Thursday, August 21, 2008
Egalitarianism & Moral Law
But it essentially means "asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, esp. in political, economic, or social life."
Thought the below was quite interesting...
Busy as I was, when Sandra sent it to me during the afternoon's dreary hours, I took some time off work to read it line by line...Mind you, I didn't just scan through hor.. ahha
==============
By Lee Wei Ling (daughter of LKY)
I was born and bred in Singapore. This is my home, to which I am tied by family and friends.
Yet many Singaporeans find me eccentric, though most are too polite to verbalise it. I only realised how eccentric I am when one friend pointed out to me why I could not use my own yardstick to judge others.
I dislike intensely the elitist attitude of some in our upper socio-economic class. I have been accused of reverse snobbery because I tend to avoid the wealthy who flaunt their wealth ostentatiously or do not help the less fortunate members of our society. I treat all people I meet as equals, be it a truck driver friend or a patient and friend who belongs to the richest family in Singapore. I appraise people not by their usefulness to me but by their character. I favour those with integrity, compassion and courage. I feel too many among us place inordinate emphasis on academic performance, job status, appearance and presentation.
I am a doctor and director of the smallest public sector hospital in Singapore, the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI). I have 300 staff, of whom 100 are doctors. I emphasise to my doctors that they must do their best for every patient regardless of paying status. I also appraise my doctors on how well they care for our patients, not by how much money they bring in for NNI. My doctors know I have friends who are likely to come in as subsidised patients. I warn them that if I find them not treating any subsidised patient well, their appraisal - and hence bonus and annual salary increments - would be negatively affected. My doctors know I will do as I say. I remind them that the purpose of our existence and the measure of our success is how well we care for all our patients - and that this is the morally correct way to behave and should be the reason why we are doctors. In NNI, almost all patients are given the best possible treatment regardless of their paying status.
My preference for egalitarianism extends to how I interact with my staff. I am director because the organisation needs a reporting structure. But my staff are encouraged to speak out when they disagree with me. This tends to be a rarity in several institutions in Singapore. The fear that one’s career path may be negatively affected is what prevents many people from speaking out. This reflects poorly on leadership. In many organisations, superiors do not like to be contradicted by those who work under them. Intellectual arrogance is a deplorable attitude. ‘Listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story,’ the Desiderata tells us.
It is advice we should all heed - especially leaders, especially doctors. I speak out when I see something wrong that no one appears to be trying to correct. Not infrequently, I try to right the wrong. In doing so, I have stepped on the sensitive toes of quite a few members of the establishment. As a result, I have been labelled ‘anti-establishment’. Less kind comments include: I am indifferent to these untrue criticisms; I report to my conscience; and I would not be able to face myself if I knew that there was a wrong that I could have righted but failed to do so. I have no protective godfather. My father, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, would not interfere with any disciplinary measures that might be meted out to me. And I am not anti-establishment. I am proud of what Singapore has achieved. But I am not a mouthpiece of the government. I am capable of independent thought and I can view problems or issues from a perspective that others may have overlooked.
A few months ago, I gave a talk on medical ethics to students of our Graduate Medical School. They sent me a thank-you card with a message written by each student. One wrote: ‘You are a maverick, yet you are certainly not anti-establishment. You obey the moral law.’ Another wrote: ‘Thank you for sharing your perspective with us and being the voice that not many dare to take.’ It would be better for Singapore’s medical fraternity if the young can feel this way about all of us in positions of authority.
After the SARs epidemic in 2003, the Government began to transform Singapore into a vibrant city with arts and cultural festivals, and soon, integrated resorts and night F1.
But can we claim to be a civilised first world country if we do not treat all members of our society with equal care and dignity?
There are other first world countries where the disparity between the different socio- economic classes is much more extreme and social snobbery is even worse than in Singapore. But that is no excuse for Singaporeans not to try harder to treat each other with dignity and care. After all, both the Bible and Confucius tell us not to treat others in a way that we ourselves would not want to be treated. That is a moral precept that many societies accept in theory, but do not carry out in practice.
I wish Singapore could be an exception in this as it has been in many other areas where we have surprised others with our success.
The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute.
Think-Tank is a weekly column rotated among eight heads of research and tertiary institutions.
prayers...
I pray that Horror of Horrors
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Sights of Siem Reap (III) - the ancient ruins
The lady...aiyah!! spoilt my picture!!! %$%&%^(*
And man-made steep stairs if the original stone steps have been worn away by years of erosion.
Check out how steep this one was...with only railings on one side...
