Birthday Celebrations and Birthday Blues (part 1)

It is the time of the year again, where my age increases. As a matter of fact, I am not too worried about getting old in this point of time. Rather, I see it as a role-playing game where the level of character increases. =P

However, whenever my birthday draws near, I tend to get a little depressed, wondering if anyone will remember. Fortunately, there will be some friends who come to my "rescue". On the other hand, there will be friends who simply forget, and these usually tend to be the males.

As of this moment, here are the people who remembered:
-Cailin, who specially came down to Lavender to pass me chocolates, even though she was dead beat and suffering from a hangover
-Adeline, who sent me a card, like she does every year, just that she keeps forgetting my address and ruining the surprise
-Saskia, who has yet to buy me anything. I am waiting... =P
-My parents and my sister. Dad gave me a red packet. Shannon has yet to receive her pay so I guess I have to wait a little longer for my surprise
-Most importantly, Hui Shi. She bought me my very first RHDX Meer Campbell (the sexy version) figurine

Furthermore, I owe Hui Shi a birthday present as well. After walking around Jalan Besar, Bugis and Mustafa Centre last Sunday and yesterday afternoon, I have yet to get her anything. Partly due to the fact that she can't make up her mind on what to buy. A motorcycle helmet is definitely on the top of her priorities, but she does seem to want a new pair of sneakers as well.

Over the last two outings I had with Hui Shi, I came to realize that she has a cute side as well, but I am definitely not going to reveal it here. =P

I hope I receive more birthday greetings and perharps more presents later today...

More Projects!

Lately, I have been given quite a number of new projects, involving traffic count and mystery shopping. I have yet to begin on the latter, but so far, I have enjoyed the former, other than the bad experience I encountered with the engineering undergraduate. In addition, I made a new friend and did I mention that the pay was fantastic too? At $10 per hour? =P

On the very first day of my traffic count project, I was assigned the same route together with two other newcomers, both undergraduates themselves. One of them particularly got on my nerves, talking about girls throughout the 2 hours, giving opinions on the type he prefers and the type he dislikes. When he made a comment of how degrading it was for him to be counting vehicles, given his undergraduate status, I felt as if my fist would connect with his face. However, after some discussion with my forum members, I realized that I should simply ignore him. If he felt that it was beneath his status to perform such a task, then why was he there in the first place?

Caught the fireworks festival last Friday and Saturday. Some of the pictures I took using my camera phone came out fantastic, just that the silhoutte of trees and buildings can be seen. Was it worth plowing through the crowd just to catch the fireworks? Definitely yes, because such events only occur once a year.

Backtracking a little further, I dined with Hui Shi at the Newton Food Centre on 3rd August. Not really worth mentioning, but I did feel the food sold there were quite pricey.

End of the World Cup, In-Camp-Training and lots of Jealousy

It is time for another blog update.

The World Cup 2006 has officially ended, and unfortunately for me, I lost $20 or so on my various wagers. The biggest controversy surrounding the final would be Zindane headbutting Materazzi. Even after reading all the reports, I can't decide who is right and who is wrong. Italy, on the other hand, even upon lifting the World Cup trophy, is still faced with problems regarding their domestic match fixing scandal. Although Fiorentina and Lazio were initially demoted to Serie B, their appeals were successful and are now reinstated to Serie A. Such scandals, in my opinion, allows one to identify which players are truly loyal to the club and those who simply play for money.

As for my 12 days of in-camp-training, I actually find it kind of fun, even though it had a much busier schedule as compared to the low key one last year. Yu Fong, Gabriel and Mogana, my newly made friends, were absolutely hilarous in their various antics.

Just had a chat with Saskia on MSN earlier. Surprisingly, I actually felt kind of jealous when she told me about some of her "wilder adventures" in Ireland. Is it because I am still single or have i developed a deeper level of friendship with this online friend of mine?

A new laptop and the World Cup!

Time for some updates again. I finally purchased a new laptop, and a NEC one at that! It was quite a bargain since I headed down to the PC Show 2006 on the very last day (4 June). $1800 for a Pentium M Processor of 1.86GHz, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 80GB hard drive, DVD+/-RW drive, bluetooth and wireless. How much more can you ask for? In addition, it comes with a free 1GB thumbdrive, a wireless optical mouse, carrrier case and 4 years warranty.

The World Cup has begun, and so has my betting spree, just that I am not as hardcore as compared to the past. Small bets of $5 and $10 for selected matches.

