Bovinely Content

The Breaking Free Generation

2009-11-08T22:36:00.002-05:00

Like it or not, we are the generation that will bring change. There was a speech recently by a bigshot in the civil service to the new generation of scholars. Disregarding the faulty logic they employing in pushing their point, for example"16 of 20 Permanent Secretaries are scholars. It shows that our system is good enough to spot potential leaders from among our scholars but flexible enough to

Approaching the Third Trimester

2009-10-05T20:33:00.003-04:00

I'm now in my 25th week and soon crossing over to the third trimester. This is indeed the honeymoon period of the whole pregnancy. No morning sickness and not too much excessive weight and the pains that comes with it. I have been having some leg cramps in the middle of the night and slight back aches but they are still tolerable at this point. In fact, I feel just like my normal self except with

Our (Still) Genderless Baby

2009-08-30T23:56:00.002-04:00

Now that I'm getting into the 5th month, my tummy is starting to really show. I didn't seem to have put on much weight in the past month though. So far, my limbs and face still look like normal, just that my belly and waistline has expanded.So far, I've only bought a few maternity work outfits - 3 dresses, 2 shirts and 3 tops in a bigger size and a Bellaband. The good thing about the band (it's

Dumb people that Annoy me

2009-08-20T02:12:00.005-04:00

Sometimes you wonder if dumb people exist in this world just to make you feel smart. After all, if everyone was smart, I'd probably think I'm quite mediocre. I'm not defining smart by IQ per se but more on the ability to act based on common sense (and hopefully also some common courtesy). There's this idiot colleague, I'll call him Edo, who has been doing many things that make me want to kick him

Apprehension to Change

2009-08-13T01:35:00.002-04:00

It's funny how one can crave change yet feel so apprehensive about it. We were afraid of stagnating in place, our of sheer inertia, but now that the changes are coming in waves, I grow worried. Maybe the fearfulness is a conditioned survival response - the body craves routine and predictability. Even as our brain rationally knows that it will decay without new challenges.In actuality, we work for

Pitter Patter of Little Feet (aka What's Next?)

2009-04-30T03:41:00.005-04:00

And just as I come to my blog to talk about our recent decision, I saw e*'s comment about the pitter patter of little feet. Is it coincidence, or is it just my biological clock ticking? When I was younger, I decided that if I were to ever have kids, I would have them before 30. Can't remember exactly why (think it's related to possible medical complications/IQ etc), but the number 30 stuck. It's

I'm Afraid of Loving Myself

2009-04-16T03:41:00.003-04:00

I'd like to think that childhood scars fade with time but as it stands, the gleaming, hairless, gnarled lump of flesh under my knew where I had to be stitched up still looks as tender as it had 10 years ago. What more the emotional scars I received from those I thought were my friends.I was telling him yesterday that I wish we would have boys instead of girls. Because girls can be so much more

Excel Queen

2009-04-01T22:18:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to be known at work as the Excel Queen. People would come to me to get help with pivot tables, esoteric functions like vlookup and even programming macros. So much so that I'm starting to imagine that I can start an excel consultancy.It's quite amazing how many people use excel simply as a table to put data in. They still manually key in formulas/cut and paste even for things that

I'm an Alien

2009-03-24T21:28:00.002-04:00

It's funny how other people try to be different from others yet end up doing exactly the same things whereas try as I may to be the same, I will always be different. I guess you could say I don't really try hard enough. I want to be accepted but I don't want to change. I'm truly happy being the way I am. Except, I wonder, why there are so few who are just like me. I just want people who would

Domesticated

2009-03-11T00:09:00.002-04:00

I think my motherly instincts must be catching up to me. That or I'm sick of life in the corporate world. If I could have my way, I would hide in a little room as a mad scientist, analyzing data and thinking up wild experiments. Ok, I concede that this isn't the motherly part I was refering to. But recently, I've been thinking of retiring from life chasing some corporate ladder. I realize that I

Fear in the Air

2009-02-04T21:48:00.003-05:00

As with many countries around the world, THE company is looking at major capacity cuts. And the region I'm overseeing is worse than others. And things get worse even as we implement deep scalebacks in capacity and the fear is starting to permeate all levels of staff, cascading from the near panic I'm sensing from the upper management. But deep in my gut, I also think that we may be overreacting

Where's the Excitement?

2008-10-30T22:52:00.004-04:00

If I was going to a totally new working environment, would I feel more excitement than this quiet dread? My lack of interest in the new job is a little disconcerting to me because for me lack of interest really means that I'll do a terrible job. For some reason, I do really poorly in thinks I've lost interest in. Like a boring essay topic, or dry lectures + lecturers. I've gone through many

Am I Emotionally Distant?

