Finally

Now all I gotta do is to settle the darn visa...

MC

Woke up with severe gastric pain.

Popped an antacid and thought all would be fine and proceeded to go to work.

Pain did not subside. Decided to go back home.

Dropped by A&E for some medication. Fast fast service. Was out within 20mins.

Went home and here I am - popping pills and adopting the sick role.



One line in the discharge summary tickled me though! I think for people with 6pecs, this line will be very different!

I feel as if I'm playing truant.

The kitty called Poth

Meet Poth, the other resident kitty at my house:



Poth's name came about long time ago, when she was still a shy kitty. She would stand next to the lamp outside my house, acting like a statue. Whenever I called out to it, it would just stand there like it was Part Of The House. Hence, the name Poth. And whenever I go near it, it would run off. It was only until recently that it started becoming more daring to come into the house.

And daring it was, whenever my kitchen door is open, it would jump up onto the bin next to the sink to rummage for food. Bah! The kitchen door was never left open and unattended again.

Poth's favourite activity is rubbing herself against anything:





And it would daringly walk into the house!!



Another thing about Poth is it behaves like a dog. It likes to lick people, and it never cover it's poo after it has done it's business! So my poor dad had to help her cover up her poo, thus resulting in my grass looking like this:


Lotsa bald patches!

Poth likes to greet people too. It always give me a scare whenever I open the door in the morning cos whenever I open it, it would stick it's head in and mew! And whenever I came home, it would pop out from wherever it was and come gambolling. And it would try to rub against my leg, which I totally hate, cos I want to rewear my pants!

It is still a little timid. If I stamp my feet hard enough it would run away. Poth is one kitty that is both so cute and irritating at the same time.

On another note, I noticed a canopy set up outside my house:


What could it be!


It's a mini birthday party celebration for twins! Lucky kids!

THE Bugger indeed. . .

What an irony. . . Remedy for a faulty debugger program? Debug the program with a debugging program. BUGGER.

Quote of the year???

"Every month, when I receive my CPF statement, I feel so rich and the best part is, I know the CPF money won’t run away. CPF will still be around for a long, long time to come… Not only is it earning good interest, my capital is protected."

NTUC Chief Lim Swee Say

Guess who!!

Guess who read it as 马龙茶???

"What the hell is 马龙茶?"

Hang on to your seat

Asian economies face a "rough ride" for at least the next year as weakening consumer demand from developed countries hurt the region's exports, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Friday.

"The world is caught up in a financial storm, and dark clouds fill our immediate horizon," Lee said in a speech in Singapore. "The fear and panic gripping financial markets everywhere will take time to subside."

Asian stock indexes have plummeted this week along with their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe on fears turmoil in the financial system will spark a global recession. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index tumbled as much as 11 percent Friday while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down more than 7 percent.

"Asian countries cannot avoid the impact of weakening U.S., European and Japanese economies," Lee said "We must prepare for a rough ride at least over the next year, and quite possibly longer."

"The crisis in the financial system will dampen consumption and investment in the developed countries and affect growth all over the world," he said.

Singapore's economy, which relies heavily on exports, contracted 0.5 percent in the third quarter, the government said Friday. The government also said it cut its 2008 forecast for economic growth to 3 percent from between 4 percent and 5 percent.

The central bank, known as the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said in a statement Friday it shifted it's foreign exchange policy to a "zero percent appreciation" of the Singapore dollar from a "modest and gradual appreciation" in a bid to boost the competitiveness of the country's exports.

Lee's comments contrast with the more upbeat outlook offered by Asian Development Bank Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday, when he said Asia's financial system appears to be little affected by the U.S. sub-prime mortgage problems and that Asia overall will enjoy robust growth.

"The impact on the financial sector in Asia is limited this time," ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda told a news conference in Tokyo Thursday. "We expect a fairly robust growth to continue, although we expect the growth rate would be smaller."

Source: Yahoo News

AUD dropped to 0.97 while USD went up to 1.48 to the $Dollar. HELP. .

Another friend makes the headlines. . .

Fresh perspective on $700 billion bailout in US

-ST FORUM 7th October

DEVELOPMENTS in the United States financial world trouble me - due not so much to fears of a deep recession, but the persistent ignorance showcased by top leaders, Wall Street 'wizards' and consumers in general. Have these people gone blind to the various financial fallouts that have plagued them for decades?

It is argued that the $700 billion bailout is necessary. But is it? Mr Jim Rogers, a well-known billionaire who lives here, argued that such rescue plans may prove disastrous, leaving behind a cancer that should have been cleared by the body, as in the case of phantom companies that continue to survive in South Korea. Yes, they can flood the economy with money, boost depositors' confidence and increase lending activities. But that does not root out the perennial disease: financial ignorance.

Instead of rewarding the 'brilliant' financial gurus or consumers who borrowed beyond their means when they should have known better, I suggest the US government use the money to financially educate the people. They can even start with schoolchildren and train them over the long haul to be financially savvy so they can manage their risks better and be alert when faced with financial advisers who really have no business giving such advice. Contrary to popular belief, basic financial knowledge is not hard to comprehend. I have attended such courses and seen how cleaners fare as well as doctors.

With more financially literate people, there will be greater demand for serious advisers, snuffing out the incompetent ones. Financial companies, in turn, will issue better and more secure policies, knowing there are fewer 'lemons' or poor borrowers vying for them, thus overcoming the issue of adverse selection. Making things more secure, passes in basic financial courses offered by the government could be used as requirements for accepting prospective clients.
I concur that all this a bit too idealistic. But, it is certainly better than feeding blind wolves. The bailout has given them a new lease of life. I had hoped they would starve and wither away, but it looks like they will survive till the next full moon and create mayhem again.

-Muhammad Farhan Noor Mohd

Hahaha! You go boy! Some idea eh??? Farhan the brilliant joker. . . Catch up after our exams!

F1 pictures!

Met my elder brother and his gf after work to go for the first F1 night race in Singapore. Got my ticket from my uncle, who got his from his company's lucky draw. Lucky elder bro got 3 day passes from his company free too!

Forgot to take pictures of the crazy queue to get into the grounds. Although the queue was crazily long, the bag checks were efficient. After getting in, they punched a hole through the tickets (which i forgot to take a picture of again), and it was off exploring!


Elder bro checking the routes to take.


The load of people in the underground near esplanade.


Spot me!

While we were looking around at the stores and buying the exorbitantly priced dinner, we heard the race start. It was then we realised that we made a mistake not to buy the ear-plugs!


First view of the action!





Then we made our way to our seats at the bay grandstand...


Loads of people and the Singapore Flyer!


Wonderful night view... Check out Wenqi's makeshift earplugs! (I have them too... but i covered with my hair! Hahahah)



After loads of fuzzy pics of the cars zooming past, we found a spot where we could take clearer pics. And nope, these are not taken by me too! Most probably by Wenqi.





After the first practise round which ended at 8 plus.....



Question: How many people does it take to load a race-car?

Answer: 16, including 2 drivers operating the 2 vehicles!

Then it was off venturing. We ventured into the paddock entrance without knowing it's off limits to us! Got "chased out" while we are on the way out by the security.


Lots of sports car exhibited at Singapore Flyer!



One of my dream cars...

After a round of Popeye's, the race started again and so we were snapping furiously again. This time, we followed the actions of some pros, and these are some of the better pictures captured.











On the way home, we spotted a F1 race-car exhibit in Millenia Walk...


When we got home to peaceful Kembangan, it was really soothing on our abused ears. The F1 night race was something exciting, something boring (to see cars zooming past at all times), and something really really noisy. Glad to be part of this big event, but I don't reckon I would be anyway near CityHall next time it happens. My poor ears.....

Back again

It's been almost a month since I left a word here. And a long month it has been. A lot of things has happened in this past month. The most impactful would be granny's departure.

She left us on Wednesday, the 10th of September early in the morning. I can clearly recall I was only through to my second day of in-camp-training (ICT). Mom called me and was sobbing heavily at 7 in the morning. Immediately I knew what happened before she could speak. Ah ma's departure was not unexpected. The doctor had said that she would leave us anytime within the month of September. Still the news hit like an anvil to the forehead.

