Singapore Suburban

post #255

*sighhh....my feet are officially killing me. Another long and winding road walking today. The training itself was finished at around 5 PM. Just the right time to get the street all dried up again. It was raining quite heavily at around 3 PM. Played pool with the other training classmates on lunch time and I only lost once...well in my defense, I couldn't really concentrate since Garry was calling me to meet him down at Raffles Marketplace.... hehehehehe

Met Garry in front of J.Co and we grabbed lunch at Burger King (it's my 2nd lunch since I'd already had my lunch earlier). He gave me his house keys and went to work, I went upstairs and continued the training. On the last quiz session, my team won the first place *bragging.com... lolzzz

But after that....the feet torture began. Went back to Carlton hotel to get my baggage. Went to City Hall MRT station, took MRT to Bishan. Tried to look for Garry's house and managed to get myself took the wrong way. I was soaked wet with sweats....my shoulders were tired and my feet were aching (the effect from yesterday's walking plus today's walking which I had to carry much heavier baggage). Finally arrived in one piece there. Rested for a while then went to Bishan Junction to look around coz I saw some discount on Giordano, Samuel n Kevin, and Esprite there...Well it turned out there's nothing interesting there.....so I looked for a place to eat dinner....there's this 24hrs foodcourt near the junction.....ate chicken noodle there....and bought some groceries (fruits, milks and noodles) for tomorrow's breakfast. It's a nice neighborhood, quiet suburban area.....Hmmm.....it would be great to live here....simple life with the one I love...that's all I need....I think... ;p

A foot massage would be very great at this moment.... *imagining....

Afternoon Walk

post #254

The training finished earlier than I had thought. So I took the chance to wander around. The first place I went was Bugis Street area. There’s a traditional market there that reminded me of Permai and Glodok. The small kiosks, crowded with people and mainly they sold clothes. One difference though, there’s a sex shop…something you wouldn’t find explicitly at Glodok.

Bugis Market...or was it Village?

After quick tour there, I went to Bugis Junction, just across the Victoria Street. It’s a small shopping place…kinda reminded me of Sunter Mall…Looking around for a unique souvenir for few persons back home and also a Superman related things store. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the latter, maybe my friend was wrong. I had to stop the hunting for a while because I realized that I was so hungry and hadn’t eaten rice since yesterday. So I decided to eat at the Food Junction. And the only thing with rice that they had (which interested me) was Nasi Padang. I went all the way to Singapore and I ate nasi padang…what an embarrassment…lolzzz…But hey, do Singapore have traditional, unique cuisine? I ate Singapore laksa quite many times back in Jakarta, why couldn’t I eat nasi padang in Singapore? *defensive mode on…lolzz.. But really, look at it. J.Co, Breadtalk, Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, (even) Yong Tau Fu could be find easily in Jakarta. Maybe next time I should try the ‘usual’ restaurant instead… :D

Nasi Padang ala Singapore

After that, I went back to hotel to put the laptop in my room, coz it found it quite tiring carrying all the way. The road was a little bit wet; rain must have fallen when I was strolling around Bugis Junction. I doubted a bit coz I saw the cloud was still hanging there. It wouldn’t be funny if rain fell when I was wandering around and I caught gold coz of it. But I decided to ‘hajar bleh’ (Indonesian word for go on) with the master plan, which was finding that signature lion statue of Singapore (hence the name Singapore…Singa is the Indonesian and probably Malay word for Lion).

Relying on the official Singapore map that I took from Changi airport *it proved to be very helpful, I went to the Esplanade, where the Lion statue resided (as Mel told me). Took some picture along the way, at War Memorial Park, Victoria Theatre and Fullerton Hotel.

