the day of the damn mosquito

i had less than 5 hours' sleep today. i woke before the sun came up! just after 6am! no thanks to an annoying mosquito... my aircon is usually set by me to switch off few hours before i wake. so it was shortly after my aircon had turned itself off, did the mozzie came uninvited. i'll bet it's been long residing in my room. this isn't the first time i had an encounter with it... -sigh- so i gave up sleeping (thinking it was 7am!) and proceeded to turn on all the lights in the room. i even armed myself with insecticide. alas, after 45mins or so of battle, i couldn't get my hands on that little bugger. and by then, i was all worked up and without a hint of sleepiness anymore. i gave up, doused the room in insecticide and headed downstairs to look for food. at least there was breakfast. but this was a really rare day in which i woke early morning.

and also, thanks to the insecticide i'd used, i had the drip the rest of the day. real unfortunate. i felt a bit high while i chauffeured my parents (plus that little nephew of mine) to the hospital. my dad managed to convince my mum to go have her eyes checked on account of her age and him just having seen the specialist. we'd booked the appointment for her in the morning (i woke up early, remember?)... and given not much choice, we brought ryan along. at least he was /relatively/ well-behaved. his performance was probably an eight of ten for his age. and given that the location was a hospital eye clinic. she's fine, with a bit of short-sightedness and then some. better than my dad at least.

i managed to get some shut eye after coming home from the hospital. that certainly helped with the flu pill i took. the drips lessened after my afternoon nap.

i'm working on a bit of self-education now... no point saying what i'm picking up yet since it's just a "hobby" of sorts.

*we can do it! let's face it together!*

*sigh*

so much has happened i don't even know where to begin.

but nobody likes to be put on the spot do they?

i'll keep on searching...

*for you*

toycar testing

my parents were in a good mood today and so we headed out with rach to check out cars at the showrooms. hahaha... for fun. >_< other than the auto megamart where there were plenty of parallel importers with the fancy cars (i think this would have been the first time i had an upclose encounter with an rx-8) we dropped by the nissan showroom beside it too. more on that later. we also visited the subaru showroom. i even had a chance to test drive the 1.6L impreza ts. it was a smooth ride! and when i started the engine, it was so quiet in the cabin! the lady who'd attended to us though, was almost immediately disappointed when we finished the test drive. she had wanted to sit us down and get us to sign on the dotted line. but eventually we revealed to her through her plentiful questions, that it would probably be going to be bought under my name. but unfortunately i am freaking bloody UNEMPLOYED! so they can't take out on a loan there. WAHHAHAHA... i can almost see her face change on the spot. =x

ok back to the nissan. apparently so far here's what i'd learnt about the engines of a few of these new cars. apart from the subaru models that share the same boxster engine as the porsche 911, the new models from hyundai (CVVT), toyota (VVTi), honda (i-VTEC) and even nissan (CVT-C) all use similar designs. this variable valve technology engine is supposedly better than old technology. of course they'd all speak not too good of each other, but essentially i'd say they had the same engine but probably using different aliases. i suppose it's a new "standard" of sorts. if they don't see it as being of good potential i doubt all these car manufacturers would jump in and use the same mould.

so why am i talking about cars again? i don't really know. it's for fun. it's fun to look at these cool vehicles even if we aren't getting one anytime soon. xD

yesterday i tried the hyundai verna, today was the subaru impreza ts. darn it's getting addictive testing out these new cars.

and i do need to get hired soon. >_<

*yay jia you! quit soon! =D *

The Nohari Window - Personality Flaw Map

ah yes i found the negative version of that johari window thing... so do me.

oh dear...

that last organisation i'd had an interview with just called me up. they had decided to offer me the job. not that the conditions/benefits have been listed out yet, but i'd told them i'd reply by monday. i'm thinking it over this weekend. of course there are risks involved... financial risks like me requiring to fork out more than they pay me, risks like them having to tie me down with a binding agreement not too much in my favour. back to the first stage, i'd still have to look at what they have to offer me... leave days, salary, allowances, accomodation/transport if i were to go overseas, etc... the first clause i'm aware of is they want to retain me for a minimum of 3 months, in a way to compensate for their training me and getting me up to gear, which is probably reasonable.

gotta think about it... if i'm agreeable they expect me to get to work at the start of this very next month. the other issues, of course... includes leaving behind my family, my "comfort zone" in town, my dearest rachel. i feel so sullen about it although i should probably be surreal about it.

