spellthydemise

 1.

The dismal of losing student privileges especially in the area of transport led me to the discovery of an uncanny truth.

I was at Bugis one day preparing to board bus 7 to Bedok Interchange and the arrival board notified me that the next bus would be coming in 15min while the bus stop guide indicated that Bedok Interchange would be the first stop in the next fare tier which translate to 20cents more fot that one more stop. Reasoning that I could save 20cents by walking to the next bus stop at Stamford Primary, I proceeded to walk since the bus was only going to arrive 15min later whether I walked or rot. It made perfect sense at that moment that 1 less stop would shift the thing up so there would be less stages to my destination. To my utter dismal, I realised the fare was the same even though the number of stops were less. On closer inspection, I realised the interchange more often than not happens to be the start of a new fare stage no matter what bus you're on. 

So apparently, SBS has cleverly disguised (okay I don't know whether it's really it's disguised or maybe the whole wide world knew it long before me thus making me extremely paranoid) the fares such that those going all the way to the end would pay more than if they had got off 1 stop early. 

Cross referencing with the fact that the bus fare system works in that they assume you are going all the way to the end wherever you get on to tap and charge you the maximum before reimbursing you the balance when you tap down, I think they just want to get the most out of every unwitting party that forgets to tap out - typically all the students who just lost their student privileges and are not accustomed to tapping out. So it's like when you forget to tap out you think your fare would not be affected since your destination is just a couple of stops away from the interchange, in reality the bus company is taking your extra 10 to 20 cents together with your absent-mindedness.




2.

I've these great big ugly ulcers on the side of my tongue that's really killing me. Three clustered around the same small area to be precise. I can't eat or speak properly because they happen to rest nicely on the part of my taste buds that's supposed to do most of the tasting. It's been there for nearly a week now and I am extremely deprived of good food. They are so disgusting that if I were to snap a few pictures and post them up here, this blog is going to get an NC16 or M18 rating from the SIngapore censorship board. Ouch.. 

Ulcers go away.



3.

Once again time did it again. It slipped through the fabrics of itself and poof, quite a number of my good buddies are shaving their heads and heading (pun?) in (or out) to serve time for the country this week, otherwise they're already in. Which again brings me back to the realisation that I've got more than 3months left.

What a pain of a wait, or a wait of a pain. 

To all you good buddies (or non-buddies), all the best in NS!

Do it for the country. Otherwise do it because you have to.




4.

I recently created a new blog to host some of my works and it debuts with a few photography shots thanks to Mr Shuen who gave me a short but effective Lightroom session so I can do some simple editing without the use of Photoshop because I totally screwed up my attempts on it. Do note that I'm not really a photography person but I'm still trying very hard to figure out how to use the other applications for doodling purposes so none of that up there for the moment. I'm posting them up on a blog because it is more navigation (I don't think there's any actually) friendly. Do leave comments if you like and here's the link:

http://crimsonplaces.livejournal.com

 Hmm crazy stuff. Incoherent and potentially sensibility damaging post ahead.

Despite my attempts to write things down to bring greater order or thus lower entropy through different medias such as Post-it Digital Notes and so on, it's only proving futile as the day rode on. The yellow memo-pad only brought more mental pandemonium with the limited thirty as countdowns play and fiddle with suspense and well, counting. 

Now despite the irrational towel throwing, a terabyte cannot hold the weight of two hundred percent. Now then, technology presented IntuosFOUR and now it lay in wait for the creator of technology to input input to reap output. Been waiting and trying and somehow four seemed befitting of another four and not two but digits lay culpable again. Now, now, what happened to greenback and paperbacks? Awaiting awaiting the latest spate somehow deny that together with three months. 

Three months of opportunity costs on display. Half of another approximately hundredth dedicated to research and search fell upon realisation of acute similarity. New faces, new facts, old technology, old-school films. New in old and then what's new old? New old is the new new while news remain new in the current context. Another half boiled response. 

