Wholesome Chap At your service

2009-04-05T14:37:00.002+08:00

I have created another blog, my dear readers! Dun worry, keetzai.blogspot.com is not closing down. This page will continue to contain my random ramblings about my life, my friends, and the world.

The other page will showcase (yes, right) hopefully the fun, lighter of me. :)

2009-03-28T23:09:00.002+08:00

I have comments about Ah gong (again)

This time about Mandarin and dialects. Things that i don't agree:

1)There is no need to choose between Mandarin and dialect

2)Weeding out dialects doesn't mean our Mandarin standard will improve

I am using myself as an example. For a start, i am not a genius with 10GB of memory nor am i a scholar with outstanding results. But i would suppose my command of English and Mandarin is good enough to make myself understood by most people. Yet my mother tongue is actually Cantonese.

I am a Cantonese and i am proud of that language. It could be Hokkien, it doesn;t matter. In short, i can speak, write English and Chinese, in addition i speak dialect.

Of course, command of these 3 languages differ as well. I am not that darn good in my English, never gotten any As in my English exams nor do i know how to appreciate those literatures. But at least i dun use 'EMO' in my daily life and people understand what i am saying whenever i speak.

As for Chinese, i am feeling a bit mixed about it. To be honest, my level of Chinese is better than the man on the street. I read Lianhe Zaobao daily without any difficult, which most people probably can't. Having said that, working usage of Chinese would be lacking and less comfortable, since we are not in the Chinese working environment.

Coming from a Cantonese speaking family, i am most comfortable in speaking Cantonese of course. Sometimes, i think in Cantonese as well.

What does it prove? I am not saying i am THAT good. I am just speaking from experience that language is not science. There is no need to extinguish one language in order to learn other languages well. Doesn't work that way. And we don't need a 10GB mind to learn 2 languages and your own dialect well. I dun have that kind of grey matter as well.

And i really feel there is a sentimental value in knowing and speaking dialect as well. Whenever i heard someone speaking my own dialect, i would feel a sense of closeness whom i cannot say the same for Chinese or English. And to a large extent, dialects connect one back to your values, thinking, culture as well. Think of the different cuisines.

I personally feel that when we start to give up our dialect, we are giving up our culture and roots. What happens when we lose out culture and roots? You merely become a working being just to stay alive without personality

2009-03-26T00:34:00.011+08:00

Turned 26 officially last friday. No crazy parties or getting drunk (thank god).

I really hope this year would be kind to me. Not that last year was extremely tough but not that great. Just wish everyone around me would be healthy and happy.

Anyway, i also hope to achieve more this year. Making things happen and challenge myself. So this will be the first one

Singapore PAssion Run! Free PA card after i have signed up. Yippe! Not exactly a standchart thing, but i am going to do a 15km run. Totally excited about it :)

I have started to training for it and pretty pleased with my progress. Hope to keep it up and list this one as one of my achievements for 2009!

Will keep you guys updated on this and other things that i have signed up as well

2009-03-10T10:26:00.002+08:00

Passed.

My IPPT that is. U can't imagine how thrilled i was on saturday morning, after this mental and physical stress.

I am still a little proud of my achievement, this time passed my IPPT on my second attempt. Bear in mind that i took 5 attempts last year before i managed to squeeze in a pass 2 days before my birthday (when my window will close).

IPPT has been a constant source of stress and anguish, especially when my birthday is round the corner. Ah gong is so good to me that he would remind me of my birthday no matter no busy i am or how i wish to forget i am going to turn 1 year older.

I must say passing IPPT is both a combination of luck and perservance. Luck because there was a small drizzle on my way to the test center and the sky threatened to pour anytime. When the sky cleared a little later, i knew i was going to be lucky! (yes, i am a patang shit)

and when i managed to hit 212cm for my broad jump, my confidence grew because it was my weakness link! And uncle me has been training hard for the past few weeks by running along Singapore river, 2.4km run was not a big issue (to pass, not to get gold).

I have taken money from ah gong many times, what credits or what shares, but to me getting this $100 incentive from ah gong for passing my IPPT is the most satisfying of them all. It is really not the amount, but it pushes me to the limit and feel i really earned this money through my own feet, hands and sweat (plenty).

Really want to keep my fitness up, strive to do better!

2009-02-25T00:01:00.002+08:00

My first facial visit experience......

I went for my first ever facial, thanks to huiling who gave me a voucher. So it was a free facial

I can't wait to share my experience and so here am i typing furiously

The place was a small beauty saloon near my work place so i hopped there and a female (i presume is the lady boss) who ushered me to a room and asked me to lie down. Immediately, i felt like i was this poor little pig, waiting to be slaughtered. (of course, they are not going to swallow me)

And i thought the whole process was going to be breeze as i always have this idea that girls always treat facial or any thing that pamper themselves to be some sort of relaxation.

It was alright in the beginning when the female boss applied i-dunno-what-thing onto my face. Then i felt a prick on my face. Again. again and again. Ouch.

She said "Hmmz, your face is dry on the surface but oily underneath." ok whatever that means but image of a barrel of oil came to my mind instantly

In any case she used something to poke my face. Getting rid of my blackhead was the immediate thought but i was thinking: " i am here for facial, how come i feel i am here for Botox injections!" I was squeezing my own hands tightly because it was TAMADE painful!

Then someone took over. I asked her what was the boss poking for. She merely commented without any farefare, "we were trying to unclog your pore because your face is exposed to sunlight without protection, and we can't unclog all at once"

Okay, then i pictured my face like a chocked sewage pipe with a lot of shit inside left uncleared. Heng, after that was the really relaxing part of facial with mask and all, which i fell asleep for a while.

