Cats and us...

No comments

2009-12-14T21:18:00.003+08:00

Surprising how that 2 words can drive me nuts sometimes. Most times when people say ''no comments'', they usually mean otherwise!

Had a headache trying to organise something for this weekend. As usual, the typical answer was ''no comments, will go for majority.'' And because i was stupid -- yes, STUPID!!! -- enough to suggest a venue, my proposed venue became the majority choice by default. Why? Cos no one was stupid enough -- yes, STUPID!!! -- to suggest a venue. And that was in Oct.

Then came the drama. Or maybe i'm too sensitive? After the venue was confirmed, along came a remark. And another. Or so. I got quite pissed off, and so i stopped bothering. Well now i replied to all that the venue is fully booked. I'm not going to reply anymore to that email, whether it is to agree to the place or not. Or maybe i will just say ''No comments, i will go for majority."

Heard the spanner told someone that the spanner will not be able to don't know what la. Whatever it is, the spanner wants someone to inform the spanner of the final decision. I won't do that lor. Told S8 that i'm not going to organise again. S8, please remind me if i were ever to forget and think of suggesting next year...

Status

2009-12-14T20:53:00.002+08:00

Came across a few things that had me thinking.

Have you ever encountered people who will use rank to pull strings? Or name-drop like crazy? I have, in my previous jobs, and even now. From my peers, to my seniors, to even the cleaners i was in charge of. That really pisses me off most times. I can hear things like ''I work here very long already, i know what to do! No problem one! Everyone likes me one, you go ask the secretary? Her and i very close one! She ever sack the supervisor who tekan me, you know? ahh, i no problem one!'' or "Oh, i'm enquiring about a place at your school, blah-blah-blah... Oh, thank you very much, so you'll call me back? By the way, please send my regards to your principal, Mr XXX? He and i go way back. Oh, and is your VP still Mdm YYY? Ya, please tell her i called and that i will call her soon one day to catch up. Bye!'' Puh-lease! Name dropping! And using rank to stress the (probably) junior staff! I really dislike that. Why can't you just leave your connections apart? And its not part of your work, so its an abuse of power? Not sure about what others think of that, but i was very disgusted when i overheard that conversation.

Also, was bringing someone new around recently. One thing i was asked quite a few times -- to me, ''a few times'' is more than once for something that is none of your business! -- was what is that person's scheme, what is his grade etc. Where i am, we're split into 4 schemes and 4 divisional status. I'm in the top scheme and top divisional status, while the newbie is the 3rd scheme but top divisional status. Is there a problem with what scheme you are in? What does what he does have to do with what scheme he is in? Ditto for his grade? Its asking questions that i feel have nothing to do with your job scope. So what if you know he is Div I? Or Div IV? Will you then treat that person lowly just because they are of a lower div status?

I'm beginning to see things about the people around me that i dislike. Snide remarks, all comments and no contributions -- sounds like something similar that happened today on a personal level -- answering the question but not answering the question. sigh.

I'm not too impressed by what i see. Oh well, i need a job, and i'm only hoping to be able to survive here. With what i've seen so far, i can only siam those landmine areas. It doesn't mean though, that the others are confirmed ok. Still waters run deep -- interesting explanation during goegraphy class in JC2! -- and sometimes, i think the turbulent waters are safer than still waters.

Better refresh how i negotiated the waterways soon...

Addicted!

2009-12-14T20:36:00.002+08:00

Little plum dropped a comment, asking if i'm too busy ps-ing. And no, its not 'pang sai-ing', but rather pet society-ing. haha! "My name is osiris and i am a ps-aholic..."

I think i'm addicted! Oh no!!! Have been going to play with my pet, dressing it up -- though i'm rather stingy and would rather buy the cheaper (but still nicer!) outfits. Only though, i'm crazy over Christmas and have done up the first room all Christmasy. I bought a new dress for my pet! All togged up for Christmas! Yay!!! But then again, apart from that room, the rest were slowly and painfully "bought" by visiting the trees, racing, visiting etc. Hmm, better not go into details...

So yes, i'm happy to receive any items that anyone will give my pet so i can use it for decoration, or if its not wanted, i'm happy to sell it for coins. heh heh... Been doing that with the veg my pet "grows'', though 50% of the time the veg that's pulled out is rotten. Gross...

