Happy New Year, Folks!
Saturday, December 31, 2005 @ 6:47 PM
2006 has arrived. Somehow, the fact still hasn't fully sunk in for me. When year 2000 came, there was this big hoo-ha about the Millenium signifying the end of the world. But it came and passed, there was no armaggedon and all of us are still kicking. I can't help but feel that the end of the world has manifested itself in a more subtle manner.
In the past years, we have witnessed the horrors of terrorism, how war and senseless killings spell the end for ourselves. Then it was the tsunami, nature's way of unleashing its displeasure on us. Other misfortunes came in the form of viruses and whatnots. And then, the greed of man is brought to light with the Durai incident.
Perhaps it is really time for mankind to reflect upon ourselves. In this new year, I shall just have one resolution, since there are too many little ones to be named anyway.
I shall just strive to be a better being.
Better in mind and spirit, better in giving than taking and better on my outlook of life.
On a sidenote, the past fortnight has been a crazy flurry of meet-ups. Frankly speaking, I've never ever met so many friends in one breath. But I must say it has been great seeing all of them again; reacquainting with one another, catching up with the happenings in our lives now. Some of us just never change though. =)
The pri. sch gathering after 8 long years. See ya all again in 2013!
A fine dinner meet-up with my ex-colleagues.
Another meet-up on the same night: Mud's finally back from down under! =)
The Xmas Eve cum twin's Bdae celebration. Happy 20th Birthday, dear twin!
Cozy sleepover at Mud's! Pipi enjoyed herself! *Look at the cute angmoh princes she has as neighbours! What bliss!*
The New Year Eve.. Happy 2006!
The Holiday Mood
Tuesday, December 27, 2005 @ 10:53 PM
Work these 2 weeks has been a relaxed affair. What with Christmas last weekend and New Year approaching, all of us are hoping that we can take leave and just slack the rest of the week away. But well, fantasies are just dreams in the end.
My colleague, Nurul and I, click well together. Perhaps due to the fact that we are the same age, we often go crazy in the office and laugh at the most ridiculous things. She has made my otherwise mundane days so colourful. She just turned 20, by the way.
We discovered this unused whiteboard and decided to personalise it. Behold our "Thoughts of the day!"
Shucks.. i am so going to miss them all when i shift office next year. =(
A Piece of Shocking News
Monday, December 19, 2005 @ 12:33 AM
Teacher Jailed for filming up women's skirts
A secondary school teacher was jailed for six weeks yesterday for using a hidden digital video camera to film up women's skirts.
Loh Theng Siang, 28, a form teacher who taught English and art at the co-ed Boon Lay Secondary School in Jurong was caught at the esplanade park on Jan 21 while trying to film a woman using a camera concealed in a paper bag.
In court yesterday, the prosecution proceeded with one charge against him and took three other charges into consideration.
Loh, who is married, committed the offences on four occasions between Jan 19 and 21.
On the first occasion at about 8.05pm on Jan 19, Loh filmed up a woman's skirt while going up an escalator at Boon Lay MRT station. He did the same thing to two others on a train between 10.35pm and 10.40pm.
Two days later he was caught when the boyfriend of a 22-year-old woman he was trying to film at the Esplanade Park became suspicious and demanded to see what was inside his bag. He called the police when he saw the camera and realized what Loh had done.
In July, Loh was charged in court with intent to insult the modesty of a woman by intruding upon her privacy. The penalty is a jail term which may extend to one year , or a fine, or both.
In court yesterday, his lawyer Anand Nalanchandran submitted in mitigation a report which claimed that Loh's voyeurism was a psychiatric condition.
Dr Chua Hong Choon, a consultant psychiatric from the institute of mental health, said the condition is " characterized by repeated and intense sexual fantasies or behaviors concerning the act of watching an unsuspecting person who is naked, disrobed or having sex", which has " clinically significant distress or impairment in work, social or personal functioning". Loh had been harbouring these fantasies for many years, but acted on them only after he aquired a digital camera.
In court yesterday, Loh's wife, who is five months pregnant with their first child, submitted a personal appeal to magistrate May Mesenas asking the court for a compassionate sentence.
She said she was surprised he had committed such an act and based on what she knew of him, she would accept that he did it "out of human weakness".
The principal of the secondary school where Loh taught wrote a testimonial for him describing him as a dedicated teacher who "has no cause for the school to question his conduct or integrity" in his two years there. His pastor also said he was a "faithful man of integrity".
Magistrate Mesenas said in sentencing that she had considered some aggravating factors: that there was more than one victim and that Loh was a teacher in a secondary school.
It was the second such case this week. On Monday, a 29-year-old man was jailed for four weeks to film up a woman's skirt.
The above said was my bro's form teacher for 2 yrs. Despite my shock and initial misgivings, I guess I can accept it when my bro affirms that loh was a dedicated teacher while he was under his tutelage.
I just pray that no school girls fell prey to his ways before this. And I highly doubt that he would be able to practise teaching in Singapore ever again.
Of his poor, pregnant wife, I shudder to think what an awful impact this would have on her. In her shoes, I would be hard pressed to forgive my hubby for what pervertic things he has done, all for the sake for the unborn child.
If not for the child, I would... kick him out of the house, divorce him and castrate him!
Yet, from another point of view, I think I should divorce him all the more for the sake of the child. If he can prey on women, I can't imagine what he might do to...
I would never feel at peace leaving him alone with my baby, especially if it were a daughter..
*shudders*
~~~
On a lighter note, I have resolved to rid myself of Mng fervour. Am going to try my best at refraining from stepping into any Mng outlets from now on.
In the first 3 days of the sales, I have hit 5 Mng outlets and bought a ton of stuff = burnt a hole in my pocket. So from now on, I am staying far far away from any place that sells anything! (except where food is concerned)
May some entity above grant me some inhuman strength!
