"SomeWhere Over The RainBow" (Updated)

SomeWhere Over The Rainbow

More songs, what else!

Of so many versions sung by so many different people, I personally like the ones by Doris Day and Celine Dion and only because I didn't listen to the entire listing but sampled a few.

On hindsight, the ones by the originator "Judy Garland, "Celtic Woman" and American Idol Jason Castro were really good. And I got to see one of my favorite singers "Josh Groban" in a duet rendering the same song.

This song really kicks!

From Now On, It Is Gonna Be All Apple For Computing, Audioing And Cellularing

To keep my mind engaged even further, I am gonna spend at least the next 6 months studying the Mac OS X.

As it is, I am enjoying the quiet, solid and very stable UNIX system it runs on and many of Mac's unique and useful features.

I may actually migrate to its system eventually, ditching Windows for good?

And as a final tribute to all things Apple, I am gonna switch to an iPhone and Ipod very, very soon when my re-contract comes up. Among some of my wishlist would be that Iphone will feature screen-savers and messaging emoticons real soon !

Ode to Apple!

I Am (Wo)Man (Song By Helen Reddy), "Money, Money, Money" (Abba), "Material Girl" (Madonna) & "Thank You For Being A Friend" (Andrew Gold)

I Know I Promised To Blog On Friday
I will be blogging when I get home tonight.

In the meantime, bear with me and I leave you a song popularized by Helen Reddy. Just change the gender and it becomes "MAN", what else.

But Guess What? I Am Just Too Shagged Out And It Is Only Sunday Today!
But hey, today is already Sunday....and I am bloody shagged out by all the past events. From losses to losses. So I think I will pass on blogging and just leave you with the titles of the song.

Please look them up and sing to the lyrics. I think they do encapsulate some of our general feelings at times?

Oh yes, several new additions like "Money, Money, Money" by ABBA.......what else??? And don't forget to all the f(r)iends out there, "Thank You For Being A F(r)iend" by Andrew Gold written for the popular drama serial "Golden Girls".

Finally to round it all off, "Material Girl" (Madonna).

TADA!

Breaking Point - I Am Tired
Look, we all have our breaking point, man or woman, young or old, wateva.

I have reached mine. You had your fun. Now grant me my passageway......

Please! $ob $ob $ob?

More Emo-ing Over A Lost Lappie And Other Bad News- Boo Hoo! Boo Hoo! (New)

How Many People In This Fucking World Actually Lose Their Lappies? There You Are...It Is A Darn, Fucking, Stinking Predatory World And You Wanna Trust Humans?
You know what? I don't think I am over yet emo-ing over my lost lappie....

And I can only put my loss down to several factors:

1. eversince that new guy (let's call him LV dude) moved next to my room, I have been harassed by what was once his "sleeping" partner. This "sleeping partner" drives a Tourism Coach and he has been waylaying me at home like near my bedroom and outside the mansion. He will cover his face with papers and so on and pretend that he is buried in reading while waylaying and harassing me.

2. then the LV dude who is still staying here, is dirtying the toilet to get back at me because I wasn't smiling to him and I dont want to because we are too close in proximity and I need my space and privacy. And I am NOT AT ALL sexually interested in him.

3. another new guy has moved into Henry's (Henry is the other tenant who has since moved out and not to be confused with Henry my ex-lecturer) quarters and he and this LV dude seem to be "getting more than along".

Speaking of Henry, he looks a lot like Richard my ex-lecturer.

They also look like the same guy who was recommended me by a government agency when I was looking for premises to start a school.

My first impression was bad. He spoke of how traffic wardens and the traffic police are always out in full force when they need revenue (another gripe). Then I couldn't trust him because I asked if other schools will be allowed to start on their premises as well but he couldn't vouch for that.

And the place wasn't appropriate because it was stocking construction materials and it was also running their own programs and business programs happen to be one of them. I was afraid of being taken over. Guess what! My hunch was right! Today it has become a full-fledged academy and not the HQ of the construction industry as it was back then.

4. Someone told me he lost his electronic dictionary just days before this incident. It was a sob-story that rubbed on to me I guess. How else will you explain this ? Moral of the story is ....LAY OFF SOB STORIES because it may just befall me....

5. I seldom take out my notebook to public places these days and when I do, it is always in a travel bag. But that fateful day, I had to, because Ben has issued the ultimatum for me to vacate the place (and I suspect that this LV dude is Ben's friend and they were harassing me because Ben wants back his room) and I was trying to look for a new place online.

Or Ben has plans to lease it out to some foreign students like the Chinese students in my school because he has contact with my Chinese ex-roomie.

6. And I was hand carrying my lappie that day, something which I have never done before in my whole entire life.

7. Backpain, braces' tightness, vision strain, grogginess, a splitting headache from stresses, all my losses, etc SO I LET GO OF MY LAPPIE, what else.

8. Plus, not having the security of my home or an office or a home office (imagine if it RAINS) where I can properly do my work and stuff. Some quiet, ideal places out there have such BAD INTERNET CONNECTION.

People must be eyeing me when I was hand carrying my lappie.

I suspect it could even be from my school, the students.

The passengers like those off-duty, across-the-causeway bus captains aboard the bus speaking in accented Cantonese (and there are plenty of them around as mothers with kids in tow, home-makers, coffee-shop assistants and operators, etc, etc). Or even the kindly-looking shopkeeper where I boarded my buses.

So you see, I let down my guard and in a moment of weakness, BAD THINGS START TO HAPPEN!

Plus whoever is still holding on to my lappie is A STINKING FUCKING LOWDOWN criminal and thief who is MISAPPROPRIATING LOST PROPERTY. I am surprised this happens in Singapore but I can't be sure if that person is ONE OF US?

I suggest that RFID tags (which in this case should be a Serial Number, if not, what good is a SERIAL NUMBER for?) be made compulsory for all past and present valuable properties like lappies and luxury goods so that should they be misappropriated or stolen, they CAN BE TRACKED DOWN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!

Cuss You!
My cuss remains.

Whoever has done this to me will suffer something in return. What I don't know. Something debilitating, an accident, some misfortune, maybe even a horrible death.

Even if he/she lives long and suffers nothing (seemingly), at least on the surface, on the day of death and on her/his deathbed, all the demons will gather round and he/she will suffer great throes of sufferings, pain and anguish and his/her gut will gnaw at him/her before he/she dies.

That is the way it will be.

Was That Why I Didn't Fare As Well In School Back Then?
This also brings to mind how difficult it was to follow the business or school texts of old, which were usually overseas editions.

It is like foreign currencies and units of measure (imagine doing conversions for pence, penny, shilling, gallons, yards, foot and what have you). Language was usually stiff and rigid laced with many of that said country's cultural backdrop. The names of places, people, events and food items. And it wasn't very illustrative or user-friendly.

Very much like reading a Victorian piece of literature and for an ordinary, in the street folk, how many of us actually has contact with the kinda setting, backdrop, cultural habits and language of the said country?

Psycho Movies
Chris has been screening movies for his students again. So I learnt from an ex-classmate I ran into.

Of course we all know that movies have never made it to the Golden Psi List except for some television dramas (which is an award handed out for realistic portrayals of psychology). And worse, there is always that element of an "artistic licence". Therefore there is always that CAUTIONARY WARNING!

But seriously these three movies were not that bad.

They were "Patch Adams", "Doubt" (Oscar nominee) and "Girl Interuppted" (1999 Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress and that honor goes to Angelina Jolie).

"Patch Adams" taught us the moral of the importance of laughter and positivism in promoting good health. That was the philosophy behind Patch Adams' institution and all those physically and mentally sick and crazy people actually needed friends to talk to and happiness in their lives.

"Doubt" also shows the austerity of the Roman Catholic orders especially among the nuns. When a priest tries to break that tradition in his pastoral role in school, he is regarded with suspicion by the nun principal and forced to resign. Undertones of homosexuality and its discrimination.

Finally "Girl Interrupted" was the funniest and the best. It showcased several "loonies" "incarcerated" in a mental institution and their intricate relationships and past histories. Angelina Jolie rightly deserves her winning role for her more than realistic portrayal of a sociopath.

Again the movie highlighted how we are actually all NORMAL people living in AN ABNORMAL world.

What Would You Say Is Your Most Significant Achievement In Life? And My Answer Would Be...........
And yeah we all know the hype about achievement and significant contribution in life.

So if ever anyone were to ask me what was my most significant achievement in life, I would reply:

"Having great sex?"

And as an afterthought....

"Loads of it......."

And a further afterthought......

"And oh yes.....owning luxury goods.......tonnes of it?"

Another AfterThought
And was my cataract a result of a past double eyelid surgery? Did it kinda disarm my eyelashes and eyelid from its protective function against the sun?

And I agree that like a Western notion of what constitute correct dress protocol when donning a business shirt with tie for formal office wear (as against a Mandarin collar), the Western concept of a double eyelid as beautiful (versus a natural Asian single eyelid) is also flawed.

My next question is : What will be the after-effects of skin laser...?????

There Are Other Bracing Systems Out There!
Remember what I have mentioned about an imperfect world in terms of knowledge. Well this illustrates my point succinctly.

I just found out there were comparable bracing systems out there in the world today.