Playing playing and the next day approach contains holes and a faraway land that could soon become familiar. Then proceed the next familiar and old which is yet again a travel complication to bring about the lowest. Potentially one more or no more at that. Weird and more travelling on foot.

The gist as of current is uncertainty. There lay a land unfound and unexplored while here lay another piece. Too many pieces cannot piece any simple nor difficult jigsaw puzzles. Puzzling puzzling. Nature's puzzled. Or should it be plundered instead? 

Speaking of plunder, what's to plunder when it's an institute of giving? In the name of vested interest, it's pretty retarded how one can view non-profit using Economics and corporate views. It's like marking an essay with Oral rubics. So then comes the belief that 2 drink stalls cannot operate side by side as cannot 2 charities in the same area because the underprivileged would thus receive too much help and become non-underprivileged thus driving both charities out of business. Satire intended, but then again, since when do charities and business appear on same sentences? It's like you don't donate stuff to the poor anymore because your neighbour just did. Logical enough only if the neighbour just covered food supplies for everyone for the rest of the year such that the term "hungry people" becomes a myth. It's funny, but I'm seeing too much 'business' and 'corporate' proliferating into all corners of society. Too bad too sad just said can't retract. 

Okay go make sense. All makes perfect sense to me up there, there and there. 



"Ciao." said the Italian. 

"Ciao? Tsao!" went the Greek in greek.





And what's an Australia Day?

Now I'm really torn as to which to go for.

Anyway, the past few days have been pretty crazy that I don't even have much time for work. Finally concluded my work for Nielsen's today and I am once again officially jobless. Still waiting for news regarding internship at Asian Film Archive but I guess till then I'd just be unemployed again and not look for a new job till at least a week later. 

Been burning money faster than a cigarette factory on fire and after getting a Wacom, figures my bank account's still going to be in severe deficit after taking into account payday day. I'm just hoping I am making the right investments.

This is probably going to be my shortest post ever but I'm going to spend some time trying to finish reading Photoshop and go on to borrow Illustrator from the library.

And decide to go for I or B:/





edit (Add on): Everyone's going Hong Kong but me. Someone exile me back

In the wake of current happenings, I think I have lost the ability to be an integral part of the social system. I have not been exercising what is known as "hanging out" much with anyone as I've recently taken a particular tendency to isolate myself from any form of social activities. Particularly if you are from VJ and don't live in the west side of Singapore, last contact would probably have been the end of A levels or the last gathering if there was one. I apologize to all who have been SMS-ing me and getting nil replies but I'll most probably be there for any gatherings but it's just that well, I don't feel like punching the reply button (well, sorry). In any case, I've long come to the conclusion that I am losing contact with the face of this planet.

That aside, I'll just like to state that I've not become emo, depressed or any psychologically unpleasant ailments. I've not been staying at home too much till I've become a sick kitten or anything. In fact I think I've been out almost everyday doing stuff and well, working. I've been talking to a bunch of strangers regarding requirements of my line of work and while I think I possess the skills to communicate effectively, the thing is I really hate communicating with strangers. I realized I portray myself well as a healthy extrovert (especially since 4/5 of paying jobs I have taken up so far requires approaching and communicating with strangers), but reality states the exact opposite.

I'm torn as to whether I should continue working since I have all the way until May which is a really long time before my enlistment to put out fires. While working has its benefits and I do not deny working has fed me more practical education than 12 years of schooling actually did any good to me, it's also curbing my developments in other areas as it entails a certain level of sian-ness that discourages me from doing anything else. I'm still fat as a piece of crap and I need to get my physical back, I have not truely explored the usage of the DSLR which I have the privilege of loaning from Mr Shuen, pretty stuck at guitar since that 1 lesson from Shawn and he's damn busy now, still only 10% through with "The Lucifer Effect", still have not got round to learning Photoshop and Indesign although I got the guidebook already, not been memorising anything for fun and I'm giving myself too many self-declared off-days from work.

