Decay On Net

It is never easy to stop blogging. But after several weeks of considerations, I’ve decided to stop blogging here. It has been fun blogging at Decayonnet. But sometimes, you reach a point where you tell yourself that it is time to stop. I think I’ve reach that point quite sometime back. There are too many things that I couldn’t blog about here. Too many hate comments. There is nothing I can do to prevent these. Sometimes I’m just sick and tired of them.

I started blogging at Decayonnet since 23 June 2005. This is not my first blog. Before Decayonnet, I have several other blogs at blogspot and multiply. But Decayonnet is the longest, most linked and most visited blog I’ve ever written. To a certain extend, it took me quite a while to decide to give up on it.

Thank you for all your support over the years.

I love to blog. Blog is like my diary where I store things that are happening around me for future retrieval. It’s a place where my friends get their updates on what’s happening to me. It’s a place where I blast out my anger and share my happiness. It’s a place where I release my sorrow and cure my boredom. It is my online space.

It is not easy to let go. But I'm letting go now.

I guess those people who hate me are happy to see this blog entry. I’m sure they are celebrating now. Funny thing is, I never understand why they keep coming even when they hate me so much. Oh well. Whatever lah.

But for those who loves to read my blog, not to worry. You can still find me at http://blog.dk.sg. See you there.

PS: Please help update your hyperlink. :)
PS2: All comments on this blog has been disabled. Please continue your comments in the new blog. :D

Posted by DK at 11:46 AM | Comments

When Jean has the sudden urges for something, it takes more than one night to fully satisfy her desire. And the only place where you can satisfy her desire is at Geylang, land of the neon lights. You’ll find Hotel 81, Fragrance Hotel, and a whole chain of other smaller hotels at Geylang. But her urges cannot be settled at the hotel. She need more excitement than going hotel.

She has cravings for Soya Beancurd in the middle of the night. It’s Tou Hua, not Tou Fu hor.

Got a MSN message from Jean late Saturday night saying she feels like having Soya Beancurd. It’s like those pregnant women who for no reason have some sudden desire for food at some far corner of the world. And I knew that if a gal doesn’t get her cravings cured, all hell will break loose. So together with Ridz, we went on a mission to settle the lady’s craving in the middle of the night by bringing her to Geylang You Tiao Da Wang.

Only to discovered that the famous You Tiao Da Wang at Geylang Lor 9 is no longer there. I even drove round the place twice to confirm. We Couldn’t find it. Either they closed down or moved to a new location.

So we went over to Princep Street for Tou Hua. The Tou Hua is cheap and good. We managed to buy the last few bowl of Tou Hua, You Tiao and soya bean drink before they close for the day. It may not be as good as You Tiao Da Wang, but at least it can hold back Jean’s craving. The

The next day, I did some googling and discover that You Tiao Da Wang has moved to Geylang Lor 27A. No wonder we can’t find it that day.

So we went on another Tou Hua hunt last night after a session of bluff at Starbucks. This time round, we have Jean, Alice, Miccheng and Tian Hong. Ridz didn’t come because he wanted to sleep early. And the strangest thing is, his twitter message last night is almost the same as NTT’s. Take a look at these (Check out the timing of the twitter too):-

Ridz: gone to bed. my neck is killing me. good night world
NTT: needs a good nite sleep.. :(
Ridz: argh. i can't sleep.
NTT: is unable to sleep..

Hmmm.... How come they the same thing at almost the same time? Are they together? Oops.... Sorry, I digress.

It wasn’t hard to find Geylang Lor 27A. The road system at Geylang is very systematic. If you travel along Geylang Road, the left side will be all the even number Lor while the right side will be the odd number Lor. Odd number Lor is where you find all the good food while even number Lor is where you find all the *cough* action *cough*.

Oops... Sorry, I digress again.

The standard of the Tou Hua seems to drop a bit, but it is still better than most Tou Hua in Singapore. And like bloggers always do, we spend several minutes taking photo of the food before eating.



Oh well, at least I managed to satisfy Jean’s craving, after visiting Geylang with her 2 nights in a row. Let’s hope her next craving isn’t at some remote corner of Singapore.

PS: This entry is written in response to Jean's entry. Please do not poof me in Ping.sg for being misleading. :P

Posted by DK at 12:45 PM | Comments

I've been hooked on this Facebook apps lately. It's call Friends for Sale.

The rules is very simple. Just buy your friends (make them your pets) and hope that someone buy them from you. Or someone buys you. You earn profits when someone buy you or your pets. Everytime someone is being purchased, his or her value goes up. It's a fun and simple game.

The guys at ping.sg are good at pushing someone's value sky high. Most of the ping.sg members are now very expensive. I think we need to buy someone from outside the group. Someone suggest a person to buy leh. :)

And for some reasons, nobody wants to buy me anymore. My value has been stuck at $144216 for quite some time already.



Somebody buy me leh.

On the side note: I think I piss off a famous Malaysian blogger in the game. Oh no. Now all her fans are going to kill me.

Labels: facebook

Posted by DK at 3:49 PM | Comments

Went for teambuilding yesterday. It is the worst teambuilding ever.

Firstly, I don't know why the secrecy behind the location of the teambuilding. They didn't announce where we will be going. Just told us to assemble at office for the transport. I woke up late despite having 2 alarm clock, 1 handphone, 1 radio and someone calling me. So I called my colleague to check where the bus is heading.

