Realm of the Imponderable

RDOC #65

Just out of curiosity, how many of you know what RDOC stands for? Mouse your curser over it to find out...

Watched Lazer Vaudeville today. They're a pseudo circus act troupe; as in they have the usual juggling and funny stunt acts but they don't have the traditional clown or the trapeize or other realy dangerous stunt acts. They're still good at what they do, which is a pretty unique mix of high tech lights and acting. They basically take your traditional circus acts like juggling, poi swinging etc. and present it in a different way. Most inpressive was the cigar box act and the final club juggling act, which involved a lot of really difficult looking tricks.
They're showing every day till this tuesday; go see them if you can.

I also managed to salvage my PDA database by getting my friend in the US to access my computer there and email me the database files. So, damage was minimal...
And...
SUCK MY BALLS, MURPHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RDOC #64

CHAO CHEE BAI!!!!!!!!!! Shoot Murphy in the kneecaps, put his balls in a G-clamp and hang him by the toenails!! And boil his liver in vinegar too...

My Fucking PDA chose this precise moment to die on me, when I have no backup on my computer and no recourse but to go around painstakingly asking everyone I know for their number again (not to mention the palm programs I have to find again, the schedule I'll have to remember and the tons of little notes I left for myself in there)

This whole fucking week has defied statistics too many times... It's these FUCKING laws that Murphy came up with that's screwing the SHIT out of every GODDAMN thing I try to do .... Where the FUCKING HELL are the laws of physics and statistics??? You FUCKING playing me out while you take a SMOKING BREAK izzit? KAN NI NA BEH CHAO CHEE BAI!!! LEAVE ME HERE TO DIE WITH FUCKING MURPHY IN CHARGE??????? FUCKING CHAO KENG AND DON'T WANT TO DO YOUR JOB!!!

RDOC #63

Guess what??? Murphy's Law strikes again!!!!
The car went into the workshop, and when the repairman tests it, it works perfectly! WTF... It's guerrilla warfare I tell you... the problem comes out and strikes at the most inconvenient time, then goes into hiding and waits for another time to strike. (Leaving some VERY puzzled people behind scratching their heads)
Well, hopefully this problem either goes away or strikes again while we're in Singapore where help is more readily available and we can get the repairman on the scene faster to check it out.

Was at Salsa yesterday, and had a refreshing conversation after that over dinner on S&M... it's nice to hear it discussed by people who aren't sexually deprived conscripts in the SAF, and even nicer when one of the participants in the conversation has firsthand experience...
Oh yeah.. I've been in those conversations before... it's more like a truth or dare session but people instead always opt for truth and they're quite liberal about what they say about themselves.. talk about fetishes and little details that most people don't really think about. Now what we needed at the table that night was a good supply of, say, whisky or vodka. It's always more interesting when people are slightly tipsy, and much better when they're buzzing...
Hmmm... I just remembered the Singapore and Malaysia show put up in Michigan not too long ago. Aptly named the S&M show. hheee...

Getting pretty well settled in the Singapore Juggling Club... Seems to me though, that their members, by virtue of the fact that they're members of this really obscure club, are all pretty damn good at juggling. Good enough, at least, to be able to get a good passing run or 5 ball cascade going. I CAN safely say, though, that being the second person here who's proficient in the Devilstick, I'd be above average standard here. (Just thought; that's not really saying very much, is it?)

I think I want to go out and get a shovel and beat Murphy to death with it... his laws seem to be omnipresent and omnipotent and should never have been invented in the first place.

RDOC #62

Was in Malaysia last weekend for another "samah samah" camping trip that turned into a disaster only rivalled by the 1994 trip where Murphy's law over-ruled the laws of physics and statistics.

Let me recount the 1994 trip for those of you who have not had the misfortune of hearing me tell it:
We went river boating down one of the tributaries of Lake Kenya. It was a week long trip that had 7 days of thunderstorms. During that trip we planned to go upriver as far as we could and then go down on the last day. What actually happened was that we capsized the boat on the second day, nearly lost a camera, dunked the outboard motor in the process and spent the next 3 days at the same campsite trying to dry the motor. (Not an easy task, considering that it was thunderstorming every afternoon) The next day we decided enough was enough and decided to head back; a return journey that resulted in the outboard motor that we had painstakingly dried and repaired getting ripped off the boat by a rock.

Now, yesterday's trip was just a simple one night at a lake in Selendang. The return journey started off with the car breaking down and having to be towed from Rompin back to Singapore. (a modest journey of about 200 km) Lets see, what else happened? It thunderstormed on Saturday afternoon, and when I was out in the lake fishing, no less, and I expect the repair of the car will result in a hefty bill for my dad. Oh, and the canoe got dropped while we were unloading it from our friend's car and ripped the rearview mirror off.

Now, do you see that Murphy's law surpasses even the laws of statistics and physics in it's power?

Bis repetita placent, I say.
(The things that please are repeated again and again)

RDOC #61

Was with Joanna last tuesday due to some unfortunate circumstances on her part. (It's a long story... Jo dear, be careful next time)
Went for Salsa lessons that day and I discovered that while I ain't no ballroom dancer, I'm not too bad either (well, at least hearing what the girls have to say about the other guys I'm relieved to know that -at the very least- they don't have any complaints about me)

Spent yesterday learning how to use Flash MX. Kind of reminds me of this little Flash movie I saw in Michigan. check this out

I also felt a little more crappy than usual that day and was inspired to write a little more thoughtful rubbish on my other website. (go to it)

cheers!
(hic)

RDOC #60

Haven't updated this for ages. I think I'm getting old.

