dilemmas of job search

lets' take a recap of my job search process so far. 

first, i had gone through 3 rounds of interview with a bank. it was a bottom-up interview process and i am expecting them to revert sometime next week with the outcome. things started off very positively and the chemistry was really good. very structured environment, clear objectives ahead. office near my place. its been 2 weeks since i spoke to the potential reporting manager and frankly (and objectively), i am beginning to ask if the chemistry could have been better. i don't know.

secondly, i had also gone for an exploratory chat with another company last friday. this was a family-run company with a huge asia pac footprint and the top man is known to be a very benevolent person who is very philosophical and whose thoughts are very ill-structured. the chat was with the head of the function and ended very positively. she had asked for me to go through a series of interviews to allow the reporting manager and senior management to get to know me and me them. in a way, this was a top-down process and the function head had kicked start the recruitment process. as of now, i have completed all the psychometric tests required and they have arranged for a series of interviews. and to cut short the process, they have also asked for my expectations (in terms of package) so that they can work out something quickly. all these were in view of the possibility of an offer by the bank next week. and so, their request to me was - try to delay as long as possible. i must add that although the chemistry was very good, the scope of the job was very conceptual (aka fuzzy) and unclear as the position is new and the scope of this position is very much the personal interest of the top man now. the office is in town but very accessible.

thirdly, a headhunter had given my resumé to a former-government related company that had since corporatised. that was last month and they have not gotten back. this is not something i want to pursue but had decided to go ahead and submit my resumé for the "fun" of it. heh...

lastly, another headhunter called last friday and wanted to talk about a role with an mnc. he had asked for me resumé and i have agreed to send it to him. again, this is not something i am keen cos from the initial conversation, the scope did not something like something i'd enjoy doing. nonetheless, it is always good to spread my choices and cast my net wide. all things being equal, it would help me network.

so there. a total of four opportunities and all at at various stage of development. i am not too keen to look at the last two. as for the first two, one is structured and familiar and the other is ill-structured and broad (aka not clear). it would be really great if both make the offers but that would also mean i need to decide which one i want. and this is my current dilemma. i can go along a well charted path or choose another path that is ill-defined and challenging. but of course, i probably want to hold off this stress until both make the offer. and i will probably need to list out the implications for me and make a comparison to help me decide. for all i know, one or worst still, both decide not to make any offers. and if that happens, i'll be back to square one.

lol!

repair works completed

the repair works was completed by about 1-ish yesterday.

the whole works cost me 2.2k but the finish was good. and it was a huge cleaning effort after that. both the maid and i cleaned the house and we did not finish the house until close to 6.30pm. if not for a dinner we had to attend at 7pm, we might have gone on till late evening! 

so for now, everything is back to normal. 

:-)

profiling tools

wow... it's been a long time but i had just been made to go through 4 profiling tools! have done 2 of them before (mbti and disc) but the other two are new to me and it's interesting to see the questions asked. but frankly, i think they are asking the same things but perhaps slightly from different angles.

and i decide to be authentic and not skew the answers when answering.

:-)

headhunter...

am totally not sure why and could only thank my lucky stars. a headhunter called me this afternoon and wanted to pursue a possible opening with an overseas mnc. asked me to submit my resume and that he would arrange for an interview to discuss further my interest areas...

really weird and really interesting. this time round, my transition seemed to be so so so smooth, i have technically not done any active job search. rather, people have been calling me and asking me to consider this and that... i am beginning to fully understand the power of knowing the right people and being helpful to people.

you really never know how someone whom you have helped previously could be your saviour now.

:-)

wow wow wow

ok, i guessed i am a little overwhelmed currently.

went for an exploratory chat with a potential employer this afternoon and the whole conversation ended with the person so keen to want to have me as part of the team that she initiated the resourcing process immediately. and within hours, the talent resourcing person has gotten into contact with me, gotten my details with regards my current package, arranged for follow up interviews with a few persons, etc... and all these rush becos i told them i am in the advance stage of discussion with another company about potential opportunities...

kinda overwhelmed by the speed of this whole conversation and the interest shown. rather exciting i must say. for some reasons, i guessed the conversation allowed them to understand my thoughts about issues like my approach to life, my thinking about how things should be managed, how relationships are important, etc. and the person that interviewed me was very keen to wanna pursue the conversation further. 

anyway, i will wait for the bank to get back to me and see if they are keen to make an offer. as far as this afternoon's exploratory chat was concerned, it was also highly positive and they have asked me to buy as much time as i could so that i can go through the due processes of interviews before i make any decision. so...

lets see how things go. again, i am keeping my options open cos as long as the offer is not accepted, i will still have the flexibility to exercise my options to decide which one is more suitable for me....

:-)

water "rationing"

it felt like water rationing all over again these two days. 

you see, the water to the house was stopped to allow repair works of the water pipes. and in the end, we had to stock up water in the house and on top of that, adjust our daily routines that require huge amounts of water (such as showering at the swimming toilets)!

but it was a good reminder that we shouldn't take our water supply for granted.

:-)

reflecting 2014 (so far)

i started off this year by outlining some broad guidelines to how i wanted to live this year and with the desire to want to make this year a fulfilling year. more than 8 months have passed since. so where am i? how much have i being able to conduct my life according to these broad guidelines? reflecting, i wouldn't say it is a fulfilling year per se for all aspects. and for some, it was beyond what i could control. nonetheless, i think i have fared reasonably ok. i will continue to remind myself about my aims in the months ahead. here's my reflections about 2014 thus far...

personal life

i wanted to continue better managing my priorities better and have meaningful self-time. i think have fared fairly well this area. giving myself the space to watch shows, tan at swimming pools, evening exercises, read some books, etc. and this was in part due to my mum's general improvement in her health and mental state. she was less agitated and i was able to find some better time for myself without causing too much anxiety to her. i supposed her increased forgetfulness also helped. heh... i rate myself 7/10 in this area.

health 

i will be healthy. so i wanted. technically speaking, i had been healthy this year in terms of frequency of flu i experienced. otherwise, i suffered another bout of kidney stones. so i would say, within my controls, i was able to maintain my health. so, yeah... 6/10 for this.

mum 

i told myself i wanted to look after & provide for her to my best abilities. i give myself 9.5/10 for this. and i gave this score in view of her very stable health and mental states over the year. and i deduct the 0.5 points for the fact that i had over the span of the year, also lost my cool (at least in my head) a couple of times. i need to continue to work on my patience.

