Saturday, June 11, 2011

old blog gone for good

forever lost in the sands of time.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

哀

一生中 对于爱情 友谊 人生
我是否 太过顽固 信任 天真
尝尽了 段段心酸 灰暗 遗憾
如今已 不敢期待 只能 感叹

Monday, March 1, 2010

philosophical

奔于熊熊烈火,终归化为乌有。
若欲长相厮守,必似细水长流。

红色小盒子

亲爱的嘉丽,

你昨晚在我家门前留下的红色小盒子,我已经打开来看过了。 盒子里的每一件信物都意味着我们一起创造过的美好,但如今却都变成了心痛,心碎。 那一堆堆的照片和戏票根仿佛将心里沉淀已久的石头都渐渐地燃烧了起来。 想念你的这颗心变得好重,好痛。 最后读到的那一封过了期的分手信更是令我不自禁地又为你落下了炽热的泪水,烫着我的脸。 我们无意中又再一次让彼此感受到了无法忍受的痛楚,无与伦比的感伤,无可救药的心酸。 这次的分离,不知又需熬过几个漫长的夜晚以泪洗面才可消减折腾。

回忆,美丽亦残忍。
希望,无暇但易碎。
幸福,渴盼却渺茫。
爱情,伟大又盲目。

“你永远都会是我一生中最爱的人。宝贝,我爱你。”
在今天之前,我无时无刻都会向你深情地重复这句话好几遍。 今日以后,我也只能对着脑海里你那扣人心玄的脸孔轻声叹息着我们的如果,也许,可能,是否。

黯然中回想往事到如今,最令人遗憾的是在这一起携手走过的五年里,我们因为个人的理由而迷失了方向,还逐渐地忘记了怎么去彼此沟通,爱护,容忍,信任,和依赖,导致我们的关系在防不胜防中受到了这致命的一击。 不在一起的理由有很多,而在一起的理由只有一个--那就是爱。 虽然事实不断地逼着我接受并且承认我们的爱始终还是不够坚强,但我也不肯否定就是同样的这份爱带给了我们彼此生命中最大的快乐,最多的喜悦。 能够和你走过这段岁月,经过许多风风雨雨,不论多忐忑,都足以教我无悔这一生。或许人一辈子当中能享有的幸福就是有限,而我们现在已经超过了透支额。 如果真是这样,那我这永不变心的爱必定能让我们来世再续缘,只愿在那时候有机会偿还你应有的幸福和快乐。 又或许是天意弄人,植入这场误会把我们暂时分开而已。 希望是吧。 不管怎样,我还是祝愿你从今以后在没有我的日子当中过得更开心,笑得更灿烂,活得更精彩。

永远,永远爱你的健锋。

二零一零年二月二十八日

Thursday, February 4, 2010

when i was young

when i was much younger, i used to think the whole world was against me, and so i went about behaving with a siege mentality - always competing against everyone, going against convention, acting rebellious towards my family and what few friends i used to have. i was locked up in my little mental fortress - keeping myself in, and others out. little did i know that this protective shell, long since discarded, would have kept alive some sliver of my sanity, my dreams, my soul..

for a long time, i alienated myself from the world which i kept thinking was out to do me in. mum was always busy working, and dad had left us since i was 2. from the age of 8, i started learning to be independent and did everything by myself as much as i could. i travelled to school and back home on my own; i washed my own clothes; i cooked my own meals; heck, i even wrote letters to cover my frequent absenteeism and signed on consent forms for school trips and what-nots on my mum's behalf, without her knowing, most of the time. looking back, i now wonder why my teachers never raised any suspicions - were they incurably ignorant or morally magnanimous?

in school, i was rude to everyone. i enjoyed cracking mean jokes about people. everyone in school had a nickname, and i would laugh myself to tears when i saw the disgusted and embarrassed looks on their faces as they walked past and got ridiculed by me in front of everyone else, whom i might add, always thought i had a wicked sense of humour, as long as they weren't the ones suffering. i guess that's how i learned the meaning of hypocrisy.

