Damn that Korean Serial

Oh my god, i can't believe this. When it was first shown on TV, I always caught my mom rushing home from work just to make sure she didn't miss any part of the an episode. Then Mr BF suggested that we stay at home on Fridays instead of hanging outside just so he could keep himself updated with the story. What the hell. I found that ridiculous. Then I started watching a few episodes and what do you know? I'm hooked. Goddamn it.

I've ended up loving this drama serial. If I get home and does not watch any episode of it, I can't concentrate or go to sleep. You see, I wanted to watch this new DVD that my brother bought last week. And I knew something was wrong while the TV was showing the blood war between vampires and werewolves, I was thinking of her.

Yes, Her. The lead actress in this serial.

You know you're addicted when you spend all your nights watching the serial until 2am. Then you want to go to bed becos you know it's late, but you wonder if you can just squeeze in one more episode. You know you're addicted when you'd rather stay at home to do in-door sports instead of jogging in the great outdoors, just so you can watch 大長今 while exercising. Gosh, it's more addictive than cigarettes.

These serials are evil, I tell you. They make sure every episode always end with the bad guys on the verge of killing the good guys, or the good guy's mother is going to die, or the lead cast finding the cure to a supposed incurable disease, etc. They make sure that you must find out what would happen next. It's like having a mosqsuito bite on your butt; you know it's not exactly good social etiquette to scratch your ass in public but you must do it cos it's so damn itchy.

So if you can't wait for the next episode to be shown on TV the next night, you end up buying the VCDs so that you can find out straight away if the lead cast got slaughtered or the bad guys got away with the treason charge. You know you're addicted when you lie down on the bed, and wonder if the leading actress managed to escape from the ambush the bad guys have laid down. Then you realised that you've wasted an hour on the bed thinking about the story when you could have just watched another episode. Then you feel angry with yourself for wasting that time. Fuck.

I also suspect they casted a voodoo, along with nicotine, on the VCDs. I find myself watching late into the night, then decide that I should sleep. But these VCDs would crawl into my room, and positioned themselves right beside the player!! Crazy, right?! If I shut my door before they crawled in, they would transform themselves into thoughts and sneak their way into my brain. What the hell. Damn these Koreans.

The voodoo-casted VCDs

What is more amazing is, I've actually finished the last episode. But I started watching this serial only from the second half onwards. So now, i'm actually watching 大長今 from the start when I already knew the ending. What the fuck, i'm messed up. I need help.

Okay, I gotta go. I need my daily dosage of 大長今 now. She just succeeded in planting some stupid plant. It would get interesting from here.

Reminiscing...

1st Semester

"I love Mondays. I didn't have any classes on Monday. Everyone I know would be slightly irritated on Sundays because they realised they have not finished the tutorial paper they were supposed to submit the coming week and they hated the idea of having to rush when copying the answers from other students. Me? Of course, i would finish up my tutorial questions to prepare for the week ahead. But there was no pressure. After all, I lazed in the bed till 12 noon on Mondays. And not having school on Mondays bought me extra time to finish my homework."

2nd Semester

"We had a fight, over a relatively small matter. I was mad and teared a little. A, my housemate, walked into my room and queried me on the somewhat swollen eyes. I told him what had happened earlier. He tried to cheer me up, saying I shouldn't be crying two hours before my birthday. A left my room promptly after.

I turned off the lights and intended to head to bed at 1am, so as to get enough sleep for the lecture early next morning. W, the other housemate, began to pound madly on my door, telling me that I shouldn't be sleeping so "early". After all, we were students and must lead the rightful lifestyle of going to bed only at 3am (despite a morning lecture at 8am) and wake up the next morning only to curse and swear about having to wake up early and finally deciding to keep ourselves warm under the blanket instead of setting off for school. So I opened the door and W, with some boys, invited themselves into my room and settled comfortably on my bed. We chatted for a long while. I didn't even realised that W had stepped out of the room. Suddenly, W came running in, "oh no! oh no! Our kitchen is on fire!"