I took cab to the location and discovered that I was the earliest as the bus haven't reached yet. Sigh. They should have given us the option to assemble at Kallang too. Would be easier. Waited at least 15 minutes for the rest to arrive.



The morning activities was still alright. We got on a dragon boat and row to a nearby beach where we have some teambuilding activities on survival. Need to start a fire to boil water and set up a shelter. And we were given a lighter, mess tin and groundsheet. That should be easy. After that, we had a short dragon boat race.

After the dragon boat race, we took a bus to Sarimbun for our lunch and afternoon activities. The food is so so only. But the afternoon activities are horrible. We had Muai Thai, self defence and some breathing exercise. Each activities lasted 40 minutes. It is weird to do these things for Team Building. Where is the Team Building element? We are just like individual, learning the sport. No team interaction, no nothing. Just stand there, punch and kick when instructed. For a moment, I thought I'm at a martial arts school open house, trying out the lesson to see which one am I interested.And the breathing exercise is the worst of all. I have no idea what is it. It looks like Tai Chi, but it is not.

Sigh. And I thought last year's Team Building was bad enough.

Posted by DK at 9:10 AM | Comments

I won abit of money on Toto.

Thursday's Toto grand prize was $10 million dollars. Whenever Singapore pools has this $10 million ang pow Toto draw, I would spend at least $50 buying some lottery tickets. I don't usually buy 4D and Toto. In fact, I buy less than 5 times each year. The thing is, I don't have the lottery luck. The max I won was about $90.

Someone provided a set of numbers on my comment after reading my blog entry regarding my contract.

1, 3, 6, 7, 12, 14, 21

Well, I hope nobody buy those number. Because they didn't win. The winning number was:

1, 15, 18, 19, 25, 37 + 2

But I did won a bit this time round. Cause I didn't buy Toto this time round.
Like I said, I would usually spend $50 on $10 million Toto draw. Since I didn't buy this time round, I considered that I have won $50. Haha. Not a lot, but not bad lah.

OK, perhaps I would have a chance to 'win more' if I actually buy Toto. But then, I think $50 also not bad. :)

Posted by DK at 12:43 AM | Comments

I still remember my first handphone is a Nokia 6110. It was the best phone around during that time. Few years later, I upgraded to a Nokia 6510. And after that, a Nokia 6230. That when I gave up on Nokia.

Firstly, the service centre was horrible. And to make things worst, Nokia released a Nokia 6230i, which is exactly the same as my Nokia 6230, except for a better camera. Felt so cheated when I buy the Nokia 6230.

So I switched to Sony Ericsson K750i. I never regretted that move. I'm now on my second Sony Ericsson phone, K800i, and I'm loving the handphone's camera and MP3.

Sony Ericsson phones are not without flaws. They are well known to have problem with the joystick and keypad. In fact, I just send my Sony Ericsson for repair last Aug because of that. But I was impressed by the service level at the Sony Ericsson service centre. The waiting time is short. They have to keep my phone for a few days, but everything was repaired after that.

I'm so glad that I'm using Sony Ericsson.

Some Nokia user aren't so lucky.

I won a battle against Nokia

I finally won the battle against Nokia Pte Ltd.

I bought a Nokia phone in Aug 2007 through Starhub with 24months contract at $388.

The phone was not functioned properly in the very first week. I tried to ask for a one to one exchange and was replied, "Nokia has no such policy". I got no choice but to send to Nokia Care Centre for repair.

Between Aug 2007 and Nov 2007, countless of visitation and many phone call were made to Nokia. So much time was wasted but the phone was getting from bad to worst.

I gave warning to Nokia that I was considering to file a claim against them through Small Claim Tribunal. I finally took action as there was no proper follow up from Nokia after one month.

Nokia authorized a young girl to come for the first consultation and then in default of attending before the Tribunal for the rest.

I finally won the case and was awarded $778 by Small Claim Tribunal in 18 Dec 2007.

Nokia was given 15 days to make the settlement, but they did not respond to me.

I called to check about it on 22 Jan 2008, and Nokia said that they did not receive such notice.

I went to their HQ the next day, after presenting the Order of Tribunal to the Manager, he finally agree to pay. However, Nokia would pay me if only I agreed to sign a conditional letter. They wanted to keep my mouth shut and I was not allowed to disclose this claim to any third party. I refused as they had no right to impose any condition because this was not an out of court settlement.

I then applied for WSS (Writ of Seizure and Sale) the next day. An appointment date was scheduled on 11 Feb 2008.

I accompany the bailiff officer to Nokia HQ. Nokia was then given two options by the bailiff officer. One was to make settlement and the other one was let the bailiff officer to sticker their movable assets.

They finally woke up and agree to make payment. By then, they got to pay $1,018.43 instead of $778.

By sharing this experience, I hope that many have a better idea of what to do if encounter similar situation in the future.

Many of us wouldn’t want to take the trouble to make such claim. Some may have no time, and some may think that Nokia is such a big company and no point goes against them.

The Relations Manager of Nokia, Ms Serene Teo, told me that I won’t be able to win the case and the most I could only get back $388. This was what she believed, but she was wrong.