Celebrated Luke's birthday on 16th June, last Friday. Headed down to Suntec with him. However, it was he who treated Aw and I to dinner at Swensons. Since they couldn't finish the apple crumble, I had to do it after my main course of fish and chips, followed by my own sundae. Indeed, I must admit that the apple crumble was really filling

Had dinner with Hui Shi on Tuesday evening, 20 June. It has been a long time since we last hung out together. Due to a lack of funds on my part, I suggested Sakae Sushi and we eventually decided on it since I beat her at Scissors, Paper, Stone. Childish but fun! I only paid $10 and she forked out the remaining 20. I must remember to repay the treat the next time round.

Oh well, time to wake Mark up for the soccer match. More details on my next updates...

Exams are over and it is time to look ahead!

My final exams for my first year in university has officially ended on Tuesday. The papers were tougher than expected and I would be more than satisfied with second class (lower) honours for each subject. However, I have a bad feeling about statistics. Spent too much time on the stem and leaf question. Not to mention I was still tired out by the econs paper the previous day. Oh well, I can give all the excuses I want, but it is not going to help... In the meantime, I would like to wish Cailin, Wendy, Hanee, Chai Bak and Hui Shi all the best for their remaining papers. Gambette!

At least I am feeling better now. The cough is starting to subside. Must have been due to stress and heatiness of drinking essence of chicken for 3 consecutive days.

When I meet up with my friends these days, their first sentence would be "Eddery, you cut your hair!?" Even when I went to Luke's place the other day, his sister, whom I seldom speak to, asked me the same thing. Kester was equally shocked. LOL! I had to cut it before the exams, otherwise, I would be pushing my fringe back all the time at the exam venue. The good part is that it takes a shorter time to dry upon shampoo-ing.

Shannon has yet to assemble the figurine set I bought her. She claims that they look nicer in the box. Huh?

Lost $30 on bets for the Champions League final. As usual, I bought draw, and it turned out that Barcelona scored twice in 5 minutes to end the game in normal time. Couldn't they have been less kiasu and waited for extra time to finish Arsenal off? This way, I get to win some cash and they still win the trophy. Darn...

It feels weird not to be studying these days. With everyone still having their papers, and other friends at work, I am at home most of the time. Boring...

My latest update

I have been too lazy to update my blog lately, but after chatting with my dear sis, Cailin, I have decided to revive it.

Exams are drawing near, and I have done some revision. However, the economics UOL revision lecture was kind of demoralising. Everything the lecturer said was so difficult to understand, and I had plenty of questions to ask, just that I did not know where to begin.

Thanks to the free USB modem given to me by Kester, I am now able to access my broadband connection. Gone are the days of 2kb/sec download and here I am come, anime! I really should refrain from coming online too frequently, with the exams just a month away. Perharps I can leave the downloads on while I study.

A lot of events have happened over the past few months, but I can't remember them all, so I shall leave it for now, until they come flooding back.

It's raining men...ok, maybe not

It has been raining for consecutive days, and laundry seems to have a hard time drying. Not to mention it makes life difficult for me when I walk to and fro from King Albert Park to school.

Rainy days always make me feel nostalgic. Memories of stuff I have done on rainy days just seem to flood my mind, especially those that I have spent with "her".

Ever had your shoes and socks soaked with water? They make funny squishy sounds, reminding me of shoes that toddlers wear, so that their parents can keep track of where they are.

Have I really gotten over it or am I self-deluding?

It is about time I went for a haircut. Lunar New Year is just around the corner and my parents would most probably want me to do so. Cailin would be surprised and pleased to see my hair short.

Wendy always seem so distant during lectures. Makes me feel intimidated.

Hopefully, most of my "single club" members can make it for the outing this Saturday evening.

First update for 2006

It took me quite awhile to overcome my sadness and pain, though I doubt I can ever forget Hui Shi.

I did nothing productive during the one week break given by SIM for the festive season. Although New Year's eve and New Year's Day were pretty boring and fustrating, due to the fact that I had to complete a 2000 word essay on the theories of Karl Marx and Max Weber, Christmas eve was far more interesting.

Played in another soccer match on Christmas eve and again, my team failed to chalk up a 1st win. Perharps it was due to the fact that one of our star players was absent. 4-0 isn't a pretty sight and I must definitely train harder so as not to let the team down.

Special thanks to Wendy for inviting me to attend the church service conducted by City Harvest. I have to admit that the play they staged was excellent, combining acting, singing, together with lessons from the bible. Made a couple of new friends, and learnt quite a few things from my trip. Felt a little bad that she had to pay more attention to me than to her friends, making me feel a little awkward at times, but at least I got to know more about her. During our sociology lectures, she always seem kind of cold and aloof to me. Of course, I have to thank her for taking the time to decorate the glass container as well.

