Sturgeon Fishing Trip

Columbia River, Oregon.

June 11, 2009

America got it WRONG.

Or did she?

For those of you who follow American Idol, AI2009 was considered by many an upset. Small town boy Kris Allen won, defeating a much more talented Adam Lambert. The blogosphere was just ablaze with rude comments about this upset.

Was America wrong? Are these rude comments about Kris' win warranted? Who should have been the real American Idol?

In my most honest opinion. America got it right.
I don't know where it says that American Idol is a "singing contest". I have never seen it anywhere. The contest title is... AMERICAN IDOL. So, in my eyes, you are looking for someone who is American who you can "idolize"... with a focus in the talent of singing.
That's POINT ONE.

POINT TWO.
Look at the 2 finalists... if you were to say the words American, who would you mentally picture more? Adam or Kris. The answer is obvious.

POINT THREE.
Simon often mentions that AI is not a popularity contest. Well, I actually like Simon but whenever he makes those comments, I think he is talking bullcrap. If this was not designed to be a popularity contest, then, you (Simon and the other creators) should never have designed it with the audience view in mind. In addition, if they wanted to hear the audience view, then it should have been a "one man, one vote" view. Otherwise, the decision making methods of AI are methods used in a popularity contest and you cannot say it is not a popularity contest.
POINT THREE A
Because this is a popularity contest, I have one theory... if you come from a small town, and small state, you almost definitely always emerge victorious taking on someone from big cities in big states... like San Diego. Just like in pro sports and college sports, people in smaller towns tend to care more about their "people". Big cities like LA, NY, SF, San Diego, Miami (just to name a few), are firstly filled with non-native residents and secondly filled with people who are just too caught up with other things in their life to be concerned with sports and entertainment. LA no longer has a pro football team for that exact reason. They just don't care. SF is about to lose the 49ers to Santa Clara for the same exact reasons. Why would I spend my Tuesday nights calling in for my favorite "idol" when I could be out clubbing with the guys and networking or calling on clients or whatever else I do in the rat race... But look at the pride in the middle America.... Midwest college football is a good example.
Therefore, since it IS a popularity contest, why are we so surprised Kris won?

POINT FOUR
Adam Lambert. He has a awesome voice. He is vocally extremely talented, in fact, in my opinion, probably the best participant on AI ever. He is DIFFERENT. Some say he is gay. But, that's not my point. We won't know if he is gay till he opens his mouth to say. So, let's take that off the table. He is just DIFFERENT. He wears guy-liner. He wears black nail polish. He is sometimes almost gothic looking. He is just DIFFERENT. I like that. And many others do too. But for everyone who likes Adam being different, there are probably two who not only dislike it, they probably DETEST IT. Being different is not easy. Being different also causes you to lose votes and even in such a progressive world we live in, unfortunately, impression counts more than even the talent and work you are able to produce. Adam got bitten for being different. His loss is Kris' gain. But different also does not make you look like the next "American Idol".

Lastly POINT FIVE
Why should Kris not be the American Idol. He is what every mother dreams their son to be. Good looking, God fearing, humble... the list goes on. He is the dream American Idol. Not like the title was given to Joe Shmoe who was tone deaf. Kris can sing, just not as well as Adam. But Kris also has talents that Adam does not... he plays the piano and guitar... and sings.

So, I think that the way AI was designed, America made the correct choice. BUT, if this was a pure singing contest, Adam should have won. It doesn't really matter at this point anymore. I believe they are both going to be big stars. In fact, I think more contestants in this season than ever before are going to be stars. And at the end of the night, we were all winners because we got to witness what could possibly have been the best entertainment in years.

Labor Day Weekend Fishing Getaway

Labor Day Weekend, in Singapore, Labor Day is on May 1.
My Dad, Jessica and I accepted an invitation to go to Rompin, Malaysia on a fishing trip.
Rompin is supposedly the sailfish fishing hotspot in this region. However, aside from spotting a school of them somewhere in the 2 days out in the ocean, the actual sailfish run does not heat up till the August/September period.
So, we were relegated to catching whatever else there was in the ocean... which is a lot, but it really depends on the boatman.

There were 2 boats and the other boat caught a whole lot more than we did... much bigger fish too. Oh well, it was a fun weekend...



Jessica posing with a big fish she did not catch... LOL!!




Jessica reeling up the tiny fish she did catch. She did catch a lot of those. They are small but good eating. She was the queen of catching those fish.




Posing right as we were headed out to sea.




This is actually a sunrise. The first morning we got there, after just 3 hours of sleep...




The "chalet" that we stayed in. I reserve all other comments.

The problem with customer service...

I was sent this by email but never for a moment did I doubt the truth in this story. In my time as an employee, I had also personally encountered such stupidity. But, honestly, they are not the only institution that have this kind of customer service. At $6/hr, what more are we expecting? Quality? And with outsourcing, do we really expect even more?

Cancel your credit card before you die...........(hilarious!)

Now some people are really stupid!!!!
Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die.

This is so priceless, and so, so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today.

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00 when she died, but now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank.

Here is the exchange :

Family Member: 'I am calling to tell you she died back in January.'

Citibank : 'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member : 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections.'

Citibank : 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'

Family Mem ber : So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'

Citibank : 'Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'

Family Member : 'Do you think God will be mad at her?'

Citibank: 'Excuse me?'
< /B>
Family Member : 'Did you just get what I was telling you - the part about her being dead?'

Citibank : 'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor.'


Supervisor gets on the phone :

Family Member : 'I'm calling to tell you, she died back in January with a $0 balance.'

Citibank : 'The account was never closed and late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member : 'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'

Citibank : (Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?'

Family Member : 'No, I'm her great nephew.' (Lawyer info was given)

Citibank: 'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'

Family Member : 'Sure.' (Fax number was given )


After they get the fax :

Citibank : 'Our system just isn't setup for death. I don't know what more I can do to help.'

Family Member : 'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. She won't care.'

Citibank: 'Well, the late fees and charges will still apply.'

(What is wrong with these people?!?)

Family Member : 'Would you like her new billing address?'

Citibank : 'That might help...'

Family Member : ' Odessa Memorial Cemetery , Highway 129, Plot Number 69.'

Citibank : 'Sir, that's a cemetery!'

Family Member : 'And what do you do with dead people on your planet???'



Priceless!!

Don't they have anything else better to do?