I had the shock of my life. Fire? Does our rent insurance cover this? How much is the excess do we have to fork out? How did the fire start? The electric stove couldn't be the culprit. So what caused it?

As i ran into the hallway leading into the dining room, I saw some lights coming from the dining table. A few of the boys, including M, my former housemate, had gathered around the table. There was a cake on it, and the light came from the candles on the cake. Then the boys proceeded to sing me a birthday song =) Apparently, the boys were trying to cheer me up, seeing how upset I was after the arguement with then-bf earlier on. M, drove all the way to a bakery at Milton, at 1am, to try his luck on finding an egg tart, as he didn't think it was possible to find a cake at that time. Well, luck was on his side. And on mine too, to actually have the sweetest housemates ever."

3rd Semester

"On Mondays, I finished classes at 6pm. On my way home, I would walk past Macquarie Street and pass by 4-girls' apartment. They've picked up the habit of inviting my housemates and I over for dinner every Monday when I didn't have enough time to make dinner. I do the same for them on Fridays.

So on every Monday, I would pop over for dinner. Usually by the time I arrived, K, my housemate, would already be fishing for our catch at the river by the apartment. I would then help out in the cooking, and when all dishes are ready, I would go over to the balcony and shout for K to come up. He would then bring his catch up, and have it cleaned, so that I turn it into a edible dish for everyone."

"Everyone was busy, except the 4-girls. After all, they had offered to cook (just) rice, for the pot-luck party. Reason being, they deemed their cooking skills not good enough for anyone not living in their apartment. I contributed with my (or rather my mom's) famous Coke Chicken. After the dinner, I took out my cigarettes from my bag and headed outside to have my dessert-smoke. T, followed closely behind. We didn't know each other well then. We were smoking along the corridor, chatting about the repairs for his car which was sandwiched in between two other cars the day before. B, came out of the apartment to join in the chat. After a while, B decided to head back into the apartment cos it was getting too cold to be standing outside bare-footed when he suddenly remembered that he had not thanked me for the green bean soup that I had prepared for them the week earlier. He began to thank me profusely and complimented on how well done it was. As I turned back towards T, he shot me a look which sent some butterflies into my stomach. "Hmm .... green bean soup ...." Then he smiled. I will never forget that look."

*************************

I miss being a student.

I miss my friends.

I miss Australia.

The end.



By the way, T, in the last passage, eventually turned out to be the person I will be walking down the aisle with, in another six months. So it turned out well =)

I am a Screw-up

when it comes to interviews. I don't understand it myself, sometimes. I have no problem articulating, use enough eye contact and gestures, am polite and humble (during interviews), able to put across my aspiration (in a non-desperate manner) to learn and thereafter contribute to the organization, etc. But I've never gotten my desired job.

I once applied to B*T for a logistics position. I went through the first interview well and got invited for a second interview. This time, the HR lady was present and she asked non-job-related questions like "what is your goal in twenty years' time?" Seriously, what the fuck?! Are you fucking telling me you can see what you want to do in twenty years' time?? I could be sun-tanning on a Florida beach, or lying quietly in a small yellow jar. I answered nonetheless, cos secretly, I do have a goal that I would like to achieve when I'm in my forties, though it's more of a dream rather than an ambition.

So I told her, that I would like to be a lecturer.

Yeah, I know, some people have told me that I couldn't have been more stupid to give such an answer. That was really what I felt then (and now too). I want to be in a position where I can expose myself to more people, climb up the corporate ladder, make management decisions, etc. Then i'll quit, maybe around 45, to become a lecturer so that I can impart knowledge to the next generation. I have always felt that knowledge not passed down is such a waste. And I hate waste.