I think my pet is an extension of my dreams? Its all dressed up in a girly manner with pink bedroom, pretty dresses etc. So what i can't achieve here, i do so via osiris. heehee.

Little plum also sent an email of fb horrors and one of them was a comment by an employee about the boss. The boss read the comment and sacked the staff online. There's also news about fb scams, including one recently reported about someone being ''abducted'' but luckily the friend realised something wrong so didn't fall for it.

Ermm... i don't use fb for social networking. If you add me, i'll probably confirm you. But i won't go round looking for people, adding them, commenting etc. I only play the games cos that's about all the game playing ability i have and its difficult as it is to find games that i would like to and can play. Simple games where i don't have to have much hand-eye coordination -- though the ''happy aquarium'' is as complicated as i can get in terms of trying to click the right things -- and games where its not violent. So please, if anyone sees my activity online, its probably NOT me. :)

Excuse me while i visit my pet... heehee!

Off-In-Lieu

2009-11-27T11:02:00.002+08:00

Took my OIL on Monday. Figured that i had better clear it soon cos its been more than a month since Deepavali, so if i were to take it later, people may wonder if i have really taken it etc etc. Yes, i know i can clear it within 6 months so there's no rush, but i know what i'm doing, so stop nagging. :P

When i came back, my colleagues asked me if i had gone overseas (ie up north i suppose?), but i told them that i met up with my ex-coll and was at the terminal, chatting with them and the cleaners. They were quite amused and said "Talking with the cleaners? What for?"

I suppose they had no ill intention when they said that, but it just highlighted how lowly we think of those who keep our buildings clean. Look, everyone wants a clean toilet, tables and chairs, but how many of us are willing to wash and clean these items? Would you be willing to wash the toilet, knowing its a public toilet, instead of cursing at the person who dirtied the toilet with poo and urine? Would you be willing to at least clean the seat if its dirty before using it, or would you just leave the cubicle for the next person and of course, the auntie to clean it? Most importantly, would you be willing to do it day after day after day?

I doubt so. If we can't even take the time to clean the seat if we dirtied it, or to flush the bowl as much as we can, i doubt you can be a cleaner. It takes strength of mind to do it daily and knowing how lowly people will think of you.

I remember the story about the body parts who were competing for the title of the most important body part. Every part was boasting about what it can do, and what the ass did was just to shut up. Moral of the story? The one quietly doing the dirtiest job is often the most important.

I wonder, what if one day all the cleaners stop working? There'll be on one to clean the toilets, clear the plates and wipe the tables, no roadsweepers, no one to clear your office wastepaper basket. What will you do then? And btw, do you know who your office cleaner is? Not just by sight, but her name, her family etc? Cleaners are people too...

No suggestions = lots of comments

2009-11-12T18:38:00.002+08:00

One thing i dislike immensely is when people have no suggestion to give -- "I'm ok with anything; I'll go along with the majority lor" -- they still have lots of comments to make when others give suggestions. Look, if your own bloody choice was to give up the opportunity and to go with the flow, then don't bloody complain when the decision is not what you like! Have the guts to suggest! Instead of giving comments later to the community. grr...

I should have done what i wanted to do, but if i had done that then nothing will probably happen. Its really terrible sometimes. sigh. Give up on these people.

bunny hunny honey boney

2009-11-10T20:00:00.002+08:00

I saw a guy at the pedestrian crossing the other night carrying a plastic bag with a picture of a pink cartoon head and i told dear that it looks cute. Dear thought it was Winne The Pooh, but i told him i thought it looked more like Piglet cos WTP isn't pink. We then continued talking about WTP and his bees...

Dear: His bees are all over his honey pots.
Me: Well, i don't like the way they spell honey. ''H-U-N-N-Y". Its just bad spelling lor. I always pronounce it as ''hue-nee''.
Is it? Its pronounced as ''honey'' isn't it? As in hunny bunny?
If thats the case, why don't they spell ''bunny'' as ''B-O-N-E-Y"? ok what, honey is H-O-N-E-Y, money is M-O-N-E-Y, so why can't they spell bunny as B-O-N-E-Y? Honey, money, bunny?
Isn't B-O-N-E-Y pronounced as ''bone-ni''?
Err... ya hor...