War Memorial Park

Victoria Theatre

Fullerton Hotel

I walked quite far and I thought I was losing direction (though I asked a guy once at Connaught Drive and he said to go on straight…which led me to Fullerton Hotel). I was about to go to Marina Square instead, but I decided to go to Merlion Park and……. There it was…the Lion statue…I found it unexpectedly…hahhahahahaha…Took lot of some pictures there. It’s around 6.30 PM if I remembered correctly and the sun was setting. It’s such a nice view. The part of the sky where the sun set was clear while some of the other part was cloudy.

Left side

City at the background

Then I went to another famous spot of Singapore, none other than Orchard Road. Took the MRT and it was very crowded. But still comfortable. Then I walked down along Orchard Road to my hotel at Bras Basah Road. Wander around Wisma Atria and Paragon for a while. Near Takashimaya, a pretty girl (SPG) approached me, said hi and asked me a several questions which she claimed as survey. I knew her real motive the minute she asked what I do with my income. I saved her (and myself) from useless conversation, saying that I was on a business trip, for short period of time (coz she quickly asked whether I stay for long or not). And she finally gave up and asked non-relevant questions such as where did I come from, what kind of airlines did I take (a polite talk)….when I said SQ, she said that she worked there once. No wonder she’s pretty…lolzzz. But I ended the conversation and continued walking.

Near Le Meridien hotel, I found this souvenir store and bought few. Hopefully they’d like it. There’s 7 11 not far from there, I was wanting for something cold…so I bought slurpee, cokes and instant noodle (for late nite emergency...). My feet were starting to ache…gosh I’d been walking for almost 5 hours….no wonder my feet were giving up. I walked faster with the determination to arrive at the hotel asap. Arrived there, I quickly filled in the bath tub with warm water. I was gonna listen to music while relaxing at the bath tub when my cellphone had some difficulties in reading the micro SD card….Wtf…it’s the second time it did that. The first one, I lost all the data in the micro SD…this time I didn’t wanna lose any…too many precious memories there, pics…sound and video recording…I tried to plugged the card out and used an adaptor to read the card directly from my laptop….Yeah…it worked….I quickly back up the data in my laptop, just in case….

And now(to be exact, an hour ago)…after relaxing in the bath tub for almost half an hour, I feel freshhh…and hungry….lolzzz…now it’s time for a late nite noodles…so I’m signing out now.



Originally written at 30 May 2008, 12.33 AM

Singapore First

post #252

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!
Just a quick post. I’m in Singapore. Assigned for a training with last minute notification. The HR informed me on Monday and now I’m sitting at Carlton Hotel and writing this entry. It’s been a thrilling week. So many things happened that made my heart jumping like crazy. But let’s focus on Singapore.

First step I took at Changi airport…Wowwww….so modern…so clean…so neat (compared to the lovely Soekarno-Hatta). Had a lil issue coz my passport couldn’t be scanned so it had to be inputted manually. Then following Mel’s suggestion, I took the MRT to the city hall then walked from there to the hotel.

It’s almost 11 PM when I got into the MRT, but it was still crowded…Reminded me of my trip to Melbourne last year. Well..gotta get some sleep now. I need to find some place to get breakfast tomorrow morning before attend the training.

Singapore….first impression….Nice!



originally written at 28.05.2008, 12.15PM SG time

Perfect Bullshit

post #251

You are so perfect
In my eyes, you're so beautiful
You make me will always adore you

In each of my steps
I will always think of you
I cannot imagine my life without your love

Don't you leave me
I cannot face it all
Only with you I can

You are my blood, You are my heart
You are my life, complete me
Oh my dear, you are so perfect....
Perfect...

You hold my hand
When I'm weak and fall
You whisper words and erase all my regrets


Sounds sweet, huh? Well not really to me. Ok the song itself is quite catchy and easy listening. But reading the lyric carefully, I don't like it that much. Why? Coz I think it's bullshit (all capitals). I never believe that my happiness is dependent on someone's presence, that I cannot live my life without that person. I've managed to survive this so called harsh life for 20 something years before I met a particular person. How come meeting a person make me lose the survival ability that I've been practicing and mastering all my life? How come since I meet that particular person, I cannot live my life without that person? That person become my life? Come on...get real.... This song is perfect...to get into a girl's pants heart. But think about it thoroughly...yeah really...it just doesn't make any sense (for me).

'I cannot face it all, only with you I can'... then what have I been doing all this time before I meet you? hiding, escaping, avoiding from it all? *smirks 'You are my life, complete me'. Ok, I agree on the latter part, but I don't really like the word you are my life. Hmmm....it gives the impression that that person is everything....welll not really actually. I prefer the term sharing our life. It doesn't necessarily mean that our worlds should be merged into one, instead, we share our world and grow together toward the same direction. Maybe without the presence of that particular person, my life is not complete....but life is about choices. I don't necessarily need someone to make me happy. I (may) need someone to make me happier. Beside, living a full life doesn't necessarily by having someone beside me. There are other ways for that.

That's why I prefer below song rather than the above. It's slow and easy listening too.

Finally I found you
When this heart was starting to doubt
Finally I found you
When this body wanted to harbor

I hope you are the answer to all my worries
And let me love you till the end of my age

If I have you someday
Own me with all of my flaws
And if you're beside me
Please don't ever get tired to love me

Burn

post #250

My mom always said nothing would break me or lead me astray
Who would have guessed I'd let my mind drift so far away


Westlife's song accompanied me and mom while she's shopping at Farmers Market this morning. Well she finally got what she's looking after for, two pieces of clothes. Didn't get the sandals though, but we had 4 liters of juice....yummy...

Quite a revelation that I had yesterday. A great way to close quite plain afternoon. Was it a saturation point? Ermm...I think not...dunno...That night I also had another revelation that made me ... *sigh Dunno the right words.... Dunno which one's hurting more... my ego or my heart. Finally get to see his face. But it didn't satisfy me nor my curiosity at all. It only brought this negativity I've been trying to brush off. Darn...sometimes my curiosity got the better of me.

Why? How come....ain't nothing but a heartache.... ain't nothing but a mistake....tell me why....why couldn't I brush it off with a good nite sleep? It usually worked. It's really hard to keep that third person objectivity when you're involved in the matter. The main reason was because you're not that third person anymore, you're part of the system, the issue.

'...It's gonna burn for me to say this
But it's comin from my heart
It's been a long time coming
we da been fell apart
Really wanna work this out
But I don't think you're gonna change
I do but you don't
Think it's best we go our separate ways
Tell me why I should stay in this relationship
When I'm hurting baby, I ain't happy baby
Plus there's so many other things I gotta deal with
I think that you should let it burn...'

Why does someone keep staying in a relationship when he/she's hurting? when he/she's not happy being in it?
Answer #1: Maybe because he/she's still trying to work it out...but how long could he/she hold on in the 'torture'? It takes two to tango. A person cannot work a relationship alone, it takes the counterpart's effort as well to make it work.
Answer #2: Maybe because he/she's still care, still have feelings for her/him....again...how long this feelings can last? Feelings can fade away and it can fade lot faster when the other party doesn't express the same feelings.

Feelings...it never easy when it comes to it. Maybe I should learn from a friend who's been sacrificing his emotions for quite some time, willing to hurt a lot for someone he's still really care about. But eventually...this feeling will change to tired...sick of...

I've learned I cannot change a person's basic character. Maybe I expected more than that from her, that she could stand up, make a stand and fight for it. I just don't understand....it's beyond my logic...maybe it's answer #2...*sigh...there are things you might not understand yet, maybe later....maybe never. My heart is burnt and I dunno which one caused it. When will it stop... maybe this just a temporary insanity, being overwhelmed with information.....when the time comes, probably I'd have to do what I'm excellent in..suppress my emotions by turning off the right brain switch that's been switched on lately. Many thoughts raging inside my head, I need to find my serenity, my moment of peace...and there's one place I can think of at the moment.....


Usher - Burn

I don't understand why
See it's burning me to hold onto this
I know this is something I gotta do
But that don't mean I want to
What I'm trying to say is that I-love-you i just,
I feel like this is coming to an end
And its better for me to
Let it go now than hold on and hurt you
I gotta let it burn

[Verse 1]
It's gonna burn for me to say this
But it's comin from my heart
It's been a long time coming
we da been fell apart
Really wanna work this out
But I don't think you're gonna change
I do but you don't
Think it's best we go our separate ways
Tell me why I should stay in this relationship
When I'm hurting baby, I ain't happy baby
Plus there's so many other things I gotta deal with
I think that you should let it burn

[Chorus]
When the feeling ain't the same and your body don't want to
But you know gotta let it go cuz the party ain't jumpin' like it used to
Even though this might bruise you
Let it burn
Let it burn
Gotta let it burn
Deep down you know it's best for yourself but you
Hate the thought of her being with someone else
But you know that it's over
We knew it was through
Let it burn
Let it burn
Gotta let it burn

[Verse 2]
Sendin' pages I ain't supposed to
Got somebody here but I want you
Cause the feelin ain't the same find myself
Callin' her your name
Ladies tell me do you understand?
And all my fellas do you feel my pain?
It's the way I feel
I know I made a mistake
Now it's too late
I know she ain't comin back
What I gotta do now
To get my shorty back
Ooo ooo ooo ooooh
Man I don't know what I'm gonna do
Without my boo
You've been gone for too long
It's been fifty-leven days, um-teen hours
Imma be burnin' till you return (let it burn)

[Chorus]

I'm twisted cuz one side of me is tellin' me
that I need to move on
On the other side I wanna break down
and cry (ooooh)
I'm twisted cuz one side of me is tellin' me
that I need to move on
On the other side I wanna break down and cry (yeah)

Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh oooh
Ooh ooh oooh (can ya feel me burnin'?)
Ooh ooh ooh oooh ooh oooh

So many days, so many hours
I'm still burnin' till you return

[Chorus]

Addicted To You

post #249

- Alessandro Del Piero was called to Italy National Team by Roberto Donadoni, thanks to his remarkable performance during this season. He became serie-A Capocannoniere this season with 21 goals. He's also the serie-B top scorer last season with 20 goals. His 21 goals in one season equaled his achievement in 1997/1998 season (which I think as his best performance season). It's been 10 years. He's almost 35 now but he's still sharp. Congrats to Del Piero... I will always remember your crushing goal against Germany in 2006 World Cup Semifinal. You are a legend, Pinturicchio. FORZA AZZURRI!!! YEAHHHH!!!!!

- Been watching Gossip Girl again since last week. It's still great and offered some witty lines. The last one that I remembered was: The truth always comes out. It's the fundamental rule of time. And once it comes out, it can set you free or end everything you've been fighting so hard for. There's new girl in town, Georgina to spice up a little bit. Can't wait to see the plot progression. Eli Stone and Friends (season 3-6) still waiting to be watched. But I had been pretty occupied with other things.

- Went to swim again yesterday after.....4 years perhaps. I almost forgot how...lolzzz. It felt so good, not to mention the companion that I had. In short (The detail would be too long), yesterday morning till afternoon was a blast. I really had a great time. Too bad that just like any good times, I felt that it passed too fast. Only made me longing for more....

- In the evening, went to a friend's new house. He's my elementary and jr high school friend. He lived there with his wife and their daughter. They had a cute daughter and cuter (lolzzz) dog... I was mesmerized instantly. It's sooooo cuteeeeeee.....it had white feather...just like snow. Made me want to have a dog....;p. I went there with a couple of old friends. We had fun and chatted about a lot of things, basically just to catch up with everybody. Seeing my friends, his wife, their daughter, and their dog I had this thought...wow he's at my age and he's already having a family...it seemed nice. I know he had his own problems and issues, but seeing their family me wanna have one too...someday..hahahaha...

- And now...I'm supposed to be working, but there's nothing more I can do beside waiting for confirmation and clarification from the functional designer. My body's still sore from the heaps of physical activity yesterday...but it was sooooo good ......

Addiction.....I'm addicted to you... Movies, Music, Soccer, and you...

Baby, to me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny..Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?

Stay Together For The Kids?

post #248

Leung was born in Hong Kong, though his family came from Taishan, Guangdong, China. Leung's early childhood was punctuated with parents' quarrels and arguments about money. A mischievous boy in his early years, Leung's personality changed when his father, a chronic gambler, left the family when he was eight; he and his younger sister were brought up single-handedly by their mother.

Leung became a reticient, quiet child; his childhood experiences made it difficult for him to trust in marriage and paved the way for his acting career, which allow him "to express my emotions without me getting embarrassed. I can cry or smash things on the set, but no one knows that's just acting or that's how I am really feeling." "After my father left me when I was eight, I became afraid to talk to other people. In school, when other children talked about their parents, I would get very embarrassed. I didn't want to mention my father, so I seldom talked to others".

His childhood has had a lasting effect on Leung's personality. "I am very restrained, very suppressed, very quiet. I don't like to talk too much because I don't know what to do in front of an audience. Actually, I don't know how to communicate with others because of my background and I am scared".

Leung's mother worked hard to keep him attending a private school, but even so, Tony had to quit school at the age of 15 due to financial difficulties. As an adolescent he behaved himself and remained very close to his mother. During a DVD interview on the making of Hero, he says that he sees his mother as his definition of a "hero[ine]" for having brought up two children alone.

Above fragment, about Tony Leung's biography is quoted from wikipedia.

Hmmmm.....bad (read: traumatic) experience usually leaves a permanent scar to a person's soul. This scar, realized or not, affect the person's character, behavior and perception towards life or about that certain issue (ie marriage). Example: Chandler. I like him because he's very witty and he's very good in using humor and jokes as self defense mechanism. He's one very funny (and smart) guy.

In Tony's Leung case, he's using acting as a disguise. It (the acting) really gave him the freedom to do things while concealing his true feelings. It's not easy, some were born with the talent, some had to train themselves. Why do we need to hide our true feelings? Maybe because we did not want other people to know our feelings (because it's embarrassing? or it's too personal?) and reacted the way we didn't want them to. It's not easy to do so, it's tiring. Sometimes we might get tired and need to take off the disguise for a while and show our true feelings. It's even nicer if we had someone we can confide in.

Anyway...there's a song from Blink 182, about working things out in a marriage, staying together for the kids. It's good if the parents are trying, but what if the differences are too big to resolve? If they stay under the same roof, but fighting everyday, is it good for their children? Isn't better if they just split, save their children from needless emotional tortures. Their children might have better chance to grow up normally. Staying together is not always the best approach. In some cases, it's better just to split.

If my memory serves me correctly..the beginning of the video clip was this line:
50% of American households are destroyed by divorce

and it was ended with:
50% survive


Blink 182 - Stay Together For The Kids

It's hard to wake up, when the shades have been pulled shut
This house is haunted, it's so pathetic, it makes no sense at all
I'm ripe with things to say, the words rot and fall away
My stupid poem could fix this home, I'd read it every day

So here's your holiday,
hope you enjoy it this time, you gave it all away.
It was mine, so when you're dead and gone,
will you remember this night? twenty years now lost.
It's not right.

Their anger hurts my ears, been running strong for seven years
Rather than fix the problems, they never solve them, it makes no sense at all
I see them everyday, we get along so why can't they?
If this is what he wants, and it's what she wants, then why is there so much pain?

So here's your holiday,
hope you enjoy it this time, you gave it all away.
It was mine, so when you're dead and gone,
will you remember this night? twenty years now lost
It's not right.

So here's your holiday,
hope you enjoy it this time, you gave it all away.
It was mine, so when you're dead and gone,
will you remember this night? twenty years now lost.
It's not right
It's not right
It's not right
It's not right