I'm also extremely tired and half brain dead, owing to the afternoon spent in intensive bridge playing. It's by no means a game for old geezers; it needs lots of brain power and game theory. But spend a few hours playing and you'll begin to understand how silly mistakes are made and how 5 minute catnaps are taken.

Was in Melacca last weekend and clocked a speeding ticket for going to 124 kmh. My father was similarly caught and so was our friend who was travelling with us in another vehicle. And we intelligently chose to go to the police station on sunday to pay the fine. Guess what? The malaysian police take sunday off. The stations aren't open that day! Tell you something: if you want to commit a crime in Malaysia, do it on a sunday. The cops will then be more busy looking for a nice siesta place then in finding criminals.
We also visited a private garden owned by an acquaintance of my father's which looks more like a jungle with winding pathways and perhaps a little more flowering plants than usual. The landscaping is very subtle so that while there is a semblance of natural disorder there actually is a pretty well defined network of pathways, plant patches and streams. It probably costs a pretty penny to upkeep as well. Someday, when I'm rich and famous and own my lion's share of the national GDP I'll have a garden like that.

Went on an interesting expedition last wednesday which took me bashing in the jungles of Mandai in search of some WW2 relics.
The Oral History Department wanted an interview with this Japanese gentleman who was formerly an officer in the war. This guy, while he was here in Singapore, was given orders to dig some caves in the middle of the jungle at Mandai for storage of something. What that something is he isn't sure beause he was posted out before it was filled but he's convinced that it was to hide cannisters of poison gas that the Japanese planned to use in the war. This conviction drove him to make 3 visits to Singapore over the last 10 years to find it. Now in his 80s (82 to be precise), he enlisted the help of some people in the National Heritage Board to look for these caves in Mandai in exchange for the interview with the Oral History Department about his experiences during the war.
Well, as you can probably infer from the background story, how the hell do you find some holes in the ground that were dug 60 years ago in the middle of a jungle when all you have is the memory of an 82 year old man? Nevertheless, we made a valiant effort, battling errant vines, undergrowth and mosquitos to venture into the jungle in search of this mysterious hole in the ground and it's fabled contents.
Predictably, we didn't find anything and the old man managed to last a good one hour tramping around in the jungle before he decided enough was enough and we had to call it a day. Actually it's pretty remarkable that at 82 he's still able to navigate thick secondary rainforest (of course with me and another guy hacking away and clearing a path) and actually remember the lay of the land well enough to draw a map of the area and formulate a subsequent plan of action. Makes me wonder if I'll be able to do things like that when I'm 80...

Was back in ACJC last thursday to see some old teachers of mine. Some of them (eg. Pauline Kan) received a rather rude shock at the sight of me while the others ranged from no reaction at all (LLQ) to mild amusement (Kuna). I suppose it's fair to say that the one who was amused the most was yours truly, and anyway Eugene and I had a nice pleasent conversation with our old teachers, who for the most part were happy to see us.

OMFG.. I've been sitting here writing this for the past hour. Jo, maybe you're right; blogging has a stimulating effect on the mind; I'm not tired anymore.

Will put up some pictures on my other website soon. More later...

RDOC #59

Went for Salsa lessons yesterday. It occurred to me then that maybe I should practice being a little more assertive cos' I realise that being the one in command (in salsa the guy leads the girl; so I've got to tell her what to do) isn't something that I really like to do. Oh well, somebody's got to do it
It's still too early to say if I like Salsa or not, but so far it seems to be the kind of style I like: fast paced, looks pretty good when you do it well and probably requires a fair amount of skill to get right. Pretty much just like what I've been doing over in Ann Arbor.

I think there's one more thing that I need to get used to here and that's the sheer complexity of the roads here. In Ann Arbor, the things that make city driving confusing are one way streets. In Singapore, it's the sheer number of junctions and the complexity and uniqueness of many of them that often leads you to make a wrong turn. A few days ago I was going to the International Business Park near to the Chevrons NCO club (Right next to Juring East MRT station) and I somehow went Hor-lan and ended up in Choa Chu Kang...
And I thought things like that only happened to people like my grandfather. He once ended up at Changi instead of the nearby supermarket in Newton.

Well, family gathering here's winding down; my Aussie relatives are leaving soon and that'll leave just one more family for the next week. Will be able to have a bridge gathering over in my house soon. Yay!

RDCO #58

I'm Home!!!
After a harrowing 20 hour plane ride and near accident on the way to the airport.
BTW My friend went to bwang my car after dropping me off at the airport at Detroit. *grrr* oh well... He's going to pay for the repairs and I should be able to see my car as good as new when I get back in August. BUT still..... *!#^%$*&!#^*
I think that's the last time I'm letting anyone else drive my car...

Back home for a big family gathering now. Got my cousins from all over the place coming over to my house to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday. Something even my cousin from Australia who has a phobia of flying flew over here for. It's been fun so far, and yours truly has become the family Ahmat (driver). I must say that after 8 months of right side driving, getting used to left side driving again wasn't too bad after all.

There's 3 things that I'm really going to miss while I'm here: My computer, my internet connection and my car. bleah..
Think I'm going to miss my computer at Michigan the most. 2.6Ghz, ATI Radeon 9600 etc...( You get the picture. I can play almost anything on that machine with maximum graphic settings and everything)
But then here I've got my friends to keep me company, so it's win some lose some. hee.. we really need to get together and play bridge again *grin*
I should intro you guys to ultimate frisbee. It's the best game in the US and I've got the perfect frisbee here in my room. Just need a few more players and we're all set..