A tenant threatened legal action against me today. What happened was this. His lease ended on 7 May 2006 and when the developer took over the apartment, they found that there was standing lamp missing as per the inventory list signed last year. The tenant, Puerile Downs then said that there never was a standing lamp in the apartment and that i, as the developer's agent had said that i would change the inventory list for him.
So the developer rang me to ask me about this. I told them that i handed over the apartment to Puerile Downs a year ago and after having closed nearly 30 rentals and doing the handover for all of them, i really cannot remember what transpired that day. However, usually when i find something wrong in the inventory list provided by the developer, i would amend the mistake & have both the tenant and myself countersign the amendments. Moreover, if i really said that i was going to have a new inventory list done up for him, why didn't he chase me for it in the last 12 months?!?
After hearing my side of the story, i believe the developer told him that they were going to deduct the cost of the standing lamp from his security deposit with them and so Puerile Downs called me today. I repeated what i said to the developer to him and he got very mad. I told him that i'm not saying that he stole the lamp, but it is a fact that i cannot remember what happened 1 year ago!! His tone started to get more aggressive and i got a little fed up so i asked him - if i said i was going to give him an inventory list, why didn't he ask me for it since it's been 12 months since we handed the unit to him??? He claimed that he called me before to remind me but i have totally no recollection of that. I told him that i looked through all the Trumps correspondence i saved and nothing inside mentioned about changing of an inventory list.
Puerile Downs got really mad and so he threatened legal action against me. I told him to go ahead. Duh! I've seen him a couple of times around Trumps and i've even spoken to him a few times over late payment of rental, and not ONCE did he mention about this changing of inventory list. In fact, the developer and him communicated several times because of his late rental payment, as well as the replacement of a defective window pane in his apartment... and even with all this happening, he didn't mention about this inventory list?!? U gotta be kidding me right?
Anyway, before i could get more details from Puerile Downs, he hung up the phone. So i thought, fine - if u want to be rude, go ahead. I can't be bothered. Hey... we sold the penthouse today and i'm mighty pleased with this milestone!
5 minutes later, Puerile Downs called me again. This time, he let loose a tirade of insults. He said that he was "disgusted" with the "whole lot of you", that he's "lost all respect", that we're a bunch of "good for nothings", and that he's "paid money for nothing because no work was done". This time, i got cheesed off so i said, "Fine, if that's what you think. Thanks for your call, bye!" and i hung up the phone.
Eh hello, Mr. I-am-so-upper-crust angmoh, i didn't earn a cent from you ok? If your agent was lousy, which i know she was since she dumped you the minute the deal was closed, that's none of my problem. Besides, even if it was really MY fault, and i SOMEHOW forgot to give u a new inventory list, and u didn't complain about it in the past 12 months u were shaking your ass in the apartment, then who's the idiot here? As far as i are concerned, my ass is covered because it's down in black & white that you signed for a standing lamp lor!! I can only say one thing...
A few people have actually asked me what's the moral of the story and i told them that they were supposed to come to that conclusion themselves.
But, since more than 1 person asked, i shall post my answers here:
1) Our parents will always want the best for us, though they may not necessarily know what we want. 2) Humans are very 范贱. They're always suckers for what's not good for them. 3) From a sales point of view - this shows that people buy things base on emotions, not facts. 4) I'm just plain stubborn... hahaha.
Last nite, my parents & i were ordering dessert during dinner when i said i wanted cold cheng teng. My dad said that cold cheng teng not worth it, because it's more ice than the dessert itself. He said it was better to order the hot one, and let it cool down over dinner. But i insisted that i wanted cold cheng teng 'cos i don't like hot cheng teng!
Really like the lyrics of this song. Couldn't quite decide whose version to put on my blog - Kelly Poon's, or Zhang Shao Han. In the end, i decided to go with the former... smaller file size... haha.
I just made a majorly stupid mistake. I forgot to pay my credit card bills. And got charged $75. It would have been only $25... but 'cos i thought i paid my bills, when i didn't.. so all 3 cards got levied a $25 late charge, adding up to $75.
Which is DAMN FREAKING STUPID of me. I should've just kept to using 1 card... but i had to go use all 3. Idiotic right? Itchy backside lah!
I use the UOB Mini card for all my petrol bills. This is for easy tracking of my petrol expenses. I use the UOB Ladies card for all my other purchases... no particular reason... i just thought the card looked nice. And the last card, the UOB MTV card, my starhub hp line is charged it to... this is an arrangement from almost 2 years back, when i was still using the card for other stuff as well.
Anyway, see how stupid i was? If i wasn't lazy... and just put everything on 1 card, then i would've just been penalized $25 for forgetting to pay the bill!! After all, it's not as though i get a higher credit limit with 3 cards from the same bank! In fact, the only reason why i signed up for the different cards is 'cos of the different promotions at the point of signing up.
