MADOFF

How interesting is that guy's surname you tell me?

Anyhow, I believe just about the whole of the developed world is privy to the financial scandal that acknowledges its creator in Bernard Madoff, borne out of, for some, greed, for others stupidity, and yet for others, both. Then again, we can't blame them squarely. Read a report about how exactly Madoff managed to flummox many in the industry - through his stellar track record, his philanthropic work, and most importantly, the high level of trustworthiness and morality within the Jewish community.

Speaking of which, the report also mentioned that reactions from the Jewish community have ranged from anger to disappointment, with notable reference to how the entire scandal seems to confirm and champion the stereotype of the thieving Jewish banker. The stereotype has long existed and even influenced many historical events. After all, it is this stereotype that lent itself very well to the radicalisation of the Adolf's very own anti-Semitic world view.

How sad isn't it, when the misdeeds of black sheep, while few and far in between, almost always have a lasting and indelible impact on their compatriots and associates. The trust and rapport built between the Jewish and other American communities will never be the same again, plagued by the shadows of this scandal even far into the future, especially with the magnitude and scale of it.

But I hope this doesn't go down the path from which the entire country of Germany took, when it beat up itself for the atrocities Adolf orchestrated like the Holocaust, where its national pride was wounded for decades and only recently, has it taken a turn for the better. The Jewish community hopefully will know better.

Sad lah

Just came back from an SC gathering at YT's place. It was reasonably well-attended this time round, with I think around 18 people there. Had to wear the FATHER'S shirt because I didn't have any more red shirts to wear. As usual, it was a few sizes too big, but alright. But a few people didn't come attired in line with the red/green theme, so that was sad. It's JUST red and green, how hard can it be?! Bish to all those who didn't follow the theme.

Basically just ate pizza there and self-composed ice-cream floats i.e. like how a piggy would. Talked to quite a few of them about NS and holiday jobs, not much about studies anymore! Played Risk (yes again), but this time I lost so badly! Ok, so C was completely wiped out first, but then A and V took turns to slowly eradicate me on that (cursed!) board till I was (sadly) no more. HM tried to 'protect' me, but to no avail. First time ever lost so badly I tell you! Happened to such a risk-averse person some more!

Ok maybe that's why I lost.

Some more I was the person there who knew how to play Risk quite well. SAD LAH.

After that I just went around looking at other people playing other games, like mahjong and the real kind of poker, where you lose money. Sad there wasn't anyone playing Bridge; that would have been nice.

After the whole thing ended, I went up with YT and R to go collect money from ZT, who still owed me cab money from prom. Can you believe it, we went around at least three apartments before chancing correctly upon his? YT only knew what floor he lived on, so we basically tried all the doors with a cross on them and track shoes outside, since he was Christian and rather active, haha. In the process, we dropped strawberries and all. Thank goodness he wasn't (really) asleep when we found his apartment. So yay I got my $6.40 back.

Then after making a trip to YT's house and getting a Cambodian souvenir out of it, R and I trooped to the bus stop where he (surprisingly) turned serious and offered relationship advice (of which I have no use for, yet) from his own experiences. A different side of him that I have now only come to know, I would say.

Haha ok, had a good time, though the last-minute arranged Bridge session at HM's never quite materialised. Sad lah. (:

why like that

It's Boxing Day! The day after Christmas! Of which is in the period where I eat a lot and you know what happens next!

I just heard this (or something to that effect) on the news: "There has been a decline in visitor arrivals this year, down from last year's phenomenal tourist numbers. This has been attributed to the current economic downturn, which is taking its toll on many countries around the world."

WHAT. Did I hear that correctly?

"There has been a decline in visitor arrivals this year, down from last year's phenomenal tourist numbers. This has been attributed to the current economic downturn, which is taking its toll on many countries around the world."

I'M SORRY?

"There has been a decline in visitor arrivals this year, down from last year's phenomenal tourist numbers. This has been attributed to the current economic downturn, which is taking its toll on many countries around the world."

