42 mins before reaching the last day of the year..2005 has really been an interesting year in many ways…especially with this blog as well… Switched hosts a few mths ago, and still enjoying the flexibility of wordpress.. Especially love the categories function, which makes it easier for blogders and myself to find posts pertaining to a specific topic..

A new blog is a new start, i’m kind of semi-anonymous here in the sense that ppl who dunno me will probably never find this site by googling my real name… of cos to frens and to ppl who have been reading from my old blog, it’s damn obvious..but i’m fine with that..

Academically it has really been up n down..after riding on the wave of yr 2 sem 2 when i did well..i was really hoping for something better last sem..only to be disappointed to a large extent.. Some things are just meant to be, modules which i tot can get a decent grade, end up kanasai. so i guess i wun be doing hons..plan B is ready liaoz… got offered contract teaching for a yr by moe, before going nie…gonna take it up n then use the 1 yr to look for other jobs.. it’s not that i hate teaching, hence only using it as a temporary sampan.. i enjoy working with kids n youth, but to do it in the long time as a teacher..it still needs quite a bit of consideration.. n surely u want me to consider properly, in case next time i ruin the life of ur kids..

Another personal milestone is in ushering… my 2nd yr in ucc, 1st as a senior.. most of the work have been good, especially during commencement when everyone was slogging like nobody’s business to make sure that we meet all the timings and requests of dunno how many nus offices… we did that, for 21 sessions.. UCC is not a smooth journey anyway, there are still humps n bumps to clear.. i could not agree with the reasoning to do the straits time show for free.. eventually i never signed up for the event, just nitpicking on the conceptioon of the plan… but whatever it is..it’s over and looking from another perspective..the favourable media coverage probably enhanced the image of us ushers..

Started work @ indoor stadium in june i think? For the low pay, not many ppl would wanna work there..but then again, the job’s pretty relaxed and more than often, u get to watch the concerts..so i can’t really complain… esplanade was a pile of shit to start with, the kopi session and the hoohaa over my old blog.. things are definitely better and i’m startign to make frens there… of cos the main attraction there is slightly better pay and more work..

Biking is monumental this year for me.. finally got acquainted with the small community of riders on campus, and with our co-operation and KB’s extensive help and experience, we finally got the NUS Students Motorcycling Interest Group aka NUSRiders started in September 2005. Looking back, we actually have this gal from science to thank, after she passed away in a riding accident when she was on her bf’s bike.. thanks audrey.. Teething problems aside, we are happily establishing ourselves as the main body to represent the interests of bikers on campus, and trying to pull more ppl into joining our activities. My main concern is how am i going to hand over my presidency in the coming semester, with nobody stepping up to take up the slack.

Not alot of trips this yr, just a few makan trips to kulai/perling..a short ride up to malacca solely for chicken rice balls n chendol (too much time on my hands) and who can forget the kuantan solo trip (really really too much time!)…now that was really crazy..750 km covered, of which 600 was on trunk roads and in the rain..

No more trips for now, with the wife deciding to retire, all due to a stupid $5 chain breaking within the engine, and causing hell of a damage.. imagine spending 4000 dollars to repair when it cost me 1000 to buy the bike in the 1st place..all good things must come to an end i guess…it’s been a good 1.5 yrs of riding the All Blacks Bandit..

On a personal n spiritual note, have i grown? The next YEP has been postponed to dec 06.. Good co-leaders are worth waiting for, and i believe that ziwei or joce would be up to the task.. china, india, sri lanka…take ur pick

The social circle remains more or less the same, i’m still a loner @ heart i think… of cos i enjoy good company but it’s still pretty much enjoyable being on my own… no worries, all my frens..i still love u all especially the physics ppl… u ppl have brightened up my life, esp all the crapping n joking in lab…

I’m no longer seeing getting attached as a short-term goal for now, after realising that i can never give a gal the proper attention once semester starts… i’m more than happy now, meeting up with different frens now n then…the lack of a steady commitment allows for that to happen… the right gal is out there somewhere, and until her identity becomes obvious, i’m content to wait..i still have 9 yrs before i hit my target age to be married by, and there are so many things to do b4 then..

What better way to usher in 2006 with making 2006 resolutions… kidding..

Resolutions (Ver. 2006)

happy new yr to all

Back from ucc chalet, damn fun with all the ppl ard… alot of booze on offer with terence the resident bartender.. tried my 1st flaming lamborgini.. (as abel said, 1st flaming lambo not at zouk or wat, but @ chalet), and a variety of drinks..including his own concoction called Sweet Graveyard, yes the one that knocked vincent out on 1st nite..