Grr... i'm quite annoyed now. Going to change my starhub billing to my Ladies card & terminate the MTV card. Will have to keep an extra card just in case 1 konks out... just like my DBS ATM card now. I'm perpetually transferring money from my DBS a/c, to my UOB a/c, just so that i can use my UOB ATM card to draw money.... till i have the time to go to the bank to get a new DBS ATM card.
One whose domicile lies at an appreciable distance from his or her place of business.
A value far from most others in a set of data: “Outliers make statistical analyses difficult” (Harvey Motulsky).
Geology. A portion of stratified rock separated from a main formation by erosion.
Growing up, i've often suspected that i'm an outlier, as per definition no. 2. Why?
I started talking at 10 months, but didn't really attempt to walk much till i was almost 2-years old. (Why walk when u can get someone to carry u right? And of 'cos, in order to get someone to carry u where u want to go, it's important that you open your mouth to direct them!)
In nursery/kindergarten, all my classmates (at least all those i remember) always wanted a younger sibling for company. But i told my mom that i didn't want any. Didn't see the point in it.
A typical 4-year old would probably hate going for extra non-academic classes... but i used to bug my parents every week till they let me take up ballet, piano, art, and taekwando lessons!
I'm one of the rare Singaporeans who doesn't understand Hokkien.
On that same note, my standard of English probably ranks within the top 5% of all Singaporeans, and given that i spoke English almost exclusively while growing up, it's kind of weird but i listen solely to Chinese pop. In fact, i don't even know who are the members of the Backstreet Boys, U2, etc...
And today, the outlier syndrome struck once again... i went to highlight my hair and i chose Magenta Red as it was the darkest red on the colour chart. My hairdresser also said that all her clients who wanted a visible red had to add Copper Red to Magenta Red, in order for the red to be visible. But for me? This is what i got...
(My hair is really super red... if it's not obvious in the photo, that's 'cos it was taken in a rather dim carkpark.)
It was raining heavily this evening so my dad locked Pinky & Horlicks in the same cage to stop them from playing in the rain. When my dad went to feed them dinner at about 9:30pm, my dad saw Pinky mounting Horlicks. Sigh. The time has come. Pinky has to go for his snip snip once he recovers from his cold. I don't think we could cope with a 6th rabbit! Hope the op doesn't come too late and that Horlicks isn't pregnant already!! :(
Side gate seperating Horlicks & Pinky's backyard from No Man's Land.
The side of my house and the backyard have been sectioned off into 4 different areas so the different rabbits can roam freely within their territories. Muah Chee & Peanut stay in the 1st section, which is at the start of the side yard. There's a fence that seperates their territory from the frontyard. This is to prevent them from running into the frontyard 'cos that's where all the cars are parked... don't want no squashed rabbits!
Between MC & Peanut's territory is a waist-high side gate (it's one of those child-safety gates to prevent kids from falling down staircases) and on the other side of the gate is Coffee's territory. We don't let Coffee & MC come into contact 'cos Coffee has this masochistic tedency of wanting to wrestle with MC, only to get pinned to the floor by the bigger MC. (This is not to say that MC stays injury free... Coffee often scratches & yanks out MC's fur, before MC pins him down to the floor in self-defence.)
So Coffee's territory is Section2. Usually, we let Peanut into Coffee's territory to keep him company. They're great friends really. And MC sleeps most of the day so he's fine alone. In the evenings, my dad will usually tell Peanut to "go MC there" and she'll obediently run to the door and wait for my dad to let her into MC's territory. Then she'll hop around with MC or go back into their shared cage to rest. She's the most politically neutral bunny i have.
On the other side of Coffee's territory is Section3, a.k.a. No Man's Land. (Or rather No Bunnies Land). This small area doesn't belong to anybunny. This is 'cos the fence that separates Coffee's territory and this No Man's Land is pretty low and if Horlicks gets into this area, she sometimes jumps over the fence, into Coffee's territory and the WWF championship kicks off in my side yard.
Seperating the No Man's Land and Section4 (which is actually the entire backyard) is a proper gate. This gate was installed by my dad so that when my former maid (we don't have a maid now) was doing the laundry in the backyard, she wouldn't have to worry about being taken by surprise by any intruder that climbs into my house. (Sounds paranoid but my house has been called Alcatraz before...)
Horlicks & Pinky stay in the backyard (i.e. Section4). Very lucky bunnies 'cos they have the biggest area to roam around, race, and play in. This afternoon, a now almost fully recovered Pinky managed to sneak into No Man's Land when my dad opened the side gate to enter the backyard. My dad wanted to retrieve Pinky from No Man's Land but Horlicks was watching the side gate, biding her time till it opened so that she could sneak out as well. Unable to get Horlicks away from the side gate, my dad had no choice but to leave Pinky in No Man's Land.