I immediately went to see the officer commanding (OC) of my company to request for time off. How long I'd get I didn't really care nor requested. I just wanted to see my beloved granny for the last time. Made a couple of calls to both my brothers. Leslie was unemployed and fortunately he was there to handle all the matters that Mom probably can't. Jermaine was in camp too. He had already informed his superior and would be able to leave as soon as he finished his duties as conducting officer for his company's ippt. Elder bro assured me that everything's under control and told me not to worry.

Its a scary thought to have someone so close depart when one is stuck in one of the slowest organisation ever. My request was being brought up to the commanding officer of my battalion. During that time I attended a lecture and was constantly checking my phone for any updates from the family. Just before lunch OC told me that I will only be able to leave after completing the commanders' recce for the section live firing exercise which will only end about 4 in the afternoon. I would only be given time off till the next day and would require to be back in camp by 0930 hours. The rationale given? The organisation does not recognise grandparents as 'immediate' family members. There was no need to accord me the standard 3 day compassionate leave as stated in standard orperational procedures. The time off was purely a privilege then. GREAT.

I wasn't surprised at all. Sadly the organisation has a long way to go in becoming a more humane organisation. As as instructor for two years, I have seen many cases whereby my recruits have lost close relatives (but not 'immediate') during the time of service. As much as myself or other officers in the company would like to help them, it is sadly the rules and guidelines that we are bounded by that are limiting what we could give.

Anyway by the time I was home at about 5pm, granny was already in a pearly white box with the funeral parlour already set up an adjacent block. Therein lies one of the woman I admired and respected most. The one who looked after me for 23 years. And I didn't even have the chance to see her one last time, to hold her hand, to tell her how much I love her. It's just too painful knowing that. She was the person that held the family together from the very start. Mom was inconsolable. And so was elder bro. Jermaine was out with dad to buy the necessary things needed. I went up and quickly changed before coming down to help out with the setting up.

By then my two closest cousins were already there. It was really a blessing that both of them could take leave all the way through the week till ah ma's sending off on Sunday. They moved into my room, since I would be staying in camp anyway. Jermaine has to report back to camp tomorrow morning as well, but he would be able to book out every night so as to help out through the week. We drew up a roster for duties and it's genrally agreed that the older folks would stay around during the day and the rest of us will take over at night. I volunteered to stay the first night, as it was the only night I could stay to help look after the place (other than Staurday night which I'm already out by default).

Incidentally, over the past nights of the wake, there were a few cats that kept coming near to ah ma's coffin. My family has never been a stickler for traditions, as most of us are christians (ah ma included), however, my aunt has specifically warned that no cats should be near the resting place of ah ma (some tradition of beliefs prehaps?). So elder bro chased it away the few times that it came over that night. I merely smile whenever I see a cat approaching, and won't really bother, I mean WILL half-heartedly try to shoo it off. Ah ma had always loved cats. Maybe they love her just as much too? Hahaha. I will fondly remember the many afternoons I spent accompanying her to feed the cats downstairs with whatever she could get her hands on (they are mostly scrap food from the leftovers after meals).

It was a trying time for the family and I would like to thank those who have somehow someway made things better for my family and I throughout this period. You know who you are. =) We will treasure the effort and thoughts that you have left with us, especially those who dropped by. A special thanks must be mentioned to Nightstar, who was my physical tower of strength during this tough time. If not for my cousins and her, I reckon things would not have been as smooth as they were.

Almost a month on, things have pretty much settled down. I managed to hand up all the projects due on time, I had a great first year ICT, I didn't miss as much crucial lessons as I thought I would, Liverpool won Man U for the first time in donkey years, I got Jing Ru's latest album, I've already copied back 3 weeks worth of notes that I missed from lessons, and I'm ending my classes already before exams later on this month, so things are much on track. Many thanks also to the SIM buddies for holding the fort throughout my absence from project work and also for helping me to get back on the academic track swiftly after my ICT.

There are lots more to share, plenty to say, but I'll end here abruptly for now. I'll be back soon, but first, I need to be a no-lifer, probably till mid November. MUG MUG MUG. Haiz. Take care all you folks out there!