at home, i would lock myself up in the room, reading books - comics, novels, encyclopaedia, history books, dictionaries, the bible - basically, whatever i could get my hands on. i did well in school in those early years, regularly achieving 1st or 2nd in my class, which was also the best class in school. i remember i was always competing against this other boy named bernard or something for that 1st-in-class spot. anyway, i got into the top stream in the education system at that time and was invited to join the gifted education programme, but for reasons that escape my mind now, i failed to attend the selection test. i guess, on top of being rated in the report cards as a "truly gifted child with vast innate potential", it was my dark disposition coupled with my family background that gained me sympathy points, because i won the envy of my peers for being every teacher's pet student.

after my 11th birthday, i experienced a major twist of fate. the awfullest thing that could ever befall a boy happened to me - i was approaching the peak of puberty. although i had read about it quite a lot in my books, nothing could have prepared me sufficiently for this wildly confusing and awkward phase in my life. there was also this other significant event in the history of the world that would change the course of my life from that point on - the arrival of the internet era. now, instead of books, i could turn to the fountain of knowledge which was the web to quench my thirst for knowledge and, possibly, the truth about life. my pc was a prehistoric, handed-down 486 running on dos, and i remember installing windows 3.x using floppy disks. back in those days, you could tell if your software was corrupted by looking to see if the disks used to store them had any mould growing out of the circular hole in the middle.

as i discovered, i had quite a talent for computer programming, constantly trying out new coding with QBASIC, VBASIC and other ancient developing platforms, and it was through developing scripts in mIRC, a virtual chatroom network, which captured my interest most. i honed my skills with a religious fervour, even skipping school several days in a row just to perfect the coding for an mp3-player-cum-filesharing-bot or a compendium of trivia games, much like hangman, where people in the same chatroom could play at once. i found a great sense of satisfaction and achievement each time i received praise for my work, and criticism had an effect of spurring me on to do more, and to be better than my comparison other. i must also concede that i was very comfortable with the concept and workings of the virtual community, which i do think is a surprisingly ironic antisocial form of society. i was slowly but surely spiralling down, losing myself to this blackhole.

in school, my attendance had slipped to below 40%, and my mum was less than pleased with the growing frequency of those 'meet-the-parent' sessions regarding my truancy. however, in truth, my grades were still top of the class, and i was still 'teacher's pet', as long as i was physically present. i gradually stopped talking to my friends, whose past-times included playing 'catching' and ping-pong during recess, trenching through gutters to catch spiders and playing 'war plane' card games after school. didn't these fools realise that the world would just pass them by if they didn't spend their time more productively? in retrospect, i was a fool for trading what remained of my childhood with useless, outdated computer skills that, if included in my resume now, would look like a run-down rickshaw in a lamborghini showroom - an utterly redundant eyesore. as epic as it was to the rest of the world, the advancement of technology was too rapid for a one-man show like me, and my ambition of being a world-class computer programmer was left drowning in its wake.

then along came a new form teacher - this angelic being, whose grace and beauty transcended all boundaries, would have brought peace to the most troubled of minds, and whose unflinching virtues of patience and perserverance would have turned charcoal into diamonds. being brought up in a catholic school hadn't convinced me that there was a god, or heaven, or hell, but she was living proof that, either there were angels on earth, or my raging hormones had completely eradicated all rationality in me. rejuvenated by this new-found motivation to go to school, i began to find myself developing a brighter disposition. attributes like 'sulky' and 'bully' were soon replaced by 'quirky' and 'friendly'. in essence, i started to behave like a typical pre-teen for the first time in my life. i hung out with everyone; i played 'catching' and football (at times, simultaneously, making it more like rugby) in the rain, getting thoroughly soaked and laughing our heads off at the silliest remarks; i trekked mini-forests, looking for the fiercest fighting spiders and receiving nasty cuts and bruises for my efforts; i went to friends' homes to break their high-scores for 'golden axe' and 'sonic the hedgehog' on sega megadrives - as far as i can recall, those were, and probably will be, the most fun and carefree times in my life. like all fools in despair, i wish i could turn back time and stop the clock there.