Qantas Apparently Still Shit

an aussie's point of view on their homegrown airline.

Australian Tourist FAQ

uh... joking.

These questions about Australia were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and obviously the answers came from a fellow Aussie. (between brackets the country where the question was coming from)

1. Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV, so how do the plants grow (UK).
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

2. Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the streets? (USA)
A: Depends how much you’ve been drinking.

3. Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney. Can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it’s only three thousand miles, take lots of water with you.

4. Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Australia? (Sweden)
A: So it’s true what they say about Swedes.

5. Q: It is imperative that I find the names and addresses of places to contact for a stuffed porpoise (Italy)
A: Let’s not touch this one.

6. Q: Are there any ATM’s (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Hervey Bay? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

7. Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia? (USA)
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the pacific, which does not…… oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked!

8. Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)
A: Face South and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we’ll send you the rest of the directions.

9. Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

10. Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys’ Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Aus-tria is that quaint little country bordering Ger-ma-ny, which is…. oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked!

11. Q: Do you have perfume in Australia? (France)
A: No, WE don’t stink!

12. Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia? (USA)
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

13. Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia? (UK)
A: You are a British politician, right?

14. Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

15. Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia? (France)
A: only at Christmas.

16. Q: Are there killer bees in Australia? (Germany)
A: Not yet, but for you, we’ll import them!

17. Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter gatherers. Milk is illegal.

18. Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca, which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

19. Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It’s a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)
A: It’s called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

20. Q: I was in Australia in 1969 on R+R, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Kings Cross. Can you help? (USA)
A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.

21. Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you’ll have to learn it first.

So Where The Bloody Hell Are You?

they started a tourism advert campaign. bloody hell indeed.

inspiration drawn from the illustration for the drama series "9 lives" shown on arts central on mondays at 9pm. 

you know you're getting old when...

you cannot climb up a flight of stairs without hearing a single joint in you crack. indeed, my joints have been cracking whenever i climb a flight of stairs. what makes the sounds even more obvious is when i do it in the middle of the night, where there is hardly a peep from the house lizards. my joints that have been known to crack occasionally include my knees, ankles, hips (yes left and right), elbows, shoulder and even my spine. i guess its an indication for me to start drinking milk soon.

i was in less of a technical mood today, and was fiddling around in photoshop instead. i guess i'd decided to set aside this day to actually make better use of my right brain, and giving my left brain a bit of a holiday.

tact: am i missing it? possibly so... or maybe in due shortage.

oh and i also realised... perhaps you already know this: when a person is too busy, the person laments it to be overwhelmed. when the person is without a task at hand, he discovers worry in the situation as well.

*-_-zzz*

Does a cat really have nine lives?

don't ask me what i was looking up... but i found this peculiar question posed by a primary school student on the science centre webby. have you ever posed this question to someone who can make an educated guess/answer? i don't think i ever did. but apparently kids nowadays might be getting smarter than we give them credit for...

use a fake phone with a real one

the author... uh cleverly disguises his bluetooth headset inside an old unsightly phone model. interesting.

flights of fancy?

i had an interview again today. and i think it was for the first time did i ever ride on a double decker elevator. i realised this because the elevator told me so, while it was had stopped to pick up passengers in the upper deck. =_=

this job requires quite a bit of travelling. for a programmer it seems rather crazy to have to do that often. travelling around in the region, nearby countries... but that's what was required of the position. think of it as being a prancing programmer, being all over the place but home. can you imagine two weeks in brunei, only to come back on weekends? it sounds almost like a jetset life, but i doubt it'd be too much fun running all over. >_> a lot of wondering about a lot of issues with this...

