouts. So whenever he tears after a whack and she goes away, I will creep up to him, wipe away his tear and coo words of comfort and encouragement into his ears : "Ashely is a smart and good boy"
So I want him to believe that and grow up believing that.
And yes, Winne, her auntie agent as purported, seems to be residing right along this same corridor of families. Why they are keeping this secret is beyond me!
That is what I hate about Singaporeans. Talking in circles, always wavering and meandering and spewing untruths most of the time.
A Penciling Portrait Artist
I have been keeping late nights recently. I am spending days at the Orchard Library before it closes, keeping my eyes peeled out for new book arrivals at Kino, started gymming again and window shopping along the Orchard belt.
And it was then that I spotted this portrait artist. Yesterday she drew two, one of a little boy and the other of his sister, both in one canvas.
They were so lifelike and most of all, I realised the jet black hair and eyes were what make the kids and their portraits stand out.
Master portraitor indeed!
I have been studying the papers and yes, there seems to be quite a lot of different asking prices for any one property.
I went down for like the third time to take a long and hard look at my property development project and when I saw what was going on, I realised what was really happening. The best is yet to be and right now there are two, so it seems!
Just to recapitulate again:
The said property development project is sheltered from the whizzing highway (unlike other projects), it is a high floor unit and its particular stack is an obstructed corner one with its living hall and bedrooms all commanding a prime view of the beach and the pool.
It is 131sqm (about 1410sqft), it is a 3+1 with a living room balcony (some don't come with this).
Period.
Translated it means a premium selling price.
A Whooping Cough That Won't Go Away
Today is the 26th day into my whooping cough which doesn't seem to ease up at all. What in God's name is this?
And this is precisely what I mean about how adults transmit unfounded phobias and biased values to the young.
I mean you remember how Winnie (the real estate agent) and her faraway kin Mabel had warned Ashely to keep clear of moi, lest he catches my cough and cold. But hey, Chris sleeps right next to moi and both he and Ashley didn't catch any of it!
Only the two women did!
How do you explain that?
You Die
As I spoke with ma new hair-dresser (yes, moi has gone for a hair cut but with a new hair dresser and regretted it - not keeping my hair long and not going back to Ringo, who I believe is the best among the lot so far), it was more in recent years when moi got out there that moi was terribly affected.
First when trying to buy a flat under the Singles Scheme (new flats out of reach of Singles, resale flats sky-high in prices), tried marketing programs in and around the public schools (a thousand and one whinges and demands among the "educators"), tried starting up a private school (ridiculous fire safety requirements to submit a whole building plan for just one office unit) and consulting at my constituency surgery (one session and I was already turned off) that I began to run into all kinda stupidity that the administration has placed in way of policy obstacles in my path.
So don't expect me to go with you and not complain as loudly as the next person on the ground.
Sports, World Travel And Books
Add this to my menu of must-dos. To buy and borrow all those really cool reads on Science, Language or whatever.
And it was with this in mind that I re-visited Kino after a long lapse and do they have so many more new arrivals!
I have picked up two books and I have started on both at the same time.
"God Is Not Great: A Case Against Religion Or How Religion Poisons Everything"
I am into chapter 3 and there are so many insights (which I already know anyway) and aside barbs, based on real happenings in the world.
I can relate to how when my Mom died, I picked a verse from the Bible for her tablet. And yes, I do admire some churches' very beautiful archiectecture, stained glasses and ornate carvings, even its plomb in rituals come Good Friday, Easter or Christmas.
"Critical Mass"
A read on the science of society. I have only started on its introduction.
Genetic Basis For Poor Familial Relations?
Mom has said it time and again. She has always pointed a finger at my Father's side of the family as the culprit of some of our bad genes going around. Dad is Straits Chinese and Mom is China-born.
She has consistently said that on her side, familial relations are always close and warm. She always grumbles about this when she has to deal with relatives from my paternal end. Relatives who are not really relatives but a whole load of trouble.
Maybe I have inherited half of both my parents' genes and I am more like my Mom in that sense, more Chinese rather than Straits Chinese.
A lethal cocktail perhaps.
But I place great emphasis on familial ties which I am sorely disappointed with within my own. Big Bro and Second Sis seem more outwardly inclined than inwardly so. As for Mom, oh well, you already know what I don't like about her.
How stupid! But what can I do?
What Is Happening At Andy And Mabel's
Chris wants out but I am holding him to his commitment for the next 6 months.
Mabel has gotten a bit better but poor Ashley seems to bear the brunt of her temperamental bouts. So whenever he tears after a whack and she goes away, I will creep up to him, wipe away his tear and coo words of comfort and encouragement into his ears : "Ashely is a smart and good boy"
So I want him to believe that and grow up believing that.
And yes, Winne, her auntie agent as purported, seems to be residing right along this same corridor of families. Why they are keeping this secret is beyond me!
That is what I hate about Singaporeans. Talking in circles, always wavering and meandering and spewing untruths most of the time.
A Penciling Portrait Artist
I have been keeping late nights recently. I am spending days at the Orchard Library before it closes, keeping my eyes peeled out for new book arrivals at Kino, started gymming again and window shopping along the Orchard belt.
And it was then that I spotted this portrait artist. Yesterday she drew two, one of a little boy and the other of his sister, both in one canvas.
They were so lifelike and most of all, I realised the jet black hair and eyes were what make the kids and their portraits stand out.
Master portraitor indeed!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Off My Chest And I Am Still Laid Up
Final Word On A Compulsory Annuity
In short, have a short term year-to-year renewable annuity.
The Stinkos Are Here
Guess who I bumped into today. He-Ape and his wife. The wife is looking younger, prettier and sweller. Thanks to beautification processes? I wanted to spit at their faces - the chao ah kua. Like I would so many of the rest of them.
Oh yes, my two nephews and niece (from my second sister's family anyway - this is really stupid I thought) have attended their tutorial classes. I don't see any marked improvement, really. I think it is still your own effort.
And of course they are connected to missionary schools who feed them the students. And they have to resort to media relations and gimmicks to get their student enrolment.
More Stink
And yes, do you remember I mentioned that nun-wannabe who worked as a secretary then a hairdresser and now a child educator? Well she is connected to them too.
Actually between us three, we share two similar traits. We are all Catholics (though I am really lapsed while they are holy pious - at least on the surface) and Peranankans. I am not sure if these traits actually make us stinkier than the normal.
All I do know is that nun-wannabe would slime all the priests at churches as having love affairs with women on the side (this I can't discount nor prove) and she loves touching moi in the dark halls of the cinema.
Yes, she prolly would hold me to the 10k I "borrowed" from her to pay off my loans but hey, she offered to help out and I didn't point a gun at her to ask her to.
When our relation soured (I was under the impression we were just friends), she demanded this money back.
Well I could have gone on paying off the banks. Unlike her breathing down my neck and threatening all sorts of suits. It really shows.
Guess I will return her the sum with interest and the 2K to my second sister soon enough.
Don't You Wanna Make Money For The Family?
Of course sometimes I can get angry with my family members like my brother and second sister. As far as I remember, I wanted us to profit, make money and be financially protected - be it in the stock market or in insurance coverage.
I know my brother can be a himbo while sis can be a bimbo. They haven't exactly taken the bite.
I mean I sometimes wonder how my brother's generosity in church donations - be it in kind or cash has panned out. When he was retrenched, did any of his church friends do anything to help him?
If you wanna spend, make sure you can also earn.
This Saved My Skin
I am actually glad I did some of the things I did. Like invest in a fund. That money proved to help me in a part downpayment for my housing asset.
I am also glad I went ahead to buy this housing asset, regardless of whatever means I resorted to. It saved my skin. If not for it, I couldn't roll like I am doing now. And who are the beneficiaries in the end anyway?
Aren't I ploughing back?
If I hadn't bought this place, I may be subjected to the vagaries of humans. That include my kin. I could be homeless, dependent, kicked around, picked on, whatever.
I am not gonna depend on this. I wanna depend on myself.
Money Talks Even Among Kinship
When I return to the fold, I am fully aware of the people dynamics I am dealing with. I may even be shunned, like I may be now, if I were to ask for a room to stay in. Rent free? Not on your life.
If I throw down some money, well, that is different.
Alas, isn't this sad? Even among your kin, money talks?
In short, have a short term year-to-year renewable annuity.
The Stinkos Are Here
Guess who I bumped into today. He-Ape and his wife. The wife is looking younger, prettier and sweller. Thanks to beautification processes? I wanted to spit at their faces - the chao ah kua. Like I would so many of the rest of them.
Oh yes, my two nephews and niece (from my second sister's family anyway - this is really stupid I thought) have attended their tutorial classes. I don't see any marked improvement, really. I think it is still your own effort.
And of course they are connected to missionary schools who feed them the students. And they have to resort to media relations and gimmicks to get their student enrolment.
More Stink
And yes, do you remember I mentioned that nun-wannabe who worked as a secretary then a hairdresser and now a child educator? Well she is connected to them too.
Actually between us three, we share two similar traits. We are all Catholics (though I am really lapsed while they are holy pious - at least on the surface) and Peranankans. I am not sure if these traits actually make us stinkier than the normal.
All I do know is that nun-wannabe would slime all the priests at churches as having love affairs with women on the side (this I can't discount nor prove) and she loves touching moi in the dark halls of the cinema.
Yes, she prolly would hold me to the 10k I "borrowed" from her to pay off my loans but hey, she offered to help out and I didn't point a gun at her to ask her to.
When our relation soured (I was under the impression we were just friends), she demanded this money back.
Well I could have gone on paying off the banks. Unlike her breathing down my neck and threatening all sorts of suits. It really shows.
Guess I will return her the sum with interest and the 2K to my second sister soon enough.
Don't You Wanna Make Money For The Family?
Of course sometimes I can get angry with my family members like my brother and second sister. As far as I remember, I wanted us to profit, make money and be financially protected - be it in the stock market or in insurance coverage.
I know my brother can be a himbo while sis can be a bimbo. They haven't exactly taken the bite.
I mean I sometimes wonder how my brother's generosity in church donations - be it in kind or cash has panned out. When he was retrenched, did any of his church friends do anything to help him?
If you wanna spend, make sure you can also earn.
This Saved My Skin
I am actually glad I did some of the things I did. Like invest in a fund. That money proved to help me in a part downpayment for my housing asset.
I am also glad I went ahead to buy this housing asset, regardless of whatever means I resorted to. It saved my skin. If not for it, I couldn't roll like I am doing now. And who are the beneficiaries in the end anyway?
Aren't I ploughing back?
If I hadn't bought this place, I may be subjected to the vagaries of humans. That include my kin. I could be homeless, dependent, kicked around, picked on, whatever.
I am not gonna depend on this. I wanna depend on myself.
Money Talks Even Among Kinship
When I return to the fold, I am fully aware of the people dynamics I am dealing with. I may even be shunned, like I may be now, if I were to ask for a room to stay in. Rent free? Not on your life.
If I throw down some money, well, that is different.
Alas, isn't this sad? Even among your kin, money talks?
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Final Thoughts On The NDR Speech
Rounding Up My Thoughts On The NDR Speech
Maybe just a few more reflections to round up my my thoughts here.
Upon reading the full transcript of the NDR speech, it now becomes crystal clear that there will be a Re-Employment Act. Really neat, or so I thought.
And certainly most things were well-thought out as evidenced by programs for not only very old or new estates but also the "sandwich flat". Plus the programs to help flat-owners and flat-owners wannabe on three levels - the front, middle and back-end.
Even for the HIP, there were essential and optional repairs.
Now let us know if the compulsory annuity is for those aged below 50 or is it for those aged 50 and below. There is a crucial one-year difference because the news have variously reported the two glaring discrepancies.
These Were Some Of His Faults, On Further Reflection
Among the few things I have to fault Mr Oldie yesterday in our little exchange, were that he was running all over the place with different pieces of information.
He was first talking about calling up Microsoft for his software mishappens (wasn't clear if it was the Office Suite or the Vista operating system) and then issues about Norton.
