A wedding with old friends…

On Sunday I dropped by Jakarta to attend the wedding of my old university buddy. It was an interesting affair to say the least. I have always know the Indons to have elaborate big weddings but to have 1400 people in the same ballroom as you was overwhelming.

It started off with me having some mileage points left over and having been invited to my good friend's wedding in Indonesia. Actually I reckon it was a very good deal. The air ticket's claimed so not much there, the Four Season's Hotel room was at a special rate of USD100 because of my friend's wedding and it includes a free SPA as well as breakfast. I think if I were to drop by Bintan, it'll probably cost me the same.

Upon arrival, another Indon friend brought me out for lunch at this roadside restaurant. For those who've never been to Indonesia, you have to be careful of these Warung eating places. The ones with made up stalls are slightly more risky for those with weak stomach. But we went to a slightly more middle class one which is more like a restaurant so it's all good. The place is call Tata Ribs. Named after the fabulous and famous ribs they served. There's both a BBQ-ed and soup version of it. I decided on the BBQ-ed version. It came with a soup and the ribs. The soup was peppery but good and the ribs were awesome. It was served with this peanut sauce kinda like satay sauce. I have gotta try it again next time I'm there.

After the meal, I went for the nice SPA. The traditional Javanese massage was very hard and painful but it felt refreshing after it all. In the evening was the wedding proper. As mentioned, it was a huge affair. Now over there they have this version of a standing party. There's only less than 10 tables around the ballroom and these are reserved for VIPs only. The rest of the guest stood and they got into a queue for the buffet dinner. There were various stalls serving various dishes like the buffet line, dim sum and satay. The food was good but just that eating was troublesome. In an Indon wedding, they take ang pows as well and this is typically the equivalent of USD20 to 40 dollars which works out to around 200k to 400k rupiah.

Now the guest would go on stage to take pictures with the couple. As the number of guests is like huge, you can imagine that they take a single picture with a huge number of people. This was darn interesting to behold.

Now I must say I enjoyed the wedding alot. Because besides the good food and catching up with my old friends there, there were loads of DAMN good looking indonesian chinese girls there to look at. It's probably the first time I've seen so many beautiful indonesian chinese girls in one spot. They were all dress in their beautiful gowns which provided ample eye candy for the evening especially with their low cut attire showing off their full fair breasts.

Anyway, I would like to wish my friend H and his new found wife V all the blessings and happiness for their years to come. Good night Singapore.

Mixed Emotions

Hello everybody, I'm back from the land of the Bin Lang Meis. I've been getting alot of mixed emotions lately. I'll be going to start on my new job soon and I'm pretty excited about it. I like knowing new people and also new environments. Guess it's also due to my nature of enjoying new experiences. But on the other hand, I feel some anxiety on the new and added roles I will be taking up. I hope I can do well in them and excel. I am an ambitious person and part of it is taking the risks that comes along with the package.

Anyway, my birthday bash was fun. I like being in the company of alot of friends. They make me feel wanted and "in existence". I've always feared loneliness and crave for company. Think I'll make a poor hermit. As expected I was totally thrashed. Was very greatful for my friends to have sent me back. It must really have peeved them when I finally stood up at home and wave them goodbye. Haha… It wasn't intentional but I had a short span of alertness when I reached home. After that it was hello darkness again.

Another incident that got me thinking was this new girl I am starting to have an interests in. Problem is that until now I do not know what to make of her. Her actions portray that of a playful and non serious spirit that is just having fun. But yet when I do get a chance to meet up with her, which is not often, she comes across as having an interests in me. I do enjoy her company and I think that one of the greatest things that I like about her is that she can laugh at herself and she's oh so very witty. I think I need to take my time in slowly understanding what this girl is all about. Time will tell I suppose. Let's just wait and see.

Good night Singapore.

A new challenge and 我爱台妹

*Blows dust off blog*

Yes, it's been a long while since I wrote anything. I guess I've always been a procrastinator. Whether in work or blogging. Alot of times, I encountered experiences which in my mind I tell myself that I should blog about it, such as the good dinners I had over the past few months, the Bangkok and Bali trips I went and the new people I met, but coming home, I'm either too tired to do it or I decided that I'd rather do something else.

Anyway, highlight of today's post is that I've FINALLY got a new job. Strangely or funnily enough, I was approached by two different headhunting agencies for the same job. In the end, my new employer gave it to the first agency to submit my name. Yeh for them. Now, I'll be moving from Hello Moto to Connecting People. No prizes for guessing which companies those are.