My sister recently got back her O level results and I think she's feeling pretty unsatisfactory for herself:( Brings me back to the realisation that it would be my turn to in just a couple of months. I've been lucky for 2 national examinations but I seriously doubt I'd be able to pull this one off especially since all subjects are taken into account for.

Now, why does the future seem too close for comfort?

I was contemplating between posting the last post for 2009 or the first post of 2010 and I guess this would just belong to the latter.

A year back, my new year post went like this:

"I spent the last few minutes of 2008 in a sea of sweaty bodies waiting for the sky to ignite to mark the end of the old and the start of the new. And I spent the first few seconds of 2009 basking in a few minutes of euphoria before feeling sick to the gut at the four hours I had to go through just to catch a glimpse of some spectacular fireworks I could well have witnessed from my own humble abode on the 25th floor and the post-celebration that was getting the home ordeal from marina.

Definitely not my way of popping the champagne for the new year."


So from then on i swore off extremely crowded places like Vivocity, CDB, Siloso Beach and the sorts while ushering the new year. I'd either do it with a group of friends or just stay home and rot. I've thus been accused of being extremely party-spoiler for being extremely grouchy when everyone's all hyped and high.

This year(last year for that matter) I spent it at Shirui's house with the rest of 4C'07 with steamboat, alcohol, Vasantham Central, Da Vinci code, Charades, cards, Mahjong, Lormee's nonsensical ramblings and a birthday cake for Mr Shuen who finally turns 18 on new year's day. Point to note is that I also lost $20 because Lemin decided she should come for the gathering/steamboat/countdown to extort some money from me.
A couple of us stayed over and we went West Coast Park only to find it extremely overpopulated up till the point cars had to crawl through the Macdonald's drive-through. So much for efficient and fast food. People were settled along the whole stretch of the seaside and even having BBQ at 3am in the morning. In fact, I've never seen WCP so crowded before on all my trips there. I was already on power saver mode at that point of time while the guys (notably Ziyi) were doing crazy things in the sand. Went to Mac for some drinks and went back to sleep after that.

Yea so basically I spent the rest of new year in bed and doing nothing worth mentioning thereafter. There's going to RV big walk tomorrow and frankly I do not feel like walking the distance. My blister on my big toe exploded and now the blood's clotting up underneath my skin and I don't think I can run much until it goes away. Been getting really fat and weak (as Zhiler would have most delightedly put it) ever since 2 years ago. Honestly, studying and schooling makes people retarded and unhealthy. I only recently started running again and I am already bombarded with injuries which utterly destroys my exercising regime. I'm still trying to hit my sec4 fitness level and I'm still stuck at 16.30min for 3.6km at my best now.

This shall be the year that there'll be no more schooling to inhibit the things I want to do so I am really intending to treasure it. While it may seem like some new year resolutions are underway, I'm not intending to make any. I'll just try to seize everyday as it comes and stop wasting my time on retarded things. Somehow, when we make new year resolutions and cross reference them with those of yesteryears, it brings a cynical view how most items are duplicated meaning how the year has not been as fruitful as it was meant to be once again.

And now I can no longer enjoy student transport fare, I'll just have to resign to not taking long bus-rides as I used to to explore around Singapore alone. And that really sucks.

So yea, here's to a good year ahead to all:)

Happy 2010!







(picture credits to Jolene)

I’m officially through with my second job for December. Quite a feat considering many people still have not even started working. And the best part of it was I wasn’t even looking for a job at that point in time. Spent a good two days at Pasir Panjang ferry terminal doing traffic surveying and another 9 at Shell petrol station promoting some promotion. It’s been extremely tiring since it was 11 successive days of work without a pause beat clocking over 100 hours of work time (in that I was supposed to be at work).
Traffic surveying was easily a miserably dry and boring job which made me wake up 4am because the foreign workers start work at 5.30am as they board the ferry to Bukom to work. It paid decent and was a paradise job as compared to work at Shell.