Poor Pinky. He was stranded there for a few hours i think!! 'Cos by the time my dad informed me that Pinky was out there alone, it was 8:20pm and when i went to let him in, the poor boy dashed to Horlicks' cage! I think he was controlling his pee for a very long time... and in his exuberance upon seeing the litter tray, he peed just outside the cage instead. Sigh. Didn't have the heart to smack him.
Little Pinky was also starving. He chomped down all the leftover grains in Horlicks' food tray at amazing speed. U would have thought we don't feed him enough! I carried Pinky and locked him back into his own cage and the little boy didn't protest by biting on the grilles this time. He was too happy to see the fresh pellets & hay in his own cage. (MC & Peanut share this huge 3ft cage, then Coffee has his own 2.5ft cage, Pinky stays in a 2ft cage, and Horlicks has her own 2.5ft cage.)
Anyway, i'm just very grateful that Pinky is back to normal. When he was sick, i actually laid hands on him and prayed for his recovery ok! I sayang little Pinky the most so i always get extremely worried when there's anything wrong with him. So praise the Lord! Pinky's good again. :)
Pinky went on a hunger strike today. He didn't want to eat his pellets during breakfast so before i left for work, i tried to feed him some carrot shreds. He ate 7 short shreds of carrot.
My dad said he didn't really touch his lunch either.
Dinner was slightly better... he ate some pellets (according to my dad) and so my dad topped up his food tray with pellets & thin strips of celery in case he got hungry during the night.
After i got home, i let Pinky out of his cage & he ran around a bit. Horlicks was locked in her cage and there were strands of hay sticking out of it. Pinky ate some strands, and stuck his mouth through the grilles of the cage to pull more out! Heh... that little thief. Think he ate about 4 strands?
Finally, before i locked him back into his own cage, i placed 10 strands of hay there. Hope he eats them all!!
Oh and i don't think Pinky is angry with me. He jumped onto my lap twice when i was sitting on the small plastic chair in the yard. He also didn't struggle when i carried him in my arms.
The funniest part was this... i was worried that Pinky wasn't drinking water. So i placed the water dish in front of him when he ran over to the drain area. Tapping on the water tray, i told Pinky to "drink water" and the good little boy took a few sips. I asked him to drink more water but he refused and ran away, back into his cage... and guess what? He went to pee immediately! Haha... i think he was trying to tell me that he drank water today. Heh. Smart boy! I prayed for Pinky again. Prayed that God will heal him and restore his appetite. Would you pray for Pinky too?
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I took a photo just now of all the food in Pinky's cage. He has a whole buffet spread - pellets, biscuit bits, chopped celery, alfafa hay & timothy hay.... and those are Pinky's hind legs in the photo... not food...
---------------------------------------- 1:32am. I went to check on Pinky. Took another photo for comparison. I think Pinky ate a little bit of the celery, as well as the timothy hay.
Pinky hates me now. :( Pinky has been having a slight cold since last Sunday. At first, i thought he was better so i cancelled this morning's appointment with the vet. However, after reaching home just now, i saw that he still had this white gooey mucus and was still sneezing a little so i brought him down to the vet.
Not sure why but Pinky was quite scared by the car ride this time. Maybe it was 'cos this stupid Mercedes cut into our lane suddenly and Cirrus was forced to step on the brakes... the sudden deceleration caused Pinky to skid & knock his head against the side of the carrier. Poor Pinky...
When we got to the vet, (it was the same allergic vet but he didn't sneeze this time), Pinky was rather frightened and didn't dare to come out of the carrier. So the vet examined him in the carrier and gave him an antibiotics jab in his right backside. Pinky really freaked out... he trembled with fear when the needle went in. Poor poor Pinky.
While the vet was preparing the medicine, i told Pinky to be brave and not to be scared of the dogs barking. I told to pretend that they were our neighbours' dogs. I also told Pinky that he has to get used to coming to the vet 'cos he'll be here again in 2 months time... the vet laughed.
When we went back to the waiting area for the receptionist to do the billing, Pinky looked very freaked out. I tried to pat him and he actually shied away from my hand. Cirrus said, "Pinky doesn't like you anymore." Sob sob. I feel so sad. My favourite bunny doesn't like me anymore.
After we got home, Pinky refused to eat anything. Maybe his butt still hurts from the jab. Muah Chee & Coffee refused to eat too when they were in pain. I promised Pinky that i'll give him some biscuits once the pet shop delivered all the food & bedding i ordered.
At about 10:05pm, the delivery arrived and i immediately took the biscuit treat to Pinky. He ate like 1¾ biscuits and went to lie down again. Oh dear... the usually jumpy boy didn't even attempt to charge out of his cage. He must really hate me.... waaaaah! His dinner was also untouched. :(
Sigh... now i don't know if it was a wrong decision to bring him to the vet. I told the vet that i actually cancelled an earlier appointment 'cos Pinky seemed to be getting better... but the vet said "better safe than sorry". Apparently the cold (or more accurately the infection) that Pinky got the last time tends to be recurring. So he said better to put Pinky on antibiotics before his condition gets worse.