Now this wasn't one of them easy decisions due to two reasons. First being that the job nature requires more delivery and less pre-sales which wasn't what I'm used to. But I reckon it's a good learning experience for me. Second being the package. I wanted a 35% increment from my last job due to potential promotion and increment and among other factors but they were only able to give 25%. Doing the maths, it's really not alot more after I minus away all the various cost. But I think the potential of the job is better than my current one so that helped me made up my mind to plan for mid to long term instead of realising immediate returns. Hope this decision works out for me. Wish me luck.

Next up, for the first time in my life I am planning a huge birthday bash for myself. Ok, strictly speaking, it's not really a bash. I basically only made a flyer to invite almost all my friends to a drink session at Boulevard Bar this friday. I chose Boulevard Bar at Red Dot Traffic Building cause the place is similar to Balcony and Loft but with less of the popularity so that I can hopefully get a large area to myself. Will probably be expecting around 25 to 30 guests. I think this early mid-life crisis is going to set me back by around 1-1.5k but heck, I only live once.

Finally, after my "birthday bash" I'm going to Taiwan. It's been years since I last went Taiwan. I went there 3 times in the past due to my NS. This time I'm going for a 7 days package tour with my mom, sis and brother-in-law. Though it's with family, I'm still looking forward to it. Partly cause I need a holiday and secondly, I would like to revisit Taiwan and finally see it from the eyes of a tourist.

Alot of things seems to be happening over the weekend. The night before I fly, 28th Oct, is where every club, pub and night spot celebrates Halloween. I'll be dropping by the Cowboy Bar's Halloween event for a quick drink. Don't think I can stay late due to the flight the next day. Oh well, guess it'll have to be another year before you see me dressed up as a ghoul.

Taiwan here I come. 我爱台妹. Good night Singapore.

When?

Needed to get this out of my system. When oh when will I get the job offers I've been waiting for!!! Grrr……

Sigh….so much has happened and I've not blogged much recently. Anyway, tomorrow's Fri and another week's over. Shall write about my Bali trip that I went, eating at Canton Wok, Valentinos, etc soon. Till then. Good night Singapore.

Cough…

I have this god damn cough and sore throat for weeks. Seems everytime it gets abit better, something else triggers it off again. Damn and I'm going on my Bali trip in a few days time. Yesterday, my japanese friend who came down on a business trip made a very interesting remark. She said she reads blogs but doesn't have time to blog herself as during her free time, she's either too busy doing something else or too lazy. So she reckons if she does blog, it'll be during office hours. Hahaha….

Anyway, brought her to the usual hawker centres and places of interest which in this case ended up at Mount Faber again. It seems to be my most popular destination to bring tourists. Wanted to go Newton hawker but surprisingly they were closed for 3 days to celebrate the 7th lunar month aka Ghost Month. So we went to East Coast hawker instead.

Ok, now I really need to recover in 3 days in order to enjoy my much needed break thoroughly. Good night Singapore.

Impulse

I bought a 2.5k watch today during lunch. Yes, you heard right, 2.5 thousand buckaroos. I would like to say that it wasn't on impulse but fact of the matter was, a small part of it was. I got an invite for the private sale from Cortina Watches and thought I might go during lunch to check it out. I was contemplating looking through some of the watches and maybe come back the next day to finalise my decision.

Now, when I got there, I realised that there was a brand which I am unfamiliar with but they were offering huge discounts on, Scalfaro. For quite a long time, I was in the market for buying a nice watch and budget have been hovering from 1k to 3k. So this range definitely appealed to me with the massive discounts. The one which I got was originally priced at over 6k list price. That's 4k off! Who can resist such a deal you tell me? Unfortunately, the one which I was eyeing for a longggg time was grabbed by a man who took it just a minute before me. Damn that man! It was a Cap Ferrat Grand Tour Chronograph Dicompax. It was simply gorgeous with it's dual dials and metal strap. It was going for 3k plus but heck, if you are going for a watch worth a couple thousand, what's another right. So there I was, eyeing him and hoping he gave it up but I had the impression that because of that, he felt even more inclined to purchase it, damn.