One promised INSTANT braces with only 2 visits and no extractions and no relapses. Another promised a shorter time with fewer visits and better quality results.

Mine has taken me almost two years and I probably have half a year more to go. Plus another two years wearing retainers.

Prices were either cheaper or comparable. So why was information withheld for whatever reasons? Why wasn't I informed of what was available? Or was I just caught on the wrong side of the technology advance curve?

Sigh! Enough of bad news already and given my age, do they have to.......................? The young have better coping capacity but please, can you spare me...........?

"I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor) And 2009 Remix By Pussy Cat Dolls
Finally I leave you with this song .

It embodies what I think I will be enunciating for some time to come.............

What Else Before I Drop Dead?
My rice bowl has been broken by many people. I have lost money and my home. I can't move on to my higher education. My physical and mental health is poor. I am not sure what is gonna happen next....

I may just die from it all..............

The Way Forward (Newest)

Clarification : It Is Not To Be Taken Literally But Figuratively
I hope readers did not take it too literally when I wrote about the hearing and intellectually-impaired.

I am sure they understood that I meant those who did not hear or understand what I had said or written in my blogs.

The likes of people who love throwing their weight around and who obviously do not listen and always cut in when you talk to them.

People like that senior instructress at the gym (and I had a quite a few incidents at this constituency), the assistant manager at my school (effectively a sales consultant) and the rest.

Oh yeah! I actually ran into the Eunuch Daryl just today. He seems to be doing fine. The usual posturing, false accent, pompoity (so full of himself, that fucking wimpy prick) and nonsense. He is an "educator", mind you.

But one day he will get his just dessert. Nearer old age if he lives long enough or upon his death. It will not be peaceful I assure you. It will be a horrible death. He will be gnawed inside of him before he kicks the bucket.

Human (Song By "Human League")
No matter.

I am human after all, of flesh and blood I am made, born to make mistakes (TADA - lyrics of the song and yes Wang Lee Hom actually did a "TADA" pose when he debuted at ION Orchard's Grand Opening).

I do feel a whole range of emotions, feelings (nothing more than feelings - TADA again with lyrics from the the other song "Feelings") and frustrations from day to day, even hour on the hour. I do need to VENT "my feelings" and my blog seems like the WAY TO GO!

Feelings (Song By Morris Albert)
Like the pain I have been experiencing the last couple of weeks. The throbbing pain centred right between my browhead and a kinda cold searing sensation running down my back in addition to what else but more pain. Which includes pain from my knees.

At times I felt like passing out, feel disoriented (maybe my braces and vision played their part in making me feel even groggier), light-headed and dizzy especially among crowds and constant movement.

That explains my agitation and irritability when I am faced with harassment from groups I blogged about. And by the way any community, young or old, ethnic or otherwise, foreign or local must remember that if stereotypes are to be broken, they must prove themselves and earn the respect from the rest of us


And of course a fillthy toilet at "home" (whch attracts fruit flies sticking on to dental floss, hair, food scraps, urine and faecal stains) just adds up, doesn't it? I mean it is living quarters after all and don't we all wanna keep our abodes clean?

Which explains why I could actually lose my notebook! $%^#@@@.

An UnLucky Day (Hey! Sounds Like I Am Writing A Primary Fourer Essay All Over Again!)
That was the worst day of my life.

After almosting fainting from the grogginess and all the pain, I finally discovered I had misplaced my notebook. I frantically retraced my steps. A search at the showers, the booking office and the bus depot turned up nothing.

To add to all my woes, it poured and that delayed me from swinging into action fast. I was caught in the rain and my mobile shut down several times (despite having upgraded the software at a fee previously) while I was making all the necessary calls to the LOST AND FOUND hotlines.

I hadn't eaten the whole day and thought I could catch a quick bite at the Jap restaurant while waiting for the rain to stop but to place an order I had to literally walk round the restaurant windows and pick out little wooden sticks showing the food menu items I wanted.

IT WAS SUCH A HASSLE I decided to go hungry.

The cab I hailed to head down to the premium reseller was a NEW driver and GOD, I had to direct him in the sad emotional and physical state I was in.

I finally decided to go home, ate my late lunch at the nearby foodmall and slumped in my bed, dead to the world to sleep over the UNLUCKY DAY I have had. I really wanted to DIE that day, feeling weak and tired and mentally washed out.

I only managed to pick up my strength the following day, filed an online police report and the store supervisor of another authorised reseller I visited that day was really my SAVIOURESS!

As an afterthought, something should be done about the Serial Number of the product which will make it effectively the ID for its owner and no theft or criminal misappropriation is possible.

Like making it the de-facto log-in identification and anyone else using it will be caught red-handed?

Really Wonderfully Conceived Audio Products That Needs A Bit More Research And Refinement?
When I came across these two sets of capsule speakers engineered in Singapore but manufactured in China and Taiwan respectively, I was REALLY taken up with their conception.

I am not sure if they are one and the same company but the products were similar on many counts.

While one was doing fine, another wasn't. At least not the model I picked up. But its other model was working well. Does that explain why its webby was signed off as "a works in progress"and the products at another shop were "sold out" (or was it recalled or withdrawn)?

The retractable cables were a wonderful concept but it couldn't retract to its original position. The sticker logos (like my mobile the last time) came off easily and there was an accompanying bee-buzzing sound along with the volume. And yes, the white models stain very easily like mine did.

However, it has many things going for it. The volume tuner, the accordion-like bass resonator which with one twist opens up and the cool magnetic attachment of two capsules to make it ONE neat tower.

All it needs is further research and refinement. Perhaps even going wireless. I am sure there is a HUGE market demand for such an innovative and clever portable audio device.

Anyway international brands do have their faults too like two USB slots spaced too closely together to fit odd-sized USB devices (what with new and creative designs happening nowadays). But this is easily overlooked by using an extension USB port?

Sometimes even straps of internationally designed lappie bags meant to hold down the lappie don't velcro together at the right places to REALLY HOLD IT DOWN!

Not to mention a local edition of an internation fashion magazine could caption a luxury brand fashion wear wrongly. Guess it could mistake the uncanny resemblance of some of the brands' respective logos or is it? Think Chanel and Chloe. Is there a resemblance in the first place?

Therefore, what can I say if humans can make mistakes (if I make mistakes, it only has private consequences but hey.....these are public mistakes) but well done SINGAPORE!

Do We Wanna Regress Or Do We Wanna Move Forward?
We have gotten to where we are and it is either an inflexion point or a upward sloping gradient (mathematically speaking).

We can't regress.

Otherwise we will have to go back to building thatched-roof or mud houses and worse, reverting to THE BUCKET SYSTEM!

What can I say again? "Yucks" I guess?

And as a further afterthought, do we really wanna revert to the old ways of folklore, myths, superstition, traditional medicine (like drilling into human heads to treat psychopathologies back in the old days?) and the whole ding-dong thingy by bringing in large numbers of Third World new immigrants?

What Will Be The Solution To Capturing An Even Greater Market Share And Keeping It A Perpetually Captive Audience Especially For Innovative And Useful Products ? Comprehensive Product Knowledge (So That The Full Range Of Benefits Of The Products And Services Are Exploited) And Training Done Uniformly Across The Board?
Knowledge is imperfect. Hence, there are HUGE GAPING GAPS and LAPSES in product knowledge even among sales personnel working for THE SAME BRAND.

Not my saviouress. She kinked out my audio output problem by just enabling the correct audio device. A check with other sales staff and even on forums mistakenly attributes the fault to not installing the appropriate drivers or that we had to wait for such a technical update which wasn't available now.

I am so sorry. That was the reason why I made my SAVIOURESS do the software loading. I just wanna make sure everything works. I spoke too soon when I told her I trust the speakers worked. They didn't and I had to return to the store the next day to replace them.

And yes no "expert" knows everything.

"Seasons In The Sun - GoodBye To You My Trusted Friend" & "I Have A Dream" (Updated)

One More Stumping Question And The Sole Correct Answer Provided
Oh yes before I forget.

Another stumping question extracted from this assessment paper courtesy of our education publishing house.

Q: They ........... Lee as a mentor to them
Choices: look upon, look to.....
A: Look upon

To me, both are acceptable. If there is another choice like "look up to" (meaning respect), this would also figure favourably as an acceptable answer.

Poignant And Meaningful Lyrics, Beautiful Melody And It All Just Came Pouring Back
All of a sudden the lyrics of this song by Terry Jacks in the 70s sprang to my mind. This song was copied from a Belgian singer and Westlife revived it in 1999/2000. In fact Westlife also reprised another song made famous by the Swedish group ABBA, "I Have A Dream".

I have presented both songs' lyrics here.

Maybe because two hot gorgeous RI boys sat right across from me on the MRT just a couple of hours ago and that triggered the memory of this song.

One was fair and beautiful and he was clutching a silver trophy he had won for some sports competition while his sun-kissed muscled friend sitting next to him had won the gold.

I think they are good friends and I enjoyed watching both of them share a moment or two of a relational intimacy between themselves.

In part I dedicate this to Francis Wee, my ex-classmate who had died last month under mysterious circumstances. I can only guess at what had happened but I refuse to speculate other than it was un-natural death.

