Lucky colleague

OMG! Remember my earlier blog '8735' and my colleague who has 'yin-yang' eyes? Well, he strike the 1st price with a $10 ibet on that number last Sunday. The only winner on 7583, he bought us lunch and held a thanksgiving praying session last evening. I was happy and kept busy in assisting him with the celebrations. I believe that I would be blessed in other ways. Fyi, another set of numbers surfaced and this time I would not reveal. Okay, I give you a clue. One dozen, two dozens. Keep guessing and good luck.

Any good lounge in town?

A bad day at work. Just shouted at a young Filipino engineer and asked him to get out of my office. An arrogant chap with no respect for anyone and fails to discharge his duty is not welcome to work with us. Do not wish to be bothered by him. Full stop.

Dancing on a Saturday night, you bet. I wear safety boots and not dancing shoes at my workplace. How I wish to have a glass of cold beer in a lounge with a live band performing. That was yesterday or yesteryear. On a serious note, I am looking for one so that I can bring Margaret along. Hopefully she won't complain it's too noisy and ask me to go home instead. Haha...

8735

I was nearly $2500 richer. Bought this number 8735 on Tuesday and it came out in the 4D consolation prize 8730. What a miss! Guess a sizable number of people at my workplace would be smiling if not otherwise. Why? We got the above from our praying session the other night. No regret. At least we tried. Better luck next time.

Offerings

Though it may sound silly and ridiculous but I am a Chinese after all. This Zhong Yuan Jie, I went to pay my respect to my late parents and ancestors. Not only that, I burnt lots of offering to them too. Offerings like paper money, passports, credit cards, paper clothing and garments. Specially for my late mother, 'Gucci' purse, jewelries and shoes. Maybe the next time I'll buy her a paper 'Gucci' handbag. Very fun indeed. Kiasu and kia bo are the words for typical Singaporean like me. I do not wish to see them return empty handed at the end of the festival. You may say it's all in the mind. Damn it, my heart is at ease after these praying sessions. I cannot thank them enough for the blessing showered on my family. May we continue to have good health, happiness and luck. Once again, thank you very much.

'It is only after death that the depth of the bond is truly felt and our loved one becomes more a part of us than was possible in life.'

Zhong Yuan Jie 2010

My immediate superior, colleague and me had our praying session last evening. Surprisingly my colleague claimed that he could locate the Earth God and see wondering spirits. OMG! I am scared, very scared. Very funny but he was serious. Not wanting to make him feel bad, I played along with him. What he didn't know is that I can go into trance too. That is to say..... um......... I can tell what he is up to. He will get the shock of his life. LOL. So long as he meant no harm, let's live and let live. Happy Hungry Ghost Festival. There is nothing to be afraid of .... so let's celebrate!

Under 15 soccer team

A tiger in my neighborhood?

Get away from those who cough and having sore throat. It's contiguous. Sad to say, Margaret is down with it too. I am not comfortable with people coughing non-stop in the train. But what can I do?
So far I have not written anything about YOG (Youth Olympic Games). Okay, the YOG 2010 is from 14 - 26 Aug 2010 and it's happening in Singapore. What I am proud of is our Under 15 Soccer team making it to the semi-final tonight. They play against Haiti. Though I am recovering from a sore throat, I am definitely shouting for them to a victory. Forget about asking Paul the octopus for the winner. Go, Go, Singapore!

Sentimental guy

When was the last time I felt sick? Probably more than 2 years ago. Due to my work stress, my immune system has weakened. I hope to recover in a day or two.
I went to an I.T. fair during lunch and managed to grab a 4 GB thumb drive at $12.90. Isn't it cheap? I suppose so. Anyway, it's a gift for Margaret. Well, I love buying small gift for her at times and that includes tit-bits. Who dare say I am not sentimental?
For the past weeks, a few friends were not happy with me for reasons best known to them. One of them screamed at me on the phone and guess we won't be on talking term for a long time. Sincerely, I treasure my friends especially childhood buddies. Will have a meal with all of you should I find the time. Believe me, I'll try but no promise.

Where is my voice?

My throat inflammation is driving me crazy. Should you call me tomorrow, I'm afraid I cannot answer your call because my voice would be gone by then. Why am I so stubborn not consulting a doctor? Well, I am on duty. My colleague worked overnight last night and it's not fair for him to take over my duty. I joked with those around me that I went karaoke last evening and sang till this morning. Why are you not laughing? What a lousy joke?
I have a missed call from one of my former bosses. How to return his call with my 'Rod Stewart' voice? Anyway, I sent him a sms with apologies. It's nice that they remember me and I guess a new project is imminent on his side. Will call him when my voice returns.