So for the next 10-14 days, Pinky will have to take 0.3ml of this antibiotics that has been diluted with syrup. I hope the little boy cooperates and eats his medicine.
Argh... my nose is dripping. Think i caught a cold too. (No, it's not from Pinky. Human colds & rabbit colds are quite different and not inter-spread-able). I'll set my alarm clock for 1am to check on Pinky later... that little boy always makes me so worried about him.
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12:10am. Pinky seems to be recovering from the injection alright. Went down to take a peek at him and he was quite active again. Didn't eat much of his dinner but he finished the balance of the biscuit i left in his food tray. He kept biting his cage to be let out so i let him out for a short run about the yard. He didn't let me carry him on the first try but gave in when i picked him up the 2nd time. Sigh... that naughty boy. I think he'll be fine. I prayed that God will heal him. I'm sure He can...Jehovah Ropheka... what's a little sick bunny to an almighty God right?
Meanwhile... i need to look for medicine for my tummy... diarrhoea + cold... hope it's not stomach flu!!
I've been posting quite a bit of photos of Pinky & Horlicks ('cos she's always with Pinky) but there hasn't been much updates on the other rabbits. Was transferring all the photos i took from my hp to my pc when i saw a couple of cute photos of the others too. Here they are.
MC cleaning his face while Peanut tries to hide. Camera shy.
Peanut and her best friend, Coffee.
Coffee looks good now that his fur's longer.
Coffee bending down for a pat after you tell him, "pat pat!".
Wow... it's been 1 year since this blog was born. Once again, it's UptownGal's birthday festival week. Last year was a sad case... was forced to work on my birthday. So to make up for it, i took 3 days off this year! :P
The celebrations started last Thursday and the main highlight of UTG Birthday Festival 2006 was the trip to Sentosa. Not much to talk about... who doesn't know Sentosa right? So let's just let the photos do the talking. If you look close enough, u'll find me somewhere in one of the photos...hehe...
The open concept toilet at Rasa Sentosa. (There're louvered doors to close it up.)
The view from my hotel room balcony.
Siloso Beach
Mr. Turtle when he's not shooting "Finding Nemo". (He said he got tired of looking for that kid.)
Nemo.. still hiding...
The Giant Japanese Spider Crab that inspired my dinner.
Some sharks give birth to eggs! Click here to read more!
A really big eagle ray! (Found its name at the underwater world website!)
Jaws, after retirement... (white-tip reef shark)
My dinner - the claw of a *get this* 2.4KG crab!! BTW, the address of the stall is Blk 232 AMK Ave 3 - Mellben Seafood or something like that...
Oops... sorry, forgot to upload this video i took of the jellyfish at Underwater World, as well as this video of the pink dolphin... all photos & videos taken using my nifty Nokia 6280. Muahahah...
Couldn't decide to post the English or Chinese version of this song online... in the end, i found a bilingual version of the song... but for the English portion of the song, only the chorus is sung. The lyrics are below...
SINGAPOREANS are affluent, educated, but are they really survival smart?
In a world of harsher living, this question that never dies has again grabbed the public focus here with a general election less than two weeks away.
At the core of the debate: Without natural resources, the Singaporean increasingly has to depend on his own guile, not only a good education, to survive; has he got it?
It's not a new debate. In the past decade, the Education Ministry has changed the education system to teach independent thinking and entrepreneurship to correct some fundamental defects in the average worker.
The average Singaporean is good at academic studies and works hard, but falls short on individual initiative and streetwise qualities, relying too much on the government for help.
Revisiting the debate is controversial Taiwan lawmaker Li Ao, who recently ranked Singaporeans rather lower in natural intelligence to the people in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
"Taiwanese are scoundrels, but lovable, Hong Kong people are craftier, (Chinese mainlanders are unfathomable) and Singaporeans are stupider," he said, adding that it is partially due to genetics. The original migrants who came here from China were of "poor stock".
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once told Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping that the ethnic Chinese in Singapore were descendants of illiterate coolies and farmers from southern Fujian.
This had made them less able than the people of Hong Kong or Taiwan, whose ancestors were mainly businessman or technocrats.
Singaporeans could function well only as a group, not as individuals, Li told a Chinese newspaper. They would never be non-conformist or stand out above the crowd.
"If you ask me, other than Lee Kuan Yew, his son Hsien Loong, politicians aside, I can only think of a cute girl, (pop star) Stephanie Sun, there aren't many other outstanding people. The impression that I get (of normal Singaporeans) is stupid".
Singapore's system, Li said, stemmed from the ancient Chinese political philosophy of legalism, which emphasised on the rule of law. "Singaporeans do not break rules, but they also do not stand out," he said in Mandarin.
He said Lee Kuan Yew had wanted to build a British-style democracy but because the people were not up to scratch, they only knew how to toe the line.