Though we were not extremely close (yes we climbed Mt Ophir together, had a common friend in a gay seminarian and Patrick Ee was another mutual gay friend) and I was annoyed Francis didn't really respond when I bumped into him agan while on a teaching assignment at Wicked StepMother's and Daryl Chan's, nonethless we did hang out for a while.

I didnt attend his funeral wake. I was too besotted with problems myself and tired out, I guess.

I thought I should share the lyrics with you and leave the interpretation open.

Seasons In The Sun Lyrics

Goodbye to you my trusted friend
We've known each other since we were nine or ten
Together we've climbed hills and trees
Learned of love and ABC's
Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees

Goodbye my friend it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that spring is in the air
Pretty girls are everywhere
Think of me and I'll be there
We had joy, we had fun we had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed
Were just seasons out of time

Goodbye Papa please pray for me
I was the black sheep of the family
You tried to teach me right from wrong
Too much wine and too much song
Wonder how I got along

Goodbye Papa it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Little children everywhere
When you see them, I'll be there
We had joy, we had fun We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons have all gone

We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons have all gone

Goodbye Francis my little one
You gave me love and helped me find the sun
And every time that I was down
You would always come around
And get my feet back on the ground

Goodbye Francis it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
With the flowers everywhere
I wish that we could both be there

I Have A Dream

I have a dream, a song to sing

To help me cope with anything

If you see the wonder of a fairy tale

You can take the future even if you fail

I believe in angels

Something good in everything I see

I believe in angels

When I know the time is right for me

Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

I have a dream, a fantasy

To help me through reality

And my destination makes it worth the while

Pushing through the darkness still another mile

I believe in angels

Something good in everything I see

I believe in angels

When I know the time is right for me

Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

Real Education For A Real World (Updated Updates)

Bonkity Bonkers
I am glad my recent shopping and window-shopping spree have not been in vain.

It is the only thing I have got, by the way, in lieu of all the recent traumatic events that had happened.

The financial crisis, all my losses, all the psychopathologies, living conditions, the various personalities I meet and the nonsensities they spout.

Chew On This
I mean what is the point of dwelling on psychopathologies and labelling someone as such. Is it gonna help him in any way?

That is the thing about friends (or is it fiends) too isn't it? Gay or otherwise. We sit together, eat, watch a movie or a soccer match, talk no end but what is that gonna lead?

Am I gonna recoup my financial losses? Get back my home? A job? Anything?

Positive Psychology - Love, Art (And Here It Can Mean Designer Or Luxury Brands), Beauty, Sports, Health, Food,The Works
I am kinda practising positive psychology now.

Appeciating beautiful objects like young Asian Chinese (here it embraces Koreans and Japanese)and Western men (and boys), art, luxury brand apparels and leathergoods and laying my hands on whatever new knowledge that I can .

To work off all those negativities, I am running and walking and boy, is it therapeutic and mind-engaging!

The Latest Cigarette/Cigar Lighter Technology
For one, cigarette/cigar lighter technology has advanced to the stage that there is no need for a flame and it is completely smokeless. Much like smokeless tobacco.

That means being environmentally friendly with none of the pollutant and contaminant that is soot. Designer brands seem to have gone miles ahead here while luxury brands are in a lull.

The new technology does put across a science concept of the bunsen burner more clearly than what my teachers have ever done in school.

And yes the Pickens Power Play Plan is certainly at work here. Gaseous fuels is always friendlier than liquid fuels and clean energy is the way to go forward.

What's more the bigger issue of the needless transfer of wealth especially to your nemeses. In fact this concept should be extended and studied more thoroughly and applied to other equally disturbing "transfer of wealth" issues. All countries please take note!

I am fully behind you Sir! May you be that old world force I need to get back on my feet like in the movie "Transformers - Revenge Of The Fallen"

Newest Pen Technology?
Again designer brands reign. It is amazing enough that they have an all-in-one pen. Rollerballs, ballpoints, fountain and mechanical pencils. Others claim to function as styluses, highlighters (I was told about this but wasn't shown any) and one luxury brand even has a USB device attached.

Now the consumer has to decide which is a more worthwhile proposition - a singular function pen or a multi-purpose one. Plus the fact that the price for each pen may just add up to equal the price of a all-rolled-into-one pen.

And if twist or click versus cap and uncap would help in cases of ink leakages.

You will be surprised that in both the above cases, the sales staff may not know any better and try to get away with it.

Where Have All The MensWear Gone? (Peter Seeger's Song "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?")
The women are having a ball here. What with multi, strictly Amiga only brands and multi-assorted new designs and colors.

Poor amigos like us are stuck with black, chocolate, grey or white (especially the underwear section) for color choices and the few deemed classic designs for men. Not to mention that menswear are MIA for some luxury brands here.

Liz Claiborne would be yet another example and all the while I thought it was strictly only womenswear.

Hijacking What Was Traditonally A Male Symbol NeckWear
The Romas have even hijacked our Boy Scouts' neckerchief and claim it as their very own fashion neckwear! Shame on you if that has left us empty-handed!


So What If I Turn A Sweater Wear Inside Out Or Upside Down Especially Here In The Tropics

And who cares if here in the tropics, I turn a sweater (at least to the Americans, that is what they call it just like a handkerchief is called a pocket square) into a daytime wear minus the apparel inside. Just as long as it isn't too knitted-looking or see-through or thick wooly woollen.

Finally A Little Male Fashion Wear Reprieve And Concession

Thank god, Mango has just recently started its Homini Emerito line at a local department store.

By "local" I mean sited here in Singapore and not of local origins - in fact, this store is Japanese.

Which brings me to my point of how we should reconcile the two, like a foreign domestic maid, oxymoronic as it sounds or should I then re-phrase it as a local foreign department store.

Are we poor Amico souls having a bad deal? Like we aren't already in other respects?

Who Says The Social Sciences Is An Inferior Science When Compared To The Hard Sciences Or Maths?
The social sciences especially languages or business is a dynamic discipline that cannot be like the Maths or the Sciences where it is neatly right or wrong.

Higher Maths like Calculus is highly abstract and probably good for building mental agility, speed and aspiring to lofty but purely academic mathematical pursuits.

But in the long run, the social sciences is more "application and hands-on" much like Information Technology, a hard science.

I just realised that about myself. The books I read are usually of this kind. Software application packages, psychology, financial investment, fashion, sports and gym-training.

A Condensed Comprehension Passage And Graphic-Stimulus Passage (Extracted From A Text Published By Our Local Foreign? Education Publishing House) For A Primary Fiver Just Boggles
Read these condensed materials, the questions asked about them , the sole model answer provided in each case and let me know what you think.

By the way the whole action happened underwater in a bayou for the comprehension passage.

Is A Scenario Like This Possible? Is There Only One Correct Answer Or Are There Other Possibilities?

".......... The rescuer got hold of a knife and tried to cut through the nylon strap but it was futile......the baby rescued was hanging like a limp blue doll.......rescuers tried resuscitation.....and just as the medical staff were about to give up......it was miraculously revived........"

Q: "Why do you think the rescuer couldn't cut through the nylon strap?"
A: "The knife was blunt"

Here Goes Other Possibilities
What about another possibility that the underwater pressure and current was just too overwhelming (*yes, quit staring at me again, this in fact employs science to answer the question).

Or that the rescuer was feeling tired, weak and effeminate at that point in time.

Or the nylon was just too tough or that the knife was too small or the rescuer was diminutive in size?

Another Stumping Question
Q; "Quote the phrase to show that the baby's revival was a miracle"
A: "Like a limp blue doll"

And Another Possible Answer?
How about "medical staff were about to give up"?

We know that since a phrase is needed, "miraculously" is most probably out.

Is This Testing English Language Proficiency In The First Place? Or Is It A General Knowledge/Geography Question And How Is "Region" Defined Anyway Especially In This Case - Asia Pacific Region?

".......Stand to win attractive prizes like a trip to the region........."

Q: "Where will prize-winners get to go away to?"
Choices: "Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia"
Answer: "Indonesia"

This Would Be The Purview Of The Education Ministry And The Educators
And please, don't give me that dirty look. I am not responsible. The educators are. The publishers are. The ministry is. They should have highlighted this, asked and debated on this and put things right.

A bigger question is: will such questions be set and if so, will the ministry accept other possibilities or JUST ONE "RIGHT" ANSWER or at least what they deem to be "RIGHT".

Should publishers screw our students even more with this kinda publication?

One Last Comment About My Program Of Study
My last module was taught by a certain Laurence. He wasn't too bad. The Egan's Model he espouses wasn't too bad either in that it provided a structure and framework for counsellors to work with.

Except that application is quite another thing. I deem the skills set too much of a questioning skills set, including asking miracle questions.

Apart from my blog about the materials, I do have some issues with the personalities of the lecturers and some of the things they said. Would I entrust my life and my mind to these people? I would think real hard I guess.

I would rate my lecturers from BEST to WORST thus:

*Karen, Reena, Laurence, Henry, Richard & finally the one who takes the cake.....Chris..TADA!*

At Whose Convenience? Yours Or Mine?
Our transport operators termed it a "convenience fee". I am referring to the CEPAS-linked Giro Reload EZ card which charges $0.25 for every auto top-up.

At whose convenience, I might like to know.