WHY? Why must everything be 'attributed' to the recessionary period?

Smaller turnouts at business expositions. Orh, it's because of the economic downturn.

Smaller donation takings for charities. Yah lah, it's the recession.

Less retail earnings. Of course it's because people have to tighten purse strings what. Then what?

More pets left at animal shelters. Oh, they couldn't afford to continue taking care of them. To expensive to upkeep.



Then what?




Ok. Maybe there's some truth to all of this.
Yes, because of the economic downturn, many have been retrenched, many more have taken pay cuts, and therefore, there is less money to holiday overseas, to donate, to spend on Christmas presents, and to even feed Spot. Business expos die because they are boring.



Ok, it's probably because businesses are busy cutting back on expenditure and therefore don't see the need to even try to get more business which will most definitely require more capital outlay.


BUT. It's not ONLY because of the downturn that has caused such phenomena, RIGHT? Does anyone see my point? (Ok maybe not because I'm quibbling over such silly things. BUT.)

I mean, it seems almost as if the current downturn is a plain (and easy) excuse to be used for accounting for many things, which would otherwise reveal something that is not so nice.

Like how tourist arrivals may be dipping ALSO because of the declining image that our country portrays to the rest of the world? Not-so-effective tourism campaigns? They've all seen our country and have gotten bored? Maybe.

Or maybe that prices have instead gone up during the Christmas period, explaining why people opt for cheaper presents now, and therefore, less spending? Maybe it's also because sales just aren't what they used to be anymore, with measly discounts of what, 5%? Not even enough to cover GST.

Or how about this, plain, unyielding human nature. We are selfish, and so we just don't want to donate too much, and don't want to buy more dog food. Charities have lost the trust placed in them due to a few really lame individuals, and people think buying huskies for HDB dwellers as Christmas presents makes absolute sense, especially when they (the dogs lah) look so small and cute when first bought (later on: how EVER did they grow so big and noisy?!).

And business expos are boring lah. Ok, that and because of the snowball effect, when some businesses (doesn't have to be alot, just the major players) decide to stay away from a particular expo (for whatever reason, maybe also because they're boring), more and more will find the expo less attractive as well, and you see my point. Yes you do.

So you see (yes you do), the "current economic downturn" should not be used as the excuse-that-no-one-can-refute, because, very often, it's seen that way. Instead, while it should be taken into account, we must also look at ways to resolve whatever problem that materialises.

How about raising service standards to boost tourist arrivals, instead of hoping for the best 5 years on when there will be a probable economic boom? Or how about better pet ownership regulation and licensing so that Spot wouldn't be in a spot?

Then we'll find out, that, after all, it isn't so much an economic downturn. (:

lovely show

Ok, don't know why but I'm kind of stuck on this show that is apparently meant for 6 to 11 year-olds. It's Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Aang, but both are essentially the same. It's this cartoon that is a cross between the anime genre and the American kind of Saturday morning cartoons. But it's got me hooked, partly because it features Asian elements especially in the 'bending' powers of the kid characters. Ok, so I'm a bit slow and the show actually started the year before last i.e. 2006. Sounds really ancient, but what to do, I focused on my studies then (I still do, hopefully). The comic timing really is quite well-done, and I like it mainly because nothing is pretentious; it's the kind of show that makes you feel really at home with it, where the character development is so fantastic that you feel like you've known them for a long time, and the message from each episode (yes, there's meaning to it) is so relevant to you that you feel that the producers know what they're talking about. And because it's animated. (:

And yes it's Christmas Eve!

the langkawi adventure!

HAHA. That's seriously an understatement. Though, for the life of me, I don't know why I found it rather enjoyable though something regrettable took place.

Ok, so we arrived there at around, hmm, I think 8pm. Had dinner at this Italian bistro in the hotel which served surprisingly good pizza. So that was nice. And the hotel as well! It was really decked out in the nicest and most expensive-LOOKING marble I've seen so far. I've always had a soft spot for luxurious but NOT gaudy interiors. Except the exterior of the hotel looked like it was transported from the gaudy '80s. So that wasn't too good.