bee

i wanted to work with him to see how best we can make our time together meaningful. we had somehow come to a common routine of meeting up at least once a week. but as in all relationships, i guess we can make this better. 7/10 for this.

sapphie 

i wanted to give her love & good quality time. i rate myself 8.5/10 for this. i have given her all the attention i needed and can spare. and her growing older and weaker made me realise that her time with me is also fast reducing. i think i will probably lose her in a year or two from now. grand old dame for a dog to be able to live up till then too. heh...

siblings 

told myself i wanted no expectations other than keep them informed of mum's health. i have achieved this fully. no expectations and no tensions. so, for this area - 10/10! 

work 

i wanted to strengthen my team and deepen our professional relationship. for me, a person who loves to coach my staff and assume i can be dispensable, i would love to say i achieve 10/10 in this area. but things were out of my hand. circumstance has it that the change in management saw a huge diminished scope for what my team and all the new projects i had planned at the start of the year got cancelled overnight. this naturally reduced the opportunities and scope where i could develop my staff in. nonetheless, within my abilities, i have made the conscious efforts to increase the opportunities for my staff to undertake more developmental work. and as she did so, coach her and deepen her knowledge. for all that, i rate myself 8/10.

friends 

again, not much expectations in this other that to continue to engage my friends. i am happy to note that i have been able to do this. nonetheless, i also note that i had focus on a small group of friends and have not expand my efforts to a larger group of not-so-close friends. so for this, 8/10.

bloggers

i wanted to continue to blog. the numbers and hopefully, quality of reflections, speak for itself. 10/10.

well, as usual, looking at the trends, generally those goals framed with little or no expectations tend to have fared much better. kinda expected right? so, nett nett, and adding up the scores, i got 74/100 or 7.4/10. is that good (enough)? i supposed it's alright. but, yeah, i could have fared better.

heh heh... let's see whether i can improve this score to at least an 8/10 by the end of this year.

:-)

job portals

i was (and am) quite pissed off with the job-portal monster. i registered an account with it some 3-4 years back and had not really used it since. decided not to use it after it's agent started calling me and kept pushing me to buy their services after some months and i had not bothered about my account there. that was sometime in 2012 (if i recall correctly).

recently, for whatever reasons, i started getting mailers from the portal again. i didn't want to get such mailers and decided to unsubscribe myself from the email list. and that was what i did. i relogged into the portal again and uncheck all the ticked boxes. on top of that i deactivated and cancelled my account. that was the start of my nightmare.

i ended up getting more mailers from them, and this time, even from so-called "employers" using monster services. feeling somewhat irked by the constant spams, i clicked on the "unsubscribe" link provided in the mail. and i was asked to log in to the portal to uncheck the boxes. i tried and naturally, i couldn't as i had deactivated my account!  feeling pissed, i wrote in to the monster contact. there was no response. and the day after, i got more spams. i then decided to escalate the mail to the next level and soon enough, a manager replied, asking for my patience with his team. that was 2 days ago and today, i got more spams...

wtf!

repair works started

following yesterday's cutting and clearing, it was concluded that the repair works will last till friday evening (tomorrow) instead of today. and as of now, the whole house is in a mess.

on top of the stuff that was moved out of the utility room, the house is now covered with a layer of fine sand that resulted from the drilling of the walls. it gonna be a huge challenge cleaning up the mess when the whole repair works is completed tomorrow.

but heh... i have a maid, right? haha... but no, it is not responsible to expect her to clear the whole mess. apart from cleaning the dust, i also intend to make use of this opportunity to throw away stuff that i had kept in the room for many years. admittedly, i feel sentimental about many of these stuff - stuff that i had kept since my schooldays back in the 70s/80s. then again, it is something i need to learn to let go. maybe i should start by clearing the stuff selectively.

let's see how things go.

:-)

"i thought it's tomorrow"

i don't like what is happening.

the contractor was supposed to come this morning at 10.30am. but until 11am, he had not arrived. and as usual, mum got anxious and asked loads of questions - why is he not here? what time did he say he wanted to come? why is he late? etc... and her chain of thought began to also shift as she started asking things like - how much will the repairs cost? do you need to put a deposit? did you bargain with him? how does he look like? and it was non-stop...

it was obvious she was getting anxious. and this anxiety does not do good to me cos i myself was getting irritated with the contractor. i sms-ed the contractor and the next thing i know, he called up. ehhh, my schedule say tomolo leh! how come you waiting for me today? he asked me in teochew. after clarifying the whole issue, he apologized and told me he would get his guys there by the afternoon.

might as well. pushing the start time to the afternoon would allow me to settle mum's lunch first.

let's see how things go...

working from home

tomorrow, mum will not be heading to the rehab centre as they are having an excursion for the residents and mum had opted out of the event. it so happened that i'll be doing the repairs for the leaks tomorrow and i have asked for permission from my new boss to work from home. thought it would be a huge waste of my leave if i were to apply leave and end up working at home. thankfully, after some questioning and assurance that i will return to office if needed, he agreed. 

(if this were my previous chief, she wouldn't even bother to ask me anything)...

:-)

repairing the leaks

the works to repair the leaks will start tomorrow and is expected to last 2 days. from the description of the works, it seemed rather huge. and i was quoted sgd1.4k. from the description of the works involved, it seemed reasonable to me but somehow, people i spoke with told me it might be a bit high. nonetheless, i have decided to just proceed with this contractor.

so, the arrangement is for the contractor to start work about 10.30am and to complete the works by thursday. the whole repairs will include breaking up the false ceilings of both my kitchen and my utility rooms, hacking and breaking parts of the walls of the utility room and possibly kitchen to trace the source of the leaks in concealed pipes, realigning of the pipes out of the wall, hence making it no longer concealed and patching back all the hackings.

let's hope things get resolved after this.

mum fell

it's not a pleasant sight to see your mum fall right in front of your eyes. that was what happened last afternoon. it occurred when we were watching tv when mum decided to head to the kitchen. in no time, she returned with a plate of fruits. and as she was about to reach the sofa, her knees gave way and she fell forward, in front of me!

thankfully, she landed on her knees and apart from some slight reddening of her knees, she did not suffer any injuries. she complained that her knees felt weak and that caused her to fall. i observed her for the day and noted she was ok. and as expected, her whole body ached and by evening, she could hardly keep herself straight nor walk. she had to be helped from point to point.

she woke up this morning seemingly ok. and while she recalled falling, her account of the fall was way off. she told my sis she was rushing to the toilet and fell. otherwise, she continued to experience general weakness of her body and had to be helped around. let's hope she recovers soon. it is a little worrisome cos she has also been having symptoms of chest infections and had been coughing quite a bit. if things don't turn around, the possibility of the chest infection turning into pneumonia would be a very real one. 

and for her now, that would be really dangerous.

mid-autumn festival

it's the mid-autumn festival again and it's moon cake galore and lanterns all over again.

its amazing how fast time flies when you are old(er). when i was a kid, chinese new years seemed to take forever to arrive. and now, each year that passes by seemed shorter and shorter. anyway... yes, it is mid-autumn festival again and apart from all the spam sms/whatsapps that you get from friends and relatives (that i suspected had been forwarded umpteenth times around the world), i also learnt of some interesting customs that some of my friends still observe. these include having family reunion dinners as well as romancing the day as the chinese valentine's day. heh heh...

happy zhongqiu (mid-autumn) festival everyone!