So there I was, without my treasure but with the deep gnawing urge to satisfy myself with a purchase. So, I decided to get the piece which I had earlier had my eye on before lying on that one he bought. It was kind of an impulse but truth be told, the one that I purchase was rather pretty in itself plus it was cheaper! (consolation? ) So I ended with the Cap Ferrat Grand Tour Small Second. It's a black face piece with a rubber strap. Rather cool and sporty looking. Check it out here, http://www.scalfaro.ch/.

All in all, a very expensive lunch I might say. Good night Singapore

Hog’s Breathe Cafe

As promised, my old blog review on another steak joint…

ok, after hearing so much bout tis place, i decided to check it out yesterday. i've seen it in the past in aus but din managed to try the local wan. it's located at chijmes which is quite a nice spot cuz of all the bars and restaurants. the jap restaurant is damn good but tats for another review.

for the place, it looks pretty much like the steak joints in aus and like the outback steak houses in the states. u know those nice steak house decor and old pictures. we were seated in this cute place call the pig pen with many pig pictures. haha… the waitress tat served us was cute. hehe… think name is rachel or something.

ok, let's dive straight into the food. i ordered the tex prime cut steak with bbq sauce while my fren ordered the blackened steak. the wait time was acceptable i guess cuz there were quite a number of ppl. i tot it was long only cuz i was damn hungry. =p anyway, when it came i immediately regretted my decision cuz the bbq sauce smell was very strong and sweet smelling. i was afraid it would cover the taste of the steak. anywayz, my fren and i shared 1/2 of our steak each. i ordered medium while my fren order medium to well. i hv to say, the steak is VERY good. it's very tender! i am impressed. the blackened seasoning one was better in my opinion but tats just cuz i dun like too much bbq sauce. nonetheless, the bbq sauce one wasn't tat bad either.

now, for the sides i had baked potato. tis wasn't done very well cuz it wasn't piping hot the way i liked it. and no bacon bits. sorry, sucker for tat. the veges though were good. i even liked the broccoli which is rare.

Summary
Accessibility – 8/10 (town leh, how to hiam, park at raffles city only $2)
Ambience – 7.5/10 (not bad, outback feel and nice decor)
Food – 7.5/10 (very good steak but i minus marks for the potato)
Price - 6.5/10 ($30 a steak, total damage ard $40/pax, not cheap but good)
Service – 7/10 (cute waitress plus acceptable service)
All-in-all – 7.3/10 (maths again!)

Steaks

Been awhile since I last posted an entry. I have been meaning to write a short review on a restaurant I used to love but which the standard has since gone to the dogs. The restaurant in question is Dan Ryan's. I used to love going for the large portion lunch menus in the past with the philly's steak sandwiches as one of my favourites. Sadly, the portions have since been reduced and the side dishes gone as well. I wonder why they can't keep the old portions but have succumbed to what, downsizing? like the rest of the economy.

Anyway, like I said, it's been awhile since I last went and over the weekend, when my friend and I were pondering where to grab a nice dinner which offers steaks, I suggested to give Dan Ryan's a go. Big mistake. When we went there, we noticed a quite a full restaurant surprisingly. They were mostly made up of tourists and westerners. As we sat down and looked at the menu, the prices were kinda steep but we thought to ourselves that hey, we don't eat out all the time and might as well order something nice. So I went for the Fillet Mignon steak while my friend ordered the salad. Now, first of all, the service seems alright when taking orders but it took quite awhile to come. We also noticed that just behind us, another table's patrons were also impatient with the waiting and remarked this to the staff at least 2 times. When our food came, I was more than surprise at the presentation. It was the simplest of steak with a few fries and some veges. Not what I would expect when I paid 42 bucks for it. Well, let's not judge a book by its cover we thought so I proceeded to try it out. We had ordered medium well to which I felt the steak was rather raw. And usually from my experience, such a raw steak would be more tender but no, it was very chewy. Basically I was eating a piece of not much seasoned, raw and chewy meat. Definitely one of the worst I've had. I shared this with my friend who gave up after a few pieces. Now this was a person who love her meats. As for the salad, well, we can't complain much as it's basically tossed veges. Very bad experience indeed. This made me think back to another steak place we've been with a totally different experience. I'll post that in abit.

After the disappointing meal at Dan Ryan's, I decided to bring my friend to a place which is starting to become popular amongst the pub crawlers. That's Red Dot Traffic Building. In this little building, there's a total of 3 pubs, namely Skin, Artery and Boulevard. There's also a nice french restaurant there called Le Papillion. I must try it one day. The pubs are rather nicely decorated places which reminds one of the decor from Balcony but a less crowded spot. When we went there, there weren't many people there. We settled for Skin and order some white wine and started to chill. The drinks are about the same price as the upmarket pubs like Loof. Music wise, about the same genre as well. In summary, quite a nice spot if you are looking for something new but not so different from places like Loof and Balcony minus the large crowds.