Therefore he wasn't very coherent in that sense.
And he isn't as up-to-the-minute with some issues. Maybe that has something to do with age. He is still in that era of doing things a particular way.
Hey, What About The First Language And Lingua Fraca That You Elevated The English Language To In The First Place? Why Is It Now Subordinated?
There are bonus points for admission into JC with excellengt Higher MT scores and now it seems it is gonna be the same with a regional third language like Malay.
What ever happened to bonus marks for excelling at the English Language?
And how can the General Paper, which is a critical-thinking, critical-analysis and writing paper, be relegated to an "AO" level status previously and now subordinated as a H1 subject?
Shouldn't it count more towards a credit for university admission?
ThereIn Lies The Crux Of The Problem
You would have realised by now that I have lived without a TV set for a few years now. There were only on and off occasions I got to watch the morning talk show, the news and other English variety programs.
That explains my not watching the NDR Speech telecast and the NDP.
Plus due to the Internet connection dying during part of its transmission, I have not been able to download the full ITune software crucial for playing podcasts.
Maybe just a few more reflections to round up my my thoughts here.
Upon reading the full transcript of the NDR speech, it now becomes crystal clear that there will be a Re-Employment Act. Really neat, or so I thought.
And certainly most things were well-thought out as evidenced by programs for not only very old or new estates but also the "sandwich flat". Plus the programs to help flat-owners and flat-owners wannabe on three levels - the front, middle and back-end.
Even for the HIP, there were essential and optional repairs.
Now let us know if the compulsory annuity is for those aged below 50 or is it for those aged 50 and below. There is a crucial one-year difference because the news have variously reported the two glaring discrepancies.
These Were Some Of His Faults, On Further Reflection
Among the few things I have to fault Mr Oldie yesterday in our little exchange, were that he was running all over the place with different pieces of information.
He was first talking about calling up Microsoft for his software mishappens (wasn't clear if it was the Office Suite or the Vista operating system) and then issues about Norton.
Therefore he wasn't very coherent in that sense.
And he isn't as up-to-the-minute with some issues. Maybe that has something to do with age. He is still in that era of doing things a particular way.
Hey, What About The First Language And Lingua Fraca That You Elevated The English Language To In The First Place? Why Is It Now Subordinated?
There are bonus points for admission into JC with excellengt Higher MT scores and now it seems it is gonna be the same with a regional third language like Malay.
What ever happened to bonus marks for excelling at the English Language?
And how can the General Paper, which is a critical-thinking, critical-analysis and writing paper, be relegated to an "AO" level status previously and now subordinated as a H1 subject?
Shouldn't it count more towards a credit for university admission?
ThereIn Lies The Crux Of The Problem
You would have realised by now that I have lived without a TV set for a few years now. There were only on and off occasions I got to watch the morning talk show, the news and other English variety programs.
That explains my not watching the NDR Speech telecast and the NDP.
Plus due to the Internet connection dying during part of its transmission, I have not been able to download the full ITune software crucial for playing podcasts.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Even More Reflections On The NDR Speech
Not The Full Story
I didn't get to watch and listen to the National Day Rally Speech.
The sources I got were from the national newspaper and its internet counterpart. The reports were not the full text of the speech.
So I got the news in dribs and drabs over a couple of days till today for instance.
I couldn't download ITunes so I couldn't watch the podcasts.
Why Start Paying So Early When You Don't Even Have An Inkling What Age You Will Live Up To
Today I read that those aged 50 and below will, upon reaching 55, purchase an annuity to be paid for from the minimum sum. Thereafter, at age 65, a reduced payout (because of this deduction for the annuity) from this sum will apply for 20 years and at age 85, this annuity kicks in to pay the retiree a stipend until he dies.
Question now is: how much of the minimum sum will be used to purchase the annuity and I suppose it is only once-off. How will this then affect the sum of payout at age 65?
I totally agree that the tail-end concept should apply from age 85. But why start paying at age 55 ? It is a full 30 years and nobody knows what will happen in this time period. Why not a 5-year review time frame.
As I have said before, there should be a number of years lapse, before the drawee can decide if he needs that annuity. Then he purchases it.
Let him decide.
No HIP But Only NRP
Certainly, looking at the age of the estate where I will likely make a purchase for my future home, I will not qualify for the Home Improvement Program.
But yes, the estate does come under the Estate Renewal Program.
For My Other Half And For Posterity
Truly, I hope I don't ever have to go on the "buy-back lease" program for my housing asset. It is the last piece of inheritance I want to will to my beau and/or kid.
Time For A Total Recall?
6 months into using my HP lappy and operating on Vista, its price has dropped a full 1K and the manufacturer has turned it into a student's edition.
Apart from the Internet connection glitches, there were episodes of hardware malfunctions.
I have noticed a thick yellow vertical line running down its screen sometimes when I power it on. Not to mention on several occasions, the screen just won't start up and I get on a DOS screen, a black screen with text on it. Prolly only because it shuts down every time my battery went flat.
And I can never log off because the screen hangs. I have to shut down all the time. Once there was a prompt of a system crash. And just the other day, it won't power on at all. It went totally dead.
Another foreboding of a Made-In-China product?
Back To Ma Old Self And Ma Old Exercise Routine
I have been laying off exercises for the past three weeks and I feel absolutely lousy and lethargic.
I just wanna get this cough and cold bug off me and go back to my regular regime of exercises.
This Old Man, He Played Seven
Tonight I met that same old man who brushed moi off when I enquired about his investments some time back.
I had taken his seat because he had gone off for dinner and when he returned, I offered to share the one power-point within distance with him since I had an adapter.
At first, I was taken aback by the rapid-fire exchange we had over our lappies.
He was right on many accounts of course. After all, my screen was 12.1 inches and yes, it can be strenuous on the eyes with print squeezed so compactly. But the font plays a part too. And yes again, I had got my Norton Anti-Virus free from the first Vendor I tried buying my lappy from.
If you remember my earlier blogs, that is.
I cannot fault him for many of the things he was saying. But his set of problems were of course, uniquely different from mine.
For me, it was the compatibility issues at first with Vista, then Internet connection problems and finally now I think it could even be the hardware itself.
We had a second exchange and this was more cordial. He recounted financial and property market conditions and this was quite interesting.
Full NDR Speech Text Available Here
After I had blogged all the above and I headed off for another WIFI spot, I came across the full text of the NDR Speech on the CPF Board's website.
The picture is clearer but of course, I would like to know when there is reference to the retirement account, does this mean the minimum sum which sets in after age 55?
More blogs on this tomorrow. Possibly.
I didn't get to watch and listen to the National Day Rally Speech.
The sources I got were from the national newspaper and its internet counterpart. The reports were not the full text of the speech.
So I got the news in dribs and drabs over a couple of days till today for instance.
I couldn't download ITunes so I couldn't watch the podcasts.
Why Start Paying So Early When You Don't Even Have An Inkling What Age You Will Live Up To
Today I read that those aged 50 and below will, upon reaching 55, purchase an annuity to be paid for from the minimum sum. Thereafter, at age 65, a reduced payout (because of this deduction for the annuity) from this sum will apply for 20 years and at age 85, this annuity kicks in to pay the retiree a stipend until he dies.
Question now is: how much of the minimum sum will be used to purchase the annuity and I suppose it is only once-off. How will this then affect the sum of payout at age 65?
I totally agree that the tail-end concept should apply from age 85. But why start paying at age 55 ? It is a full 30 years and nobody knows what will happen in this time period. Why not a 5-year review time frame.
As I have said before, there should be a number of years lapse, before the drawee can decide if he needs that annuity. Then he purchases it.
Let him decide.
No HIP But Only NRP
Certainly, looking at the age of the estate where I will likely make a purchase for my future home, I will not qualify for the Home Improvement Program.
But yes, the estate does come under the Estate Renewal Program.
For My Other Half And For Posterity
Truly, I hope I don't ever have to go on the "buy-back lease" program for my housing asset. It is the last piece of inheritance I want to will to my beau and/or kid.
Time For A Total Recall?
6 months into using my HP lappy and operating on Vista, its price has dropped a full 1K and the manufacturer has turned it into a student's edition.
Apart from the Internet connection glitches, there were episodes of hardware malfunctions.
I have noticed a thick yellow vertical line running down its screen sometimes when I power it on. Not to mention on several occasions, the screen just won't start up and I get on a DOS screen, a black screen with text on it. Prolly only because it shuts down every time my battery went flat.
And I can never log off because the screen hangs. I have to shut down all the time. Once there was a prompt of a system crash. And just the other day, it won't power on at all. It went totally dead.
Another foreboding of a Made-In-China product?
Back To Ma Old Self And Ma Old Exercise Routine
I have been laying off exercises for the past three weeks and I feel absolutely lousy and lethargic.
I just wanna get this cough and cold bug off me and go back to my regular regime of exercises.
This Old Man, He Played Seven
Tonight I met that same old man who brushed moi off when I enquired about his investments some time back.
I had taken his seat because he had gone off for dinner and when he returned, I offered to share the one power-point within distance with him since I had an adapter.
At first, I was taken aback by the rapid-fire exchange we had over our lappies.
He was right on many accounts of course. After all, my screen was 12.1 inches and yes, it can be strenuous on the eyes with print squeezed so compactly. But the font plays a part too. And yes again, I had got my Norton Anti-Virus free from the first Vendor I tried buying my lappy from.
If you remember my earlier blogs, that is.
I cannot fault him for many of the things he was saying. But his set of problems were of course, uniquely different from mine.
For me, it was the compatibility issues at first with Vista, then Internet connection problems and finally now I think it could even be the hardware itself.
We had a second exchange and this was more cordial. He recounted financial and property market conditions and this was quite interesting.
Full NDR Speech Text Available Here
After I had blogged all the above and I headed off for another WIFI spot, I came across the full text of the NDR Speech on the CPF Board's website.
The picture is clearer but of course, I would like to know when there is reference to the retirement account, does this mean the minimum sum which sets in after age 55?
More blogs on this tomorrow. Possibly.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
More Reflections On The National Day Rally Speech
Linguistic Errata
Oh my God! I should have written "whizzing" instead for the swishing of traffic along the highway. "Wheezing" should have been reserved for my cough the past three weeks and even today, I am still coughing if only just a little.
Maybe I should be "wagging my finger" at others rather than just "pointing my finger" when I speak of keeping one's house in order.
Oh well, there you have it.
Pooh Pooh 1%
Of course the 1% point increase in the CPF rate of return is much appreciated and it is further compounded too?
And it is no mean feat to plough $700 million dollars back into the kitty right? At today's prices and today's inflation rate, that is.
Wouldn't any investor expect at least a 25% minimal return on their savings though? Even a doubling or tripling of their investment.
Upgrade Because Of A Need To, Not Upgrade For Upgrade Sake
Sure some people like to upgrade their flats. However, sometimes it is because of the growing needs of the kids for instance.
Like some people lease out their rooms because they need to. Not because they happen to have spare rooms and try to make some money out of it.
If Wages Can't Keep Up, At Least Let Our Investment Do
I think it all boils down to this : the cost of living has simply outstripped the increase in wages.
The latter doesn't keep up with the former and that is why people are finding their savings being slowly but surely depleted.
A Fine Example Of How Much Cost Has Spiralled
Just look at the price of a 3-room HDB flat then and now.
We used to live in one in Toa Payoh. It costs only several thousand dollars. That was in 1972. Today its price is almost two hundred thousand dollars or more.
Has the basic principle of affordable housing for the masses been abandoned?
Have wages correspondingly increased?
If nothing else, at least if our investment can keep up with the cost of living, then our savings stand a good chance of being intact and sufficient.
Foreign Or Local And Younger Competition
Mind you one reason why brother got retrenched must be the pressure on costs on the part of the company. Costs of manufacturing in Singapore, cost of wages, competition, cheaper foreign labor imports or even a younger local labor substitute.
This is the same company he has been working with for a decade and a half. What does that speak of loyalty, long service and so on?
The same reason of cheaper and younger foreign or local labor susbstitutes apply at the workfront of both my brothers-in-law.