And it was raining when I took this pic...Was concentrating really really hard when I was going down the stairs...Both hands were on the railings man hahaha..
It's a pity the pic turned out dark..Not a pro photographer lah ahhaa.
And here's another section of the Angkor Wat...
Reflected in a smaller pond within the compunds of the temple itself....
Hehe...
Some of the stairs are so steep, it's almost vertical...maybe close to 75-80 degrees....
You need to get use both hands & feet to climb...else you'll fall backwards....
Some are too steep and they don't allow anyone to climb..like this one in this pic
The Cambodians believe that palm trees are a symbol of goock and fortune...
Tired, sore & muddy feet... ahahha after lots of climbing & walking in the rain....:)))
Sights of Siem Reap (II) - the rural life
And in the areas nearer the bigger sections of the river, they build the houses on stilts..
Just in case the river swells and overruns its banks... Fishing Village of Tonle Sap, about a 10minute drive from the main city area of Siem Reap..
It was quite an overcast day...
Policemen making their patrol rounds in the fishing village...Secretly snapped....but I think the last policeman on the right saw me....hmm mm....;p
Oh yah...I saw a little boy in a boat wearing a yellow ACS singlet...wah lau..I went like HAR???
"ACS singlet ley!!!" I shouted to ahboy...He looked stunned too...and replied "Probably donated by some guy in Singapore and it somehow found it's way into this fishing village.." hahaha...possible possible...
Sights of Siem Reap (I) - the "city" life
"We don't serve dogs, cats, monkeys, rats or worms"
*faint* The more you proclaim, the more I won't step in hahaha...
*cough**splutter**hack*
But I am starting to believe that when you have a cough, you shouldn't eat chicken...
I had a craving for claypot chicken rice today...and so I had it for lunch.
Byt mid-afternoon, my dry cough developed into a cough with phelgm.
TMD...-_-''
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Conspiracy
From 1 plus to 3pm. I was working...
When I started getting drowsy from the medication at around 4pm, I decided I shold go have a nap.
And that was when the calls came. About 3 or 4 of them.
At regular intervals for the next hour.
Gosh. And no one was home to pick the calls except me.
The nap was aborted of course.
And a grouchy me plonked myself in my chair to read a book instead.
Bleah.
Needless to say, for thenext 45mins when I was reading my book, there were no more calls.
Double bleah.
Mingjie & Evelyn
It irritates the hell out of me and I'd always give him a gruff reply or just a grunt in acknowledgement..
Still, it doesn't faze him and he'd continue with whatever he's going to say...
Lol, what can I say? I can't jeopardise a 15-yr old friendship just because he calls me by me dialect name..,.and he knows it as well. haha...just continues to call me that.
He called me up when I was having my Kway Teow Noodles soup for dinner just now.
Chatted for awhile, updated each other on things....
But mostly it was updating about his health situation.
He was warded recently for a 1-day observation cos of chest pains...did some tests and found out that he's got irregular heartbeat.
Regularly irregular as he calls in. haha.....
More tests need to be done though to ascertain if there's any other underlying issues. Hmm...hope there's nothing serious...
Asked him how was Evelyn. And then he tells me that eh just went for a day-op a few days ago.
"Wah lau!!" I exclaimed..."What happened to the two of you???"
Turned out Eve had a cyst on her neck and had it removed...thank god that it's just a small issue...nothing serious.
It's been a year since I last saw the both of them...at their ROM.. haha.
It's funny how Eve used to be jealous and suspicious of me...especially when I'm MJ's listening ears if and when he has problems...
I've seen them come a long long way...Really, since like 9-10 years ago maybe?
And am happy for them that things finally turned out right for them last year... :)
Monday, August 18, 2008
Complain Queen
I had a working trip to KL in May. I had to fork out $700 on my own.
And till now they have yet to re-imburse me for my money spent.
I just checked my bank balance.
The claims were not paid together with my August salary...
Wah lau eh!!! If they only pay me in September, means they'll take 4 freaking months just to pay me this miserable sum of $$???
What about my opportunity costs lost? Who's gonna compensate me for that????
*seething*
Which reminds me. The $3K they owe me for my June trip has not come in yet too...
Woe behold me.
I told a friend that day that I had my funds tied up.
"Oh, in investments? shares? stocks?" she asked me.
"No, tied up in claims of which my finance department is taking a god damn long time to pay me back."
argh.................
Mind Over Body
It managed to keep me going for the past week and a half...
"Mind Over Body" has served me well in the past few years.
But alas, the body is weaker than expected...the mind is also not as young and strong as it used to be... hahah lol.