His report card on Singapore has shaken up the people at a time when election fever is rising, indirectly touching on a campaign issue ? government control on society.
Predictably, Singaporeans have reacted angrily to the terms "stupid" and "poor genes", dismissing them as a popularity stunt that takes no account of their successful, modern achievements. This "genetic weakness" doesn't aptly describe today's diverse, more mature and worldly-wise generation.
But some critics say there is some truth in what Li said, but insist that the fault lies not in genes, but in years of political and social conditioning by a top-down government.
One writer however, said: "A better word to describe the Singaporean is naïve, which comes about because of a paternalistic and rather efficient government. Everything is so structured and laid-out that the people do not need to fight for a living, blunting their ability to compete. They're lulled into thinking the outside world also behave like Singapore."
Businessmen from Taiwan and Hong Kong are more alert to opportunities, as well as cheats, compared to even the capable Singaporeans, whose preoccupation is getting a high salary.
They know where to take the short cuts when faced with a problem; Singaporeans will just sit and wait for better days.
Under the Lee Kuan Yew leadership, the collective good comes before the individual, so the republic's success is a "collective creation", Li added. The individual is often lost on his own.
It has led some critics to ask whether the Singaporean has an original viewpoint of his own beyond what the government says.
"I won't say we are stupid. We are just not daring and street-smart," commented a Singaporean studying abroad. In his university, other Asian students would walk up to the microphone and talk about some cause, not the Singaporeans, he said.
Li Ao is not alone in his views. Singaporean columnist Wong Lung Hsiang said it reflected what he heard in China that "Taiwanese are shameless, Hong Kongers are heartless, Singaporeans are ignorant".
In Greater China, law-abiding Singaporeans have long been seen as gullible ..
In a commentary in November last year, Wong advised Singaporeans to treasure their own system at home, "but when you are away, you should know how to adapt to others".
What Chinese Singaporeans have inherited from their grandparents is peasant culture, explained "peasant judge" online.
"Peasants don't care for much else except a bowl of rice on the table, a roof over their heads, and the chance to go out to the rice fields to do the daily back-breaking chores day in day out."
Politics, too, is affected. Almost everyone goes to the polls with his rice-bowl in mind.
It occupies the citizen's mind a lot more than his counterparts in other countries, who are more passionate about issues like justice and equality.
"Just imagine, well-informed Singaporeans advocating a one-party rule, saying it is good for the future. If this is not stupidity, what is?' asked redbean.
This could be a recipe for future trouble should a foreign predator one day use this character weakness to take over the country. All he needs to do to retain the people's compliance is by keeping their stomach full and their mind empty.
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I briefly read through this article before but i didn't think it was worth commenting on. When the above was forwarded via email to me, i was going to just write a short reply to my friend... but then i decided... heck, i might as well post my reply online:-
Of 'cos there are some Singaporeans who are overly dependent on the government and blame the government for all their woes. But there is an even greater number of people in other countries that depend wholly on government handouts & social welfare for their day to day expenses, living as tramps on the streets, under bridges, etc. If the typical blue-collar Singaporean is concerned solely about bread & butter issues, at least he's taking personal responsibility in ensuring that he's not living off the generosity of others. I say aye to that rather than people who are streetsmart - and live on the streets.
And if individualism is heavily promoted and adhered to by society, as it is in certain countries (esp. the one that takes "freedom of speech" as a sacred entitlement), what comes out of it? What kind of scandals and destruction have those countries caused?
I would say that Singapore has a very well-balanced system of democracy + socialism. We are a social democratic country and this system has worked well for us.
I'll rather have a one-party parliament that's focused on bringing Singapore into the next lap of economic competition, than a parliament whose politicians' main activity is wrestling. (Sure, at least citizens of those countries will never fall asleep watching parliament on TV).
I'll rather have a country where the police pre-empts/steps in to prevent/break up any sort of illegal public demonstrations, than a country that sends tankers to bulldoze its citizens.
I'll rather have a country where citizens enjoy racial harmony & religious tolerance, than countries that clam down on religious freedom and where i can get shot for the colour of my skin.
In fact, i'm thankful even for the fact that my country allows me to post this blog entry without government imposed restrictions on what sites i can or cannot go.
Are Singaporeans stupid? I'll let the quality of life i live here in Singapore speak for itself.
P/S Who the heck is redbean?? (highlighted in red above, pun unintended.)
The Serenity Prayer God grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change; courage to change the things i can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living on day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as i would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if i surrender to His Will; that i may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
I came into my bedroom just now and saw a baby lizard on the floor. Instead of taking cover close to the walls or cupboards, this baby lizard was right smack in the middle of open space. "Drats!" I thought. I only just drowned a baby lizard about a month ago and here was another fella asking to be drowned??
So i told the lizard that it had better get out of my bedroom "or else..." I then took a section of the newspapers & started fanning it in the direction of the door. Amazing, the lizard moved in the direction of the newspaper!!