2008-10-22T01:58:00.002-04:00

A colleague quit today. I wasn't particularly surprised since she's another one liberated from her bondage. It seems a few of my colleagues already knew about it earlier. It's not that I'm eager for such news but I wonder if I really am emotionally detached compared to the other girls. It's probably not a big deal and I'm just overanalyzing other's responses towards me. But I was also the last to

Random Ramblings

2008-08-28T23:09:00.002-04:00

Slight breathing space as the dragons are busy with other work that I'm not involved in. Seriously though, my work generally leaves me fairly independent. I love the bits where I build a model though the mindreading/finetuning in the end usually leaves me a little frustrated since it takes up so much time.I'm not sure why people seem to think that my boss is very demanding. I mean, yes she is

The 6-month Qn

2008-08-28T02:28:00.003-04:00

My colleague K came up with an interesting question about what you would do if you had 6 mths to do whatever you wanted, constraints like financials aside. I realize that in the end I still want to write. But I think I need more life experiences to write the kind of books that I want. I need a better understanding of people. __________________________________________________________

An Affair with Work

2008-08-28T00:15:00.005-04:00

I liken my relationship with my company to a marriage. I've been thinking of leaving when the end date arrives but a niggling part of my mind questions, should I really leave at the first sight of things not going my way? It seems like I'm running away from the problem. Should I then stay and try to change the environment instead? From a personal viewpoint, I've enjoyed my work here. I like

Delusions of the Creatures of Vice

2008-08-13T21:43:00.002-04:00

So I lament yet again about the poor quality of my writings but in truth, I'm glad that I write at all. Right now, I just want to subscribe to the thought of quantity over quality. I used to want to be a writer. It's still a small dream of mine but I think to improve and get back that writer's mindset, I can only continue to write, however poor they turn out to be. As I go along, it's nice to be

The Get-by Age

2008-08-12T22:48:00.003-04:00

My apologies for the quality of my writing. It partly has to do with me rushing them out at the office in between phone calls, work and other distractions. Sometimes I reread them and they make no sense at all. Instead of having a consistent thread of though drawn out from me, all I got is a bundle of knots.I am getting annoyed with work again. Firstly, I just realized that this work that Finance

Resentment

2008-08-07T03:25:00.002-04:00

A male colleague was ranting to us about the low pay, the poor working environment (why doesn't the company pay for transportation?). While they might be valid to some extent (the pay is truly not fantastic, and it is very far from civilisation), I find it hard to see where the resentment comes from. Especially from someone who has not even tried to adapt to the work culture or put in effort in

The Managing Model

2008-07-22T20:41:00.005-04:00

So I finally got the meeting set up yesterday. After all the time wasting emails, all it took was for the two bigshots to agree on a time and everything else would have fell into place. But no, I had to send multiple emails to the parties involved, call up secretaries, try to get them to make space for this meeting and in the end, all it took was for one of the bosses to make a decision on the

A Journey of Self Searching

2008-07-21T23:16:00.002-04:00

I'm determined to find the something that is my calling. For both me and Johnny, our material needs are easily taken care of. We know we can get by with fairly little. This morning, I was once again trying to organize a meeting for several bigshots of the company and it really makes me depressed. Why I really hate this activity is a bit of a mystery. It's not so much that it's secretarial work

I feel like myself

2008-07-15T04:36:00.004-04:00

I've stopped playing WoW. Ever since then I've found time for many things, simple things like plain ole' introspection. With a game as engaging as WoW, where you can immerse yourself for countless hours, it is easily to do just that. Since I'm still waiting for the expansion and new things to do, we've stopped our subscription. In a stroke of divine collaboration, his graphics card died a week

What I Want From Life (Part I)

2008-04-11T05:11:00.005-04:00

When I was young, I wasn't sure of what I really wanted to get out of life. I wasn't even sure of what I wanted to be. Sure, I was pretty good at my studies and it gave me enjoyment. But there wasn't a specific subject that interested me. I was uninterested with the world at large and now looking back, I looked like such a blank slate, directionless and waiting for some divine inspiration to

Depressed

2008-04-07T21:18:00.005-04:00

I was (or maybe still am) depressive. Thankfully not manic (yet). The stress and disappointment at work drove me to it though perhaps I had the tendency to view things in the worst possible light in the first place. I'm the kind of person who'd imagine that I might get knocked down by a car as I cross a street. If Johnny comes home late without telling me, I'd imagine that maybe there was an

Cynicism

2008-04-02T02:25:00.003-04:00

I'm a self confessed cynic. The Oxford English Dictionary apparently defines a cynic as showing "a disposition to disbelieve in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions" and a tendency "to express this by sneers and sarcasms"Cynics are often viewed as pessimists, essentially negative people with a predelication to criticize. For me, it's a view of the world less rose-tinted glasses.