Anyhow, the next day we basically just lounged around in the hotel. Ok no, it's more of a resort actually, by the oh-so-fantastic beach which means that isn't like one of those places that looks exactly like downtown Singapore and I was glad for that. Took a swim in the pool and trooped off to the steam room after that to open up some pores! Felt really refreshed after that, and really clean. I've always liked to be clean. Dinner later on was at some famous seafood restaurant which lived up to its name, but the flies there were not to be trifled with.

On the third day, we tried to go for a cable-car ride, but was denied it because of the strong winds. Later on, we went to this waterfall, but had a really bad experience there. Two bags were stolen! And as I type this I am reminded of the sorrow and regret, of just turning our heads away for only around two minutes as we enjoyed the cool waters (it really was a nice place to take a dip), and of the huge amount of valuables that were lost. I wouldn't type it down here, but it really is a big deal. Seriously. Perhaps some may say to get over it and move on, but it's really a huge event for me because it is the first time that such theft has happened to me/my family, and to turn up empty-handed after a rather fruitless search for the culprits, it really is saddening and heart-wrenching, to say the least. It spoilt the holiday for me, at least a little. I couldn't sleep well that night, and kept committing the incident to God. Hopefully, at the very least, I hope whatever was stolen was put to good use, in that it was used to help a desperate father whose wife was swollen with pregnancy and the loot used to raise the child in future, or that it came in handy for perhaps a family with too many mouths to feed. And not to sustain some drug addict or perpetuate a criminal syndicate of whatever sort. That would be bad. And I would be sad. We made a police report later on, and the officers were really nice and all. I had thought that Malaysian police were not really dependable or reliable, since there are many corrupt officers and all, especially the traffic police during the peak periods. Anyhow, these officers were really patient, and even sent down plainclothes policemen to try to nab the culprits (that's what they said though). At least they were nice, and didn't brush us off. During the trip, many of the locals we came across (and who got to know our story) suggested it was monkeys who took our valuables. But it was really obvious it wasn't those animals (though they do have itchy hands), because there was no noise and no mess made of all our other belongings. Monkeys wouldn't leave behind our food and towels and make off with our valuables. Ok, moving on.

The next day, we went for a mangrove tour. I noticed that my parents didn't look too affected by the theft, so that was good. I had thought they would have been brooding a lot over it, since they were the main 'losers' from the theft (personally, I only lost my bag and my pair of goggles). Anyhow, the mangrove tour was enjoyable! (:(:(: (I'll try to smile more. (: ) We went eagle feeding, touring bat caves, looking for monitor lizards, crabs, snakes, monkeys, kingfishers, mudskippers, various kinds of fish, and finding them. Sad that we didn't see any crocodiles. It was nice to be back with nature, but kind of sticky as well. If I remember correctly, we went to this expensive al fresco restaurant for dinner, where only tourists go and locals stay away. The food wasn't too bad though, and I suspect it was a Singaporean outfit, because of its arty design, alright service and exorbitant prices. Plus they had some Singaporean dishes. Sometimes I don't get my father though. While he strives to save money (I think I got my prudent genes from him), at other times he's quite willing to splurge. Not that there's anything wrong with that. (:

Ok, the next day we went fishing! Not my favourite activity, but I was all for it since my father was so interested in it, and I thought that it was a good distraction from the previous unpleasant memories (if you don't know what I'm talking about I suggest you take reading lessons and a test for dyslexia). We chartered a boat and went around the different parts of the sea to fish! I didn't catch anything though. The SISTER caught one, my father caught three fish (one big fish, one small fish, and one small grouper) and a squid, while the BROTHER was the 'hero'; he caught seven fish (one big fish, two small groupers and other small fish). But I got sunburnt feet. We later gorged on our ocean harvest. Dinner was simple at an zichar restaurant in the town area; cheap and good. The deep fried 'pork limb' there gives the German pork knuckle a serious run for its money, I tell you.