*zzz*

Loreal Sale

up to 80% anyone? lindie shared this with me. uh right of course she did. i'm ken by day and kendy by night... or at least she might have thought that.

23rd - 25th Feb

check the pic for more details.

little unexpected

did i mention my new mattress came in yesterday? in any case, i slept on this new mattress of mine which came in yesterday afternoon before i headed out for my interview. it's a lot harder and because of that, more comfortable to lie down on. i had such a good sleep i believe i slept until slightly later than normal. about 11am or so. that, or it was simply a case of not being used to the new mattress.

i had a pretty unusual afternoon of being somewhat unproductive. peculiar indeed. anyway, i received a phone call for an interview tomorrow. so there. i wasn't expecting any more interviews since that last batch of emails were sent last week.

didn't quite expect things to turn out this way...

*i'm not in japan*

Interactive Johari Window - Describe pooken

Interactive Johari Window - Describe pooken

of all things i replicated from other people...

number 8

yeah i had my 8th interview in the afternoon today. at least the 3 guys who i'd talked to sounded techie enough to be friendly. xD what's more the location of the organisation is much closer to home and it's relatively big. not huge, just big.

oh and i caught wind of the new scandal issue to do with the alleged nyp student. it seems everyone is having a wild time discussing about it, the news media reporting it like it was the next big thing, and the reporters have supposedly been probing a number of bloggers for more information because they don't have much of a clue about it. my take? they probably shouldn't blow things up. but then again they _are_ reporters... that's what they are paid to do anyway right? sensationalising it is another thing they probably should avoid. the crux of this new nyp-gate (all the gates how about it? as with the bunch of scandals related to the whitehouse and stuff... heh) mentions of a /supposed/ 17 year old student doing the deed with her boyfriend at home. the video was shot by the couple on her mobile phone. ah yes the wonders of technology. pity the phone got stolen by an alleged jealous rival of sorts from school, who then mass-sent the video files via email to people in the institute. and the school authorities had even mentioned possibly taking action on the poor girl by expelling her! tsk. i believe the culprit who had started this whole mass-email fiasco should be apprehended instead. well, good luck in their investigations.

as the saying goes: for every action, there is a reaction.

*happy number 8... :) what? you didn't think there wouldn't be a double meaning to that did you?*

car crisis over

oh yeah so i spoke to my dad. no new car for now at least. which is actually a good thing! i still pretty much like the Lancer currently. furthermore, changing it to something new equates to a heavier financial burden. who knows when the heck would i get a job? so good for us things will remain status quo.

nevertheless, we popped over to the honda sole distributor today. but that was after we sent my nephew to school, got myself a new mattress... hey this one i'm sleeping on now has been here for 10 years in a few months' can? so old liao must retire le. i can even feel the springs while i'm sleeping on it. toa payoh was where the singapore idol auditions were held as the final extension to their event. i pretty much caught sight of the final end of the queue of idol hopefuls there. they were just about done by the time we were there anyway. and yes, _then_ we visited the car showroom. don't ask me, but my family has a funny sense of humour. we like to check out the cars anyway, even though we might not be getting one any time soon. it's kinda like a family outing. so while other families pop out to the zoo or botanical gardens, this queer group shows up at car showrooms and condominium showflats. once in a while anyway.

ah yes i digressed. the honda showroom had a whole bunch of cars big and small, but of which i noticed one which was unique from the rest. it was on the second floor. mind you, that was the only one up there. while everything else was downstairs, they had it put up there! what's so special? i just had to find out from the sales lady. the Honda Insight. hybrid petrol/electric car. it'd cost quite a bit in comparison to the rest of the vehicles on display. unfortunately the current state of the technology is still making purchasing of such a vehicle prohibitive due to the prices. hope that will resolve one day in the future.

man i'm still aching from the blading session. what in the world was i thinking?! i figure i was probably in a state of delusion or was basically mad to do all that late-night blading. but it was fun so i shan't delve too deep into it.