During our sociology "gift-exchange" session, Hanee brought hair-clips, Chai Bak chocolates, and Cailin, some random gifts and her specially made peach jelly. Thanks to all of you.

Paid my examination fees at RELC on Friday morning. Wonder if my parents truly have enough money for themselves after sponsoring my education. I should spend more time on my notes rather than in front of my laptop.

Seen Hui Shi's latest blog updates on frienster. Somehow, I feel she seems more depressed and gloomy as compared to the past. Maybe I should ask her about it and hopefully, she tells me more. Cheer up Hui Shi! A pretty face like yours should emit the warmth similar to that of the sun!

At long last, volume 10 of the manga Gacha Gacha is out! Time to re-read it later!

My world is falling apart

After so many years and trying my best to make myself into a better person, I still failed. For those that are close to me, you should have known that I was rejected by Hui Shi for the 5th time over 6 years on Halloween night. It all started off very well with dinner at Marina Square, followed by a bowling session.

When I met her at the bus-stop near her place again later that night, I confessed my liking towards her. Though she said she would think about it, she still rejected me via email on Thursday, 3 Nov.

Over the past week, lots of thoughts have been going through my head. If I did not confess my liking towards her, I am sure she would not be avoiding me now, and we could still chat, sms, hang out with each other as per normal. However, with Hui Shi getting prettier over the years, and getting to know more guys in her social life, I would be even more devastated if some other guy popped the question to her & succeed. It was a gamble I had to take, and unfortunately, I lost.

I hate the feeling of trying my best and still failing. "God helps those who help themselves" goes the saying, but after praying, it does not seem to work. Perharps, by selling your soul to the devil, your wish can be granted...

I thought that by my 5th rejection, I would be able to take it lightly, but I guess I was wrong. I felt I no longer had any motivation in life; all my past 6 years, I have been living my life for her. I tried my best to learn music as she was interested in it; took up a part time job so I can earn more money to take her out on dates and buy her stuff, etc. Now, everything I do daily just seems pointless.

Not to mention that when you are at the lowest point of your life, fate just wants to make it worse for you. I went drinking and cried. Went for my late night jogs, but somehow, I ended up tripping and falling. Hung out with a 2 new friends, but coincidentally, I ended up at Marina Square again, where it all started.

I don't really blame Hui Shi for rejecting me, but sometimes, I wonder if she does appreciate all that I have done for her? Maybe she has not gone through the process of waiting and rejection, and I doubt she ever will, given the beautiful lady she is growing into. Most likely, guys will be queueing up for her, and sincerely, I hope she will never have to go through all the pain that I went through.

If you ever read this post someday Hui Shi, know that a part of my heart will always belong to you. I am not even sure if I am able to move on in life anymore. Though you brought me great joy at times, there was as much sorrow, if not more. Like I mentioned in my email, you are the one and only person that made me shed more tears than everyone else I know combined.

Corpse Bride

After many hitches in our plans to catch "Corpse Bride", I finally managed to catch the movie with Hui Shi at Plaza Singapura's Golden Village earlier yesterday evening.

The movie was quite short, around 1hour 20minutes, but I don't really expect it to be too long either, considering that it is an animation. I have not watched Tim Burton's previous work, "Nightmare before Christmas", but after watching "Corpse Bride", I have to agree with the critics that he is good.

The movie is a combination of comedy and romance, with a tinge of musical aspect to it. If you are looking for a light-hearted movie, then go catch it!

Post-Birthday Update

In addition to all the greetings that I mentioned in my earlier post, the following came a little late. However, for those who remembered, I greatly appreciate it.

Additional birthday greetings and gifts:
- A card from Adeline
- A card from Saskia, all the way from Holland!
- My much desired 1/100 Freedom Gundam figurine from Hui Shi
- A brand new leather wallet from Hui Shi as well
- A Haro toy cum Shin figurine from my dear sister, Shannon
- Not forgetting the large peach cake that my parents bought for me.

On my birthday, I finally bought a new mobile phone, namely, Sony Ericsson's K750i. After using it, I feel that it is definitely one of the best phones available on the market at the moment. Though it cost me quite a significant amount of money, its 2.0 megapixel camera, 262k colour screen, and the memory provided (can be upgraded further all the way to 2GB) makes the purchase worthwhile. Call me crazy or arrogant, but whenever I walk the streets these days, I tend to look at other people's mobile phone and scoff at them. Ah... the hazards of using Nokia 3210 and Ericsson GA628 for the past 5 years, causing me to lag behind in technology as compared to others.