Painstakingly, i shoo-ed the baby lizard towards my door, and out of my room. When it paused at the opening of the doorway, i told it, "come on now, go out baby!". I could sense its reluctance so i used the newspaper & threatened to smack it. That did the trick and the little lizard ran out of my room.
This lizard good right? I think it communicates better than some people i work with! Sigh...
Since i'm on the topic of Singapore.... here's the national anthem... heh. Honestly, i sing it by pure memory of the sounds of the words... never did bother to remember the meaning of each line. But since i'm feeling patriotic now... here are the lyrics in Malay, and the English translation. :)
MAJULAH SINGAPURA Mari kita rakyat Singapura Sama-sama menuju bahagia Cita-cita kita yang mulia Berjaya Singapura
Marilah kita bersatu Dengan semangat yang baru Semua kita berseru Majulah Singapura Majulah Singapura
ONWARD SINGAPORE (English Translation)
Come, fellow Singaporeans Let us progress towards happiness together May our noble aspiration bring Singapore success
Come, let us unite In a new spirit Let our voices soar as one Onward Singapore Onward Singapore
I've always been very apathetic about politics - locally and overseas till this latest General Election. Reason for this is most likely because this is the first time i got to vote and so i never really bothered to think about which party i would want to vote for. Anyway, my friend and i got into a little debate about what happens to MPs & Ministers when parliament is dissolved?
I bet most people wouldn't know the answer either... well, simply put: 1) Members of Parliament cease to be MPs because there is no more Parliament. 2) The Government and its Ministers remains till polling day. 3) The President will then pick a newly elected MP to be the new Prime Minister. 4) Together, the President & the PM will then pick the new cabinet ministers.
This is in accordance to Article 25 of the Constitution of Singapore:
Appointment of Prime Minister and Ministers 25. —(1) The President shall appoint as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament, and shall, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint other Ministers from among the Members of Parliament:
Provided that, if an appointment is made while Parliament is dissolved, a person who was a Member of the last Parliament may be appointed but shall not continue to hold office after the first sitting of the next Parliament unless he is a Member thereof.
(2) Appointments under this Article shall be made by the President by instrument under the public seal.
Tenure of office of Prime Minister and Ministers 26. —(1) The President shall, by writing under the public seal, declare the office of Prime Minister vacant —
(a) if the Prime Minister resigns his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President; or
(b) if the President, acting in his discretion, is satisfied that the Prime Minister has ceased to command the confidence of a majority of the Members of Parliament:
Provided that, before declaring the office of Prime Minister vacant under this paragraph, the President shall inform the Prime Minister that he is satisfied as aforesaid, and, if the Prime Minister so requests, the President may dissolve Parliament instead of making such a declaration.
(2) A Minister, other than the Prime Minister, shall vacate his office —
(a) if his appointment to that office is revoked by the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, by instrument under the public seal; or
(b) if he resigns his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President.
(3) A person who has vacated his office as Minister may, if qualified, be again appointed as Minister from time to time.
(4)
(a) Whenever the Prime Minister is ill or absent from Singapore or has been granted leave of absence from his duties under Article 32, the functions conferred on him by this Constitution shall be exercisable by any other Minister authorised by the President, by instrument under the public seal, in that behalf.
(b) The President may, by instrument under the public seal, revoke any authority given under this clause.
(c) The powers conferred upon the President by this clause shall be exercised by him acting in his discretion, if in his opinion it is impracticable to obtain the advice of the Prime Minister owing to the Prime Minister"s illness or absence, and in any other case shall be exercised by the President in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister.
Just had a slight debate with my dad. He was watching the news and said that the police / govt are being unfair to a certain Wayang Party politician by detaining him. I say, just too bad. I mean, if you want to play punk in politics, then you just have to face the music.
My dad said that it was a simple case of "he forgot". But i say that's bullshit. If you read the "fine print" in the newspapers (i.e. if you read the whole story instead of just the headlines) , you'll realise that Mr. Wayang wasn't as innocent as he claimed. Oh no... it wasn't a simple case of "i forgot in a moment of distraction".
As Mr. Wayang's party chairman said herself, the party never intended to field him in AMK. Hence, if he wasn't going to be in AMK, there was no need for him to get a minority cert. Since there was no need for a minority cert, why the whole drama of him claming that he had submitted the form, wagging his finger at the election dept people and warning them about "consequences" for losing his cert??
So how to pity him now? Want to play dirty then don't be so stupid right? Bo wey gong! (Nothing to say.) Sigh! *Shakes head*
Not too long ago, i attended this training where the trainer spoke about the conscious & unconscious mind. The trainer believed that people found it extremely difficult to break old habits because no matter what their conscious mind told them to do, their unconscious mind would always act to steer them back to their old nature.