Restless

2008-01-23T03:01:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling a surge in restless energy. The need to do something important and worthwhile rather than be where I am now. On the flip side, I just wanted to go to sleep and wake up to a better world. A lot of guild drama among the people I play with online. Sometime, I'm afraid of knowing too much about a person. Somehow, the more I know about them, the more silly I find them to be. Sometimes

Hope

2008-01-22T03:50:00.000-05:00

It is good to dream. To continue to dream, is to live. The greater the dream, the less I dwell on the current dank darkness. It is an oasis in the slow days of ennui. And for a while you look at the little creature called hope, fed and nourished, and you have an urge to protect the fragile mewling at any costs.__________________________________________________________

I'm a Wow Addict?

2008-01-14T01:39:00.001-05:00

Was reading another guys WoW blog and he admitted to being a WoW addict. When I read the things that he does, I have to say that I was not much different... Does that make me an addict as well? Here's a run through of my usual weekly routine.During workdays, I log on to the game and check my in-game auctions when I get home. After dinner, this is usually done at 8 or 9pm. My guild's raid group

An Underloved Child

2008-01-11T05:05:00.001-05:00

How fast it is, how fast... Ever since my company blocked internet access for non-work related websites, I haven't had the motivation to post. (yeah yeah, I admit they are just lame excuses really >.<) First things first, pictures of little Oreo :) It's a new year, and my introspection as it seems come at an appropriate time. I've not been posting on the blog as much as I would like to. I would

Quick Update

2007-10-15T02:23:00.000-04:00

Company monitoring internet access. Many sites banned.New puppy in the house --- little Oreo. Pics soon >.

Taking Charge

2007-08-14T04:52:00.000-04:00

As is my wont, I've been vaccilating between periods of low, depressed self-loath and a sense of worth and purposefulness. Thankfully the doldrums are over for now and I feel renewed with energy to get things done. One of the things that I got inspired to do all of a sudden is to dress professionally. According to an article, people who dresses more professionally have a higher tendency to get

Online Shopping

2007-08-08T02:07:00.000-04:00

It is ironic that I'm that much more an online shopping here than when I was in the US of A - land of eBay, free online shipping and fabulous return policies. Now I have to deal with the horrible postage fees and yet I'm buying more things. So much so in fact that my in-laws have noticed the constant stream of bubble wrapped packages that are coming through the mail.Ever since our marriage I've

A State of Zen

2007-08-01T22:20:00.000-04:00

This morning, after a wasted trip to get my pass done, I was in a surprising state of zen -- letting events flow pass me as inevitable consequences, focusing only on the flows that I can influence. Okay, in no nonsense non-zen words, I simply accepted that some negligence including my own brought about this situation and that getting angry/ upset does not remedy it in any way. I just have to

The Great Escape

2007-07-25T02:09:00.000-04:00

Counting down the days. 720 more to go.__________________________________________________________

A Good Weekend

2007-07-22T21:56:00.000-04:00

It was a good weekend. I spent most of my time reading Raymond E. Feist's Daughter of the Empire. It's a fairly well written book with a decent plot and captivating writing style. Though I did end up feeling like I watched an action movie -- it was all BAM BAM WHAM from the beginning till the end. Character development was a bit lacking but it was a decent weekend book nontheless.We also went

Writing on my Forehead

2007-07-19T04:27:00.001-04:00

There's this colleague who I don't know well who's been asking about me. He's married and he knows I'm married so it's not a romantic thing. I barely know him. He's a close friend to one of the colleagues in my department.He's not even in the country most of the time but he's asked two people separately if I'm okay. And I wonder to myself if I've had something written on my forehead. For all

Straw on the Camel's Back

2007-07-16T21:47:00.000-04:00

The last straw fell yesterday. And I woke up with a vengeful sense of purpose: To get out of here. The work load has been increasing and bosses more demanding. I've had enough of being bullied into putting in extra hours after work to cater to the whims of the management. I might be chained but that doesn't put me in slavery.I think it's counterproductive to squeeze productivity out of your staff

Mood: Destructive

2007-07-12T00:13:00.000-04:00

Such frustration building up that I've the urge to break something. I'd twirl my hair in my usual nervous manner and try to breaking them with my fingers. Of course my resillient thick hair resists such attempts with a scoff.But the mental agony is not subsiding.My inner peace recoils from the boiling dissatisfaction. I don't feel like myself.I want to escape._____________________________________