That'll be all for my short review then. Good night Singapore.

Headhunters

Hrmm…haven't been writing much lately. Could be because there's nothing really significant happening to my life or just that I've been lazy. Now, the only thing I seem to be excited about is shopping for a new job lately. I've been rather upset with my current one and I'm sort of looking out for one. Basically, what this means is to let your interests be known in the field and let the headhunters hunt. So far, I've been approached by a few headhunters but the progress seems dreadfully slow. Part of the reason seems to be due to the unavailability of the employers due to scheduling.

Interestingly enough, my colleagues and I engaged in a conversation circling resumes. The reason being that one of my colleagues has successfully been hunted and will soon be parting ways. Now, we were talking about how some people will make their resumes look much more impressive than they really are and basically how to get away with it. We concluded that in order to do so, you must be interviewed by people who are not in this region. Now, most of my peers are in charge of regional work so normally we work with people from different countries. As the world is kind of big, this gives the person abit of advantage in exaggerating their accomplishments. Of course, there's also a risk involve as you'll never know who knows who in this world as well. We've all heard of the six degrees of seperation yah. But over the years, I've constantly come across people whom I've been amazed at what they put into their resumes. "Instrumental in the sale of…", "Achieve 120% target of…", "In charge of closing a multi-million dollar deal…" etc. I've known these people personally and they sure as hell ain't any of those.

Oh well, not sure I can lie through my teeth like them but please wish me luck in leaving this place soon. Good night Singapore.

My Best Friend’s Wedding?

Highlights of the weekend was that I attended my Best Friend's wedding on Sunday. Now, I had also kind of went to join in for the jie-mei vs shiong-di battle in the morning. I was the bride's friend so I was actually on the other side of the gate. After the whole affair and when we finally reached the couple's house, they gathered for a group shot and I was never asked to join in for the shot nor to take any shots. This was then did I realised that I was neither part of the jie-meis nor the shiong-dis. I guess it was then did I suddenly felt very left out and started to ponder why I was really there. Was I really the bride's Best Friend? Or was I just there because I asked the bride whether she needed any help and she felt obligated to ask me along? I guess some people would have said that I am too sensitive. She's probably too busy and it WAS her big day afterall so she might have forgotten about you. But I've always felt that I am very good at reading signals and I have a feeling that I might just be right.

It kind of got worst during the night time when I attended their wedding dinner. I suddenly realised that I was given a seat with all strangers and at the way back of the dinner hall! Now, I do know some of their common friends and I have to say, I was very disappointed in the arrangement. Was this how a close friend is to be treated? Sigh… suffice to say, it was not a very enjoyable dinner and I had to make an excuse and left early. It is times like this that sometimes I really feel I might have expected too much and presumed too much of some of the friendships I have. Maybe we were never really close.

Anyway, I tried my hand at a close up shot of her face during the morning reception. Looking at it now, it's leaves kind of a cold impression. That seems to suit how my heart is feeling now. Good night Singapore.

Mr Brown’s Suspension

Now guess those whose been in the know for stuff that happens on the net would know that the popular blogger Mr Brown has been given the red card and suspended from duties due to an article he wrote in Today. I have always admired Mr Brown as a mature blogger who gives us information in a tongue in cheek manner that is both informative and easy to be absorbed by the common man. I guess this is probably why he is being seen as a threat maybe.

I have to agree with the comment made by Reporters without Boundaries that in some cases, journalist ought to be able to make certain views. There is always a fine line between partisan reporting and accurate reporting. Who can say that during the Iraq or Afghan wars that the US media did not add abit of Americanism into their reports? Now is this right or wrong? I think as with everything in life, it's usually does the cause justify the means. If enough people deems it to be alright, then it's alright. History has taught us time and again that it's always about what is the perceive truth that matters rather than the real truth. Now, this may sound jaded but I think it's the truth (haha… funny the way this sounds). Unfortunately, herein lies the crux, does MICA and SPH want to control the perceive truth? As our circulated media is monopolised, there's probably no other way the common man will be informed en masse about what's alright to do and what's not. We have not reached a critical mass yet in the circulation of information through other means such as the Internet to allow the common man an alternative avenue for information. So now that MICA has instrumented the removal of someone who speaks probably the minds of many, there's little chance of the masses to learn of an alternative view.