Can't believe that they made such a big error. When someone has the Order of Tribunal, the only thing that you should do is pay the amount stated. If you try to be funny, he can always apply for a Writ of Seizure and Sale which you will have sticker pasted on your assets.

That won't be a nice sight.

Another SPUGGER is complaining about Nokia service too. Think Nokia really need to do something about their service provider. It is ruining their reputation.

Posted by DK at 11:05 PM | Comments

I became the poster boy for Singapore PHP User Group's PHP Bootcamp kick off.



Too bad I can't attend this event. Got another InteresThink event to attend.

I'll have an autograph session during the next Singapore PHP User Group meetup. Do bring along this poster if you want my autograph. Haha :)

(WAH CIAO.... BHB leh)

Posted by DK at 11:33 AM | Comments

It’s the time of the year when everyone, including myself, will be asking if I’m going to renew my contract. Yes, my contract with my current company will expire in March. In fact, I’ve been counting down to this date since early Dec 07. Look at the latest stats now.



My team lead told me that the company will be renewing my contract. No surprise here since the company virtually renew everybody’s contract unless they really cannot make it. The thing is, HR department haven’t approached me regarding the new contract. Well, HR always cock up. I remember they actually forgot to renew someone’s contract until last few days when everybody starts to panic. Sometimes I wonder if there is a module on “How to cock up” in HR degree and diploma. They seem to excel in this area. And since the error is internal, they usually don’t need to answer to the top. I’ve decided to keep my mouth shut and see how long will HR take to notice that my contract is ending. This should be fun.

I know I’ve been saying that I don’t want to renew my contract for many years already. But every time I say I don’t want to renew my contract, something will pop out, making me renew my contract and work for another year. So let’s just say that the feeling of not renewing is getting stronger each year.

And I know there is no use for me replying those questions. If I say I don’t want to renew my contract, people will say I’ve been saying that for many years already and I will surely renew. Well, if you think I’ll surely renew my contract, then why still ask me that question? Haha.

Oh well, we’ll see how it goes in 21 days time.

Posted by DK at 5:54 PM | Comments

Linkin Park - Pushing Me Away



I've lied to you
The same way that I always do
This is the last smile
That I'll fake for the sake of being with you

Pre chorus:
(Everything falls apart, even the people who never frown eventually break down)
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
(Everything has to end, you'll soon find we're out of time left to watch it all unwind)
The sacrifice is never knowing

Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away

I've tried like you
To do everything you wanted too
This is the last time
I'll take the blame for the sake of being with you

Pre chorus
Chorus (2x)

We’re all out of time, this is how we find how it all unwinds
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
We’re all out of time, this is how we find how it all unwinds
The sacrifice is never knowing

Chorus (2x)

Pushes me away…(2x)

Posted by DK at 2:55 AM | Comments

Here is another advertisement that piss me off lately.



This advertisement is poping out in some of the blogs that I visit frequently. It's not the advertisement subject or image. It's that annoying sound from the advertisement. The sound is turned on by default. So everytime you visit a blog with that advertisement, you have to turn it off manually or endure that annoying sound. (and everytime you move to another page, you have to turn it off again)

The sound is very irritating. What message is the advertiser trying to convey? Are they trying to sayt that their vibrator makes this irritating "hmmm.... hmmmm...." sound? Who will buy a vibrator that produces such annoying sound?

Posted by DK at 11:43 AM | Comments

Open up blogger and wonder how do I put my current thoughts into words. Took me quite some time to type out these words. I'm not having another blogger's block or anything. I just don't see the need to explain myself anymore.

I removed myself from the joint blog which I created. I was kicked out of the joint blog once. This time, I decided to kick myself out. Basically, I'm just asking for it when I request to rejoin the joint blog.

So serve me right.

Straits Times horoscope can be damn accurate sometimes.



Simple Plan - Untitled



I open my eyes
I try to see but I’m blinded by the white light
I can’t remember how
I can’t remember why
I’m lying here tonight

And I can’t stand the pain
And I can’t make it go away
No I can’t stand the pain

How could this happen to me
I made my mistakes
I’ve got no where to run
The night goes on
As I’m fading away
I’m sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me

Everybody’s screaming
I try to make a sound but no one hears me
I’m slipping off the edge
I’m hanging by a thread
I wanna start this over again

So I try to hold onto a time when nothing mattered
And I can’t explain what happened
And I can’t erase the things that I’ve done
No I can’t

How could this happen to me
I made my mistakes
I’ve got no where to run
The night goes on
As I’m fading away
I’m sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me

I made my mistakes
I’ve got no where to run
The night goes on
As I’m fading away
I’m sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me

Posted by DK at 8:27 PM | Comments

Alice, Edmund, Jean and I went chinatown on Chinese New Year eve just before midnight to check out the firecrackers and squeeze with the crowd. The store owners are clearing their stocks and alot of things are selling at dirt cheap.

We couldn't resist when we pass by the Mua Chee store. It's really crazy out there. The 4 of us decided to each fork out $10 to buy $40 worth of Mua Chee. It's as if war is coming and we are stocking up Mua Chee as rations.

Had a great time at Edmund's place dividing the Mua Chee among ourselves after the Chinatown trip. This is the amount of Mua Chee we got that night.



I still got a lot of Mua Chee at home. I even bought some to office to pass to my colleagues.