Kitty Korner

2009-11-10T19:52:00.003+08:00

I brought the Hello Kitty dolls to liven up my cubicle and brought some map pins to pin them up, so set about the task this morning. The left side of my cubicle is the L-shaped fabric partition while the right is the storage shelves and cabinet, so i figured that if i were to hang them at my right, they would be in danger of being knocked about whenever i take things in or out from the shelves. Besides, as my notebook and phone is placed on my left, i wouldn't be facing my right very often. So the dolls, calendar and nodding head toy was carefully hung up/placed around so i can see them from where i was seated. :)

In the end? I realized that my toys are all tucked in one corner of my cubicle, or as i was telling little plum, all the HK dolls/toys she gave me form a Kitty Korner!

Haha! :P

My very own Kitty Korner... :)

New office & cubicle

2009-11-09T20:56:00.003+08:00

My branch started the moving ball rolling today. It was mainly because of a shortage of office space, which was why some of us were moved out to an old building. We are now sharing the premises with a few other occupants, apart from those branches moving this week.

Went to the new place this morning. Dear was so sweet; he sent me to the new place even though it is out of his way, and all because i was grumbling about having to bring so many things along (pail, rags, all purpose cleaner, detergent etc) to clean my cubicle. Well, had nothing to read and do, because i had the notebook but no LAN cable! So no internet and intranet. The movers were fast; the first lorry arrived slightly after 10am. But as luck would have it, the boxes that came in weren't mine. In fact, mine only arrived about 2pm.

Spent my time cleaning, wiping, cleaning, wiping. And of course, trying to set up the notebook and playing minesweeper. Helped my neighbour to settle her cabling cos their idea is just to have the cables all behind their equipment! Wow... Then all the dust would be there and it would be too gross to clean, right? tsk tsk tsk... After settling hers, some of the other colleagues came by to visit and to compare how others arranged their cubicles -- the new workstation is about half the size in terms of tabletop area -- and when they saw how my neighbour arranged her cables, the two of us ended up showing how it was done and helping others set it up too. Heehee...

I like my new cubicle cos its in an isolated area. Although its facing the door -- i'm the second cubicle facing the door but because there's no one in the first cubicle, i'm technically the first that people coming in will see -- the partitions are relatively high so K and i are quite alone. Some of the colleagues had their location described as 'Good Class Bungalow' while AD's was Istana. K & mine? Semi-d/corner terrace. heehee!

setting up...

Lots of storage space what...

All arranged and ready to work! Still using the clock from the 1st christmas exchange with the class and brought HK given to me by little plum. :)

My larder... See Keroro on top? :)

Neighbourhood cat

2009-11-09T00:55:00.002+08:00

This little grey cat lives at the carpark near my block and she has a very high-pitched meow. She's quite friendly too, and will present her tummy for a rub when i click my tongue at her. :)

Saw her focusing at the drain nearby and despite people walking past her, she was looking intently at the base of the drain and occasionally moving towards the edge of the drain before drawing back. No idea what was inside...

Photos of Horus

2009-11-09T00:48:00.003+08:00

Took some photos of Horus. I like his butt a lot, especially after a bath when he is all shiny and gleaming and nice smelling. I'll grab his bum and take deep breaths. heehee...

Caught him in some adorable poses too, though its a typically sleeping position! But zoomed in at his parts that i found interesting... :)

Pressies from little plum

2009-11-09T00:44:00.002+08:00

Little plum gave me a Hello Kitty calendar and a tissue and purse present. Yay! Brought it to the new office but still wondering how to hang the calendar cos the fabric partition is rather thick...

Shopping trip

2009-11-09T00:14:00.004+08:00

We went to Bukit Indah today after our lunch at GP -- had crabs! yay!!! -- and spent 7 hours and RM$400. sigh... Well, applied for the membership card a bit too late, else it would have meant 400 points in my account. But then, it was more to be able to have the member's price when it comes to toiletries, so better than none... (self consolation!)

While waiting to pay at the supermarket, dear spotted a Hello Kitty ''bread'' so i went over to take a look. Of course, being me, i grabbed a box! Haha! Once its all used -- 100 pieces! -- i'll see how i can reuse the box. Its quite pretty, but i'll have to cover one side and the bottom. Will use my scrapbook stuff to make something out of it.