I agree with what the trainer said though i call it the heart vs. the mind. I realised a long time ago that even if your mind can think through a situation and come up with the most logical, most rational decision that you should take, as long as your heart tells you to go the opposite direction, chances are, you would head the way your heart told you to. The bottomline is, if you followed the decision of your mind, even if everything turned out fine, you would always still question and ask yourself, "what if..." But if you followed your heart's decision, even if it turned out to be a mistake, you would still not regret it.
Ever since i came to this conclusion, i've always tried to listen to my heart. The best way of listening to what your heart is telling you is this: toss a coin. That's because if the toss affirms what you really want in your heart, you'll be very happy to follow through with the results. However, if the toss was against what your heart wanted, then you would probably want to toss again, and again, till the outcome matched what your heart wants. Point is, the result of the toss isn't the main thing that you're trying to find out... it just gives that tiny voice inside you a loudspeaker to shout what it wants to say.
That said, i'm afraid i've not been very good at listening to what my heart wants in recent years. This is especially true in the work arena, where it is often easier to take the path of least resistance. To just go with a job that feeds you, rather than something that you could do with much passion. And as time goes by, i think the tiny voice inside me developed a chronic sore throat 'cos it's barely audible.
I know that tiny voice used to be a very stubborn thing. It would go against the world if it had to, just to guard its beliefs. Nowadays, it does flare up occassionally... make that very occassionally. But it has mellowed to the extent that i don't recognize it anymore.
And so i've decided to embark on a journey to find that tiny voice. I actually miss its stubborness, its persistence, and its uncompromising stance on what it sets its sight on. I think coupled with a slightly more matured mind now, that voice might sing a better song than what it used to.
This is the last video for now... Pinky jumping onto my lap (taken 28/3/2006). Sooo cute. Pardon my ga-ga tone whenever i talk to Pinky in the videos... heh.
This is one of the first few videos i took of Pinky, on 26 Jan 2006. Pinky was only 10 days old! Heh.. he's like struggling to walk on the floor, and the bed. Cute.
Ah... i finally got round to looking for websites to host videos, so that i can air them here. Wasn't sure whether to choose between Youtube or Google Video so i decided to sign up for both. I tried Google Video first & the uploader tool is really user friendly for a first-timer like me. You can upload multiple files at a time too... but... but... they don't accept .3gp files!! And the more recent videos taken with my hp are in that format.
Disillusioned, i decided to try my luck with Youtube... and TADA!! Thankfully, Youtube accepts .3gp format so heh. Youtube has my patronage!
Anyway, i'm going to post 4 different videos of Pinky... from when he was scchhmall little baby to the big boy he is now. Heh. Enjoy!!
I've always been quite bo chup (apathetic) about politics and though i've openly declared that i'll be voting for the PAP in this year's General Election, i've never tried to convince anyone else to do the same. Likewise, i expect not to be badgered to vote for the opposition because i feel that who you vote for is something you ought to think about carefully, and come up with a decision of your own.
I admit that sometimes, i feel that the PAP can be a little high-handed in the way they handle things... but hey, even LKY has said that there is no level playing field in politics right? I mean, i look at my own situation - the developer of the project i'm selling got another agency in to be our joint marketing agent and i'm all out to kill them (you won't believe the number of ways i've devised to get rid of them!)... what more to expect in politics!?!
If the opposition keeps making stupid mistakes, then who can they blame for their folly? I mean, if they wait so many years for another shot at winning a seat in parliament, only to be done in by their own error, then too bad right? You can't expect the ruling party to sayang (dote) them on their heads & say, it's ok, go on and fight me?
And if their "carelessness" was part of a more elaborate scam to discredit the government and/or the election organisers, then just too bad that they were found out. Live up to the consequences i say!
Anyway, this post isn't about that. You go vote for whoever you want. And i'll vote for my PAP. This post is about the mindsets of some people i've spoken to recently. It appears to me that quite a number of people who have said that they'll be voting for the opposition, are voting only because they want an "opposition voice" in parliament. They want PAP to win overall, but they want a few opposition MPs inside to keep the ruling party on its toes.
I don't agree to that. I feel that you should vote for a person / party based on its merits, and not for the sake for "having an opposition" around. I think this applies to all things. I would never do something just for the sake of doing it. I would only do something because i believed in it.
It's also scary as i hear some people gripe on and on about how bad the gahmen has treated them and all i see is their inertia to improve their own lives at fault. We are all smart thinking adults. You can't blame the government for everything that happens, and for your lot in life because you were lazy / ill-disciplined / foolish, and hence did not get very far in life.
I say instead of complaining to the air, take action and improve your own life. Take charge because no one owes you a living. When i see "aunties" & "uncles" complain mindlessly about how bad the gahmen has treated them, i try to just walk away because i see no point in arguing with people whose minds are shut. But what made me concerned enough to write about this, is that i saw a good number of young people, who should jolly well know better, complain about the same things!
So it bugs me. It bugs me that some Singaporeans are not willing to be responsible for their own lives, choosing instead to blame the government for everything, and ungratefully forgetting all that the government has done.