I promised them i will be back to unclog all the shit next month. Arghh. pain again

2009-02-24T00:56:00.002+08:00

Any idea what is the most over-used word that i have heard?

Me? no...
Yes? no...
F*%k? no...

I say...emo (EMO)

This word is very 'in' these days among the young kids. And whenever they use it, it just jars my ears. Big time.

It irks me because they use it anyhow and anytime. To begin with, there is no such word as emo. Of course it means emotion or emotional, depends on the context. But these kids use it wrongly.

This morning on my way to work, these bunch of kids came into the train, with a guy friend decided to stand away from them for some reason.

Then his friend shouted " wah lau, u emo is it!?" I immediately rolled my eyes, my poor ears being damaged by what he said.

Pls, no meaning at all. what is emo supposed to mean over here??

And some of the kids these days use it like this

" After seeing the SMS, i emo-ed for a while" WTF!??

totally wrong lah. By the way, what's up with kids these days? Why they keep emo about every single thing in their life. Have they seen enough of the world to know what is going on?

Talk about emo! Pui!

2009-02-20T00:50:00.002+08:00

Munching some cake while i type this...i am at a totally random mood right now. Not focusing on any topic to blog about..maybe the things i want to blog is to serious for my current frame of mind.

In any case, transport fares are going down. Yay! one time that i ever heard. gd times for ppl like me.

Who was the one who said transport fares not linked to oil prices? he ought to eat his words!

2009-02-14T13:42:00.003+08:00

I have been thinking doing an entry about the government for the longest time. I dun think i would want to critize our dear government here, not exactly the best place to do it. Let me pay tribute on the different names of the schemes that we have instead. The names normally tickle me, giving me some light-hearted smile (i mean laugh)

SPUR (Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience). The lastest one thrown out. So the name aims to spur all of us out, so we can retrain and retrain, retrain to keep our jobs

BOOST (Building On Opportunities to Strengthen Tourism. By STB. As the name suggest, the initiative aims to boost tourism over here because those ang mohs are learning the basics of how to save for a rainy day, giving Singapore and the Merlion a miss for the next few years.

CORE (Construction Re-Skilling for Employment). WDA again. For retraining skills to work in the construction industry.

PEEK (Pre-school Environmental Education Kit) NEA. Even the kids are not spared from the abbreviations. This is supposed to be a booklet to educate the kids about the environment. But PEEK and the environment. No link at all!

COMPASS (Community and Parents in Support of Schools). MOE. This programme is aimed to encourage the community and parents to work more with the school to help their children learn better. Seems like schools have their compass on how to teach the kids how to learn, need a new one from us.

GROW 2.0 Package (Growth of Education Officers, through better Recognition, Opportunities, and seeing to their Well-being). MOE. The name sounds some movie series, like Lord of the Rings 3.0. Not amused by this name and package at all. I thought their well being are already one of the best around??? Grow what? their salary?

There are actually a lot more, just throwing a few to illustrate Ah gong has to make some policies and programmes with some fun and easy to remember names. Some are rather creative, really have to give it up to our public servants for coming with some of innovative names.

2009-02-01T20:28:00.002+08:00

I have been plagued by two questions lately.

The most obvious one is no doubt : " When the hell are you going to start looking for a girlfriend?" This is nothing new of course, when relatives try to create conversation during Chinese New Year period. I of course have my own set of answers to appease them, luckily they exert more pressure to my brother to get married and hence their attention were diverted. Lucky me!

But now even my mum starts to tell me to know more girls! Never before my parents had told me that in my entire 25+ years alive. Just yesterday during dinner, my brother asked me if the group of friends that i was meeting after the dinner were females. Then my mum said, "Eh, i thought last time you received a letter to ask you to join some groups or society to make friends?"

Yes, my mum was referring to the SDU. And i nearly fell off my chair and choked on the carrot cake i was savouring. No disrepect to SDU, i am not put off by SDU. Just that my parents are growing increasingly worried that i am going to be left on the shelf.

Aiyah, i think it will come in Autumn. haha..my good friends will know why.

The second question is..." Why aren't you getting a driving license!!"

i am swarmed by this question countless times which i still fail to fathom why my friends and relatives are interested to know.

It is really my lazy bones acting up being the reason why i am not learning driving. And people will retort " you can drive your brother's car if you have a license!"

That really put me off. Big time. I dun like the idea of driving my brother's car because i didn't pay a single cent in buying the car. So i am not using things that don't belong to mine. Simple reasoning which i dunno why people around failed to understand.

It is just like will you sleep in a flat which your siblings bought though it is seldom used? I won't. cos i didn't pay a single cent for it.

2009-01-23T10:00:00.002+08:00

was watching the CNA post Budget special on tv before i went to bed last night. Don't want to go into details but they were interviewing this professor from SM(you) about the Budget. I really think it was a joke. Seriously i would really expect a professor to speak with much more depth and intellect than what i have seen last night.

I am not very intellect but i really wonder why we bother to spend money to keep useless educators in our system

2009-01-03T16:00:00.007+08:00

Watching this show currently. This show being set in the 1920s which makes it a period drama. Period drama does not quite appeal to most people. Especially after the highly rating Heart of Greed.

But this show titled The Silver Chamber of Sorrow has its own appeal, at least to me. It has its own set of family and business feuds. But it evokes a lot of thoughts for me actually. For me, the biggest take away is actually the traditional and conservative mindsets that was present back then.

We the Chinese can be considered one of the more conservative folks around, even up to present day. In the show, back in the 1930s, it was considered normal to drown those committed adultry, and marriages were decided by parents, while the bride and bridegroom had never seen each other before. Women's status back then was to make men happy, to assist in household affairs and to produce offsprings.

Times certainly have changed for the last 70 years. Society has become much more liberal (i am so thankful for that). We certainly have more choices in life and women's status has been elavated by leaps and bound.