I pointed out to dear a car decal thingy, and being him, he took a photo of it. I suppose i would get it, but he didn't want it. Seems the bike is a real bike, only a super old model...

We had a snack at their local kopi-tiam. The coffee is not bad, but the bread was quite a sad case. Thought the butter sticks looked more like french fries than butter! Price was comparable to Ya-Kun's though.

All in all, had quite a fun day today. :)

yakkety yak

2009-11-07T18:32:00.002+08:00

Attended a symposium on Thursday morning on best sourcing. The GOH had a pretty long opening speech -- all 45 minutes of it and he "ate" into the next presenter's time -- and he was going on and on about best sourcing and how we would have to compete with other countries by being cheaper, better and faster (yup, i guess you can guess who was the GOH and where the symposium was conducted).

While the GOH was talking away, the people in the row behind me were GOH-wannabes who were also talking away. There were 5 presenters, and these people decided that they wanted to be presenters too. So i had a fantastic surround sound system. Wow, i didn't know the auditorium had surround sound!

I was pretty pissed off and i kept glancing back and giving that irritated look. But nope, i wasn't brave enough to hiss at them or to tell them off. Perhaps if i were seated behind them i would do so. Why not tell them off? Well, they were seated behind me. How would i know what they would do to my head after i told them off? I still recall a newspaper article where pranksters applied glue or spat at the long hair of girls and women who were asleep or seated before them at the upper decks, and to date i still have this phobia of that happening to me. So no way would i tell off people seated behind me.

Is this the kind of attitude that the working class have nowadays? If so, can i extrapolate and deduce the kind of behaviour the younger generation of Singaporeans would have? After all, its a case of ''monkey see, monkey do'' for kids. And to think we complain about the behaviour of our children. Look at the adults in the first place...

Pampered? Or normal?

2009-11-05T19:47:00.002+08:00

Went to inspect one of the schools this afternoon, where preparations were underway to equip it for another school, while its original location is being upgraded next year.

My colleague and i were discussing the changes and one refrain that kept popping up is that the school will not accept the standard that we are providing with this holding school site.

Let me digress a bit -- there are some old school sites that are left unoccupied. These are holding school sites and schools that have to be upgraded may either occupy these sites or, if the current school location permits, the school will remain in its premises while upgrading works are being carried out in which case the holding school site will not be needed. Something similar to HDB's MUP, where residents remain while upgrading works are being carried out. So i was at a holding school site which we were sprucing up to prepare it for the school that will be occupying it next academic year.

Anyway... I learnt from my colleague that another school had previously used the same premises, and she pointed out where the previous VP was located, the facilities here, there, everywhere... And all these that the previous occupant used were not acceptable for the next school! Our conclusion? That is the difference between a neighbourhood school and a "branded" school. I was told that the school had commented that the parents of the students are all well-connected and educated and that they will complain. Wow. Is the school implying that parents of students in neighbourhood schools or non-branded schools are uneducated?

That is one reason why i don't like branded schools very much, because i always come off with this impression that i live to serve them. What is the impression that we are giving the children in these schools? That they are the elite? If the pampering continues on this way, the next generation will be far removed from the lower-income and the reality of life. You don't expect your daughter to study in an old school building? Hello... the current school building will be upgraded so your bloody daughter can have a better environment in 2 years' time! So since when is life fair? And the courts are too rough for your precious' delicate feet? So what do you expect of us? To construct a new court for your daughter's use when its only for 2 years? Hey, i pay tax you know! There are better ways to spend the limited resources we have!

Sometimes its no wonder the kids are growing up in this way, because their parents pamper them, and then the parents wonder why their children are like that.

Fracto Mahjong

2009-11-02T20:13:00.002+08:00

Went for a seminar today and many bodies and agencies put forth their innovations (not sure if that's the right choice of words) and ideas that were implemented. One thing that made an impression on me was Fracto Mahjong, a collaboration of the Singapore Science Centre and the North Cluster teachers. Of course it made an impression on me. I saw the mahjong table and tiles and i thought -- Whoa! Gambling!!! heehee...

Well, it builds on the similar concept in forming 4 sets and a pair. What it teaches the children is fractions, percentages, decimals and shapes. For example, a set could be three of the same ie 0.4, 4/10, 40% or 4 shaded boxes. You could have 2 of the above and if someone discards the 3rd, you go 'Pong!' and you have one set formed. Unlike mahjong however, the rules are that only the shaded boxes can be the pair. This makes it more difficult to win. No gambling, though!