I realised what I've just written has became a jabble of words and thought and is probably hard to understand. Too many things in my mind from too many angles. Oh well, shan't bother to rewrite it since no one but myself whose going to read it. Anyway, end of the day, I do hope he gets off alright with this whole fiasco. He seems like a decent enough guy. A man who loves his family and just wants to provide for them. Good night Singapore.

World Cup semis

Back from Bangkok. Now watching the semis between Germany and Italy. I guess it'll be another tie game and penalty shootout from the looks of it. Will blog more when I am in the mood. Now I'm kind of rumbling. Good night Singapore.

Rise Above and up north

Ok, kind of a crappy title I know. Just came back from an event at Jewel Box at Mount Faber. It's the old Altivo newly renovated. Quite nice but I have to say, it's not the best place for an event. Parking is horrendous. We made our way up and was shocked to see a whole line of cars waiting to be valet parked at the place. When we finally reached the place, we were told horrors of all horrors that valet parking is full and they told us to drive down to Habour Front and take the shuttle up. I was like wtf! I'm not going to do that! I dropped my friend off and wanted to go home when my friend told me she's secured a valet lot for me. So off I went driving back and waiting in line for the valet queue again. Lucky this time, they helped me park my car. This is in fact the second time I faced a parking problem at this location. The first was when I attended a friend's wedding who chose to hold it at Altivo. I guess for the place to succeed, they have to first solve this crucial problem.

Anyway, the event in question is Martell's Rise Above event. It's kind of like an appreciation party to all the people who have supported Martell in the year. People like disco owners, pub owners and of course drunkards like myself. Haa…. Anyway, lots of media and celebrities. I thought I'll try out my new camera which I bought today. It's a Panasonic Lumix FX-01. Unfortunately, I'm abit disappointed with the night shots quality. Will do a proper review of the camera once I tried it out more. Here are some shots I took of the event.

Whoa…look at all em Martell bottles on the shelves.

You can't really see it but this guy's t-shirt was flashing.

Main doorway into the disco party.

Insider where there's a dance floor.

The theme was Rise Above so you seen hostess wearing astronaut, stewardess and pilot uniforms.

Oh, another thing to mention was that I saw the infamous Dawn Yeo at the party. Now she looked at me and I realised her face was kind of scary and I had to admit I looked away. It just didn't look natural and I don't know, think I prefer her pre-surgery look. Anyways, I'm sure some people likes it.

Ok, I'd better go to bed as I'm leaving to Bangkok for a holiday tomorrow. Good night Singapore.

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe

Had an interesting coffee session today at this place call Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe so I thought I'll do a review on it. It's situated just opposite the Kovan MRT station and is quite a large site which one couldn't possibly miss travelling down the main road.

Now there seems to be alot of Hong Kong style cafes popping up on the island and this one looks new enough. It's also happening in KL by the way and there's even a chain there. My friend recommended we drop by here for coffee as she's been here before so what the heck, we went down. The decor of the place is quite new and the interior quite nicely done. We chose to sit outside instead but the outside sitting is limited and this being located near a HDB estate, the al fresco view is kind of boring. Anyway, we proceeded looking at the interesting postcard like menu to see what's good.

The selection is quite large and there's even things which is not typical of a "Char Chan Teng" (Hong Kong Cafe) in there. I guess they must cater to the local crowd. I hear that the food was alright but if you come during peak hours, the standard do drop. As we went there kind of late, we skip the food and went straight to desserts. We ordered a mango ice kacang thingy which was huge and a peanut butter toast.

The mango dessert was alright but because it was made up of just ice shavings and mango sauce poured over it, the inner parts were abit tasteless. The toast is ok though I still prefer the ones in HK. Price wise, we had a lemon tea to go with that ($4.90, wow!) and it came up to $18.15 which I thought was kind of pricey. But I kind of expected it as these novelty places typically charges a premium. You can't expect to pay coffee shop prices right.

Anyways, one good thing about this place is that it is 24hrs. Seems nowadays more and more places are going 24hrs to cater to the midnite crowd. For that, I would say this makes it a possible choice for those who want to grab a bite at some place different in the middle of the night. I would possibly go back again as I'm kind of interested in trying out the pork chops and baked spaggetti. All in all, abit pricey but an interesting place to check out. Good night Singapore.