It also set me thinking that we are still unchanged in many areas. We still have yet to overcome the difference in status. The "bamboo door to bamboo door, wooden door to wooden door" mentality is still pretty much entrenched in our belief. And in many, the attitude that wives have the responsibility of producing offsprings (preferably males which carry the family surname) is still alive.

What happens now is most of us are more discrete in expressing our conservative stance. Though society is constantly evolving, some of views are just difficult to change :)

2009-01-01T12:25:00.003+08:00

2009 has finally arrived, without much fanfare for me. No countdown parties. With the minute hand of the clock striked 12mn, I sent 2008 off in front of the tv, telling myself :" thank god i have survived 2008!"

2008 has been a long year, whom i have stepped into the working society for the full year. For the world as a whole, 2008 has not been a good year, marred by global recession, terrorist attacks and natural disasters. We should give ourselves a pat on the back for being around still.

For 2009, expectations are not high that we can pull ourselves out of recession or promotion with fat bonuses. No doubt things will be tough, but i am sure i am coming out of the gloom a better person.

I remember i wrote down a list of resolutions last year for 2008, none of which i had achieved. So this year i will write it down on a good old paper and paste it in front of me as a constant reminder.

As a whole i still embrace the arrival of 2009, with much to achieve as a person i guess. My leave is ending soon, fully recharged and ready to put my heart and soul into my work again. :)

2008-12-30T00:42:00.002+08:00

I still believe that how we feel is very much dependent on how we want to look at things. It is certainly not an easy task to ignore what people say or feel, or what other people are doing, while you stick to your guns/beliefs.

You might feel like a loser on the surface but actually it may not be that bad after all, if you want to believe so.

Maybe it is even better not to think so much or think so deep. When you dun have to think so much, we probably won't sink deeper into self wallow, which means life is happier.

Let's go easy on ourselves :)

2008-12-29T10:34:00.002+08:00

Currently enjoying my long-awaited leave. Just staying at home to rest, catch up with my Hong Kong dramas. No plans to go overseas for holidays (reasons being poor and no where to go during year end).

With Christmas behind us, 2009 is fast approaching. I seriously look forward in terms of developing myself further, both in my job wise and personal life. Lotsa of things on my mind what i want to achieve.

In any case, i need more challenges for this coming year!

2008-12-19T00:32:00.002+08:00

When keetzai says u stick to your hairdresser/barber, you better do so.

Last saturday, i went for a haircut because my hair was getting longer than usual and i would like to think that i look better in short name.

For my haircut, i usually go to one in town. Note that i am extremely unwillingly to put down the exact name and location because i am wary that the shop would become darn famous and as a result hike the price.

Anyway, the saloon that i usually patronise cost only $20 that comes with a wash as usual. So i think it is a pretty good deal and i am pretty happy with the service that they provide me with.

But last weekend, due to time constraint and partly my lazy bones acting up, i decided to just settle for a small saloon just below where i stay. I had this statement on my head when i made my decision.

"Any saloon doesn't make much difference, right, especially i am a guy. Very easy. Just cut short.'

I was proven so wrong.

I opted for a cut and wash (the usual). So this shampoo girl washed my hair immediately with me sitting on my hair and a small towel around my neck. So the foam flew as she scrubbed my hair. I even saw a huge ball of foam landed on my shirt. Yes, i scolded " WTF!" inside my head.

Because the place is so small, as small as my office but actually sits 6 customers at any one time plus two shampooing seats. To sum it up, the place is crampy. The butt of the hairdresser serving the customer opposite me always threatened to hit my head.

The actual haircut was okay, seriously there isn't too much you can meddle with a guy's hair.

The cost? $23.90. $3.90 more than i usually pay and i get this!

So i think i really deserve something better. U know what?

At least the one that i usually go to, i can flip those hairstylist book and point point to them and tell them. " I want this stylo hairstyle!". Although 90% of the time, i wonder how come the model looks so good in that hairstyle whereas it doesn't look half as impressive when i sport that hairdo.

On a sidenote altogether, i always wonder how come people can be so good friends with their hairdresser. It is always on my mind when i visit a saloon when someone beside me was chatting away with her hairdresser.

For me, i just want that hairdresser to do a good job of cutting my hair. I can chit chat a bit here and there like my name and age. I dunno why people can talk about their mother-in-law, maids with the hairdresser. Seriously i dun fancy sharing my information with someone as distanced as a hairdresser.

2008-12-12T10:44:00.003+08:00

Had my cfa exam last sunday. Utterly trash.

I won't be the least surprised if i have failed miserably when the results come out in Jan. In fact i would be very surprised if i managed to pass.

Actually, i am not pissed over the fact that i am going to fail but more over the fact that i have wasted $1,600 on a 6 hour exam.

Now that CFA is over and the entire town is on a xmas cum new year mood (never mind that xmas trees plus xmas deco are 40% smaller because of the recession), i am also on a full blast holiday mood!

But people say keetzai is still as unfriendly as ever. thanks

2008-12-01T09:27:00.002+08:00

Entering December with anticipation. Not that i have a lot of things to do but december really signal that the year is coming to an end. And with that, all of us really deserve a pat on our back and enjoy ourselves. Party on, people!

For this coming month, i need to go shopping..yes..to update my wardrobe and do my part to support the economy ( just following gah men's appeal, see, i am such a good resident)

I need to catch up with my HK drama serials as well, being a serious laggard in my dosage of drama serial

Other than that...partying lor

Just a random update while i go think about my next entry

2008-11-13T09:39:00.002+08:00

Was away for the longest time. Went to serve the nation in the faraway land of Australia for the large part of Oct. Then laziness set in when i came back.