Anyway, speaking from my heart apparently didn't work for the HR lady and I didn't get the job. She also mentioned that I was over-qualified for the position. Again, what the fuck?! If that is the case, don't even invite me to the interview! I indicated that I was more than willing to start at a lower position with a lower pay. What the fuck more do you want from me?

Another time, I was invited to H* for an interview after countless resumes that I have sent in for openings in this company. The first interview went on well, we even cracked a few jokes and the manager was impressed with me enough, to invite me to a second interview. Once again, I screwed up during the second interview. This time, it was entirely my fault. The interview was held on a Monday at 9.30am, and I was in a terrible mood from not having enough sleep. So I was grumpy and obviously, that didn't leave too good an impression with the senior manager who was a lady.

The above are just two instances where I screwed up. I have got lots more. And unless you've gone on as many interviews as I had, you wouldn't understand how it feels to attend interviews, full of hope, then to fall badly when you didn't receive any calls from them after that. The falls, brought my self-confidence and pride down with them.

The reason why I am telling you, dear readers, about this, is because I received a call yesterday, to attend an interview in June. This company, is gigantic with lots of opportunities for me to move across departments. I have sent in my resumes a couple of times, only to be ignored completely. This time, I sent in my resume, expecting no reply from them. Serious. So you can imagine my delight when I was shortlisted to present myself in front of a panel of 3 interviewers. But as the excitement wore off, I was left with panic, dejection and anxiety. So many times, I was invited to attend interviews to the jobs that I truly want and felt that I could do well, but it never worked out.

I didn't want to tell anyone about this. Not even Mr BF. He knows that I'll be attending an interview but he doesn't know which organization I have applied to. I was afraid to tell him because I was afraid that telling other people would jinx it. The last thing I want, is to have my friends asking me, "So?? Did you get the job?" and I have to answer with, "Nope. No reply from them. I guess this is it." And my friends, being generally nice people would say, "Don't worry lah, maybe they'll still call! (though it's been a month)" or "Don't worry, go find another job lor!" While I appreciate the concern and encouragement, many of my friends, have not gone through job hunting like I did. They landed themselves in cushy jobs easily, or even in Mr BF's case, all he needed to do, was to attend ONE interview, and he would get the job. It was like, one shot, one kill.

Anyway, I hope to be able to convey good news after I've attended the interview. Given the panel of interviewers for that day, I doubt very much there would be a second interview, so this is my only chance to convince them to hire me. It's not a fantastic position actually, but like I said, it's the firm. This firm, will not crumble. Not at least for another century. And of course, the bonus they offer, is pretty remarkable. At least for my standards.

Also, I realised that the interviewers that failed me were all women. Maybe they have a problem with my cleavage. Heh.

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With reference to the above subject, can anyone please tell me, how do you answer when an interviewer says, "Tell me about yourself."

I don't know why, but I have absolutely no idea what to say. I mean, do I say I am jovial and easy-going? That I am generally lovable and would get along with everyone? Should i tell them I'm a smoker? Should I tell them I play mahjong and watch TV when I can?? or that I used to play squash, love to jog and swim? Or should I just tell them my vital statistics??

I don't think telling them about my job experience or studies is appropriate to this question. I really don't. After all, I play a lot of spider solitaire during office hours cos there is not much work to do, and I spent a lot of time playing mahjong when i was a student. Heh.

Your responses would be greatly appreciated. And YOU! Green Ogre! Don't tell me to go under the interviewer's desk, you piece of shit. I would do that only to get a seven digit amount, but not just for a job. Heh.

ITCH

I woke up with rashes on my legs, arms and tummy on Saturday morning. By afternoon, it got worse, and it was very itchy. As I am a very poor person who refuse to spend money going to a clinic that would be opened on Saturday afternoons, I decided to endure the itch and go to a Chinese medicinal shop to find the cure for my itch.