中秋节快乐！

picture from www.sgtravel.net

fort road 5 - characters 3

and since i am at the topic of people that frequent fort road, i shall capture in this post some of the frequent fort road beach goers (apart from myself), haha...

• guy who peeps. there was this guy in his 50s who like to "peep" at people tanning in the nude or making out. i supposed the right term is "voyeur" but i would prefer to use the term "peep" as he does this in such a way that looked like he was peeping. then again, he would do it "secretly" yet in a way that allow people to know he was peeping. and he seemed to get a thrill out of it. once, he stood behind a bush and "peeped" at me. feeling irked, i told him to leave me alone. i recalled using the term "pervert" and he retorted, "who are you to call me pervert? you are the one who is pervert!" before walking away. 

• guy who ties himself to trees. there's this guy who liked to engage in orgies. he would strip naked, blindfold himself and tie himself to the tree. and once done, he would allow passerby to touch him and well, you go think about all the possibilities what one can possibility do with such a person.   

• vegetable guy. i have not seen this person, but often i do see cucumbers being tied to the tree. and seeing how all cucumbers were tied at about 3-4' above ground (otherwise, about the level of the male organ) and the cucumber had been hollowed out... so, go imagine...

• couple who seeks 3rd party. i am not sure if it was appropriate to use the term "loving" or "sad" for this couple who were in their late-40s/ early-50s. apparently, one of them would always lie on a make shift bench, get himself blindfolded and just relax. at the same time, the other person would go around to seek tops to top the blindfolded guy. and from what i understand, the "seeker" apparently was impotent and he didn't want to leave his partner unsatisfied and so... hmmm... to each his own.

• guy who lets ants bite him. there was a guy who cycles into the reclaimed land and he would find a secluded spot, often along the dry cement of the canal, to tan. the weird thing was that as he tans, he would collect ants and place it onto his cock head. and he obviously derived thrill out of the ant bites as he would get all excited and hard. 

• limping uncle who uses the binoculars. this was a famous person. he was the common "enemy" of visitors to fort road beach becos he would use a binoculars to "spy" on tanners and gay men making out. and becos this uncle walked with a limp, we gave him the name "limping uncle". 

• guys with tattoos. there was this guy who had tattoos all over his buttocks and frontal areas, including his entire cock and cock head. in fact, he had it tattooed so compactly that it looked like a band around him. from far, one could easily mistake him for wearing a pair of shorts. haha!

• cock-sock guy. this guy was interesting. he was so skinny, we could call him teck-kho (hokkien for gala-pole or bamboo pole). i chanced upon him during bee's grandma's funeral and found out that he works as a funeral band trumpeter. anyway, he would lie under the shades of trees wearing nothing except a cock-sock. kinda funny actually cos he frequently change the cock sock. once he wore one that was rainbow coloured and i must say - it looked kinda weird on him. another interesting thing about him was that he would fill ice-stick plastic wrappers (the ones we refer to in hokkien as sng pow) with sand, compact the sand and use the hardened ice-stick wrapper as a dildo. well, you kinda know what he did with the improvised dildo... 

• photo-taking uncle. this uncle has a hobby. he enjoys photo-taking and would lug his camera and tripod all the way into the beach. many nudists were wary of him as they were worried that he might secretly take their photos when they were nude. i had the same concerns but after i spoke with him, i felt a lot more assured. i spoke with him once and he shared that he enjoyed taking photos, especically of himself in the nude. also, he said he would like to capture the place in its full glory before it disappears. we can often see him discreetly placing himself amidst the undergrowth and canals with his tripod and posing as he clicks away.

• property agent uncle (again) who ambushes people. and last but not least, it's the property agent uncle again. when you don't see him parading and exhibiting himself at the fort road car park areas, you could possibly have him appearing in front of you as you walk into the reclaim land. he would station himself along the casuarina trees in the nude and masturbate when you walk pass him. somehow, it seemed like he got the thrill out of exhibiting himself. and funnily, he would also walk to the beach areas, to spy of nude tanners/ people making out, wearing nothing except his black socks and leather shoes. weird dress sense? haha...

• etc... 

there were just so many interesting characters at the fort road beach. there were many individuals who visit the place to find their own space. it was also not uncommon to get hordes of gay men having little picnics along the beach on weekends. and once a while, you could even get gay nudists visiting the place with their lesbian friends. whatever the case, all of us that visit fort road, i supposed, were simply looking for a space that we so wanted but that singapore didn't have back then and where we could just be ourselves. 

this place is now gone. forever.

• fort road 5 - characters 3
• fort road 4 - characters 2
• fort road 3 - characters 1
• fort road 2 - evolution
• fort road 1 - the location

fort road 4 - characters 2

i have earlier written about the characters that hanged around the toilet area. in this post, let me write about the characters that goes to the car park frequently. and before i write, let me qualify that this list is based on personal experiences and the general behaviour of the few individuals here may not reflect the actual crowd. here goes...

• exhibitionist property agent uncle. this guy gained rather "good" fame and popularity recently after he was photographed parading himself in broad daylight and the photo got posted onto stomp - a local online photo news site. as the name suggests, this guy in his 50s likes to parade himself in the nude at the fort road car park regardless of day or night. in the day, he would do so rather blatantly and at times, he would walk between parked cars and expose himself to (gay) people in the cars. in the evening, he would get even more daring and walk around the car park in the nude and approach people (at times with a hard on). this uncle was previously known to ambush people in the reclaimed land. but he cannot do so these days after the local authorities closed off the reclaimed land.

• guy in car tanning in g-string. this was (and still is) an interesting guy. he wears a beige fisherman's cap and tans in his car in his g-string. often, he would rest his legs on his car window and leave the door a little opened. he has been doing so for many many years. previously, he drove a red alfa romeo but has since changed to an mpv. and with the mpv, it is easier for him cos the mpv is higher and he can tan without really worrying about people looking into his car. then again, i have never seen him walk out of his car. he simply strips himself down and remain in his car.

• unkempt unsound uncle who seeked sex. there's this uncle who seemed a little mentally unsound. he spots some whiskers (yes, overgrown bits of facial hair that does not qualify as a moustache or beard), unkept hair and wears shabbily. and he would walk from car to car, knocking on windows and when you wind it down, he would openly asked if you were gay and whether he could come in and have sex with you. and if you say no, he would plead with you and he would even insert his whole arm into your car and try to grope you. freaky...

• hawker centre uncle. and there is this uncle who sells satay bee hoon at a hawker centre in the central west area of singapore. he is married and has kids but would appear very frequently at the car park in the afternoon after he closes his shop. he has been hanging around the car park for the last many many years and he recently gained quite a bit of "fame" after appearing in a local mandarin tv show where he demonstrated how to make good satay bee hoon.

• a kept guy? then of cos there is this guy in his late-20s who drives a black honda jazz car and he would drive back and forth between the fort road car park, the toilet car park and the national stadium car park to look for people. i think he works in a country club as i have seen his car there before. anyway, i half suspect he is a kept guy cos people i know told me about him and how he would be so secretive about his identity as he didn't want his other half to know about him visiting fort road. like real... hah...

then of cos there are the many others who drive round and round the place and who seldom stop. and when they do, they would park there and hang around for a while. these include a white haired ang mo uncle, a malay uncle, a couple of van drivers, etc. kinda interesting to have them around as they add to the colours and variety of the place. fort road car park continue to attract people. many have frequented the place before, and many have moved on and no longer visits it. but one thing is for sure, the car park has become a legendary place by itself amongst the many gay men in singapore and i suspect if one day, it disappears, the memories of this place will continue to live on.

:-)

• fort road 5 - characters 3
• fort road 4 - characters 2
• fort road 3 - characters 1
• fort road 2 - evolution
• fort road 1 - the location

fort road 3 - characters 1

there are a few people that stood out amongst all those who frequent fort road surrounding areas and i will spend some time to write about them. but no, i am not going to do a kiss-and-tell all post here. instead, i will capture here some interesting observations about these people. and in this post, i will write about interesting characters that hanged out around the fort road toilet area.

• guy with towel around his face. this particular guy would wrap a white towel around his face to hide his identity. he is a famous local celebrity now and with his popularity, it is not uncommon to see him openly flaunting and cruising at public pools now. anyway, in the mid-90s, he would drive his car to the toilet car park, park his car there and walk around the area. if he appears in the evening, he would walk around the canal area and cruise (yes, with a towel covering his face). and if he drives there in the daytime, he would walk openly to the fort road circle where he will then wrap his face with his white towel before entering into the reclaim land and make his way to the beach.

• celebrity guy with dog. there is a relatively famous local singer (back then) who would take his weekly evening walks along the east coach park. he would bring along his dog (lets not talk about the breed or you'll know who i am talking about). he's a friendly guy and would smile and acknowledge people when people wave at him. at times, he would walk with another guy, presumably his partner.

• guy and friends tending the toilet. tending the toilet is a group of friends who would look gossip and bitch about people who frequented the place. the group was a rather loud one and the primary guy who tended the toilet used to be a dancer. i was kinda surprised one day when someone i met and whom i had a chat with told me that the toilet "people" told him a military regular who drives a metallic green car jogs at the area frequently and that this person is gay. i half-suspected he was talking about me as, apart from me, there were no other military officer who fit that description. whatever the case, it hit me that these people were really observant and gossipy. learning from this incident, i avoided these people as much as i could.

• guy who went on to be a famous professor. as i mentioned i frequented the place back in the 90s, not just for runs but also to cruise and to pick people up. and naturally, there were frequent sightings members of the famous family of gay persons living close by. one of the brothers frequented there too and i often see him being picked up by people. then again, that's what we go there for right? he went on to become a famous professor and no longer goes there now.

• guy who now hosts a lot of tv shows. yup, a peranakan guy who now appears frequently in local chinese tv shows. very nice guy but might come across as aloft if you do not know him. he used to blade on weekends at east coast park with his other half and group of friends.

i can go on... but yup, as i said, back in to 90s, this place was frequented by who's who in the scene. but i shall not write further. we have all grown up and matured with time. we are all now established in our respective fields. we have, at some point in time, crossed paths and this occurred at fort road. and as i have reflected previously, if you are singaporean and gay in the 90s, you would probably have visited the place.

in my next post, i will write about the interesting people that goes into the fort road beach.

• fort road 5 - characters 3
• fort road 4 - characters 2
• fort road 3 - characters 1
• fort road 2 - evolution
• fort road 1 - the location

fort road 2 - evolution

as mentioned in my previous post, fort road was nothing but a piece of reclaimed land and the areas around it. the key developments around the areas could broadly be discussed in the following:

• pre-70s - the fort road area was non-existent. it was katong park and the katong park beach that extends all the way to the tanjong katong beach fronts. this was where many families frequent with most expatriates congregating around the beaches near to where chinese swimming club is today.

• 70s - reclamation work started and the katong park lost the sea-front. gay men, who previously hanged around the katong park and amber areas now find new areas to cruise. the expansion of the space led to a slow decline and disappearance of gay men hanging around the amber area. 

• 80s - a new expressway was built. up till 87/88, the east coast parkway runs on the surface and a traffic light continue to operate until 1987/88 where the fort road flyover was built to allow uninterrupted flow of traffic from the changi airport to the city. with the flyover, the areas under the flyover eventually became a new spot for gay men to meet for sex. this peaked in the 90s through to the early 2000. it continue to attract gay men these days but to a lesser extend. it could possibly be due to the blossoming of gay saunas in singapore in the early 2000. with the new flyover, a circle was also built to facilitate flow of traffic into the east coast park service road.

• 90s, the area, particularly the toilet area, became very popular with the general public, both gay and straight. it was the "in" place to be amongst the yuppies of the 90s. that was the area for sports, runs, walks, roller blade or simply for a picnic. many prominent gay characters you can see today had, at some time or other, "appeared" and socialised there. that was also where i came out, and met many friends in my early years as a gay person. lots of memories.

• late-90s to early-2000s, a road extending into the reclaimed area was built. this road was to serve major construction projects around the area include the construction of the kallang-paya lebar expressway (kpe), as a holding area for the debris from the nicol highway collapse, and for the building of the marina expressway (mce) later. the east coast park running track was, as a result, dissected and to allow park goers continued access and joggers uninterrupted jogging experience across the new road, a new elevated metal track was constructed. there were also reports of frequent police raids on gay men in this area.

• mid-2000s, increased use of the reclaimed land for development. the increased in construction activities led to the eventual cordoning off of the fort road beach from the public. the escape of mas selamat also saw local security agencies making their rounds into the reclaimed land. the intense activities by security agencies and the cordoning off of the areas led to a decrease of gay men visiting the area and marked the start of the decline of the reclaimed land as a gay man's haunt. 

• 201x, fort road as a gay man's haunt continued to decline. a new generation of gay men now frequent saunas, head overseas, etc. for many from that 90s era, this place continue to attract us. and while many from the new generation would brand this place as a place for many "doms" or "uncles" or other less than pleasant terms, some would also come here to explore the place and to see first hand what this place is like.

what i have captured probably do not do justice to the rich local gay sub-culture. but certainly, fort road has evolved over the last five decades. its evolution, to me, goes almost hand-in-hand with the evolution of the gay culture in singapore. ironically, it is the relaxing and opening up of the society to gay persons and development to led to the decline of fort road as a gay haunt. but it will continue to live on in many of our mind. in my next couple of posts, i will write about some interesting persons who frequent fort road and has, over time, become icons of fort road (particularly the fort road beach).

:-)

• fort road 5 - characters 3
• fort road 4 - characters 2
• fort road 3 - characters 1
• fort road 2 - evolution
• fort road 1 - the location

picture from http://kim-thenextphase.blogspot.sg/2011/05/right-to-bare.html

fort road 1 - the location

i am gonna spend time over the next few posts to capture in writing stories about "fort road". the so-called "fort road" affectionately called by we gay men in singapore refers to a favourite gay haunt in singapore. this name is actually that of a small road next to katong park. over time, the name has been used to encompass the areas from katong park to the reclaimed land and the areas around it. i guess this was becos there was no other clear reference point that one can use given that it was nothing but reclaimed land. this place was reclaimed in the 70s and had been left undeveloped. in the early years before the east coast parkway (ecp) came about, the place was nothing but just clay and sand and almost totally barren. the fort road flyover over ecp was constructed in 1987/88. a few years after the construction of the flyover, a circle and a new long vehicle car park was constructed. "fort road" extends all the way to the sea and, at its furthest, is about 2km before one reaches the beach. to many gay men, thus, we refer to the various places around the area as... 

• "fort road carpark" - this is the long vehicle park located next to the circle where many gay men cruise and pick up people. it remained popular until recent times where it was closed to facilitate the building of a new road.

• "fort road beach" - this refers to the beach used by many to tan in the nude. to some more seasoned people who frequent the beach, they also divide the reclaimed land into sub-sections using the tracks as the dividing line. so, you have "fort road beach on the left of the track (facing the beach direction)" (this is the larger piece and more heavily forested part of the reclaimed land), "fort road beach on the right of the track" (this is the smaller but more "happening" part of the beach). the beach along this sub-section includes a total of 3 breakwaters. it extends all the way to where marina barrage is today.

• "fort road forest" - this is not a forest per se, but the secondary vegetation that got established over time as the reclaimed land was allowed to settle. and as per usual plant invasion patterns, the reclaimed land has broadly 4 layers of vegetation. a first layer extending about 500m towards the sea and parallel to the highway. it comprised mainly of rhu (casuarina) trees (that is the basis of the name "tanjong rhu"). a second layer of largely barren land interspersed with isolated bushes of grass and small secondary vegetation trees (such as malastoma). a third layer of thick lallang that extends about 200m inland from the beach. this was where many gay men, who prefer a little more privacy, make out or tan in the nude amongst isolated patches of clear land. and finally, a fourth layer of beach-fronting trees and shrubs that comprised almost entirely of rhu (casuarina) trees and sea lettuce. this final layer is where gay men tan in the nude rather openly as well as frolicked in the sea.

• "fort road jogging track". this refers to the jogging track that stretches from the public toilet/ changing facilities (fort road toilet) all the way to the end of the east coast park jogging track (0km mark). the name continue to be used despite the clearing of the last 500m stretch to built the kallang-paya lebar expressway (kpe) interchange. 

• "fort road flyover" refers to the east coast parkway flyover and can be accessed via the infamous katong park. most critically, the areas under the flyover is where many (yes, reeeeally, many) gay men would head to for anonymous sex as the place is near pitch dark, not unlike the dark rooms of saunas. it is not uncommon to find many used condoms under the flyover. this is also the location where a famous local comedian was run over by a car and died. many in the circle knew why he was there. anyway... yup, so this very famous flyover.

• "fort road circle" is the little circle created next to the flyover to regulate traffic flowing into east coast parkway service road. the circle also leads into the fort road carpark. in the late 90s, cars would drive around the circle to pick up guys who may possibly hang around along the jogging track that fringes the circle. this track was subsequently removed when a new road leading into the reclaimed land was built in the late 90s to facilitate the building of major projects around the area.

• "fort road toilet" is a toilet near the 1.5km mark of the east coast park. in a more generic sense, it refers to the immediate areas around the toilet. this is a popular congregation spot for many - both straight and gay - in the 90s. this is also the place where many, who is not comfortable with sex in the open, to do it in the privacy of the cubicles. it is less crowded these days. 

• "fort road canal" refers to the canal that stretches from the fort road circle to the fort road toilet. there is a jogging track that runs parallel to the canal and as the track is not lit at night, many many gay men would hang around the canal and make out openly. it was especially crowded on weekends.

ok, these areas are the commonly known haunts for gay men. you probably can understand why fort road is such a significant place for gay men in singapore. it is the local mecca for us all. you cannot consider yourself a gay singaporean if you do not know fort road or you have not cruised at fort road. but that was the years leading up to the early 2000. fort road is slowly but surely disappearing. victim of development and perhaps, ironically, of the opening up of the gay scene in singapore. i will reflect this in the next post on fort road's evolution.

• fort road 5 - characters 3
• fort road 4 - characters 2
• fort road 3 - characters 1
• fort road 2 - evolution
• fort road 1 - the location

colours @ the market

one of the things i enjoy about going to the market is the burst of colours that i see. just look at these chilli! it is not often to see this... sorting of chilli being done by the vegetable seller. 

nice!

throwing away my past

i did what i had been holding back for the last 5 - 6 years. 

i threw away all my military gear, ceremonial wear, medals, accessories, boots, belt, etc. everything. i had been holding back and today, admittedly, i hesitated for a while, but once i got the first one through, the second piece, the third, the fourth, and... it became easier as it went on. and in no time, i am free. i also tell myself - if they do call me back, i will just say i have no more uniform, if you want me back, make me a set and i'll go, but don't expect me to fit in into my uniform made 6 years ago. it is not possible. physically, and mentally.

i suppose one of the reason why it got easier as i throw was becos the military gear and all the associated accessories are like just the military. its all or none. nothing is meaningful anymore once a small piece is gone. and thus, once a small piece go, it is as good as the whole uniform. its an interesting analogy but that was how things were. when in the military, you conform, you are all part of a larger system. you don't deviate. if you do, you are out. just like a medal whose colour had faded. you do not belong to any part of the uniform anymore. and the whole system boot you out.

ok, i think too much.

omg u blog?

well, that was what someone told me recently.

i have a profile in jack'd and rather than writing an intro, i simply put my blog url there. and a friend found me and visited my blog. and that was what he said. to him, blogging is so passé, so yesteryear. i think so too. blogging, like technology moves with time. bloggers are on the decrease now. many have moved on to twitters, instagrams, etc. mobile apps are currently the trend and many bloggers have moved to these newer apps. i suspect the blogging community will drop even faster in the years to come. nonetheless, i believe there will always be a group of people who are die-hard bloggers and will continue to do so. well, unless blog-service providers decide to just kill off the service. 

:-)

sharks

finally managed to buy what i had been wanting to do for a while. shark meat! been a long time since i ate shark meat. and no, it's not sharks fin, it's shark meat.

shark meat is something that most people seldom cook. the meat is not as sweet as that of other fishes and certain, the texture is not as soft too. in fact, if not cooked well, it may jolly well come across as rubbery. after all, it is known to contain a higher level of ammonia/ urea compared to other meats as sharks are known to be relatively more sedentary compared to other fishes and the uric acid built up in its meat is generally higher too.

but yeah, i have finally gotten it, fresh from the market. look forward to deep fry it with flour and some seasoning.

:-)

fortune telling

there is a particular website that allows one to predict the life of a person based on his birth date, and time. and when i used my birth details, and compare with what it says about me, it seemed to fit quite accurately.

things about my character, my life, about my career, etc. it was spot on about things like i know lots of things (talented), gets along well with people, that i will work overseas in my 30s, change career a few times when in my 40s, etc... it also says i get along very well with people born in the years of the horse (bee), dragon (james, my nephew), tiger (my niece) and cow (my second sis), etc. 

and here's the interesting bits. when i look into what it says about my future. it says have an illness that will be with me through my life and that will be the eventual cause of my demise. it also says i can expect to live up to 80 years of age and i will die during the forth lunar month. translating that to gregorian calendar, it means my death date is anytime between 6 may to 3 jun 2046. and oh, it also says i will have 2 "sons" to bid me farewell during my funeral.

hmmm... 

(about the 2 sons, lets see if my brother bears another son, haha - cos if i use my brother's birth details, it says he will have 3 kids - and i know my brother is trying for a third one)

sunlight & its effect

i was surfing the net on how sunlight affects a person and found two very interesting things.

firstly, sunlight has an uplifting effect on people. it makes people less unhappy and lifts their mood. and studies show that people living in prolonged periods where they are deprived of sun (e.g. during winter) has a higher tendency to get depressed. hmmm... perhaps this explains why i so totally enjoy being in the sun! i supposed subconsciously, i want to be as happy as i can! hahah... the other way to look at it is, i am an introverted person and keeping time to myself frolicking in the sun is so very me and tanning in solitude. and i have been doing it since my 20s! it allows me to simply blank off as i bake myself...

secondly, sunlight makes a person horny! well, that's what many postings suggest. sunlight has an aphrodisiac effect on a person. hmmm, no wonder...

haha... go figure.

:-)

colorless tsukuru tazaki

i had just completed reading this book by haruki murakami.

and he has done it again. the book was surprising easy to read and once again, and it was difficult to put down once you start. and what's interesting about this book (to me at least), was the fact that for the first time, he has a story that features, or rather, hints of homosexual tendencies albeit in a dream. it was interesting to read of how the main character got to know another guy and got into this very intense relationship with another guy, yet in a very bromance way. and then how the main character dreamt about the guy sucking him and gulping down his cum as he orgasm. a whole lot of pent up thoughts on the part of the main character.

but yeah, it was a book where i could identify with the tensions and thoughts of the main character. i see parts of me in him. 

:-)

expensive repairs

the contractor came to my place to look at the leakages and concluded that it was a concealed pipe that had leaked. issue is - because it is concealed, he cannot be sure if it is the large pipe of the 2 smaller pipes. so in the end, he suggested hacking off parts of the false ceiling and the wall to trace the leak, and after that, to realign the concealed pipes out of the wall. by paying the pipes outside the wall, it would allow future repairs to be done without the need to break the walls again. the whole works will cost me more than 1k. to be done next week.

yikes!

jack jack jack

i am not sure if i have posted this before, but this thing just crossed my mind.

i find it rather difficult to greet friends with the name jack.

i always end up saying hijack, hijack...

arghhh...

love your job

i connect with this quote almost immediately when i see it.

:-)

leadership - consistency

leaders cannot say one thing and do another thing. there must be consistency in thoughts, communications and actions. no point thinking of something, communicating something and then do another thing. for example, you cannot tell people after right-sizing (read - downsizing) the organisation that things are stable and that everyone can go on and focus on their work, and then next day tell a few more to leave.

you lose the trust of people.

leadership - people at the centre

task-oriented people take heed - when you want to restructure business and ask people to leave, on top of bottom line and staff costs, it's important (and to me, very critical) to also consider your decision's impact on team effectiveness. manage people and out-placement sensitively, otherwise the whole team breaks apart and you have more problems downstream. nett nett, you may end up spending more in rehiring, retraining and rebuilding than just the money saved from asking one person to leave...

living through a live example now.

leadership - balance

in leadership positions, effectiveness lie in balancing between task- and people-orientation. flexibility to switch style depending on who you interact with, the organization state of development, etc. and the morale of people is of utmost importance. no leaders has all the answers and at the top, if a new leader assume he has all the answers, come into the organization and treats the very senior experienced team members like kids, he may have won the battle but he has just started a long nightmare... and his credibility will be at stake.

reflection: habit 5 of effective people: seek to understand first, before being understood. start of effective interdependence between you and your team members.

one more down

domino effect is getting faster than i had expected.

remember how my new boss asked my department chief to leave? well, my chief has since tendered and had handed over the responsibilities to the deputy. and guess what? the deputy (now department head) tendered this week. and the reasons - he didn't like the way the big boss treated my department chief and didn't want to be the next to be told to leave (if ever). i wonder how people will react when i tender too since i am the next in line in terms of seniority.

hmmm...

activesg

recently, there's a new push by the government to get people to lead a healthy lifestyle. and all citizen are given sgd100 credits to enter sports complexes or book facilities for games. and as for me, i have used this almost entirely for entry into swimming pools.

but what i find most troublesome was that i have to log in using the app to purchase tickets and to gain entry/ exit. and i found simple way out... all i needed to do is to purchase my tickets in advance (they allow up to one month in advance) and then grab a screenshot of my qcode and use the pic to gain access/ exit anytime i want. 

no need to log in and out every time i needed to get the qcode!

lazy me. but well, it works!

heh...

exploratory chat

will be heading off to an exploratory chat with another company end-next week. 

looking forward to the chat.

:-)

goggles

as usual, despite being on mc, i couldn't head home. doing so would make mum suspicious and so, i did what i always do - i headed to the pool. and at the pool, there was this interesting guy.

he was rather lean and toned. muscular at places where it needed to be. very nice cut. and he wore a very small trunk that could hardly cover his butt. his butt crack was showing and his trunk had this rather interesting design and colour. it was yellow in colour and at the areas where it covers his bulge, it was shiny blue. very striking. and what's most interesting was the fact that this guy suntanned with his goggles on.

it strongly reminded me of the typical characters in japanese porn. 

haha...

mc

felt unrested or, for that matter, still exhausted and a little uneasy this morning.  and my body felt achy and i had runny nose. must be my sinus acting up again. and so, decided to give myself a break and went to see a doctor. the doctor said it could possibly be due to an impending flu and suggested that i take a good rest. 

so, i was given 2 days mc to rest.

leakages

i noted a rather worrisome sight today. the wall in the utility room that i had painted over over the last weekend has begun to show signs of mould again, and the stains are rather bad. and as per last week, it extended from the ceiling all the way to the floor. not only that, my maid told me that the kitchen floor seemed wet and she suspected that water is flowing out of the kitchen cabinet. 

i made an investigation and found that the interior of the kitchen cabinet below the sink is flooded with water. and by the look of wood that had totally warped, the pool of water must have been there for a considerable amount of time. but i half suspect that the leak is not from the sink. if it was, the mould wouldn't have appeared on the upper parts of the cabinet as well as the walls of the utility room. it could possibly be due to a hidden water pipe that runs from some water source to my kitchen sink, or worst still, from my neighbour above.

i spoke with a dear sistar (thomas is gonna kill me for this post, but well, i am so sure he'll forgive me), and he suggested that i seek the advice of my management agent. he gave some pointers about how this issue could be approached and i do really appreciate him for this. frankly, without his inputs, i would have really freaked out and get all stressed up. also, bee had also contacted a contractor to do a check. it would be a good opportunity to also do some renovation of my kitchen.

:-)

long weary weekend

it's been a long a weary weekend.

busy with all the routines, kids, and also with my mum's anxieties given that today is also the maid's off day. and added to that, brought my mum out to meet my paternal side family for lunch (organised by one of my cousins as an overseas cousin had visited and will fly off tomorrow).

i am feeling rather drained now.

think i'll just hit the sack early.

unsociable

for whatever reasons, i am just not in a sociable mood these days.

don't feel like talking, don't feel like interacting, don't feel like anything. just wanna get into myself and find my own space. it was the same at work, and it was the same with people around me, except with my mum, where i have to act normal. in this state, i don't mind people fussing over me, but don't expect me to respond. i will be very unresponsive or at best neutral in my response.

i supposed it is one of those times where i just want to be alone - which is actually not difficult cos in this state, i can be in crowded places, but i feel very alone.

afternote:

actually, when i think about it, it is not difficult to understand why i feel this way. at work, there are all sorts of weird dynamics and unsaid tensions, with the departure of my chief. and personally, i am under the stress of wanting to look for a job, having to go through the interviews, having to keep such stories to myself, and at the same time worried that with the ongoing changes, it might affect my current balance established between my work and my home. 

and at home, things seemed pretty routine although i must add that the "routineness" of this routine is somewhat unnatural cos there are many a times where smiles and relax moods are faked and you know why. and as for the people closest to me, including bee, i find it so laborious to share these details. so i keep it inside me, or at most i blog. hmmm, perhaps that is why i have so many blog posts this month!

whatever the case, it didn't change this fact - i feel lost. very lost. 

ellen without ellen

i am at home watching the ellen degeneres show. it is a delayed telecast and the singapore version is showed more than half a year later. anyway, it is not often that i watch her shows and she's out sick in today's show! i thought the show is just so different without her. well, no offence to the stand in host(ess) (haha!), but the ellen degeneres show without ellen is just not the show.

the show started 10min ago and frankly, i still thought it was a prank. i half-expect her to walk in halfway through and surprise everyone. but no, it will not happen. i did a google on her being sick and... yup, it was confirmed that she was indeed sick on that particular show.

so i simply switch the channel. hehe, this is something only a person watching a delayed telecast can do.