I dunno if my readers have realized that; i seldom (or never?) blog about my job or work. Most of my friends know what occupation i am in. Nope, not some FBI agent or some undercover which i need to be hush hush about.

I dun have the need to blog about my work mainly bcos i dun need an avenue to bitch or vent my anger. I enjoy what i am doing and i know many of my peers would love to do what i am doing. Of course the working environment that i am in is vastly different from the normal corporate setting.

It is not to say my work is stress free (which job is not stress!), especially the equities market is moving in the direction we want it to be. Main source of stress also come from the incomplete financial information that companies provide. Not a lot of companies are very good in their disclosure policies u know!

In any case, moving on.

When i came back from Australia, the mood in Singapore suddenly turn for a worse. I knew European governments took over some financials and injected capital into some, causing equities markets around the world to tumble faster than i can say stop. It is only now that Singaporeans fear about their job security. I can only say we are in for very tough times. Maybe 2 years. Maybe 3.

It is not something new that Singapre is in recession. Singapore went into a deep recession in 1997 and another time in 2002. It is now that i am facing recession as a working adult. It is no longer work cuts will happen to someone obscure whom i dunno. Now it could be my peers, or even me. Hold on tight , readers!

2008-10-07T11:42:00.005+08:00

Friends who i have never met for the longest time always marvelled how i still look the same after all these years. In other words, they mean : " you still look and behave like u did 10 years ago!"

I am seriously in two minds whether to be happy or disturbed about it. Should i be happy that time seems to have frozen in my universal, whereas my peers are trying their best to remain in vintage condition

Or should i be disturbed that i have not progressed with the times? I haven't changed my looks and become more mature over the years?

In terms of changes in looks, on a scale of ten, i probably score a low of 2-3 whereas my peers can easily score 7-8. Don't ask me why, i dunno. But i am sure i didn;t go for any plastic surgery and i am convinced my peers didn;t go under the knife as well.

Did i look 25 when i was 17 or do i look 17 when i am 25 now?? Question marks all over.

In terms of character and outlook, i am even more confused.

I certainly dun feel i am 25, more like 18 or 19. Of course, i dun blast songs on my handphone on the trains or hang out at the void decks late at night. What i mean by that is my actions or behaviour is not restricted by my age. I dun see the need to do something because i am 25.

On the other hand, it is a fact that i am a working adult. And having seen many things and people, life experience is richer than i was 10 years ago. Undeniable fact. I gladly embrace the richer life experience actually. In terms of thinking and emotionally, i am different from what i was 10 years ago.

To throw in examples:

1) I have moved on from reading Lime and Teens magazines to The Economist and Business Week

2) I am not interested in reading The New Paper, moved on Wall Street Journal and Financial Times

No offence to ppl who read Lime, Teens and New Paper, really. My lifestyle just sort of changed

Who says i am still the same after all these years??

2008-10-04T10:25:00.002+08:00

i know i have not been blogging for the longest time, much to the dismay of my loyal readers (as if there are any to begin with). Call it lazy, force of inertia or whatever, just lazy to satisfy my readers.

So i will make a couple of entries at one go

Start with F1

Held in Singapore last weekend. Probably had some difficulties in moving around for many Singaporeans because of congestions and road closures. But i think having F1 around is amazing. Walked around the area after work last friday. It was like a carnival at night! Just like the feeling i experienced in Wimbledon. We seriously need more events like this, Singapore is too serious! We need to loosen up, to make this place a fun place. And i caught the race on the racing night, the landscape of Singapore looks amazing in the glittering lighting.

It is quite impossible to think that Singapore has a F1 plus two casinos under construction. It is rather unbelievable. Of course, Singapore has made it explicit that we are modelling ourselves as Monaco of the East. F1 came 10 years late and casinos coming at least 20 years late. But i think it is better to be late than never. But lotsa of catching up to do for us, but our government has to make sure everyone is moving along as well.

2008-09-08T09:40:00.002+08:00

Friday was spent making merry at Lunar again. As usual, it was pretty fun and got pretty drunk.

But i think it shld be a long time before i visit Lunar again. Overdose of party? maybe.

I really need new things to excite me all over again. Need new things to look forward to during weekends, not just parties.

I have a lot of plans in my mind, perhaps i need to put them into action. I need to focus on making myself a much better person than i am now. To ignite fire inside me

Perhaps i need a holiday real badly. Not the reservist trip to Australia

2008-08-26T23:54:00.002+08:00

Just when i thought life cannot get more salted vegetable, i was always proven wrong straight in the face

In between my last entry and this,

my handphone which has been serving me dutifully for the last 32 months finally decided to call it a day. I can still see 'ang kong' on the screen, but i can't hear the calling party anymore. I finally rebalanced my attitude by using the non camera phone which i reserved for my army use.

Then, a few days ago my good old adidas shoes started to give out creaking sound. I checked, must be the hole on the sole which got bigger. So the air just filled up the hole and give out that sound when i walk. Now, i feel like a toddler because it reminds of the cute little shoes that toddlers wear that give out sound.

And, today, i found out that the socks that i was wearing today has a big hole at the ball of my feet!

So things just fall apart altogether when you want them to work, and when you are damn broke to bare bones.

Plus many things that happened along that way which i have no wish to talk about.

And i have been asking my friends to recommend me a medium or 'ask rice auntie'

I am pretty convinced i have committed heinous crimes during my past life to kenna such a big karma now. I want to find out how many people have i killed. Maybe i was a evil rich squire who killed people or forced the maids to become prostitutes.

Maybe i was a female during my past life, probably doing a Lady Ru who killed the concubines and maids to stay in power.

I am good huh, making light jokes of the bad predicament i am in.

I will update my readers of my karma regularly, dun worry

2008-08-10T21:48:00.002+08:00

I really think i have a 'salty vegetable' life. Okay, not that serious but i think i deserve a good life man. Given that i am a nice person, behaving prim and proper 90% of the time.

I have a big heart ok, i never curse people that often and make monthly donations to NKF, Community Chest. To top it off, i sometimes buy tissue paper from the blind and the old.

Then how come my luck and money matters still that poor???

How come i still lose money in mahjong, no people express interest they want to go on a date with me?

How come i still cannot afford a holiday to Korea, then Taiwan then Hong Kong then Japan or a three week holiday in Australia??

How come i still cannot afford to buy myself branded stuffs? (not that i want them that badly)

No one believes that i have no money, given i have a decent job which pays decently. No one believes that i have no luck! But it is true lah

Do i really spend that much a not? I am being thrify most of the time u know!

helpless

2008-07-27T22:13:00.003+08:00

Just realised July is drawing to an end. In fact, i also realised Lunar 7th month is starting this coming friday. Knowing that fact actually makes my heart beat faster.

Sounds wrong, i know. I know i sound as if i am part of the entourage that will be paying Earth a visit aka 'Good buddies' once a year. Nope, not part of them as yet, but i am equally excited because this is the time of the year where getais will mushroomed all over Singapore.

I missed last year's 7th month because i was in Lithuania working. Of course, they are ghost as well but in the form 'guai-loh' so obviously they have no getais there. Well, this year i will be in Singapore so i am definitely not going to miss it. :)

Organising a getai outing is definitely on the cards for me. I am getting Wanbao to check out the locations of the getais for the weekend sessions. I am willing to travel. :0. I envision a night of getai music and delicious dinner as well.

I know what you are thinking. I sound like Good Buddies again.

Dinner at hawker centers leh

Let's prepare for a month of shaking of booties and eye blinding customes!

2008-07-24T00:37:00.006+08:00

Ages since i last blogged. Packed my luggage and went to london for 2 weeks to work on something. Friends asked me if i was excited about my trip. Seriously not very.

Was a working trip so not exactly going there to see London Bridge or take a walk along Thames River. Secondly, was my 2nd time in london so things were not as awe as i first went there

Still, was a nice trip away from Singapore and managed to take some time to explore places which i missed out the other time.

Took a train to Brighton, nice place!

Henmen Hill on the last day of Wimbledon

Not sure if i am going back to london anytime soon but it is ok.

2008-07-04T09:27:00.003+08:00

Gone

2008-06-29T11:00:00.005+08:00

We ended June with a bang. (though Monday is still effectively June)

Our once-a-month Lunar outing saw the biggest turnout ever. 9 of us + Royston, our sec school friend whom i last saw him at least 8 years ago. (we bumped into him there)

Drinks wise, we hit another record

2.5 hours, we emptied 1 bottle of Jack Daniels, 1 Martell and 1 red wine ( red wine courtesy of Albert)

With that much of alcohol, it was no room for non enjoyment in the 'high' department. And i tell you, i always enjoyed myself in Lunar. The alcohol, the companionship, the music (very important, as they play good and old music including hokkien songs :) )

All of us enjoyed ourselves i think, with the exception of KJ and Yunting. KJ, the case of being ' too much of Lunar for him', while Yunting is probably struggling to recover from the sheer shock that her friends morphed into a bunch of alcoholics + lau lians/lau bengs/ah ceks/aunties. I pictured her recoiled with fear when all of us sang shamelessly to the tunes of Wu Nu.

We had much to celebrate this month, one of the reasons why we got so high. Reasons were as long as YC's 32 inches.

I hope our July outing would be as fun

Let the pictures do the talking.

On a side note altogether, I look quite suave on this picture right

2008-06-24T10:39:00.003+08:00

I have been noticing for a long time that lawyers confirmed our sterotype. It so happens that there are a few law firms at the same level as my office. And there are 2 young female working in the law firms. Everytime i see them, they are always wearing white shirt and black shirts(skirts). So it is true!! Lawyers can only wear white and black!

I always have this urge to run up to them and ask them if they can change their shirt to maybe a floral printed one just for one day. Don't they feel tired and bored when they open their wardrobe and there is only white shirts on one side and black skirts on the other??

Anyway, not important

Went pigged out last weekend. Audrey and Grace always find it amazing how i managed to maintain my weight given the heaps and heaps of things i ingest

Well, no choice.

Well, i

1) eat endless amount of rice

2) munch Macdonald's in the middle of the night

3) drink full cream milk ( low fat never occured to me)

4) never count the calories

5) still weigh 49 kg

Beat that, Drey! :)

2008-06-19T10:28:00.002+08:00

Been a long time since i last blogged. Too busy. Too lazy. Seriously, nothing too much.

Let's see what have i done since i last blogged.

1) Work (What else, i would be dead if i am not working)
2)Played mahjong and lost money

that's bascially it.

Drinks and party anyone??

2008-06-03T10:50:00.002+08:00

Yesterday was simply nasty. Dunno what is happening also. Just sapped my energy for the entire day. Just tired of things.

But it is okay, keetzai is back, just need to do whatever i need to do. Today is not yesterday, so yah, go keetzai go!

But anyone wishes to sponsor me for a holiday, please give me a shout. I am in need of a holiday!!

2008-05-18T10:14:00.002+08:00

The biggest news of the week to me is probably that Women Tennis Number 1 Justine Henin has quitted and retire.

To me, it came as a total surprise. I was just surprised that she decided to quit immediately, i thought she might continue for two more seasons or at least finish the current season as she already signalled the desire to quit in the near future.

But the reasons given by her is totally reasonable and understandable. It is not issue of burnout or something. She lost her desire to win. Which is true.

When you have won most of the titles, 8 Grand Slams and having money that can last you 3 lifetimes, she has nothing left to prove. She has proven that she can be the world's best, match up to the much taller and physically bigger Serena and Sharapova.

Motivation is actually gone when you don;t have anything to prove.

Justine Henin is probably not in the legend like Steffi Graff and Martina but she will be fondly remembered for her brave decision to quit on top of her game

2008-05-13T00:26:00.002+08:00

Ok, i am unhappy. For no unapparent reason.

I am still grappling with the idea if i am feeling bored or feeling lonely.

According to Dictionary.com,

Bored is One that is wearingly dull, repetitive, or tedious

Lonely is destitute of sympathetic or friendly companionship, intercourse, support

Ok, i am not very in need of any sort of intercourse.

Aiyah, i dunno what i need or want lahz.

On a side note, i always think that i am a strong person despite the fact that i cry easily. I put that down as i have very well developed pairs of tear duct.

I still think that i am a strong and independent person. I can handle almost any 'par sa' singlehandedly. This i am very sure of myself. Be it being stranded alone in a foreign land or being chased by racist foreigners.

Somehow, i feel better with that thought on my head.

Maybe i am lonely or maybe i am bored. Or just maybe i am sleepy, tired and PMS and monday blues all wrapped into one.

I will wear something nice to work tomorrow. At least i will feel happy :)

2008-05-02T09:47:00.012+08:00

Painted the town red with my buds on 30th Apr. We dun need any reasons to paint the town red but i came out with several excuses to assuage my guilt.

1) Shi Chang's Birthday on 1 May! (This is the real reason,i can swear)

2) In Celebration of Labour Day ( we are good workers, letting our hair down for a night, yay right!)

3) Celebrate the fact that Ah Gong has put $200 into our account ( money dropped from the sky again!)

The ever committed Keet brought his camera so we can all cam whore for the night. I am always dead jealous when people take lotsa of pictures when they are out with friends.

Posing for a pre club shot. Please give your hands to the Yeeka. For becoming GT with his handbag in the arms look.

Ok, no comments..next!

Sorry, the bday boy's face got cut away. Anyway, the picture was taken when we first arrived ar Butter Factory, before the drinks came.

This is how we looked 30 mins later. 3/4 of the Chivas happily in our stomach.

Ok..The three super models for LTA.

Apparently, we didn't enjoy Butter Factory as much as we did in Lunar. Oh, i really suggest we stick to Lunar. It is a natural progression from Zouk.

2008-04-27T19:48:00.003+08:00

Bought this over the weekend when shopping with my buds

How cool is that???

A380!! My heart skipped a beat when i saw this model

Biggest airplane in the world. Guess i can't afford to be inside the real A380 SIA plane so this is the closest thing that i can lay my hands on

Next up, i am collecting planes of the individual airlines..SIA, Qantas, KLM etc...

Think i have a fetish for planes..haha..sounds kinky though

2008-04-25T10:40:00.002+08:00

I am on a dog shit luck ( gou shi yun)!!

Last week, i won a $20 Crystal Jade Voucher from NTU Alumni because i updated my particulars on their database ( again, i merely changed some fills i think my email address). While i was trying to hide my joy( yes! i am a cheapo from top to bottom), i wished i was given other prizes like GV movie vouchers or Taka shopping vouchers. I am not really a fan of Crystal Jade ( not exactly a pure Canto restaurant) but nevertheless, anything free is welcomed with open arms,.

Then, yesterday the NTU office called me up and offered to change my prize to something else!! I quickly jumped onto something else. This time, i chose Borders' book voucher!! haha..i decided not to choose Taka voucher, as $20 can buy you nothing there.

See, how lucky can i get!!

I want more dog shit luck!!

2008-04-22T10:23:00.003+08:00

Bought this CD over the weekend. Then i can blog and bitch a bit about her. haa

Before this album was released, her single , "Touch My Body" reached #1 in Billboard, her 18th #1 in fact and created a huha. By having 18 #1, she has surpassed Elvis Presley with the the most #1. So people are questioning if she is bigger than Elvis ( her physical assets are probably).

But i bought the album more of supporting her. No one doubt her voice, probably could be in the 'why-the-hell-does-she scold-so-much' category.

If you follow some of her news, she is a totally different lady from the Mariah Carey in the early 90s. Her image was wholesome, with clothes covering 90% of her body. Of course, she was already churning out hits one after another.

Then she divorced with her husband and shedding her clothes with each album. Nothing too amazing because it is the entertainment industry after all. But her albums started to slow, selling one or two million instead of four or five.

i think in 2001, she acted in a movie which bombed badly, collecting a pantry 500k dollars, also her soundtrack bombed as well, selling i think 200k units. And her music company paid her out to dump her. So she sort of had a breakdown (i dun think she went ki siao though)

I admire her in a way because her career was revived in 2005 with her album, and her song " We belong together' was the main reason. So she is back, sold 6 million units.

I think all of us can take away from this. The way she was written off as a fallen artiste, her commanding power thought to be long gone. But as long as we are positive and just be ready for the opportunity when it arises, we can reach a new high as well.

oh yah, i also like it because her music evolved with the times. She used to produce pop ballads hits but the fans' taste have changed where hip hop will be popular. She play along with that to remain relevant.

She doesn't seem like a smart woman but i am telling you she is a shrewd woman

2008-04-19T19:01:00.002+08:00

Thank god for weekends! Finally a break from work. Have more responsibilities at work these days so work is more tiring.

So have been destressing by staying at home to watch dvds. i heart hk dramas :)

Anyway, i shall declare openly that "I HATE ALICIA!" ( gavi one!)

haha...cos she is constantly finding work to do, which most of us are envious of. Ok, maybe she is not too pleased about being nua, but i do enjoy slacking for a short period of time. Alicia, I want to be in your shoes!!