About a week ago, CNN had this report about PETA and the Pet Shop Boys.
In short, PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are suggesting that Pet Shop Boys change their name to something like "Rescue Shelter Boys".

First, I am neutral toward PETA. I am for what they are doing, but in essence, they are just another lobbying group that many a time barks up the wrong trees (as in this case). PETA should be going after the labs that do animal testing, illegal dog breeders, people that breed dogs (and other animals) for fighting and what have you.
WHY ARE THEY WASTING THEIR TIME ON A BAND NAME?

Pet Shop Boys have been around for more than 20 years. What sense would it make to them for changing their names at this point? There will be many legal maneuvers they would have to make to protect everything they have done for the last 20 plus years. It may not mean starting over, but it is going to be a few steps back from where they are right now. They don't sing about animals nor the treatment of animals. It is JUST A NAME.

Damn it, PETA, go out and do some real work.

Makings of a sad and happy day...

Kumar no more. 

I really couldn't care less "Lawrence Kutner" kills himself on "House". I don't watch "House" on a regular basis, never have, probably never will. However, Kal Penn, the actor who plays "Lawrence Kutner" on "House" as well as KUMAR on the "Harold & Kumar" movies will be taking on a role in Obama's administration and will not longer be doing anymore "House" nor "Harold & Kumar" roles anymore, at least not till he leaves the Obama administration.

Aimless and pointless were the "Harold & Kumar" movies, but they were a good movie for a brainless day. After living in the US for many years, Harold & Kumar introduced me to White Castle. White Castle is a midwest joint not found anywhere I have previously resided. However, when I visited Chicago for the very first time, I made a point to eat at White Castle. Thanks to Harold & Kumar. 

Anyway, I thought I would just write this for the hell of it... Goodbye Harold & Kumar. OR, alternatively, Harold may have to go find himself a different Indian sidekick... LOL!!

Boys Nite Out

Location: Ice Cold Beer @ Emerald Hill

Occasion: none. Just college buddies meetin up after... oh, maybe 10 years or more. I don't know. I don't think we have met up in this combination in a long time.

Had a great time. Hope the rest of them did too.

Kenny preparing for China... sitting like the Chinamen in executive meetings.




Jas, trying to make Kenny feel at home...

Just like the days back in Scandals... well, sorta, kinda. I think Pat would be holding his favorite Death Punch. Kenny would not be drunk 'cos he would be working the door.

More photos HERE.

The week in recap

Unfortunately, I have to start with the most frustrating encounter.

Today, I tried to take tomorrow off (I also requested for next Thursday and Friday off). I have some time off owed to me due to time I had spent conducting other activities outside of my regular work hours. First, just so this is clear, when I was with Citi, I never calculated all the extra time I worked because there was a lot of give and take while I was there. However, coming back here, I have been told to be more calculative. I don't enjoy doing so. Well, when I first requested time off in the early part of this week, I was told to "account" for it. I was not too happy but I did so. There was no reply to my request and I reminded my boss today. He told me he would check as we had a "important" meeting tomorrow. This "important" meeting is a complete waste of 3-4 hours of my precious life where 120-150 staff sit in a lecture theater discussing exam results. 50-60% of the staff are not directly involved and wouldn't be missed if they missed this meeting. However, it is a stupid f**king "compulsory" (btw, I am beginning to detest that word with a vengeance) meeting that everyone has to attend unless they are on medical leave. There are 2 of these meetings per semester, one after the main exams (finals) and the other after the supplementary papers. This is the one is the latter... which makes it even more meaningless to me. Anyway, the answer is obvious... in case you are still wondering, it's a big fat "no" because of this stupid f**king compulsory meeting.

Well, here is where my dissatisfaction lies. I am not a position holder. I am NOT directly responsible for any kids taking ANY of the supplementary papers. I am not a subject leader for any of the subjects with supplementary papers. I am a NOBODY. Would I be missed at this meeting if I died tonight?NO. Would I be missed if I skipped tomorrow's "important" meeting? NO. Seriously, I would have added nothing positive nor negative to this meeting. So, why? why the f**k will my bosses not just let me have the day off and stand by their decision. Because they have no f**king balls... that's why. The working culture is one of fear of superiors and that's about all I have to say about this. BULL-F**KING-CRAP. That's how this day ended.

But, on a more interesting note.

Here are some other things that happened this week.

Overheard on the radio.

On the way to work earlier this week, the DJs had some poll going on whereby the listeners were encouraged to text the station with what the FINE Singapore government should FINE (summons) their citizens for, in addition to what already exists. There were good suggestions as well as bad ones, however, the one that captured my attention the most was this one.

"There should be a fine for people who choose to have pets instead of children." The DJ went on to say something more about this person's text saying that the population was down because people were not having children. If they had stopped right there. I would have had nothing to comment about. It's not particularly wise as having pets and having children are really not comparing apples to apples. But, like I said, the person was entitled to that opinion. 

BUT, there was more on the text and when the DJ continued reading, I almost died. The DJ said that the texter went on to say that why have pets when there is a baby bonus but no pet bonus. Now, that's a truly misinformed and delusional person, not to mention completely idiotic. You base your decision to have kids because of a baby bonus? I don't know how much this damn baby bonus is, but it's a one time bonus, definitely not more than $20,000-30,000. And what happens financially when that BABY grows up? I think that was completely idiotic. But, I don't think that that person was alone when making such decisions... and that is scary... considering that there are so many kids running around without direction, love, care, etc, etc, etc... 

And lastly, we attended the Coldplay concert on Monday evening. When I have more time, I will post up some pictures.

Time to run....

Your God or my God?

I have tried to stay away from religion and politics (more so local than anywhere else) as much as possible on this blog. This blog was not intended to create controversy. I know religion is a very sensitive matter to some and therefore, I have a huge disclaimer to the story I am about to write.

DISCLAIMER: This is MY opinion. This is NOT a discussion board and I WILL NOT be drawn into a discussion with anyone who might disagree with MY opinion. You are more than welcome to post your comments on this issue, but you will NOT be hearing from me, regardless of whether I agree or disagree with your point of view. You are entitled to you point of view and I will agree to disagree. Please have the same level of respect if you decide to post a comment. Please keep in mind that I am not "attacking" religion, I am not "attacking" any one person. I am commenting on a philosophy of thought.

Early this morning, shortly after I had gotten in to work, I received an e-mail from a co-worker. It had some comments from the sender about why this e-mail was being sent to the receipients. There were 2 comments from the sender. The e-mail was being sent because the receipients were Christian. And the person concerned in this e-mail was the co-worker's friend's mother who was in the 4th stage of cancer. It was a forwarded e-mail and the original e-mail had the following content.