And now we come to the last day! We basically just lounged around in the resort again. After sleeping in, I went to open up my pores with some steam again. Dinner at the Italian bistro again (couldn't get enough of the pizza!). And as I type this, I'm back in Singapore. (Duh, the Internet charges there are exorbitant - RM 5 for 15 minutes, like hello, what are they thinking!)

This brings me to my next point, about Malaysian service. Ok, not that I have anything against the service people there; some of them are really nice, like the lady waitress who was enthusiastic to suggest places for us to visit and kept on asking us whether we were happy with the food, the cab drivers there (who no doubt charged us high fares; Malaysian cabs are like that, especially those called by the hotel) who advised us on the best ways to spend our holiday and sympathised with our predicament, or the mangrove people who were so entertaining with their tidbits of mangrove knowledge. But certain people there seriously spoil the entire Malaysian image as a place welcoming for tourists. Like the guest relations manager who couldn't stand to see the darts drop to the ground even once, the sniffly van driver who insisted that we should pay more because we had 5 and not 4, or the salesgirl who somehow couldn't stand helping us pack our purchases into hand-carry friendly boxes and had to mistreat, no, abuse our goods. I especially don't fancy the ones who only fawn on the ang mohs and the Middle Easterners. Yes, they are tourists, but so are we! Just because we come from the ASEAN region (including the Thais and the Indonesians and other Singaporeans), does not mean we do not deserve equal service standards. We pay for the same services too! Ok, enough venting. But I guess service standards do not really seem to be up to par for many destinations around the world. Such is life.












Ah ok, I hope I seriously put the unpleasant experiences behind me (way behind) and remember only the good bits.

Japanese food again!

Went for Japanese lunch with ZY today at some, what else, Japanese restaurant called Ministry of Food. The name sounds a little too pretentious though... like it is the authority on all things edible, when it only specialises in Japanese cuisine, haha. Well, it was one of the few times I opted to go non-raw, because usually, in such scenarios, I'd be off my top ordering all the raw fish I can get my hands on. The beef slices though were equally nice, and had this meaty (yes there's no other word to describe it) taste that if replicated in every other kind of meat, there wouldn't be any need for sashimi. But since it isn't, sashimi's still good. So anyway, the beef is supposed to be cooked in some pot of (delish!) soup over a flame, but some of the ash intermittently flew up and hurt our eyes; sigh, the sacrifices we make for good food.

On this note I would like to say that good food is perhaps one of the items that is worth paying exorbitant prices for.

Anyway the conversation soon (somehow) veered towards the corrupt nature of many political institutions and how we would deal with them when we grow up to be highflyers of note in our specific fields of work. But then I got distracted by the dessert that came. ZY tried some soft-serve ice-cream that seriously tastes quite good for its price even though McDonald's sells the same kind at a pittance and doesn't taste half as nice. Hokkaido milk really is better. But she didn't like the black sauce that she (herself) poured all over the rest of the dessert, and so, I got to eat it. I should seriously pack some of the black sauce wherever I go - lets me have free dessert and tastes like brown sugar (maybe it's really brown sugar and not black dates and prunes. The cheaters). My tri-colour dessert thing wasn't really tri-colour, but tasted alright anyway. Hokkaido red beans and potatoes don't really go well with rice cakes, in my opinion. But what can I say, they're the Ministry of Food. (:

Over-relaxation

Went for another outing, this time with some SC members. First met up with HM and JZ, and came to know of the really, really miniscule turnout for it. Sadly (at first). Anyhow, we came to enjoy ourselves, and so, we must. Went to NYNY for lunch, and ordered brats with bacon and cheese. Very nice, and somehow, they were amused by how I laid out my ketchup all around the circumference of the plate. Ja came over then, as I was finishing my food, and later on, Jo came, decked in PE attire and all. It was quite amusing to see them react in surprise at the dismal turnout, yet expressing silent understanding of the situation. But I actually thought it was for the better; it's actually more effective bonding time with a smaller group of people (as always has been my belief), and actually more fun as well. We went over later to the games cafe, where we met V, and played Ugly Doll, Bang! (yes somehow it sounds wrong), and Quicksand. Ugly Doll was crazy, whereas Bang! was frustrating; I kept getting jailed or having no equipment to 'shoot' people. Ja and JZ left after that game, and somehow it was weirdly observed that they might be together. Oh well, that remains unclear; no speculating please. At first I thought Quicksand would be boring, but it turned out to be quite intriguing and fun, although I didn't win. We very nearly played Risk, but I was glad we didn't; didn't want another 'harrowing' episode of being ganged against. Later on the four of us went for dinner at some place whose name I forget, but they served nice hoagies and rosti for rather reasonable prices, after which we ended up watching Bolt, where I nearly cried when Mittens fell out with Bolt. Silly, I know. But Pixar/Disney (since it owns Pixar now) always has one of these scenes that tug at the heartstrings. Sigh, it was nice, the bonding and all. So you see, even with so little, we had so much fun. Turns out that in such cases, less is more. I rest my case. And don't anyone dare touch it.

Went for yet another outing (I don't know any other appropriate word for it) with HM (yes again (: ), RB and JY, this time to enjoy an ice-cream buffet. Alas, it only starts at 3pm and so, having met up at 12.30pm, we went over to Mos Burger for a while, ate some and talked some. At 3, we went over to Mingles (haha Mean Girls), the ice-cream buffet place. JY, HM and I wanted to sit on the soft, cushiony seats, but in the end the former two got to sit there while I settled for the less-than-ideal hard chairs with no back, more commonly known as stools (haha shit). Anyhow, I stole JY's seat after a while (and she stole HM's seat later, and HM stole my seat much later. But bottomline is, I got to sit on the cushiony seat. That's all that matters.). All in all, I ate, wait for it (..........), a whopping 27 scoops of ice-cream spanning 22 flavours (I didn't take Rainbow 'cause it was bubble-gum flavoured, and Mint-something 'cause it was powdery; I stole tastes from my friends')! Very worth the money, I know. New Zealand's Natural Premium yadda yadda some more! HM took a close 24 scoops, but JY and RB disappointed greatly, with just 7, and 4 and a half scoops only. I felt a little fat/full/bloated though, but that doesn't matter. Happens to me all the time. HM was so enamoured by the gourmet sausages they sold there as well, but all of us (including her) were rudely shocked by the $9.30 price tag that came along with each. So we decided (after an extended period of time) to buy the sausages from Cold Storage and cook them at JY's house ourselves. Clever, I know. As a treat from RB, we bought $16 plus worth of gourmet sausages, potatoes and canned soup. But seriously, cooking at JY's place was a real challenge in itself, even if we transformed into culinary experts adept in the art of producing exquisite cuisine i.e. chefs in Michelin-rated restaurants, definitely not the hotel kinds, though. Her kitchen was so devoid of cooking equipment/ingredients, the former is as good as non-existent. A bit exaggerated, but true. Nonetheless, being the quick-minded, resourceful and versatile individuals of excellent calibre we are, we managed, and whipped up really tasty sausages, and mash mixed with soup, and more soup, with some help from the World Wide Web spider. All the while watching The Little Nyonya and some last episode of the CSI-esque Hong Kong serial. Not bad for the group of us. HM and I agreed that it was, on hindsight, a good experience. Cooking seriously bonds people, and this is independent of any culinary skills whatsoever. After that, we taught JY how to play Bridge (quite successfully), and thereafter went our separate ways i.e. home. Again, less is more.