:-)

pic from pixar.wikia.com

renovate again?

it's been six years since i last did a renovation of my place. and i am wondering if i should do it again now. i have put off this thought sometime back but what happened over the last couple of days made me think about it again...

i mean, since last year or so, i have noted some sounds when i stepped onto some parts of my living room marble tiles. it seemed to me that the tiles were already popping out and if left un treated, it would worsen to the point where the whole flooring would be messed up. with that discovery, i had to constantly remind myself to be careful when i clean the floor. if i use too wet a mop, the water might just seep into the marble and i might end up creating a wet line in the ceiling of my neighbour downstairs. and if this happen, i could get sued by my neighbour for damaging his ceiling... i dread the thoughts of it. also, the parquet in mum's bedroom has also shown signs of wear and tear, or to be specific, water seepage. hmmm, no, to be specific, pee seepage. i noted mum has had many occasions where she peed onto the parquet floor and sometime last year, she peed onto the floor and the urine was left over a prolonged period of time. and by the time i noticed it, some of the urine had already gone in between the parquet tiles. 

last couple of days, i noted the chinese painting my sis bought for me had turned mouldy. and when i took it down and looked at it, i realised the painting was wet and the mould had grown so much that it was sporing, both inside and outside the frame! ewwwww... i am still wondering how the water manage to get into the painting! and this morning, when my maid wanted to clean the small room in the kitchen, she saw the wall all mouldy. she showed it to me and also pointed out that the kitchen cabinets are also beginning to show signs of getting warped. in addition, she also pointed to water dripping from behind the kitchen cabinet. hmmm... i did a check on all the water pipes around the kitchen but could trace no leakage. regardless, there seemed to be some water seeping through the wall of sorts. anyway, i simply told her to wipe the mouldy wall clean and dry it. and once it was done, i painted it over with a few layers of fungus-resistant emulsion paint.

it seemed like the house has lots of wear and tear. but to be fair, the house is over 16 years old. i moved in in 1998 and i have not done any major renovations, except for a minor polishing of the floor and painting of the walls after my dad's demise 6 years ago. so i think it is high time i do some good renovations now. but i am so unwilling to spend my money on it...

lol!

post-interview thoughts

i must admit that i have been wondering and thinking about my answers to the competency-based leadership interview questions. hmmm... should i have answered it another way? did i use the wrong word? did i give a negative image of myself?... and after the interview, i asked the company if i could get a report. i got a rather curt reply: "we will debrief you and show you the report only upon hire." that didn't sound like a friendly reply if you ask me. no "hi", "thanks", "regrets", etc. why did the person reply this way? did i not sense him correctly when he interviewed me? quite a few questions went through my head. but...

heh heh... i guess this is me. i think too much. i should really really learn to go with the flow and just move on. what's over is over. if the job is mine, they'll make an offer. otherwise, it is not the end of the world.

hmmm.

road ahead

the road is paved with obstacles, or opportunities. you decide, you define, you pave your way ahead.

ahhhh... this is so random.

haha!

pic from http://areyouahuman.com

network

been awhile since i last did this, i surfed around facebook today. and as i surfed, and as i looked at my friend's postings, i couldn't help but notice how everyone continues to be supported by their network of buddies through the years. something i have consciously been denying and building my walls.

and i shall not look back.

:-)

rude teenage worker @ pw

i did not hesitate to tell off a young guy earlier. it was not usual of me to do so, but i was so bloody pissed off by his behaviour.

we were at parkway parade basement and i was walking ahead of my maid as she pushed mum on her wheelchair. and i heard someone shouted "excuse me, excuse me". i turned around and saw a teenage guy pushing the rubbish bin. he was shouting for my maid to give way to him and he had this cheeky grin on his face. i was annoyed. annoyed not becos of his smug face but for the fact that the walkway was more than 5-6m wide and as my maid was in the middle of the walkway, there was huge spaces on both the left and right of the wheelchair. and for that matter, huge enough for the guy to comfortably push his rubbish bin through.

i didn't care for the fact that there were other people around who kept quiet and gave way to him. it was clear to me he was either plain lazy and possibly trying to make fun/ pressure my maid. i immediately stopped my maid, stared at that guy and told him off firmly "hey! you don't ever get a wheelchair to give way to you understand?! and also, the space on the side is so wide you should just use it!" 

my response caught many fellow shoppers by surprise and they stared at me. as for my maid, she looked fearful of me for that moment. as for the guy, he too was taken aback, he stopped, looked at me for a split second as i told him off, and he simply pushed the bin to the side and walked passed me. i stared hard at him as he made his way pass me. and once he passed me, he apologized and quickly continued his way.

darned! kids these days need to learn some good manners.

reflecting my blog

my blog is important to me. at times, it is my only outlet. i allows me to say what's on my mind, things that i may not necessarily say in person, even to the people closest to me. it might be a tat negative most of the times but that is how i am. i tend to write more when i am down. so, my blog provides a window into my life. it also allows me to learn about myself. and from this reflections, i often discover where i fall short. and i try to improve.

and so, my blog is about me. but i qualify. it does not capture everything about me cos on top what the more negative postings, i also have my innermost secrets that i am not comfortable to open up in this blog. we are all entitled to our private space. but this blog is as authentic as it can be about me. as unadulterated as it can ever get. it is an extension of me.

and while i capture my thoughts in this blog, i also recognise the blogosphere is open to the public. and i appreciate people who share their comments. it is not expected of them but to have readers put in a comment or two. some shared that they were able to take away some life's lessons from my experiences. i was glad they could. and for some, they shared their advice voluntarily. it showed they care. it showed they are concerned about me. i am thankful to them.

it has been close to a decade since i started blogging. apart from my family and my dog, this is the only thing that has continue to stay beside me. and i am seeing annual patterns coming out of the blog. patterns that mirror closely the major festivals and celebrations. also also patterns of behaviours. and from these patterns, i continue to learn. about myself, about the people around me. 

i have grown with it. and it has grown with me.

this is my blog.

showing concern

it is not important what you think or feel about people, but rather what you do to make people feel that you care and feel about them that is important. and also, while you can do as much as you can, it is also equally important to be focused and targeted in what you do. know what is important to that person and do what you need to do. it is important to do it such that the person feels it, sees it, hears it, etc. 

love, care, concern, trust, etc... it involves more than just one party. 

and it takes two (at least) to tango.

agree?

my name

curious and crazy enough to do a facebook check on who has the same name as me. i see quite a few and interestingly, i noted there were a couple of females too. then i did another search using my full name and found one! initial reaction was - ewwwww... why look liddat one? everything so totally opposite from me. then after a few moments, my reaction change - vanity sets in - whew! i am more suave, hamsum, glam, miao tiao, young-at-heart... heng ahhhh...

muahahah! ok, i was mean and shouldn't have said all those things above. i apologise.

i must be going crazy waiting for weekend to come!

omg, record-breaking

omg! i just realised i had crossed the 80th blog entries for this month and it is the highest ever for me on a per month basis since i started blogging in 2005. gosh... how the hell did i have so many thoughts to capture? or was it that i was just too free? lol! by the looks of things and if this trend were to continue, 2014 will be the highest number of blog for the year too. eeks!

haha...