I thought it was a good idea cos the children learn the similarities in the numbers, percentages and decimals. Apparently the children who were given this to try out caught on very fast. However, its not available commercially -- nope, don't bother looking for it and anyway it'll be patented soon -- and the SSC staff i spoke to said they do not think parents will be happy cos they may think that its promoting gambling. Hey, if you think this way, then every time you cross the road, you're gambling too. After all, its a 50% chance that you'll be knocked down, right?

Anyway, if its available, i'll get it for the seedlings for Christmas. Heehee! :)

Meeting God

2009-11-01T23:45:00.005+08:00

I just watched the last episode of ''Meet The Natives'', where 5 men from Tanna went to England and lived there for 5 weeks.

In Tanna, an island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, they believe that Prince Philip is the son of their God. In the last episode, the 5 men were finally able to meet Prince Philip and you could see how excited and happy they were, and how they prepared themselves.

How would we be like, if we knew we were going to meet our God? Are we like them, always prepared and wondering when they could meet their God, or would we panic and know that we aren't ready?

Would we be like them? Or would we have to squander our one and only chance because we are not ready? The 5 had to be in jacket and tie when they meet Prince Philip. Imagine if they could not get the proper attire and they could not meet their God because of that. Would we be ready to meet God at any time? If we know what we are doing now would make us unsuitable to be in God's presence, then isn't it time to prepare ourselves? After all, like the 5, we are always hoping to meet God but we don't know when it is the time. The Brownies have it right. Be Prepared! (or is it Scouts? Hmm...)

Reflection

2009-11-01T22:48:00.005+08:00

Had a short discussion with AD early this week where he asked me about my impression of the branch and shared with me the background of the staff and his expectations of me. He hinted to me that i will be in charge of formulating the ISO for my unit -- the Devt half already has an ISO in place -- and that i will be assigned some schools to manage so i have an idea what processes would be needed. sigh.

Its good that i have a project to do, but ISO? Its something that most organisations want, but which most staff hate cos it means procedures to follow and NCs to watch out for. So i will be hated by all? :( :( :( Then again, he hinted very broadly that such ''extra curricular activities'' are what the top management look out for, since we are meant to handle our basic job scope competently. Oh well, i'll do my best. I know what it is like having very detailed processes laid out when i had to follow the first org's ISO, so i'll see if i can use a simplified form of that as a start.

Later in the week, i heard my colleagues talking -- while following them to a site -- and i gathered that my AD might be changed soon. So where will my current AD go? The staff who went for the AD interview is a lady, and i've this thing about working for lady bosses...

4 weeks have passed since i started work and tomorrow is my 5th Monday. So how have i found it so far? I'm bored! I've nothing to do since i started work except read, read, read! Ya, its all from the intranet cos my seating location isn't an ideal place for surfing net. Hopefully once we move, i'll have something concrete to do. Meanwhile, next week is already planned with a workshop at HDB Hub and a Supreme Court tour tomorrow, meetings on Wed, and half day seminars on Thurs and Fri. :)

We'll be moving to Ghim Moh on 9 Nov, and my new location is much better as i'm relatively isolated. We'll be going for a visit tomorrow so i'll have an idea what i need to hang the calendar and Hello Kitty dolls little plum gave me. Looking forward to have some proper work once we shift! And a new PC! my current notebook is Pentium M and super duper slow...

crumpled vs crumbled

2009-10-31T07:25:00.002+08:00

Was reading through some old news -- oxymoron? -- about the APEC attire and the comments by some people. I'm no fashionista -- you can see that i look almost the same daily except in different coloured tops -- but i agree with most of them, ie why the flower and not an orchid design? And the green version is what i would think of as ''ar-sai-sek'' (or duck shit colour). The colours look rather dull too. :(

Is linen really a suitable material for our climate? I like linen because it looks crisp and neat when the top is freshly worn, but at the end of the day in a linen shirt, the creases will make the top look so worn and weary. Unless the material is linen based with some other material woven that minimises creasing... Though for a linen top, especially one worn by dignitaries (who wouldn't be labouring much in the hot sun, but seated most of the times), the creases would likely be limited to the elbows and back. The general front of the shirt would remain relatively crease-free.