The sore throat's there fr the past 4 days..and a dry cough has developed.
A leaky nose appeared yesterday and it was aggravated by the indescribably cold office I have in Suntec Tower 3.
Lol, I'll be on MC tomorrow.
Though still armed with my trusty Lenovo X61 lappie at home...every ready to respond to any email which might crop up suddenly.
Come to think of it, it's my virgin time taking an MC in IDA.
Wah....record man. One full year without any MC...woo! Power!!
Whee~!!
Lol...I hear many say that. I hear many ask that. I hear many lament that.
I lament about it too sometimes.
And then at other times I try to find things to do...haha..could be something simple like just chilling out & stoning the day at Sentosa...
Or it could something like...............
Exploring the Southern Ridges!! ahhahaha
Or going to Bottle Tree Park!!! Heeee....there's prawn fishing there!
We should be heading to either of these 2 places in the last weekend of August when I don't have any French class...:)
Yet to do any research & planning yet though haha...
Looking forward to it!! :)))
Yipee!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Mr Wu Gui
Whether right up in front or lurking in the background. I'll just be there.
People who have disappeared for 1 or 2 years suddenly appear seeking help or just seeking a listening ear.
And in today's case. Someone who has disappeared for the past 1.5 to 2 years at least. Eversince he found a girlfriend.
I received a call on my mobile just now. 3pm on a Sunday afternoon.
That's extremely rare. The man wouldn't call me at this hour.
So I was wondering who the hell could it be? If it's one of those marketing calls, I'm gonna be a hostile bugger.
Ran from the kitchen to my room and saw the number. It was an overseas call.
It was even more perplexing. Who the hell could be calling me from overseas??
Was it a wrong number? A prank call?
Me: Hello??
And then a male voice said...."Hello?! Can I speak to Gao Jie??!!!"
OMG. It was Yiyong.
He's the only person in the whole wide world who calls me by that nickname.
It was abit of a shock to me. I could only muster up a "Where the hell have you been????" as my first response haha.
Rather, it was worded in a rather unpleasant Chinese sentence haha...."Ni3 Si3 Dao4 Na2 Li3 Qu4 Le4???"
Couldn't help it. Cos the bugger did not bother to contact me for the past 2 years ever since he had a girlfriend.
He didn't even wish my on my birthday!!! And we're only 10 days apart!
Nevertheless, I think I might be a person people go to when they're lonely or feeling down.
As was in this case. Lol. He's feeling kinda low and shitty.
2008 hasn't been very good to him I suppose.
Turned out that YY's back in Texas for another AirForce stint for 2 years.
Been there since Jan this year and will only be back in October 2009.
As we spoke on for the next 1.5 hours, I discovered he's single again, the girlfriend broke up with him only 4 months after he left SG.
And this happened even though promises were made and they already had plans to get married end of next year when he gets back home.
Sigh...the poor bloke has had relationship woes for as long as I can remember...
He as usual, is feeling lonely & homesick in Texas...
It's good to know in our 11 years of knowing each other that we're both as crappy with each other as when we were young & foolish 17 year-olds.
I remember when he called me on my 25th birthday from Texas (he had another overseas stint back then). I was super super touched.
And when he sms-ed me from overseas just before my brain operation. I was uber touched too...
Hearing his voice again after a hiatus of 2 years felt good...nice & warm. :)
The States & SG is about 13 hours apart so it was 3pm Sunday here in SG and 2am on Saturday in the States when he called me. Promised to call me again.
The only irritating thing is that there's a one second time lag in the phone connection between here & there.
I'll say a sentence and wait for him to respond to it haha...
I hope that goondu takes care of himself over there.
I hope he stops drinking & smoking & clubbing so much.
And I hope he manages to think through what he wants to do after his 10-year bond with the Air Force is up.
Looking forward to December when he'll be back for 2 months.
He promised a dinner & drinks appointment with me. I hope he follows through on it.
Take care over there my dear friend....
Yiyong..or affectiontely known to me as Wu Gui (turtle)...
W-E-I-R-D-O
Lol. Perhaps his account was hijacked by some other weirdo.
Mobile number & full name has been sanitised just in case I am accused of blasting out other people's numbers.
(1) His grasp of the English lingo is quite lacking.
(2) Who starts off a "pick-up" email by tlaking about panadols & peanut lotus soup??????
========
Good evening.just woken up from sleep after getting home at about 5plus .bit unwell so eaten two panadol after that go to sleep .you ended your wrk? just eaten dinner .eaten rice with peanut lotus soup for dinner.drink plenty of water as weather quite hot and stuffy.mind be a friend ?.let me intro myself first ... Andy XXXX XX here, 23yrs old Singapore Chinese guy , height 1.72m n weight 60kg .