Turning Point?

There seems to be a glimmer of hope to my gloomy working environment. Over the weekend, I had two opportunities present themselves to me to move out of my shitty current position. One is an internal opportunity that may become available in the coming months and the other, which I was informed today, was an opportunity to move out to one of the biggest players in the telecoms sector. The later seems a more immediate opportunity. I hope either one materialises itself soon as I am really tired of the constant droning of my director who has no one to manage to me and thus constantly micro-manages my work. It has became unbearable and I seek an escape from this prison soon.

But as with opportunities, there comes the dilemma. If the opportunities come into fruition (I am pretty sure I spelt this wrongly but hey, I was never a word smith), I am faced with the decision of whether to wait for the internal position or take the external one. Over the past 8 years, I have held positions with 5 companies. Now that is alot of movement I guess for someone who is just doing averagely. I can't presume to say I am very successful and highly sought after as I know people who are on the top of the headhunters' list. And by moving around so much sometimes might leave a bad impression. I've only been in the current company for a year and a half and my previous one for one year. What will be the impression of my future masters? True that for these positions I am headhunted and in this line as in any line, as long as headhunters recognise your worth, years of service matters little. But the nagging worry is still there. I think I shan't ponder so much and just take things as they come.

Now with the new opportunity, I do hope that there is at least a 30% increases in remuneration. I seem to feel that I am somehow lagging behind the folks in these organisations but then again, I am comparing myself to foreign talents. Maybe this is an unfair comparison but I feel I am in no way inferior to them and why shouldn't Singaporeans be paid as much? Ah, the age old debate of worth vs perceived worth. Sigh… I do want to achieve a great deal in a short time. I long for the accelerated path taken by some and hope that in the short months to come I am able to step up again in my pursue for a higher and better paid position. Wish me luck.

Now on a seperate issue. I have decided to go on a diving trip to Bali with a group of people whom I do not know. These people I have not met and hopefully will be able to make some new friends who is closer to my wavelength. Nowadays, I feel that the people I hang out with are not exactly people of liked mind. Alas, another reflection on the title of this blog, Kindred Spirits. I used to know a group of friends who are but a mistake of my own caused me their friendship which I've regretted till today. Let's hope I find some soon. I keep feeling that the friends I hang out with are like a stopping point to others who I can fit in better with. I guess I can only see how life turns out for me. Good night Singapore.

The Rich life

Another slow weekend. Didn't do much over the weekend. I seem to be slowly sliding into a hermit's lifestyle. Didn't go out on Fri as suddenly I felt I didn't have anyone whom I'm keen to spend time with. Also had to send my parents to my cousin's ROM on Sat so didn't go out.

So that's what I ended up doing on Sat, sent my parents to my cousin's ROM at Aloha Loyang chalet. Gotta admit, it's quite a nice place for a chalet. Things didn't go perfectly that day because as usual, my sister whose joining us is late again. I still don't understand why everyone just can't keep to the said appointed times. On top of this, she forget to bring the ROM present we shared for my cousin. Sigh… Was kinda upset but nowadays, I realised I can diffused it pretty quickly. Maybe it's due to my acceptance that there's really no point and things will not change for the better even if I am upset.

Anyways, after that I sort of slacked the whole day at home until I couldn't stand it anymore and decided to head out for a drink in town. Knew a friend was going to hideout for the Pushin On session. I still think the name's kinda lame but anyway, headed there for a beer. Call another one of my drinking buddy who also joined us. In the end after two beers, we decided to join my friend's ASK (Ah Sia Kia) friend for a drink at a karaoke pub, Beds. Now, I think it's kind of mean to refer him as an ASK and truth be told, he is a very nice guy. But guess that's still a fact. He brought along some JW Blue Label which I felt Beds was not the right place to enjoy it. I heard that he's been going there quite often these days after we brought him there. I think maybe sometimes when a person is well off, they sometimes get lonely and spends money on company. Which arrives me to the next thing, the fourth party of my drinking buddies joined us after a stint at Xintiandi. For the uninitiated, XTD is a famous nightclub, those with girl hostesses. Was quite funny hearing his traumatic experience about the ladies trying to get him on. Haa… Sometimes, I really appreciate these drinking buddies companionship. It helps when suddenly there seem to be a lack of people who you want to spend time chatting up and just need someone who you can crap with.