Is it convenient for us, the citizens? Who do we have for travelling companions? Foreign workers of all kinds and sometimes in their working clothes. Loud chatters. A babel of tongues. All kinds of habits.

What use is it to clean and spruce up, modernise and build some of our public amenities and housing to be spanking new architectural marvels? Who patronises them and what happens?

Do citizens get any better in terms of ridership privileges?

I Should Have Been Him And His Job Mine
I came across new Chinese citizens in our midst. They started schools in 2002. Why couldn't I? Because I didn't agree with the fire-safety rules. Then came the licensing agreement. After which a constituency surgery bungle ensued.

And what of Ben? He has been here since his primary school days and yet he is only a PR? Why isn't he committed? Seems like he is here only for the taking. To kill two birds with one stone? Or is he trying to escape NS liabilities, so an older age like 40 would be a better time when liabilities end.

Is this fair? Bigger question is has he made a BIG difference? I don't think so. I don't see it. If he has, it is only to be seen and a political move. No real impact. No real difference.

What he does is actually my job. He took it away from me. Plus he has the advantage of the patronage of his well-to-do father.

At whose convenience again, may I ask.

The Cathay Gallery, Exaggerated Devastation, Fund-Raising, Of Uomos And Hommes Particularly Asians & A Repeat To Remind The Hearing-Impaired (Newest)

The Cathay Gallery
Everyone should, if they can, take a peek inside the museum housed at The Cathay building.

It traces cinematography in general, its own filmographic rising in Asia, particularly SEA, while chronicling the life and times of Loke Yew, his fourth wife Lim Kim Cheng, his descendants especially the couple's only son Dato Loke Wan Tho.

The short clip of the tragic plane-crash in Taiwan which killed Dato Loke Wan Tho, his wife Mavis and his top management people in the movie industry must certainly ring a a heart-felt note of sadness and loss even among us who don't know him personally.

All I can gather is that Dato Loke Wan Tho was an adventurer, a traveler, an expeditionist, a naturalist, an intellectual cum academician, an entrepreneur, a sportsman, an arts, culture and movie buff whose myriad of interests brought him halfway around the globe.

Someone who built up international relations with whomever he meets. Among them, American luminaries like Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, William Holden and mother of local celebrity, Anita Sarawak, Siput Sarawak.

From cinema seats and movie-screening equipment to admission tickets of old, this museum holds a place in our hearts for the benefit of posterity.

There were old movie clips of Malay folktales like "Pontianak", "Hang Tuah/Jebat", "Orang Minyak (Oily Man)" and the rest. Movies which I have watched when I was a kid.

Everyone should visit if not for a glimpse of cinematic history then perhaps a slice of genealogy and personal history of a GREAT MAN of his times.

3 Days In China But In Singapore, It Takes At Least Two Years Or More
The Chinese has a saying that it takes three days to build a house in their home country.

When I see pictures of the devastation wrought about by typhoons or quakes in the various regions recently, I could see the kinda simple structure and the low rises and the very low-rises they were made of and I am pretty sure they can be rebuilt doubly quick and cheaply too.

Not so in Singapore as we all know how our construction industry works, especially in the public housing sector, being high rises that they are.

Therefore I think there could be more exaggeration than there is fact in the various disaster reports.

Dear Gal, Why Don't You Sell Your LV HandBag Or Home Before Even Asking Another To Raise Funds For The Poor And The Disaster-Stricken Victims Overseas
As I sat eating at the Japanese foodmall, I couldn't help noticing different cliques of people dining at the other tables.

After they have finished and were dispersing, a young lady walked up to me and asked to sit down to chat with me.

It turns out she was soliciting funds for a NGO in Cambodia which coincidentally was affiliated to the orphanage I know.

Hey, what about soliciting funds for me? I have lost my everything and I am at my wit's end (because nothing is working out for me at the moment). Especially like how I am gonna claw back my losses, recoup them and get me my own home and higher education.

The young ladies were well-dressed. Just like the other girls and boys you see on the streets and in our education instituitions, some are even togged out in luxury-branded high-fashion and accessories (one was carrying a LV handbag).

How paradoxical!

Where Are The Hommes And Uomos For Some Of The Luxury Brands Here Like Fendi and Loewe?
Menswear sales is outstripping womenswear worldwide.

But why is it not happening here in Singapore? Especially the luxury brands?

And Fendi, Loewe, Versace, Bottega Veneta, Salvatore Ferragamo, Yves Saint Laurent, Bally Givenchy, Valentino (plus many more) do not have a a "homme" or "uomo" presence here be it ready-wear, bespoke, haute couture or accessories.

At best they feature a very limited range of their products. For example, accessories and some outer-wear but not the ready-to-wear in the case of Salvatore Ferragamo, Bally and Bottega Veneta.

Or a complete non-presence here at all especially apparels. Fendi and Loewe for instances.

Seasonal Changes In Tropical South East Asia?
And the four seasons compressed into a period of six months for F/W and S/S each just cannot apply here in tropical Singapore or for that matter South East Asia or anywhere else where the climate is ruled by the equator all year round.

The year's seasons should be divided into quarters with three of that set aside for spring/summer in this part of the world.

Boutique, Concept Stores & Certainly Location Especially In The Heart Of Orchard Road Is Important

And we appreciate and prefer more boutique or concept stores kinda thingy. Not department stores where just too many brands and apparels are lumped together, crying out for our attention.

Usually they don't get the full attention they deserve. Pierre Cardin & Balmain for example.

Or simply ONE brand carrying its everything in its OWN BOUTIQUE STORE! Custom-fits, ready-wears, eyewears, leathergoods, accessories, neckwears, fragrances, timepieces, whatever.

No point putting all those beautiful, masterful pieces of art in the far corner or a quiet end of Orchard Road where human traffic is S-L-O-W? Simply because it ain't happening at this end and there is NO sheltered or covered LINK from central Orchard to HERE, transportational or otherwise! Imagine if it rains.

So why are HOMBREs kinda missing out when the women are already having a ball here with the likes of Herve Leger, Chanel, Kate Spade, Chloe, BCBGMaxAzria, Miu Miu, Max Mara, Diane Von Furstenberg and the rest.....

These are strictly FEMME, ELLE and DONNAs' wear with none of their ROMO counterparts in sight.

Don't forget book-stores, fine dining cafes, flower-shops and confectioneries in the case of Armani and you get the picture how our retail scene here is getting boring and lifeless.

This certainly calls for a RADICAL and REVOLUTIONARY change in the way we think and map out the retail fashion, dining and lifestyle scene here.

And Asian-Sized Modifications
From spectacle frames to vertical hand-carry bags to fashion apparel.

In terms of nose-bridges, height, body built, foot-sizes and facial features, we need bodily modifications in some respects.

More Chinese Themes, Features And Designs For Casuals, FormalWear And In-Betweens, Priced Cheaper And Catering To A Mid-To-Younger Generation
I feel sad too that a Chinese luxury brand hasn't got more going for its line of casuals or formal wear or a off-shoot for a mid to younger generation or a cheaper second-line featuring more Chinese themes, designs and motifs.

Rebranded Brands
Add more rebranded brands now featuring at our local shopping gallery. For one, Prologue and UrbanWrite (aka as Popular)

Unfair Advantages In Education? Or Is It Cheating?

I hope that my school has better sense in ensuring that earlier intakes of students who have sat for the exams or done the assignments do not pass on this sensitive information to the people they introduce to the school in later batches.

My school can do this by consistently revising the assignment and exam questions so that no two intakes' papers look the same. The situation is made worse when batches come back-to-back with just a couple of months separating them. Not a year or more.

It does seem like many of the students have family, relatives and friends in the school and ethnic community ties sometimes do rule. Money speaks even louder I suppose. What more pally-pally relations with the administrators or academia.

This would constitute unfair advantages tantamount to cheating and in education that would make it a total sham.

Why Is It So Hard To Get Through To You? Are You Hard Of Hearing?
I feel I must repeat this ONCE MORE, for the benefit of the hearing-impaired and the fucktards.
I have very clear concrete goals and I know what I want. What I need for them to materialise is MONEY.....

These goals include, but are not limited to, working within the education industry and preferably higher education. And working with a majority of Asian Chinese youths. Not like the class for the program of study I undertook.

So please, do not plant BLIMPS, BIMBS and WIMPS everywhere I go. And stop putting all those ethnic, third world foreigners, the intellectually-impaired or old fucktards in my face or near me. Stop harassing me! Like the phone call I got from an ethnic just a day or two ago. JUST FUCK OFF!

And these same ethnic hooligans have earned enough on their sales commission on me during my various retail purchases recently. Invariably they were the ones who always snuggle up to me, smelling a potential buyer.

But I assure you they will need loads more in return in the future because SOMETHING IS GONNA BEFALL them.

I will not be a spokesman for any of them.

I will NOT BE signing up for ANY political party, the incumbent or otherwise. I will not be made the POSTER BOY for the opposition camp like the two we have for parliamentarians.

Putting me here among them is just gonna breed lots of resentment and hostility. It is best we keep our distance and just work or play together when we need to.

SINGAPOREANS are NEVER worth speaking up for and they are NEVER worth fighting for.

Get this into your THICK HEADS, motherfuckers!

You Send Us Away After You Take Our Money - That Is Really Cool (Newest)

Minty-Tasting Water - Is This Fluoride Or Is It Mint?
By the way, have you tasted the drinking water at the amenities centre of the MacRitchie Park?

It tastes minty, like toothpaste or the tap water I drank from at Guangzhou on my travel there once.

Which leads one to wonder if this is mint or is it fluoride? Does fluoride have a taste in the first place because we have all come to associate fluoride with mint. Or is it just me?

If it is fluoride, then the next question is if it is fluoridated too excessively, wouldn't that lead to dental or skeletal fluorosis?

Is Drinking Water Here Safe For Consumption?
At home, on several occasions, I had diarrhea for no apparent reason and I could only trace it to the boiled water I drank because it happened only immediately after I drank from it.

And I ate or drank nothing else that could precipitate this diarrheaic onset.

That leads me to ask another question if the drinking water supply at this old mansion I am living in is safe?

First Geylang, Then Selegie And Now Bukit Timah/MacKenzie Road
Have you ever turned up at Exit A (leading to the Bukit Timah/MacKenzie Road route) of the Little India MRT station on a Sunday evening at about 6pm?

The entire car-parking lot was mobilised by our darker-skinned foreign workers. I got off the exit this evening to make my way home and I was obstructed by the huge (this is an understatement considering that the entire open-air car parking lot was teeming and bursting at its seam) crowd that had gathered here.

When will it get worse?

When a fight breaks out? Or a fire alarm raised which can lead to a stampede perhaps? Some fire-safety issues and security concerns? Or the vehicles parked there get damaged?

It Is Like After Mother Has Cooked Dinner, She Sends Her Children Away To McDonald's For Their Evening Meal While Inviting The Neighbor's Children Home For Dinner
This is exactly how I feel.

My school starts a counselling program and we pay something like 5K in all for it. The next thing I know, employability remains a BIG ISSUE and they only recognise us on a case-by-case basis for the single major degree in psychology.

That honour of recognition goes to the Polytechnic diploma holders.

That means we have to go elsewhere for our degree program and we most likely have to do the double majors in psychology and marketing management with my school if we wanna pursue our higher education. On top of bridging modules they deem fit.

So the question is: why even start a counselling program when they are gonna selectively recognise it for the single major when most of us have to do the double majors? Isn't this like my headline above?

What's more, we have to pay a full 10K difference in course fees (that pinches on the pocket - OUCH - make that triple "OUCHes") and pursuing irrelevant modules like tourism and marketing. Plus a longer time to complete the program.

The modules may perhaps widen job prospects but who wanna pay 10K for them? If this isn't ridiculous, what is?

Who Plagiarises Who? You Or Me?
It is bad enough the program was dogged by all those issues I have blogged about.

What makes it worse, is that in an about face turn-around, while prohibiting plagiarism on the part of the students, the lecturers were plagiarising word-for-word from books in their study guides and power-point slides.

Books which in some cases were recommended reading texts for the program.

What is the BIG USE if both study guide and powerpoint slides contain ONE and the SAME material anyway?

It shows very little care and disregard for the program and my school has the benefit of 10 intakes so far. I am surprised they haven't cleaned up their act yet.

PsychoMetric Nothingness And Education Fraud
I paid 80 bucks for two psychometric tests after much hard-selling and touting in class by Henry and I was also curious. The tests turn out to be essentially a bundle of papers with some useless word sentencing without a contextual understanding.

When I flipped open the pages, I seethed with more anger at the kinda questions they were asking.

Mostly dichotomous ones that seek to find out what they sought to find in the first place. And the context of the questions asked was missing. For instance, "do children get on your nerves" depends whether we are handling our own one or few child/ren at home or a class or school of them in an education setting.

I didn't bother to submit my tests in the end. A pure waste of money and time. That kinda money could have bought me a nice branded Ralph Lauren Polo tee. And I would rather read a good book or go out shopping than attending classes, listening to nonsensities spouted from various "education" "gurus".

That would have been a more realistic education.

There Is A Stall Selling Whole Roasted Pigs At Ion Food Hall, Maybe You Should Visit And See Yourself There?
Some of the foreign worker pigs are getting lazier.

Take this young foreign punk at the MacRitchie Park. I am not sure what time he starts work but he will invariably come in to clean up the amenities centre only when kayakers and runners are around.

Even then the showers are never cleaned up properly and he dares glowers and kick the wash basin to express his displeasure. He expects us to keep the place clean for him when it is his JOB to and with the water trickling, the jet spray heads dismantled and flimsy toilet paper, it is small wonder the place is a mess.

But this is a PARK for heaven's sake! Mud, soil and grass in all. What was he expecting? Gemstones and crude oil?

Plus old uncles were carting pails to wash themselves and their other goodies and therefore hogging the shower facilities.

But he is young, healthy and strong (late teens or twenties?)! What is he paid to do anyway? Sit around and fuck spiders?

In fact given that the Park is such a HUGE place, it is surprising that all the foreign workers choose to congregate at this ONE and ONLY location to do their work.

THE BIGGEST SHOW ON EARTH!

Visit The Roasted Pig Stall At Ion FoodHall And See Yourself There, Pigs!
At Old Aunty's, I have just cleaned up the ceiling fan and the top of the wardrobe, tasks which needed a tall ladder and yes, they were coated with layered morphs of dustballs accumulated over the years of their lease-life. But the thick dusty drapes remain.

That shows further how mercenary but LAZY the foreign and local (whoever you are) pigs are.
And the common toilet just outside my bedroom is once again soiled with filth the moment the at first trioed and then coupled and finally single tenant had moved in.

The vagaries of human relations and sex for you.

And I know not to trust Old Aunty. I am just putting up with her and tolerating her lies. She will pretend not to know when she is in on it with the other tenants. In fact I have a feeling the new tenant is Ben's friend.

Just like Sabby. But in this case, I am still treating her as a friend and she will get her just desserts if she is conniving anything behind my back because when I passed the class once during breaktime for Henry's class, I could hear some of their peals of laughter.

They pretend to talk to me to gauge my opinion of the program and what I have to say about the lecturers which usually rates poorly.

I also do not trust the gays at the men's club because I have seen who is talking to who and who is connected to who. And one of them is linked to Raffy, the Filipino tenant here and another to Victor, Ben's agent and whatever.

That I am fully aware of.

My cusses rain on you and your loved ones. Be it debilitating or something else.

People Are People (Like Depeche Mode Martin Gore's Song Goes)
I asked to trade in my polo for a smaller size but I was told to "dryclean" it first as I was wearing it before the exchange. I was told this is personal hygiene.

What ridiculity when the piece I bought was a display one with GOD-KNOWS-HOW-MANY other sweaty, odorful and filthy customers have tried it on.

And mind you to dryclean it as if it is a business suit and when the shirt specifically forbids drycleaning.

This is like the new adult CEPAS GIRO-linked EZ link card being issued. It now extracts a 25 cents deduction with every automatic top-up. This has never happened before so what is the rationale for this NOW?

Or the towel woman at California Fitness still insisting that she wants the towel to be returned to the second-floor counter before 12pm even though it is soaking wet.

Imagine a soaking, dripping wet towel transported from the third storey to the second storey. Safety issues of the slippery surface kind. And it is soaking wet only because of the steam bathing and showering and of course the consequent wetting.

I guess people are just people and on the two former occasions, the service personnel bore the full brunt of my screams.

Once More, PigHeads, The UnHoly Trinity Is Out For Me
Once more pigs, the blimps, bimbs and wimps are on my "unwanted" list. I am having nothing to do with most of the girls or women in my class because I can perceive what the cultural differences are.

At best, we are friends. Like Sabby, my current best friend in class even though she is married with 3 girls, has a husband in the armed forces and owns a maid. And she is Sikh.

The class can connive whatever they want. If it is something evil, they get the retribution in return.

This Bears Repeating
I have to repeat myself once more I think. Only younger Asian Chinese/Koreans/Japs for that special beau. Selectively others (but I am mindful of cultural as well as lifestyle and habit differences) and maybe even younger white males. Keyword - younger and physically appealing.

My own abode and fast. And in appropriate places. No nosey neighbors. No older generation. No culturally different neighbors. My career choice within an education setting, preferably higher education sort.

Is this too hard to understand?

Remember, my curse remains true. Whatever you are doing now, it will go round and happen to you or the ones close to you. Just remember that.

The Bounty Is Plentiful And Cheap Too
The NEXT generation never had it so good. There is so much variety on the retail apparel and fashion scene these days and they don't cost a bomb.

Take for instance River Island, the British high-street fashion wear. It offers so many chic and genre casual footwear that go for under 100 bucks.

Kids can really deck themselves out fashionably and they don't have to bust their budget too. They have shops like the Japanese Uniqlo (which incidentally has Jil Sanders now heading its fashion design) or Cotton-On.

And the young people are cafeing and eating out at posh restaurants almost like an everyday affair. The pickings are good and some food are delicious. But you pay the price of course.

I really envy them. We never had such choices back in our days.

Luxury Brands Are Just Luxury Brands, Be They Be Made From Hemp, Cotton, Flax Or Acetate
So whatever it may be, we pay for the brand name and nothing else. That we are ALL fully aware of.

Plus it is made in the countries of origin, usually Italy or France and you can see the marked differences in the exquisite craftmanship in stitching and the very clean lines.

Luxury brands are particularly common among the girls and women in our midst who are in most cases showing off their travel-bags, usually a Louis Vuitton or Gucci, the BIG TWO rivals in the luxury market.

The distinguishing classic tartan design of the Burberry brand is fast appearing among the bag toting crowd here and on men's shirts, women's blouses and even jacket collars.

I guess we are a nation who relishes brandishing luxury goods for good measure.

Accolades For The Gifts Of "Nature" And Sports Plus Other Asides (New)

The French, The Italians, The British, The Americans, The Swiss And Now The Spaniards
When a sports journalist wrote about the possibilty of the rise of a La Liga power in world soccer, it set me thinking about how the Spaniards are already a force to reckon with on the retail scene. After all Barcelona and Real Madrid are notables in the world soccer league.

Mango and Zara have long fronted many of our retail malls. Zara's Inditex Group, however, has gone many steps ahead, pulling in its other brand names like Pull And Bear, Massimo Dutti and now Bershka will soon grace Ion Orchard, the iconic retail mall on Singapore's swankiest and ritziest shopping belt.

To me it is just another exciting entree to a buffet of different countries' menus, just as the Major League Soccer is, in addition to the Premier League.

A New And Exciting Gateway To The Garden Of Eden
I am not raving for the sake of raving. I always give due credit when something truly deserves credit. Though criticiscms are all part and parcel of the improvement and change processes.

Like the completed Phase I revamp of what is termed the "Gateway" to MacRitchie Reservoir. Look what some ingenious planning can really do to our much revered and cherished impounding reservoir of old.

For one, taking away all that open-air public car parking lots and replacing them with a two-storey one just frees up more space for nature. The tree-lined returfed pathways. The wooden platforms and stage area. The hanging gardens from overhead. The sprouting ground-level water fountains. A new cafe. And above all new shower facilities.

Though I find the powerful straight line jet sprays of the indoor showerheads a tad irritating and hurtful (and the faucets had to be continously pumped for the sprays to keep squirting and there were no toiletries holders), I had an enjoyable time with the pull-ring al-fresco ones.

Water was warm enough for a pleasant shower on a hot day like the day I visited it. And it was the whole novel experience of it all. However, it can do with a few more silvered benches strewn around the four shower pads for bathers to place their personal belongings.

And yes, mirrors to line the wash-basins instead of just one big solitary full-length mirror located near the lockers.

Even the overhead pedestrian bridge bordering Lornie and Thomson Road is not spared. It looks set to rival the grey-steeled arches and waves of the few iconic linkways of the Southern Ridges Parks.

Well done PUB! I can't wait for Phase 2 to begin.

A Revamped Bishan Stadium
The track has been returfed. And yes, it is now a pristinely manicured lawn-grassed soccer pitch. No more messy grass cutting, trimming and watering.

Visibly missing are the exercise stations and the thick green blanket that used to shroud its perimeter. The spectator arena has been retrofitted with spanking new seats that are only segregated by their colors.

The floor and doors have been repainted with coats of grey and yellow respectively. The floor oustide has been retiled. The showers are now bright and airy with new light-colored wall and floor tiles, wall-mounted rotating fans and there are recessed areas for holding your personal toiletries plus new tiltable shower taps .

Question now is, will the Sports Hall or the gym get a similar make-over? And in time for the YOG too?

All the same, well-done SSC!

If You Are Truer Than True, Then Which Is The Truest?
Incidentally, this reminds me of some of the churches' names I have come across. Some claiming to be the "True Jesus Christ" Church with another claiming to be truer than true.

Like True Or False questions, I suppose if there is truism, there must also be falsity?

In fact when you study the timeline when Christianity began to split, starting with the Reformation of the 16th Century, your mind boggles with all its new offshoots like the charismatic movement for example and all the rest.

So at the end of the day, I just wanna ask which is the "Truest"? Is that too much to ask?

Another Popular Gay Myth And More SingleHood Mythology
The day people stop spreading and perpetrating myths about GLBTs in general and singles in particular and assigning gender/marital status roles thenceforth is the day the world will be a better, more egalitarian and equal society.

Even among my counsellor lecturers, like Richard for instance, the myth about a woman trapped in a man's body (and that is derogatorily referring to gays) is still popular.

The old world of an either-or dichotomy just does not seem to go away. You are either a man or you are transgendered. And transgendered means "transvestism and transsexualism".

There seems to be a huge chunk of the gay population who is neither but who loves and engages in sex with other similar men that somehow seems to elude the general population.

Unless we can address and redress this, don't expect the rest of us to be sitting tight and looking pretty without a riposte every now and then.

Nevertheless great strides have been made and there is a gradual move towards recognising a multicultural worldview. And that means taking up a continental, national, ethnic, socio-economic, gender and/or sexual orientation perspectives. Not just an all-male, white-dominated approach as it used to be.

I just hope the issue of singlehood is researched and looked into more often than it is now.

Writing Therapy Is Much Like Music Or Art Therapy (New)

Personal Writing (Or Journalling Or Blogging) As Therapy And As A Truer-To-ThySelf Personal And Social Commentary Piece
I blog only because there are nagging issues I feel I wanna comment on , general observations I make which may or may not be true or some preoccupation that caught and piqued my interest like my recent blogs on "who is who" and "who is behind a brand name" on the retail scene.

It is amazing to discover that the "Fox" retail brand is Israeli. Amazing in itself because that is coming from a historically biblical, war-torn and war-ravaged country. It goes to show that the order of life, trade and commerce goes on despite chaos.

Then there is that whole mass of interesting but intricate partnerships, joint-ventures, buy-ins and buy-outs, mergers and acquisitions among our luxury brand BOYS which ultimately boils down to the BIG THREE Players. Like the BIG FOUR (or is it now down to 2 or 3?) of the banking or accounting world.

Finally, discovering the roots and beginnings of some of the retail brands are just mind-blowing. Hugo Boss dressed up the Nazi Officers while Dior dressed their wives and their French collaborators for World War 2. And Bata, a Czech-based company, started off as a military shoe supplier during World War 1.

In fact this is the kinda of life-skill education I find more relevant, more contemporary and more practicum-based.

Writing also appeals to me as some kinda therapy and because I do enjoy writing essays to a certain extent, perhaps dating back to my General Paper days of junior college life. Particularly subjects and topics that are of immediate existential concerns. Topics that I write on in my blogs.


In the absence of flesh and blood friends to share your thoughts and feelings, writing is the next best outlet for that expression. In any case, friends, family, colleagues and whoever else CANNOT be there 24/7 to share ALL your EXISTENTIAL experiences EVERY MOMENT OF THE DAY.

Writing can. It helps you make sense of your experiences for the day, what you learned, your reflection on issues, events and it helps you consolidate and work out your feelings and thoughts.


Besides you can't say anything so freely and openly in someone's face, can you? Writing provides that safe distance for saying what you REALLY wanna say though of course the spectre of a LIBEL suit is always there?

I rather be a critic because too many are already singing praises, at most times un-necessarily while overlooking the obvious faults and defects. Let them do the flattery while I put forth the constructive and legitimate criticisms.

For betterment and for change.

Money As An End And As A Means In Itself
Losing all that money wasn't painful because of the money for its own sake really.

It was painful because it meant the house, that higher education, that retirement money, that money for existential living RIGHT NOW and contingencies that come right along with it.

For me an abode is about space (do you wanna live in an old stuffy leaking dollhouse which costs the same price as a luxury Daimler AG?), quiet, peace, tranquility, modernity, cleanliness and privacy. No nosey parkers, no interfering, no snooping, no trespassing, no fish-bowl living, no rundown dilapidated and rebuilding works needed and the whole works.

Plus my old luggages were mildewy, mouldy and green with algae and it has been four years. And those silverfishes.

I am also of a certain age, not exactly in the best of health, tired , not so energetic and so on. In short, NUAH......

Alvin Is Right Of Course -Looks, Flawless Complexion And Youth
Looks and built matter. Youth , a smooth and flawless complexion. None of which I possess very fully or even at all. But at my age, I have a bit more confidence and reckon that as long as I keep fit and the facial scars and lines away, I can still live with myself.

Unfortunate as it sounds, they are the first few things that attract, in this age of beauty and wellness fuelled by the media and everyone else. Inner beauty takes longer to stir and may never even happen.

Alvin brought this unconscious of mine back to the conscious. For a very long time, I was actually afraid to look at myself in the mirror. Any mirror untill like more recently.

And I may unconsciously wanna rip my face off too when I ripped and shredded all those articles of personal belongings in a rage of self-destruction.

The Whole Gay Community Was Here ! At Ion Orchard's Soft Opening
They were here. Togged out handsomely and youthfully. A famous blogger (sexuality: unknown but hey love your new muscle dude and your longer hair and oh yeah, fairer than fair complexion and set of pearlie whites). My ex-tenant. His new or is it old boyfriend. Everyone.

The whole gliterrati? And illuminati? Or literati?

Luxury Brands Are Beyond The Mean Average Monthly Wages Of An Average Professional - Or At Least For A Month Or So
While I may have taken to gaping at luxury brands, their price tags of $2600 a piece for a ready-to-wear apparel and a couple of hundred of bucks for an accessory are certainly well beyond my means or the monthly average wages of an average professional.

Or at least he needs to wait several months before he can lay his hands on one. It is not like small ticket items of below a hundred bucks.

Get that right too people.

And I am gaping only because they are works of art. The fine fabrics and tailoring, the ummatched authentic skins and material. The exquisite, finely crafted design and stitches. The color. The works.

What I Meant Was This............
When I wrote about that single white male I spotted at "Love Of Siam"and that he seemed visibly distraught, I meant that he was perhaps overwhelmed by the direction of that moovie. Of an evolving relationship that finally lead to a heavy smooching.

He seemed like he couldn't handle that emotion, coming as I thought he did from a diet of the West's culture of fast and furious lust and sex. Meet, wham and BAM! Sex (to the nth degree) As we all are conditioned to at some point in our life by the media.

Of course I am just second-guessing and we all know it can BE WRONG.

And this event brings me to my next point.

Open Up, Be Open And We Can All Cavort In Open Gay Sex.....TADA!
There will be no question of extortion, emotional or financial blackmail, discrimination or behind-my-back gossip if everyone accepts everyone else for who they are.

Look, by now, everyone knows I am gay. They may not know me in person but I am sure there are others who do.

If it becomes a norm and nobody has any hangups, THEN who can kick up a BIG FUSS and make a big DEAL out of nothing? Nobody right?

In fact it becomes a good thing. We can all come out in the open. Hang out. Brazenly. Openly. Unabashedly AND CAVORT IN OPEN GAY SEX....

Tada!

You Know What, This Counselling Program Wasn't That Bad After All
I am into the last two modules of my program.

Despite having said what I said and all the emotionally distressing and frustrating moments that happened in my life (breakups and financial losses) and during the learning program (all the past and present crises I have to face up to), I finally came to ONE BIG CONCLUSION.

My counselling program DID help me survive it all. If not for it, telling me to focus on my glimmer of hope and yes, unfinished businesses, and dissipating or displacing anger in a safer way (is that why sometimes potentially lethal martial arts classes like tae-kwondo still hold court?) I really might have just ended my life.

Thank you Mr/M/s/Mrs/Miss/Dr Counselling Program!

General Comments About The Modules
While I still believe that being financially strapped and too emotionally laden like I am at this moment means I probably have no business counselling the poor (and they do need some financial handouts, no? ) and the equally if not more emotionally burdened, there are a couple of things I wanna highlight.

Ethics was a fiasco through no fault of Chris, really, because that is just the way things are. GC helped me through my crises by talking about it with a group while I had an interest in psychology so FP was interesting.

Despite everything, I find Chris' predisposition model flawless, the FACTS@Life, the Fear and Trigger models real but they needed some refinements and I couldn't apply the second half of the FACTS model and his "Trigger" model.

When I wrote the CM essay, I happened to identify more with the spiral model. CT imbibed me with all the ready facts and theories of counselling and I loved that and today, CI was the best. It helped mediate my current financial crisis.

While I enjoyed the sharing of experiences of the lecturers, their anecdotes and travelogues but because the award of the certificate hinges on passing the assignment and exams, this has to be negatively discounted. So exam tips, revision and concept checks were prized instead.

I look forward to the modules of CC and CS coming up next.

What I Meant By Intellectual Rigour.........
I suppose there are constraints.

But sometimes the seminars were just too much of a monologue. There were not very many chances of an exchange, of discussion or debate.

And can we be as open as we want with the class? What about supposedly taboo topics like "suicide" and "homosexuality" .Or will we risk penalising ourselves with the lecturers? For instance with their God-given-and-God-imbued values? Or their personal beliefs and value systems.

Everyone has them, even you and me.

When there were opportunities like during my FP module, I was facing my own set of personal problems and floored by them. So psycho-somatic, current and past physiological, emotional and psychological states play a part


This was what I thought was most lacking in the program apart from my earlier blogs about the language proficiency issues, some accented communication problems, the material in terms of its presentation of facts, the grammar, word usage and language construction.


Plus don't expect us to agree with everything. We have to agree to disagree on some points raised.


It will be a very sad day indeed if legitimate and constructive criticiscms are not taken in its own proper context or people cannot have that degree of freedom of expression or of speech or of writing.

And to be enunciating their views without fear of reprisal or penalty.

And The Assessment Modes.......
And exams are just exams and I don't really like them. Memory work, recalling, getting to the exam venue, the people in the exam hall and when you are down and out, you could be impaired?

Can't concentrate, memory lapses, you stutter, you have eating disorders, etc.

Maybe just assignments?

But I can't really be sure which option or if both is best.

It All Finally Happened......
What happened in the last few weeks meant that it all finally happened.

My world crumbled and my whole immune system broke down. I was down with cough, flu, fever, rashes, aches, pains, depression, drifting in and out between sleep disorders like insomnia and sleeping all the time and get this.....constipation......

To keep a tight lid on our anger is just overcontrolling and overdoing anger management......we have to let loose and let go at times except in a safer way.....

P$
Does this mean I can get my money back? Capital, stamp duty plus profit and interest? Isn't too much to ask, is it?

I promise I will be good from now on? Plea$e????

*$mile$* *Wink$* *$ob$ $ob$ $ob$* Whateva

The Soft Opening Of Ion Orchard (New)

More "Good" Things, Coming From The Acts Of Men
Great!

When you are stressed, down and out, more BAD things hit you! All sorts of ailments strike you! I am a little kid all over again!

I have to visit the old doc for the third time yesterday. After two rounds of theophylline (and I suspect it is this drug that is causing the allergy in addition to stress-related factors) , I developed rashes that covered me from neck to toe.

It itched so I did scratch myself quite a bit but I told myself I have to stop

This morning, most had subsided. But my cough still persists and I am drowsy after taking the medication.

Thank you PEOPLE, for all the "good" things you have caused me throughout my life! All the grief, pain, sorrows and suffering from young till old

I dedicate this to my family, all my ex-employers, all my ex-colleagues and everyone else who has made my life as miserable as possible.

By the way, do you think employers and colleagues are interested in your problems? They have their own set of existential problems like profits, making more money and their own familial problems.

But at least I know from school to work, I have never given anyone any problems as far as I can. I just do my own work and concentrate on my studies. As I said, people have other ideas. Like He-Ape and She-Ape. They want you to play their corporate games for some reasons. FUCK YOU MOTHER CHEE BYES!

All I wanted was just to make some money for a better life for myself and if I am stable, I can try to help my family and maybe others!

If I were to die, it has to be in the comfort and relative peace of my own home. Not here, not anywhere else. I am not the world's luckiest person and have had enough. FUCK YOU, understand!

Oops. Did I just said that I was sick? Oo

Ion Orchard Has Opened
Quite a few luxury brand shops have yet to open!

But the whole place was already swarming with people what with 70% of the shops open.

Standing at a diminutive 660 000 square feet, much smaller than the 750 000 sqft surburban Jurong Point mall , Ion Orchard, however, offers that luxurious touch and imposing radiant architecture which befits its brand name and location on Singapore's premier shopping belt.

I love the NEW BRANDS all right - Korloff, Titanium, Metrox, BreadSociety, Food Opera and OkabAsia (fka Soo Kee, Gramophone, Metro? BreadTalk, Food Republic and NUM). Wait! That is rebranding, isn't it? Silly old me!! Muahahahahahaha....Burp! O....I m sick......

As usual, the LVMH group is strongly represented here and everywhere with the likes of Marc Jacobs, Tag Heuer, Sephora, Chaumet and Dior (incidentally this group is also part-owner) while Prada's daily-oriented, younger generation offshoot Miu Miu has opened its own boutique .

But of course, how could I forget the other Swiss-based conglomerate with Cartier, Piaget , Dunhill, Van Cleef & Arpels, Baume et Mercier already established here. What can I say? I am sick?

Roberto Cavalli is here, so too is Steve Madden. The other French conglomerate with Gucci heading its brand name and other stalwarts like YSL and Boucheron are visibly conspicuous too.

Giorgio Armani and D&G are set to open soon and yes both groups were embroiled in an Armani Feud just at the beginning of this year. Amazing that they are gonna be on the same floor and within reach of each other.

I can't wait for them to open! Won't you?

Roots
And yes following our national newspaper report which stated that Dsquared2 is an Italian label, much like Bally would be mistaken for an Italian rather than a Swiss root, I just wanna clarify that Dsquared2 is of Canadian origin.

Just as Diane Von Furstenberg is Belgium-born before becoming an American fashion designer or American Bebe of Iranian-descent. Even Pierre-Cardin is Italian-born before becoming a Parisian designer.

Of Forgettables And Unforgettables & Past Nemeses

All I Need Now
A job that pays well enough to finance my higher education which is a ticket to my job ambitions and aspirations and my vocational calling.

My current investment that will soar to the point that I can buy back my own place or at least to fuel another reinvestment to see me reach this.

Friends and community can't do much for me. We can share good and bad times together, talk no end about it, spent time and money together on food, movies, pubs, clubs, shopping, whatever. But that is no help at all. You have money, you have friends.

And lastly a male beau to share my bunk and bed with me and to start a relationship for the long term.

Friends do not live in with you. That is just friendship to share the good times of jollying. Not to share the burden of a true relationship.