Me : Uncle, is there any cream I can apply for rashes like this? *proceeded to show him the rash on my arms*

Chinese Uncle at Chinese medicinal shop : This kind ah ... *took out a small box with a tube of Chinese medicine inside* ... you apply this lah ... can cure itch one.

Me : Just to cure the itch? Is there other medicine I can take to treat the rash and stop the itching?

Chinese Uncle : Yah yah, this one is very good. Can treat rash also. You apply straight away will stop the itch liao.

The box said "White Pearl Cream" and it cost me 4 bucks.

When I opened up the tube of cream, it smelled exactly like Mopiko. Not only that, it felt exactly like Mopiko on my skin.

I suspect the manufacturer of Mopiko decided to change the brand packaging, and gave Mopiko a more exotic name, "White Pearl", so that they charge at a higher price for the same thing.

It stopped the itch, but by evening, I was getting more rashes on other parts of my body.

I feel so cheated.

***************************

On a separate note, I came across this picture when I was looking for a picture for White Pearl Cream:

What has this picture gotta do with white pearl cream?

Disillusioned.

Stress.


Constant Worrying.


Anxiety.


Distress.


Heavy Head.


Frustration.


Dejection.



So I smoke.


And smoke.


And smoke.


Yeah, I know that I asked for it if my lungs ever fail me.

A Belated Post

Gosh, I can't believe how this post is 10 days late. I know the elections fever has subsided somewhat and many of us have moved on with our lives. But the following pictures were taken one day prior to election day and i feel unjustified for my camera phone (despite its inadequate ability to shoot decently) if I didn't post these pics.

Some of us may have heard of the massive crowd present during the Workers' Party's rallies. But just how congested was it?

What you see here, is around 15% of the actual crowd

As you can see from the above picture, it's really 人山人海. The literal translation of this Chinese idiom is : mountains cum oceans of human beings. Simply put : A hell lot of people.

The atmosphere was fantastic. The people present were passionate, energetic and well-spirited. Some of them came with banners:

Sylvia, or Ms Sylvia Lim, is the chairman of the WP. A very powerful speaker. In case you don't know.

Others came with a mock-up of the symbol of the Workers' Party:

That's a hammer, not a cross.

Some of WP's supporters were enthusiastic, but low-budgeted:

That's a paper cardboard. It looks pretty blur because the Ah Beng who was holding it was swaying the poster vigorously. I almost thought he was possessed. Oh, it's supposed to be a heart with "WP" written inside it.

What moved me was the Ah Beng, came along with his two Ah Beng friends, all holding their respective home-made posters. During the end of certain speeches, they would stand up with their posters and turn towards the audience (they were sitting at the bottom of the grandstand) with their posters reading, "You have a choice.", "Upgrading is your right, don't be forced to vote.", .... and so on.

Some of us (like me) came with nothing. So we bought one of these to show our support:

It was a wonderful experience =)

In preparation for the big party

Oh, you little brown piece of thing

Always sitting within sight tempting me

How do you know of my little sweet tooth

Why do you keep luring me with that goodness that you bring?

Don't you know, that I have to keep away from you?

Don't you know, that I have to fit into my fanciful dress?

In front of hundreds of guests

Hell, I want to look like a princess!!

So stay away, beautiful sweet

We will meet again, once I'm ready to satisfy my sense

Until then, you will find your way to the mouths of my friends

just so they'll always look fatter than I am

*****************

Note to Ogre: Thank you for putting on the extra weight. It makes me feel a little better about myself. *wide grin*

RANT

Warning: This post is aboslutely distorted, and it's just an expression of how I'm feeling.

If you have anything to argue with me, don't comment. Because whether you're right or not, i will just deem you as an ignorant prick (even tho i may be the one who is ignorant) who doesn't understand what our generation has to go through. So spare yourself the insult, and save me my time.

******************

The rich people in our society has enough money not to depend on the government. The poor people receive subsidies from the government. The middle-class has nothing, and gets nothing. We are the new poor.