Legislation Can Only Do So Much
Legislating that a company re-offers a job (any kind of job, not necessarily the same one the employee was working on) to an employee aged 62 remains just that - an offer.
The conditions or job offered may not be as favorable anymore and the old employee has to decide if it is worth his while to take it up.
Living Near Each Other But Not Together
Yes I would like to live near my kin but certainly not under the same roof.
Oh my God! I should have written "whizzing" instead for the swishing of traffic along the highway. "Wheezing" should have been reserved for my cough the past three weeks and even today, I am still coughing if only just a little.
Maybe I should be "wagging my finger" at others rather than just "pointing my finger" when I speak of keeping one's house in order.
Oh well, there you have it.
Pooh Pooh 1%
Of course the 1% point increase in the CPF rate of return is much appreciated and it is further compounded too?
And it is no mean feat to plough $700 million dollars back into the kitty right? At today's prices and today's inflation rate, that is.
Wouldn't any investor expect at least a 25% minimal return on their savings though? Even a doubling or tripling of their investment.
Upgrade Because Of A Need To, Not Upgrade For Upgrade Sake
Sure some people like to upgrade their flats. However, sometimes it is because of the growing needs of the kids for instance.
Like some people lease out their rooms because they need to. Not because they happen to have spare rooms and try to make some money out of it.
If Wages Can't Keep Up, At Least Let Our Investment Do
I think it all boils down to this : the cost of living has simply outstripped the increase in wages.
The latter doesn't keep up with the former and that is why people are finding their savings being slowly but surely depleted.
A Fine Example Of How Much Cost Has Spiralled
Just look at the price of a 3-room HDB flat then and now.
We used to live in one in Toa Payoh. It costs only several thousand dollars. That was in 1972. Today its price is almost two hundred thousand dollars or more.
Has the basic principle of affordable housing for the masses been abandoned?
Have wages correspondingly increased?
If nothing else, at least if our investment can keep up with the cost of living, then our savings stand a good chance of being intact and sufficient.
Foreign Or Local And Younger Competition
Mind you one reason why brother got retrenched must be the pressure on costs on the part of the company. Costs of manufacturing in Singapore, cost of wages, competition, cheaper foreign labor imports or even a younger local labor substitute.
This is the same company he has been working with for a decade and a half. What does that speak of loyalty, long service and so on?
The same reason of cheaper and younger foreign or local labor susbstitutes apply at the workfront of both my brothers-in-law.
Legislation Can Only Do So Much
Legislating that a company re-offers a job (any kind of job, not necessarily the same one the employee was working on) to an employee aged 62 remains just that - an offer.
The conditions or job offered may not be as favorable anymore and the old employee has to decide if it is worth his while to take it up.
Living Near Each Other But Not Together
Yes I would like to live near my kin but certainly not under the same roof.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Just Some Impromptu Reactions To The National Day Rally Speech And What I Think The Fourth University Should Be
Liberal Arts Or Life Skills University
If I were to go with a fourth university, I would say let us not have anymore of the current kinda universities we already have.
A liberal arts or life-skills kinda university will seem to be more in order.
Reactions To The National Day Rally Speech
Even before the speech was made, I have made my protests against the increase in the retirement kitty's draw-down age from 62 to 65 and now 67 as well as the compulsory annuity now deemed essential for those aged below 50 very clear.
I say again it is not a good idea to tie up a retirement fund for too long and let the people decide themselves if they need an annuity based on their own personal judgement.
The increase in the rate of return must certainly be much appreciated and it is compounded after all.
I certainly have no quarrels with all the new plans for improvement works or waterfront living for both old and new public housing developments. And I think the "buy-back" of the lease of HDB flats from elderly owners for a sum of money and monthly returns is, on first glance, a very good idea. Let us hope this is not a family nucleus thingy again and that single owners can do the same.
As far as I am concerned, a minimum occupancy space for anyone is a 2-room or 3 room (a 2room for 1 or 2 persons while a 3room can prolly accomodate 2 or 3 persons). How much further can one downgrade this to in his golden years?
Doesn't seem like the studio is an option given the kinda restrictions for buying and selling (for one that it must be sold back to the authority and the elderly already have many grouses with that). And this is off-limit to singles anyway.
One bone to pick and that is that I don't think I will be a beneficiary for direct waterfront living (meaning a view to water, greens or sands) and many singles will prolly not benefit from it (we can't buy first hand remember) but perhaps after 5 years (for new estates that is), if prices are still affordable after that.
Even in the secondary market.
Sigh, the plight and situation of the singles (and gays) have largely remained unaddressed.
But all in all, kudos to the new team for making this great effort which seems to be well-thought out and planned through.
If I were to go with a fourth university, I would say let us not have anymore of the current kinda universities we already have.
A liberal arts or life-skills kinda university will seem to be more in order.
Reactions To The National Day Rally Speech
Even before the speech was made, I have made my protests against the increase in the retirement kitty's draw-down age from 62 to 65 and now 67 as well as the compulsory annuity now deemed essential for those aged below 50 very clear.
I say again it is not a good idea to tie up a retirement fund for too long and let the people decide themselves if they need an annuity based on their own personal judgement.
The increase in the rate of return must certainly be much appreciated and it is compounded after all.
I certainly have no quarrels with all the new plans for improvement works or waterfront living for both old and new public housing developments. And I think the "buy-back" of the lease of HDB flats from elderly owners for a sum of money and monthly returns is, on first glance, a very good idea. Let us hope this is not a family nucleus thingy again and that single owners can do the same.
As far as I am concerned, a minimum occupancy space for anyone is a 2-room or 3 room (a 2room for 1 or 2 persons while a 3room can prolly accomodate 2 or 3 persons). How much further can one downgrade this to in his golden years?
Doesn't seem like the studio is an option given the kinda restrictions for buying and selling (for one that it must be sold back to the authority and the elderly already have many grouses with that). And this is off-limit to singles anyway.
One bone to pick and that is that I don't think I will be a beneficiary for direct waterfront living (meaning a view to water, greens or sands) and many singles will prolly not benefit from it (we can't buy first hand remember) but perhaps after 5 years (for new estates that is), if prices are still affordable after that.
Even in the secondary market.
Sigh, the plight and situation of the singles (and gays) have largely remained unaddressed.
But all in all, kudos to the new team for making this great effort which seems to be well-thought out and planned through.
God, Are You Listening?
Mind Blowing Property Indexes
Now that there are published data on private property prices transacted (especially new and yet to be completed projects), thanks no less to our dear dear National Development Ministry, there is more transparency and information on property deals so that buyers and sellers can make better informed decisions.
However, current as it is, it lags a month behind real-time transactions.
Armed with this new information (but based on last month's transactions only), I can make a guesstimate where my property investment stands.
The heart of town prime districts, as usual, boast of runaway record prices.
Not lagging too far behind are all those less prime, suburban but waterfront residential areas. One such new launch in a really suburban town has fetched a record high of $1146 psf though the average was more in the $754 range.
What stumped me was another development in the east which , though in a good locale, wasn't even in as posh a district as my property investment was, and it was so far away from any good sea-view. It was in a shabbier and more densely-populated part of town.
However, it managed a record $1510 psf while the average was in the $1205 psf range.
A premiere seafront development rightly deserves its $2182 psf highest accolade but gosh, as in another development that fronts the sea, both were right next to the highway and we all know how the swish-swosh of the traffic gets to you especially during peak hours, like in the night when you get home.
All said, my development is in a newer, posher district closer to amenities AND it happens to be that stack that affords a beautiful sea-view (greens, water and sand for that matter) while being far away enough from the highway to be sheltered from the wheezing traffic.
Why can't it equal or better the current prices like hitting 3m or even 3.5m or even higher in its sales price would be THE riddle of the millennium if it doesn't happen.
My Life Mapped Out
A place of my own.My beau and/or kid. A small enterprise. Helping ONE kind of the disadvantaged. Retirement and emergency kitties (medical, housing, education or whatever) for me and all my siblings and kin (nephews, nieces and in-laws). Daily living expenses for my bro and my mute sister. Outing expenses for all of us.
All these need all the money I can get.
Maybe we can all get to live near each other, perhaps not in mansions, but in HDB flats?
Let Me Explain What Is Happening Within My Family
My Big Bro
First, my brother has been retrenched from his assisting sales managerial position in a local steel fabrication company.
This is due to relocation of its major operations to China and Malaysia. He has been hanging around since 2001 or thereabouts and has not been able to find a job despite his decade and a half of experience in the industry. He is about 54 years old now and I am not quite sure how the proposed revamp in the CPF changes is gonna hit him.
He has two young daughters, the oldest who is in Secondary Two and his wife is bringing home the bacon (which can't be very much), the last of which I heard she was teaching in some school for the intellectually disabled.
All I can see is that he spends a lot of his time on his own, away from his wife and two daughters.
My Eldest Sister
She is mute. She is 53 years old.
My Third Sister
My third sister is looking after my 2nd sister who is mute. Her husband works as a technician in a local air-refrigerating company. The company has since gone bust and he is now working for a similar company. His work is an occupational hazard which is very physical in nature like climbing heights for one. He is 47 years old.
They have two young sons, my nephews, one of who is serving National Service and the other who will follow soon. Both were schooling in vocational instititutes, one having finished N levels and the other Secondary Two (who was in the EM3 stream by the way).
My Second Sister
My second sister's husband works in a similar industry as my third brother-in-law. Her younger son, my nephew, has only O levels and has finished his National Service.
Her daughter, my niece, is now in pre-university while my oldest nephew has completed his Masters degree in the university.
Don't You Think We Need As Much Charity, If Not More?
If you can't tell that we are a working class family with HUGE FINANCIAL NEEDS, what with growing and young people in our midst, while we are ageing ourselves, THEN YOU MUST BE AS BLIND AS BATS.
Now that there are published data on private property prices transacted (especially new and yet to be completed projects), thanks no less to our dear dear National Development Ministry, there is more transparency and information on property deals so that buyers and sellers can make better informed decisions.
However, current as it is, it lags a month behind real-time transactions.
Armed with this new information (but based on last month's transactions only), I can make a guesstimate where my property investment stands.
The heart of town prime districts, as usual, boast of runaway record prices.
Not lagging too far behind are all those less prime, suburban but waterfront residential areas. One such new launch in a really suburban town has fetched a record high of $1146 psf though the average was more in the $754 range.
What stumped me was another development in the east which , though in a good locale, wasn't even in as posh a district as my property investment was, and it was so far away from any good sea-view. It was in a shabbier and more densely-populated part of town.
However, it managed a record $1510 psf while the average was in the $1205 psf range.
A premiere seafront development rightly deserves its $2182 psf highest accolade but gosh, as in another development that fronts the sea, both were right next to the highway and we all know how the swish-swosh of the traffic gets to you especially during peak hours, like in the night when you get home.
All said, my development is in a newer, posher district closer to amenities AND it happens to be that stack that affords a beautiful sea-view (greens, water and sand for that matter) while being far away enough from the highway to be sheltered from the wheezing traffic.
Why can't it equal or better the current prices like hitting 3m or even 3.5m or even higher in its sales price would be THE riddle of the millennium if it doesn't happen.
My Life Mapped Out
A place of my own.My beau and/or kid. A small enterprise. Helping ONE kind of the disadvantaged. Retirement and emergency kitties (medical, housing, education or whatever) for me and all my siblings and kin (nephews, nieces and in-laws). Daily living expenses for my bro and my mute sister. Outing expenses for all of us.
All these need all the money I can get.
Maybe we can all get to live near each other, perhaps not in mansions, but in HDB flats?
Let Me Explain What Is Happening Within My Family
My Big Bro
First, my brother has been retrenched from his assisting sales managerial position in a local steel fabrication company.
This is due to relocation of its major operations to China and Malaysia. He has been hanging around since 2001 or thereabouts and has not been able to find a job despite his decade and a half of experience in the industry. He is about 54 years old now and I am not quite sure how the proposed revamp in the CPF changes is gonna hit him.
