It's the simple things in life...

Sharing the joy of hot, fluffy poffretjes with the wife on a cold London Winter's day...

A cure for insomnia that will make you wish you didn't have to be awake later...

Three parts vodka and three parts whiskey, Add a shot of rum just to make sure you get tipsy. Mix it all together and then drink it all up, Keep your eyes closed and I bet you wont wake up.

Midnight contemplations

Mixing dough for bread tomorrow; A quiet night interrupted by the rain; Soothing calm in the tropics

Scum eaters

Food blogger are like bottom feeders. As long as you ply them with free meals, they won't care if what they get is the expensive fish food meant for the fishes that swim above them that happened to sink to the bottom, or the feces from those said fish... they'll still say it tastes amazing all the same.

Singapore 1 Malaysia 1, aiyah all the same 1 lah...

It's ironic how some Singaporeans can't feel proud of their national team winning a football game because all the players who scored goals are 'foreign talent', while some Malaysians can't feel confident about their national team being able to win a game properly and having to point lasers at the opposing team player's faces to help them.

In the end, haih, we all still seem to think we're not good enough. *tsk tsk tsk*

Down and out in the air-conditioned nation...

I miss being in a place where while your day isn't going well and it's blistering cold outside, all you need to do is just to have a cuppa hot tea in your hands and some nice music playing in the background to keep you warm and give you that fuzzy feeling that makes you think...well, things aren't so bad. It will be okay.

It's the simpleness of the moment that's so alluring, and so easy to get if you're in the right place. But living in a city where it doesn't exist, where everything has been shaped or molded to be a certain way that makes it by its very nature 'un-simple'...well, it makes you a little sad.

Air-conditioning just isn't the same thing.

Wake up and smell the burnt coffee...

I set off to change the world,
But alas, the world instead changed me.
I tried best to make a difference,
Sadly, things were not to be.

Is it naive to be optimistic,
Though with a pessimistic mind?
To believe good things indeed result,
from the determination of human kind.

As I lament sorrow of the passing,
Of that last true breath of hope.
The distant dream of a better future,
Lost at the moment when I woke.

Agri(vating)-Food and Veterinary Authority

I will never work for AVA,
Some of the people there damn si beh suay.
So damn kiasi yet still so kiasu,
Work with them headache until want to 吐!

Why blogs do not get updated...

I used to blog,
I used to write,
I used to ask here,
"Oh why? Why? WHY?"

I don't know how,
I don't know when,
I've let this journal,
die. Die! DIE!

But then I thought,
Why I don't blog,
Is because I no longer need,
to sigh. Sigh...SIGH!

It's not such a bad thing.
But well it does mean,
At least for now...
It's goodbye. Goodbye! GOODBYE!

Our egos on the environment...

I don't understand...
Should we try to make our mark on this world?
Or should we leave as little impact as we can...
Should we thread the Earth as lightly as possible?
Or be determined to leave our footprints in the sand...

It's a dud...

Looks like the green-looking grass over here turned out to be actually AstroTurf. Now I have to move on and seek greener pastures. Such is life.

A picture paints a thousand words...

Look here, my friend!
Here is a picture of life.
A field full of roses,
A good life, without strife.

Look here again, my friend!
Another picture to show you.
A harem full of whores,
All ready to blow you.

Oh, don't look at this one!
There's really no point,
For this picture I hold,
Will surely disappoint!

Are you sure, my friend?
Well, if you insist!
I'm not going to stop you,
Will not ask that you desist.

The picture's not pretty?
Well, alas, my friend - this is real life!
I know it can hurt when,
Reality cuts through with a knife.

But if you care to look closer,
Perhaps you might see,
It's not all gray skies in the background,
Looming over the rough, dizzying seas.

The silver lining I speak of,
Lies just slightly above,
In order to find it,
You will need lots of love.

Though the earlier pictures,
May stoke your desires.
Should you stare at them too long,
Your mind's eye will tire.

So instead take the last one,
And keep it in your pocket.
Store it in a special place,
Inside your heart's locket.

Look upon it from time to time,
And I'm sure you'll discover,
Amidst all the hardship within,
Lies a kind face of a lover.

When you finally find her,
Within that chaotic picture called life,
You should frame up the picture,
And take the girl as your wife.

Smile...

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...

If you smile
With your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just...

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just...

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...

If you smile
Through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile...

That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

If I am my brother's keeper, then I have failed miserably...

O brother, where art thou?
you've been taken by that filthy sow.
Your heart's been blackened,
You mind's made weak.
Your soul has perished,
And your spirit, meek.

Random Melon Facts...

People's heads aren't like melons. You can't really smell it to figure out what's going on inside. Though it can still smell pretty darned nice anyway.

Beauty...

We live in a very peculiar world, where society is constantly trying to shape how we think about ourselves by displacing one image of the 'self' with another. An example of this is the concept of 'beauty'.

For now, we hold 'beauty' to be what would be defined as what is physically attractive, as in what we would see on the covers of contemporary fashion magazines. Society, or rather the mass media of which society uses a medium to convey its opinion, tries to shape us into this 'perfect' image. It tells us that pursuit of 'beauty' (as in the beauty it defines) will bring self-confidence to the pursuer. Those who are not born or do not try to conform with or follow this prescription are looked upon as 'imperfect'. They do not appear as how one should appear, and therefore they are not 'beautiful'. Yet, they do not have to be condemned to be this way! There are myriad of methods to 'correct' this 'imperfection'. Make up, fashionable clothing, plastic surgery...all of these are 'cures' for this 'disease of imperfection'!