Mood: Stuck

2007-07-10T06:23:00.001-04:00

Work is a bitch. It's giving me some serious headaches at the moment and I really wish I could leave it all and disappear. The idea of being a stay-at-home mum is getting more and more appealing.Nothing too drastic needed of course. If I could leave this place, I would in a jiffy. Till then, I guess I have to live with this stomach wrenching pain of staying.In other news, there's nothing

Busy Busy

2007-07-03T03:36:00.000-04:00

Very busy. Lots of work. A few things1. I'm now a Permanent Resident. Yay to extra CPF.2. I finished my first really literary book of the year. (Graham Greene's A Love Affair)3. I have gastricitis :( Or in more simple terms my stomach is being a bitch and doesn't want to digest some types of food. Seeing a specialist this weekend. Meanwhile, I'm burping like a cow.... mooSidenote: Another

Work = :o(

2007-06-28T04:30:00.001-04:00

:( :( :( hating work...overworked and bored out of my skull...I want to find my real calling.__________________________________________________________

2007-06-27T01:51:00.001-04:00

So it is possible to bored and busy all at the same time. I've been chugging along my job for a while and I'm yearning for a change. Anything but this endless overworked routine.Recently, I've not been feeling well. It ddin't start just recently but many months back. I started having this extremely uncomfortable bloatedness and gassiness that comes with the usual accompaniments of burps and

Personal Bubble

2007-06-25T20:51:00.000-04:00

I remember I read somewhere a long time ago that everyone has their own personal bubble/ space whereby they are uncomfortable to share with those not close to their hearts. I remember it as a force shield around myself whereby if people invades it, my defence systems go up and I try to distance myself.Blogs somewhat change the landscape a little as we learnt to share our life with potentially

More Pics Pls!

2007-06-25T02:06:00.000-04:00

I think I don't put up pictures often enough. Usually I can get quite narcissistic when the mood strikes and I go camera crazy. And after that, I'll take another two to three weeks before I load them onto my pc. And then it's another few months before I even think about uploading them. Just realized that I used to use this Hello program for blogger. I'll have to look it up again.From a

Happy

2007-06-20T23:03:00.001-04:00

Was reading about this 26 year old lady, M, on one of the local forums who claimed that she is holding a job that pays SGD20k but is so tired it all that she wants to quit her job and go backpacking while living on her investments which is yielding her 10k a month. Regardless of whether it is true (and it could well be), it was pretty sad when she talked about how her husband and parents are too

Days Off

2007-06-18T22:58:00.000-04:00

I'm one of those weird people who'd use my annual leave to sit at home and rest. Sometimes I'm just so sick of work I need to recharge at home. The best part about such holidays is the morning when you wake up and you just back slump lazily in glee that it's not a work day. Many people I know have very purposeful holidays, usually for short trips or vacations. The whole inactivity that I pursue

People that Don't Click

2007-06-15T06:09:00.000-04:00

There are just some people I can get along with. Esp if it's people who've insulted me before.I was asked to work with this manager (let's call him Xxx) on a particular assignment. Upon deciding that I was probably too nooby for his taste, Xxx quietly asked my senior in the department to join in the meeting. Thanks for the great vote of no confidence... I was about 6 mths++ into the job at that

Esteemed

2007-06-12T22:28:00.000-04:00

I have low self-esteem. I've known it for years but it doesn't stop this chronic termite from gnawing at me. I have clarity in what I want to be but without the steel cocoon of confidence, I'm easily shaken. The contrary objections gets bolder in their attacks until it shatters what belief you have.I have begun to heal with my darling by my side. Together we build from the abandoned remnants of

Tim Smit's Business Rules

2007-06-12T04:22:00.000-04:00

#1 Say hi to 20 people before you start work#2 Read 2 books that are outside your sphere of interest#3 Ditto but for movie#4 Ditto but for thearter#5 Make a speech about why you like working here#6 Making major decisions at night: Work hat off-> more complete rounded perspective.__________________________________________________________

The Blues

2007-06-11T22:35:00.000-04:00

In my reality, the week's blues starts at Sunday night, right about 7pm when I'm paralyzed by an irrational urge to to cram in something that would make my weekend more wow than a good rest. In 20/20 hindsight, it's clearly a stressful and pretty much pointless endeavor that basically ruins a good sunday night.7pm -8pm: Bemoan the fact that tomorrow is a Monday. Sometimes come with some moping

Blossoming Love

2007-06-10T21:41:00.000-04:00

I wonder if the many many stereotypes regarding love and married life are there to set lower expectations and to avoid disappointment. He's had many guy friends ask him if he feels acutely the loss of freedom. And he just goes 'huh?'. We've never had to restrict each in any way or perhaps we are just lucky enough not to have hobbies that the other disapproves of.The other day at a colleague's

Inspiration

2007-06-08T01:57:00.000-04:00

It's a unique pleasure to hear about a fairy tale exit to the void of these shackles, one which inspires hope and also retrospection in you. For every successful business case, there is an well-thought exit strategy.My dreams are much smaller and private. I have not the desires to change the world or give back to society. The world moves on without my intervention. What I crave is to communicate

Dandelion Travels

2007-06-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

The days go by with such flippancy that I'm surprised to find that I'm almost two years into the working world. Work has ceased to throw up new and interesting twists and I feel like I'm starting to sink into a well-worn-sofa work routine. I can tell that this is not the life for me but I can certainly imagine undecided young minds to settle into this known ennui. For most people, the unknown is

Quarterly Life Crisis

2006-11-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

How ironic that after my maiden post promising more to come was followed by a half month of silence, choked by the great furious monster called Work. Between work and my second life on World of Warcraft, I sometimes find there's little time for much else. I do enjoy my time playing with him by my side in both the virtual and real world, but the daily raids (Wow speak for a team of players getting

BloWriMo

2006-10-31T23:29:00.000-05:00

A few years back, I chanced upon NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I thought -- “Cool, that would be a nice way to get me back on the writing track”. Writing had come so easily in my late teens. I was so hungry to write and did leave quite a legacy of letters and diary entries during that period. Perhaps it’s a reflection of the flurried pace of my then growing ideology.As university

Wedding Preparations (or the lackthereof) + WoW Politics

2006-08-15T06:23:00.000-04:00

So I finally finally gotten down to a bridal boutique and gotten the package. Granted, it was the first shop that we entered but the price was reasonable and there was a gown I tried that I really liked. Or I remember liking. I guess as wedding gowns go it's pretty normal: bustier style, A-line skirting, longish train, ivory. It does have an irresistable sash in the middle and a not so

2 month's of silence

2006-04-18T03:24:00.000-04:00

2 month's of silence.Filled, just getting by.Work is a big let down. And I'm stuck here for what it's a worth.Gaming life goes on. But sometimes I don't care.Getting registered for our marriage. Final ceremony will be simple. Prob in October. I don't really care. In my mind, we were already wed a long time back.In about 3 months, we celebrate our 5th anniversary.It feels tired. Sometimes it feels

Moving Along

2005-11-13T22:59:00.000-05:00

Apropos e*'s post about moving on, I have to confess that 4 months into the job and I already have the desire to move on. The company culture just isn't me. Too fussy about minute details. Too squabbly. And most of all very very Gen X. Read this article recently about Gen Y's at the work place. While I've always hated such type casting, I for once can identify with being a Gen Y. Some of the

Moving in a Month

2005-09-15T05:00:00.000-04:00

Didn't have much time to blog lately. No further progress towards my impending marriage. I'm starting to think we can stay going-to-get-married for the next five years. Oh fine, may be not. The 'rents will probably kill us first (using the ever powerful incessant nagging) before that happens. I'm kinda waiting for the big move to the new place so I can hold the registration ceremony there. It's

Wedding Rings

2005-08-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

We bought wedding rings on Saturday. We probably made the trainee sales assistant's day with that transaction. Not that she was very helpful, mind. I already knew the design that I liked. I saw it at another branch earlier where everybody was too busy attending to the $200 purchases *oh I think this bracelet is too delicate* to care about the potential >2k sale in a ratty t-shirt and cargo pants.

Time, anyone's best friend

2005-08-15T00:45:00.000-04:00

After work has started, spare time has become a most precious commodity. Seriously, I won't trade them for the biggest diamonds in the world. Well, unless I can sell the gem and live off the proceeds w/o ever having to work again. Hmmm....*rubs chin slowly*Okay enough of my crazy Monday-induced fantasies. It's not that I'm extremely busy. As of now I still work only regular hours, 8:30 to 5:30.

2005-08-12T03:54:00.000-04:00

Btw all, I'm going to go register our marriage soon. Like when we can find the time. *doodeedoo*__________________________________________________________

Finding my Freedom

2005-07-30T04:48:00.000-04:00

I was quite unhappy the previous time he brought his friend home to play on the console. They would spend hours playing and generally lose track of time. I’m always uncomfortable in the presence of strangers especially if they are strangers that belong to someone I know. Even if I’m in my home, I manage to feel claustrophobic. That time, I just sat and sulked, hoping that he will somehow realize

The Blues

2005-07-22T02:18:00.000-04:00

It’s been one week at work. I’m still waiting for them to shuffle the portfolios and give me something to do. So meanwhile, I’m just sitting around reading anything I can lay my hands on. But it’s starting to get boring. I wonder if the fact that it’s Friday makes me want to leave more eagerly than usual. Or maybe it’s been a whole long week of monotony. Man there’s so little time left when you

The LongDue Update

2005-07-20T04:08:00.000-04:00

Last Friday was my first day of work. I believe I can summarize my job with four dreary words: long hours, low pay. I don’t really like the people from HR. Most of the general staff I’ve met there are really inefficient. On the other hand, I guess that’s why they are stuck in that kind of job. If they were deserving, efficient but merely uneducated, they would have already moved on. At least we

It's over!

2005-05-20T18:44:00.000-04:00

Finally finally finally, the project is over! This week past by with a frenetic pace. I've been practically living in the school labs. Besides the times when we break for meals, we've been working and working and working.Saturday and Sunday: Working on presentation, running tonnes of simulations. Results turned out to be rather disappointingMonday: Presentation. Went pretty well. But was so long

The One Before

2005-05-13T15:31:00.000-04:00

So my final exam in university has ended. It went okay. Now, I'll need to work full time on the project. Anyway, Baba in my last vent is really a nice guy. In fact, I couldn't ask for a better team member. I guess even when I complain, whine, get angry with people, it's sometimes really a heat of the moment thing. The good thing is all the negativity dissipates once I get a good nights sleep. (so

Symptom #4

2005-05-11T01:22:00.000-04:00

So I realized that symptom #4 is actually the urge to make repeated entries to my blog.When he's around, I vent, complain, whine, discuss... basically talk about everything nitty gritty thing. And somehow after I've talked about things, I no longer feel the urge to even think about them in great details anymore. Which could explain why I no longer keep a diary after we got together. Which makes

Hopeless

2005-05-11T00:03:00.000-04:00

I'm really hopeless. Here I am trying to convince myself that I'm okay even if he's not here. Still doesn't stop me from getting all lonely and missing him at every corner.Sypmtom #1: Drowning myself in work... is almost pathetic. Well, not exactly drowning but I've been working on some notes for our study group (basically a bunch of us bums who never catch up with the reading and decided to each

Summer is around the corner

2005-05-10T14:52:00.000-04:00

Summer's around the corner. Today's temperature was a sweltering 25C. 5 minutes out of my house and I was beginning to melt.Darling has just left for Cincinnati to present his project to the sponsors. Mine is next Monday, on-campus, which is a relief since flying to Phoenix and back is a serious pain and waste of time. Well at least time that could be better used for other things. So today and

Farewell, baby car.

2005-05-09T15:26:00.000-04:00

Today is the last day baby car will be with us.In the evening, his new owners will be here to lead him away. It has been great fun driving around with him. He gave us the freedom to go out unconstrained by bus schedules. He is our first car. Well, it's really johnny's car but nevertheless, we both feel emotionally attached to him. It's funny how we develop feeling overs inanimate things.When we

Hair of Steel

2005-05-01T12:37:00.000-04:00

It's quite amazing but did you know that hair can pierce your skin? Well, I didn't. Either the hair around my apartment is extremely tough or the skin on my feet is extremely soft. Given that I have been walking on my feet and developing nice protective layers of corn, I'll bet on the former.__________________________________________________________

Seal the deal

2005-04-28T15:04:00.000-04:00

Whoopee, will no longer have to worry about baby car. Finally gotten a firm buyer. After all that effort of putting up a website (with purty pictures and stuff. even had to endure a not so nice remark from darling saying it sounded so gimmicky. *huff*), placing a classified ad, making appointments for test drives and other stuff, it's almost over. Just need to finish the paperwork, tidy up the

The Friday Ritual

2005-04-23T18:59:00.000-04:00

Recently, we've started this ritual of going to Wegman's on Friday evening for dinner. They have some really great wings at the food court and reasonably priced + yummy-licious sushi. There's also a new favorite of mine seabreeze salad which consists of fresh seaweed drizzled with sesame seed oil. For 15 dollars and some change, we enjoyed a really great meal. After dinner, we would head to

Liquidation

2005-04-22T15:14:00.000-04:00

We're one step closer to selling our car. One prospective buyer has asked us to go for a buyer's check and I take it that she'll take it if all goes well. Hopefully that is the case and I will no longer have to worry about finding a good owner for my darling car. Yes, we treat the car like it's a little rombunctious baby. Well, more like a baby pet really. I think I will miss having him