The job at Shell was by far the most tiring and physically demanding job I’ve taken up so far( and I thought the surveying job back in 2007 for ML was bad). The first day at work made me dread the rest of the days somewhat more than A levels did. Each person employed was deployed to one station each meaning no friends to work with plus the prospects of standing almost 8 hours straight seemed pretty bad. But somehow I pulled through. It was my first time working with people that are of a totally different generation and somehow I managed to click with them. It was also the first time I actually used Cantonese to communicate primarily outside of my own family members. I think no one actually really speaks English amongst the staff working there and I had to use my lousy Chinese to talk and chat with most of them. I felt really bad today when part-time uncle bought me an expensive box of chocolates after I bought some chocolates and drinks for the staff I spent 9 days working with to thank them. I gave it to him first because his shift ended before mine. But I really have to thank Shyan Ann for the job recommendation as the experience gained was really invaluable. Like how one of the patrons mentioned, as we grow older and keep looking forward, we would not have the chance to understand the toughness and feelings of one of these workers unless we have been in their shoes before. It also served as a good platform for exploring the types of human behaviors embedded in social class disparities.

And now I am currently jobless and I cannot find another job. I turned down an events helper job for ML again and sort of ‘forgot’ to contact the person regarding a telemarketing job Jon introduced me to. Internships are as hard as hell to find because I don’t hold an undergraduate status or diploma or degree. This significantly adds on to my regret of going to JC and I really doubt the usefulness of wasting 2 years on an A level cert.

The last few days after my work concluded have been pretty much busy catching up with friends and burning money on stuff. Despite that, there’s still a whole bunch of people I havn’t even had the chance to talk to or meet up with yet. There’s still a whole lot of stuff like I want to do. There’s a venture I’m thinking of engaging in but it’s kind of risky and well it’s still a thought.

Been walking around aimlessly around Singapore too and exploiting my bus pass before it expires and I came across quite a lot of interesting things and articles along especially along the Beach Road/ Bugis stretch. Came across this cool shop called Cat Socrates at Bras Basah that sells very cool stuff (don’t know how to describe lah) and another at Anchorage which sells all the Settler’s café sort of games as well as more cool stuff. I really don’t mind working in such cool places or maybe work with people who actually create such stuff:) Yea, maybe I should just give up my whole academic prospects and delve into the designing and advertising field. Well, it’s a thought.

Ah crap. My internet's down till 17th Dec. It died. Without so much as a smothering last blink or anything, it left this world in peace leaving 5 dependents drowning in pure hysteria.

Thanks Singtel-.- After the perpetual calls to your friendly customer services and having you sent your big burly fellows down to check the wires and all only to have it die out on connection after their very departure. What a fairy tale ending.

I'm currently on Wireless@SG at the much more friendly national library beside my house but it doesn't do good in letting me watch X Factor, Shane Dawson or Heroes online. This is getting irritating. I can't do this everyday for 3 weeks.


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On a lighter note, the pseudo post A levels day have been nothing short of endless fun. Went to Vivocity and encountered some rowdy and bored International students as mentioned in the previous post. Went cycling at ECP in the hot sweltering heat the next day and nearly went into inelastic collision on a couple of occasions with some other cyclists. The next day was spent with Mr Shuen and his trusty Canon DSLR at Punggol beach after which we took a bus all over Singapore because he was moaning and groaning about walking. I was left burnt after that little trip. Who says you needed to go Sentosa to get burnt. Myth busted. Was too bored on Friday and everyone I called was somehow busy or something so I decided to do another hike on my own. Walked all the way from Bukit Merah to Dohby Gaut via Tiong Bahru River Valley and Orchard.And then it poured. Yesterday I spent 14 hours in the library just so I could get internet access. What a no-life I am.