So, that leaves Sunday. Didn't do much as usual except to wash my car. Just finished watching this show Moving Targets 2004. Nice movie with Nicholas Tse and Edison Chen.

It's based loosely on the old Hong Kong Drama last time call, San Jat Si Heng. Brings back memories.

Ok, watching CSI now on SCV. Good night Singapore.

Dinner with nightclub owner and Bala

Ok, damn tired so this will be short. Found out a female friend of mine is a shareholder of a nightclub. Yeah, you heard right, those with ladies sitting around and making you drunk. Interesting… Anywayz, had dinner at H.V Sushi Tei then parted ways as she had to go the nightclub.

After which I headed for a slow beer at Bala and came home. Damn sleepy after the beer which is good. Good night Singapore.

CommunicAsia, Issues with Ego

Another day has passed. This week is CommunicAsia week, and as with every year, it's alot of trips to the expo, booth duty and checking out the handphone babes instead of the competition. Well, it was a tiring day for me as I had to stand on duty. Imagine that. Being in the business for so long and being responsible for several countries in the region, I find myself still ending up with booth duty. Well, it's kinda helping out the folks and I kinda volunteered so I can't really complain.

Anyway, this year's event was abit slower than the past. I guess it's mainly due to the slowdown in telecommunications business in the region. This year, we did not have that many booth girls running around. Guess, it's a corporate image thing. We did find ourselves ending up in front of another which opted for the visual effect. That is, skimply dressed girls showcasing a whole range of the latest mp3, digicam, video, online GPRS/3G, what-have-yous phones. I can't say I'm complaining. It beats staring at the usual monotaneous crowd. As always, I find that it's easy to succumb to lust when looking at these girls. I can't deny that I'm not much of a saint so these visual aesthetics delight me.

After the day event, we had a customer networking event at velvet underground. I think I made the mistake of not changing and went with what I wore for booth duty. Not I sorta stuck out like a sore thumb there. The geeky look with the uninteresting, unimportant profile. Needless to say, no one gave two hoots about making idle chatter with me. It wasn't until I got semi- (now this is an interesting word which I thinks sounds so different when we pronounce it, it could be sem-mi or sem-mai, with the later sounding so much more atas. Haa… ok meaningless sidetrack) now where was I, oh yeah, semi-snubbed by some ladies at the party. Now, I think I have quite an ego and when I get snubbed I get upset. Not visibly but still upset. Some of these people probably are below me in designation and some probably don't even earn half as much but just cause I don't look important they think I'm not. I hate it when this happens.

I've always thought of how to make them realise who I am. I know this sounds lame but hey, that's ego playing with you. Should I say loudly, "hey, I should ask my guys to buck up in their sales, these ppl don't know how to work" or should I rub shoulders with the important people and thus they'll realise I am important by association. Oh wells, I never did end up doing any of that and will probably not do it in the future anyway. These thoughts tend to be a flash and I am also too lazy to bother sometimes. Contradicting sometimes. Hey, the human being is probably the only creature on earth to always contradict themselves.

Ok, it's late and I have booth duty again tomorrow. Better stop here and let's hope I've more interesting things to talk about tomorrow. Good night Singapore.

Rumblings in the night…

Hail all, I have moved here. Hrmm… why am I trying this out? I have no idea. Guess I'm reaching a crossroads of sorts. Lotsa thoughts but haven't been writing much these days. I am now writing this in the middle of the night. Nowadays, this is when my thoughts are most lucid.

Been having alot of frustrations recently. most importantly to do with work. Been around for awhile and thought I'll be able to take most shit but surprisingly been very angry with recent developments in my work environment. Have a new boss now. Kinda a control freak. Damn these expats. Highly paid but without a clue as to the local cultures. Sigh… oh well, guess the other reason is due to the fact that I am also frustrated with my personal life. Coupled with work, this became a double whammy.

Now I really can't understand (well maybe I can but I just can't accept) how some girls can take a person for granted so easily. I am not a "robert" who is there just to give people free rides. I am not there to buy drinks. I am not there to be given the cold shoulder when I am being nice. Maybe I expect too much when I dish out sometimes. I don't know. Silly sometimes…

I wonder, does it really help that much to say things out? I think the remedy is not in the process of writing down my thoughts but really it's when someone out there responses to this in like mind. That is why I chose this title - Kindred Spirits. Perhaps, I have been alone for too long and thus seek a kindred spirit out there. Hope you find me soon…