An un-nervous phone call

2005-04-19T11:21:00.000-04:00

I don't know if I have mentioned this before. I have a phobia of talking to people I don't know. This especially applies to phone calls to businesses where I almost never know who I'm talking to. The making conversation part is fine. It's the period between me grabbing the phone and waiting for someone to pick up that is really unnerving. About a month ago, I picked up someone's cellphone. Being

The Pain of GUI

2005-04-18T23:08:00.000-04:00

One of the class projects I'm working on has a big emphasis on GUIs (Graphical User Interface). The division of work in our team consists of darling working on coding the simulation while I work on the interface.After pouring hours into some relatively simple user forms with graphs etc, I've finally realized the pain of all user interface designers the world over. The problem with interfaces is

Test Result: Normal

2005-04-15T10:09:00.000-04:00

Whee! The results of my urine culture came back to confirm that it is normal. I had deduced (and probably deluded myself) that it was so by virtue of the fact that I didn't get a call etc telling me it wasn't. That's great news. So I'm finally free of this pesky infection.I was somewhat surprised by the really low cost I had to pay for the antibiotics though. For 10 Cipro pills, the pharmacy bill

Torn

2005-04-14T02:13:00.000-04:00

4 weeks more of classes. Torn between being relived that school will be over soon and the fact that working life will begin. Of course the grey area between will be very much welcomed.The last weeks of classes is also the busy periods where projects get completed. My masters project has been on track but somehow the work never stops coming. Right now, I'm performing some sensitivity analysis. The

The Middle Path

2005-04-12T21:58:00.000-04:00

Trendy. One of those things that will never be. To begin with, I hate following trends. For me, most things that come with a boat load of hype attached actually has their utility discounted. Movies definitely fall into this category. I remember in my first year of junior college, The Ring was the movie to watch. Everyone was talking about it. I wouldn't go near it with a 10-foot pole. (Granted, I

An ode to my mum

2005-04-10T18:05:00.000-04:00

The women in my family are savers. Well, maybe by "the" women I only mean my mum and me, and also my aunt. My sister doesn't seem to fall in this category but that may have been a result of that period when our household was just eking by.I've been very close to my mum ever since I was a wee kid. Being close to somebody inevitably means that you pick up a lot of their habits and philosophies. I

Moving Out. Again

2005-04-08T17:16:00.000-04:00

So there was my annual dose of sickliness. It's like a whole years worth of sickness bundled into one. I guess it could be a sign of healthiness. If you're healthy, normal illnesses glance off you likepebbles on a bullet-proof vest. So if something manages to penetrate it, it should logically be more powerful than your average sickness.I'm now back to typing normal posts instead of those dumb

Insomnia is a horrible disease.

2005-04-04T11:53:00.000-04:00

I officially caught a cold. Wonder if it was the light fever that kept me up the whole night worrying about everything under the sky.__________________________________________________________Why do we hide and wait for a special someone to find us?__________________________________________________________

2005-03-30T01:44:00.000-05:00

Break is over.Dead tired.5 more weeks of classes.2 projects.2 finals.A good grey period.And then a new phase in life.__________________________________________________________

Pro-choice vs Pro-life

2005-03-25T18:16:00.000-05:00

For the last 15 years, a brain-damaged Florida woman has layed on a hospital bed with a feeding tube attached.Her name Terri Schiavo and she is in a persistent vegetative state.For the past seven years, her husband and legal guardian has fought bitter court battles with her family over whether to remove her feeding tube and thus allowing her to die.While she did not leave any written wishes if

Fragility of Health

2005-03-25T01:52:00.000-05:00

So what have I really been doing the past few days of spring break? I've been wanting to blog about a tonne of stuff but somehow always lose the momentum to do so.One of the things that struck me this week was Vyanne's post about her eyes. I know I'm hardly the age to start feeling so but one's health is a really fragile thing. It is also very personal. Perhaps it is a case evolutionary bias

Market Efficiency

2005-03-24T23:43:00.000-05:00

Suze Orman is "an internationally acclaimed personal finance expert". She has quite a following among the US crowd who listens attentively to her talk shows and peruses her books on personal finance. Her advice are commonsensical and quite useful especially for those who live in the US. I wouldn't mind having someone like her I can ask about Singapore/ Malaysia finance matters.So she started a

Investment Account Part Deux

2005-03-21T11:35:00.000-05:00

After consulting with darling, we've decided not to start an online account here. Not only is it hard to know if I can purchase index funds here, the cost incurred is not insignificant. So I guess my next move is to do my due diligence on Singapore brokers instead.Meanwhile, I also need to decide if I really need a financial planner (FP). I would love to have someone I can throw questions at