Happy Birthday to me!

It is my birthday today and as expected, not many people remembered. The only people who remembered were my family members and Hui Shi (thanks a lot for remembering!) She is the first and I believe, would be the last person to send me a SMS greeting.

Oh well, I cannot really blame my friends for forgetting. Guys aren't really good at remembering birthdays and such. They are usually more concerned with their girlfriends or the amount of money in their wallet. Maybe the reason why I am different from them would be because I understand the pain of spending birthdays alone. When you receive a gift for your birthday, or even a simple sms, I believe you would get warm and fuzzy all over. That is the kind of feeling that I want others to have on their birthdays.

And yes, I did not forget you Gathius. I am so very surprised that you actually started a birthday topic for me on the JPN forum. Even if no one posts on it, I am still grateful to you. JPN is definitely my second family!

One of the best days in my life!

For the first time in many years, I made a trip back to Sentosa's Underwater World, with a beautiful girl, by the name of Lam Hui Shi, accompanying me.

Although it was $19.50 per ticket (and I paid for both, since this outing was to celebrate her birthday), I felt it was worth my money. The ticket was inclusive of entry into the dolphin lagoon and for the first time in my life, I managed to come up close to those cute and intelligent pink dolphins. The tricks and feats they performed were fantastic!

I did enjoy my time at Underwater World as well, but what upset me was that some tourists simply did not know how to read instructions. They lifted the starfish out of the water when it was stated clearly, together with pictorial instructions, that they were not supposed to. Children were banging on the glasses, causing disturbance to the fishes, and yet their parents did nothing to stop them.

Took the cable car transport system back to Mount Faber (again, for the 1st time in my life) and the view was pretty awesome.

By evening, we headed down to Marina South to view the Fireworks Festival 2005. It was very crowded and I felt fustrated. However, seeing the majestic fireworks display erased all my grumpiness and sense of impatience. It was probably one of the best displays that I have seen for a long time.

All in all, I had a tiring day, but to say the least, it was enjoyable. However just like my current MSN nick, I do feel tinge of lonliness and sorrow. Every perfect day must come to an end and for most of the scenes that I saw throughout the day, I come to realise that certain things may seem to within your grasp, but no matter how hard you try, it will forever be so far.

A long story

It has been sometime since I posted on my blog, but since I have the time, here goes nothing.

Updates on myself:
-Currently holding 2 jobs, one at Media Research Consultants, the other at Prudential (though it has been pretty quiet the past few weeks)
- Attended my 1st In-camp-training (ICT) since I ORD-ed in March
- Starting my lessons at SIM later in the morning

The job at Media Research Consultants is quite interesting, calling random people up via the phone from our population to answer questionaires, and at times, there are outdoor projects as well. Met all kinds of people, from friendly ones to rude, digusting motherf**kers. Damn you a**holes who slammed the phone down on me after making crude remarks.

I was pretty worried about my ICT, but after attending it, I realized that it wasn't so bad after all, other than having to count thousands of rounds.

Currently deciding on which mobile phone to purchase. My final decision should be made over the next few days, but that means the purchase of my "Freedom Gundam 1/100 figurine" would have to be postponed.

My laptop is starting to show its age. The screen suffered a burnout after I came back from my ICT, and now, its colour looks faded.

With lessons starting today, I am bound to have less free time, but still I want to thank Luke for leaving his Playstation 2 at my place. The console games have brought me endless hours of fun through the wee hours of the night. And how can I forget the JPN forums? Though not everyone may like it, I have made a number of online friends and gained new insight to the rest of the world. Thank you, JPN!

Ups and Downs

Just last week, I found a job that was willing to employ me for a month and the pay was exceptionally good. However, just after 2 days of work, I quit. Not because I do not have the determination to continue, but rather, due to some disagreement with my family. Anyway, it was a door to door sales job and the working hours require me to stay out till midnight or so, and when I do reach home, everyone else is asleep. In short, I do not get to see much of my family members, even on weekends, as I am required to work too.

Over the last few days, I have been to many parts of Singapore, for both work and leisure. Going from apartment to apartment to perform my sales job was an invaluable experience. I came across all kinds of people, some, kind and friendly, others, rude and unreasonable. Though I have to admit it was kind of tiring, I did learn a lot of new stuff.

Just yesterday, I accompanied a friend for a job interview and to collect some prize she won as well. Though envious that my friend got employed, I am happy for her at the same time. However, I guess she would not be free to accompany me on outings anytime soon, other than on weekends. And yes, we did try out the Haagen Daaz ice-cream at Junction 8, and I seriously think that it was costly.

