Entertainment: Kaleidoscope World

The master rapper taking it slow in this cool music. Sing along and enjoy! =)

So many faces, so many races
Different voices, different choices
Some are mad, while others laugh
Some live alone with no better half
Others grieve while others curse
And others mourn behind a big black hearse
Some are pure and some half-bred
Some are sober and some are wasted
Some are rich because of fate and
Some are poor with no food on their plate
Some stand out while others blend
Some are fat and stout while some are thin
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world



Some are great and some are few
Others lie while some tell the truth
Some say poems and some do sing
Others sing through their guitar strings
Some know it all while some act dumb
Let the bassline strum to the bang of the drum
Some can swim while some will sink
And some will find their minds and think
Others walk while others run
You can't talk peace and have a gun
Some are hurt and start to cry
Don't ask me how don't ask me why
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Life Blog: United Colors of Singapore

Yey! Tomorrow is a public HOLIDAY! Rest day! I just hope I won’t get called for work. Singapore is havin this important occasion celebrated by Muslims around the globe, called the ‘Hari Raya Puasa.’ While last Saturday was another public holiday celebrated by Hindus, called Deepavali, which is also known as the festival of lights. There are also holidays for Chinese, as well as for Christians.

In this country you will find many different races. I guess, ‘say in one shopping mall, if you gather all the people together you’ll be surprised to see sorts of people coming from dif’rent places and races. Apart from Singaporeans, you’ll find Chinese from mainland, Malays, Filipinos, Japs, Thais, Koreans, Indians, Americans, Brits, and many others. There might even be some Cro-magnons (or Encino-man, hehe).

SG is such a small country. I think this is one obvious reason why we can easily find varied nationalities in many places. One of the things I admire here is havin 'less discrimination.' I observed one time, when I was trav'lin via MRT, that most people were just minding their own business – some were half-asleep (others were snoring), some were just quietly sitting there while reading books or listening to their mp3s, others were chattin with their friends. You’ll also hear different languages from those people conversing, and probably you’ll notice different smiles, funny faces, traditional outfits or some peculiar get ups, and of course, the unusual smell. In public transportations you’ll discover that signs are printed in 4 different languages. And hearing the announcements everyday as you head to/from work will somehow lodge this into your head. It goes something like..

“Your attention please, for your own safety, please stand behind the yellow line.” (English). “That cha chi chu yi…” (this is Mandarin, sorry I forgot the rest of the phrase). “Sila ambil perhatian, demi keselematan anda…” (this is Malay, I forgot the rest also, hehe). “Al lugi lipawl blah blah blah.. (this is Tamil, I obviously couldn’t remember the entire phrase, hihi)

Another thing that I’m thankful for in this country is knowing that many people speak English! You wouldn’t get lost because there will certainly be someone who could give you directions, in which you wouldn’t find difficult to understand.

c",)

Life Blog: Thank God it's Weekend!

Weekend’s finally here, and it appears to be a long week for me in wishin for this Saturday to come. Our project cutover has just successfully finished. Now I can continue my sleep.

It was an exhausting week. Having felt so worn-out, I almost tendered my paper. Some friends have told me to relax and not to waste my energy. Sometime back, I read somewhere about “not letting others pressure you into their molds.” I used to try and not get affected by people putting pressure on me, but this week, I just couldn’t seem to bear the stress at work. On the other hand, one of the effective stress management tips I got was to identify yourself and recognize those things that caused your stress, and more importantly is to seek help from above. I’m guilty of not being able to practice these anymore.

Anyhow, I think I just need to constantly remind myself that work stress is not an option but an integral part of our job description. It’s hard to eliminate them, but we can definitely manage them. So I better get some sleep now for a start, hehe

Ciao! c”,)

Life Blog: Who hired Marvin the Martian?

I assume you all know who Marvin the Martian is. I heard he was just hired by North Korean government, hehe, just kidding. Marvin’s famous phrase became apparent to me after reading some news about the claimed North Korean “nuke” test.

“Where’s the Kaboom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering Kaboom!?!” said Marvin.

Have they really carried out the test?

After the NK’s announcement on their plans to conduct small nuclear weapon testing (although some reported they have already done so), neighboring countries grumbled. Criticisms rose from other countries. Most countries said that the test is unnecessary, which I deemed true. Why do they have to perform this test anyway? Was there a threat? Or they were just trying to ensure they have safe arsenal? Nuclear Weapon is worldly known as the “weapon for mass destruction.” From the time this destructive weapon was developed and had appeared in the news, many were really concern and were wishing to dump the burgeoning idea on developing this further. Some of us recognized/predicted that it could come to this point that others will actually attempt to test this catastrophic bomb.

While others are trying to promote peace, this NK government is somewhat (if they only knew) creating paranoia via their nuke test plan. If you come to think of it, they wouldn’t be able to use this against their enemies if their ‘would-be’ enemy happens to be a suicide bomber, hehe. The best defense is always to hope that violence would come to an end. Yeah, I know I know I’m talking about a perfect world, but wouldn’t it be nice to hope for that sometimes and really visualising it coming to reality someday? (haha.. wishful thinking i know!)

I wish we were cartoon characters like those Looney Tunes' stars, when hit by a bomb we only get trembled for a while then we can just wag off those flames -- like Wile Coyote or Daffy Duck -- and we’re back to normal! :)

So, all I can say to those eager to fire the nuke for a test is..

“You’re deszzpicable!!”

c",)

Entertainment: Miss my dogs

Here are some cool videos. It's amazing to see pet dogs can actually do such thing..



This one's great..


c",)

Tech Blog: MP3 Mania

“No Music. No Life.” was Tower Records’ catch phrase. I was pleased when I first saw this. I think life without music is dull. Music is the best companion when traveling, reading, while working, doing your chores, in almost everything we do (except of course when sleeping, hehe, though I know some who listen to soothing music to help get a good sleep). Music may either set our moods or ride our moods. Observe how others get easily exasperated after listening to heavy metal sounds. And notice why spa houses plays classical or nature-like sounds.

Different people have different preferences in terms of the music genre they tune in to. My ears accept almost all types of music but heavy metal (although there was a time that I got hooked in this kind of music, which I now consider noise as I was unable to concentrate when I hear them, hehe). I used to collect audio CDs since I started working. When I acquired my MD player (my first smallest music player - Y2003), I began ripping all my favorite songs into it to avoid carrying all those CDs with me. Songs are converted to ATRAC3 files (Sony’s proprietary file type for compressed digital music). Though MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) was already famous back then, I still preferred to rip audio CDs than download music online -- after my computer got infected by virus! grrr :)

I think MP3s started to evolve dramatically when Apple introduced the IPOD player (which is now by far the most favored music player – kudos to Apple!). They even went past Creative’s line of MP3 players. As manufacturers relentlessly compete to gain the “best MP3 player” title, many individual (music-lover alike) are having wide range of players to choose from. You’ll get a hard time deciding on which to buy if you have budget constraint. And if you’re after the features, you’ll somehow get confused on which would be the ‘good buy’.

In today’s generation, music players are now termed ‘MP3 Players’. There are even pens, eyeglasses, watches, digicams, and mobile phones that are solely designed for mp3 aficionados.

c",)

Life Blog: Wishin' for November Rain..

I was tempted to write about what happened the other night at work where I had to stay up from 1:00am 'til mid afternoon. But I realised I promised myself that i'll dismiss work from my mind as soon as I get home :)

Anyhow, last Friday when my friend and I stepped out of the office building, we were dazed to see the cloudy atmosphere. The air smelled burnt wood/trees. We guessed it's probably due to a huge fire that broke in the city (we're 30 minutes away from the city, btw). When I arrived home, I searched the net for any news about earlier fire which could've had caused the haze. The report says it was due to the rainforest fire in Indonesia, specifically within the province of Kalimantan, Borneo -- western Indonesia, but within Southern part of Asia. This indonesian province was labeled 3rd or 4th largest island in the world which is covered largely by dense of forest. The wind was blowing across Sumatra, no wonder the thick smoke reached Singapore (see encircled in below map).

I have learned to love being in Singapore because of the clean environmnt, ease of commuting, and the feeling of being safe even if you're walking down the streets late in the evening (but I think I will never get used to their food -- they're soo spicy and everythin tastes almost the same, sorry about this -- perhaps I just miss eating diff'rent varieties). This haze had turned Singapore's clean air to a gloomy atmosphere for a few days now. This is the time when people here will be praying for rains to come :)

Life Blog: Being workaholic

When can we tell if a person is guilty of being workaholic?

Workaholic, as defined generally, is the person with a compulsive need to work. Compulsive? That's synonymous to obsessive! And when a person is obsessed onto something, this means that 'thing' is becoming his/her priority. Well, sometimes this happens to me.. my work my top priority. I even tend to skip dinner just to finish what I have written in my ToDo list. OMG, does this mean i'm obsessed at my job?! ..nah, I don't think so, hehe.

I can classify workaholics into two categories: (1) those devoted to work because of a need, and (2) those who work some extra hours because they simply love what they're doing.