Investment Account

2005-03-21T01:51:00.000-05:00

In an effort to diversify my future portfolio, I am planning to have a portion of it invested in US. One of the easiest ways to diversify it seems is to purchase mutual funds or Exchange-Traded-Funds (ETFs). Historically, mutual funds have been underperforming the index. The evidence appears compelling enough. With that in mind, I've decided to build my portfolio around index trackers.I'm still

Nurturing the Child in Us

2005-03-20T01:00:00.000-05:00

Students fail to perform and parents start playing the blame game. Fingers start pointing at the education system, the social climate, the teachers, violence on TV, video games, porn... Rarely, if ever, do they consider their own role and influence on their child.A recent study based in the US showed that Mormon teenagers fared best in school. The same study also showed that conservative

Exercise and Walmart

2005-03-19T00:56:00.000-05:00

I ran around the track while my darling was playing basketball. Today, I chalked up a total of 4.4 km. Well I only ran 2.4km, the rest was more walking than anything else. I figured that since I was there, I might as well work out instead of reading a book which I could do at home.I still have 150 pages of this book I was supposed to finish by Sunday. I could blame it on my final exam which

Spring Break

2005-03-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

It's Spring Break again. Putting the words "American" and "spring break" together never fails to conjure images of wild Mardi Gras parties and exotic locales like Cancun, Daytona Beach and South Padre Island. After all, these are the places where the Girls Gone Wild series, known for putting "old-fashioned Daytona debauchery" on film, get their material.Spring breakers are notorious for their

It's cold

2005-03-17T09:35:00.000-05:00

While spring is definitely in the air and the temperature has tamed somewhat, the warmth in our house has once again mysteriously seeped away.I have a sneaky suspicion my landlord turned off the heat to save on heating costs. Hello! Spring break isn't even here yet. There are still people in this house and *one* of these people happen to have an exam today. I find it so annoying that I woke up

Four years off the scale

2005-03-16T23:48:00.000-05:00

It's been more than four years since I've measured my weight. Today, I finally obtained the verdict of 3 years and 7 months of the American diet.It looks like mom was right and I did gain weight. The scales now pronouce me a good 122 pounds which is equivalent to 55kg. I think at the end of J2 I weighed about 114 pounds (52kg). So while I did gain weight, it's not quite the Freshman 15 that

Updates

2005-03-15T20:41:00.000-05:00

Heh heh was playing with that gender determining software that vyanne's friend used on her blog text. It appears that my writing is predominantly male. When it did turn out female, the results were usually marginal. Looks like I write with an androgynous/ male style._______________________________________________________________My favorite pair of jeans from U2 is falling apart! As I was patching

Final Exam and my New(relaxing) Class Schedule

2005-03-14T22:15:00.000-05:00

I really should be studying for my final exam that's on Thursday but since I really have no other commitments till then I figure I could relax a little.Well, I sorta have to do the bulk of my studying by tomorrow night since I have to return the textbook on Wednesday. I initially ordered the textbook online and the fool website that took my order had to tell me a week later that actually they do

Something Special

2005-03-12T08:17:00.000-05:00

She ain't too pretty, she ain't too tall,In fact she ain't too much of anything at all.I don't care what the people say,They're going to find out some sweet day.She is precious, she is charming,She is so innocent it's really disarming.And just one look at her face is good enough for me.- Eric Clapton, Something Special I don't understand the concept of being special that preoccupies most women

My Music Stats

2005-03-12T00:02:00.000-05:00

1. What is the total amount of music files on your computer?5.3 GB. 3.8 of which are from my free Napster subscription that the university bought for us. Those will be gone when I gradute :( On a totally irrelevant note, my manga folder is at 8.5 GB. 2. The CD you last bought?BT - Emotional Technology 3. What was the last song you listened to before reading this message?Not too sure really.

Disregarding Sunk Costs

2005-03-10T21:25:00.000-05:00

Somehow my weeks fall into this pattern of relaxing - busy -relaxing which explains the lack of posts during the weekday. Tuesday and Wednesdays are invariably homework nights.Well not so anymore. I've decided to drop the supply chain class that I've already taken for half a semester. I took it as my "for fun" class. Since its fun factor isn't as high as I thought it would be, I shall henceforth

Self-Delusion

2005-03-07T22:02:00.000-05:00

There's this guy who has been complaining about being unemployed. The same guy also admitted that he tries his darnest to get by with the minimum amount of effort and hence barely graduated with a string of D's. The same guy also had a job. But he quit because he decided that the remuneration wasn't worth the emotional and physical effort required for it.I don't know. To begin with, I'm surprised