The GMS!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005 @ 10:49 PM
Do I need to say more?
The Great Mng Sale is back! Hollywood On Ice!
Saturday, December 10, 2005 @ 2:01 AM
We got complimentary first tier tix($68!) to the premiere of Hollywood On Ice.
See our grins of anticipation before the show!
Flash photography wasn't allowed, so effectively, that was the only pic we took at the entire show. Heh.
We expected the venue to be freezingly cold but surprisingly, there wasn't much of a chill. A pity my winter gear wasn't utilised much.
The choregraphy, lightings and prop effects at the show were good. So were the fancy costumes! They showcased a variety of acts ranging from James Bond, Elvis Presley to Audrey Hepburn, Moulin Rouge and the Titanic scene where Rose raised her arms to the ocean breeze. I liked how they actually produced the set for the ship; pushing a section of the blue flowy backdrop out that authentically resembles the bow of the ship. James Bond's jumping through the fire ring and disappearing in a hanging crate were so David Copperfield-ish! My personal favourite was the Charlie Chaplin act. It was really amusing, especially in the famous train track scene where the love interest was tied to the tracks with the train approaching. There was also an act in which this skater jumped over 7 crouched figures and every one gasped. Breathtaking!
Local skaters also joined in the performance. I particularly liked the rendition of Grease and Popeye!
However, as this would not be as engaging for kids as Disney On Ice would be, the children got bored after a while. They had to bring them home halfway and some kids even fell asleep. Even I was lost for some of the performances as I was not in touch with older classics.
But still, it was a lovely performance. I wish I knew how to skate!
When I met "Westlife"...
Wednesday, December 07, 2005 @ 11:26 PM
my heel went 'splat' and I went 'ouch'. All coz I was too engrossed in keeping up with Westlife's long stride and the conversation.
Bleh. The klutz in me materialized.
The sinseh sent currents through my foot, which intensified till my toes rippled like a wave. That relieved the pain momentarily. Then it was the usual 'rotate, twist and rub' routine. I was biting my lips hard!
The YL Male Voice Choir from Finland dropped by to bring us some early Christmas cheer. The real thing from the land of Santa! Westlife is the 4th from the right, he really resembles that *you-know-who*!
Their lovely voices were really heartlifting, one of the best I've heard. (Though i've not heard many..heh)
I heard they would be performing in S'pore next May. Go listen to them, guys!
Apparently, their 60-strong male choir is on a voluntary basis; they are not paid for their contribution but selection is rather elitist. This, I can vouch by the quality of their marvellous singing.
The highlight of the day was after the end of the show. My colleagues & I were the only ones left chaperoning them and they decided to perform an extra song for us. So we sat down and they stood in an arc around us, serenading us with the finnish song, "She walks on flowers".
Didn't understand a word of it but I was mesmerised. The effect was really really good, like having a superb surround system!
I want to visit Finland soon!!
Repercussions on S'pore
Sunday, December 04, 2005 @ 1:44 PM
Putfile Says Goodbye To Singapore
At dawn on December 2nd 2005, Singapore hanged a citizen of Australia, despite a plea for clemency from the United Nations. Whilst Putfile is not a human rights campaigning organization, we believe that if a country must have the death penalty, there is no need for it be barbaric. It is enough of a punishment, and a deterrent, to take someone's life in a painless manner, without having to be barbaric about it. Putfile prefers to not continue to provide our free uploading service to a country that executes prisoners by hanging, a method of execution which can take up to six minutes to painfully execute the victim.
For this reason, we are at this time terminating all service to users from Singapore. We shall be happy to restore service following any positive move from the government of Singapore towards abolition of hanging as an execution method.
Goodbye Singapore,
Putfile.
http://www.putfile.com/putfile-goodbye-to-singapore.php
Of shoes, blogs & burgers
@ 11:48 AM
My bro has finally completed his jobhunt: as a shoe salesman. Yest nite, he asked me the most absurd question,
"Would i need to put on the shoes for the customers?"
Amid my fits of laughter, I told him, "Yes, if you are working in a shoe shop at a five star hotel frequented by tai-tais."
What innocently funny questions the young will ask you sometimes. *grinz*
And I'm supposed to educate him about the different types of shoes later. Well, he obviously came to the right person. Gals know all about shoes!
~~~
I chanced upon my old blog the other day. The one which brought me through 2002-2004. And i must admit, it was a trip down memory lane. Many incidents that had slipped my mind since, some lost friendships, or simply most that had drifted apart. But most of all, what struck me was that i sounded young.. the tone & my way of words.. something which differs greatly from the way I write now.
Does a year or two makes such a difference?
~~~
Jiuan, kor and I went to try out Carl's Junior yesterday. Burger was significantly bigger than usual ones, though I felt it was a task finishing the whole burger. A little tiring to chew through the whole thing, haha. But serving was huge, so if u aren't very hungry, I would suggest you share. They have unique fries though, some beef-cheese fries which we tried and their onion rings are made up of long strips of onion, which jiuan got stuck on. Haha.
I guess we have all seen the Paris Hilton ad for Carl's. Thanks to Wowdee! Here's the alternative version:
http://images.wowdee.multiply.com/movie/9/2.WMV?enctoken=UmFuZG9tSVZUjcHKnnZGsfw2ro0NGAximHktaC7pDpc==
Whets your appetite huh?
Some good retail therapy came afterwards. Can't believe how much we blew in 3 hours! Gotta save, save and save from now on!
Work these 2 weeks has been a relaxed affair. What with Christmas last weekend and New Year approaching, all of us are hoping that we can take leave and just slack the rest of the week away. But well, fantasies are just dreams in the end.