"93% won't forward, but I'm sure you will....
A small request... just one line...
Dear God, I pray for the cure of cancer. Amen.

(this was followed by a picture of a candle then the following script)

All you are asked to do is keep this circulating.
Even if it's only to one more person.
In memory of anyone you know who has been struck down by cancer or is still living with it.
A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle..
Please Keep This Candle Going

END QUOTE.

After reading this e-mail, I prayed the one line prayer and unfortunately, due to the work load I have, proceeded to the tasks I had in hand. I did not do anything more.

I had lunch with this co-worker that sent the e-mail and I said that I had a suggestion in mind. But before I was going to make the suggestion, I requested that she find out 2 things for me.

(1) What Christian denomination her friend and mother were?

(2) Would they be ok if a different denomination came and prayed with her (if the answer to question (1) was different than who I had thought of to go pray with her)?

My co-worker made the phone call immediately. I will not reveal the answer to question (1) because it is truly inconsequential. BUT, the answer to question (1) made question (2) all the more important... ie, the family of the cancer patient was of a different Christian denomination that the person(s) I was going to get to pray with them. The answer to question (2) then became of the utmost importance and to my extreme disappointment, it was a flat out "No". "No" as in, the cancer patient's family did not want a different Christian denomination coming to pray with them.

These were the occurences up to lunch time today and when I had a chance to reflect over these occurences, I came up with this opinion and felt compelled to post this on the blog immediately.

It puzzles me, how one can send out an e-mail to random people (by the way, my co-worker who forwarded the e-mail to me is NOT a Christian and basically has no religion even though Buddhism is primarily practiced in her home) to request them to say a prayer, even to non Christians, but when the offer for prayers with the patient, by Christians of a different denomination is offered, it is completely rejected. I have not even ventured outside of the Christian faith. I can possibly take this further but I am not going to because it is pointless. When the perception is already so myopic, it does me no good to even bring up other faiths outside of the Christian faith. Is YOUR God really different from MINE?

(Please do not interpret the next thoughts as being mean. It is not, it is just me being extremely realistic.)
As a stage 4 cancer patient, prayers are usually not to be saved/cured but rather for peace and acceptance (of death and everything else associated with it). Sure, I have also heard of stories of how some have been saved. Whether I believe those stories or not, it's irrelevant. But, what's relevant is that prayers will bring peace to the patient and to those around the patient, if they believe it will. My thoughts were that if I was at this stage of cancer, anyone and everyone can come pray for me. And because I had been a receipient of the earlier e-mail, I honestly thought that that was the intention. To be surprised at the rejection was wildly shocking because I would think you would need all the prayers in the world to be at peace, let alone be cured. Is one really a believer of God if they just rejected MY God (which by the way, in my opinion is the same God)? Is one really ready to be saved/cured because of these actions? Is there really a difference between YOUR God and MY God? Which Christian denomination is teaching their followers that there is a difference and should they still be termed as Christians if what they teach is not about love but rather about separation? I know how I feel about those questions above. I hope this cancer patient and her family eventually will too.

I am not a mean person. I do not know this cancer patient personally. There is no reason for me to dislike her. I have no idea what ideology she was brought up with. I do not know if this is the wish of her family or herself. So, I will just continue to say a prayer for her. I hope you will too when you read this post. I also pray that one day, from a Christian stand point (one step at a time), we will all see that there is no difference between YOUR God and MY God.

It's been a long week...

Last Sunday, I had what I would describe as a "close to perfect" day. I had almost no contact with the outside world. Yes, and that is what I consider perfect... 'cos after dealing with people day in and day out, not having to even speak to another person causes less grief.

Then I had to get up and go to work on Monday... sigh...

(1) Mitsubishi ad on radio.

Mitsubishi has an ad on radio where their tag line is "investment with long term value".

There we are, trying to teach our kids about what an investment is... and there these stupid fools are, trying to unteach what we teach by deception. A automobile is NEVER an investment unless it is a collector's item. A Mitsubishi will never ever be a f**king collector's item. Yes, it may be a reliable Japanese made vehicle but as far as I know (and I have personal experience with one such vehicle), it does not even fetch very good resale value. 

The statement may be true that it does have a long term value... as in, at the end of 10 years here, you may be able to sell the damn thing for a couple of bucks... but IT IS NOT AN INVESTMENT!!!

(2) Dumbass government servants.

In particular, my boss. Last week our final exams got done. As usual, there were some kids that failed one, maybe more, subjects. They are now set to sit for a supplementary paper. So, there will be revision for them. I was assigned to "coach" a bunch of 10 kids who had failed a certain subject. Their supplementary paper is in 10 days. I have NEVER taught the subject. It is not even a subject offered by my department.... but it's ok, a certain someone things I can learn the subject in 3 days and then present it to the kids and help them pass in 10 days... interesting. Either she must have super great confidence in me... or (and this is my favored choice) things just don't pass through what she calls a brain before assigning.

(3) And then I had to attend a class.

Which only served to reinforce the idea that everything is lip service.

Again, in the class, which is a follow up of classes I had attended when I first started work here, the focus is on our audience... the students. The class was about how to make learning more interesting and effective for our students. It is being drilled into our styles of facilitating education... but it is NOT practiced when we returned to the real world by people we are calling our "mentors"... it is a complete waste of time.

(4) And is all ended yesterday, how ironically, Friday, with a stupid annoying incident.

A couple of coworkers and I had gone out to lunch. The parking lot was packed but we managed to find a spot. It started raining, very heavily, while we were having lunch. When we were walking back to the car, we realized that the car had been blocked in, by a vehicle that was illegally parked. Being that it was raining hard and that this parking lot was just way over crowded, I decided to be patient. I honked a couple of time, but not excessively and waited. After about 10 minutes (yes, I did wait a whole 10 minutes), I decided to call the cops. Interestingly enough, the illegally parked vehicle was blocking 2 cars, mine and the one next to me, and both vehicle's occupants were in their cars ready to depart. The first call to the cops drew a very passive response. They said they would come by. This not being an emergency, I was ok with the idea they would not be there in 5 mins or less. My coworker decides she is also going to call, just so the cops gets a sense of urgency. Another luke warm response. The cops finally show up after about 15 minutes. We have now waited 25 minutes. They DO NOT acknowledge anyone in the 2 cars waiting. They look at the illegally parked vehicle and then run off behind us. When they come back, about 5 minutes later, they said they had gone to look for the owner... YEAH RIGHT!! IF IT WAS SO F**KING EASY TO LOCATE THE OWNER, I WOULD HAVE DONE IT MYSELF... OR THE OWNER WOULD HAVE KNOWN WE WERE HONKING AT HIM/HER SINCE HE/SHE WAS ILLEGALLY PARKED!!!! 