Never tah1 beer with galvin, sure lose one..as yiming and me found out the hard way…from all the boozing, u realised some ppl turn red like lobsters damn easily, eg abel hannah.. some dun turn red…eg. me.. Some appear sober but in essence losing it liaoz, eg charissa.. some lose forfeits but got ppl to drink for them. eg yeefang..

Bowling was good too, played 5 games in all, averaging about 100pinfalls.. nothing that impressive but considering that less than 2 yrs ago, i bowled the monumental game of 46, with the opening 6 frames all longkang, ie 12 balls..that’s good enuff…. control over power.. control over power..

The only thing that’s niggling is my throat and my nose, all thanks to sleeping in singlet in aircon room thurs nite, after alot of booze n games, esp this beer-whiskey combi..deadly… rest is on the cards for now…until tml nite..ushering, again, on new yr’s eve..

Fans of sanc’s blog would be glad to noe that it’s finally updated..

this is a public service announcement by jkaiser’s still Breaking Rules

just some quick photos to sum up the week..

Finally cleared my 2-star canoeing course, though with some difficulties.. mon-wed canoed the whole day away and wed was the expedition from kallang to ecp mac.. well supposed to be ecp mac, before i kind of dragged the team down when i got terribly seasick.. puking out @ sea lah..then they were nice enuff to beach @ big splash instead n let me rest.. lunch was macs delivery..

Despite puking up all my breakfast of 汤圆, i didn’t eat much..only the yoghurt, apple pie n a handful of fries..needless to say, the journey back ensued in more puking.. shit… cannot make it..

These are the ppl in the course..2 gals 9 of us guys..really gotta thank these ppl man..if they never encouraged me ah, i probably wouldn’t have been able to make it back to kallang in 1 piece.. 3 days with them was really fun..esp all the crapping from renzhi..haha! So a few of us carried on to go eat @ annalakshmi.. the indian restaurant ran by volunteers, eat as much as u want, pay as much as u want.. That’s the door of the place…damn grand lah

The food was damn damn good lah…

Met up with rv council ppl for christmas eve lunch, i think it’s the 1st time that i’m joining them in this tradition I’m actually quite indebted to this grp of ppl, in the sense that my 1 yr in council, i learnt to be more confident of myself and got chances to take charge of some small events…

Pa decided to dabao KFC for me and jx just now… KFC dinner for christmas eve, but this is not the best…

AAAA superD24 Durians (包食！) and rambutans…how’s that for a twist..

Merry christmas folks

I meant to publish this post way back in oct 12 but got abit stuck last time..hence put it off till now…

Was supposed to be doing either econs or biophysics last nite, but got into a short but interesting discussion with a fellow esplanade newbie..bout her having to slow down in terms of the number of events she’s doing @ espl, and the frequency. Doing them so fast (she’s clearing her 21 trainee hours this wk, when i still have 2-3 assignments b4 hitting 21) can result in loss of interest for the job, and into something that all cust service ppl should never be at: being immune to ur customers. Immune, as in you develop the attitude that you’ve seen all, heard all, and handled all. Nothing fazes you and you get so bored in ushering that you fail to empathise with a patron’s problem. For example, a patron comes up to u saying that his seat has obstructed view. You know that he bought the ticket knowing that it has an obstructed view so really, he has no grounds for complaint. But how u tell him that makes a whole world of difference.. u can tell him in a bored voice, “sorry i can’t help you with that, cos u bought the ticket knowingly” or giving a slight apologetic smile, “sorry sir i understand your problem, but i believe that you were informed that the seat is a restricted view one. I could get a booster seat for your child. And sir, if you wish to upgrade your seat, pls check with me again. I see what i can do to help you with that” I think that made some difference.. both ushers are trained, but the latter is more in touch with the patron.. Now how many of the ushers that i’m working with possess this touch, and makes an effort to treat every patron like he or she is the usher’s fav patron. I personally think that i fall short of that sometimes. Was working with another usher @ SIS, between the 2 of us was a sector of around 200+ patrons, and there was one who was happily snapping pictures of the concert from her camera phone. I had previously told a patron next to her that she couldn’t take photos, so this new patron has to be told to stopped, not just cos of house rules, but we can’t show that we bend this rule for 1 patron but not the next. So i signalled to my partner to ask him to go tell the patron, but he refused to move.. i was like wtf! Later at the end of the concert, i asked him y he didnt do anything..he claimed that the patron was taking from her phone and we can’t do shit.. cos we can’t force the patron to deposit her fone. I believe we have more “weapons” than that, ranging from a simple warning to tell her to stop, to getting security involved. This one may stir up a hornet nest, but irresponsible n slacker ushers do exist @ esplanade, and for that matter, UCC and SIS..have not personally worked with one, i’m lucky so far… Ok all hearsay for time being, but it’s scary to hear a senior telling u that alot of the rules are extra.. dun need to follow.. n showing a severe lack of interest in the show n work.. few blacksheeps or usher-fatigue? i dunno… It was also during a very recent event that i saw a dark side of some ushers..they are very conscientious during work, taking care of patrons n being able to solve problems quickly.. i admire them for that, but that impression was damaged when they switched off immediately after the last patron left n we were waiting for debriefed. So they were just hanging ard, sitting down, eating tidbits when a patron came in to ask for help to find a lost item.. Some did help…others sat down still, eating ..another talked to that patron while eating.. so is that a mere slip or a sign of forgetting the golden rule of treating every patron as ur fav patron? I always enjoy reading the Good Service feature every tuesday in the straits times, over the weeks you would realise that the examples of good service contributed by readers are always very simple, nothing out of the world. Often it comes out of the fact that the service provider considered the feelings of and the situation the customer is facing..in short it doesnt take much to become a good service provider.. of cos u gotta have the technical skills required, like a call centre operator must noe the company’s products very well.. but beyond that, it is really dependent on the attitude of the service provider…