I read the first few comments and i read the word ''crumpled'''. There was a comment among the more recent about the material being ''crumbled easily''. Hmm. So would the men be clutching crumpled bits and pieces of the shirt to their chest? Afterall, the material is supposed to ''crumble easily''? haha!

Good Morning no more...

2009-10-28T20:23:00.002+08:00

There was a little cat at the foot of my block that i only see in the mornings. I never figured out where she went in the day, cos i only saw her in the mornings when i go to work. She's never there in the evenings, though sometimes when we come back home real late, such as around midnight, i might catch a glimpse of her. And because i only saw her in the mornings, i would greet her with a cheerful ''Good morning!'' and somehow, the name stuck.

We started off as strangers. After FatCat, ScruffyCat and Substation were caught by the town council, Good Morning came in after about a week. She was shy and fearful of people and i had a hard time talking to her. She would jerk back and hiss at me, before toning down to just jerking back when i reach out to her. However, she came quickly enough to me when i clicked my tongue and greet her. It somehow became a call where she would trot across the carpark entry towards my block whenever i called her.

It was only two or three months ago that she would let me pat her gently on her head, before jerking back again, and then only last month when she would finally let me stroke her head. Somewhere before she allowed me to pet her, she formed the habit of rising up on her hind legs -- somewhat like a dog prancing on hind legs -- and rubbing against my legs when i came by.

But for the past 4 weeks, i haven't seen Good Morning around. I can't help but wonder if i had caused her harm by feeding her and befriending her, and letting her think of humans as friendly. Was she caught by the town council? Was she caught by evildoers? Or was she deemed friendly enough for someone to bring her back?

There is no Good Morning for me anymore. I've tried going out at different hours in the morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but i don't see her anymore. No one has come in to fill the void too, and even if there is, i've learnt my lesson. First ScruffyCat, then Substation, followed by FatCat and now Good Morning. It hurts too much when i see the friendly faces disappear, and when i don't know where they went to or how they are now. It wouldn't have been so bad if i know they were adopted by someone, but the heartache in not knowing if they are fed, if they are safe, if they are warm and secure, is just too much. So if anyone comes in, i'll try my best to harden my heart and not feed them, and hope they would remain away from humans.

Goodbye Good Morning. I'm so sorry, i hope i didn't get you into trouble. Wherever you are, i hope it is always a good morning for you, and that you'll be able to find food easily that won't stress your teeth. Poor girl, you already have a missing lower right canine. May God keep you safe.

Training day

2009-10-26T22:35:00.002+08:00

Attended my division's training day today. Had some fun in morning before the team building games proper started after lunch.

I was quite ambivalent about the ballroom, but the condition of the toilet was quite a put off. Perhaps the design was meant to be open with the discharge from the upper floor meant to fall onto the planter area, but the resultant algae growth on the exposed end of the pipe, the algae growing on the wall and the constant dripping of the water was quite a sight. The cubicles weren't anything spectacular too. I would have thought that the toilets would be in a better maintained condition...

Mystery of the missing minute

2009-10-26T22:07:00.003+08:00

ok ok, its not really a missing minute, though i must say that all the m's looked rather nice. :)

I was waiting at the bus stop near little plum's office building and facing the ERP gantry near Liang Court. As i looked for the bus, i noted that the time for the charge was until 6.05pm. As the clock stated 6.04pm, and the cars facing the ERP were stopped before the traffic light -- which conveniently was red -- i was thinking that i would hate to be the first car cos the time would be counting down soon. But then i was thinking that the cars still had 1 minute to go. After all, the rate was until 6.05pm, right?

6.04pm
6.05pm!

The rate then changed up, and the new time frame for the higher cost was then in force from 6.05pm to 6.25pm. But hey! Then it means that 6.05pm has 2 rates! So which should be the correct rate? $2.30 or $3.30? Shouldn't the time be the minute before the change in rate? ie to 6.04pm and from 6.05pm to 6.24pm?

SSO concert

2009-10-23T22:49:00.004+08:00

Dear & i attended an SSO concert today. It was an experience, though i think dear was bored. He later told me that he dislikes the sound of the violins, so i told him to bring me to a jazz concert/bar and i'll bring him for the next concert. I think i may like to go for the Christmas concert?