I asked if they could tow the vehicle so we could get out and they said no. I asked why and here are the 2 reasons they gave... hold on to your seats.

REASON 1: THEY DID NOT STEAL THE CAR.

REASON 2: IT'S IN A HDB LOT, THEY DON'T TAKE CARE OF THAT.

(HDB = Housing Development Board, the people that are technically in charge of these parking lots)

My coworkers and I were really speechless. 

No, the car was not a stolen vehicle, but it was illegally parked, blocking in 2 cars. It may not be a crime, but it is still an offense.

AND, I thought the police had overall jurisdiction over EVERYTHING. So, if I murdered someone in a HDB parking lot, they would leave it HDB to prosecute me? WHAT THE F**K? Has this country downgraded it's police to playing hide and seek? All they could do for us was to LOCATE the owner??? All in all, we wasted almost an hour in the parking lot and we only managed to leave when the other car to my other side left and I had to do a 12 point turn to go round this illegally parked vehicle. It's a f**king joke. 

It's finally the weekend again. And hopefully, like last Sunday, I can deal with as few annoyances as possible. Plus, I have to study by this weekend (2 whole days) a class that lasted an entire semester (18 weeks) so I can help them pass their supplementary paper... Superman at work this weekend!!!

The decay of society

caused by the cellphone (or mobile phone or handphone or whatever you want to call it).

I owned my first cellphone in 1991. I was still in college at that point but thought it would be a convenient possession, not to mention cool. I have since treated the cellphone like an American Express card, I don't leave home without it. In fact, I am not more then 10 ft away from it even at home. Ok, sometimes I forget it and sometimes it's more of a bother than not. Jessica complains that I am too dependent on my cellphone. I agree.

With my cellphone, my biggest fault is... I talk too loudly on the phone, at times. However, that isn't something I can really help. I am a little hard of hearing and I think the deafness causes me to over compensate when I speak, especially on the phone. I am very conscious of the phone and my surroundings and have NEVER forgotten to turn it off in class, theaters, church, pretty much anywhere it is considered rude to have your phone ring.

When I first got into "learning and development" (training), one of the early things I was warned about was the use of the cellphone during classes by the participants. That was in 2003. While cellphone usage had already become mainstream in Asia, the US was just beginning to see the wave. Text messaging (or sms, or whatever you want to call it) was just only starting to become popular, particularly among the Gen Y population. Up until 2006, I still had co-workers who did not own a cellphone. And I rarely communicated with anyone in the US thru text messaging. Most of the people I text are either Gen Y people or Singaporeans living in the US. 

As a trainer, one of our concerns when conducting a class was texting during class. Many of my fellow trainers, myself included, had very strict rules regarding texting during class. I would set my ground rules at the beginning of each class and some of those rules dealt with the use of the cellphone. 

All cellphones and noisemakers to be turned off or to mute.

No texting during class. If you are caught texting, your cellphone sits at the instructor's desk for the rest of the day and if it was a class that was longer than 1 day, you would "check in" your phone with me every morning and it sat on the instructor's desk.

If you needed to take a urgent phone call, inform me, excuse yourself and step out of the classroom to take the call.

I NEVER had a problem with cellphone use during any of my classes. NEVER. 

My biggest problem with cellphone use in the US was idiotic drivers on their cellphones. Driving at 40mph on the freeway on the fast lane, because they were on their cellphones, completely annoyed the living daylights out of me. 

Coming back to Singapore, I knew cellphone usage was definitely more widespread. However, Singapore had very strict cellphone laws when driving and thus I assumed that cellphone etiquette was going to be better. Sadly, I was very, very wrong.

The lack of cellphone etiquette is driving me completely crazy. It has probably become my biggest pet peeve.

(1) Bicyclists using cellphones.

Why are they any different from auto drivers using cellphones. Just because what they are operating is not motorized, does not change anything. The laws against usage of cellphones while driving are because the driver gets distracted. The same applies to a bicyclist. He/she gets distracted too. In fact, they are worse. They do not have all that metal to protect them when they crash.

(2) Cellphones in meetings.

In the last 5 meetings I have attended, at least one dumb ass has answered a call during the meeting. I am serious. I thought it was bad enough the phone rang during the meeting. I was shocked when they actually answered the call. In 3 out of the last 5 meetings, my boss actually PLACED A FREAKING PHONE CALL during the meeting. She picks up he phone, dials and speaks to the person on the other end... in a whisper. What happened to common sense, manners and RESPECT???? I am not the most polite person on earth, but this definitely shocks the hell out of me. This takes the cake.

(3) Cellphones in class.

I have not (Thank God) had this problem with any of my classes in Singapore. Maybe it's because I have set my ground rules too. Who knows? However, I am attending a class (as a participant) at the moment and in the last 2 lessons, at least 2 people in each lesson have answered their phones, AT THEIR SEAT, and they not once attempted to leave the room. In fact, yesterday in class, the girl behind me took a call and was on the phone for at least 2-3 mins. Unless someone is dying, I think that was totally uncalled for. It was rude. But obviously not to her. It is driving me nuts. To be amongst a people who have no common sense... and no respect for the people around them.

(4) Cellphones in church or at functions.

I hear the phone ring almost every time I go to church... God help you.

Last night, Jessica and I attended a wedding. It was a solemnization and wedding dinner all at one location. The irony of the phone ringing during this event was... the MC reminded everyone to turn their phone to silent/mute (due to the solemnization event, which was religious based) right at the beginning of the event and that the phone went off as the pastor was preaching. God help that soul too.

I would also complain about the decibel level, but I am not sure if these people are like me, hard of hearing. People talk at the top of their voices in the bus, in the train, along the road, every-freaking-where. I hear people chewing out their maids, spouses, children, whomever all the time... 

Alright, I got this off my chest. I am going to sleep better tonight. NOT. The cellphone is going to be the death of manners and respect in today's society and will lead to the complete decay of social structure.

San Francisco rent

Yes, I have been busy on the blog today...

SF to try to introduce 3 new rent laws.
Chris Daly is a super f**k head.

He has always been a super f**k head.

When will there be enough rent laws in SF?
What happened to "free economy"?
If you cannot afford to live in a $1,000/mth rent home, then move the hell out to one that you can afford. How on earth does it make sense for the city of SF to keep governing what a private property owner can or cannot do with their home??
Listen up Chris Daly... if I wanted to rent my one bedroom home out for $5,000 in the Bay View district, do you think I would get a tenant? Rent is driven by the laws of demand and supply too.

The example given in the Chronicle article above just does not make sense. The person living in the Western Addition is earning $800/mth. Her rent is $1,000/mth. Errrr, do the f**king math idiot. If your stupid new law goes into effect, the landlord can only charge her ONE THIRD OF $1,000... $333.33. Where, in the bay area, can you find rent for $333.33 for a one bedroom home (assumption, since the article did not state the size)???? And then the landlord cannot evict this person because of the previous laws put in place by the same f**k head about the removal of seniors. Doesn't the city of SF then control a private individual's PRIVATE real estate? Is this what America has become? This person who draws a monthly income of $800, shouldn't even be living by herself in a place where rent is $1,000. She should go get a room mate or something. I don't know. It's not my f**king problem... it's not my f**king business... it's plain economic sense.

When I first rented after graduating from college. I did not move into a place BY MYSELF for $1,000. I lived in a house with 3 other room mates for $1,200. We each paid $300. Why do you have to have laws to teach common sense? The problem is not with the economics of the situation. The problem is with the f**k heads like Chris Daly who keep trying to manipulate the situation as if it is one that the city should be controlling. It is not. A $60 increase in rent for a place that rents for $1,000 DOES NOT even keep up with inflation. Just imagine that that was your salary increase... you would be screaming bloody murder. This is income to some other soul too. Yes, he/she may be swimming in wealth, but he/she damn well earned it... and has the right to do it.

Chris Daly... instead of trying to do things like that, maybe you should spend your time going after places like ParkMerced who constantly cheat and deceive their renters. Or are they too big for you to deal with? Coward!!
Who on earth keeps voting this f**k head in anyway?

Octomom

I wouldn't usually want to comment on something like this. It is a non-issue. If someone wants to screw up their lifes, so be it. However, on further thought, this person is not only screwing up her life, she is also screwing up an additional 14 lifes.
By now, we all know she is just a money and fame grubbing bitch... but, in the process, she is hurting the 14 living things she brought to this earth. How fair is that to the 14 innocent victims?
I am not going to recap everything that has happened since she gave birth to the octoplets... you wanna know more, google either "octomom" or "Nadya Suleman". you will get pages enough to keep you occupied for the next few hours.

I am going to comment on 2 things.

(1) Media - STOP FEEDING HER DESIRES!!!! It is the freaking media that is keeping this alive. Imagine if this were to have happened 20 years ago. I doubt anyone outside of the LA area would have heard about it. And even if it were in the national news (or for that matter, international news), it would have been gone after a few days. It's been over a month since the birth of the octuplets and we are still hearing about it. The paparazzi are chasing her all over the place, and every form of media, new and old are feeding to her desire to be famous. STOP! Leave her alone, unemployed, homeless, whatever. Stop offering big money, good (like interviews on the networks) or bad (like the porn film offer). Stop pandering to her greed.

(2) And this is the main reason why I commented on this issue. Today, it was reported that octomom (and I am refraining so hard from calling her a whole bunch of names) turned down an offer from Angels in Waiting, a non-profit group for (prepare for this) (i) round the clock nursing care for her 14 children and (ii) a rent free home for the next 6 months. If you don't know, her home is in foreclosure.
SHE TURNED DOWN THE OFFER BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO DO A REALITY SHOW. She went on to tell Angels in Waiting that if they wanted to help her, then help her get a reality show. All this while she has been publically asking for $2.5mil to be on Oprah.

What is wrong with this woman?
Is she the product of the system? To be specific, considering where she is from... is she the product of Hollywood?
What about the offspring? Will they be like her? It would be really scary to think that there are 14 young things about to turn into this one same person when they grow up.

Sign?

Could this be the sign of things to come?
Right now, I would monitor for unusual reactions and if the puking STOPS, I would be really worried...

Merlion injured

Singapore TV

One of the things I have been trying to get used to is the damn TV programming here. Well, in short, it sucks... but that's not the point.

It seems that they are constantly trying to deceive the viewers.

(1) The use of the words "Brand new season".

Sometimes, it is not really a "brand new season" because it is already 2-3 seasons old in the US. Well, it may be a "brand new season" here in Singapore, but is that what they are trying to say?

(2) The use of the words "direct off satellite" or any variation or phrases with the word "satellite" in it.

To me it implies a LIVE telecast. However, that is not truly the case.

Why would you use the words "direct off satellite" if it is NOT LIVE? The only reason I can think of is DECEPTION.

Otherwise... why? 

And it is NOT live.

They advertise AI as "direct off satellite". It is shown 3 times on 2 different channels and the earliest screening is at 6pm Singapore time. WHICH IS 5-fucking-AM Eastern Standard Time OR TWO-FUCKING-AM Pacific Standard Time. So, it is not even close to LIVE and if it is "direct off satellite", it is sure as hell ONE FUCKING SLOW satellite that needs to be brought down and replaced with the NOT "Made in China" fucking satellite we are currently "direct off"ing.

Survivor is shown at 3pm "direct off satellite" too. And most decent people in America (would not apply to me and some of my friends though) would be fast asleep. 3pm Singapore time is 2am EST or 11pm PST. Not times that Survivor would be shown.

AI, Survivor and Amazing Race (which I do not watch) are 3 shows broadcast here "direct off satellite". Seriously, will someone please fucking explain what that shit means?

The Grammys and Oscars (and even the Superbowl) are shown "LIVE" and when something is shown "LIVE" here, it usually means in the early morning hours... 7-10am Singapore time. That's LIVE... that's "direct off satellite". Every other fucking thing is a big fat lie used as false advertising to the unknowing public. Does the TV company really need to stoop that low?

(3) Repeats and Reruns. There are so many of these that one wonders if the TV company is short of cash. I have been back for about a year and cannot remember how many times I have watched MIB, Die Hard 1 and 2, Shaft and other shows I do not watch... like Titanic. This is pure bullcrap and what's worse... they censor every fucking bit. What's the point of watching Die Hard 2 if you never get to hear "yippee kaiyeah motherfucker"??? If that is not the essence of that entire show, than what is? Try watching Shaft with the censorship... it's like watching a fucking foreign language movie... every few sentences, you either hear a different voice in the middle of the sentence or you get cut to the next scene... 

I give up... I really need to get a Slingbox hooked up. This is fucking bullshit from a bunch of clowns who believe they are doing the right thing.

Happy Valentine's Day

to one and all...

Saturday the 14th

And just to make sure the boy(s) in the band at the club we went to last night don't fall in love with Jessica, this is what she looks like!!! LOL!
My mother-in-law gave me this picture of Jessica taken during her college days. I have no idea what in the world she was thinking but I thought it would be a GREAT post!!!

Friday the 13th (Part 3)

We have led a rather boring life since coming to Singapore. We don't really go out that much and it is mostly my fault. I hate crowds and I hate the heat and humidity. I tend to sweat more when I drink (alcohol) and in the US, if I got all hot and sweaty, all I had to do was to step out. Over here, I just remain hot and sweaty 'cos stepping out just makes it worse. Also, I guess all those clubbing and drinking days are kinda over... and it doesn't quite interest me as much. 

While we were attending the previous event, another friend text-ed me and said he was at some bar that he frequents. Jessica and I have been to this bar several times in the last couple of months because (1) this is where this particular friend of mine hangs out, (2) Jessica is in love with the band that plays there, (or maybe the band member(s)?) and (3) the fried chicken wings served at this place is good.

We exchanged a few texts and finally I told him that we would go meet him after the recognition event. It would be probably the first time in a long long time that we have gone to a bar on a Friday night.

I don't quite know if it was a ploy by my friend to get us there earlier but he kept texting me during the recognition event to tell us to get there quick and that he was sad. This is the day before Valentine's Day and my friend is single, never married. So, I can somewhat understand why he would be sad, but at the same time, knowing him, I really don't think he would be sad just because it's Valentine's Day and he is still single. I think to a certain extent, he enjoys the freedom of being single. Anyway, that's what we did. 

We went to this bar, we even bought a huge sunflower for him to "cheer him up" (but I don't think he was sad), Jessica got a chance to oogle at her boy(s) from the band and we were there till closing at 2am. Something we have not done in Singapore since we got back and honestly something we have not done for a few years, even back in the US.

That ended my strange Friday the 13th.

Friday the 13th (Part 2)

After my appointment, of which the rest went well, I returned to work.

The second part happens after work. 

It's Friday and several weeks ago, we were invited to attend an event.

A friend of mine whom I have known since we were 16 in high school invited Jessica and I to what he had termed as "my concert".

Just a little background on this person, and let's call him Ron.

Ron has had a passion for singing since I have known him. It is different over here. Singing, and for that matter most other forms of entertainment, is not necessarily seen as a profession for "smart" people. It is not mainstream. As far as music goes, it is really hard to break into that industry due to the size of the population. Also, just like most of the entertainment industry, sometimes, but more likely rarely, one gets discovered. Most of the time, it's about who you know. Since Ron is not on a list of who's who, getting discovered was his only alternative. He did give a shot at it years ago but it didn't work too well. But, like mentioned earlier, it's always been his passion and when he invited us to his concert, I accepted without really finding out more. Shortly after accepting his invitation, I found out that another friend of mine had also been invited. I have known this other friend for even longer. I have known him since first grade... 33 years!! It was through this other friend that I realized this event that we had accepted the invitation to, was actually a multi-level (direct selling, whatever the name for it is now) company's award recognition ceremony. Ron has been part of this American company for about 5-6 years and got even more actively involved when he got laid off during the dot com bubble bust. As much as I don't necessarily agree and understand the workings of a multi-level marketing company, I am happy that he has found success in his choice. BUT, it's a whole different story attending one of their events. I never told Jessica what event we were attending... I don't think it was on purpose, the subject never came up.

Years ago when I first graduated, I was dragged along by a friend to attend one of these events (not the same company, but there are way more of these kinds of companies in the US and many of them don't even come close to the stability (and probably the legitimacy) of this particular one). It was inspirational, motivational as well as very eye opening. After that event, I had vowed that I would never ever (EVER) attend another one of these events again.

This night I broke my vow.

It was for a friend.

I have been advised not to be negative about this event and I will refrain from doing so.

All I got to say is that my experience years ago was eye opening because I had discovered with great speakers and a cult mentality, the magic that will happen. I was reminded that my skepticism and individuality, and the lack of cult mentality leaves me where I am today, for better or worse, it's me. And as much as I did enjoy Ron's mini concert (he got to perform 2 songs), I will NEVER EVER again attend an event like this... or so I think. This might not be a first but it added to the strange day... and by the time the event ended, it was already 10:30pm... time for Part 3...

Friday the 13th (Part 1)

I have been pretty busy as it is coming to the close of the semester... that's my excuse for not posting... it's MY blog anyway, so, why am I making excuses??

Anyway, today is Friday the 13th (Feb 13th, 2009). I usually don't think much about "Friday the 13ths" as nothing usually happens, but this Friday the 13th was strange, not the scary or supernatural kind of strange, but just not very normal. I am going to split my Friday the 13th experience into three parts (ie 3 different postings) just for the ease of reading.

I am the Liaison Officer (HBIC) of 3 kids who are currently on a student internship program. All our final year kids go for internships and we are responsible for them, should they fuck up... otherwise, we are just responsible for visiting their supervisors at the beginning and at the end of their internships and filling out a report. They are near the end of their internships and so, today, I went to visit the supervisors of one of them. Because my place of work is in the complete opposite direction of this HUGE country, I chose to go straight to the internship office, which means that the day already started unusually by us (Jessica and I) not having to wake up that early, getting a chance to go for breakfast and then my sending her to work as the internship office was just round the corner from her office. 

These kids are all doing their internships at the same financial institution. I was (and still am) not familiar with this financial institution even though I am told that this is one of Europe's larger and more prestigious financial institutions. (Yes, I have become like an American and am not aware of things that go on outside of the North America.) So, here goes the beginning of part one of a strange day...

PROFESSIONALISM AT IT'S FINEST

I walk in this office about 20 mins early. I acknowledge the fact that I was early to the receptionist. She was about to find out if the person I was supposed to meet was available when she suddenly realized it didn't matter as there were no rooms available. So, she told me about that, went ahead and told the supervisor (let's call him Mike) that I was already there but there were no rooms available. Mike apologized and said that he couldn't make it before 10:30am due to a previous commitment. I was fine with waiting those 20mins... or so I thought.

A couple of minutes later, the receptionist's phone rang. I really wasn't paying attention to her phone call as I was reading up on something I had due as I waited. When she put down the phone (which I was not entirely aware of), she started talking to me. I heard her voice very clearly and looked up from what I was reading, half suspecting she was speaking to me, but not certain as the statement that came across didn't seem to be meant for me. She had said:"These bosses always think they know everything". Keep in mind that I am a visitor to this office and I have never previously met this receptionist person.

I looked up, saw her looking at me and went: " What?"

And she repeated her first statement: "These bosses always think they know everything."

I just smiled.

She went on:"My boss thinks she knows my job better than me."

I continued smiling while looking at her, not knowing how to reply.

On she went:"If I get a chance, I will tell her to let me do my job."

I was shocked. I kinda had to make sure I was in the office I was supposed to be visiting and I really didn't know this person.

She continued:"She just keeps talking and talking and telling me what to do, like she knows how to do this better than me. She should come do this herself then. I will get a chance to tell her soon."

Honestly, I have never been so speechless in my life. I really had no idea how to react to her comments. Smiling had ceased 'cos it seemed like it was neither appropriate nor inappropriate to smile. The situation seemed too severe (she wanted to tell her boss off) to smile, but really not even of any consequence to the rest of the breathing world since she was just a receptionist and most people would know how to do her job, maybe not as well as her (I am laughing at this last statement, laughing real hard), but at least on par.

I said:"I'm sorry." Yes, that was the only thing I could think off to say. No, I have not lost my ability to talk back, but on rare occasions (Yes, Chuck, you were instrumental in the last time I was speechless), I do get... lost.

She then went on to talk about her family and I was pleasantly interrupted by Mike showing up.

Please be reminded that I was a visitor at this prestigious European financial institution.

(to be continued with Part 2)

Special post

I usually try to be as original as possible on this blog... meaning, I post my own stuff and make my own comments. However, a day or so ago, this item was shared with me on Facebook. I have read many similar items regarding this time period and have always felt they meant something to me personally. This particular item, however, took on a different stance and besides being hilarious, hit home a lot more due to the fact that these days, I am constantly dealing with Gen Y kids. A bunch of kids that throw Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs completely out the window because the bottom of that hierarchy is of no/little significance to them... and I would love to tell these Gen Y kids... I completely agree with the following article... you spoiled brats....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill...barefoot...BOTH ways...yadda, yadda, yadda. And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of Thirty, I can't help but look around and notice that youth of today... You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogs!!!

There was no email!!! We had to actually write someone a letter, with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mail box and it would take like a week to get there!

There was no MP3's or Napster! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ usually talked over the beginning and mess it all up!

We didn't have the fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and someone else called they got a busy signal, that's it!
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your Mom, your boss, your Bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick up and take your chances mister!

We didn't have the fancy Sony PlayStation video games with high resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! with games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids' and your guy was a SQUARE! You actually had to use your imagination!!
And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen FOREVER!!!
And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died. Just like LIFE!

You had to use a little book called TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing. You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove... Imagine that! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have it too easy.
You're spoiled.
You guys wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes back in 1980 and before!


Regards,The over 30 Crowd

It's that time of the year again....

where football finally draws to a close and it's another 7 months before the excitement starts all over again.

Superbowl XLIII was actually a lot better than expected. Many, myself included, thought it was going to be a boring game, especially with the brand of football played by the Steelers. It did not turn out that way. The Steelers followed a puzzling call by Whisenhunt (not to go on offense) by immediately driving down the field for a score. And that was just the beginning. The first half ended with James Harrison's interception return for a TD and the second half ended with back to back scores with Santonio Holmes making an absolutely amazing catch to win and end the game. Old man Warner was spectecular in the loss. Big Ben was consistent. And everyone came out to play. So, till next fall, the boring season of the year has just begun...

well.... kind of... this is also that time of the year again where I get a reality check on PEOPLE.
People who have no self awareness.... at least for the first few weeks of AI!!!
Unfortunately, being in Singapore, withdrawals from the end of the football season can only be cured by AI. If I was back in SF, 24 would have aided with the withdrawals but, I will only be getting half my dose of fixes.

I think it is really time to spend money on location free devices...

Some funny s**t!!

Thought this was just too hilarious to pass up sharing...

Don't know what to say

It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted.

There is really nothing to blog about unless I want to venture into dangerous territory... and I don't really want to.

Life here has been... boring.

We go to work, come back late (at least when comparing coming back from work in SF, it's hella late, not just late), do our own shit, go to bed... and then it's that same routine all over again. Plain freaking boring.

Anyway, since there is nothing to blog about... I will just wet my feet a little in dangerous territory.

A week ago my boss asked me if I would like to go attend a class, actually 2 classes. The classes were going to help me in 2 ways, however, before I can tell you what those 2 ways are, I probably need to provide some background.

Currently, at work, I am designing a class for my curriculum. When I am done, and by the time the class is rolled out, our graduating kids, besides a diploma will also be partially certified for a certain (not gonna mention any names) banking certification. The only thing they will be lacking is work experience and once they have worked for a couple of years, they will be fully certified.

So, the class I am supposed to attend, is conducted for working professionals to get this certification. Attending the class will, once again, do 2 things for me. (1) Make me certified and (2) Allow me to see what material is used for this class that I can incorporate into the class I am designing.

Well, that were the 2 ways I would benefit... so I thought.
When I called the supposedly "world class institution" to enquire about the class. Firstly, I was told the class might not go on due to the poor response. Reason being the class is offered Mon to Fri from 9:30am to 5pm. DUH!! I could have told you that a class designed for working professionals shouldn't be during those times. Next, I was casually informed that they STILL HAD NOT RECEIVED ACCREDITATION. So, they advertised on their website that you would be certified, but they did that before the institution received accreditation. Isn't that false advertising?
HA! I know what it is called in Singapore. It's called mis-selling!!! And since this does not deal with millions and millions of dollars, I am sure there is not going to be any recourse at all.
After receiving this news, I approached my colleague who was going to be attending another similar course but at a different "world class institution" here in Singapore. Guess what? They also advertised the same thing but were "in the process of getting accredited and HOPEFULLY, will get accreditation by the time the course begins in March". FAN-F**KING-TASTIC!!!
This certification honestly means nothing to both my colleague and myself. It is a nice to have, not a need to have. The classes we are attending deals primarily with middle and back room operations in banks and if either she or I were to return to banking, it would not be in those roles. So, not having the certification is... just a minor inconvenience... but what about the livelihoods of the people who are really attending BECAUSE of the certification? Isn't this just a damn scam. I reckon it to going to a college and being told I would get a degree but at the end of my course, the college telling me... oops, sorry, but we couldn't get accreditation to give you a degree. It's flat out FRAUD. AND... oh yes, I forgot to mention, it is going to cost in excess of SS$6,000 for 60 hours of class. There is still a fee of about 20% of the course fee for the assessment portion. So, yes, it is FRAUD because I am not getting what I am paying for. BUT, these "world class institutions"... well, they will never get into trouble... 'cos... well, this is the part I am going to leave out... you go figure it yourself.

Selling bullshit to the masses... that's what these institutions are doing.

O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D!!!

The Duck fans already know where I am going with this...

Oklahoma
-5th straight BCS loss... DON'T PUT THEM IN A BCS GAME ANYMORE!!
- lost for the 3rd straight time with a National Championship at stake. DEFINITELY DON'T PUT THEM IN A NC GAME. THEY DON'T DESERVE IT AT ALL.
The Sooners are an embarassment and I hope they now know that the $3M bonus was a complete waste of money... booyah!!!

If I had a vote.
(1) Utah
(2) Florida
(3) USC
(4) Texas
(5) Alabama
(6) Oklahoma
(7) Oregon
(8) TCU
(9) Penn St
(10) Georgia

Who got shot?

READ THIS ARTICLE

and then tell me WHO GOT SHOT?

How on earth can a roughly 150 or so word article be so damn complicated?

BCS troubles

Yesterday, USC made sure that the "playoffs or no playoffs" debate continued into the next college football season.

Today, Utah put an exclamation mark on that statement.

Of the top 8 teams in the BCS rankings, every team is a one loss team except for Utah.

As of the end of the Utah/Alabama game this evening, 3 of those one loss teams (Bama, Texas Tech and Penn St) had become 2 loss teams. By the end of Jan 8, at least one more team (Florida or Oklahoma) would be another 2 loss team. That leaves 3 one loss teams and an unbeaten team. 

WHY SHOULD THE WINNER OF THE FLORIDA/OKLAHOMA GAME BE CROWNED NATIONAL CHAMPION?

USC has a good reason to gripe that they should be NC.

Texas, who will hand Ohio State a whoopin, will have a good reason to gripe they should be NC.

And Utah, who is 13-0 and beat the team that was ranked #1 as recently as the week before the last week of the regular season has every reason to gripe that they should be NCs.

Like Kyle Whittingham, the Head Coach for Utah said after the game, he knows who he is voting #1. If I were a voter, I would vote them #1 too. It really doesn't matter they have a softer schedule than the BCS leagues. What matters is that they got the job done. And then they went to Sugar Bowl and put the icing on the cake. They should be #1.

This debate has gone on since the inception of the BCS. In some years, the debate has had less heat, in other years, a lot more. This year, I am sure there is going to be super heated discussion after the NC game on Jan 8. The end to this debate is no where in sight. Or is it?

Happy New Year!!!

2009! What will 2009 have in store for us?

Well, before I get to that, let's wind up 2008...

1) HOW BOUT THEM DUCKS!!!

Oregon went to the Holiday Bowl, caused some anxious moments but at the end of it all, gave all Duck fans something to look forward to in the 2009/2010 season.

In case you are a Duck fan and you missed it...

CNN/SI.com

collegefootballnews.com

more on collegefootballnews.com

and a whole lot more on registerguard.com

And congratulations to the Pac-10 for going 5-0.

And a special congratulations to USC on their blowout of the Nittany Lions. Why congratulations? Well, USC capped the 5-0 for the Pac-10 and once again gave a headache to the BCS and the age old question of "playoffs or no playoffs"?

2) There will be no more CFB predictions till the Fall. Hope I fare better next year.

3) New Year's Eve was... NYE. New Year's Eve, I learnt this long time ago, thanks to having to work at Scandal's, is the world's most over-rated day. Remember, this is MY blog and I am entitled to say whatever the hell I feel like saying. NYE every-f**king-year finds all the amateurs coming out to party. People who have saved all year just for that one particular day. People who spend all they have saved on that one particular night. People who spend all they have saved on that one particular night, just to have it all come out, usually through their mouths, on that same one particular night. It is the night I actually try to stay clear of stupid people. 

BUT, the most stupid people are those who get stopped and arrested for DUI on NYE. In both Singapore and the US (and I am sure many other countries), that is the night that EVERYONE including my colleague's 6 year old knows that that are cops and traffic stops ALL OVER THE F**KING PLACE. It's bad if you get a DUI on any night, but if you can one on the eve of a holiday, it's "badder". And if you get one on NYE, it's the "baddest". In fact, if you get a DUI on NYE, I think the punishment should not be a fine and/or jail and/or road crew. If you get a DUI on NYE, you are so stupid, you should be put to rest forever for the sake of the gene pool. Seriously, I am no saint but you can be rest assured I will be cabbing or having a DD after my second drink on NYE. 

And now for 2009.

1) At least for the first half of the year, just as bleak if not worse than 2008. Don't listen to those people who tell you otherwise, they are either just: 

(i) high (and they should share some of whatever they are smoking with us), 

(ii) in denial ('cos they have not recovered from the sock in the face they got from 2008), 

(iii) have a business that needs you to believe that 2009 will be better than 2008,

or

(iv) fall into the same group as those DUI people above... know it's gonna be bad but have to say something stupid (the DUI people had to DO something stupid).

2) Hope I do not kill myself or someone 'cos I ran out of patience. I think that's my resolution, kind of. I'm not sure I can keep my resolution and I am not gonna even pretend I'm gonna try. Hopefully the downturn sends all the f**king foreigners that irritate the shit out of me here back home. They can come back in a few years when I am done with this place. But till then, go, go quickly, and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. Just go.

3) For those of you who have unfortunately loss your jobs due to the downturn. For those of you who have businesses struggling. I do hope you will pull through this difficult period.

And thus we usher in the new year...