Was away in malaysia last wk, specifically in pangkor island and gurun… i noe i told u ppl penang and pangkor, but that’s cos most ppl noe where penang is, but i bet u dunno where gurun is.. that’s my parents’ hometown anyway..

the 5 days in malaysia, what can i say..very typical…eat..travel ard visit relatives.. it’s interesting in a way to meet my cousins again. i havn’t talked to some of them for years, considering that my last trip back was nearly 1.5 yrs ago.. everyone has grown up, n a few have already started working, mind u..they are younger than me..

And of cos, the food.. i was telling gabriel that the attraction of malaysian food also comes from the environment.. basically i’m not used to eating in a nice restaurant in malaysia.. more of the roadside stall-type..u can be sitting next to a stagnant stinky longkang and still totally enjoy ur bowl of chendol.. how about those kelong kind of seafood restaurants with fucked up toilets, but serving u delicious crabs.. n crabs too, i had like close to 6 of them over 3 days, way too much i tell u… considering that for whole yr i never really touched any crabs

Check out some of the photos.. The yellow submarine ferry from lumut to pangkor island

see wat my mum is missing…

Gurun is actually about 60km north of penang island…basically we stayed @ gurun n travelled daily to visit relatives, and feast…

Cousins!

Most of the family

Of course, no trip to malaysia is complete without hat/wig photos!

From pangkor..

….to sungei petani!

:D

is that i’m engrossed in this book:

will be in pangkor and penang n kedah till sunday..legal excuse to not blog.. till then..seeya

I realised that i havn’t blogged proper for 5 days, and considering that it’s the vacation, that’s kind of little.. as compared to friends who are generating like 1-2 posts each day..madness.. i can never do that yet.. never have enuff inspiration, or rather sufficient inspiration which always comes @ the wrong time ie. when i dun have a pc nearby (these days it’s not the problem of not having a net connection, there are a few places in town where u can get free connection)

Anyway i was ushering at this event last nite, u ppl can find out which..i’m not saying!! i was standing at this door on my own, main job is to take note of patrons going out from that door to go to the soliatary washroom near that door. After that i have to wait outside with them to re-admit them at an appropriate break. There weren’t many patrons near the door n i moved closer towards the patrons. When a piece ended, one of the tech crew walked behind me n exited by my door… naturally i ignored, since tech crew mah.. Immediately though:

Boss: JK pls go check on the female patron who just exited by your door JK: ??? Hmm the only person who went out from my door is a tech crew member Boss: A long-haired tech crew wearing skirt? JK: Er ok i go n check..

So i went out..waited n waited for 15 mins, the solitary toilet was locked..n later, the male tech crew whom i saw finally came out..so what happened to the lady?

Later i went to eat with andrea n i was telling her about other hantu stories, u ppl noe lah..the door that always opens on its own..and of course the window cleaner who died..and i realised how ez it is to make up a story like this..

U noe 4 yrs ago, this tech crew, he went up via circle seats to access the lighting catwalk in order to fix some lights. Sadly he got electrocuted… These days if u close the door and it suddenly opens later, he’s up there trying to fix the lights again.. the tech crew these days never need to go up themselves, just buy 1 roast chicken and put outside, 2 hrs later ur lights mysteriously fixed..

You get the idea lah..