Saw quite a number of young children, but they were mainly brought in by the Caucasians. Not many Asian kids, though. It seems to me that there were only 2 colours among the audience...

I would like to bring my kids, if i have any, to attend such concerts when they are slightly older. Not so much to nurture potential MEP kids, but more to give them an appreciation of classical music. Of course, i would have to select a suitable concert instead of one with long, draggy pieces. Saint-Seans' '''Carnival of the Animals'' should be quite ok. In fact, i think the piece, ''The Swan'' featuring the cello, should be quite familiar with most adultys.

Its amazing that we are constantly exposed to bits and pieces of classical music via advertisements, and can instantly -- well, usually instantly! -- identify the advertisement and its jingle when we hear extracts of the piece, and yet when asked to attend a classical music concert, the usual reaction is usually one of disgust? Boredom? The ''ee-yur!'' reaction. And yet if the bits made famous/well known by advertisement were to be extracted and played, likely there would be no such reaction. Well, i do have a CD of famous advertisements, and i'm happy to lend it to anyone who asks. :)

Now to think of how to convince him to go with me to the next concert...

Kah Tek

2009-10-21T20:26:00.003+08:00

Went for lunch with a group of colleagues at a nearby coffeshop yesterday. I was with someone and looking at the stalls, wondering what to eat when suddenly i saw a movement near the floor and an ''Oi!'' Startled, i looked down towards the direction of the sound -- towards the ground. Yup, the sound came from a table cleaner who didn't even reach my armpit. She was that short! She went off and kept throwing murderous looks at me. As if it was my intention to mow her down!

Is it my fault? If i'm around kids, i would keep an eye out for them. But at a coffeeshop during lunch time, i wouldn't expect any kids and from the periphery of my vision, it was only adults. I certainly wouldn't expect to have to look towards the ground!

Well, lesson learnt -- there is an extremely short woman working at that place. So next time i will look towards the ground to look out for her. Anybody heading towards Blk 40 should do likewise too!

Being a Roman...

2009-10-19T19:46:00.002+08:00

I had a punctual lunch today, leaving on the dot with the group of colleagues. We had quite a fast lunch too, and reached the office building early. Us 3 women then went up to the staff club to see what offers there were -- crocs sandals and frozen snacks -- but since they didn't interest us, we left after one round. Reaching my cubicle, i wanted to finish copying the plans for the afternoon discussion so that i need not rush. The office was so quiet that i thought the better of my plan. Well, shortly after the change of mind, the lights switched off.

Join the Romans! So i bummed... Oh no!!! I'm becoming more and more Roman-like!!!

Donations

2009-10-18T19:09:00.003+08:00

I've been recently reminded that govt aided schools have to raise 5% of their funds for rebuilding (or something like that), and that all schools have to raise their funds if they want to have non-standard items. On hindsight, this makes sense of what i had to do when i was studying -- raising funds through funfairs and donations.

Which brings to mind this question -- with all the recent festivals and ''open house'' extended through colleagues, with the prospect of more as Christmas and year-end celebrations approaches, would you let your child do fund-raising during such gatherings?

I have a very strong view that you should do things within your means, and really, i hate to have to pay for someone's ''face'' or ''mianzi''.

I attended a gathering recently and a colleague brought his child and wife along. Within minutes of appearing at the home, the wife whipped out the fund-raising card and passed to the little girl -- i think she's about P1 -- and nudged her, saying, ''You ask the aunties and uncles la!'' The little girl was shy and hesitant, so my colleague said heartily, ''You tell them what this is for and if the aunties and uncles don't want to donate, its ok! You just smile and thank them!'' In the end, all of us donated. Whether it is out of pity for the little girl, not wanting to lose face in front of our colleagues or because they support the donation, i really don't know. Me? I just smiled and donated, but i have no idea what i donated for, cos she just whispered, ''You read the front and back, its a donation and you can get a sticker.''

If i were the host, i would be mortified. After all, i would have invited my guests for a gathering and to celebrate, but definitely not for a canvassing session!

I would donate if the seedlings approached me, though probably i would grill the first 2 so that they know what they are doing rather than just treating us as someone who can do things for them, or even for children of friends. But for colleagues to do that, and not even at office but at someone's home, is really not that nice...

Would you do that?