from then on, my defences against the harshness of reality had been breached. i saw things in a more positive light. optimism and faith entwined to paint, with the colours of kindness, compassion and generosity, a pretty portrait of humanity as perceived in my mind; through the years, i have gradually come to realise that there is no delusion more dangerous and more suicidal than this to conceive, and having left myself so vulnerable to uncountable, immeasurable manifestations of hurt, deceit and exploitation, i am now left with a hopeless heart, mangled mind, battered body and savaged soul.. a man exposed to the cold, stinging winds of destiny, devoid of confidence and esteem in himself, and of those around him, seeking nothing more than a swift liberation from the cruelty that is his life.

jaded and disparaged as i may feel, to rid myself of guilt before the bitter end, i am adamant in pulling myself together to complete my final mission of gratitude, which entails clearing of debts, returning of favours and fulfilling of promises.. but i'm so tired, and with each sigh escapes a little more of the energy and will to think, to do, to be..

jinxed

am i?

- posted from my iPhone

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

little crumbs of heaven




- posted from my iPhone

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

swensen's breadbowl soup




- posted from my iPhone

Sunday, November 15, 2009

hero for a day


It's not every day that you get to save a life. Tonight, i saved two. Here's a recount of an eventful night.

After supper with Png at Bukit Batok, I was on the way to sending GB home via the PIE. As soon as we got on the highway, I saw a car tyre lying on the road shoulder to my left, and a lot of smoke further up ahead. I slowed down as I approached the accident scene, and saw a red Suzuki Swift with the front all smashed in and a silver truck parked beside it. I found it strange that a truck would be on the right-most lane of the highway.

As I got nearer, I could make out a silhouette of a woman lying on the steering wheel in the Swift, and saw that the engine was on fire. That was when I realised the seriousness of the situation, and felt that I had to help immediately.

I pulled up on the road shoulder, and a black Toyota Vios followed suit in front of me. Mr Vios got out of his car at the same time as I did, and announced to me, "I'm calling the police right now." I nodded and replied, "Good work", then turned towards the Swift. I saw the silver truck drive away from the Swift, and onto the road shoulder a good distance ahead of the Vios.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there came a silver taxi speeding towards the Swift and couldn't manage to swerve away in time, consequently colliding into the rear of the Swift with great force and eventually bumped it a few metres forward. Now the Swift was lying diagonally across lanes 1 and 2, and I feared for the additional damage the woman might have suffered from that heavy impact. The silver taxi then headed over to the road shoulder, behind the silver truck.

As the flames from the Swift's engine began to grow more intense, I strode over and saw that the driver's door was ajar. A chinese woman in a white tank top and grey shorts sat with her legs out of the car. She was obviously in a daze as I went over to check on her. As I got her out of the car, Mr Vios jogged over and I delegated to him the task of helping the woman to safety away from the burning vehicle.

There was another person in the vehicle, an indian man in a black T-shirt and khaki shorts, who was sprawled face-down on the driver's seat, and his legs were bent at an awkward under the front passenger's seat. I hurried over to the passenger's side and tried to open the door, but it was jammed, so I exerted as much force as I could muster, and managed to pry the door open, feeling some metal parts bending, and damaging the hinges in the process. I then checked on the indian and he responded with weak moans of agony and muttering, "i die, i die.." He had abrasions on his legs and his face was a bloody mess, but at least he was still alive, I thought to myself. I applied pressure to his back and neck, thinking that if he had injured his spinal cord, he'd probably scream out in pain right now. Concluding that it would be alright to tug him out of the car without running the risk of causing further damage to him, I then attempted to lift him out of the car, but he was jammed in the small space between the seat and the bottom of the dashboard.

