the train

I think I'm truly gifted and cursed at the same time. I don't know of anyone else who can stare at accounting figures for 5 straight hours with no rest whatsoever, even when his friends give up and watch downloaded episodes of Entourage on a 50" plasma just 2 meters away. This, on Diwali, after putting house visits on hold, thereby denying himself of the pleasures of festive food and alcohol. :(

If it means missing the train, I'm not necessarily out of the game altogether. All it means is that I'll be playing catch up when the time comes. Or, I might just change my mind and decide to hop on. Either way, I want to be on that train. I don't know yet... we'll just have to see.

Happy birthday, Baker-friend!

the singh is kinng... sometimes

It's nice to dance to Hindi music once in awhile. The next time you think of going to Rupee Room at Clarke Quay, go to Club Colaba at Boat Quay instead. Cover's cheap, music's pretty varied so you're not dancing to unknown Hindi songs the whole night and bouncers sleep while standing up.

The world needs more daughters.

the premium wine tasting function

I felt a little important today. Managed to get myself an invite to a private function at Harry's. This wasn't any ordinary gathering. I was there to help determine which premium wines would make their wine list. That meant lots of expensive but free wines for me. I like.

So the next time you visit Harry's, turn to the wine section, observe the awesome selection like 'Watershed Shiraz Margaret River 2004' or 'Contada Chianti DOGC 2006', and remember that I played a part!

Oh, and trust me. They're worth more than the $100 bucks per bottle you'll be forking out.

the clash of the weddings

The first of the six in our childhood group finally got married last week. Who would have thought that this day would come so soon. It's all so unfamiliar, although I've been involved in countless weddings before. It's different this time. Because it's one of us. And it forces us to realize that we've finally grown up. Allow me to reminisce for a moment here. We've come a long way together. From innocent and naive adolescents, through the passage of time we've become stronger and developed character.

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, the torch has been passed on to us. It's time to make a living for ourselves. It's time to be adults, to take on real responsibilities with real stakes on the table. It's pretty overwhelming just thinking about it. Even for the ones who don't hear wedding bells in the near future (ie. me) - graduation. job search. finally meeting the real world. real threats. risky decisions.

Well, I'm sure the newly-weds will go far (pun intended). The Bahamas is a long loong way away, after all. My most sincere wishes to the two of you. Starting a family in a foreign land on your own seems quite daunting. But I'm sure you two will manage some how.

Another wedding coming soon. But this one is just too... complicated. It was an awkward and sad phone call. For me at least. I couldn't bring myself to congratulate you or wish you although I knew that that would have made you happy. But that would have been hypocritical of me. And you would have seen right through it. Would you really have bought that? We saw it coming for YEARS. And yet, it's still awkward. I guess if it makes you happy, good for you. I truly appreciate the effort taken in mailing me a separate invite as requested despite receiving two beforehand. I don't know why I asked you to do that, but it really doesn't make any sense for me to be present. If this makes it any better, I still do cherish the good ol' days despite what I say. And no amount of jealousy and hatred from anyone will be able change that.

Two weddings. Two very different emotions. Life's a rollercoaster. It really is.

the denier

she danced. she kissed. she cried. she laughed. she fell. again and again.

and she denied it all.

the eccentric professor

Ethics class was.. interesting.

1. The professor pulled out a wallet-sized iron ore from his shoe after claiming to have visited a Brazillian iron mine over the weekend
   
2. Then he pulled out some twigs from his bag and said he'd plucked them from a dying Sumatran rainforest.
3. He subsequently tried to saw the twigs with a toy saw, but to no avail.
4. He decided to use a more sophisticated cutting instrument (see picture below).
5. He thought it'd be fun to cut someone's finger instead. He asked for volunteers while holding a bloodied hankie. No one was brave enough.
6. He pulled out three lighted cigarettes from his shirt pocket and started smoking them.

My Ethics prof is eccentric. I'd call him 'mad', if he didn't have Dean, Harvard Law School and Attorney General, New York State on his resume (which I immediately checked out after class, of course).


I would like to work at One Raffles Quay one day. Huge lobbies, spanking new designer offices, plush carpeting, futuristic corridors, breathtaking view of the sea, unobstructed view of The Sail@Marina Bay (for the voyeurs), Lau Pa Sat just across the road, UBS, Deutsche, RBS, Barclays, Credit Suisse, ABN Amro (notice they're all non-US). Aaah...the epitome of class.

the sign of a fallen nation

A clock that's run out of digits. Notice the make-shift non-digitised dollar sign that's been pasted on to make room for the '1' digit that's taken its place. They've finally decided to replace the board with one that can track debt up to a quadrillion dollars.

I didn't know that number even existed.

the wrong thing to do

it's one thing to know right from wrong.
but it's a whole different ball game altogether where the rubber meets the road.

the absurd thing is that i tell myself that i'll pray about it knowing full well what i ought to do.
but it makes so much sense to do just the opposite.

whywhywhywhywhy.