*i is in the middle of stick, so is it stuck?*

tough decision

i went with my parents today, to visit car showrooms of a few brands in ubi. i must stress first and foremost that, all this is being done for our "research" and not necessarily implies that we're getting anything new in the near future.

the sole distributor for toyota was first. then chevrolet, and kia. yes kia. in summary, the 3 toyota models we'd caught sight of were all assembled in thailand, i did a test-drive on the chevvy Aveo 1.4L with my parents in the back (hey it's my first time test driving anything), and kia... well they have models which are more... economically friendly. the picanto is a 1.1L with rear windows that are (still) manually wound, and the side view mirrors also manually adjusted. at least the sporty spiffy Cerato looks more appealing. at a higher price.

here's my headache. i'm not expecting any suggestions or alternatives to it, just putting it here just so you can see my point of view. or for myself to see my own POV for that matter...

• my parents are considering trading in the current car because it's not economically viable to keep it any longer
• they are looking for a new car that doesn't cost too much
• they prefer to deal with sole distributors as opposed to parallel imports
  
• probably something 1.6L or lower
• might consider a compact
• mum rathers we not get "another" mitsubishi, because the existing is already of that brand
• basically they are looking for something cheap and good

from those factors, the car brands available have been reduced by a lot. makes things easier by process of elimination for me then...

• european cars out of the question as they cost practically 10x
  
• Hyundai don't last long
• Mazda are gas guzzlers
• Mitsubishi... read above
• Nissan (only if it's a March... someone doesn't like Sunny)
• Daihatsu (come on...)
• Suzuki doesn't stick with daddy
• Perodua cars are too small
• Proton don't seem to have too bright a future
• Ssangyong only has big cars
  

so what's left really? in terms of least to most preferred, affordability notwithstanding:

• Kia (not too sure of this even...)
• Chevrolet
• Toyota
• Honda
• Subaru (questionable even for the 1.6 TS due to price)
  

if there is still a 1.6L Honda Civic available it might still sound good enough. might be better any day than a Toyota.

guess we'll just have to do our homework somemore...

i wonder how much would this lancer of ours be worth in 2 years...

my legs are aching now. just cmae back from skating in east coast. no seriously. late at night, skating alone there. it's not as if it's deserted... i was there with rach for a bbq of hers with her friends. given that i'm not too familiar with them, i popped out a bit on my wheels. by the time i was done my knees were wobbly and i was sweating bucket loads. hrmm... maybe not that much but i did sweat a lot. ah well... good exercise for me.

*it's ok don't need headache with me xD*

What type of car are you?

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

an interview with homework

i had an interview at noon. it was in ayer rajah. it was in the technopreneur centre. it was on the same floor as the previously-mentioned one-man show. it was practically next door to that one-man shop business. very literally, one door apart. oh. my. goodness. i'd completely overlooked that.

amazingly the discussion went on for nearly an hour, and i agreed to work on a technical test kind of assessment. it's some sort of take-home assignment. homework for me if you will. they want to assess me on it when i'm done with it. well i'll try and hope for the best.

that. to be juggled with the interview on monday. i'm losing track of the number of interviews i've attended soon...

and i'm getting all sorts of funny ideas popping up in my head. little projects to do with the web. i think i have an endless list of things to try out without ever really getting started on any of them. maybe the flame died out after i'm over and done with the idea in the heat of the moment. but nevertheless i have them written down somewhere... useful ideas? probably not. relative to things i'm interested/crazy in? very most definitely. gawd i just had another flash of one of them ideas popping in my head as i type... >_>

oh by the way, do check out The Pink Panther movie if you will. for the 90minutes in the cinema, i believe the audience (including yours truly) were kept laughing at jokes big/small, lame/silly, stupid/corny for most parts of the show! it was really truly hilarious... which is rather typical of steve martin's shows. the ending was quite impressive i must say. certainly enjoyed it.

one last thing, a question to anyone reading this: any recommendations for a car? preferably something that is

• seriously cheap,
  
• first hand + preferably from main distributor,
  
• is a compact/hatchback,
  
• under 1600cc,
  
• is legal,
  
• and available in singapore?

do let me know if you have honestly serious opinions with regards to that. my parents are having a change of taste and would like something "tame" which i must declare has absolutely nothing to do with my driving habits. xD

*damburgert*

getting started

i finally got started off on reading a "for dummies" book. i think i'd bought it since january or so... and going through it after such a long time would nearly seem like a waste of money buying it.

i can't believe i woke up so early this morning. i was practically having a sleepless night tossing and turning, waking every few hours in the middle of the night. i followed my parents to a neighborhood shopping centre for a bit, along with the little brat too of course. and because we were there too darn early, most of the shops there were not even opened yet. i can't believe we settled for macd's for lunch.

in any case, i did my studying in the afternoon obediently. and then i had some time spent on reflecting on myself. it sounds oh so philosophical doesn't it? it's one of those moments in which, i asked myself: what am i good at? quite frankly i can't quite seem to answer that. it's apparent to me that i'm having self-doubt; i don't think i'm good at anything concrete. i have my head up in the clouds too often, cracking cold jokes that nobody laughs at, doing things to don't seem to make any sense, whining too much like a kid (as is now...) which brings me back to the point that i'm having self-doubt.

probably i'm having too much free time on my hands. maybe that's where all that nonsensical mumblings are coming from. and the inadvertent pressure from my parents that i should get a job soon. no that aren't exactly nagging at me to get a job. but they indirectly would make comments that end up shooting me in the back about being without a job. it's the money.

another day of bombardment

i'm sick today. some flu-ish phenomenon has befallen yours truly. *sniff* i spent half my day sending out job application emails, and the other half trying to dry my nose of drips.

that's right, i have a pattern you see... each time i accumulate a considerable number of job ads i've found for a week or so. be it from the papers, thru jobstreet or even direct from the company site, i have them all saved in my firefox. hehe... the wonders of one of my extensions called the Session Saver. all my tabbed sites are stored as they are and remain each time i run firefox. so today i mass-sent job applications to a number of these places. another interview this friday, i suppose would have to be my 7th. this other agent woke me up halfway thru my afternoon nap (hey i'm sick ma!) to confirm some particulars with me, but she'd have to let me know if the company decides to invite me for an interview or not. oh well... this was probably the 3rd time a recruitment agent called me up to clarify my information. the previous two times, they didn't call back. >_>

bah... sick. oh and i'd finally gottten my .Net framework to work properly on my bloody laptop. so i guess that will be what's next... if i ever get around to it.

*flower power! xD*

Manhunt underway in Singapore after businessman shot dead in flat

scary.

:|

it's near my home.

>_<"

firearms... in singapore. oh dear.

nice? the flowers were made of paper! she sure loved it. so where did i get this precious beauty? was it some fancy art shop? an ingenious florist? a novelty stall? nay. it didn't cost me more than $5 for this bouquet. i had almost everything i needed at home, less a few pieces of construction paper. and no, i didn't seek help from anybody at home. i did everything by myself, up to tying the ribbon.3 whites and 6 blues. 9 to symbolise everlasting... xD and considering these aren't real roses, they'll sure last longer! hehe... i spent the day making it mind you! i originally had wanted to include baby's breath (diy version too) but after struggling with those little buggers (using aluminium wire) i gave up and left them one side and wrapped things up as you see it. check out my close-up of one of them roses! 

here's a close-up on one of them pieces. i'd used 2 different shades of blues for the petals. made of construction paper, i had cut the petals out individually to be taped on to an aluminium stalk. the stalk is "skinned" with paper tape which was painted on with green poster colour. i'd added on the touch of sepals (the green parts) to make it nicer. xD 

don't go bah on me now... as long she likes it! =D 

uh valentine's day

commercialised? you bet. but i don't think anyone (with a lot of time on their hands) would need to spend a lot to do something meaningful. at least i'd proven this point! xD

i'd woken up rather early today. slightly after 8am, i started gathering my "resources" at home and got down to work.

and then i also found out daddy was to go for a follow-up at the hospital so i offered to accompany him as well. it was no biggy, the doctor reports that he's doing fine and his condition is improving. my dad was practically repeating about how wonderful it would be if they could simply call him up on the phone and report to him his condition, and settle everything by postal mail. why? so he need not show up at the hospital, see the doctor for 5mins, just to come out to make payment for the visit. hehe...

alright back to the works. i didn't do anything like this before mind you. and i didn't get any help online either. well ok, i referenced pictures of roses and flower arrangement but that was about it. i had my petal template and with each stalk i painstakingly taped the petals i had cut out on... and then the green leafy sepals underneath. my baby's breath buds flopped. the paper tape "skin" was too ugly and the poster colour wasn't staying properly.

the result was a simple bunch of 9 roses wrapped in plastic and tied with a ribbon.

i could do something like that for my mum come mother's day. xD

and the bottom line to this little art & craft session? rachel loved it a lot. xD she had no clue i was coming up with this until i showed it to her picking her up from her office.

=====================================
construction paper: $4.60

aluminium rods: $0

DIY crafting: $0

giving her a happy surprise to smile about: priceless
=====================================

a bit of hoo-ha over dragons

i caught this pseudo-documentary on discovery channel just this afternoon. that's right. pseudo. they'd titled it "Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real" and to that effect it would for some be misled into thinking that the myth came true.

as the show started, it showed the computer animations of what a dragon might have originated from, during the dinosaur era, and subsequently outlasted those behemoths and eventually was driven to extinction/killed by humans. all this along the storyline of a young paleontologist/dragonologist discovering frozen carcasses of a pair of dragons in an ice cave up in the carpathian mountains in romania. i'm afraid not. the network executives did a bit of false advertising or so most people claimed. the whole show was a conjecture, full of what-ifs. you could probably understand better what i'm talking about if you were to watch it.

the bottomline is: the "archaelogical find" depicted in the "documentary" was not real. what the supposed assumptions were presented by the producers of the possibilities of such creatures being in existence in the old days. for example, they had argued that the various ancient civilisations all had pictorial renditions of dragons, even though a majority of them did not have communication outside of their own at that point of time.

definitely, even though we know that from the facts presented to us, we can't deny that there is such a possibility. but then again, neither can we confirm it. it's another one of those gray areas, that is until somebody out there unearths remains of such a creature. that remains to be seen, although scientists have recently even discovered a "paradise" in indonesia that no humans have had set foot in before at all. now, for such a highly developed society of humans on earth, that would be amazing, to be able to find such unchartered territories in this age.

ok so i digressed. i just think that this world is still full of wonders, outside our comfort zones and hidden away in some unknown location. nah... i'm just in one of those philosophical moods...

*blue... >_<"*

what is an IS?

An Information Specialist - IS - was supposedly in their context, not totally just a technical position. i'd went for an interview yesterday morning in the east.

after being silly enough to park the car in the basement, i went around in search of the elusive location in which i should be looking for to have my interview. took me a while to figure out how to get there after looking around and asking for directions from staff. the elevator took me to a floor that was supposedly an administrative area. it didn't seem that the general public would have much reason to show up on this level. i walked around in the maze through automated doors and lengths of corridors, following direction signs from above. i finally found the place after walking around cluelessly for what seemed like eternity. the eternity seemed even longer because i was practically by myself. there was not a soul in sight. to add more salt on to it, i had of all things chose to wear my pair of leather shoes which have a tendency to make me walk loudly on hard surfaces. i felt silly that i had to slow down my walking pace so that my footsteps wouldn't sound too loud.

reaching the admin office, i had to fill up an application form. not very lengthy, but that was because i decided to wise up and skip parts of the 4-page form that weren't exactly all too important. i might have been the second to be interviewed, but either way, i wasn't too enthu with the job scope. it seemed more to be more related towards customer service, and not too much of technical knowledge necessary. the 2 ladies who had interviewed me were polite and friendly in their own right, to the extent they even commented if i wasn't too keen i probably shouldn't take up the job because i wouldn't be happy at work. at least everyone was still smiley-faced when i left.

i think i slept the day away today. that, and spending a good few hours in the late afternoon with my family. nah it's not that sweet. with my brother around, my dad decided to do a bit of furniture re-arrangement. we'd moved the 44" tv from the living room up to my parents' and shifted the wide-screen plasma tv down in its place, along with the accompanying piece of tv console low table (which was originally with the rest of the display cabinets in the living room anyway) downstairs to the ground floor. it was by no means an easy feat. it's not like we had an elevator installed. and i wouldn't say that those pieces of electrical appliances and furniture were pushovers... literally.

i'm whacked. although i snoozed after dinner i think i'll continue my slumber now...

*rose rose rose a dear gently down the steam, merrily merrily life is but a whim*

towleroad: Brokeback Mountain Sims

don't be grossed out. if you haven't heard about that award-winning new movie, it's about gays or something.

another company, another strike out.

i travelled all the way to jurong today!

in the morning!

for an interview!

with a 15min test!

after having sat on my throne for almost half an hour!

talk about getting the butterflies...

i don't think they would hire me. first off, i'm not really into their discipline of using Flash/ActionScript. secondly, they are frigging far away from my home. they do seem like quite a "stable" organisation though.

so i left the place and went home. felt rather disappointed, although i know deep down i went anyway because i wanted some experience. i wasn't really expecting to get this job anyway, especially not if it was that far away.

no matter. i received a phone call less than 2 hours after returning home from that interview. i'll pop by Simei to take a look see there. i seriously don't see myself working at the hospital, but i'll just check things out. just in case i change my mind.

i was rather guai today wor. i stayed home for most part of the day. i was in fact tinkering with my desktop system. of all things, i totally forgot that the A4Tech optical mouse i was using screws up when i update to Service Pack 2. so i had to fix the problem. and no that's not the end of it. my 80gig hdd from the same desktop got corrupted unexpectedly! oh alright, since when does data corruption is actually /expected/ right? -_- i'm miffed. very. but fortunately i figure i had backed up about (at least?) 80% of the data from that harddisk on to my portable hdd. considering trying to rescue data from the disk costs well over my budget (i believe it to be in the $300 and above range) i think i'll blank it and reuse. -sigh- heart pain either way.

acks. i'm still jittery, thanks to my sis. she was watching final destination on ch 5 with me beside using my laptop. i got nervous and decided to get out of the room with my laptop. but i forgot that i'd removed the battery from the laptop. so when i disconnected the power supply... -kaput- the screen when blank. and so did my face. fortunately i didn't have anything important that needed to be saved being opened. so here i am in the comfort of my own bed, away from the scary show on the tele next door. yes i don't like to scare myself late at night. not especially if i need rest for an interview the next morning! -scaredy cat-

i think i'm ranting incessantly already so i'll stop for now. onwards, to my 6th interview... or something...

*view or no view, my view is you xD*

jobjobjob!!1

nah not that i've got one. still on the hunt. but at least i've got an interview in the morning. in faraway jurong! gosh... i'm just going for experience i must say. not too sure how things would turn out. at least they seem reputable enough. they called me yesterday about it so at least i had today to be mentally prepared in a way.

one of my desktops is down for now sadly. the past few days i'd been trying to bring it back up. after reformatting it and reinstalling my *cough* /unknown origins/ version of WinXP on it and getting it to work, it gave me problems with the service pack 2. so i'm leaving the blue screen of death alone until i can deal with it come tomorrow. the afternoon i was fiddling with photoshop... it certainly was fascinating checking out how to make brushed steel textures...

ok i'm hitting the sack. wish me luck in the morning!