With his weight now leaning on me, I couldn't get at the underseat clutch to push the seat backwards, so I shouted out to GB for help, who was in the midst of a crowd of bystanders observing from across the highway. GB rushed over with a malay guy and they helped to support the indian while I slid the passenger seat back. GB and the malay guy grabbed the upper half of the man as I lifted his legs, at which point he repeatedly groaned, "Pain, pain!" I muttered under my breath, "Shut up.. You're lucky to be alive.." As we carried him across the highway, the smoke and the smell of burning rubber became more intense, half-choking me as my eyes started to tear.

Upon seeing her battered friend lying on the road shoulder, incessantly calling out "Mama.. Mama..", the female casualty hobbled over anxiously and threw herself on him, meekly calling out "dear, dear" in the process. It wasn't long before more bystanders started gathering around us, casting their opinions on their interpretations of how the accident began. I overheard someone saying that he was the taxi driver who had collided into the rear of the Swift, and he was profusely apologising and claiming that he didn't have enough time to react. He sounded sorry enough, so I didn't bother to direct any accusations towards him. I also found out from the truck driver, who in the beginning had stopped by the Swift, that he was looking to help the woman out, but panicked and drove away from the danger when he saw flames emerging from the engine. I eased his guilt by saying that it was a normal and justifiable reaction.

An ambulance arrived at the scene and tended to the injured couple, with one paramedic particularly frustrated by the woman's inability to cooperate - she was turning hysterical because her boyfriend was in bad shape and wasn't responding to her cries. Fire engines arrived after a while, and the fire-fighters only managed to put out the flames in the engine after about 20 minutes.

The police finally arrived about 45 minutes after the ambulance, and I was rather bemused to see the unceremonious manner of their arrival. A police officer on a motor-bike skidded and crashed as he approached the Swift and clutched his left arm while writhing in pain. This is lame and embarrassing, I thought. He was rushed onto a police car which promptly sped off to avoid further ridicule from the bystanders, who began passing crude remarks about police efficiency in general. The paramedics approached the girlfriend of Mr Vios for help, saying that she was the only female around, and that they needed someone to help strap the hysterical woman to her seat in the ambulance to prevent her from hindering them in administering first aid to her indian boyfriend, to which Ms Vios willingly obliged.

After a while the ambulance left, and traffic cones were set up to direct traffic away from the accident scene. A white Subaru WRX drove towards the scene a bit too quickly and incensed an aged police officer, who halted the WRX and dished out a proper telling-off to the driver. A female cop came over for eyewitness accounts, and all the other bystanders pointed to me, saying I was here earlier than them, and that I had been the one who rescued the couple of out the car. A few people came up to me with praise and thanks, which made me blush a bit. I gave my summary of events to the cop and was allowed to leave.

Along the way back, GB, too, commended me for being brave, and confessed that he was initially too afraid to approach the burning car because he thought it was about to explode. He asked me how I managed to find the courage to rush in to help those people, and I replied that it wasn't courage that motivated me - it was quite simply the fear of not being able to sleep in peace had I not got those people out of there in time. I also reassured him that he had been brave in rushing over to help me with the indian man, and that he was a true hero for his involvement. We slapped high-fives when he alighted, and I drove home feeling satisfied with what I had done.

I was a hero for a day, or in this case, for a night, and it felt good. =)

Monday, November 9, 2009

broken mirror

a relationship can sometimes be like a mirror,
better left broken than to get hurt piecing it back together,
knowing that the cracks will prevent you from seeing any clearer.

Friday, November 6, 2009

what a one-derful world

I'm on the bus to school and happened to pass by some real estate development called One Commonwealth. How creative, given we've already got One George St, One Marina Boulevard, One Raffles Quay and One Whatever-Else. Why isn't there a One Kampong Bahru or One Syed Alwi? Imagine if they actually started a marketing campaign for One Tanah Merah.. I can already hear the jingle ringing in my head.. pffft. (in case you aren't old enough to get the joke, you might wanna try listening to the chorus of this old classic - Guantanamera on youtube or whatever - operative word here being 'TRY'..)