He has two young daughters, the oldest who is in Secondary Two and his wife is bringing home the bacon (which can't be very much), the last of which I heard she was teaching in some school for the intellectually disabled.
All I can see is that he spends a lot of his time on his own, away from his wife and two daughters.
My Eldest Sister
She is mute. She is 53 years old.
My Third Sister
My third sister is looking after my 2nd sister who is mute. Her husband works as a technician in a local air-refrigerating company. The company has since gone bust and he is now working for a similar company. His work is an occupational hazard which is very physical in nature like climbing heights for one. He is 47 years old.
They have two young sons, my nephews, one of who is serving National Service and the other who will follow soon. Both were schooling in vocational instititutes, one having finished N levels and the other Secondary Two (who was in the EM3 stream by the way).
My Second Sister
My second sister's husband works in a similar industry as my third brother-in-law. Her younger son, my nephew, has only O levels and has finished his National Service.
Her daughter, my niece, is now in pre-university while my oldest nephew has completed his Masters degree in the university.
Don't You Think We Need As Much Charity, If Not More?
If you can't tell that we are a working class family with HUGE FINANCIAL NEEDS, what with growing and young people in our midst, while we are ageing ourselves, THEN YOU MUST BE AS BLIND AS BATS.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
I Am Gonna Miss The FireWorks At The Esplanade Tonight
Stock And Property Yields
Having seen all that is happening in the financial and property markets recently, I am just keeping my fingers crossed that my stock investment will yield me at least a 1.5m payout while my property investment should fetch minimally 2.5m in its sales price.
These are figures not conjured out of the air but borne out of current level activity going on in both sectors.
And just to recapitulate :
(A) My stock pick is an undervalued one with good earnings potential in the respective industrial sector it is in and there should be no good reason why some senior management staff are being invited to partake in its stock options other than that there is a looming prospect of a capital appreciation
(B)My property is a 131sqm, 3+1 corner unit with a balcony that has a good view of the water, sand and greens. Not just any view but a beachfront view, located in a prime eastern district near amenities like a shopping mall, famous eateries, transport and minutes away from the heart of town and the upcoming resort.
Can You Bite The Hand That Feeds You?
There are so many things that have happened in my life that if I were to blog all of them, I am sure I will never get to finish them.
One thing I do know for a fact is that having worked in the audit line before, it strikes me how an auditor who depends on the company he is auditing the books for as paymaster can be genuinely removed from being partial.
"881"
This is one Royston Tan film I cannot identify with, simply because I do not subscribe to the getai lifestyle nor its attendant dialectical language.
That was just it, nothing personal.
"The Simpsons Movie"
On the other hand, "The Simpsons" was a superb watch. I was in stitches half the time.
It had elements of religious armaggedon coupled with an environmental disaster that finally led to the cutting off of Springfield from the world imposed by a domeshield.
Contrast this with the environmental haven of Alaska that the Simpsons fled to after they were exiled because of Homer's indiscreet dumping of pig crap in the lake.
The Simpsons finally decide to return to save their hometown from certain obliteration from the map of the world and boy did Homer and Bart really become the toast of the town after that.
Wonderfully witty dialogue and graphically explicit scenes that carry with them subtextual messages that provide fuel for thought.
Having seen all that is happening in the financial and property markets recently, I am just keeping my fingers crossed that my stock investment will yield me at least a 1.5m payout while my property investment should fetch minimally 2.5m in its sales price.
These are figures not conjured out of the air but borne out of current level activity going on in both sectors.
And just to recapitulate :
(A) My stock pick is an undervalued one with good earnings potential in the respective industrial sector it is in and there should be no good reason why some senior management staff are being invited to partake in its stock options other than that there is a looming prospect of a capital appreciation
(B)My property is a 131sqm, 3+1 corner unit with a balcony that has a good view of the water, sand and greens. Not just any view but a beachfront view, located in a prime eastern district near amenities like a shopping mall, famous eateries, transport and minutes away from the heart of town and the upcoming resort.
Can You Bite The Hand That Feeds You?
There are so many things that have happened in my life that if I were to blog all of them, I am sure I will never get to finish them.
One thing I do know for a fact is that having worked in the audit line before, it strikes me how an auditor who depends on the company he is auditing the books for as paymaster can be genuinely removed from being partial.
"881"
This is one Royston Tan film I cannot identify with, simply because I do not subscribe to the getai lifestyle nor its attendant dialectical language.
That was just it, nothing personal.
"The Simpsons Movie"
On the other hand, "The Simpsons" was a superb watch. I was in stitches half the time.
It had elements of religious armaggedon coupled with an environmental disaster that finally led to the cutting off of Springfield from the world imposed by a domeshield.
Contrast this with the environmental haven of Alaska that the Simpsons fled to after they were exiled because of Homer's indiscreet dumping of pig crap in the lake.
The Simpsons finally decide to return to save their hometown from certain obliteration from the map of the world and boy did Homer and Bart really become the toast of the town after that.
Wonderfully witty dialogue and graphically explicit scenes that carry with them subtextual messages that provide fuel for thought.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Of Bus Trips, Compulsory Annuities And Good HouseKeeping
Open And Close Sesame
This bus just wouldn't open up its doors.
There was one right in front of it, parked by the bus bay, for boarding and alighting passengers.
So moi walked to the back for this bus. But it just refuses to open its doors. It waited for the first bus in front of it to move off and then it moved forward to park itself by the bus bay.
God, do the bollards ever prove to be an obstruction and a crotch-hitter if one should be so unaware to knock into one.
Crouching Hands, Crotch Hitters
Much like the swinging hands of a person (usually a gall) walking in front of you. You are squeezed right behind her because to your left and to your right and also your behind, there are other people walking.
Just do not walk your crotch into her waiting hands or your crown jewels may just be knocked off its pedestal.
Black Out
It was way past 7pm and it was getting darker and darker.
But the interior of the bus hadn't been lighted up yet. It was so dark, nothing could really be seen inside. When moi enquired, the bus driver replied that the lights aren't working.
You mean there are no prior checks to ensure it is all systems go before a bus goes on the road?
It is like seeing the engines of buses stalling when a bus stops, taking a while to start again or never doing so.
Isn't this gonna be a safety hazard?
Block Out
It is bad enough that some buses have those grey and dotted glazed windows (serving as advertisement vehicles) that blurs the view outside in the daytime and gets even worse at night.
Imagine someone new on a bus trying to make out the landmarks so he can alight or an elderly person with poor vision.
Scan Out
My EzLink card just wouldn't scan again. This is the second time this has happened.
The usual explanation at the ticketing office is that it is corrupted and I had to buy a new one, a totally different type from my last two cards.
This is the one where there is a non-refundable $5 cost for the card, a $7 stored value and a refundable $3 deposit- making it a grand total of $15. Compare this with the old type where it is only a refundable $5 withheld as a deposit.
Seems to me that the previous type probably has lots of glitches so they came out with this new type. Let's see how this one turns out.
You Wanna Count Every Cent, So Can I (Is This Fair?)
But it was more what happened on board the bus that irked moi.
The driver insisted I pay my fare in cash. Fine. But I had only a dollar in coin. The trip costs 90 cents and the bus ticket only prints the 90 cents fare trip.
If the ticket prints out a $1 receipt but indicates a 90 cents fare, I could probably walk up to a ticketing office and asks for a refund of the difference.
But it doesn't.
Make It An Option After A Number Of Years
I am dead-set against the idea of a compulsory annuity.
I suggest that a certain number of years lapse (so he can gauge more effectively if he needs a longer coverage than usual coverage based on his own life expectancy) with the current scheme of a 20-year payout from the minimum sum before someone decides if he wanna convert it into an annuity which will cover him till death at a lower payout.
And yes, do show us the calculation of how the figure of $790 was arrived at. This is the payout based on a 20-year current level minimum sum.
This looks much better than the $400-$500 of an annuity payout.
Good HouseKeeping Extends To The Region And Globally
Let me extend this argument further.
If you keep your house in good order, this leads to the same at the workplace and the country.
Never mind the region and the international scene.
As long as we do, we can show them how this has helped us keep order and that they should do the same.
This bus just wouldn't open up its doors.
There was one right in front of it, parked by the bus bay, for boarding and alighting passengers.
So moi walked to the back for this bus. But it just refuses to open its doors. It waited for the first bus in front of it to move off and then it moved forward to park itself by the bus bay.
God, do the bollards ever prove to be an obstruction and a crotch-hitter if one should be so unaware to knock into one.
Crouching Hands, Crotch Hitters
Much like the swinging hands of a person (usually a gall) walking in front of you. You are squeezed right behind her because to your left and to your right and also your behind, there are other people walking.
Just do not walk your crotch into her waiting hands or your crown jewels may just be knocked off its pedestal.
Black Out
It was way past 7pm and it was getting darker and darker.
But the interior of the bus hadn't been lighted up yet. It was so dark, nothing could really be seen inside. When moi enquired, the bus driver replied that the lights aren't working.
You mean there are no prior checks to ensure it is all systems go before a bus goes on the road?
It is like seeing the engines of buses stalling when a bus stops, taking a while to start again or never doing so.
Isn't this gonna be a safety hazard?
Block Out
It is bad enough that some buses have those grey and dotted glazed windows (serving as advertisement vehicles) that blurs the view outside in the daytime and gets even worse at night.
Imagine someone new on a bus trying to make out the landmarks so he can alight or an elderly person with poor vision.
Scan Out
My EzLink card just wouldn't scan again. This is the second time this has happened.
The usual explanation at the ticketing office is that it is corrupted and I had to buy a new one, a totally different type from my last two cards.
This is the one where there is a non-refundable $5 cost for the card, a $7 stored value and a refundable $3 deposit- making it a grand total of $15. Compare this with the old type where it is only a refundable $5 withheld as a deposit.
Seems to me that the previous type probably has lots of glitches so they came out with this new type. Let's see how this one turns out.
You Wanna Count Every Cent, So Can I (Is This Fair?)
But it was more what happened on board the bus that irked moi.
The driver insisted I pay my fare in cash. Fine. But I had only a dollar in coin. The trip costs 90 cents and the bus ticket only prints the 90 cents fare trip.
If the ticket prints out a $1 receipt but indicates a 90 cents fare, I could probably walk up to a ticketing office and asks for a refund of the difference.
But it doesn't.
Make It An Option After A Number Of Years
I am dead-set against the idea of a compulsory annuity.
I suggest that a certain number of years lapse (so he can gauge more effectively if he needs a longer coverage than usual coverage based on his own life expectancy) with the current scheme of a 20-year payout from the minimum sum before someone decides if he wanna convert it into an annuity which will cover him till death at a lower payout.
And yes, do show us the calculation of how the figure of $790 was arrived at. This is the payout based on a 20-year current level minimum sum.
This looks much better than the $400-$500 of an annuity payout.
Good HouseKeeping Extends To The Region And Globally
Let me extend this argument further.
If you keep your house in good order, this leads to the same at the workplace and the country.
Never mind the region and the international scene.
As long as we do, we can show them how this has helped us keep order and that they should do the same.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The Meek Inherits Nothing In This Kingdom Of The Wicked
Bo-Chap About Malicious And Untrue Gossip
Arh. Don't get me wrong. When I said I am "bo-chap", it means I dont care for idle and malicious gossip about me, especially since I didn't hear about it and I know it isn't true.
But if it is my work and my responsibility, I do care.
Keeping Both Parties Happy And With No Qualms
So having experienced first hand the kinda tenants I have had, when I leased rooms from others, I make sure I am responsible and do a proper job of not inviting criticisms, as far as I can. Right down to the washing and the cleaning and the storage. So both parties are happy.
Keep Your House In Good Order First, Then You Can Point Your Finger At Others
So yea, you snigger behind my back and say "you are gonna be a good home-maker." But look here buster, if you don't keep your own house in good order, then how are you gonna keep the world in order and the people living in your house happy?
So what if I bought a dustpan that comes attached with a broom? I am not gonna vacuum (which is a BIGGER HASSLE reserved for a BIG CLEAN UP) just for bits of hair or dirt here or there.