*Period*.

Other Job-Hunting Woes

That Monday was the deadline for my assignment. I had to rush for an interview for a stint of relief teaching but guess what, they say they will call me if they need me and somehow I don't fit the job.

They promised to look into why I wasn't called for relief teaching though I am on their database annually. Apparently that school, Yishun Secondary (and btw my CPF statement reflected that I was there somewhere around 17th June 2003) has to be the one to keep calling me back and no other school can.

Therefore Yishun has to terminate me from their list before the rest can call on me.

What if Yishun has no need for a relief teacher but other schools do? Does that not deny me my chances of teaching?

Such procedural bureaucracy. Somehow it looks more like a matter of the ground being inflexible and insensitive in interpreting the policies or rules.

Much like the mother who just wanted to wait for her daughter at the foyer but the servant insisted that she should take the H1N1 screening as well.

I wasted my 30 odd bucks cab-fare that day to rush down for the interview and back home again to complete my assignment before the deadline (I was floored by all that emotional depression and was seriously depressed and sleeping it off).

But still no job. On top of forgetting to exchange my pass back for my ID, I had to go back to the school again to do that. All that money wasted for nothing.

And an Indian classmate invited me for her wedding and I had to hand her a red packet.

Money out, no money in.

FUCK YOU!

Get This Right Too, "People"

Since there seems to be nothing on hand, I can only retreat to an escapist world of my own to take my mind off the stresses I am facing. Like retail therapy, movie therapy, long deep sleeps (floored as I am), engaging in my academic pursuits once again, admiring objects of art and aesthethics, physical exercises and so on.

I can't be facing people in crisis and emotional disturbances or in financial distress because I am no better off than they.

It will be too painful, too overwhelming and I can't help them very much at this moment.

And to make the circuit to talk about all my pains will just be too much of a labor, emotionally anguishing and distressing to be talking over and over again about all my personal crises.

Get this right too, "people"!

Why Did I Misinvest In The First Place?

The Agent Rep, The Location, The Unit In Question And The Sentiments Prevailing At That Time

I was swayed by the agent rep (an ex-flight attendant or was she just part-timing here) and that was the time of an overall euphoric investment mood before turning sombre in recent months. The unit in question was in a good location and the design was really good. Exclusive and not too many units.

The property in itself is a good investment certainly but timing was bad. By my calculation given HDB resale prices at that time, I still couldn't afford to buy one so I had to reinvest.

But the other day when I visited the site, one and a half years later, the building was still in its foundational foundation stage. In fact at the canal digging part. Didn't seem like stage 1 has passed and almost all work has stopped.

Did they run into financing or cash-flow problem and the TOP is 2013, 4 years from now....

The Living Environment

I was also holing up with the PUNK at that time and with all the nonsense he and his fiance were generating, they affected my judgement.

The Agent Rep Again

When sentiments turned bad, I asked my agent rep but she said it was ok to hold until the bubble burst and then she said there was a problem. FUCK YOU AGAIN!

The Law Firm

They were supposed to be on my side but the woman lawyer came across as someone who was combative and talking about personals.

She only warned of bankruptcy should I not be able to cough up the progress payment but she didn't warn about the forfeiure and repudiation.

There you have it folks! The community of "humans".

Why Did I Invest In This Counselling Program In The First Place?

It is not getting me anywhere with this qualification.

And to top it up to a degree program in psychology and when I requested for a single major Psychology program, they wanted bridging modules like Tourism (though this must be for the double majors in Marketing Management program).

There you have it again folks! A plethora of shit-trashes. I am pretty sure some of the better written essays are being circulated around for the lecturers' and students' benefits.

Like some of my classmates. The girls. All they want is to examine how other students in the class are writing their essays and they wanna copy.

And all the sales consultant want is sales! I will not recommend anyone for this program with the likes of Chris teaching the module and the quality control.

Intent As Chris Would Put It

What exacty is the class' agenda is another issue.

While the current lecturer Richard is fine, I thought too many attributions to God in the materials was just one too many.

And it does become theoretical and as usual I disagree with many issues raised.

Do they wanna know where my weaknesses lie so they wanna manipulate me like my agent rep? Make me their mouthpieces for some political or social cause? A poster boy for religosity or conversion? A black sheep coming back to the fold? Or they think they are God and wanna mete out some punishment for some of the things I blogged about?

Maybe of God? Of a gender? Of a certain minority community? Or a certain ethnic community?

I must just wait and see and thread carefully.

Hollywood's Unforgettable And Forgettable Films
Hollywood's mill of animation, action thriller and superheroes' genres of movies have always sizzled with thrills and spills.

Movies like "Ice Age", "Terminator" and "X-men". However its social drama and social comedy dramas may not always be my cuppa unless I am going for laughs. So I may just give movies like "Confessions of a Shopaholic" a miss because it is kinda frivolous although funny.

Unlike "BrokeBack Mountain"(Made in America by an Asian) or "Dive" (A Japanese production), which featured pretty faces and bods and walks on a finely thin plot , "Love Of Siam" (A South-East Asian make, specifically a Thai one) was superbly directed.

Thailand's Unforgettable "Love Of Siam"
Set in a typical South-East Asian home (the backdrop says it all) , it starts off with two young boys and their stirring relationship with one rescuing the other from the big bullies in their school. That is when Tong, the rescuer invites Mew, the bullied, to his home.

There are all kinds of love featured in this 2 and a half hour movie marathon. There is that love between Mew and his granny. The love among the quartet of family members made up of Tong, his sister Tang and their parents.

When Tang goes missing, the family disintegrates and moves away. Thus Mew and Tang are separated from each other.

The movie then moves along to another time-era when Mew, all grown-up, joins an all-boy band (the bond and concern among the members) while Tong has a love-interest in Donut. When they reunite, Mew's unrequited love for Tong is met for an instance by their heavy smooching in Tong's home backyard and witnessed by Tong's mom.

Mew's agent, June, is the perfect and exact substitute for Tang and she joins Tong's family to help his father ease out of his alcoholic and poor mental state following Tang's MIA.

There are crossed relationships. A crush on Mew by a neighborhood girl. Tong's ambivalent sexual attraction for Mew, Donut and Mew's neighbor.

Tong finally breaks up with Donut but he can only claim friendship with Mew.

It is a moving story that features love and relationships. None of those Hollywood's fast and furious sex. Deeply touching yet meaningful.

I could sense that the non-Asian audience I spotted was too distraught at the end of the movie. He was perhaps bowled over by this poignant movie-piece and maybe he was expecting homo-eroticism and sex which was visibly absent.

I am assuming here of course.

A ReUnion With Past Nemeses
There was supposed to be a reunion with my Secondary 1 & 2 classmates. Benjamin Lingam rang me up to tell me about this. He is someone I remember alternating between the good and the bad guy. That class of mine had caused me much grief and pain.

You will remember that Chinese class of gansta but this reunion isn't with them but with that mixed bag of people. People like the obnoxious couple of Trevor Grosse and Joseph Philips.

Jeffrey Edwards became an insurance agent later on in life, wanted to sell me insurance which I turned down and duly apologized for making my life difficult back in school. "Sorry no cure" my friend.

Merwin Wilfred, teased no end in class for being Mr BigHead, was also a victim. So was Sunil Menon. Tan Soon Chuan to a certain extent. Charlie Foo, one of the bullies, is now a regular in the armed forces. The rest are apparently doing well.

Richard Dragon, Elcana Jacobs, Ramalingam, Franco Carlos (this guy had to work at the Pizzas to earn pocket money), Melvin D'Rozario, Achak Bradley, Trevor D Silva, Justin Llyod Fernadez , Hector Gomez, the couple of Martin Tay and De Souza (can't remember his Christian name at this moment) all variously jived and ribbed me.

Teachers like JL and Brother Dennis were no help and added on to my woes. Not that the Principal Edmund James was doing his job well either. (Was he demoted for some reason like this?)

Was it because they didn't like Chinese as a race? Or maybe they noticed me in primary school acting in girly jigs on Maria Teo's orders so they thought I was sissy?

For a time, I also went bonkers like them. I must say I don't particularly like them all except maybe for Redzwan and Tracy Bracken.

In Secondary 3 & 4, Tan Yew Tong and Boon Leong (both Malaysians) were no better bullies than the rest. There was always this group of Toh Choon Peng, Koh Kwee Ngee, Andrew Seah and sometimes James Lee who monopolise the class headed by Mr Peter Tan.

Colin Sebastian sat next to me and he was also an opinion-leader at some time.

They were the vocal and articulate ones, coming as they were from influential and well-to-do family backgrounds.

Sigh, what am I gonna do when I meet them?

What Do I Make Of These?
I guess at home, it was also a case of sibling rivalry. My brother and sisters. Imagine your own flesh and blood who are jealous of you. And don't wanna see you excel in school or work.

In school it must be the same too. I was always topping my Secondary 1 & 2 classes. That is why I was picked on.

At work too. You work harder and are better-performing and the likes of She-Ape and Shrill-Voice are also jealous. Or Choo Li Hiang. Even your bosses, who fear you may strike out on your own one day or be promoted over and above them. Because you are more capable.

There you have it folks. This is the "community of humans and people" for you.