Though, I think I'm being over-relaxed. I guess that's the syndrome of the education system here. It primes us too well to handle heavy loads of work, and while that's appreciated, it somehow makes us a little too guilty for having a good time; at least for me it is so. Oh well, I think I'll get used to it pretty quickly. J (I have a lot of J friends...) recently sent me a Christmas card that promised another treat, and I have other appointments I want to keep as well with other friends. So here comes my 'over-relaxation' time of enjoyment. And with open arms, I receive you.

the Singaporean blogpost

Hm, today I'll probably do a post about certain occasions or incidents that have happened so far. And in the Singaporean manner, these occasions shall share a similar thread: me.

It is slightly narcissistic, but since this is partly, in a sense, some sort of diary or log of things that concern, namely, me, I shall write about someone, i.e. me.

Ok, notwithstanding prom, things that follow consist of what I did after the A levels (largely):

1. Went for lunch with some schoolmates, i.e. HM, K, K, ZT, J, and another K. N was supposed to come but he (amazingly but not surprisingly) somehow lost his way and decided to go back home instead. Basically talked about anything under the sun, but somehow, some way or another, we still managed to talk about (what else.) studies! Even after the exams. We decided to do something remotely fun though. HM was dared by J to ask her junior out (of the same gender, so that was not so embarrassing), and the loser would eat some weird concoction of lettuce, vinaigrette, ketchup, beef sauce, salt, and pepper (a myriad of ingredients from our lunch). Well, J (expectedly) lost. Then we did another dare where all of us participated: whoever guessed correctly the colour of the dress that D wanted to wear to prom would have to consume the mixture. Well, I guessed hot pink (haha.) and other colours thrown were brown, purple and more. Well, one of the Ks guessed turquoise, and guess what, she was right! Lucky her. So K and J ate the thing together, grimaced together, and later tried to bluff everyone into eating it as well by saying it tasted quite fine apparently. After lunch, one of the Ks (the latter K actually) went off, and the rest of us went to J's house to play Risk after failing to realise that Settler's at Katong actually moved. So we travelled for like one and a half hours before reaching the house. Clever, yes. But Risk was fun! Except that I was the main target to attack for many of them (don't know why...). But one of the two Ks won in the end, even though she was basically reading stuff (academic stuff some more!) most of the time apart from throwing dice and stuff. Well, it was fun.
2. Went for breakfast on one of the past few days with M and K. Well, we basically talked about a lot of things, ranging from baby killers in the US to my post-prom aftermath. It had been a long time since I ate breakfast out, so breakfast was good. After that, we went to Borders and a myriad of small shops, just looking around. Wanted to buy back some Japanese foodstuff, but was thwarted by the horridly humid weather we have here.
3. Ate plenty, plenty of nice salmon sashimi that I was denied during the A levels. Felt so good.
4. Joined a newly formed Bible study group. The first meeting went quite well actually; everyone felt quite at ease and contributed plenty to the discussion. For me, it was one of the most fruitful discussions in a long time. After that we had a barbecue for one of the members' birthday.

So those are about the more notable things I've sort of enjoyed post A's, among the family outings and more. Looking forward to more treats from certain friends who have promised them... (:

prom and what happened after that

Haha prom. Seriously I thought it could have been worse, but it turned out alright. But just alright. Not fantastic or groundbreaking or anything. When the waiters and all did the short dance with all the fancy (faulty) lights, I nearly dry-vomited. No seriously, I hope that some part of my ticket price did not go to training them for that thing. Food was alright, but the entertainment, well, let's just say they tried their best. But everyone (well, almost everyone) looked really good that night, and it was fun taking pictures with people I knew (and people I didn't really know).

Post-prom started out slow I guess, and while I thought it really picked up at the end, to the serious clubbers, it never really did. Oh well, not really a clubbing type myself, I was just satisfied with whatever there was. Drank some, danced (read gelek-ed) some, and was called wild/crazy/cute by some. But I really thought no one could see me under the blinking lights (no really, they were blinking)! Anyhow, that would probably be the first and last time I step into a club of my own free will, unless I'm forced to, for work or some other nonsense, haha.

Oh well, I'd prefer my mundane life anyday, thank you. Much better I think. (: