The past three weeks have been torturous to say the least.. Long working days, long daily lectures and CCAs, kinda zapped me completely.
Motor Programming Module has been damn dry and very condensed thanks to a lecturer who can only make it to singapore for a mere 2 weeks out of the entire 6 week module..
Really tired.. Really tired.. Will start with the interesting posts once I am done with lessons this week.
On a lighter note.. Arshad's geting MARRIED!!!! Can't wait for it..
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Long time coming....
Its been a very long while and quite honestly I really don't know where or rather how to begin. I would like to update as chronologically accurate as possible but the truth is I really can't remember anything in order these days.
There has been a lot of changes occuring in the recent months. Too many and too fast to list all. To start off with a few...
Yeah, there is a change to my availability status. In true cliche, I never thought it would happen to me, but it did. Thus the explanantion to my "completion". It feels great to actually be happy.
As for work, well lets just say that it wasn't all as smooth sailing as i thought it would be, had to go through some reality checks. Got reminded that i cannot let my guards down and to always cover my back. Not going to go into details. Sometimes its really no point talking about things that cannot be changed.
Studies. Its kind of getting hectic. All the modules are very condensed. Therefore alot of effort has to be put in. Kind of getting sick and tired of getting credits..Would love to see some distinctions for a change. It would be a good morale booster as well.
Family. What can i say, just when i thought i got them all figured, they never fail to suprise me.
Friends. Its been a wild roller coaster ride. With the lack of time and other pre-occupations, can see that the dynamics are shifting ... Sometimes the shift is subtle and other times, mostly shocking.
Myself. I am but a fraction of myself. So much things to do and so little time... what to do .. life.
These are the general updates. Just to break the curse of procrastination.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Flower
I am like a flower. Really ... I am . When it comes to the dentist.
In my life I have tolerated many pains. I have suffered the pain of broken bones , fractures, sprains, incisions, lacerations, contusions and many other pains ending with "ions". I also have endured the pains of heartbreaks, hardknocks and even hard-headed people. Often times, I have raised the bar on my pain threshold, reaching new heights as Life throws me its plethora of curve balls. BUT, there is one pain that I could never bring myself to conquer or even try facing. A toothache.
The toothache, a severe life threatening , migraine making, swearing inducing and a totally skull numbing sensation experienced when a tooth undergoes complications such as decay and etc. Amongst these, the biggest culprit... the WTC (Wisdom Tooth Complications). The one I have been diagnosed with now. How cruel can life be to me?
I always had felt that I had too many teeth. Ten years back I realised that it was due to the Wisdom Teeth ( I wonder why do they even call them that). Since everything was going ok, i turned a blind eye to the fact that I had 4 extra teeth. Recently, after a hearty meal, I dislodged a piece of food particle from my teeth using my tongue and spat it out. When the particle hit the basin, it made a "cling" sound. At that moment, my worst fear was confirmed.. I had to visit the dentist. Because the particle was actually a fragment of my Wisdom Tooth.
I made my appointment with the NDC. Like everyone else, when forced to do something that you dread, I tried to come up with excuses to postpone it. I even tried my hand at reading omens. I told the cab driver National Dental Center and he brought me to the National Cancer Center, what more of an omen can I ask for? Then, I realised I wasn't wearing socks. My God! This is the second omen. Walking into the glass panel of a malfunctioning Auto-Door entrance was the third. Thats it. I had enough signs to call it off ... till the mother calls in to seal my fate. "Don't let anyone know that you are afraid of the dentist. They will spit at you. You call yourself a grown up?!".. Yup that did it alright. My ego and pride were not ready to be subjugated to the insults of mummy. So i registered myself and got myself x-rayed and diagnosed. My Wisdom teeth had to go.
The dentist gave me 2 options.
1) Go for General Anesthetics and knock out while they pluck my teeth out. All 4 of them.
2) Go for Local Anesthetics and pluck out only 2 at a time. Meaning I come back one more time.
Just like a true Singaporean dentist. She read out all probabilities of the surgery.
1) " With G.A there is a 1 % chance that you may slip into a coma while you are in surgery... but then there is always a risk in everything"
2) " With both procedures, there is again another 1% chance of your nerves getting affected and you losing all sensations in your mouth." I am a Singaporean!!! there's nothing to do in Singapore but EAT!
3) "It's possible that your sinus cavities can be punctured during the surgery, if we detect it, we will patch it for you during the surgery itself...... this also is another 1% chance."
Now you understand why I am freaked out? My teeth is so close to my brain. Anything can happen when the dentist is happily yanking it out.. Which i have to witness since i opted for local anesthetics. Damn SHIT! I have to see a stout Chinese fella (assumingly) standing over me and probing my mouth... Whats the world coming to? Crap.... The Tooth Fairy better make me a good deal!
In my life I have tolerated many pains. I have suffered the pain of broken bones , fractures, sprains, incisions, lacerations, contusions and many other pains ending with "ions". I also have endured the pains of heartbreaks, hardknocks and even hard-headed people. Often times, I have raised the bar on my pain threshold, reaching new heights as Life throws me its plethora of curve balls. BUT, there is one pain that I could never bring myself to conquer or even try facing. A toothache.
The toothache, a severe life threatening , migraine making, swearing inducing and a totally skull numbing sensation experienced when a tooth undergoes complications such as decay and etc. Amongst these, the biggest culprit... the WTC (Wisdom Tooth Complications). The one I have been diagnosed with now. How cruel can life be to me?
I always had felt that I had too many teeth. Ten years back I realised that it was due to the Wisdom Teeth ( I wonder why do they even call them that). Since everything was going ok, i turned a blind eye to the fact that I had 4 extra teeth. Recently, after a hearty meal, I dislodged a piece of food particle from my teeth using my tongue and spat it out. When the particle hit the basin, it made a "cling" sound. At that moment, my worst fear was confirmed.. I had to visit the dentist. Because the particle was actually a fragment of my Wisdom Tooth.
I made my appointment with the NDC. Like everyone else, when forced to do something that you dread, I tried to come up with excuses to postpone it. I even tried my hand at reading omens. I told the cab driver National Dental Center and he brought me to the National Cancer Center, what more of an omen can I ask for? Then, I realised I wasn't wearing socks. My God! This is the second omen. Walking into the glass panel of a malfunctioning Auto-Door entrance was the third. Thats it. I had enough signs to call it off ... till the mother calls in to seal my fate. "Don't let anyone know that you are afraid of the dentist. They will spit at you. You call yourself a grown up?!".. Yup that did it alright. My ego and pride were not ready to be subjugated to the insults of mummy. So i registered myself and got myself x-rayed and diagnosed. My Wisdom teeth had to go.
The dentist gave me 2 options.
1) Go for General Anesthetics and knock out while they pluck my teeth out. All 4 of them.
2) Go for Local Anesthetics and pluck out only 2 at a time. Meaning I come back one more time.
Just like a true Singaporean dentist. She read out all probabilities of the surgery.
1) " With G.A there is a 1 % chance that you may slip into a coma while you are in surgery... but then there is always a risk in everything"
2) " With both procedures, there is again another 1% chance of your nerves getting affected and you losing all sensations in your mouth." I am a Singaporean!!! there's nothing to do in Singapore but EAT!
3) "It's possible that your sinus cavities can be punctured during the surgery, if we detect it, we will patch it for you during the surgery itself...... this also is another 1% chance."
Now you understand why I am freaked out? My teeth is so close to my brain. Anything can happen when the dentist is happily yanking it out.. Which i have to witness since i opted for local anesthetics. Damn SHIT! I have to see a stout Chinese fella (assumingly) standing over me and probing my mouth... Whats the world coming to? Crap.... The Tooth Fairy better make me a good deal!
Monday, December 17, 2007
When gloss precedes content...
It's an age old issue. Just like expectations it is ubiquitous. Unfortunately it is a mindset that is innate in everyone of us. Only difference is that it varies accordingly to the individuals taste. A condition that has been predominant in every aspect of our lives right from infancy.
The shiniest toys..the nicest looking presents..the sexiest babe... the hunkiest dudes.. the movies with the coolest actor/ress(s)... Everything explores the value of the surface packaging and not of the content inside. Judgements based on looks and nothing else.
The most common aspect that unites everyone is about people and their preset notions of what is beautiful and what is not. From how we want our partners/ spouse to look like to freaking racism. We all fall somewhere in between
The schooling days. From first love to first fight... somehow everything tethered on the packaging. Every guy would have had aspirations as to how he wanted his girlfriend to look like. I wanted mine to be fair ( didn't matter to me that i wasn't), pretty, just nicely tall enough to lean on my shoulders, slender with a lovely smile and smooth straight hair. I know fat hope. Fat it was. As i matured, my ridiculous expectations did as well. I realised that i had been in the foolish conception that fair was beautiful? Who has the right to determine that fair was beautiful? It's just a complexion, just like dark. We are all the same beneath our skin.
Through hard learned lessons, i added depth to my superficial notions of what is pretty and what is not. An angelic smile doesn't necessarily constitue an angel's heart. Neither does a foxy chick constitute to an easy going slut... a very valuable lesson that i paid a fortune to learn. I learnt that content matters more than its gloss.
Been labelled everything from "pariah" to "anjing hitam [black dog in malay]", being a minority was never easy. I am an Indian. I have brown skin, not black you bloody idiots. Even if it was black, i still would be equally proud of it. Nope, my skin does not carry any communicable disease nor does my hands exude black dirt when i touch anything. I have hair on my hands not tentacles that inject AIDS when you accidently rub against me. From being the target during soccer practice to being a moving punching bag.. Why? why this uncivilised notion based on my appearence? How does me being brown threaten their existence? I thought all these stupidity ended as of secondary school. But what happened today in the trains proved to be a gruesome reminder of the filth that still exists in our society.
Give up your seats to the eldery and the needy they say. I gave up mine today to an old woman and i felt like slapping myself for being too helpful. I got up and offered my seat in the crowded train. Reluctantly she proceeded to the seat, took out a tissue paper and started wiping the seat and commented on me to the neighbouring passenger. Then she decided not to take the seat and neither allow her grandson[assumingly] to sit on it and instead puts her bags on the seat.
Another crowded train scene. I was standing by the door.. Cabin was brimming with people, compacted like sardines. A woman and her son jammed in just moments before the door closed. I could already sense that the woman was not comfortable but dimissed it thinking that it could be due to the crowd. What i saw in the reflections on the glass panel literally shocked me. I knew that she was tugging the child towards her but i thought that it was due to her consideration of other people and that she didn't want her son to knock into others. On the reflections, she was signalling her son to be careful not to knock into me and followed it up with commenting by rubbing on the skin and then pinching her nose. Should have seen the shocked look on her face when she realised that i was looking at her. I just saw racism being passed on from one generation to another. I felt a surge of emotions but decided not to do anything especially infront of the child. For whatever i retaliate, it will only be conclusive for the child of the impressions stacked on me by the mother.
In this day and age... where Indian with a Chinese couples are a very common sight, where Malays with Caucasians are an upcoming sight...where cute EurASIAN babies are abound everywhere.... why nurture racism? Like Russel Peters once said... " the world is one day going to be Cream .....". Then why the social demarcations based on the skin?
The shiniest toys..the nicest looking presents..the sexiest babe... the hunkiest dudes.. the movies with the coolest actor/ress(s)... Everything explores the value of the surface packaging and not of the content inside. Judgements based on looks and nothing else.
The most common aspect that unites everyone is about people and their preset notions of what is beautiful and what is not. From how we want our partners/ spouse to look like to freaking racism. We all fall somewhere in between
The schooling days. From first love to first fight... somehow everything tethered on the packaging. Every guy would have had aspirations as to how he wanted his girlfriend to look like. I wanted mine to be fair ( didn't matter to me that i wasn't), pretty, just nicely tall enough to lean on my shoulders, slender with a lovely smile and smooth straight hair. I know fat hope. Fat it was. As i matured, my ridiculous expectations did as well. I realised that i had been in the foolish conception that fair was beautiful? Who has the right to determine that fair was beautiful? It's just a complexion, just like dark. We are all the same beneath our skin.
Through hard learned lessons, i added depth to my superficial notions of what is pretty and what is not. An angelic smile doesn't necessarily constitue an angel's heart. Neither does a foxy chick constitute to an easy going slut... a very valuable lesson that i paid a fortune to learn. I learnt that content matters more than its gloss.
Been labelled everything from "pariah" to "anjing hitam [black dog in malay]", being a minority was never easy. I am an Indian. I have brown skin, not black you bloody idiots. Even if it was black, i still would be equally proud of it. Nope, my skin does not carry any communicable disease nor does my hands exude black dirt when i touch anything. I have hair on my hands not tentacles that inject AIDS when you accidently rub against me. From being the target during soccer practice to being a moving punching bag.. Why? why this uncivilised notion based on my appearence? How does me being brown threaten their existence? I thought all these stupidity ended as of secondary school. But what happened today in the trains proved to be a gruesome reminder of the filth that still exists in our society.
Give up your seats to the eldery and the needy they say. I gave up mine today to an old woman and i felt like slapping myself for being too helpful. I got up and offered my seat in the crowded train. Reluctantly she proceeded to the seat, took out a tissue paper and started wiping the seat and commented on me to the neighbouring passenger. Then she decided not to take the seat and neither allow her grandson[assumingly] to sit on it and instead puts her bags on the seat.
Another crowded train scene. I was standing by the door.. Cabin was brimming with people, compacted like sardines. A woman and her son jammed in just moments before the door closed. I could already sense that the woman was not comfortable but dimissed it thinking that it could be due to the crowd. What i saw in the reflections on the glass panel literally shocked me. I knew that she was tugging the child towards her but i thought that it was due to her consideration of other people and that she didn't want her son to knock into others. On the reflections, she was signalling her son to be careful not to knock into me and followed it up with commenting by rubbing on the skin and then pinching her nose. Should have seen the shocked look on her face when she realised that i was looking at her. I just saw racism being passed on from one generation to another. I felt a surge of emotions but decided not to do anything especially infront of the child. For whatever i retaliate, it will only be conclusive for the child of the impressions stacked on me by the mother.
In this day and age... where Indian with a Chinese couples are a very common sight, where Malays with Caucasians are an upcoming sight...where cute EurASIAN babies are abound everywhere.... why nurture racism? Like Russel Peters once said... " the world is one day going to be Cream .....". Then why the social demarcations based on the skin?
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Of expectations...[ from a socially dependent perspective]
Expectations... it's ubiquitous and exists in myriad forms. It's infused in everyone's lives. Its difficult to acknowledge and impossible to avoid..
I have always encountered a fork in my road to individuality. Often times facing dilemma between being the perfect son /brother/ friend/ colleague and being simply me. I am just exhausted giving so much thought to making decisions from the mundane to the monumental. It is difficult to just be myself when i feel as if every decision i make paves my expressway to perdition.
Just be yourself. Live for yourself. You only have one life. Live happy and die happy[ sounds like a corny Chinese movie] . It's your life. I have had heard enough of these and people's every other twisted rendition of Bon Jovi. To you all out there, cut the crap with me.
I have to a certain extent, managed to live by my own terms and be ignorant of societies expectations. Sadly, you can only paddle so much when you are in choppy waters before simply succumbing to the currents. Funny thing is i tend to rebel again after catching a breather in the name of surrender.
I wanted to play computer games, instead i was expected to build websites. I wanted to pursue College, instead i was expected to pursue Polytechnic. I wanted to parachute off from a plane with my friends, instead i am expected to head on down to the coffeeshop by the rubbishchute with my friends. I wanted to scuba dive, instead i am expected to buy a bath tub and a rubber duckie. The list will go on forever. The irritating thing however is that i will not be denied in my face.. its always a subtle and diplomatic procedure.. Often times the situation is such that i would be the non understanding and selfish party in the negotiations.
" I will not forbid you from jumping off the plane if thats what that matters more to you than us"... How la like this...
Imagine you got an opportunity to do something that you always wanted, and your partner/loved ones is/are like " i dun like it.... if you really want to go then its really up to you". How is one to achieve what he/she sets out to do when he/she does not have the encouragement and blessings of his/her loved ones... Even if i decide to go solo on my mission, the guilt of hurting my loved ones to achieve something that i like, doesn't go easy on me.
I am not saying that my achievements and aspirations are dictated by others around me totally. In fact i can post a longer entry when i view these issues from an individualistic perspective. Neither am i saying that all that i am is what society has made out of me...i am merely saying that expectation is like the wind that acts as the resistance when we are trying to break the land speed record..
I have always encountered a fork in my road to individuality. Often times facing dilemma between being the perfect son /brother/ friend/ colleague and being simply me. I am just exhausted giving so much thought to making decisions from the mundane to the monumental. It is difficult to just be myself when i feel as if every decision i make paves my expressway to perdition.
Just be yourself. Live for yourself. You only have one life. Live happy and die happy[ sounds like a corny Chinese movie] . It's your life. I have had heard enough of these and people's every other twisted rendition of Bon Jovi. To you all out there, cut the crap with me.
I have to a certain extent, managed to live by my own terms and be ignorant of societies expectations. Sadly, you can only paddle so much when you are in choppy waters before simply succumbing to the currents. Funny thing is i tend to rebel again after catching a breather in the name of surrender.
I wanted to play computer games, instead i was expected to build websites. I wanted to pursue College, instead i was expected to pursue Polytechnic. I wanted to parachute off from a plane with my friends, instead i am expected to head on down to the coffeeshop by the rubbishchute with my friends. I wanted to scuba dive, instead i am expected to buy a bath tub and a rubber duckie. The list will go on forever. The irritating thing however is that i will not be denied in my face.. its always a subtle and diplomatic procedure.. Often times the situation is such that i would be the non understanding and selfish party in the negotiations.
" I will not forbid you from jumping off the plane if thats what that matters more to you than us"... How la like this...
Imagine you got an opportunity to do something that you always wanted, and your partner/loved ones is/are like " i dun like it.... if you really want to go then its really up to you". How is one to achieve what he/she sets out to do when he/she does not have the encouragement and blessings of his/her loved ones... Even if i decide to go solo on my mission, the guilt of hurting my loved ones to achieve something that i like, doesn't go easy on me.
I am not saying that my achievements and aspirations are dictated by others around me totally. In fact i can post a longer entry when i view these issues from an individualistic perspective. Neither am i saying that all that i am is what society has made out of me...i am merely saying that expectation is like the wind that acts as the resistance when we are trying to break the land speed record..
Friday, December 14, 2007
Forgive, maybe.. Forget, sorry...
Went to bed with high hopes that i might finally surrender to fatigue and the soporific outcomes of a hearty dinner. Guess i was wrong. Throbbing behind my eyeballs and the relentless tossing and turnings wouldn't let me.. Imprecating my conditions didn't do me any good either. So i did what i always do best...
Decmeber 14.. Memories were flooding back uncontrollably, as vivid as yesterday even a year later..
Forgive and forget they say... when its just easier to hate her..
I will forgive for its only human for him/her to err ... but i will not forget for putting these issues behind me will not protect me from recurrences in the future.
I will forgive to let him/her know that i hold no grudges... but i will not forget for i will make references to this event if the argument calls for it.
Iwill forgive for it is divine .... but i will not forget for i am just a human....
Selfish? Immature? Really? I merely mentioned out what everyone does... even the most noble will practice what i mentioned to a certain degree. I will say that its impossible to forget for we are all experiential learners
How can one forget the day the partner called for a break off... Even if he or she was to come back in all promises and potentials... Whats the guarantee that, that which happened once would not happen again?
How does one forget the day that he or she found out that the spouse was cheating? You may be able to forgive... but will you ever forget?
How does the abused child forget the thrashing he/she got from his/her parents?
How does a rape victim forget the torment she endured? she may be able to forgive but forget? I doubt so.
How does one forget being burned by love for the first time?
Get my drift? So how is it possible to forget? Does simply not mentioning the incident constitute to forgetting? If thats the case, then we are all hypocrites who intend one thing and say something else. Simply put, just think of all the times you got hurt and almost instantaneously you will be able to remember every detail of what happened to you. Now, does the phrase forgive and forget hold any relevance ?
Decmeber 14.. Memories were flooding back uncontrollably, as vivid as yesterday even a year later..
Forgive and forget they say... when its just easier to hate her..
I will forgive for its only human for him/her to err ... but i will not forget for putting these issues behind me will not protect me from recurrences in the future.
I will forgive to let him/her know that i hold no grudges... but i will not forget for i will make references to this event if the argument calls for it.
Iwill forgive for it is divine .... but i will not forget for i am just a human....
Selfish? Immature? Really? I merely mentioned out what everyone does... even the most noble will practice what i mentioned to a certain degree. I will say that its impossible to forget for we are all experiential learners
How can one forget the day the partner called for a break off... Even if he or she was to come back in all promises and potentials... Whats the guarantee that, that which happened once would not happen again?
How does one forget the day that he or she found out that the spouse was cheating? You may be able to forgive... but will you ever forget?
How does the abused child forget the thrashing he/she got from his/her parents?
How does a rape victim forget the torment she endured? she may be able to forgive but forget? I doubt so.
How does one forget being burned by love for the first time?
Get my drift? So how is it possible to forget? Does simply not mentioning the incident constitute to forgetting? If thats the case, then we are all hypocrites who intend one thing and say something else. Simply put, just think of all the times you got hurt and almost instantaneously you will be able to remember every detail of what happened to you. Now, does the phrase forgive and forget hold any relevance ?
Thursday, December 06, 2007
MY Friend(MF) and Me.. [Part 1]
[The following entry comprises of snippets from various conversations with various friends. Conversations that makes me think about the kind of friends i have accumulated over the course of my life.. haha]
[In the bus ]
MF: Din, i just had an enlightenment.
Me: What is it?
MF: (with so much conviction) If pre-marital sex is evil, and evil is sin. Since sin is forgiven , so sex is in....
Me: How did you end up as my friend?
[30 mins after my friend arrived at Earls Swensen]
MF: Shaniz, i have been wanting to tell you something for quite some time now...
Me: What?
MF: Not sure if you noticed it but ever since i met you, i am unable to eat or even drink da......
Me: Why?
MF: I am broke.. so be a darling and foot what i am going to order.
[Near Ngee Ann cafeteria]
MF: ( while taking a puff) It feels so good to drag a puff.. makes me warm inside.
Me: Just get it done quickly , you're not to be smoking here...
MF: Relax will you... I don't even have to run if the warden chases me...
Me: Let's see.
MF: Dei. hold the stick for me while i tie my laces...
(at this point of time, the warden catches me and my friend is no where to be found.)
[while driving my friend to labrador park at 1 am]
Me: Aren't you even a bit scared that i might molest or rape you?
MF: Nah you won't. I trust you.
Me: Are you sure that you know me that well?
MF: It is a feeling..
Me : What feeling?
MF: Gutt feeling...
Me: Can't believe your stomach trusts me more than you do.
Me: Do you find me too pushy...
MF: nope. you are just a washy washy ( or is it wishy wishy? wushy wushy? wishy whushy? swishy sushi? can't remember what she said but apparently it is an accepted term in english.)
[During lunch in Ngee ann poly]
MF: i want to start up a internet porn site.
Me: there are already so much, how are you going to be noticed...
MF: Simple, use an established brand as endoresement.
Me: Which brand.....
MF: Aiyah... StarBucks la....
Me: Huh?
MF: StarBucks already has a seductive female in its logo.. all i have to do i is just change the "B" in starbucks to "F"...
Me:..........
[In the bus ]
MF: Din, i just had an enlightenment.
Me: What is it?
MF: (with so much conviction) If pre-marital sex is evil, and evil is sin. Since sin is forgiven , so sex is in....
Me: How did you end up as my friend?
[30 mins after my friend arrived at Earls Swensen]
MF: Shaniz, i have been wanting to tell you something for quite some time now...
Me: What?
MF: Not sure if you noticed it but ever since i met you, i am unable to eat or even drink da......
Me: Why?
MF: I am broke.. so be a darling and foot what i am going to order.
[Near Ngee Ann cafeteria]
MF: ( while taking a puff) It feels so good to drag a puff.. makes me warm inside.
Me: Just get it done quickly , you're not to be smoking here...
MF: Relax will you... I don't even have to run if the warden chases me...
Me: Let's see.
MF: Dei. hold the stick for me while i tie my laces...
(at this point of time, the warden catches me and my friend is no where to be found.)
[while driving my friend to labrador park at 1 am]
Me: Aren't you even a bit scared that i might molest or rape you?
MF: Nah you won't. I trust you.
Me: Are you sure that you know me that well?
MF: It is a feeling..
Me : What feeling?
MF: Gutt feeling...
Me: Can't believe your stomach trusts me more than you do.
Me: Do you find me too pushy...
MF: nope. you are just a washy washy ( or is it wishy wishy? wushy wushy? wishy whushy? swishy sushi? can't remember what she said but apparently it is an accepted term in english.)
[During lunch in Ngee ann poly]
MF: i want to start up a internet porn site.
Me: there are already so much, how are you going to be noticed...
MF: Simple, use an established brand as endoresement.
Me: Which brand.....
MF: Aiyah... StarBucks la....
Me: Huh?
MF: StarBucks already has a seductive female in its logo.. all i have to do i is just change the "B" in starbucks to "F"...
Me:..........
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Finisher of 42.195Km
What drives thousands of people to wake up at ungodly hours of the night and scramble down to the Esplanande just to subject themselves to hours of gruelling torture just to cover 42.195km?
A distance at this day and age, too ridiculous to even contemplate and furthermore to cover on foot. Then why? What is the need to pay them 55 dollars to for a placing in this torture? I can't answer that question for there were 40,000 reasons behind the 40,000 participants.. Some ran for the love of running, some for friendship, some to accompany their loved ones and some, just to kill boredom.
I had my own. I have covered half marathons... I needed to know my physiological capabilities and limits. I needed to know that my heart and will is much stronger than my body. I needed to know that i won't quit unnecessarily. I needed to know that i won't be supressed that easily. ... I needed to know that who i am is not confined to being flesh and blood.
Valuable lessons were learnt.
Wheather was merciful, I thank HIM for that. Had a good start and a smooth run till the 27th km. I was happy about running non stop till 27... the longest i ever ran nonstop was 20km. That is when my knee started to cave in. Wanted to continue running but pain was getting sharper. I decided to stop and walk. Contemplated throwing the race but i couldnt. I started something and i wanted to finish it. Badly. Never had so many bad cramps on my muscles before.. I never had a cramp on my toes, i do not even know how to stretch my toes.Can it even be stretched?
The run taught me more than what i had expected. I ran with pride, with my head held high.. Exhaustion taught me to be humble when i could no longer keep upright and i walked with my head towards the ground. I wanted to finish the race in the shortest time possible but the daunting distance taught me patience and perseverance. I learnt the value of sharing for hadn't the stranger shared his power gel with me, i would have struggled on with more pain. I learnt the value of helping when another stranger helped me to stretch my calves. I was taught that a kind word can go a long way ( thanks Anthony for spurring me on). I learnt the value of bond when strangers were encouraging one another to keep at it. The run taught me to focus on the task at hand and not be distracted. Preparing for this run taught me the value of dedication .I learnt that pain is temporary but achievement is forever.
Most importantly i learnt that nothing is possible without HIS blessings.... perfect wheather in the month of December, cool breeze , miraculous sustenance of knees , to put it short and sweet, EVERYTHING.....
Now tell me, wasn't all these worth the meagre 55 that i paid?
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Exercise in frustration...
The 70 km/h speed limit on KPE , the ridiculous waiting period for a doctors appointment, the ridiculous paperwork in the name of administration. What do they all have in common?
They are all, as the title suggests, an exercise in frustration. More like a heavy work out i would say. Being patient is one thing, but getting transferred around and referred to countless unrelated workstations seems to do just the otherwise.
The recent addition to this growing list would be the automated telephone answering systems in govt. agencies and some major private companies.
Thank you for calling the (e.g) property tax hot line.[ followed by a re-run of it in Chinese] .Press 1 for english, Press 2 for Chinese. [After pressing 1] For inquiries on property tax press 1, for application for tax exemption, press 2, for updates on revision of taxes press 3, this contiues till 9 i guess. By the time i spent 3 to 4 minutes listening to all the options, i would have forgotten what the first option. After choosing the option that i wanted, i had to enter my IC number before having to choose further sub choices presented to me again by the same computer generated voice. After goin through so many sub levels just to find out that there is no choice that best describes my needs, there comes the final option. To talk with operator , press 0.... Why can't they just give this option earlier? The best part, i have to spend another 5 to 10 minutes listening to horrible MIDI renditions of Tchaikovsky before the operator answers... and all my inquiries gets settled in a min.
15 mins of hanging on the phone for a 1 minute long conversation.
They are all, as the title suggests, an exercise in frustration. More like a heavy work out i would say. Being patient is one thing, but getting transferred around and referred to countless unrelated workstations seems to do just the otherwise.
The recent addition to this growing list would be the automated telephone answering systems in govt. agencies and some major private companies.
Thank you for calling the (e.g) property tax hot line.[ followed by a re-run of it in Chinese] .Press 1 for english, Press 2 for Chinese. [After pressing 1] For inquiries on property tax press 1, for application for tax exemption, press 2, for updates on revision of taxes press 3, this contiues till 9 i guess. By the time i spent 3 to 4 minutes listening to all the options, i would have forgotten what the first option. After choosing the option that i wanted, i had to enter my IC number before having to choose further sub choices presented to me again by the same computer generated voice. After goin through so many sub levels just to find out that there is no choice that best describes my needs, there comes the final option. To talk with operator , press 0.... Why can't they just give this option earlier? The best part, i have to spend another 5 to 10 minutes listening to horrible MIDI renditions of Tchaikovsky before the operator answers... and all my inquiries gets settled in a min.
15 mins of hanging on the phone for a 1 minute long conversation.
Monday, November 26, 2007
True Drama Mama(s)
I just realised that we Singaporeans severly lack imagination and creativity ... and a bit of culture too..
Not going to talk about anything serious, just that i was watching Sun TV (channel 29) on cable. I was seriously impressed by the amount of research, scriptwriting, casting, graphics effects and editing that goes into their advertisements. It's so damn creative. The ads are actually more entertaining then Captain Vijayakanth's movies. I am just going to tune in to that channel just for its ads. Our local ads are nowhere near in comparison. I dun understand why our local ads could not be of this calibre.. have we become so boring and unimaginative in the process of saving cost and airtime? Even then the duration of airtime of the indian ads isn't that much longer compared to local ads.hmmmmm... i hope we dun lose it in the name of progress, productivity and efficiency.
have fun watchin the followin clips.
Not going to talk about anything serious, just that i was watching Sun TV (channel 29) on cable. I was seriously impressed by the amount of research, scriptwriting, casting, graphics effects and editing that goes into their advertisements. It's so damn creative. The ads are actually more entertaining then Captain Vijayakanth's movies. I am just going to tune in to that channel just for its ads. Our local ads are nowhere near in comparison. I dun understand why our local ads could not be of this calibre.. have we become so boring and unimaginative in the process of saving cost and airtime? Even then the duration of airtime of the indian ads isn't that much longer compared to local ads.hmmmmm... i hope we dun lose it in the name of progress, productivity and efficiency.
have fun watchin the followin clips.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
doctors on the other side.
Made my occasional visit to my work place last week. As a tour of duty, i started from my class and ended with the OT Rooms. Crapping with the OTs always tends to seize the apprehensions about my job and my seemingly bleak prospects.They give me the "Dun worry, all will be alrite" feel.Anyway, one of them informed me of the contemplations to seek medical treatment in a foreign country ( which by the way is a growing trend now days) and as usual this set me off thinking.
Singapore, a nation with accreditations in medical breakthroughs and R&D. Young, vibrant and on par with first world countries. Yet why do i see more and more people seeking medical attention for their ailments in other countries.... what's lacking here?
A pseudo survey with friends and two coffee(s) later at the coffee shop, i managed to collate their enthusiastic replies.
1) It's too expensive to seek treatment for major illnesses in Singapore. The middle class people seem to be the most affected. Not rich enough to afford the expensive treatments and not poor enough to qualify for any subsidies. This predicament acts as a push factor to fly to developing nations where treatments can be sought for much lower fees thanks to difference in currency.
2) Quite weirdly, some felt that the medical services here are over-rated. Some of my conspiracy theorists buddies felt that for every high-profile medical breakthrough published on national newspapers, there are many screw-ups that are swept under the rugg and kept out of mention.
3) This seems the most logical to me... Red Tape. Our doctors have become intuitive when treating the common colds and knee injuries but they tend to lack confidence and knowledge when they are dealing with potentially fatal illnesses. They want to play safe and follow protocols when diagnosing these illnesses. Though i welcome this move, i just feel that our doctors have become too caught up with procedures and playing safe that they sometimes over look the fact that certain illnesses are time critical.
Classic example would be Cancer. When detected in its earliest stages, can be treated to full recovery. But somehow i just do not understand why the doctors schedule the scans months away... Don't they realize that the waiting period itself is sufficient to mature the cancer? Why does one have to go through so many check ups ( and these are ordinary check ups where the patient is told to wait a few weeks before returning for another check up) before being sent for a scan. Just to be told that he/she has cancer.
But who is really to blame for this ridiculous practice. The doctors? or us, the Singaporeans? Have we become so accustomed to complaining and being picky about even the slightet mistakes that we left the doctors no choice but to follow all these ridiculous procedures.They are human too. They are not born doctors or specialists. If we do not provide the room for them to learn, how are they going to improve?
I feel its a vicious cycle actually but i will elaborate on it in the next entry.. now too tired to continue.
Singapore, a nation with accreditations in medical breakthroughs and R&D. Young, vibrant and on par with first world countries. Yet why do i see more and more people seeking medical attention for their ailments in other countries.... what's lacking here?
A pseudo survey with friends and two coffee(s) later at the coffee shop, i managed to collate their enthusiastic replies.
1) It's too expensive to seek treatment for major illnesses in Singapore. The middle class people seem to be the most affected. Not rich enough to afford the expensive treatments and not poor enough to qualify for any subsidies. This predicament acts as a push factor to fly to developing nations where treatments can be sought for much lower fees thanks to difference in currency.
2) Quite weirdly, some felt that the medical services here are over-rated. Some of my conspiracy theorists buddies felt that for every high-profile medical breakthrough published on national newspapers, there are many screw-ups that are swept under the rugg and kept out of mention.
3) This seems the most logical to me... Red Tape. Our doctors have become intuitive when treating the common colds and knee injuries but they tend to lack confidence and knowledge when they are dealing with potentially fatal illnesses. They want to play safe and follow protocols when diagnosing these illnesses. Though i welcome this move, i just feel that our doctors have become too caught up with procedures and playing safe that they sometimes over look the fact that certain illnesses are time critical.
Classic example would be Cancer. When detected in its earliest stages, can be treated to full recovery. But somehow i just do not understand why the doctors schedule the scans months away... Don't they realize that the waiting period itself is sufficient to mature the cancer? Why does one have to go through so many check ups ( and these are ordinary check ups where the patient is told to wait a few weeks before returning for another check up) before being sent for a scan. Just to be told that he/she has cancer.
But who is really to blame for this ridiculous practice. The doctors? or us, the Singaporeans? Have we become so accustomed to complaining and being picky about even the slightet mistakes that we left the doctors no choice but to follow all these ridiculous procedures.They are human too. They are not born doctors or specialists. If we do not provide the room for them to learn, how are they going to improve?
I feel its a vicious cycle actually but i will elaborate on it in the next entry.. now too tired to continue.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Multimedia Computing... Whats that?
Meetings with Hong Bin always bring unwarrented enlightenment. This time, he chose to shed light on the redundancy of the Diploma that we had slogged to attain in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Diploma in Multi-Media Computing...a lodestone to tech savvy teenagers of 1999. A cash cow in the eyes of parents who want their children to hitch a ride on the IT wave at the end of the 20th Century. It's a course that promised a good foundation in multimedia skills and computer programming. Basically I should have been a master of anything that starts with e- .
However, thanks to Ah Bin's wisdom of the second, I just realised how far off target i fell thanks to Multimedia Computing (MMC). Instead of becoming Masters of the trade, we became the Jack of NOT too many trades. Simply put its Chapalang Course. They took a bit of everything and cramped it in. We got quantity but where the hell was the quality?
The irony was that i was getting outdated even as i was progressing to my second year in the course. I studied Flash 3, six months later ALI ( my junior of 1 year) was studying Flash 4. I can't believe that i enrolled into this course to keep up with the times.
Anyway coming back to the point, a pseudo reality check in the hallways of SIM, confirmed that neither Ali, Hong Bin nor myself had pursued a job or further studies in relation to our field of study. Further information came from the Guru of the second (Hong Bin), that more of my classmates were dropping this field as they were squeezed dry but paid peanuts...
It just makes me wonder at times, how many of us really pursue what we had studied. From the housewives with PhD to the Post-Grad Prata Man. Have we hit a saturation point that the degree doesn't count anymore? Are the tongue in cheek jokes of the coffee shop ah pek about requiring a PhD to sweep the roads going to become reality?
Where are we really heading? There is an E-Theory. That the ever growing internet would one day grow so big that everything will crash. I know that my analogy does not make much sense but i just needed to justify my diploma in MMC... anyway yeah, have we pusued the degree so much that we even require it do a physically skilled job?
When the courses provided doesn't meet the market expectations, it becomes a disillusionment to the students who fork out ridiculous amounts of cash to study it.
I fear that education has become too commercialised and true knowledge has become buried deep beneath wads of cash and cheques. How ah, like that?
Diploma in Multi-Media Computing...a lodestone to tech savvy teenagers of 1999. A cash cow in the eyes of parents who want their children to hitch a ride on the IT wave at the end of the 20th Century. It's a course that promised a good foundation in multimedia skills and computer programming. Basically I should have been a master of anything that starts with e- .
However, thanks to Ah Bin's wisdom of the second, I just realised how far off target i fell thanks to Multimedia Computing (MMC). Instead of becoming Masters of the trade, we became the Jack of NOT too many trades. Simply put its Chapalang Course. They took a bit of everything and cramped it in. We got quantity but where the hell was the quality?
The irony was that i was getting outdated even as i was progressing to my second year in the course. I studied Flash 3, six months later ALI ( my junior of 1 year) was studying Flash 4. I can't believe that i enrolled into this course to keep up with the times.
Anyway coming back to the point, a pseudo reality check in the hallways of SIM, confirmed that neither Ali, Hong Bin nor myself had pursued a job or further studies in relation to our field of study. Further information came from the Guru of the second (Hong Bin), that more of my classmates were dropping this field as they were squeezed dry but paid peanuts...
It just makes me wonder at times, how many of us really pursue what we had studied. From the housewives with PhD to the Post-Grad Prata Man. Have we hit a saturation point that the degree doesn't count anymore? Are the tongue in cheek jokes of the coffee shop ah pek about requiring a PhD to sweep the roads going to become reality?
Where are we really heading? There is an E-Theory. That the ever growing internet would one day grow so big that everything will crash. I know that my analogy does not make much sense but i just needed to justify my diploma in MMC... anyway yeah, have we pusued the degree so much that we even require it do a physically skilled job?
When the courses provided doesn't meet the market expectations, it becomes a disillusionment to the students who fork out ridiculous amounts of cash to study it.
I fear that education has become too commercialised and true knowledge has become buried deep beneath wads of cash and cheques. How ah, like that?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
when the dot matters.... really!
Fasting for some reason hasn't been easy on me this time round. I feel alot more tired and lethargic compared to the previous years. Maybe its due to my extra active life style of the past few months.
Anyway, recently, just returned home after breaking fast at a fast food restaurant. Realizing that there was no one at home ( all went terawih prayers), i decided to sit back and relax. I quickly freshened up, poured myself a cup of tea and heated up some left over samosas. Thought of watching tv but a cd labelled " AR Rahman" caught my attention. It's been quite a long while since i last listened to AR Rahman music. (AR Rahman is a genius composer who created most of my fav songs). So i loaded the disc into the high fi system then, i set the ambience. I dimmed the lights, set the fan on me and tiredly slouched back into my couch. My player has this tendency to play all songs very softly, so to counter it i would normally crank up the volume really high. Placed my feet on the coffee table with my tea in one hand, a plate of samosa on my tummy ( i am slouching you see) and the hi fi remote in the other hand.
I pressed play. threw the remote onto the other couch adjacent to me and picked up a samosa.
A good few seconds passed and i was beginning to wonder why the song hasn't begun... and then the speakers screamed/blasted out " BISMILLAHIRRAHMANIRRAHEEEEEM!!!".
I was drenched in tea, the sofa was stained with the oil from the samosa, the plate was in pieces. I was clambering over the couch to get the remote and shut my damn hi fi off. Once the hi fi was off, i just had to sit down and catch my thoughts..and my breath. I took out the disc to see what went wrong, and there it was. It wasn't a comiplation of A.R. Rahman but its a compilation of the Surrah AR RAHMAN ( a chapter of the Qur'an). I didn't know a small dot can cause me a heart attack.
I spent a good 45 min cleaning up after that... by then the entire gang had returned. hmmmmm.
Anyway, recently, just returned home after breaking fast at a fast food restaurant. Realizing that there was no one at home ( all went terawih prayers), i decided to sit back and relax. I quickly freshened up, poured myself a cup of tea and heated up some left over samosas. Thought of watching tv but a cd labelled " AR Rahman" caught my attention. It's been quite a long while since i last listened to AR Rahman music. (AR Rahman is a genius composer who created most of my fav songs). So i loaded the disc into the high fi system then, i set the ambience. I dimmed the lights, set the fan on me and tiredly slouched back into my couch. My player has this tendency to play all songs very softly, so to counter it i would normally crank up the volume really high. Placed my feet on the coffee table with my tea in one hand, a plate of samosa on my tummy ( i am slouching you see) and the hi fi remote in the other hand.
I pressed play. threw the remote onto the other couch adjacent to me and picked up a samosa.
A good few seconds passed and i was beginning to wonder why the song hasn't begun... and then the speakers screamed/blasted out " BISMILLAHIRRAHMANIRRAHEEEEEM!!!".
I was drenched in tea, the sofa was stained with the oil from the samosa, the plate was in pieces. I was clambering over the couch to get the remote and shut my damn hi fi off. Once the hi fi was off, i just had to sit down and catch my thoughts..and my breath. I took out the disc to see what went wrong, and there it was. It wasn't a comiplation of A.R. Rahman but its a compilation of the Surrah AR RAHMAN ( a chapter of the Qur'an). I didn't know a small dot can cause me a heart attack.
I spent a good 45 min cleaning up after that... by then the entire gang had returned. hmmmmm.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Signs... that our society is getting old...
You know that the population is getting old ......
1.When you realize that majority of the Mcdonald service crew are senior citizens.
2.When you see employment propaganda by the Govt. shifting sides from the young and dynamic to the wise and experienced.
3.When physiotherapy equipments replace the plastic playgrounds where children once played.
4.When parents are actually old enough to be your grand or even great grandparents.
On the other hand , you have to give it to our younger generation for responding to this aging problem promptly.
1.They waste not even a single precious moment researching on various lead ups and methods of procreation regardless of where they are.
2.They contribute to the increase of the national birth rate as soon as possible.. presumably in their teens.
3.They also enter the workforce early in their teens to contribute to the GDP, and also to keep our senior citizens companied and also to buy milk powder for the child they had in the process of contributing to the increase in national birth rate.
1.When you realize that majority of the Mcdonald service crew are senior citizens.
2.When you see employment propaganda by the Govt. shifting sides from the young and dynamic to the wise and experienced.
3.When physiotherapy equipments replace the plastic playgrounds where children once played.
4.When parents are actually old enough to be your grand or even great grandparents.
On the other hand , you have to give it to our younger generation for responding to this aging problem promptly.
1.They waste not even a single precious moment researching on various lead ups and methods of procreation regardless of where they are.
2.They contribute to the increase of the national birth rate as soon as possible.. presumably in their teens.
3.They also enter the workforce early in their teens to contribute to the GDP, and also to keep our senior citizens companied and also to buy milk powder for the child they had in the process of contributing to the increase in national birth rate.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Epitome of the Singaporean culture...... THE MRT.
It sums up pretty much every or almost, every aspect and characteristics of a Singaporean living in.... well, Singapore.
You have to love the way, the MRT always rushes us to where we need to go. So much so , that we too always rush to .... pretty much everywhere. The MRT door opens , and we rush in to get seated. The Cinema door opens and we rush in also ( despite having allocated seats this time). We rush to the food stalls during our lunch breaks, rush through our meals and then rush back to our work. We also rush when the shopping centres open during a sale. We also rush to buy "Hello Kitties". We rush for the primary one registration and we rush for the free copy of TODAY to read in the MRT. We rush for the mundane to the monumental. Just like how the MRT does not stop mid way to catch a breather, so do we. We have forgotten that the journey also matters as equally as the destination that we are rushing to reach.
Is it the system? like how the train rushes to reach its designated stations within the stipulated time, we only rush to attain the preset goals within the stipulated milestoned age ? find a job by 25 , find a spouse by 30, buy a house by 33.25, have a kid by 35...etc. How one views my point is subjective so i shall not elaborate further.
The MRT has often served as a reflection point in my life. Questions were often asked and answered whilst standing inside the over crowded and claustrophobic cabin.. Where have i been? where am i going? Countless rhetorical questions just churning in my mind.
At times when its not my life in reflection, i see the rebarbative nature of my fellow Singaporeans in the mirror. We almost seem incapable of caring for none other than ourselves. Despite so much visual cues ( which i find embarrassing) to be polite and considerate, there are people who are adamant not to give up their seat for the eldery/disabled/pregnant. Some pretend to be asleep, some pretend to be stressed and angry and there are the classic ones who will clutch their knee or their thighs and occasionally let out a grunt as if they were in pain. Thanks to these dimwits, those who are geniunely injured or asleep get the brunt of the cranky and pissed off eldery/pregnant and disabled.
Just as i thought that all hopes are lost with my fellow Singaporeans, i came across a ray of hope in the form of a pregnant lady whom i met enroute to Dhoby Gaut on the NEL. She was the anti-thesis of my usual fellow Singaporeans. I was seated and fast asleep ( really). When i reached clarke quay, i just happened to open my eyes, i saw this pregnant lady( in her most irritated expression) with her friend. i was still groggy you see and the moment i saw her tummy, i just got up i tugged at her hand and told her to have my seat at the same time i also apologized for not offering her earlier. I proceeded to the edge of the door and leaned on it. Just then the pregnant lady came up to me and apologized..I was abit puzzled.. She said that she thought i was just pretending to be asleep and she was cursing the shits out of me to her friend... i didn't know how to react and i simply smiled and said its ok.
What she did really took me by surprise. She had no need to do what she did.. but she did.. Guess there are still some people with calibre and character around.
You have to love the way, the MRT always rushes us to where we need to go. So much so , that we too always rush to .... pretty much everywhere. The MRT door opens , and we rush in to get seated. The Cinema door opens and we rush in also ( despite having allocated seats this time). We rush to the food stalls during our lunch breaks, rush through our meals and then rush back to our work. We also rush when the shopping centres open during a sale. We also rush to buy "Hello Kitties". We rush for the primary one registration and we rush for the free copy of TODAY to read in the MRT. We rush for the mundane to the monumental. Just like how the MRT does not stop mid way to catch a breather, so do we. We have forgotten that the journey also matters as equally as the destination that we are rushing to reach.
Is it the system? like how the train rushes to reach its designated stations within the stipulated time, we only rush to attain the preset goals within the stipulated milestoned age ? find a job by 25 , find a spouse by 30, buy a house by 33.25, have a kid by 35...etc. How one views my point is subjective so i shall not elaborate further.
The MRT has often served as a reflection point in my life. Questions were often asked and answered whilst standing inside the over crowded and claustrophobic cabin.. Where have i been? where am i going? Countless rhetorical questions just churning in my mind.
At times when its not my life in reflection, i see the rebarbative nature of my fellow Singaporeans in the mirror. We almost seem incapable of caring for none other than ourselves. Despite so much visual cues ( which i find embarrassing) to be polite and considerate, there are people who are adamant not to give up their seat for the eldery/disabled/pregnant. Some pretend to be asleep, some pretend to be stressed and angry and there are the classic ones who will clutch their knee or their thighs and occasionally let out a grunt as if they were in pain. Thanks to these dimwits, those who are geniunely injured or asleep get the brunt of the cranky and pissed off eldery/pregnant and disabled.
Just as i thought that all hopes are lost with my fellow Singaporeans, i came across a ray of hope in the form of a pregnant lady whom i met enroute to Dhoby Gaut on the NEL. She was the anti-thesis of my usual fellow Singaporeans. I was seated and fast asleep ( really). When i reached clarke quay, i just happened to open my eyes, i saw this pregnant lady( in her most irritated expression) with her friend. i was still groggy you see and the moment i saw her tummy, i just got up i tugged at her hand and told her to have my seat at the same time i also apologized for not offering her earlier. I proceeded to the edge of the door and leaned on it. Just then the pregnant lady came up to me and apologized..I was abit puzzled.. She said that she thought i was just pretending to be asleep and she was cursing the shits out of me to her friend... i didn't know how to react and i simply smiled and said its ok.
What she did really took me by surprise. She had no need to do what she did.. but she did.. Guess there are still some people with calibre and character around.
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