Its been some time

I can officially declare that my chances of getting a job by August is close to 0%. It does not really matter if I have no job experience or whatsoever, but whenever potential employers hear that I can work for only such a short period of time, with my in-camp training schedule in between, they reject me, albeit some do so in a more polite me. When I went for a job interview last week at the National Archives, the lady was quite appreciative of my frankness, but there was nothing she could do about my employment. Being honest or getting a job? Which is of higher priority to me?

Putting myself into the employers' shoes, if they employed me, and all of sudden, I announce that I have to leave, I am sure they would feel very cheated, having trained me and all. Maybe someday, some employer would appreciate my honesty, but until then... I guess I better be more accurate in my soccer predictions, if I want to earn some extra cash for the time being. And yes, I know gambling is unhealthy.

I heard from Saskia that her horse had been euthanized and I truly feel sad for her. In a way, I am upset too because I have heard so much about her horse from her.

Although I am quite broke and do not have much interest in star wars, Mark persuaded me to watch Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith with him. I was reluctant to do so until he volunteered to sponsor half of my entry ticket. Thanks, my friend! I will say that it is a great movie but I agree that the length of the show is value for money... 2 and a half hours. "You were the chosen one!" is now my new MSN nick.

Went job hunting with my friend earlier yesterday and for a change, I am accompanying someone else rather than friends going along with me. It is indeed difficult to find a part-time job especially for students on vacation.

To backtrack a little further, I bought the whole set of "Salad Days" at a bargain price of $54, meaning each comic costs only $3! The artwork is above average but some of the stories do touch me at times. Not everyone has a happy ending, and that applies to real life as well.

Still Jobless

It has been some time since I last posted on my blog. I have been busy looking for a job, which unfortunately, up till now, is still unsuccessful. I do hope that the personnel from Riverview Hotel will call me up soon cause I believe that is my best chance. The restaurant manager had initially wanted me to start work the next day after my interivew, but after some discussion with one of his supervisors, they decided to call me back. Good or bad?

After my ORD, I am now posted to 732 SIR. I can't believe that my in-camp-training (ICT) is coming up so soon, from the 18-22 July. I guess I better get myself mentally prepared for my trip back to the army.

Just in case I do not get a place in NUS, NTU or SMU, I have to decided to apply for Bachelor of Science (Business) at SIM. I guess it is good to have a backup plan.

Late again!

Last Friday, I asked my friend out to accompany me on my job hunt. As usual, I was late, though I tried my best to be early. In the end, I was yelled at, making me feel so embarrassed. I guess I just have to work harder at being punctual.

In any case, to atone for my "sin", I suggested treating my friend to Swensons. The fact that Swensons' ice-cream tastes great cannot be denied, but having to wait at the table for half an hour is far too long. Business at the Plaza Singapura branch is either overwhelming or there is simply a shortage of staff. Maybe they should hire me...

Shortage of Dough

As I am going to ORD this Wednesday, cash flow problems seem to arise. Without the army giving me a monthly allowance any longer, I have to look for a job. Spent the last two days job-hunting at Orchard and Suntec. Surprisingly, lots of restaurants are in need of part-timers. However, I did not apply for them as my confidence level was quite low. I have absolutely no job experience and furthermore, I would like to find ways on how to handle interviews before doing so.

Finally found Boys BE season II at the Toa Payoh comics connection outlet. Wanted to buy it there and then, but once again, the problem of money sets in. I have the money with me at that moment, but it is meant for buying breakfast for my colleagues before I leave. Realized the importance of getting an ATM card. If someone gets to the comic before I do so later today, I will definitely be devastated.

And of course, thanks to Mark, I now have all the episodes of Kiddy Grade. Yippee!

Learning is for life

I was taught by a friend how to play an electone earlier yesterday afternoon. I have absolutely zero knowledge of music before the lesson, but at least now, I have gained a new experience. Since I am at it, I might as well try and find out more about music and most importantly, learn how to read those notes.

I always wonder why we have to pay service charge at restaurants even when the service is poor. I was dining at the Junction 8 Sakae Sushi outlet last evening and when I was shown my seat, I requested for 2 cups of green tea, but the waiter most probably forgot due to the overwhelming number of customers. In the end, I had to obtain them myself. Furthermore, when I was paying at the cashier, I was accused (too harsh a word?) of eating 5 plates of sushi when I never did. Partly, it was my fault as I did not ask for billing beforehand. In conclusion, I rate my dining experience at this particular outlet as poor.