Short profile of myself. Single.staying woodlands area .completed army last year sep . wrking in outdoor sale line for coke. Tend to care for others more and also be truthful to others .wrking hard and hope to get my car licence so can drive mitsubishi lancer .love to eat dim sum and drink Soya bean.hardly clubbing , maybe once a year ,no smoking .Sincerely hope you give me chance to know you more.sometime do help out in housechores.always tend to care put others ahead before me.i do drink but it like only abt twice in half a year .me quite love to eat nice food
hi . my friendtser always very hard to access in . log off suddenly . keep on trying to log in so can send you this message you can sms me at 8222XXXX if you don mind .Sincerely hope able to recieve your sms .
Am i allowed bring you cross over to malaysia to eat next time or perhap in time to come ?Do known of famous stall selling herbal roast duck , japanese food , secret recipe and also bu kut teh.next time bring you go try .you like bu kut teh ?
When you are free i make fried "BEER" chicken wing for you to try .
sincerely hope can bring you go eat nice food next time
twitterings on a sunday
Puffy from last night's crying at the movies...bleah!!
Throat is still scratchy, think I should have a few water parade sessions today.. haha
Mum made barley water today...shall gulp lots of it to cool myself down..
======
Am a little jittery, nerves twitching, restless and I feel like there's pent-up energy in me waiting to be released...
Hmm should I go for a run later? The bed seems a nice companion too though haha...
======
Went for a run after class yesterday...
Went over to Marine Parade where ahboy picked me up...
Wasn't feeling a 100% okay with a slightly stuffed nose and a sore throat...
But surprisingly, I managed to run quite okay haha...
Thought I'd be out of breath by the time I hit 1.5km...Managed to tahan till more than 2.5km haha....
Ahboy did't run yesterday..lol. He brought his John Grisham book along, sat on a stone bench and waited for me to be done haha...
I call this a role-reversal....hahahaaaa. Woohoo!!
======
Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" has managed to keep me hooked to it.
I was on the train yesterday, rumaged through my school bag and realised I forgot to bring the book along...
Man..it was a disappointing train ride!! haha...
======
Shit, mum cooked Mee Siam today.
Hmmmm....not good for a queasy tummy & my throat! hahaha
======
Ok, I shall try to be a patriotic citizen and watch the table-tennis finals this evening.
Afterall, PM Lee has even gottan the TV stations to postpone the telecast till tomorrow evening instead....
I'll try to feel proud if we really get gold. Really I'll try even if those playing for SG were all not born & bred in SG?
Hmm..did I start on a touchy subject?

What can I say. I'm in the mood for lovin'.
And yes, please think straight for those who have a tendency to do otherwise.
I miss the man already. And it's only been an hour since I last saw him. Lol.
Love this cute lil' pic because of the lamb in it.
I don't know why.
I like lambs & monkeys in cartoons & soft toys but not in their real form. Hehe.
Money No Enough 2
Thought I was in for an easy show.....easy on the mind and laughter for the soul.
Gosh. I think I ended up crying more than laughing.
For those who have watched.
The part where the Mother asked Ah Hui "Have you eaten?" umpteen times....
It was something I could emphathise with. Gran does that all the time.
Though not with such a short interval between each question.
She'll ask the same question about 3-4 times in 30 mins.
The last 30mins of the show seriously worked my tear ducts....
This time round, the show is 90% in Hokkien. I dunno, I found it a little too much.
Haha...heng I could understand most of it...
And still, Jack Neo has touched on issues close to Singaporeans' hearts.
Edged with the usual political nuances of course.
And the usual human side of things people know of but don't usually acknowledge.
Sigh.
Just found out that French test is the coming Saturday.
I thought it was on 30th August.
Sigh.
I don't think I have enough time to revise.
Argh.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Coming of Age...??
The point in time where you realise shit, I'm hitting the Big Three-O sooner than soon.
And the point of time in your life where you take a look back at your few years of working and wonder "What have I done anything significant??"
Slight sore throat, slightly leaky nose.
Slightly swollen tired eyes and aching shoulders.
It's really different being 28 and 24.
When I was 24, I could "cheong" late nights and still have energy for the next day.
I could work long OT, I could hang out with ahboy & friends till 2am and still get up bright & chirpy for work the next day...
At 28, after a few days of working doubly hard...wah, sibei shack man!!!
Haa ahhaha....
I need chicken essence & gingko biloba!!! hahah...
Of nicks & monikers & pet names??
aka purpleskies
aka C-Hole
aka nana
aka Cherry
Hmm..what more shall we add to the list...
Muahahhaha.....*evil laughter*
==================
Michelle
aka shell
aka sardonica
aka giap or giappy or giap giap
aka datou or big head
gosh, I hope there's no more nicks coming along the way.....:)
Books Glorious Books!
And I can be prety anal when it comes to my own books.
Lol. I was just having a conversation with Sandra in the afternoon... haha...
Was sharing with her that all my books are wrapped in plastic...I hate my books looking like dog-eared moth-eaten tattered literary pieces.
And I read my books in such a way that I try not to create any creases in the spine of the book.
The cover of the book needs to be protected as well, no creases there too....else it'll just break my
heart... ahhaa...
I just did a count...there's 33 books on my shelf...vying for space with my age-old CDs...
Oh yah, I have 4 books floating out there somewhere.
Two have been with an ex-bf for the past few years. I think they've migrated and are never coming back. Sigh.
Another is with a current colleague. And the last one is with an ex-colleague and has been with her for the past 2 years at least...I hope to get this one back though....It's the "5 people You Meet In Heaven" by Mitch Albom.
My hands are itchy..I feel like buying some more...But I don't really have spare space on my shelves already...:(
Sandra asked me why I wanna buy books. I said it's nice to own a book. It just feels nice.
And I feel happier reading a nice new book with clean pages and straight spines and covers with straight edges.
I'm anal I know. Hahaha..
Oh yah! And I hope I am being a god influence to the man. Lol, he's the owner of 2 John Grisham novels already....Which was an unheard of thing if it were 4 years back hahaha lol....;p
Am currently reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. This is his 2nd novel after critically acclaimed and full-blown success of "The Kite Runner".
The setting is still in Afghanistan in the same era as that of The Kite Runner.
I've yet to read enough to know the full storyline though. And I did not read any synopsis just so I really read it with a clean slate of mind without any preconceived notions & expectations haa...
But I do know, it's yet another simply written novel. Centering around human emotions.
Of love lived and lost. Of hopes alive and dashed. Of resignation, faith and dogged perserverence.
Think I shall go bathe now & then have a round of reading before I go to bed.
Work can be done tomorrow....:)
Meat Meat Meat Meat Meat Meat
I feel meaty now.. haha...as in I'm full of meat.
Beef, ham, fish, salads...and my fav sauteed onions!!
Needless to say, I went to Brazil Churrascaria @ 6th Avenue..
I can't spell the name of the restaurant for nuts, just trying my luck & hoping I got it right haha...
Me & Glenn counted. I think it's about the 4th or 5th time we've been there as a group...Hee.
I had a lot of beef today. Ranging from well-done cuts to medium well to medium rare...
The medium rare pieces left patches of blood on my plate haha....much to the queasiness of Chloe!
Lawrence joined us today...1st time he's joined us on our outings...=))
But glad he came haha...
Jenice as usual looked pretty with her glitter eyeshadow & perfect complexion!! haha....
It's a pity Ah Kok couldn't make it at the last moment....I'd looked forward to seeing the old man...
Miss him!! He ran off after only about 30 mins at the previous gathering too....
Sexual innuendos and mindless chatter
Picture-taking and funny faces
Happy laughter and firm friendships
Private jokes and chirpy banter
It's nice to end a tough work week on such a note.
The weekend's here. I brought work home again this week.
But time to switch to French mode for tomorrow. Hmmm hope she doesn't question about homework. It's nil for me. Argh, the test is at the end of the month, I've not started any revision....!!!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Crossfire
And for close to 15 mins, there was a verbal crossfire between 2 people. Between a lady & a gent.
With 13 or 14 others as spectators.
Sigh. Both are my teammates.
Bad blood spilleth over.
It was a tense and awkward situation. The boss had to step in.
The rest were stealing glances at each other. Wondering what happened.
I was sitting next to the guy.
I didn't know what else to do but to keep my head low and stare at my laptop in front of me.
If this persists between the two of them, it will be detrimental in the long run.
Gosh.
The lady SMS-ed me just now when I was on my way home.
Asked me if the guy didn't like her. Asked me if she had stepped on his toes unknowingly.
Asked me why he was so hostile towards her.
Told me that the way he treats me is so different from the way he treats her.
I don't want to be caught in between these two.
Not healthy at all for the team. Both me & some others are caught in the middle.
Come to think of it. Both are older than me. Piangzz.
Both have worked a combined total of 30 years.
And now this kind of situation.
I don't quite know how to handle it. Letting things remain the way it is no go.
Getting them to talk things out is not for me to suggest.
So?? No conclusion. Sigh.
Oh yes, the guy is a Dragon. The lady's a Dog.
Dogs & Dragons don't mix I suppose...hmm mm.
Coach for men?
I saw a guy carrying a black coach postman bag today.
And it totally looked weird to me.
I dunno. Coach on a guy just seems plain weird.
And I saw a guy using a Coach long wallet the other day too.
And it was equally weird to me.
Nah, I think BIZARRE is the correct word to use. haha.
The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.
sibei motivating! haha...
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Day
My morning post about the day being seemingly better probably jinxed the rest of the day. lol.
I was 101% a grouchy bear whilst on my way home.
Pondering about the unfinished tasks on my plate.
I felt a sudden sudden urge to go jogging whilst on the train.
And so I went.
It took up some time.
But I'm glad it gave me the much needed adrenalin to keep the night going strong.
And it's been proven again.
I run better & more steadily when I feel agitated or stressed. haha.
I have been distracted.
I am supposed to be working on something now.
A paper to be submitted tomorrow morning.
I have not started on it at all.
FCUK.
Ok, off I go.....ciaos.
Can Do Can Do - We Can Do It If We Set Our Hearts To It!
Very animated. Very vocal. Very comedic. Very loud. Very affable.
I sat there for 1h45mins. He talked for each & every second of it.
It's still a little fresh in my mind. And I had some take-aways fron the short workshop.
But whether or not I take action & work on it...remains to be seen.
The talk was about mindsets, perspectives & expectations. About how one is conditioned since young to bahave in a certain way.
About how winners & successful people break out of their conditioning to think new paths, break new grounds & try out innovative ideas.
Daring to dream was a main focal point.
The brain is an incubator...whether the eggs hatch into useful ideas or not.....
Depends largely on how you believe in yourself and how determined you are into putting your thoughts into actions.
What you turn out to be in life is determined by 2 things:
(1) The way you think
(2) Whether you DO or not
Can-Do versus Can-Die.
It doesn't matter how many times someone says "No" to you. What matters are those who say
"yes" to you.
And I like this point he made about setting goals.
The best goals you can set for yourself are those which when people hear of them, they say "You're nuts!!!"
Lol.
I had some of those before. But I'd rather call them day-dreams....
I guess....I'm ever the true-blue Singaporean.
Pessimistic, skeptical, selfish and ever complaining.
He asked who wrote down their goals. nobody put up their hand. Perhaps we were shy.
He encouraged us to do so. To jot down our goals. To read thjem regularly and take stock.
I'm glad to say I have been doing that on my own already.
Doesn't matter if I fall short of some. I guess the crux is that I'm trying? :)
And you know what? Adrian's email prefix is daretodream.
My big brother...who has always been strong in the heart and mind. We're so different...hmm mm.
One Years Old
How time flies really.
The 1 year has made me some good friends.
People whom I can absolutely crap around with and people whom I know I can turn to for help if problems arise.
HC has been a great help in work...
From solving my issues, to providing insight...to having long discussions over tea...
I've now developed a very good crapping rapport with him...Talking nonsense has never been so fun lol...He starts off a sentence to have me finish it and vice versa...
It's great that we're on the same wavelength! However warped our sense of humour may be haha...
KH has been wonderful...think I freaked him out when I started crying on the phone with him a few months back haha....
But he's since proven to be a good listening ear.....hehe...
In my short year, I've seen 3 people go...and many others join...
Really hope I don't get to see the day HC leaves..
And well..hope I make more good friends in the next year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years......in IDA???
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Quotable Quotes

Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Back!!! to reality...........
Nous sommes restee pour 4 jours mais il ne fait pas tres beau.
Il a pleure tous les apres-midis. *xianz*
Je serai mettre les photos bientot...
Je suis fatiguee...Je veux me coucher maintenant..
Au revoir...zzzzz
~~~~~~~~~
Voila! I've already back from Cambodia.
We stayed there for 4 days but the weather wasn't very good.
It was raining every afternoon. *xianz*
I'll put up the photos soon....
I'm tired...I want to go and sleep now...
Bye...zzzzz
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
DQ...the resurrected memory
At least those I know look much younger than their age...
Spending 3 full workdays with the 2 vendors suddenly made me realise how much Danny reminds me of Daniel Quek.
Younger than me...shy...doesn't speak much but has a sense of humour...
This Dan I know of now is much more shy though and a little more awkward around me...And he definitely doesn't know how to sweet-talk a lady...
Maybe he's 4 years younger. DQ was only 2 years younger then..
Sheesh. Why am I still thinking of DQ on and off?
That happened 6 years ago already...
Sigh. Maia wrote about it in My Paper today. About how human beings lust after things they cannot get or are forbidden to get. And it's human nature to be like that.
Perhaps that was the case with DQ then...a slight yearning for something which could have been.
For something which slipped through the cracks. Lost into the crevice within.
The cracks which were already fully visible when things started stirring.
Thought I let it go already...it's funny how Dan dredged up memories of DQ from somewhere in mind.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
I will not touch you for the next 5 or maybe 6 days.
May you keep growing and glowing.
Bonne nuit et à bientôt! Good night and see you soon!
Whimsically yours,
Michelle
ooooh!
Cos I need to wake at 315-330am in the middle of the night...or should I say early in the wee hours of the next morning?....
Flight's at 6am...so gotta be at the airport at 430am??
zzzz.......
Half-packed haha.
Angkorwat here I come!!!
fuzzy wuzzy
My eyes are gonna pop out of their sockets anytime soon....
Just gonna risk a few more minutes playing a few moves on scrabbulous before I head to bed...
Darn shack.
Another full day of testing tomorrow again...
1976
Normally genial, out-going, friendly, easy-going with a good sense of humour.
But risk incurring their wrath, stepping on their tails or getting in their bad books....
And you'll be horribly burnt.
I've seen it happen. I've experienced it with the man as well.
And lol. I saw it happen yesterday again.
HC blew his top at the vendors...I can understand where he's coming from though...
When he's pissed...I don't mind being near him. I am just mighty glad I am not at the receiving end. haha.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Jet-setting family?
It it's not me, then it's the parents.
Gosh. Macham we're rich folks. haha.. lol...
I'll be in Cambodia while Adrian will be in the States.
When we're back, a few weeks later, the folks will be off to Genting again.
And when they're back. Adrian will be heading to Germany.
Gosh.....
04082008
Woes
I don't know when but there came a point in time when I stopped counting.
Stopped counting the XXth time she was warded.
I started counting sometime in 2006 perhaps.
And I think I stopped sometime end last year when it reached a double digit figure.
This time round, it's...
Water in the lungs
Wheezing
Weak heart
Her mind's going in a certain way.
But then again, sometimes she gives you such a quick retort you take a step back and wonder if she's really losing it actually.
At other times, she gives you such a biting reply you can't find a quick enough comeback.
She spoke very badly of Mum just now. Told Dad & Adrian about it and of course we all agreed to keep Mum out of the loop.
Gran was in a "mind not very well" state when I went to see her just now.
I was alone and I thanked God for it.
She accused Mum of having an affair. Started shouting in bed about how she "saw" Mum going out with other men and sleeping with them.
I asked her. How can you possibly see anything when you're in the Home 24 hours a day?
You don't believe me??? she said. I got a guy to take photos. I saw those photos!!!
If that's not evidence what is?
(You see at times like this, you wonder if her mind's really going or not. It was really a quick comeback answer)
I was embarrassed and indignant at the same time.
When she went on, I had to shout at her to stop.
"Stop it. Enough is enough." I said.
I have never ever spoken in such a tone to Gran before. She finally shut up.
I was suddenly glad the curtains of the bed next door was drawn. At least I didn't have to bear the gaze of others on me.
But I could feel them wondering about this little escapade...
How could she say such things about her daughter-in-law? One who has cared for her all these years? Unflinchingly? Mum could have just let her rot all these years but she didn't.
She took care of her together with Dad...and they both have made various sacrifices on their parts.....
I did not know the prejudice Gran has for Mum was so deep.
To rile about someone even while you're in a senile state of mind.
It goes to show some feelings and pre-set ideas run way too deep in the mind, no?
Sigh. Dad was a little upset when I told him about it. Adrian found it slightly amusing.
I being the witness of it all, felt exasperation, anger, sadness, frustration.
As the Chinese saying goes...One's your palm, the other's the back of your hand.
Sigh...I am angry at Gran but then again, I can't really blame an old lady for being senile at times right?
Sigh.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Argh...
Slept for 3 hours in the afternoon.
Don't know why.
Took temperature and my normal temperature of 36.7C did not flash on the thermometer....
It was at 37.0C just now.
I feel warm the whole day. Argh.
Ahboy just called. Sounded tired & xian too.
He's not feeling well today too. Grumpy, tired & sleepy & lethargic.
Hmm...hope we didn't spread anything to each other?
We were still mighty fine when we went for a jog at ECP last evening...
We were still munching on Ben & Jerry's Cheesecake Brownie ice-cream while watching a Korean DVD...
Argh.
I'm tired again. I wanna go sleep.
A Post for Tazzee
Lol, still mad about running I see....
Saw the Sengkang pool pics!
When's our next beer or noodles session again? lol...
Do take care till we next meet yah...
*grins*
Have You Ever
Felt sad and happy at the same time?
Felt like laughing and crying at the same time?
Been trapped in your own skin?
Been curtailed by your own thoughts?
Been restricted by your own actions?
Wished to be stronger?
Wished to be better?
Wished to be cleverer?
Wanted to be somewhere else?
Wanted to do something else?
Wanted to be something else?
Thought that you were meant to be something greater?
Thought that you were not supposed to be doing what you're doing right now?
Thought that you might be better off doing other things?
Imagined?
Hoped?
Prayed?
Asked?
Sought?
Tried?
Contemplated?
Au Cambodge
Mais d'abord, je dois travailler pour 3 jours....de lundi a mecredi...
Sigh...je ne veux pas voir les patrons.
Je ne veux pas aller mon bureau.
=(
Friday, August 01, 2008
Mid Afternoon Tiredness
And especially when I’ll be seeing the man later this evening…!!
Woot Woot!!
==========
But still a slightly weird tummy though....hmm mm… bleah...
Yesterday - The Beatles
One of the most popular songs by them...
Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles
Brit pop and alternative music has been strong since decades ago.
The Verve did a cover of this song too I think.
Adrian & I used to like this song...
He was 22 I think...and I was 17. He'd play it on his hifi in his room and I'd run in to listen only to have him shoo me out cos he said he wanted his PRIVACY hahha...
Please Mr Postman - The Beatles
I love this song....
When I was young I used to sing some parts of it to irritate my mother...lol.
Super retro.
I guess these 4 were the original boy band.
Michelle - The Beatles
What can I say?
Michelle's a common name. But that's cos it's a nice name. Haha lol..
It's been immortalised in many a song...
But I suppose, this is the song which comes to mind the most often...
I used to have a male Malay colleague who sang the chorus to me everytime he saw me or when his mood felt like it...
I have not kept in touch with him for the past 4 years sice I left Ducktours.
But he suddenly popped up in my mind quite a few times over the last few days...
And when he pops up in my mind...this song naturally comes to my mind too.
Paul McCartney was kinda cute when he was younger...
"Sont Les Mots Qui Vont Tres Bien Ensemble, Tres Bien Ensemble"
I finally know...these are the words that follow the phrase "Michelle My Belle"
And the credit goes to....
A big thank you~! haha...;p
For solving my HTML woes this morning...
Lol...Ok, next time if "li" and "/li" gives problems...
I'll use the "br" function instead....
Hahaa...what an impromptu html tutorial...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Asian Seafood Sensation
Taught by Chef Wilfred Fam from the Raffles Courtyard...specialises in seafood.
Starter
Fried Scallop. Sliced and placed all around the plate.
Interspersed with sliced Strawberry, Kiwi & Mango.
Topped with a sauce made up mainly of Plum sauce and finely chopped Lemongrass, Garlic, Lime leaves, Chilli padi and Ginger flower.
Effect?
Sweet, Sour, Slight Saltiness because of the Scallop
Absolutely refreshing & unique!
Main
Plain white rice.
Topped with sliced Shitake, Button and Oyster mushrooms in a white wine and chicken stock sauce.
Accompanies by sauteed diced white onions.
Topped also with pan seared crabmeat lightly coated with butter, salt & pepper.
Surrounded by lightly planched broccoli.
And finally covered with Parmesan and Mozarella cheese which was flame-melted with a hand-held burner.
Effect?
The mushrooms tasted wonderful and blended very well with the buttered crabmeat.
Super aromatic!! The cheese was a little "over-flamed" but nevertheless stil lprovided for a great munch-munch texture.
Dessert
Caramelised Bananas wrapped in a thin crepe
Topped with Vanilla Ice-Cream
Effect?
Am not a fan of bananas so well...nothing great here.
The ice-cream was nice though. Apparently home-made by one of Raffles Hotels' chefs.
And the best thing is...Haha..
The moment I got home, I had a tummyache.
It's 1230am nmow..and my tummy still feels a little weird...
Shit...meeting ahboy tomorrow night...hope my tummy regains its health for tomorrow...:)