Mua Chee anyone?
(PS: Don't get me started on the Kum)

Posted by DK at 3:24 PM | Comments

A U.S. spy satellite expected to crash back to Earth soon. USA 193 is an American military spy satellite owned by the National Reconnaissance Office. The craft's precise function and purpose are classified. The satellite lost contact with the ground less than a month after launch in Dec 06. It is on deteriorating orbit and that the object was expected to
crash into the Earth within weeks.

They have no idea where it will land. To make things worst, it contains hazardous materials.

I guess it's time to call Bruce Willis



OK, I'm just kidding. The impact won't be as big as armageddon. But if the satellite hit a city, it's going to cause lots of damage.

Anyway, United States Navy is preparing to destroy it with a missile before it hit earth. So I guess we don't need to worry about space junk hitting us.

Posted by DK at 3:30 PM | Comments

I read the recent Straits Times article about the pump prices with great amusement. Basically, the crude oil prices have gone down but the price of petrol still remains high. Furthermore, the US dollar has weaken against the Singapore dollar. So basically, the petrol prices should go down. But it didn’t.

Here are some of the interesting responses.

Shell, which made US$31 billion (S$44 billion) last year, said contributing factors include 'international political volatility', and duties and taxes.

Right, tell me that when you increase the petrol prices due to higher crude oil prices.

SPC, which made $508 million last year, said: 'There is usually a lag between oil price movement and pump price adjustment.'

It seems to me that the lag only applies when the price needs to be adjusted downwards. I don’t remember much lag when they are adjusting upwards.

Chevron, which made US$18.7 billion last year and which markets the Caltex brand of fuels here, said it also monitors competitors' reactions to market forces before deciding to move prices.

Good move. So where is the competition? It’s like a monopoly now.

ExxonMobil, which made US$40.6 billion last year - the highest profit for any firm in history - echoed some of the reasons cited by its rivals.

Wow... US$40.6 billion profits?

Case's Mr Seah said the association wrote to oil firms last month raising the issue of unyielding pump prices, but it has yet to receive a response.

Good move by the oil firms. Next time, if any company got letters from CASE, just ignore those useless fellow. They can’t do anything if you don’t reply them.

Mr Ong, the oil consultant, said the industry might soon have another excuse to raise crude prices. Venezuela has stopped selling oil to ExxonMobil in response to the US company's move to use the courts to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets.

Oh great.... We are going to be screwed again.

Posted by DK at 11:54 AM | Comments

Surprisingly, I managed to have a good time on Valentine's Day despite my single status. At first I thought it was going to be a ruined day because of some last minutes changes here and there which causes lots of unnecessary confusion. In the end, we stick back to the old plan.

Went halfway round Singapore to fetch 2 ladies. End up reaching Raffles City pretty late. The rest of the "Single Support Group Members" were there already. Since the guys already had their dinner, I went dinner with 3 very beautiful ladies.

And the thing is, all 3 of them are single. I wonder what good deeds have I done for the past one year to deserve such good rewards. Thank you to the guy upstair.

Dinner was great. We were cracking jokes while having our late dinner. One of the funniest joke is about the meaning behind the number of roses.

She: What does 3 roses stands for?
Me: I love you.
She: What does 12 roses stands for?
Me: I'm richer than the guy who send 3 roses.
She: Then what does 99 roses stands for?
Me: I'm the richest of them all.
She What about 999 roses?
Me: I'm just trying to sabo you, see how you going to carry them home.

Hahaha.... OK, kinda crappy. In case you are interested, here is the REAL meaning behind the number of roses.

Didn't expect my Valentine's Day to turn out so well. This is the first time that I actually enjoyed Valentine's Day when I'm single.

Posted by DK at 2:59 AM | Comments

Flowers are damn expensive on Valentine’s Day. Well, this is the time when florists collect their bonus. For me, I never bothered the price of the flowers. It’s the quality of the flowers that bothers me more. If you notice, most flowers that you buy on Valentine’s Day aren’t as pretty as normal days. They are either dying or not yet blossom. That is because there is an over demand for flowers. If you really have to buy flowers on Valentine’s Day, try buying from someone you know. Most likely they would reserve the better ones for you.

It is best to send the flower to the gal’s office. As the article suggested, gals like to receive the flowers in their office. The feeling is totally different from you giving it to her at night when you meet her for dinner. (Unless she is the very shy/private tyoe) And the best timing to send the flowers is before lunchtime. So that the flowers can be the talking point among her colleagues during lunch.

This year nobody to send flower to. Just keep this article here for future reference.

----

Tstar posted a beautiful song on her blog. And now I’m hooked to it. Aaaahhh!!! Keep listening to this song on repeat mode.
But I prefer Micheal Buble’s version. Can’t find the MTV or live concert version. Will have to make do with this video with the SIMs.

Hope that next year I’ll be able to sing this song to the gal I love. I've no idea who you are. Where you are? I don't even know if I know you already. I just wish you will come soon. So that you can put your head on my shoulder and hold me in your arms.