UnEnviable Position As Guardian
This is something I am telling Chris.
He is putting me in a very precarious and difficult position by his half-hearted move-in here.
I Signed The Docu And I Am Responsible
By changing his mind about moving in by the 5th or 6th, wanting and not wanting the key and wanting to move out right after I the agent and owner had confirmed the tenancy (but which they were also undecided at first), just make me look like I am going back on my word.
Half-Hearted And In Two Minds?
He hasn't exactly brought all his barang barang over and I know a lot more stuff are still at his old place. So what does this mean? He is straddling two homes?But why? He is still in two minds?
Who Do You Live With? What Is Happening In Your Life?
What is his relationship with the "person" who on our first acquaitance was a friend as I knew then he owned a dog (and still does) and he had quitted school (which I wanted to help reinstate him back but he refused).
But now it is an old auntie. What am I to believe?
And Chris only started work three months back, about the time the PUB supply got disconnected at this place. He was just hanging around for two years after quitting school.
As Long As We Are Ok, The Others Can Just Go To Hell But Yes, The Others Can Affect Us
Granted, I can understand his relunctance to move in after I told him about the bouts with Mabel but as I told him "as long as we are alright, those others can just be anything".
And it is true how a third party(in this case, "The Woman") can affect a couple's (the two of us as room-mates)relationship in many ways.
Third, Fourth Maybe Fifth Postulates?
And as a third postulate, evidenced from the photocopy, it does seem like Chris had his ID enveloped in a plastic holder of sorts, judging from the dotted lines around the edge and could this have prevented the hologram from appearing in the photocopies?
How high-tech and stupid can a technology be if it can be blocked out like that?
Maybe it is the ink or the photocopier that could not capture the hologram. Or did Chris willfully blocked them out himself?
Who knows?
You Mean You Are Not Petty? You Are So Magnanimous?
Please don't play the "you are so petty" line on me. Aren't we all? It is the small things that can really morph into something bigger and that can really drag us down or affect us, ain't it?
It Wasn't Correct What, So Why Can't I Show You The Correct Version?
I don't like arguing and I never did. But it is just that those others on the other side of the line seem to be arguing on false grounds and having us believe it is true. And imposing this on us.
So? Do we just keep quiet and swallow? All the time?
Why Should We Always Be Giving Way, Why Don't You? Why Don't You Get Out, Why Should We?
Why dont we be the unreasonable ones at times so you can try handling that like you do sometimes.
Always considerate and thinking of others? Does everyone else? Do you?
Arh. Don't get me wrong. When I said I am "bo-chap", it means I dont care for idle and malicious gossip about me, especially since I didn't hear about it and I know it isn't true.
But if it is my work and my responsibility, I do care.
Keeping Both Parties Happy And With No Qualms
So having experienced first hand the kinda tenants I have had, when I leased rooms from others, I make sure I am responsible and do a proper job of not inviting criticisms, as far as I can. Right down to the washing and the cleaning and the storage. So both parties are happy.
Keep Your House In Good Order First, Then You Can Point Your Finger At Others
So yea, you snigger behind my back and say "you are gonna be a good home-maker." But look here buster, if you don't keep your own house in good order, then how are you gonna keep the world in order and the people living in your house happy?
So what if I bought a dustpan that comes attached with a broom? I am not gonna vacuum (which is a BIGGER HASSLE reserved for a BIG CLEAN UP) just for bits of hair or dirt here or there.
UnEnviable Position As Guardian
This is something I am telling Chris.
He is putting me in a very precarious and difficult position by his half-hearted move-in here.
I Signed The Docu And I Am Responsible
By changing his mind about moving in by the 5th or 6th, wanting and not wanting the key and wanting to move out right after I the agent and owner had confirmed the tenancy (but which they were also undecided at first), just make me look like I am going back on my word.
Half-Hearted And In Two Minds?
He hasn't exactly brought all his barang barang over and I know a lot more stuff are still at his old place. So what does this mean? He is straddling two homes?But why? He is still in two minds?
Who Do You Live With? What Is Happening In Your Life?
What is his relationship with the "person" who on our first acquaitance was a friend as I knew then he owned a dog (and still does) and he had quitted school (which I wanted to help reinstate him back but he refused).
But now it is an old auntie. What am I to believe?
And Chris only started work three months back, about the time the PUB supply got disconnected at this place. He was just hanging around for two years after quitting school.
As Long As We Are Ok, The Others Can Just Go To Hell But Yes, The Others Can Affect Us
Granted, I can understand his relunctance to move in after I told him about the bouts with Mabel but as I told him "as long as we are alright, those others can just be anything".
And it is true how a third party(in this case, "The Woman") can affect a couple's (the two of us as room-mates)relationship in many ways.
Third, Fourth Maybe Fifth Postulates?
And as a third postulate, evidenced from the photocopy, it does seem like Chris had his ID enveloped in a plastic holder of sorts, judging from the dotted lines around the edge and could this have prevented the hologram from appearing in the photocopies?
How high-tech and stupid can a technology be if it can be blocked out like that?
Maybe it is the ink or the photocopier that could not capture the hologram. Or did Chris willfully blocked them out himself?
Who knows?
You Mean You Are Not Petty? You Are So Magnanimous?
Please don't play the "you are so petty" line on me. Aren't we all? It is the small things that can really morph into something bigger and that can really drag us down or affect us, ain't it?
It Wasn't Correct What, So Why Can't I Show You The Correct Version?
I don't like arguing and I never did. But it is just that those others on the other side of the line seem to be arguing on false grounds and having us believe it is true. And imposing this on us.
So? Do we just keep quiet and swallow? All the time?
Why Should We Always Be Giving Way, Why Don't You? Why Don't You Get Out, Why Should We?
Why dont we be the unreasonable ones at times so you can try handling that like you do sometimes.
Always considerate and thinking of others? Does everyone else? Do you?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Another Calamatic Episode
Bo-Chap And Simply Don't Care
As I told the Maxicab driver the other day, I was a simply 'bo-chap" dude, to the point that people have been maligning me behind my back and to the detriment of my job and my credibility.
Only because I wasn't bothering about what people were gossiping behind my back and didn't seek to defend myself.
Whenever someone says something or scolds me, it is simply one ear in and one ear out. That is how I survive my brother at home. It was just "er bian feng" (wind by the side of your ear).
But things are different now. If I don't, there is a Cantonese saying which sums it up "Argh sei gai" (shove a dead chicken down your throat).
Everything is YOU. YOU did this and that. I am the HOLY GOD who can do no wrong. The gays, the workplace, the home, wherever.
Why don't you examine your holy selves, your work processes, your reasonability of logic to see where the stupidity and flaws lie in the first place.
It must have begun at home with Bro. Sometimes Ma and 2nd Sis.
Bro is a bi (who prolly marry because he couldn't take the heat and yes, there are just too many things working against a gay relationship, but hey is he happy? I don't think so) and he is about the kinda "guan jia bo" (household matron) that gets close to any woman can be.
I am sure his colleagues can attest to that.
Ma, of course will be the restrictor, for god knows what reasons of hers, keeping us in, prohibiting this and that.
2nd Sis is the bimbo and the instigator who breaks us all apart.
Hey what can I say about a family like this? Just my good fortune?
Alas! What Do I Make Of All These?
And this brings me to my second point. When I noticed the discrepancies and the real estate agent highlighted them to me, I have no choice but to run my own check today.
That is what I mean. When things happen, then I have to act, right?
Only armed with correct and good information can I make an informed decision.
What Kinda Information Can This Tell You? Not Very Much
So I make a call to ICA Singapore Identity Card Section. I learnt that there is an I-Check facility online to check on the validity of a Singapore ID and so when I ran a check on Chris, it was all valid.
But this can't confirm that he is the legitimate holder of the identity card in question. Only the original can but Chris can't provide this, citing that his mom has safe-kept it.
To top it all, I have seen his EZ-link student card once before he promptly lost it (but imagine quitting school and he is still using this student pass), with the exact particulars but a completely different photograph of him: fatter, nerdier and with thick black glasses.
But then again, this must be a mugshot of him in his primary school days as the pass is issued upon entering Secondary 1. A person does change in appearance at different phases of his life : from primary to secondary to young adult and older adult to senior citizen and so on.
Besides Checks On Foreigners, Now There Are Checks On Locals
There were also info on its webby on all those safety and security features which were all missing on Chris' ID. The merlion hologram, the coat-of-arms behind the ID and the additional photograph hologram.
The blood group can be explained because it isn't included in the ID anymore since 2002.
What I was pissed about was that the receptionist couldn't divulge information on what digits would prefix the newborns from the year 2000 onwards. This she deemed top secret.
Already there is info telling us that from year 2000 on, there will be an alphabetical T prefix, so how TOP SECRET can the digit prefixes be?
Wouldn't transparent info made available to the public make it more informed and thus save on confusion and suspicion among the people at the ground level when they run their own checks on tenants or landlords?
And the tenancy agreement only runs checks on tenants. What about tenants running checks that the people residing in the flats are the legitimate owners?
How about that? It is lop-sided isn't it?
Self-Dial Mobile Pressing On Its Casing
This new hard-case pouch I just bought, if I don't lock the buttons of the mobile, do press on them and dial numbers on its own. In fact my previous soft fabric pouch had made some download connection to the "Gee" function and I have tote up quite a bit for the bill.
Gay Sluts
While on my room hunt before I got this place, I came across two old ads in the gay classifieds.
They were the same units that I have viewed about a year ago or so. It shows how many tenants must have moved in and out of the place due most likely on the part of the owners.
One I distinctly remember as an old run-down private apartment block with many foreign workers as neighbors. It was a small dinghy room going for SGD600 (which I could prolly get a better HDB room) and I know the owner isn't particularly a nice person.
Another made it sound like I was renting a room to fuck around with all the other tenants in the flat. He had said something like "play around but don't kiss-and-tell".
Both were foreigners or PRs or naturalised citizens by the way.
2nd Time Consulting The Doc
I went to see a doctor yesterday because my cough got worse and I was sneezing like anything. This was exacerbated because I hadn't really been watching what I eat.
It is especially trying when I am subjected to the air-conditioner, something inescapable at the urban malls and about any indoor venue save the great outdoors .
This time, the doc was in (it wasn't the locum) and he didn't prescribe me antibiotics (which I thought was a wise move, given my stand about all the resistance that can be built up against a drug over time).
In fact he told me I should consult a TCM practitoner as he diagnosed that I had dry lungs. Something which I did and was duly prescribed three doses of a two-pack medication for cold and hot cough. The bird's nest and luo-han guo will have to wait after I get better.
And of course the usual refrainment from cold drinks and spicy and chilli food.
I got better this morning after a bout of coughing my lungs out yesterday.
Discrepancies
Yes the real estate agent had pointed this out to me. In fact I had noticed it myself. There wasn't a merlion hologram on Chris' ID, there wasn't a blood grouping and the coat-of-arms of the lion and tiger were missing too.
I tried out an experiment where I photocopied my ID at two photocopying shops in the neighborhood. At all times, my merlion hologram appeared but the coat-of-arms didn't after a second photocopy. And it prolly didn't help that the ink on the photocopier must have been set to a very light tone.
I can only conclude (though this is a small sample for a test) that (a) Chris' ID is a fake or (b) he has been repeatedly photocopying from one original photocopy that all the finer details of the hologram and coat-of-arms had slowly but surely faded away.
Our First Big Fight
I must have spoken too soon. We immediately quarrelled on Sunday.
Chris told me his aunt (I can't confirm this as I can't be sure it is a aunt or a lover or someone) has told his mom about his move out and apparently his mom wants him to move back (again this is unsubstantiated).
He was already dragging his feet about moving in and I have sought his confirmation before signing the papers. So he is leaving me in a fix now if he moves out.
This comes just after I have settled matters with Mabel and her auntie agent and they have confirmed the 6-month tenancy. Things just got better here but things got worse with Chris.