The ruling party has held on to its position for too long. They're getting complacent. They're slacking. We need more opposition to make them work harder. They must wake up.

I do not believe that corruption doesn't exist. A friend of mine went to a talk by the GRC he is under last year and the member who spoke to him, told him that as long as he joins them, parking = free! want to get a flat here through balloting? No problem!! "As long as you join us, we can give you all that u want!" That, to me, is bribery.

NKF = no news. No news is not the important point here, the important point is, WHY NO NEWS??

A lot of newbies in the opposition parties are young people. They are passionate. They live in 4-room or 5-room flats. Just like many of us. Unlike those with the ruling government. They understand what we, as the new poor, are going through. They want to show the ruling government that they mean business. They want to let the ruling government know what we, in our twenties, have to go through. If we, as the young people, do not show them our support, who will?

World-class government : Our ministers are getting world class pay. Our MPs are getting world-class pay. Our flats are world-class prices. Our transport costs are joining the world-class level. BUT, OUR PAY REMAIN THAT OF THE THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES. okay, maybe i'm exaggerating, but we're definitely not getting world-class pay even though we have to pay our ministers world-class pay and fulfill basic needs with world-class prices.

Our PM said that Singapore is doing better this year. Much better. Then explain the CPF contribution from employers. The 7% that they took away from us.

I remember what MM Lee did for us in the sixties. I remember what they did for us in the seventies and eighties. But the ruling government is no longer what it was in the past. They look out for their own benefits first. No longer, are the people the first priority.

I cannot listen to any more of MM Lee's mentioning of the what he did in the past. Yes, he did great. He did fantastic. But we're no longer living in the past. The present, is worrying. The future is daunting. You know what I mean when you realised that 80% (or more) of your CPF goes to paying for your flat. Which isn't even yours after you've finished paying cos it's a lease of 99 years. At the end of 30 years, u realised you don't meet the minimum cap of $90,000 in ur CPF account and you can't withdraw your money. Unless you get a stroke or something. So you realised, that you have to depend on the government giving you a little bit of money each month from your CPF account until you die. This is very odd, isn't the money in that account YOUR money?

Many whom I have spoken to, still tell me how great and fantastic our ruling government is. That is because, their parents have money, or they have money, and they do not understand what many others are going through. Either that, or they have already become what our government wants them to be: Totally guillible and do not ever question or use your brain to think. Just worship the government. Let's see if you can still depend on the government when you lose your job or when you don't have rich parents to depend on.

The opposition needn't necessary do things better. But I'll be willing to take my chance if I had a damn chance to vote. If you don't show the ruling party that they're losing support, they'll juz continue their slacking ways.

But all in all, with the winnings and the losings, I'm glad to say that we're seeing more support from the people for the oppositions. Most of the winners won with 60++ percent, very much lower than the last time.

I really hope that our lives and economy get better. This is my country, I don't wanna see it sink.

Money Money Money

The wedding. The gown. The banquet. The photos = $$$$$$$$$

The house. The renovation. The furniture. The monthly instalment = $$$$$$$$$$

As if my head isn't already exploding from trying to make the most out of my pathetic pay, I had just been informed that the company may not be able to support its existing operations for long.

I may go out of job, very soon.

Yes, yes. All of you will say, go find another job. No big deal.

Unless you have gone through job hunting the way I had, you have no idea what it means to be actually "hunting" for a job.

The last time I quit my job without an offer, I sent out over a hundred resumes within two months.

When I first graduated and was hunting for a job, I also sent out over a hundred resumes within two months.

I am not a bad worker. At least I don't think I am. I've had achievements at work that I am proud of. I've got a good attitude. But sometimes your resume just don't cut it. And it is no fucking big deal to own a bachelor degree. Every tom, dick or harry has one.

It's very tough having to put up an optimistic front when you're sinking inside. The money, family relationships, work. Or the lack of it. I am trying hard not to sink into depression.