I’m kind of familiar with Yew Tee, and when i was walking out towards Woodlands road, of all things to see, there was a funeral going on.. but o well, the lights of funeral actually guided me to the road proper.. and yea, totally not fun walking on pavement opp. beautyworld..road on left side, forest on right..not with the ghostly theme tonite

I went amoy street food centre for lunch on tues i think, and i finally saw this very common sight that happens mostly within the CBD

Sg kiasuim at its best, but then again, office workers never carry haversacks like me.. only wallet, hp, keys and tisu.. n apparently there are ppl selling tisu there for this purpose..

How about this for singaporean copycatting milking of angmohs jumping onto the latest bandwagon entrepreneurship?

But i learnt something new from this: Kaya is a egg and sweet coconut custard, flavoured with pandan or screwpine leaves

R was smsing some of the ppl b4 exams about sharing his illegally downloaded free copy of Chicken Little and Charlie and Chocolate Factory, but he never smsed me..instead he smsed those who are attached, saying that they can watch after exams with their gf.. ……………

Nvm i managed to stunt a copy of each from him, turns out that chicken little doesnt work.. when i told teck soon about it, and he told me his copy worked..liddat still not enuff..still must rub salt on wound:

Me: can’t seem to play roughua’s chicken little Teck: ? i can leh no prob Me: i keep on getting cyclic error Me played on pc rite Me: i can’t copy the file..i can’t play Teck: i know why already Teck: because you are not attached.. it doesnt work… Teck: LOL

…………..

Well exams are finally over, and what can i say.. i think i can FFG (read: file for graduation) next semester.. Not that the exams went badly or wat, but i think it wun be sufficient to push my cap over to 3.5, no regrets though… i have more things to worry about this holidays..

Exams ended on tues, and i have been worked tues wed nites @ esplanade..n last nite @ ucc… tonite would be ucc..sat would be esplanade.. talk about hectic hectic.. yest wasnt so bad as i managed to join some of the nus riders for kulai makan trip.. Forgot to take my camera along, just as well, if not u ppl would complain that i never jio u ppl go eat 月光宝河, 一虾二味 and drink honeydew sago from a mug that’s as tall as 2 beer mugs stacked up.. i kid u not.. I miss eating @ home, seriously..even though i have to wash the dishes… the next time i can eat @ home, could be tml lunch or sun dinner…yay! looking fwd to it..

I’m seriously not working enuff this mth… with a confirmed trip to penang from 12-18 dec with my pa n sis..part holiday part visit relatives.. this mth only 2 ucc events..1st/2nd dec… oops make it 3.. if i’m doing on new yr’s eve…more ushers mean less work…abit 僧多粥少.. we obviously cannot have the extreme model of recruiting so many ushers that they have to pia fastest fingers 1st to get events, but then i seriously think we are moving towards it.. Of cos this is good for the venue, cos it would be sure to fill up all avail slots most of the time.. n having ppl who dun get to work as often, you create a heightened desire to work…like tasting forbidden fruit..so yes.. that solves ur manpower problems..u can have as many ushers as u want for a low fixed cost..activate a fixed number to work each time as part of ur variable cost…n rest of the inactive ushers u dun need to pay or maintain them… win n win n win n win for venue

I scrapped am scrapping my bike..was riding it last sun otw to sch.. out of carpark i could detect a slight “psst psst” sound..n the engine finally gave way outside KAP… managed to get a tow truck to pick it up.. n took bus to school.. initial diagnosis wasn’t good…total compression loss..estimated costs was 900 bucks.. shit liaoz lah… later another call.. this chain called the cam chain that costs a few bucks snapped. Now to check if this chain is flawed or not, u have to drain engine oil..open up engine… check chain..replace engine cover.. change new oil..for about 200 bucks..so most ppl wun open up engine just to check this part… well the chain broke, like tio4 beh2 pio1… n some of the links went on a grand tour of my pistons..大闹天宫 basically..estimated repair costs was $4000… no joke i tell u

So now i’m taking buses, already made the long term investment of buyign bus concession.. still tryign to get used to the fact that now i take nearly 45mins to get home from sch, (of which 30 mins consist of waiting for 151) when i used to take max 20 mins.. I’m starting to remember to leave house earlier, or in more extreme cases refuse to go out cos simply too lazy w/o bike… i’ve already successfully caught a last bus outside espl..

What really made my day was the fact that i noe that i have great pals who are there to support me.. i had no choice but to approach guoyong, seng, carlin, zhenfeng and teck for loans, n thanks for agreeing so readily.. Even though eventually i only loaned from guoyong, i really appreciate u ppl’s support.. n to the rest for listening to me complain about taking bus..thanks too…kopi’s STILL on..if i get my sorry ass out of my house