*it's all yours!*

McDonald's Videogame

a rather pointless game in which you only lose and there's no end in sight!

no kidding... i saw this ad in the classifieds from yesterday's paper. i didn't even realise that they would allow such things to even be put up on public media.*

* oh alright i know better than to think like that... obviously i understand that by "time machine" they would mean those meant for clocking work hours of employees on punch cards! i hope. can't imagine a real time machine being auctioned off for $1 or something... 

this urge

i have this silly urge.

when i can afford it that is...

i would like to one day be able to buy all the toys to do with M.A.S.K. ("there he goes again...") and do some short stop motion film with the action figures + vehicles.

silly as it may sound (and rather uncreative too) it would be rather cool to be able to do something like that now. at least it beats doing transformers since they are a) still more popular, b) probably still have intellectual property rights being held by someone, c) more complex to "transform", d) MASK has human action figures to make it a bit more realistic.

that crap aside, here's a question: have you ever taken a nap during mid-day for 10-15minutes? do you feel more energetic or refreshed after that? i must say all those studies mentioning this seems to be quite true. at least from a personal point of view i do feel lesser levels of lethargy after the quick forty winks...

just dumping my random thoughts down for now.

*hunt hunt hunt... ooga chaga ooga chaga...*

five factor personality test

i kope from shan's blog de... guess it appears to be a breakdown analysis of my personality. hrmm...

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

a trip down memory lane!

we made a trip to this place near Han's around at Far East Square in town today! of course we had a brief lunch at Han's but that's not my point. we took a stroll around the area after that (given that we were pretty full from the meal) and after discovering that China Square was not only filled with a number of shops (ladies' clothes to be precise) on the first floor. it had a flea market on the second!

some of you may be familiar with the flea market from clarke quay with much to do with vintage toys and gadgets. the area for that in clarke quay had since been closed up for renovation. i should know. we actually popped by that place a few weekends ago! and boy were we disappointed.

fortunately, as luck would have it, we stumbled upon this treasure trove today! apart from the few shops that sells vintage toys/records/gadgets (and even vinyl records!) there were also a number of stalls set up by people for the weekends to peddle their wares! yes i'm gushing with excitement. we actually went through all the shops and stalls like bees to flowers. it was so cool to actually catch sight of all those old toys! the things i had more interest in were toys related to the original Transformers cartoon series, and more importantly, the M.A.S.K. products!!! there were numerous shops/stalls selling a variety of these toys!!!!!! arghhhh... there were boxed sets, and some incomplete sets. this would have to be another of those "big boys toys" category of retail products. especially for boys who had grown up in the 80s when there were tons of cartoons trying to promote the toys that came with them. there were even StarCom, Zoids, Ghostbusters and a whole lot more!

but did i buy anything from there? uh... no. sadly, they had marked up the prices a lot. even an incomplete toy set from the M.A.S.K. series could be sold for about $20, $40 and even $90 for a complete set without the box. i can't imagine getting any of that now. it would be a big waste of money. maybe i'll reconsider my options if i ever do get a job. hopefully that would be soon. so all i can do now is running through that shopping floor with wide-eyed envy.

oh and welcome back to the real world everyone. the lunar new year has pretty much subsided now hasn't it? after the first week or so... back to work/studies for the rest of you. and for me, back to job hunting...

*me no mind!*

guess what

ah yes... happy chinese new year. and i'm back. the week-long tantrum has been offset by the joyous occasion that has past. who knows how many people are still checking back on my blog after that short fiasco of mine.

i'm still looking for a job. and i nearly jumped into one on thursday. but thinking back it would have been a rash decision to do so.

and yes, i'm back. :)