I recently borrowed Fast Food Nation and I must say it is proving to be quite a good and interesting read. The dark side of the fastfood chain story. I can't believe how easily we are pumping cold hard cash into this deep pit without so much as batting an eyelid. It just feels so natural. It just brings me back to one particular Spongebob episode whereby the burgers were just moulded from some clay thing into something that looks edible and spray painted to make it look enticing. While what we eat actually put into our mouths the next time we undress that delicious looking burger are actually edible, the factory mass production concept still pretty much holds. You are what you eat people. No wonder I look like that:/

Somehow, I still strongly believe that schooling inhibits learning. Come on man, since when did knowing whether you add substance A to substance B gives you a big explosion that would destroy the laboratory do any good in telling you the world you are living in? Okay maybe that was slightly exclusively anti-chemistry but we all get the point yea:) Totally blanked out on all 3 occasions of Chemistry papers. Pain pain.Never really wanted a JC life, nor a poly life, nor an ITE one. Guess that's how I ended up in JC since it's 3 choose 1:/ Okay 1 more paper and it o-v-e-r.Forever. Till then at least. (Paradox? LoL)

And while I was busy embroiled in the war against everyone else who takes A lvls so that I can be on the upper end of the bell curve, those sneaky writers I've been following have been publishing some good reads on the sneak. Currently looking for Super freakonomics, that new gladwell book, that new mitchbom book, that new David Baldacci book and that new Anthony Horowtiz book. Ah crap I forgot all the book titles but one. Double bummer.

All the best to who ever who reads this and is still having paper!

PSLE results were released today and out of curiosity I went to take a look at MOE's trusty webpage. Quite a pleasant surprise to see someone from RVPS achieving a top score above 275. I must be brimming with primary school pride now:)

http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/files/2009/11/infosheet-psle-2009.pdf

A short anecdote of what happened today:

The four of us had just bought our movie tickets and was walking around when the international students appeared behind us and started sticking really close to us. Sensing something amiss, we stopped moving and they too halted and started pretending to be considering their options for their next destination all the while flailing their arms around in full gear animation like they were doing Hamlet. We resumed our aimless walk and one by one we split away from the main group. While it was down to just Shuen and I, Shuen turned and walked in another direction and I realised the 3 losers behind decided to pick me as their 'victim'. I walked out of Vivocity and looped back in again and decided to make my way to the bus-stop so I could treat them to some Singapore tropical climate and quality bus exhaust fumes. I found a nice spot to sit down and the 3 realising they have been beaten stood sheepishly for a few seconds before retreating back into the air conditioned comfort of Vivocity.



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Somehow I am just not prepared to embrace the western culture from this perspective but it really struck me as exceedingly childish for people nearing adulthood to act in such a manner. I concede that doing something irritating serves as a form of cheap thrill and excitement to the soul but doing so at the expense of a stranger, whom you would not know how they would respond may somewhat feel inconsiderate. Moreover, acting in a foreign society like it's your own shows a complete lack of cultural unawareness as being absolutely no life.

Well, but it was good after A-levels fun and I was somewhat hoping they had stuck around longer:) MUAHAHAHHA


1 more paper.

All the best to people who take Lit, Bio, Computing, Physics and whatever subject that's not yet over and I missed out:)

It has been a trying week which concluded with the completion of the Mathematics and General Paper subjects as well as a third of Chemistry.

Answers for H2 Maths Paper 1 have already been circulating like a disease via vast networks.

Chemistry proved to be the ultimate test as I bitterly left 1/4 worth of marks unanswered although it's an easy paper and I've been practising so much for it so much so that I've barely even started studying for Econs and Physics yet. It's a crippling defeat (which I think affected my Maths paper 2 today) and I can only hope that I will overcome the fear of the subject and win back the marks for Paper 1 and 2.

Somehow, I still regret choosing Chemistry as a subject and I'm guessing the feelings are pretty much mutual.



And it really sucks to see how many of my friends are stumbling from this first week already.



And there's someone I really want to talk to but you won't know who you are anyway.



Don't topple now people, there's a war to finish.