So we live our lives constantly being told how undesirable we are, how ugly we look, with the comparison of what is 'desirable' and 'beautiful' inevitably drawn from the celebrities and models whose images adorn the different forms of mass media. Those who choose not to listen despite hearing these messages, messages that bombard us relentless everyday and everywhere we go in our modern world, are labeled as 'freaks'. How could they not want to be beautiful? Especially when a wide range of products are available to them on the market to 'improve' their pathetic selves?

And so this is the norm. Or rather, it is the hegemony we have accepted.

But this conception of beauty has not always existed in its current state in history, or even in every culture in contemporary societies. Nor will it likely continue to persist in this form into the foreseeable future. Already, there are signs that this is changing. And it comes from who else but the mass media itself!

An example of this is the trend of the 'no make up' look. Celebrities and models are increasingly embracing the au naturel look because 'natural beauty' is now considered to be more 'desirable'. The media plays its part by conveying to readers and television viewers that this, now, is 'beauty'. Or rather, the media is 'selling' this look as the latest fashionable trend.

Just not so long ago, tabloids and fashion magazines were denouncing 'make up-less' celebrities, citing unflattering pictures of them as incriminating evidence of their transgression to beauty. Of course, they do not mention the fact that anyone, if being photographed in the wrong instant in the wrong way, could look horrendous; just as anyone, if being photographed at the right instant in the right way, could look 'beautiful'. But these are merely images, they do not necessarily represent the actual 'self' of the particular person. Merely the 'image of the self'. We do not actually know a lot about these people just based on how they look. And so we go on to read about how they live their lives, for which celebrity rags will often 'rag' the celebrities to provide entertaining gossip. So we still do not know how they are as people. But I digress.

Another example is the popularity of Lady Gaga and like public figures. How could some one dressed like a freak-show be on the cover of magazines!? She is definitely not 'beautiful' in the sense that we have been conditioned to view as 'beauty' up until now. Her fashion-sense is in many ways the complete opposite of convention. Yet, this is increasingly being accepted as 'beautiful' in one way or another. For this 'alternative' image of 'beauty' is being plastered on every single advertising surface that will have it. And so it is increasingly becoming accepted just as much as what has been the 'conventional' definition of 'beauty'.

So looking at how it is possible to distort and twist the idea of 'beauty' with such images, why is it that we still subject ourselves to following what we are told to be 'beautiful'? Certainly, there is some value to dressing well and looking presentable, for there are many social situations that require a particular 'look' (this is just one of the realities of society), but for this function there are no clear judgments of 'beauty' per se. 'Beauty' might play a role, but more often than not there are other elements that are of greater importance that reduces its usefulness. And whatever usefulness of 'beauty', in its current definition by society, becomes obsolete with the onset of time and the inevitable process of aging. One can, and many do, try to find means to 'preserve' this 'beauty', but it is often futile. For a face injected full of toxins is not a real face anymore, but just a hideous image of what once was considered 'beautiful'. So 'beauty' is not ever-lasting either.

At the end of the day, do we really need to concern ourselves with what is 'beauty' if it is often just a different image projected by society at different times? Perhaps a little, for it is useful in many cases when trying to live (or be left alone) in peace as a member of society. But should we feel ourselves less 'beautiful' if we decide not to 'live up' to this image at every single instant of our lives? Certainly not.

Conspiracy theories...

Random thought trying to play military strategist: Could it be that the US is goading North Korea into action because Kim Jong-Il is physically weak and there is a strategic opportunity to remove his regime from power based on some kind of intelligence provided by the CIA? The Americans seem to be pushing quite hard on this, while at the same time trying to force China's hand in dealing with it, which would commit the Chinese into taking stronger action and being geographically closer to North Korea, it would be of more risk to the Chinese than to the Americans. Therefore, if China has to act, it would stifle its steady rise to power while not having as as much consequence to the US (comparatively) and allow for them to recover and retain their hegemony over the world. Of course, there would be a great risk consider DPRK has nukes, but who knows what goes on behind closed doors and what these higher types are thinking when they strategize?

Money no enough...

I am completely broke for the month for the first time in my life. Rent, bills, phone charges, gifts, air tickets, expenses. I am living way beyond my means. Oh, the joy of worrying about money can only drive one to utter insanity!

For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health...

I guess at the end of the day, all that really matters are the fundamentals.

The looks will go one day. That is a fact.

There would inevitably be things that you discover about them that may not be as perfect as you imagined in the beginning (as we are wont to expect it to be when starting a relationship).

The circumstances may not be perfect either. Sometimes it may be easy, other times it's difficult as hell. And it may not always be nice on either of you.

If one were to be too fixated on the notion that everything has to go exactly as planned, and to continue to be obsessed with those initial expectations, it would take its toll on each other. Thus it would, regrettably though not unexpectedly, fail.

The point to the whole thing is that you have to look past the warts and wrinkles. Accept the idiosyncrasies, and their fears and insecurities. Be okay with the stupid things they may do sometimes. Still find the joy and comfort in being with them even if it means on some days they will have bad days that will affect you (as you will also have bad days that affect them). Accept the variables they may bring to your life that may complicate it (as you certainly bring some to theirs). Deal with those difficult situations together and never walk away. Care and listen when they're trying to tell you something even when your instinct is to shut it out. Make an effort once in a while and not take them for granted.

At the same time, in their presence be able to feel relaxed and not have to care about the mundane day-to-day responsibilities that all too often wear us down in life, especially on the days you really need to feel that way. To be comfortable with your fears and insecurities when you are with them. Maybe, even because you are with them.

Seems like a fairly long list of things to ponder. Impossibly daunting, almost.

But again, I guess it boils down to the basic, fundamental thing.

And that is just to love them.

Ennuity at work...

Very, very bored,
and very, very tired.
Though if I were to snore,
I think I would get fired.