Micheal Buble - Put Your Head On My Shoulder



Put your head on my shoulder
Hold me in your arms, baby
Squeeze me oh so tight
Show me that you love me too

Put your lips next to mine, dear
Won't you kiss me once, baby
Just a kiss goodnight, maybe
You and I will fall in love

Some people say that love's a game
A game you just can't win
If there's a way
I'll find it someday
And then this fool will rush in

Put your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my ear, baby
Words I want to hear, tell me
Tell me that you love me too

Some people say that love's a game
A game you just can't win
If there's a way
I'll find it someday
And then this fool will rush in

Put your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my ear, baby
Words I want to hear, tell me
Put your head on....my...shoulder

Posted by DK at 6:02 PM | Comments

Today is Valentine’s day. As usual, lots of guys will send flowers to the gal’s office. I posted an article about how gals prefer to receive flowers in the office. Look, if you going to send flowers to her, why not send to office where her colleagues will be envy of her and potential admirers would know that she is happily attached. Do read that article, I find it very interesting. :)

Anyway, just a warning to all flower delivery guys who are delivering flowers to my office. Try not to piss off the admin.

One flower delivery guy came over today morning and almost didn't make it out of my office alive.

I open the door for the flower delivery guy since I was closer to the door and the admin was busy. He asked if I know where is AAA sitting. Problem is, I don’t know who is AAA. Before you start blaming me for not knowing all my colleagues, let me say that my office is huge. VERY HUGE. Check out the photos of my office if you don’t believe. I never really count, but I guess there are enough tables for 300 people. On top of that, some of the people here are our vendors. It is impossible for anyone here to know everybody.

So I told the flower delivery guy that I don know the person and ask if he has that person’s telephone number. I told him that this is a very big office and impossible for us to know everybody her. Instead of checking his delivery order to find the gal’s telephone number, he points his finger at the admin and said “Can ask that gal if she know?” Good luck to you man. You are brave to try to piss off the admin.

“How I know who is AAA? You think I staff directory huh? This office so big where to find her? You think I so free go and help you find people ah? Somemore this delivery is not for work purpose. You don’t have the telephone number huh? Cannot call her is it?” Blah blah blah blah. And the scolding goes on and on and on.

I siam back to my seat while the poor delivery guy continues to be blasted by the admin. No, the admin isn’t in a bad mood because today is Valentine’s day and she didn’t get any flowers. She is always like that.

So, just a warning to all delivery guys coming to my office. Don’t piss off the admin. When someone tells you to phone the person, you better phone that person. Asking the admin will only give you a horrible death.

You have been warned.

Posted by DK at 1:02 PM | Comments

Save the Script Writers, Save the world.

The writers strike is officially over! The world has been saved. The strike which started on 5th November 2007 is officially over on 13 February 2008. Screenwriters can go back to work on their project from now.

Heroes will return for the 3rd season to save the world this coming fall. It’s a long wait, but worth the wait. Season 2 was badly done because of the strike. I sure hope they can take their time to give us a better season 3 to make up for the poor done season 2.

Now that the Script Writers has been saved, it’s time to save the cheer leader again. (OK, maybe they don't need to save the cheer leader in Season 3)

Posted by DK at 11:01 AM | Comments

Sometimes, Iife is good when you got nothing to win and nothing left to lose. Don't you think so?

U2 - With or without you



See the stone set in your eyes
See the thorn twist in your side
I wait for you
Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I wait....without you

With or without you
With or without you

Through the storm we reach the shore
You give it all but I want more
And I'm waiting for you

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away
And you give
And you give
And you give yourself away

My hands are tied
My body bruised, she's got me with
Nothing to win
And nothing left to lose

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you

Posted by DK at 1:52 AM | Comments

I didn't hack the website that provides the Edison Chen scandal photo. (Warning: the link is NSFW)



Really, not I do one.

Thanks to Xizor for telling me about this. I don't visit this site one hor. He is the one who spotted it. Not me. :P

Posted by DK at 10:29 PM | Comments

According to Chinese traditions, today is 人日 (Ren Ri) or Human Day. Which means it’s all human’s birthday! Happy birthday everyone. :)


I was reading the Wikipedia and found a very interesting write up on Ren Ri. Ren Ri falls on the 7th day after Chinese New Year. According to Chinese legend, earth was created by 女媧 (Nu Wa). She created different animals on different days and human were created on the 7th day. But we all know that this is just a myth. And the most interesting thing is that chicken was created on the first day of Chinese New Year. Which means chicken’s birthday is on the first day of Chinese New Year. OK, own up, who ate chicken on their birthday? Hahaha. Me guilty.

How do you celebrate Ren Ri? Have you tried Lo Hei with Abalone before? :D

Posted by DK at 2:02 PM | Comments

I wonder if everything could ever feel this real forever. And if anything could ever be this good again.

Foo Fighters - Everlong



Hello
I've waited here for you
Everlong

Tonight
I throw myself into
And out of the red, out of her head she sang

Come down
And waste away with me
Down with me

Slow how
You wanted it to be
I'm over my head, out of her head she sang

And I wonder
When I sing along with you
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again

The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You've got to promise not to stop when I say when
She sang

Breathe out
So I could breathe you in
Hold you in

And now
I know you've always been
Out of your head, out of my head I sang

And I wonder
When I sing along with you
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again

The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You've got to promise not to stop when I say when
She sang

And I wonder
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again

The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You've got to promise not to stop when I say when
She sang

Posted by DK at 2:37 AM | Comments

Listening to Kenny G in the middle of the night. Life could be better.

Posted by DK at 2:40 AM | Comments

These reporters couldn't get more creative.

I blogged about a news report title changing from "6 in 10 new jobs go to foreigners" to "S'pore adds record number of jobs in 2007, a third filled by foreigners" couple of weeks back. There were lots of people complaining about how the "a third filled by foreigners" misleaded them.

The reporters do listen to our feedback. And they amended the article again to give it a new improved title. And seriously, I like this new title more than the previous 2.

The newly improved title is "S'poreans and foreigners gain from job boom". And to make sure that everything goes right, they added another reporter to help edit the article. Isn't that nice?

This is what I call Creative Journalism at its best. Nicely packaged. The whole article looks more pleasant to the eyes now. After reading this article, I begin to feel that the 66.6% of the Singaporeans made the right choice.

S'poreans and foreigners gain from job boom
By Goh Chin Lian and Keith Lin

THE economy grew so fast last year it created a record-busting 236,600 jobs, with six in 10 of them going to foreigners as there were not enough locals to fill all the openings.
That is up from the 2006 figure of five in 10 jobs going to foreigners.

The Manpower Ministry said in its statement yesterday that both Singaporeans and foreigners gained from the job boom.

The number of new jobs that went to locals rose last year to 92,100, up from 90,900 in 2006.

But foreign employment soared to 144,500 last year.

The services sector was the main engine of growth, adding 144,100 jobs. Most of these were in the financial and professional services. The construction sector grew by 40,900 jobs, double that of the previous year, and manufacturing by 49,400.

At the same time, the overall unemployment rate fell to a 10-year low of 2.1 per cent last year. On average, 56,900 Singaporeans and permanent residents were unemployed last year, down from 67,600 in 2006.

Retrenchment dipped to a 14-year low, with 7,200 workers laid off, the bulk from manufacturing. The ministry said that reflected the ongoing restructuring in the electronics industry.

National University of Singapore labour economist Park Cheolsung said it was unsurprising that in such a buoyant labour market, a larger share of the new jobs went to foreigners.

'The labour market situation is so rosy that most Singaporeans should have jobs if they want to. For many companies, turning to foreigners is the only way they can find workers right now.'

The ministry, which has relaxed foreign worker quotas and hiring requirements in recent years, said the injection of foreigners enabled the economy to 'grow beyond the limits of Singapore's indigenous workforce'.

Singapore registered GDP growth of 7.5 per cent last year.

Foreigners are key to the boom being enjoyed by the construction and marine sectors, where they are taking up posts that Singaporeans find unattractive.

In the shipping industry, workers from Bangladesh, India, China and Myanmar are employed as tradesmen - who do work such as welding - as well as technicians and assistant engineers.

Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Employees' Union president Wong Weng Ong said: 'A welder gets $400 to $500 a month. Most Singaporeans won't work for you for less than $1,000.'

An increasing number of foreigners are also working in the services sector, doing jobs that range from waiting on tables to high-end ones in finance, logistics and information technology.

As of December last year, one in three workers here - or 900,800 - were foreigners.

But job growth could moderate this year, economists say. Dr Chua Hak Bin of Citigroup said: 'Already, the global credit crunch has resulted in some retrenchment in certain sectors, such as financial services.'

I always told my friends that the best salesperson is someone who can persuade everyone to go to hell and they will even look forward to the trip.

Posted by DK at 4:01 PM | Comments

I guess most of you heard of the news that Ah Meng passed away last friday (8 Feb 2008). She was 48 years old and had died of old age.

Ah Meng, the Sumatran orang utan, is an icon in the Singapore Zoo. She is such a big star that almost everyone knows her. And when a kid saw a Orang Utan in the Zoo, chances are they will point at it and shout "Ah Meng" instead of Monkey or Orang Utan.



Goodbye Ah Meng. We will miss you.

Posted by DK at 2:45 PM | Comments

I forgot that there are things that shouldn't be mentioned on this blog because some of you are reading it.

Pissed off that I can't blog about anything I feel like blogging on my own blog. If only there is a private post option for blogspot.

Posted by DK at 1:12 PM | Comments

Posted by DK at 3:00 AM | Comments

I didn't know that there is a new borders at Parkway Parade.

Anyway, they are offering a 40% discount if you present this voucher. Valid until 10 Feb. Oops. Which is today. And left a few hours. Heehee. Better late than never.

Labels: lobang

Posted by DK at 6:08 PM | Comments

Wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year!



恭喜发财!

Posted by DK at 11:44 AM | Comments

I always thought our English standards is much higher than theirs. Frankly speaking, if your English standards is good, you have every rights to criticise us. Why don't you guys try hosting that show in English?

Your thought you england very the powderful meh?



But then, I don't know which part of Singapore did those celebrities visit. I've never heard anyone spoken in such a manner. Must be some remote part of Singapore where the people speak differently. After all, Singapore is one big red dot on the map. Or maybe their Taiwanese ear wax causes our "Thanks" to sound like "Dance".

Posted by DK at 4:36 PM | Comments

We all heard about maid abuse. What about maid abusing baby?

Someone posted 6 clips on youtube showing how their maid abuse their baby. I can't bear to finish watching all the clips. How can anyone do this to a 2 month old baby? Is she still a human?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot22xZqLMMI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqbWu8rXW8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQoD3_Hu1SQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vum4hwrav0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NurSUV6GDs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgYnJPrCL70

We do not know the full story. We don't know how the family treat the maid. Neither do we know if the maid is having some person problems. No point guessing as we will never find out. BUT whatever it is, there is no reason to abuse a 2 month old baby.

Sickening.

Posted by DK at 12:22 PM | Comments

I still remember traveling all the way to NTU one friday evening to attend a talk called Village Talk. Listening to 8 speakers talk about subjects that they were passionate about. It's something like TED. But with local flavor. I was inspired by some of the speakers.

There is supposed to be a Village Talk 2 in Sept 07. But sad to say, that did not happen.

But I'm happy to say that Kelvin Quee, one of the founder of Village Talk, is organising another talk that is very similar to Village Talk. It's call InteresThink. Yes, the name is indeed very interesting. InteresThink will be held on 23 Feb 08 at The Pod, National Library. I've been to The Pod once and the view there is great. The list of speakers this time round is also very interesting. I'm looking forward to Leong Sze Hian and Alex Au speech.

If you are interested in attending InteresThink, do sign up here. Trust me, you'll enjoy the event. Be inspired by the speakers.

Still not sure? Perhaps this video can convince you. This is, in my opinion, the most inspiring speech at Village Talk.

Popagandhi - What am I doing here?



The full transcript can be found here.

Labels: InteresThink, Village Talk

Posted by DK at 11:04 AM | Comments

It's always nice to listen to Kenny G in the middle of the night when everything around you is quiet.

Turn off the lights, lying in bed and listening to the beautiful sound of the saxophone. Putting all the worries behind the back of my head.

Alex Karev: For a kiss to be really good, you want it to mean something. You want it to be with someone you can't get out of your head, so that when your lips finally touch you feel it everywhere. A kiss so hot and so deep you never want to come up for air. You can't cheat your first kiss. Trust me, you don't want to. Cause when you find that right person for a first kiss, it's everything.

Posted by DK at 2:45 AM | Comments

Sometimes, you just happen to see some ads that pissed you off so much that you curse and swear at the company for commissioning such ads. Take this for example.



(OK, I know the image sucks. But I have to make it quick before the SMRT staff saw me taking photos and start questioning me as if I'm a terrorist planning to blow up the train station with these photos. Anyway, it's a picture of a MRT train window.)

The MRT window is there for a reason. It's for you to see which stop are you at if you didn't catch the PA announcement (Cause the cabin is too noisy or the PA is too soft).

When you block 1/3 of the freaking window, you only cause inconvenience to the audience that you are targetting. That is not a very good way to convince people in buying your products.

Posted by DK at 3:27 PM | Comments

This is what I call Creative Journalism.

I guess "6 in 10 new jobs go to foreigners" isn't a very nice news article title. That's why they have to remove the initial article and replaced it with "S'pore adds record number of jobs in 2007, a third filled by foreigners". Which actually makes more sense. Why would the state control media report something that isn't favorable to the government?



The initial article goes like this:-

6 in 10 new jobs go to foreigners
By Goh Chin Lian

SIX in ten jobs created last year went to foreigners, the first time in at least six years that their share was larger than locals.

This comes at a time when job creation is at a record high, and unemployment and retrenchment at record lows.

The Manpower Ministry noted in its latest employment report released on Thursday that both locals - Singaporeans and permanent residents -- and foreigners benefited from the strong job creation.

Local employment grew by 92,100 last year, up from 90,900 the previous year.

This is the third successive year that local employment creation has set record highs.

But the local share of total new jobs dropped from 52 per cent in 2006 to 39 per cent last year, 'given the limits to the growth of Singapore's indigenous workforce and the larger base of jobs created', the ministry said.

Foreign employment rose by 144,500 last year, 'enabling the economy to grow beyond the limits of Singapore's indigenous workforce', it said.

As at December last year, one in three workers here - or 900,800 - were foreigners.

The booming economy, with the buoyant service and construction sectors, created 236,600 jobs, up from 176,000 in the previous year. This is an 11-year high.

The services sector contributed 144,100 more jobs, boosted by the rapid increase in hiring across a wide range of industries, led by financial and professional services.

The construction sector added 49,000 workers, double that of the previous year.

Manufacturing employment also rose, by 49,900, spurred by strong demand in marine and offshore engineering.

Overall unemployment averaged 2.1 per cent, down from 2.7 per cent the previous year. Resident unemployment fell to 3 per cent, down from 3.6 per cent in 2006. Both overall and resident unemployment are at their lowest in a decade.

On average, 56,900 residents were unemployed last year, down from 67,600 the previous year.

Similarly, retrenchment fell to a 14-year low. Overall, 7,200 workers were laid off, down from 12,603 the previous year. The bulk of lay offs came from manufacturing.

Then it was changed to this:-

S'pore adds record number of jobs in 2007, a third filled by foreigners
By Goh Chin Lian

BOOSTED by a strong economy, Singapore created a record-busting number of jobs last year - with a third of them going to foreigners because there were just not enough locals to fill them.

Amid strong hiring in the services sector, unemployment also fell to a 10-year, prompting employers to turn to foreigners for six in ten of these jobs, up from five in ten the previous year.

But Singaporeans and permanent residents, as well as foreigners, gained from the boom, said the Manpower Ministry in its latest employment report released on Thursday.

The economy added 236,600 jobs, up from 176,000 jobs in the previous year. This is an 11-year high.

Of these, 92,100 jobs went to locals last year, up from 90,900 the previous year.

This is the third successive year that local job creation has set record highs.

But the local share of total jobs created dropped from 52 per cent in 2006 to 39 per cent last year, 'given the limits to the growth of Singapore's indigenous workforce and the larger base of jobs created', the ministry said.

Foreign employment rose by 144,500 last year, 'enabling the economy to grow beyond the limits of Singapore's indigenous workforce', it said.

As at last December, one in three workers here - or 900,800 - were foreigners.

National University of Singapore labour economist Park Cheolsung said it was not surprising that more jobs went to foreigners, who fill everything from construction, to white collar and service work.

'The labour market situation is so rosy that most Singaporeans should have jobs if they want to,' Prof Park said.

'For many companies, turning to foreigners is the only way they can find workers right now.'

The services sector contributed 144,100 more jobs, boosted by the rapid increase in hiring across a wide range of industries, led by financial and professional services.

The construction sector added 49,000 workers, double that of the previous year.

Manufacturing employment also rose, by 49,900, spurred by strong demand in marine and offshore engineering.

Overall unemployment averaged 2.1 per cent, down from 2.7 per cent the previous year. Unemployment among Singaporeans and permanent residents also fell, to 3 per cent from 3.6 per cent the previous year. On both counts, unemployment is at its lowest in a decade.

On average, 56,900 residents were unemployed last year, down from 67,600 the previous year.

Similarly, retrenchment fell to a 14-year low: 7,200 workers were laid off, down from 12,603 the previous year.

The bulk of lay-offs came from the manufacturing sector, reflecting the ongoing restructuring in the electronics industry.

But perhaps they forgot that the new media isn't controlled by the government. That's why you are reading both version now. I'm sure the 2nd version looks more pleasing to the eyes. That the picture that the government want you to see.

The figures in both article is the same. Total 236660 jobs created and 92100 went to Singaporeans. It's just the way they package the whole article to give you the "feel good" feeling.

I didn't do well for my math, but 92100/236660*10 = 3.89. Which means 4 out of 10 jobs went to Singaporeans. You must be wondering where did the "a third filled by foreigner" came from? Well, the title is very misleading. The title is actually trying to tell us that Singapore added record number of jobs in 2007 and 1/3 of the total jobs in Singapore are filled by foreigners.

So technically, they aren't lying. They just not telling you upfront that 6 out of 10 new jobs went to foreigners. Instead, they remind you that only 1/3 of the total workforce is foreigners. (Which I also think is bad enough.)

Isn't that very creative? I wish I could write such creative titles on my blog.

4 in 10 new jobs went to Singaporeans and 2 in 3 workers are Singaporeans.
If that isn't bad enough, let me remind you folks that the term "Singaporeans" includes Permanent Residents too.

I think we are being screwed big time.

Posted by DK at 11:58 AM | Comments

It's hard to be a employee, blogger, entrepreneur, suitor, son, brother and dreamer all at the same time.

I need more time! Can I buy a time machine on eBay?

Posted by DK at 4:56 PM | Comments

I know I shouldn't be interfering with other's internal affairs. But maybe just want to bring your attention to this incident that occurred recently over at our neighboor. It's sad to see 3 young innocent life lost in a road accident. The bus driver has 13 summonses and he is still on the road driving a bus. This is crazy.

Innocent lives are continuously being lost on our roads.

It’s not fair for us to constantly live in fear every time we get on a bus, not knowing if we’ll reach our destination alive.

As students, we are not able to afford plane tickets or drive our own cars.

We don't want to live in fear. We have a future, too.

This accident could have been prevented.

If you are a Malaysian, do sign the petition.
I wish I could sign too, but I'm a Singaporean. Guess all I can do is to help spread the words. Although I don't think I got many Malaysian readers here.

Posted by DK at 3:07 AM | Comments

陈伟联 - I love you



I love you 所以只能說聲對不起　任何藉口都沒有
I love you 已來不及好好去珍惜　後悔很多

不該讓你無辜流下失措的淚　心碎認識你陌生的世界
空氣中迴蕩的笑語早已經凍結　多想能在和你夢裡愛多一次

很沉重看你走著每一步　它應該是幸福的路
狠心推開你　像你離得無反顧

你心上紋著我給你的傷　對我絕美的懲罰
想忘了　已無法　原來曾經擁有過　還比失去痛苦

I love you 對你的摯愛從不曾改變　要你快樂
I love you 好想對你說卻來不及　後悔已太多

不該讓你無辜流下失措的淚　心碎認識你陌生的世界
空氣中迴蕩的笑語早已經斷絕　多想能在和你夢裡愛多一次

很沉重看你走著每一步　它應該是幸福的的路
狠心推開你　是挽不回的錯誤

你心上紋著我給你的傷　對我絕美的懲罰
想忘了　我無法　原來曾經擁有過　遠比失去痛苦

我身上永遠烙著你的笑　那麼絕美的懲罰
想忘了　我無法　原來曾經擁有過　還比失去痛苦

Posted by DK at 1:29 AM | Comments