you know it's a sad day...

... when the US Presidential Election comes to the WWE

wtf?

how now brown cow?

"you haven't blogged in forever eh?" says abi

she's right.

sigh. so many things to do and so little time.

my life in point form

mon:

- teach
- haircut
- meet abi for lunch
- renew auto insurance
- renew road tax
- cuss out local oakley dealership for being closed till the 15th for CNY celebrations (buggers)
- optional: relax (if there is time)

tues / wed / thurs / fri:

- teach
- work

ps: have i mentioned that i am looking forward to my vacation?

bad stuff, cannot bluff

please make it stop!

sometimes, when you have good (bad?) things to share, you just gotta do it. all i can say is that i am VERY glad that i do not work at the MDA right about now ;)

to my foreign friends, yes, this is how singapore wastes their taxpayers' money.

ps: if the link above is too slow (because everyone wants to watch the damn thing), you can try this instead

proud new home owner

this is the look of a proud owner of his own kingdom.

it's not what you would expect, because it IS darren after all, and even though we love him, we can hardly call him normal.

but he's got his keys, the contractors are starting work and by early 2008, we should have a new place to invade for chill time. even if it is NEARLY in malaysia.

the birthday girl

how quickly they grow!


and they say tv teaches children violence


helping hands

it seems like only yesterday when i first met little shea. always shy, always hiding behind mummy, always picky about food.

the pickiness about food hasn't changed much (though she IS trying new things) but the timid quiet girl has blossomed into a smart little 8-year-old whose sudden spurts of extrovertedness still startle me.

the nuggets were good, the pinata was ace, and the adults all had as good a time as the kids.

it was nice to be there, and i can't wait to be there for many more.

happy birthday shea!

hallelujah!

good things do come to those who wait.

so what if it's 5:15am in the morning and that i've spent the last few hours fiddling with my computer?

i've finally gotten my p990i to sync with my mac, and i couldn't be happier. updated contacts and calandars?

ahhh! my life is complete!

and now, to hit the shower and enjoy a much deserved sleep.

*update - it's 7:15am and am just done manually changing some contacts that wouldn't upload. reminder to self - make sure everything is working fine before making random declarations*

getting back into the swing of things

you'd think that after being back a week, i'd be back to normal.

i thought that's how things would be.

i thought wrong.

for those who don't know, lucky ole me managed to get assigned to head over to toulouse, france to cover the handover of singapore airline's latest toy, the airbus a380 (no i did not get to fly the damn thing back.) after a nice three days with peers from various local media outlets, i abandoned them at gatwick in london, and proceeded to spend a good seven days in london with nat, and a shitload of museums.

i shot a roll and a half of film (damn the digital demon!) and about a bazillion digital (demonized) images. at the risk of sounding like a sellout, a tech nerd, or just the lazy ass i really am, i have to say that i am getting way too used to the instant gratification that digital photography provides.

that said, i'm still too lazy to upload, so we'll see just how long it will take before i get some images up online.

but i digress...

a full week after touching down, and i still haven't gotten over the "wishing i was still on vacation" phase, aside from the great weekend (happy birthday shea!!) spent with family, friends, and the crowds visiting the new airport terminal, getting myself to work hasn't gotten any easier, especially today when it took all of my self control to go in and be the night supe.

i'm giving myself one more week, and if things don't get better, well maybe i will just start planning for my next jaunt out of the country (this time with beeba.)

that should give me something to look forward to.

facebook killed the blogging star

well maybe not killed, but severly crippled.

so what if facebook is shallower and not as personal? blogging takes more time and thought, some would say, and in this day and age, we are all about saving time. to do what? erm, probably to waste it on something else.

our generation is all about instant gratification. why waste time waiting for someone to compose their thoughts and type out a lengthy diatribe about how bad their day was, and how much they have to do, and how tough work is, when a simple facebook status update stating "bryan is sick of work and tired" would work just as well?

it's akin to saying that you keep up to date on current affairs when all you do is read headlines.

at the end of the day, it's probably about being an exhibitionist, and to a large extent, that's what blogging and facebooking is all about. we want people to know how we are, how disgruntled (or happy) we are, and we want as many people as possible to read it.

but i guess even exhibitionists need a day off, or at least feel the need to expose themselves to a more private and descerning audience.

and that, my dear friends, is why i blog.

random disconcerting soundbites

*overheard during my quick dash into the grocery store*

"ok! you stay outside! monster come and eat you!!" huffs a disgruntled parent as he walks through swinging doors while leaving his truculent child outside. nary a sign of urgency to open that door as the little tyke freaks out and starts bawling to be let back in, all the while exerting maximum strength to open a heavy glass door that his dimunitive size is not equipped to handle.

"why are you still here!!" a seemingly unreasonable and extremely irate lady shouts at her domestic helper (in front of her two young children i might add) " you think i need you? you think i cannot get along without you? go off lah! who needs you?!" as the poor maid trundles along after her employer with tears in her eyes, soon to be out of earshot.

since when did it become fun to wait a good half minute watching your child wail outside a door he can't open before letting him in?

and since when did the term "domestic helper" translate directly into "slave"?

happy birthday singapore, you're getting older, but that doesn't necessarily make you any wiser.