Ok, beside that i dun have anything much to blog about

2008-04-13T11:30:00.002+08:00

Nothing much has been doing on too much in my life these days (thank god! Not always a good thing to be too happening all the time). Work has been rather busy, with projects lining up longer than the Great Wall of China. But it has been quite fulfilling i guess

My colleague just flew in from Lithuania yesterday. Will be staying for 3 weeks, so i will be keeping her busy for the next 3 weeks. But pretty excited about her presence.

Anyway, went shopping in Orcahard while waiting for my colleague to be ready for dinner. And i went into Zara and broke my personal record. Record timing for purchases. 10 mins and i spent $90! But it was a steal because one work shirt for $60 and a tee shirt for $30!

Damn cheap but i feel damn guilty of my purchases.

Pictures later :)

2008-04-07T10:00:00.003+08:00

It has been a while since i last went to club with my buddies. Last friday, my buddies and i finally decided to hit the club after much fuss and fan fare. And we went to....Lunar!!

Not exactly the place i would find my peers to be but heck, we had a ball of a time in Lunar!! The music was rather ok. I personally dun quite enjoy live music but it is ok.

On a side note, my life was turned upside down by a SMS last night. It was from Ah Gong, aka Government. I dun mix up Ah Gong with my Grandfathers, since both of them already selling salted eggs somewhere

So the reason that they msged me was not to jio me for clubbing or a movie but this.

Yes, Ah Gong is sending me to Australia!! Before all of you scream(esp the girls) at the prospects of me going to Australia for 1 month in a place called Rockhampton, i can assure you that it is a complete sh^*hole without nothing to see. I was there during my army days for 3 weeks and that isn't a place which i want to visit again. ( No shopping, no sightseeing)

Also, it disrupts my work very much. 1 month is a long time in the working world. Though my friends are very nice to console me to treat this as a vacation, i am still not convinced that my vacation location has to be a sh^*hole with no shopping and sleeping in a huge tent in the middle of god forsaken place in Down Under

* No eyes see already*

2008-04-01T10:54:00.002+08:00

Went to Sam Hui's concert last saturday with my mum and my relatives. Was a pleasant outing i must say. Before all of my readers say " What the f*$k, u this old man" or lau kok kok, i can only say it is half the truth. My dad was supposed to go, but i replaced him since he was unable to go.

I must say Sam Hui's concert was quite good but then it has been a long time since i last went to a concert. The last one being Sun Ho (free one)'s concert 3 years ago i think.

The only take away from the concert is that the vintage singers are true stars and artistes. The voice hasn't changed a bit even when they hit 60 years old. They don't forget their lyrics when they sang 30 over songs for 3 hours. I seriously doubt Jay Chou can do that when he reaches 60 years old in 30 years time.

But it is a fact that i even know some of the songs that he sang. (So it is true that i am old, or old at heart) I even sang along with the crowd.

Next up is Jenny Tsai's concert, which i am quite tempted to go as well. I know her songs as well. Anyone care to go with me?? :)

2008-03-20T21:32:00.002+08:00

Happy Birthday to Keetzai!

25 year old liaoz..Quarter of a century

Not feeling anything special. Still working in the office

This past year has been great, minus the past few weeks. Hopefully this coming year would be better.

Older and Wiser. I hope

2008-03-19T10:35:00.002+08:00

Haben been updating for a long time. A lot has happened these few weeks. Mood can't be said to be good these few weeks. But just have to take things positively and adjust my life accordingly.

But one good news that lifted my mood. I passed my IPPT, finally! I am god damn god damn relieved. I was almost resigned to the looming possibility of going for RT. Finally, i passed after my 5th attempt. Shows perseverance does pay off sometimes.

And i am moving on Cat Y1 liao!! Older it may be but heck at least passing becomes a tad bit easier.

Oh yah, for those who dunno yet, i have moved to working european hours now. A bit tougher now, but heck i can manage

2008-03-03T22:13:00.002+08:00

Focus on the chick on the right.

Her name is called Zeng Hua Qian
She is Tony Leung's ex girlfriend in the 80s
She is a divorcee and has a child
She is in her 40s
She is such a lau chio

Anyone knows anyone who looks like her, please introduce to me

i hug her :)

2008-02-20T21:21:00.002+08:00

ACS (Barker) is located close to where i am working currently. So i went there for lunch because the cafe is open to public. And i realised i miss school very much.

It is always in my opinion that studying is always better than working. Probably those who are currently do not quite agree with me. Studying is wonderful because students don't have to worry about bringing money home to support the home. Students don't have to self conscious if their action would affect how superiors see them (Seriously, i think most students don;t give a damn what their teachers feel about them).

Don't get me wrong, i don't detest my work. Actually, i enjoy my work, with nice and good bosses and lotsa of opportunities to learn. When i prefer schooling, it doesn't mean i hate my work. It is not mutually exclusive.

When i look at the school boys 10 years younger than me, i am envious of them. No doubt, they don't have the earning power to buy whatever they want like we do, they are 10x happier than us. They have friends to hang out with after school, and just wasting their time away. They would be hanging in fast food restaurants to chill, or just stay in school to play basketball or soccer.

When we move on to working life, hanging out with friends seem to be a luxury to have. It is a change we all have to grapple with. And we don't seem to have the luxury of time anymore.

And it is always on my mind what if i had not gone to Bukit Panjang for my education. I know i sound ungrateful but i always think what would happen if i had gone to those 'hip' schools like ACS, SAS or Catholic High instead. Perhaps my getai passion would not be this strong. Perhaps my friends around me would be those ah seahs driving BMs and staying in Bukit Timah instead. Perhaps i would be much of a refined young man instead. And BP has the nick name as the "RI of the West". Whenever people mentioned that fact, i always have this strong urge to dig a 3m deep hole to bury myself. Trust me, we are no where near that nick.