And I have told Chris that there are many ads but few suitable places and few responses. Not least because the hike in rental has spilled over to the HDB arena and everyone wants a higher return for their rent.
It is true I have been grumbling to Chris and that was because "The Woman" (aka as Mabel) was in turn grumbling to me as you would remember my one day of washing was a virtual nightmare with her hovering about, the full-time home-maker that she was.
Talk about what goes around comes around.
What Has Been Cooking With Chris Lately And How Is He Really Like
It doesn't help that Chris has been paying his share of the rent in instalments. The third and last bit of SGD80 which I got just yesterday. He had promised the 5th or 6th of every month but this has dragged on till yesterday. And he has been shopping.
He spent part of a morning doing up his cockster hair, putting on foundation cream, spraying Adidas cologne on his hair and a whole array of beauty products.
He cussed when the wind blows which messes it up.
When I accidentally step on his shoes, he would scold me and when I am late to meet him, he would scold again (it isn't exactly as if he wasn't late himself and I had patiently waited without a single utterance of annoyance - a whole half an hour or more)
He started hurling vulgarities and I ain't exactly taking it sitting down.
Who he lived with after shifting out from his family house and before shifting in with me isn't clear. All I do know is that that unit had its utilities' supply dis-connected after owing the provider arrears.
He claims to be attached (but it was all with people of different ages) but why is he still wanting to do it with moi? I have kept away from him after his attempts to bj moi.
I have overlooked all these and just gone on.
I pity the next guy or gal who should wanna take him in.
A Real Estate Sham
At least Mabel has the benefit of her auntie agent who would accordingly counsel her properly on the ethics of a tenancy agreement.
When I first started out, I didn't. Not that an agent matters really.
Just look at the tenancy agreement (or even an employment contract), it is usually on favorable terms for the letter or employer. In fact the one I signed looks a lot like one for a whole-unit rental. The terms are all so out of step with a room rental.
If push comes to shove, I question the validity of the tenancy agreement (which is just a sheet of paper with print on it minus the letterhead of the company Winnie claims to hail from). And I question if she is even licensed and if she is even from the company so claimed.
So wouldn't they be collaborating to fleece tenants.
All these have only bolstered my low opinion of real estate agents in general, gays and guys who cheat on their wives (to be either with a guy or a gal).
As I told the Maxicab driver the other day, I was a simply 'bo-chap" dude, to the point that people have been maligning me behind my back and to the detriment of my job and my credibility.
Only because I wasn't bothering about what people were gossiping behind my back and didn't seek to defend myself.
Whenever someone says something or scolds me, it is simply one ear in and one ear out. That is how I survive my brother at home. It was just "er bian feng" (wind by the side of your ear).
But things are different now. If I don't, there is a Cantonese saying which sums it up "Argh sei gai" (shove a dead chicken down your throat).
Everything is YOU. YOU did this and that. I am the HOLY GOD who can do no wrong. The gays, the workplace, the home, wherever.
Why don't you examine your holy selves, your work processes, your reasonability of logic to see where the stupidity and flaws lie in the first place.
It must have begun at home with Bro. Sometimes Ma and 2nd Sis.
Bro is a bi (who prolly marry because he couldn't take the heat and yes, there are just too many things working against a gay relationship, but hey is he happy? I don't think so) and he is about the kinda "guan jia bo" (household matron) that gets close to any woman can be.
I am sure his colleagues can attest to that.
Ma, of course will be the restrictor, for god knows what reasons of hers, keeping us in, prohibiting this and that.
2nd Sis is the bimbo and the instigator who breaks us all apart.
Hey what can I say about a family like this? Just my good fortune?
Alas! What Do I Make Of All These?
And this brings me to my second point. When I noticed the discrepancies and the real estate agent highlighted them to me, I have no choice but to run my own check today.
That is what I mean. When things happen, then I have to act, right?
Only armed with correct and good information can I make an informed decision.
What Kinda Information Can This Tell You? Not Very Much
So I make a call to ICA Singapore Identity Card Section. I learnt that there is an I-Check facility online to check on the validity of a Singapore ID and so when I ran a check on Chris, it was all valid.
But this can't confirm that he is the legitimate holder of the identity card in question. Only the original can but Chris can't provide this, citing that his mom has safe-kept it.
To top it all, I have seen his EZ-link student card once before he promptly lost it (but imagine quitting school and he is still using this student pass), with the exact particulars but a completely different photograph of him: fatter, nerdier and with thick black glasses.
But then again, this must be a mugshot of him in his primary school days as the pass is issued upon entering Secondary 1. A person does change in appearance at different phases of his life : from primary to secondary to young adult and older adult to senior citizen and so on.
Besides Checks On Foreigners, Now There Are Checks On Locals
There were also info on its webby on all those safety and security features which were all missing on Chris' ID. The merlion hologram, the coat-of-arms behind the ID and the additional photograph hologram.
The blood group can be explained because it isn't included in the ID anymore since 2002.
What I was pissed about was that the receptionist couldn't divulge information on what digits would prefix the newborns from the year 2000 onwards. This she deemed top secret.
Already there is info telling us that from year 2000 on, there will be an alphabetical T prefix, so how TOP SECRET can the digit prefixes be?
Wouldn't transparent info made available to the public make it more informed and thus save on confusion and suspicion among the people at the ground level when they run their own checks on tenants or landlords?
And the tenancy agreement only runs checks on tenants. What about tenants running checks that the people residing in the flats are the legitimate owners?
How about that? It is lop-sided isn't it?
Self-Dial Mobile Pressing On Its Casing
This new hard-case pouch I just bought, if I don't lock the buttons of the mobile, do press on them and dial numbers on its own. In fact my previous soft fabric pouch had made some download connection to the "Gee" function and I have tote up quite a bit for the bill.
Gay Sluts
While on my room hunt before I got this place, I came across two old ads in the gay classifieds.
They were the same units that I have viewed about a year ago or so. It shows how many tenants must have moved in and out of the place due most likely on the part of the owners.
One I distinctly remember as an old run-down private apartment block with many foreign workers as neighbors. It was a small dinghy room going for SGD600 (which I could prolly get a better HDB room) and I know the owner isn't particularly a nice person.
Another made it sound like I was renting a room to fuck around with all the other tenants in the flat. He had said something like "play around but don't kiss-and-tell".
Both were foreigners or PRs or naturalised citizens by the way.
2nd Time Consulting The Doc
I went to see a doctor yesterday because my cough got worse and I was sneezing like anything. This was exacerbated because I hadn't really been watching what I eat.
It is especially trying when I am subjected to the air-conditioner, something inescapable at the urban malls and about any indoor venue save the great outdoors .
This time, the doc was in (it wasn't the locum) and he didn't prescribe me antibiotics (which I thought was a wise move, given my stand about all the resistance that can be built up against a drug over time).
In fact he told me I should consult a TCM practitoner as he diagnosed that I had dry lungs. Something which I did and was duly prescribed three doses of a two-pack medication for cold and hot cough. The bird's nest and luo-han guo will have to wait after I get better.
And of course the usual refrainment from cold drinks and spicy and chilli food.
I got better this morning after a bout of coughing my lungs out yesterday.
Discrepancies
Yes the real estate agent had pointed this out to me. In fact I had noticed it myself. There wasn't a merlion hologram on Chris' ID, there wasn't a blood grouping and the coat-of-arms of the lion and tiger were missing too.
I tried out an experiment where I photocopied my ID at two photocopying shops in the neighborhood. At all times, my merlion hologram appeared but the coat-of-arms didn't after a second photocopy. And it prolly didn't help that the ink on the photocopier must have been set to a very light tone.
I can only conclude (though this is a small sample for a test) that (a) Chris' ID is a fake or (b) he has been repeatedly photocopying from one original photocopy that all the finer details of the hologram and coat-of-arms had slowly but surely faded away.
Our First Big Fight
I must have spoken too soon. We immediately quarrelled on Sunday.
Chris told me his aunt (I can't confirm this as I can't be sure it is a aunt or a lover or someone) has told his mom about his move out and apparently his mom wants him to move back (again this is unsubstantiated).
He was already dragging his feet about moving in and I have sought his confirmation before signing the papers. So he is leaving me in a fix now if he moves out.
This comes just after I have settled matters with Mabel and her auntie agent and they have confirmed the 6-month tenancy. Things just got better here but things got worse with Chris.
And I have told Chris that there are many ads but few suitable places and few responses. Not least because the hike in rental has spilled over to the HDB arena and everyone wants a higher return for their rent.
It is true I have been grumbling to Chris and that was because "The Woman" (aka as Mabel) was in turn grumbling to me as you would remember my one day of washing was a virtual nightmare with her hovering about, the full-time home-maker that she was.
Talk about what goes around comes around.
What Has Been Cooking With Chris Lately And How Is He Really Like
It doesn't help that Chris has been paying his share of the rent in instalments. The third and last bit of SGD80 which I got just yesterday. He had promised the 5th or 6th of every month but this has dragged on till yesterday. And he has been shopping.
He spent part of a morning doing up his cockster hair, putting on foundation cream, spraying Adidas cologne on his hair and a whole array of beauty products.
He cussed when the wind blows which messes it up.
When I accidentally step on his shoes, he would scold me and when I am late to meet him, he would scold again (it isn't exactly as if he wasn't late himself and I had patiently waited without a single utterance of annoyance - a whole half an hour or more)
He started hurling vulgarities and I ain't exactly taking it sitting down.
Who he lived with after shifting out from his family house and before shifting in with me isn't clear. All I do know is that that unit had its utilities' supply dis-connected after owing the provider arrears.
He claims to be attached (but it was all with people of different ages) but why is he still wanting to do it with moi? I have kept away from him after his attempts to bj moi.
I have overlooked all these and just gone on.
I pity the next guy or gal who should wanna take him in.
A Real Estate Sham
At least Mabel has the benefit of her auntie agent who would accordingly counsel her properly on the ethics of a tenancy agreement.
When I first started out, I didn't. Not that an agent matters really.
Just look at the tenancy agreement (or even an employment contract), it is usually on favorable terms for the letter or employer. In fact the one I signed looks a lot like one for a whole-unit rental. The terms are all so out of step with a room rental.
If push comes to shove, I question the validity of the tenancy agreement (which is just a sheet of paper with print on it minus the letterhead of the company Winnie claims to hail from). And I question if she is even licensed and if she is even from the company so claimed.
So wouldn't they be collaborating to fleece tenants.
All these have only bolstered my low opinion of real estate agents in general, gays and guys who cheat on their wives (to be either with a guy or a gal).
Saturday, August 11, 2007
I Am At The Esplanade
Gosh! What Can I Say? You Are Still At It Despite Your Age?
I have restricted myself to only buying the weekend editions of The Straits Times these days.
But because I was scouting for a new place of late and there seem to be quite a few new news lately (like the property price surge and so on) and I am holed up at home nursing a cough and cold (which just got worse because I haven't been refraining from chilli or cold drinks, in fact I ate a plate of hot curry rice the other day), I have been faithfully moping up daily copies of it.
Indeed there were newsworthy articles.
On the day that I didn't buy up a copy of The Straits Times, I chanced upon MM Lee's video webcast online. I laughed so much because he was really hilarious when he reacted to a lady audience's question.
That is how magnetic he can be. Whenever he says something, I will sit up to listen. I pointed this out to a Filipino dude who sat next to me in the fast food joint in Orchard Road when I played the webcast.
It was also admirable to see him, at his age, to be travelling far and wide. One episode showed him climbing up a flight of stairs as best as he could despite his octogenarian status.
Truly admirable!
Mabel The MapleStory
Things have settled down quite a bit. But of course there was that shocker just yesterday when Mabel wanted us to quit by month end.
I protested as notice has to be a month wef the date that the notice is served. And yes, we are not paying rent for the extra 10 days we stayed since notice is served on her side and we do have the tenancy contract for 6 months.
And of course Winnie, her auntie agent, has to find us a suitable replacement at no cost. Coz I aint gonna spend another cent on agent fees. And the deposit has to be duly refunded.