For the former, I believe this category involves primarily of a commitment. You are either committed to performing beyond your capacity because you aspire, for example, to become your company's president one day (hehe, I know someone who does) OR you are committed to doubling your effort because you want to double your earnings for your family (or to someting you plan to acquire). These people are those who burn eyebrows just fulfill what they have committed to do. I think I belong to this category =)

While the second type are those who dedicate themselves to work because they just loovvee what they're doing. These are the 'certified' workaholics! Some may file for a leave (or be asked to use up their earned vacation leaves because they don't even get sick!) BUT will still be logging from home to work. gees! what are these people?! There are also those who really tries to find something to do though their boss would rather request them to have some break -- probably spend quality time with their families and friends, or just to have some good rest. (Well, the boss wants you off the office for a while don't you realize? hehe)

So, which category do you belong? Remember, if you happen to be consistently spending more hours at work than the usual ..then you are a candidate of being workaholic!

c',)

Life's unpredictable ..so enjoy!

Sunday, marks the end of weekend and prep for the start of grueling work. Now, here I am making my second post. I think I better stop this because I'm starting to feel obliged writing this post, hehe.

I was happy to have received an sms today from my bestfriend. I just miss her. She's in US for a 2-month stint. She told me she just finished watching Grey's Anatomy seasons 1 and 2 (huwhatt in 2 days?!?). Well.. I kinda like this TV series also, except the scenes inside the operating room. I have, what I can call, a profound imagination and I couldn't stomach seeing internal organs being operated on. So I skip them! =) This TV series is moving, I mean some of the episodes. There really is a lot of drama inside the hospitals. People come and go, I mean literally. They either survive the illnesses or dies. Life is so unpredictable. We can choose to get along with the flow or try out new things to enjoy every minute of our day. It's always better to live life to its fullest because you'll never know what will actually happen the next day. We can try to make it a point to express (in any way we can) to our family and friends how much we love them. I guess a simple text message will do. :)

Anyhow, I'll cut this short. 'Need to hit the bed early tonight. ciao!

c",)

Where it all began..

Yes, this is my first post. And still trying to collect my thoughts on what to write. I must admit I'm not a fan of blogs, neither I spend time reading through other people's -- even my friends' -- blog. They pass on their blog urls to me and I normally just acknowledge by at least browsing them once in a while. I never thought I'd be writing my own blog, oh well :)

I'm always fond of researching.. finding out how things started, when it started, and who invented them. Thank God to this cyberspace, everythin's made available in an instant, providing us almost every bit of information we 'might' need -- as long as it qualifies our search criteria, we get a thousand hits. You just have to learn to decipher which info is most reliable, otherwise you'd windup confused, hehe.

Blogs are online diaries. To some it's just another means of being able to freely express their thoughts to general public. I think gone are the days when some people keep their personal journals to themselves (and would get furious or sob when someone sees their journal, even accidentally). Majority of youths now are very vocal, practicing freedom of speech esp. over the net. Anyone can say anythin' he/she want without the fear of getting reproved. Highfallutin words are not necessary, as long as they get clearly understood. Like what I said earlier, others write blogs just to express their thoughts, or idiomatically 'Just thinking out loud'. Have you tried writing just about anything when you're mad? Or even cursing using a paper and an ink? You know it's somewhat relieving, and it helps you think more clearly when you've laid it all out on paper. I do that sometimes (I mean not the cursing, hehe). If I need to organize myself or if I'm in a situation where I need to come up with a better decision, I write. I write to aid in sorting things out.

Lately, I think I'm spending a lot of time in front of my laptop no matter how tired my eyes were (even after exhaustive day at work). Information I get from the net is just so overwhelming that I never seem to notice several hours had already passed and my rest hours gone (uh-oh). Sometimes I do check on the current happenings in my home country, as well as latest techs, best gadget reviews, and other news. There are instances as well when I even publish comments on tech reviews, but never on blogs. So here's how it started:

One night, as I was just trying to pass a lull, I came across what seem to be an interesting blog. I selectively read some of her posts. The next thing I know, I was already engrossed over her blog. Discounting the fact that this person is cute (which she really is), I admired how she writes... simple, with sense and straightforward. I was once prompted to give her a gentle counter-comment in one of her post when she commented about all men being jerks. And she replied benevolently =)

Few weeks later, I find myself browsing through and reading more weblogs. As my interest grew, I figured, this is somewhat a good medium for expressing my thoughts, sharing what I know, and even connecting & discovering more friends :)

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This section is where you, my friendly guest, can leave a short message or a general comments about my blog.

You may also share your thoughts or add further information on any of the topics I blogged that you like :)


"Any piece of knowledge I acquire today has a value at this moment exactly proportioned to my skill to deal with it. Tomorrow, when I know more, I recall that piece of knowledge and use it better."
~ Mark Van Doren

"Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil,
this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones."
~ Proverbs 3:7-8


Thank you and 'hope to see you here again!

God bless you.


c",)