Sigh... i don't know how my generation is going to turn out. I hope we don't screw up so bad that we squander away all that our forefathers have slaved for. These are difficult times.
Sigh... i got into another tussle with Singtel. Sheesh, if only i could get into an exercise routine as regular as these fights!!
Anyway, i'm tired of having to repeat my entire story here, so i'm just going to copy & paste my latest email to Singtel.
Oh btw, there is a happy ending. (Disclaimer: So far) :P
To: feedback@singtel.com
Date: May 4, 2006 1:49 AM
Subject: Of brickbats & bouquets
Dear Sirs,
I have sent numerous brickbats to Singtel over the past month because of misrepresentation and lousy service given by Singtel staff. I am glad to say that I can finally send an email to Singtel, to compliment one of your staff.
Two nights ago, a friend of mine sent 2 MMS to me but I never received them. Out of the blue, I received 2 SMS from Singtel tonight saying that there are 2 MMS waiting for me at the IDEAS website and they were the 2 MMS that my friend sent 2 nights ago.
I called Singtel 1626 and spoke to a Prakesh (I did not not quite catch his name though I did record our conversation) and he was not helpful at all. He suggested that the reason for my not receiving the MMS was because my phone settings were wrong. But this was not possible because I have been receiving and sending MMS the past month since getting my phone. He then suggested that perhaps the MMS my friend sent was bigger than 6M and hence my phone was unable to receive them.
After getting off the line with Prakesh, I checked with my friend and she said that the MMS she sent to me was only 26KB. This was verified when I logged into the IDEAS website and saw that the picture she sent was approximately 27KB.
I then called 1626 again and spoke to a lady called Vijay. Vijay said that she would do a line reset and asked me to power off and on my phone in 2 mins, after which, I was to send a test MMS to myself. I told Vijay that I would do as instructed but I rejected the idea of sending a test MMS to myself. Why should I pay for a test MMS if this was a Singtel problem? Vijay said that this was a very common problem with MMS users and that the fault lies with my handphone.
This was illogical to me because if the fault was with my handphone, then how does Singtel resetting the line help my handphone? Anyway, I requested that Vijay send a test MMS to me again and she agreed to do so. Thus I waited... I waited for 19min from 11:46pm to 12:05am and there still was no MMS.
So I called 1626 a third time. This time, I spoke to Gary Liew. At first, he also insisted that he could not send me any test MMS because there were "no phones allowed" in his office. I asked to speak to Vijay again and to my alarm, she had knocked off!! How could she be so irresponsible as to make an empty promise to a customer and then run off because her shift was over?? When I was working for a similar helpdesk, I always made sure that I followed-up with all outstanding customer requests before leaving the office!
Anyway, after much insistence on part, Gary still said that he could not send any MMS during his shift. I asked to speak to his supervisor, who was unfortunately on the phone. When his supervisor (Julia) did not return my call within 15min, Gary called me back to explain that she was still on the line but he got her permission to send a test MMS using my IDEAS web portal, and waive off the cost of that MMS.
And so the test MMS was finally sent, and I received it. What I want to highlight is that Gary's attitude was definitely positive. He did not show any signs of frustration at me, an irate customer, and he was responsible enough to follow up my request with his supervisor. So although I was very pissed by the first 2 CSOs I spoke to, I think Gary managed to resolve the issue and at least convert me to a happy customer once again.
Was feeling kind of bored so i decided to totally redo my blog! Got this template from Blogger Templates and customised it a bit. There are a couple of really impressive designs there (i downloaded the Jacksonville, Taipei, Singapore's skyline, and the Esplanade too!)... with simple instructions on how to adopt the template for your blog.
Go check it out if you're interested in customizing your blog too ya?
Decided to change the song again (yeah, i know, the last one wasn't on for very long) to get into the HK mood. Don't ask me why but somehow my intuition attaches this "HK feel" to this song. It's by Hacken Lee, aka Li Ke Qin and the song is called 再一次想你 (translated Thinking of You Once Again). It was the themesong for this TVB serial, Street Fighters (庙街妈兄弟). Interesting show. I thought Hacken Lee was just so macho in the show. Haha.
Anyway, the bunnies scored another goal yesterday... but i've run out of creative photo ideas so.. heh... till i think of some more... no more bunny sequels. :P
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Ok... some have asked why i used the pic of HK's skyline when i'm not a Hongkonger, nor am i residing in HK... well, i just wanted a blue/purple/pink theme and this matched the requirement can?
Besides, i love HK! I love the language, the food, the shopping, the culture... hey, i even tried applying for jobs there ok!
It was a tough decision between this HK skyline theme & the esplanade one lah. I think the esplanade one gels together better... looks better on the whole... but somehow i just felt that this HK one was the best for now... and so it's up.
Plus, no matter how patriotic i am, it's too tedious... way way way too tedious to change the template again tonight! No way!!