This smacks of another episode of Doray and his agent friend (maybe even beau and they could have eloped together to Malaysia the last time and hey, if Doray collects the agent fees on her behalf, what does that tell you about their relationship?) collaborating to fleece tenants of their deposits and agent fees.
For the moment there is no word that the notice is gonna be served.
Well Chris Is Ok So Far
I have also warmed up to Chris. He is kinda matured for his age, no less attributed to his quitting school at secondary two and moving out to stay on his own for two years.
I admire this. especially since he is only 17 going on 18.
We get along quite fine, we are just room-mates , he is attached and of course I am just putting my blind faith and trust in him.
Of course I have to get used to his putting on foundation in the morning and waxing his hair to a perfect peacock stand before he goes to work.
But hey, which cousin nephew doesn't deserve his uncle washing his clothes for him, filling up his water-bottles and sweeping up the long hair he sheds?
I have restricted myself to only buying the weekend editions of The Straits Times these days.
But because I was scouting for a new place of late and there seem to be quite a few new news lately (like the property price surge and so on) and I am holed up at home nursing a cough and cold (which just got worse because I haven't been refraining from chilli or cold drinks, in fact I ate a plate of hot curry rice the other day), I have been faithfully moping up daily copies of it.
Indeed there were newsworthy articles.
On the day that I didn't buy up a copy of The Straits Times, I chanced upon MM Lee's video webcast online. I laughed so much because he was really hilarious when he reacted to a lady audience's question.
That is how magnetic he can be. Whenever he says something, I will sit up to listen. I pointed this out to a Filipino dude who sat next to me in the fast food joint in Orchard Road when I played the webcast.
It was also admirable to see him, at his age, to be travelling far and wide. One episode showed him climbing up a flight of stairs as best as he could despite his octogenarian status.
Truly admirable!
Mabel The MapleStory
Things have settled down quite a bit. But of course there was that shocker just yesterday when Mabel wanted us to quit by month end.
I protested as notice has to be a month wef the date that the notice is served. And yes, we are not paying rent for the extra 10 days we stayed since notice is served on her side and we do have the tenancy contract for 6 months.
And of course Winnie, her auntie agent, has to find us a suitable replacement at no cost. Coz I aint gonna spend another cent on agent fees. And the deposit has to be duly refunded.
This smacks of another episode of Doray and his agent friend (maybe even beau and they could have eloped together to Malaysia the last time and hey, if Doray collects the agent fees on her behalf, what does that tell you about their relationship?) collaborating to fleece tenants of their deposits and agent fees.
For the moment there is no word that the notice is gonna be served.
Well Chris Is Ok So Far
I have also warmed up to Chris. He is kinda matured for his age, no less attributed to his quitting school at secondary two and moving out to stay on his own for two years.
I admire this. especially since he is only 17 going on 18.
We get along quite fine, we are just room-mates , he is attached and of course I am just putting my blind faith and trust in him.
Of course I have to get used to his putting on foundation in the morning and waxing his hair to a perfect peacock stand before he goes to work.
But hey, which cousin nephew doesn't deserve his uncle washing his clothes for him, filling up his water-bottles and sweeping up the long hair he sheds?
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
More Housing Woes
Another Mental Asylum, What Else
It has been a week since my move. I was sleeping half the time I spent my days in the room. One because of the medication and two, because I needed plenty of rest.
But the bitch of a home-maker had no end to her nags and I am not giving in.
Before I moved in and on the day we signed our tenancy agreement papers (all particulars were provided and if she had signed them, then she agreed to all the terms and conditions - pure and simple), I had checked with her very clearly where we could place our shoes and specified the days we would do our washing.
I didn't want any mis-understanding like at Doray's. Then, the agent and Doray must have collaborated and though I had requested it, both didn't show on the day I moved in. It was left to Leela, the maid, to show me around the place.
So if Doray wasn't pleased I had placed my shoes in the storage area and I do have quite a few pairs, then it is just too bad.
As I said, if you wanna lease out your place, then there must be provisions for tenants to be able to do their stuff like washing, drying, eating, shitting and storing their belongings.
Apparently this did not sink in with Mabel.
I had to call in the real estate agent (who, it appears, is her auntie) again on Sunday to settle the matter once and for all. But she certainly hasn't called it quits as evidenced by the things she did after that. She had deliberately left her laundry in the washer to prevent us from washing on our non-washing days.
As you all know, on the Thursday I did my washing, the bitch-whore was in the kitchen and every single move I make, she was hovering and watching over moi.
Now she only has 5 bamboo poles but there were no less than 3 possible drying areas. One was on the stand rack, the second was the ceiling hanging racks and the third out the kitchen hanging on the balcony sockets.
She washes every day and I have told her I can't be like her where she is stationed in the kitchen to watch over the laundry. Like she has to catch the sun to hang them out to dry and to take them in again when it is dry or to ensure that the laundry doesn't get dirtied.
The nipple spray remains a nipple spray but as long as Chris doesn't complain (he is the one who has to hurry to work), I don't mind. Anyway it has only two functions which to me are equally nipple sprays.
And I ain't knobbing anything because if it spoils, then I am not GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE. Let the owners do the knobbing.
All I know is that Mabel wanna control the water level we wash our clothes in and I have told her that is no business of hers. Certainly the water level has to be more than the clothes we put in to wash away the detergent.
That is because she soaks her husband's soiled engineering clothing overnight and washes everyday and we are like footing the water bill for them by stinting on our side.
Now she has issues with our identification papers (more on the part of Chris, really but he is only an occupier) but if they have agreed to it by signing the tenancy papers in the first place, hey, abide by it.
I have told the agent our final position : refund us the one month deposit (in cash), give us a month notice, find another place for us at no cost (meaning the agent fees) and we will move out.
Straight and simple.
The Neighborhood And The Real Estate Agent
Mabel is on excellent gossiping terms with two neighbors right here on this floor. Their kids are about the same school-going age as Ashley. They were helping her keep an eye on us for sure.
I spoke with a coffee-shop owner down the corner and he had spoken unfavorably of Winnie, the real estate agent.
She had asked him for help once, apparently on account of nuisance calls from a man on her mobile.
It really shows because I know she has zero listening skills and she loves putting things into people's mouths.
She deserves the trouble for whatever she got.
Chris My RoomMate
Doesn't help that I didn't exactly get an ideal room-mate for a bed partner.
Even before I signed the tenancy agreement, I had told him that it is a 6-month commitment, that I wouldn't have signed up for a SGD480 room rental if it hadn't been on a cost-splitting basis and that he had agreed and confirmed to it all.
But he was delaying moving in and keeping me in suspense, for whatever reasons, only once citing confusion.
Then why the heck did he advertise looking for a room. The same reason Mabel and the agent had advertised for renting out their room. So please don't come back and then say it is so rush. If you advertise, then you must be ready.
I know he hasn't told me the truth on many occasions (like I can tell that his clothes stink of ciggies - either he smokes or he hangs out at the pubs).
And he hasn't brought in all his barang barang. Who he stays with before he moves in with moi isn't clear. What their relationship is and who he hangs out with?
He has specified a "room-mate" relationship, claims to be attached but seems to be always getting presents from older guys. I am fine with that. So he stays his half of the bed while I do the other half.
But for the two nights we spent together, he has inched very close to moi and last night, he bjed me. I know he thinks that extras will earn him a rent-free but as I said, all my rental days have been like this - I just pay when the rent is up and I don't hanky-panky for free rent.
Unless that guy is my beau and we are committed.
Chris' (not his real name anyway) identification is with his mum but he only has a photocopy to show for, he has quitted school since secondary 2 and had just lost his student transportation pass right after I had seen it.
He hasn't paid moi half the rental fees yet and I have footed the agent fees outright while waiting for his half share which he says he will pay next month.
Sigh! This is the lot with the gays (doesn't matter the age - I have met enough older gays who are like that too) I meet all the time - unreliable, unforthcoming, deceitful, evasive and always hiding something.
It has been a week since my move. I was sleeping half the time I spent my days in the room. One because of the medication and two, because I needed plenty of rest.
But the bitch of a home-maker had no end to her nags and I am not giving in.
Before I moved in and on the day we signed our tenancy agreement papers (all particulars were provided and if she had signed them, then she agreed to all the terms and conditions - pure and simple), I had checked with her very clearly where we could place our shoes and specified the days we would do our washing.
I didn't want any mis-understanding like at Doray's. Then, the agent and Doray must have collaborated and though I had requested it, both didn't show on the day I moved in. It was left to Leela, the maid, to show me around the place.
So if Doray wasn't pleased I had placed my shoes in the storage area and I do have quite a few pairs, then it is just too bad.
As I said, if you wanna lease out your place, then there must be provisions for tenants to be able to do their stuff like washing, drying, eating, shitting and storing their belongings.
Apparently this did not sink in with Mabel.
I had to call in the real estate agent (who, it appears, is her auntie) again on Sunday to settle the matter once and for all. But she certainly hasn't called it quits as evidenced by the things she did after that. She had deliberately left her laundry in the washer to prevent us from washing on our non-washing days.
As you all know, on the Thursday I did my washing, the bitch-whore was in the kitchen and every single move I make, she was hovering and watching over moi.
Now she only has 5 bamboo poles but there were no less than 3 possible drying areas. One was on the stand rack, the second was the ceiling hanging racks and the third out the kitchen hanging on the balcony sockets.
She washes every day and I have told her I can't be like her where she is stationed in the kitchen to watch over the laundry. Like she has to catch the sun to hang them out to dry and to take them in again when it is dry or to ensure that the laundry doesn't get dirtied.
The nipple spray remains a nipple spray but as long as Chris doesn't complain (he is the one who has to hurry to work), I don't mind. Anyway it has only two functions which to me are equally nipple sprays.
And I ain't knobbing anything because if it spoils, then I am not GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE. Let the owners do the knobbing.
All I know is that Mabel wanna control the water level we wash our clothes in and I have told her that is no business of hers. Certainly the water level has to be more than the clothes we put in to wash away the detergent.
That is because she soaks her husband's soiled engineering clothing overnight and washes everyday and we are like footing the water bill for them by stinting on our side.
Now she has issues with our identification papers (more on the part of Chris, really but he is only an occupier) but if they have agreed to it by signing the tenancy papers in the first place, hey, abide by it.
I have told the agent our final position : refund us the one month deposit (in cash), give us a month notice, find another place for us at no cost (meaning the agent fees) and we will move out.
Straight and simple.
The Neighborhood And The Real Estate Agent
Mabel is on excellent gossiping terms with two neighbors right here on this floor. Their kids are about the same school-going age as Ashley. They were helping her keep an eye on us for sure.
I spoke with a coffee-shop owner down the corner and he had spoken unfavorably of Winnie, the real estate agent.
She had asked him for help once, apparently on account of nuisance calls from a man on her mobile.
It really shows because I know she has zero listening skills and she loves putting things into people's mouths.
She deserves the trouble for whatever she got.
Chris My RoomMate
Doesn't help that I didn't exactly get an ideal room-mate for a bed partner.
Even before I signed the tenancy agreement, I had told him that it is a 6-month commitment, that I wouldn't have signed up for a SGD480 room rental if it hadn't been on a cost-splitting basis and that he had agreed and confirmed to it all.
But he was delaying moving in and keeping me in suspense, for whatever reasons, only once citing confusion.
Then why the heck did he advertise looking for a room. The same reason Mabel and the agent had advertised for renting out their room. So please don't come back and then say it is so rush. If you advertise, then you must be ready.
I know he hasn't told me the truth on many occasions (like I can tell that his clothes stink of ciggies - either he smokes or he hangs out at the pubs).
And he hasn't brought in all his barang barang. Who he stays with before he moves in with moi isn't clear. What their relationship is and who he hangs out with?
He has specified a "room-mate" relationship, claims to be attached but seems to be always getting presents from older guys. I am fine with that. So he stays his half of the bed while I do the other half.
But for the two nights we spent together, he has inched very close to moi and last night, he bjed me. I know he thinks that extras will earn him a rent-free but as I said, all my rental days have been like this - I just pay when the rent is up and I don't hanky-panky for free rent.
Unless that guy is my beau and we are committed.
Chris' (not his real name anyway) identification is with his mum but he only has a photocopy to show for, he has quitted school since secondary 2 and had just lost his student transportation pass right after I had seen it.
He hasn't paid moi half the rental fees yet and I have footed the agent fees outright while waiting for his half share which he says he will pay next month.
Sigh! This is the lot with the gays (doesn't matter the age - I have met enough older gays who are like that too) I meet all the time - unreliable, unforthcoming, deceitful, evasive and always hiding something.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
In A Drowsy Droop
A Bad Case Of The Cough And Cold Bug
Despite seeing the doctor (who was a locum anyway), I am still coughing. The cough medication has made me drowsy and sleep over long periods. That is how much it is affecting me. I don't think I am thinking very straight, so pardon moi.
A Porridge Diet
All I am having for my meals now are just plain pure Teochew porridge.
A Bot Of Bird's Nest A Day Keep The Flu And Cough Away
I am downing pack after pack of bird's nests. Each time it gets more expensive, the price increasing from SGD18 to SGD43 for each pack. But there were promo packs that come with extra bots of juices free.
But I will never pay by NETS again for this provision shop. It charges an extra 50cents for a NETS transaction.
Just 6 Months And Scram
I am very settled in. All that needs be resolved is the nipple spray and for Chris to move in.
It isn't easy living with a stay-in home-maker. It seems like I am under a 24-hr surveillance. She will wait for moi to go out and then she will also go out. If I stay in, so does she. Sigh! If you so afraid, then why lease out your room?
Despite seeing the doctor (who was a locum anyway), I am still coughing. The cough medication has made me drowsy and sleep over long periods. That is how much it is affecting me. I don't think I am thinking very straight, so pardon moi.
A Porridge Diet
All I am having for my meals now are just plain pure Teochew porridge.
A Bot Of Bird's Nest A Day Keep The Flu And Cough Away
I am downing pack after pack of bird's nests. Each time it gets more expensive, the price increasing from SGD18 to SGD43 for each pack. But there were promo packs that come with extra bots of juices free.
But I will never pay by NETS again for this provision shop. It charges an extra 50cents for a NETS transaction.
Just 6 Months And Scram
I am very settled in. All that needs be resolved is the nipple spray and for Chris to move in.
It isn't easy living with a stay-in home-maker. It seems like I am under a 24-hr surveillance. She will wait for moi to go out and then she will also go out. If I stay in, so does she. Sigh! If you so afraid, then why lease out your room?
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Nursing A LongStanding (Just A Couple Of Days) Cold And Cough
Control Areas That Do Not Mess Each Other Up
Of course showing different species of non-fruit bearing flowers, trees and shrubs to students is important.
But that doesn't mean we should have them grown anywhere and everywhere around us, with the end result that many are just unproductive, scattering inedible pods, legumes or spores that soil and dirty which need foreign contractors cleaning up and sweeping them away.
Wouldn't we rather they harvest fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices?
If we must, let us have ONE place where these non-fruit bearing trees and shrubs are grown that people may get to see and learn about them. Much like a museum or an art gallery.
As I said this is all part of a "controlled area" just like a control experiment where one is held contsant while the others are varied.
Likewise, all the useful, productive, fruit-bearing trees, vegetables, herbs and spices are also grown in a belt of a controlled area around living residences.
Remember my vision of first having the sea around us, then building a belt of white sands, followed by parks or gardens (this is where the above come in) and finally separated by some distance a precinct of 5 residential towers. In concentrics of course.
Building inwards from the sea and all waterways (rivers or lakes) or outwards from the central catchment reserve, as the case may be.
This is repeated for another precinct. There is simply no issue of nature dirtying mankind's living quarters that way be it soil, dead leaves, twigs or branches strewing our walkways or our car-parking lots or whatever.
Hey our foreign guests contracted to clean up after us have to cut grasslands or suction away dead leaves right now as I am blogging about this.
Residents have access to these parks or gardens and they can have a good pick of the harvest and eat them as well.
Isn't that a much better idea?
More Lao Aunties
Before I moved out that late afternoon and while waiting for the mover (who is really someone from the cab company that drives an extra large 7 seater SUV and of course on top of $16 and the metered fare , I pay extra) , I got round to talking to a few more aunties and rallying them to my cause.
6 Months And I Wanna Get Out Of Here
Now I am holed up with a young couple with their young kindergarten-going kid. A youngish and handsome-looking husband who is about a decade younger than moi. Someone who works in the ship-building industry (that explains all those bagfuls of soiled, oiled clothing waiting to be washed). Someone who smiles a lot. Maybe a bit too much.
Someone whom I have warned Chris (who is a young bottom) about ever getting near to. This guy, from his looks, tells me he is most likely bi.
The wife is one of those touchy and high-strung type, who can be loud and rough, especially with the son when he "misbehaves" or in fact with moi. I will tell her off when it is at appropriate times.
In fact she was so scared when moi was sick with the flu and cold, so scared Ashley will contract it, scolding him for getting too close to moi and claiming that she had contracted it herself and chasing moi off to see a doctor.
Something which I did, for the sole sake of Ashley, her young kid. Anyway I am monitoring my own health. I was self-medicating and if it doesn't help after some time (like it didn't now), I would definitely see a doctor. After all, what the doctor does is just to prescribe medicine again anyway.
That says a lot about her. What if they were sick themselves or if they have the elderly at home? Are they also gonna avoid them like the plague too?
The real estate agent had claimed to moi both parents had engineering degrees while the wife then told me they only had NTC certificates.
The kid, Ashely, is cute, adorable and very endearing. He would sneak into my room and plonk himself on my queen-size mattress (yes we don't have a bed and yes, now all those shoes must be put out in the hallway, if not I am not sleeping next to shoes), something which his mother will scream at him for or holler for him to get out.
He would wanna help me with the luggage when I move in (and repeatedly warned by the real estate agent not to as he will hurt himself) and sweeps away his cards from the sofa to invite moi to sit on it.
He is innocent and pure and just does things at the spur of the moment, like any kid would.
Today we had quite a bout with the washing. Ashley didn't attend school as Mabel (the Mom) is "sick" (anyway she told me she paid $22 for two types of medicine at the same clinic moi attended, one of which is for 'wind").
There were issues of using what kinda hangers and that I should hang my jeans outside to dry in future, never indoors. She didn't clear the filter after her wash and I have told her so because I put in my wash, only to realise she didn't.
According to her, jeans will smell but hey I have washed and dried my jeans indoors countless times and I don't smell a thing unless it is wet weather of course and the jeans isn't thoroughly dry.
She disallows us using her pegs, restricts us to only 4 bamboo poles (she doesn't have more but hey if you wanna rent your house out, then make provisions for it) and I have told her if I am around, I will dry my laundry outside but if not, it is gonna be indoors.
My clothes are ALL NEW, so I AM VERY FUSSY AND PARTICULAR NOW WITH MY WASHES. I want my clothes to last and last - that being the ONE AND ONLY reason.
The bath has a nipple spray for a shower and this is really slow and trickling.
In fact I have decided that I will buy my own bedsheet set (complete with pink bedlinen, pillowcases and a bolstercase).
This woman is gonna be nothing but trouble AND I WILL HAVE TO PUT HER IN HER PLACE when necessary.
Of course showing different species of non-fruit bearing flowers, trees and shrubs to students is important.
But that doesn't mean we should have them grown anywhere and everywhere around us, with the end result that many are just unproductive, scattering inedible pods, legumes or spores that soil and dirty which need foreign contractors cleaning up and sweeping them away.
Wouldn't we rather they harvest fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices?
If we must, let us have ONE place where these non-fruit bearing trees and shrubs are grown that people may get to see and learn about them. Much like a museum or an art gallery.
As I said this is all part of a "controlled area" just like a control experiment where one is held contsant while the others are varied.
Likewise, all the useful, productive, fruit-bearing trees, vegetables, herbs and spices are also grown in a belt of a controlled area around living residences.
Remember my vision of first having the sea around us, then building a belt of white sands, followed by parks or gardens (this is where the above come in) and finally separated by some distance a precinct of 5 residential towers. In concentrics of course.
Building inwards from the sea and all waterways (rivers or lakes) or outwards from the central catchment reserve, as the case may be.
This is repeated for another precinct. There is simply no issue of nature dirtying mankind's living quarters that way be it soil, dead leaves, twigs or branches strewing our walkways or our car-parking lots or whatever.
Hey our foreign guests contracted to clean up after us have to cut grasslands or suction away dead leaves right now as I am blogging about this.
Residents have access to these parks or gardens and they can have a good pick of the harvest and eat them as well.
Isn't that a much better idea?
More Lao Aunties
Before I moved out that late afternoon and while waiting for the mover (who is really someone from the cab company that drives an extra large 7 seater SUV and of course on top of $16 and the metered fare , I pay extra) , I got round to talking to a few more aunties and rallying them to my cause.
6 Months And I Wanna Get Out Of Here
Now I am holed up with a young couple with their young kindergarten-going kid. A youngish and handsome-looking husband who is about a decade younger than moi. Someone who works in the ship-building industry (that explains all those bagfuls of soiled, oiled clothing waiting to be washed). Someone who smiles a lot. Maybe a bit too much.
Someone whom I have warned Chris (who is a young bottom) about ever getting near to. This guy, from his looks, tells me he is most likely bi.
The wife is one of those touchy and high-strung type, who can be loud and rough, especially with the son when he "misbehaves" or in fact with moi. I will tell her off when it is at appropriate times.
In fact she was so scared when moi was sick with the flu and cold, so scared Ashley will contract it, scolding him for getting too close to moi and claiming that she had contracted it herself and chasing moi off to see a doctor.
Something which I did, for the sole sake of Ashley, her young kid. Anyway I am monitoring my own health. I was self-medicating and if it doesn't help after some time (like it didn't now), I would definitely see a doctor. After all, what the doctor does is just to prescribe medicine again anyway.
That says a lot about her. What if they were sick themselves or if they have the elderly at home? Are they also gonna avoid them like the plague too?
The real estate agent had claimed to moi both parents had engineering degrees while the wife then told me they only had NTC certificates.
The kid, Ashely, is cute, adorable and very endearing. He would sneak into my room and plonk himself on my queen-size mattress (yes we don't have a bed and yes, now all those shoes must be put out in the hallway, if not I am not sleeping next to shoes), something which his mother will scream at him for or holler for him to get out.
He would wanna help me with the luggage when I move in (and repeatedly warned by the real estate agent not to as he will hurt himself) and sweeps away his cards from the sofa to invite moi to sit on it.
He is innocent and pure and just does things at the spur of the moment, like any kid would.
Today we had quite a bout with the washing. Ashley didn't attend school as Mabel (the Mom) is "sick" (anyway she told me she paid $22 for two types of medicine at the same clinic moi attended, one of which is for 'wind").
There were issues of using what kinda hangers and that I should hang my jeans outside to dry in future, never indoors. She didn't clear the filter after her wash and I have told her so because I put in my wash, only to realise she didn't.
According to her, jeans will smell but hey I have washed and dried my jeans indoors countless times and I don't smell a thing unless it is wet weather of course and the jeans isn't thoroughly dry.
She disallows us using her pegs, restricts us to only 4 bamboo poles (she doesn't have more but hey if you wanna rent your house out, then make provisions for it) and I have told her if I am around, I will dry my laundry outside but if not, it is gonna be indoors.
My clothes are ALL NEW, so I AM VERY FUSSY AND PARTICULAR NOW WITH MY WASHES. I want my clothes to last and last - that being the ONE AND ONLY reason.
The bath has a nipple spray for a shower and this is really slow and trickling.
In fact I have decided that I will buy my own bedsheet set (complete with pink bedlinen, pillowcases and a bolstercase).
This woman is gonna be nothing but trouble AND I WILL HAVE TO PUT HER IN HER PLACE when necessary.
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