- posted from my iPhone

Thursday, November 5, 2009

hr hoax

I was called up for an interview after submitting my application for an advertised position of HR officer. I ended up with an interviewer who was half an hour late and tried for an hour to convince me to be an insurance agent! wtf!?!? there was no HR post to begin with!!

i'm now on the train home in my newly-bought shirt and tie that cost half of whatever was left in my bank account.. and to think i took half day leave for this!

update: me and my new shirt are, well, totally drenched from the downpour, and the shirt, which hasn't been washed since I bought it yesterday, is making me feel itchy all over. it's fml all over again.

- posted from my iPhone




Saturday, October 24, 2009

aurora borealis

i have to go see the northern lights before i die, hopefully during a geomagnetic storm or a coronal mass ejection, when they're at their most intense and spectacular. go google.

- posted from my iPhone

Friday, October 23, 2009

mcdonalds monopoly




i got marina bay!! whoever has sentosa cove m132, email me and we share the winnings!! $25,000 each!!

- posted from my iPhone

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

conscientiousness

fact:
punctual != productive
BUT
impunctual = unproductive

case study:
they're usually early, but do nothing besides the bare minimum to remain employed. they get better appraisals and
higher bonuses.

i'm usually late for work, but i my work rate and contributions are greater than others, plus i leave the office much later than the others. i lost my job.

conclusion:
find a job that starts late, or find motivation to wake up early.

- posted from my iPhone

Saturday, October 3, 2009

mistaken identity







bloody brainless loansharks didn't even bother to check if they had the right address. infuriating!

the police told us that the town council would be responsible for cleaning up but it's still darn embarrassing, having to put up with it over the weekend. what's with my luck these days.. fuck..

- posted from my iPhone

prawning




prawning@bishan

Thursday, October 1, 2009

insomnia

i'm quite certain I've landed a great job that'll pay me at least 50% more than my last one, and also provide amazing prospects for learning, exposure and advancement, but they'll only hire me in Jan next year - assuming that I do get the job at all.

so I got a temp job to fill up the overwhelmingly boring spare time I had on my hands..I guess it's a great way to get some money for the festive year-end celebratory parties too.

only problem is, the new workplace is 2 floors down my old office. imagine the awkwardness when I bump into my old colleagues. sigh.. shouldn't have left citi on such a bad note..

and I've been keeping really late nights for the past 2 weeks. it's almost 5 in the morning now and I still haven't got any sleep. having woken up late in the afternoon earlier today is gonna be scant consolation once I make it to midday later on.. and I've still got a lecture on psychology to attend after work.. dreadfully long terms with dreadfully longer definitions.. yawn..

and i don't really like it that my blog has started turning into a personal fmylife.com. what else can I say but c'est la vie..

- posted from my iPhone

update: fmylife. i missed out on the job. "..after due consideration, management has decided to opt for a more experienced candidate to fill the position.."

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

murphy's law

murphy's law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

and so my personal great depression continues, as i woke up late again today and didn't go to work. when i checked my phone, i saw that my boss had called a couple of times and also sent an SMS that gave me an ominous feeling of impending termination. truth is, i've been riding my luck a lot lately, and this time i think i took it too far, so i did the only decent thing i could do - i apologised a thousand times, then told him i'd tender my resignation letter first thing tomorrow morning. i'm already starting to feel the awkwardness and embarrassment of having to serve out the one month's notice - it really sucks.

to add on to that, i just got bailed out from the traffic police station by my mum after a ton of paperwork, mugshot-taking and 2 hours in lock-up, all because i failed to pay a speeding fine. now they've doubled the fine and are taking me to court in a month's time. i swear i remember paying the fine - it was my very first traffic offence, and it was quite a hefty amount as well, but when i checked my bank transaction history, there was no trace of that amount being debited. i guess it got declined or something. tough luck, huh. i must have really offended the gods of fate.