Qixi 2010

Today is Chinese Valentine's Day. Many modern Chinese, particularly youngsters, seem to know more about St Valentine's Day on February 14, characterized by bouquets of roses, chocolates and romantic candlelight dinners, than they do about their home-grown day for lovers.

Like all folk tales, there are many variations of the Qixi Festival legend, but the basic story is usually the same: a Chinese couple, Niulang (cow herder) and Zhinu (fairy weaver girl) were separated by the goddess of Heaven, who was angry that a fairy would want to marry a mortal. They could only meet once a year on a bridge formed by magpies, who took pity on the separated couple. Thus, the celebration.

May you be blessed with happiness and love on this lovers' day.

Let's start kicking

Watched the first EPL match of the season 2010/2011 between Spurs and Man City. It ended with a goalless draw. Nope, I didn't subscribe to Mio Tv. I watched it in the internet which my younger friends taught me. Cool man.
Arsene Wenger extended his contract with Arsenal FC for another 3 years. Bravo! Definitely you can't let a good man go. He is just an Arsenal man through and through. OMG! A Liverpool match awaits us tomorrow. Keep our fingers crossed. Good luck!

Tears in heaven

Our deepest condolences to our Japanese friend Osada-san and family on the passing on of his 23 year old son. May his soul rest in peace. Osada-san will be leaving Singapore for Japan at 2300hrs. We wish him well.

Ramadan

It's the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar. Muslims begins their fasting from sunrise to sunset. Believe me, it's tough. Not only water is forbidden, saliva must not be swallowed too. You bet.
Family matter:
Anna is resting at home after the doctor gave her an all-clear. But she was given a cocktail of pills to take every morning. Life goes on.
Roger declined Patrick's invitation to stay at his place during weekend. Guess he loves his Queenstown unit. He maybe alone but not lonely.

Lunar Seventh Month

The gates of hell are opened. That signals the beginning of the Lunar Seventh Month or Zhong Yuan Jie aka Hungry Ghost Festival. On the lighter side, souls from the other dimension are given a lunar month of annual leave to wander the earth. The Buddhist and Toaist believe that we should host them to a good feast and entertainment together with giving them material needs. In return, we will be blessed with good luck, health and fortune. For me, it's Om Mani Padme Hum.

A nation celebrates

Our nation celebrates our 45th National Day. May we have more good years of peace and prosperity. Majulah Singapura!

Anna in TTSH

Anna was warded at TTSH early this morning after complaining unwell. With the latest update from Margaret, she is feeling alright at this moment. Needless to say, she cannot be discharge and need to be monitored a while longer. No wonder she declined our dinner invitation last evening. In no way would she miss her favourite 'fish head bee hoon soup'.
Let us pray for nothing major comes out of it and may she be in the best of health again.

Recuperate

Relax. It's my off day. Me and my colleague need not work as hard from now on. We have completed the major structure of our project. Definitely there will be occasional overnight work but not as often. No more huff and puff. Time to recuperate. Meantime, we are still not allowed to take leave. Well, no complain. Let's celebrate our National Day this weekend. Majulah! Majulah! Majulah!

Sour grapes

So what if you are a graduate? That does not mean everything you do would be better than those non-graduates. This narrow-minded friend envies everyone who's life is more comfortable than him. His shallow mentality carried him away to believe that even with a correspondence degree would guarantee one a good job and pay. He fails to acknowledge that success is more than that. On hindsight, we can't deny a degree does help to climb the corperate ladder. Whatever, good luck to him. A waste of talent.... or is he?

A masterpiece of art

School Of The Arts (SOTA)

I couldn't help myself but to admire the asthetic of this beautiful institution where I passed by the other day. It's simply inspiring and outstanding with the cleverly designed stone cave basement and the green walls that soften the concrete blocks. A masterpiece of art specially for the School Of The Arts. Congrats!

Hamburger or Hand Burger?

Guess what me and Margaret had for dinner this evening? You wouldn't believe it, hamburger. Yes, we dine at The Hand Burger @ 313 Orchard. I ordered a Pork Burger while Margaret prefered Chicken Cesar Burger. With additional $6 each, we had a bowl of mushroom soup and a cold drink. It's burger at its finest at this restaurant unlike those fast food outlets. In fact we were there for the soup as recommended by friends. It didn't disappoint. Creamy rich with generous chunks of mushroom in it. The bill isn't ordinary either. Together with service charge and GST, we paid $33, Who dare say burger is junk food?

Nice feeling

It's rather unusual for everyone to treat me exceptionally nice. I am feeling kind of weird especially these few days. Can someone tell me what is happening? It can be quite scary too. I am weary of those who try to stab me from behind. These people would not be nice to me and all of a sudden they are angels. I have heard of false prophet but not false angel. You are right..... angel with horns. Satan in disguise. However, it's never good to think so bad of others. I pray for my luck to stay so that this nice feeling would not go away. May it be so.