It turned out that i wasn't meant to be in those 'hip' schools. After Bukit Panjang, i proceeded to AJC, not HCJC or RJ or VJ. Money was a factor in my sec school decision as it was too expensive to study in such an independent school like ACS. And my results were not good enough to propel me into the elite colleges. So in a way, i am convinced i was moulded into a heartland kid by the education that i have undergone.

Still, i survived and made it to the working society like everyone else.

2008-02-17T23:03:00.002+08:00

Up till now, there is always people saying no to me. I seldom say no to most of people.

But i decide to learn to say no from now on. Cheers to leading my own life!

2008-02-13T21:57:00.001+08:00

Stayed tuned, Keetzai will be back with a new look in a couple of days' time

A keetzai you have never seen before :)

2008-02-07T10:49:00.000+08:00

First day of Chinese New Year, let me wish all of you a happy year of the Rat ahead. For working adults like me, let's hope for a smooth career, reasonable bonus. For those still schooling, i wish you guys getting good grades, and topping the class.

I in fact like Chinese New year a lot, for me it is the time for gatherings, to see relatives whom i seldom see, to catch up. After all, reunion is the spirit behind New Year. Moreover, since i have started working, it is really time to put work aside and enjoy my own time.

Ok, some pictures to decorate the other boring blog

CNY gathering with my buddies. Yum yum. food i mean, not the girls.

After which, we dropped by One Rochester for some drinks.

Audrey and me. Dunno why, i tink i am starting to look good these days. Is it bcos of self confidence or my friends are getting more cui-ed by the day while i have maintained myself relatively well?? haha

Okay, they look good as well

2008-01-30T23:04:00.000+08:00

I have this crazy idea on my mind since this morning.

I actually have this thought of buying a house on my own. Haha..i must be out of my mind. Simply bcos i need a target in life again. Not that i want to stay, i will surely rent it out to pay for my installment.

To achieve this aim,

I have to:

1) work hard..to stay in my job and pray bonus will be big big

2) stop spending so much..especially on food and shopping

3) hope my small investment in my prudential ILP will grow a lot...to hit target..i tink the return have to be in excess of 1000%

4) be very very sincere in buying 4D and toto. Up next is $10 million Hongbao toto!!

4 strategies, one aim..HUAT AH!

2008-01-28T22:46:00.000+08:00

Mood today was one of the worst recently. Can't remember the last time i felt that unhappy. One reason was bcos of work, or rather maybe i read too deeply into what people say. Doesn;t matter.

Didn't help when i am having a bad cold. Ah choooo

I dun tink tomorrow will be as bad.

Sleeping my Black Monday away

2008-01-27T09:37:00.000+08:00

See how times flies.

10 years on.

1997/1998

2007/2008

2008-01-26T11:49:00.000+08:00

Work has been rather busy these days, because rushing a project these days. Other than that, my life is rather boring. Immediately, i picture my excitement level as a straight line. No life.

Maybe i have used up my 'happening' level during my time in Europe. Actually, i would think that how happening i want to be is all up to me. But i am just too lazy to do anything about it.

And weekend travel is out because the regional weekend getaway simply doesn;t quite interest me. Think KL, Bangkok, Phuket. Yawnz.

Also because i want to save up more. Money is never enough. I have so much expenses, but money is that much. Not that my salary is not enough, but u know lahz, i want to buy so many things.

Anyway, Chinese New Year is coming soon. In 2 weeks' time. Kinda looking forward because it would be a good break for me. Not that i am feel burnout, but a gd excuse to take a break from work.

On a random note, i was talking to my closest friends (my BP gang) that they no longer have time for me liaoz. Because all of us are busy with work and they are getting attached one by one. So, i think it is a good time to diversify my pool of friends. Since i can't get myself attached on my sole effort. Let's see.

Uni friends? Possible but they are mostly in audit line so they have morphed into no life creatures. Sorry, limin, hongseng, kian wee!

Army friends? once in a while lahz. i am close to joel only.

Primary friends? not close anymore because never seen them for a long time.

I realised no one else. So dead

2008-01-20T08:47:00.000+08:00

Last weekend was an important and memorable one for me. Firstly, my secondary classmate, Julia held her wedding at Mandarin Marina. It is memorable for me, because it is my first time attending my classmate's wedding and there will be many more along the way as we move deeper into our 20s. It is funny how our conversation topics have evolved over the years. Gone were the days when we talked about the celebrities, our school. Now, the girls are more concerned about HDB and what kind of wedding. We have really blossomed into fine young adults.

For me, i actually have no visions of wedding at all. My plans for wedding and all are sketchy. Perhaps the person has yet to arrive. Anyway, i look forward to the time when my friends are parents. haha

Last Sunday my brother went Taiwan, Gao Xiong for 3 weeks. It is a business trip, actually more of an overseas training. He just changed his job and his company sent him to Taiwan. His situation sounds pretty much like mine. Sent him to the airport at 4am last Sunday morning. It is important for me because it is my brother's first overseas business trip. Effectively, i am taking on the responsibility to look after the family cos he is away now.

Work wise, things are good. More and more busy now and got my Bloomberg account this week. Seems like i have a business trip coming soon. Not sure yet.

2008-01-05T22:48:00.000+08:00

Seems like blogging can only be a weekly activity these days. Work just sapped energy out of me. The only activity i engage in after work is to plant my bum in front of the tv and nua.

Anyway, not important. Probably the topic of this entry can be about my work. Nahz, i am not going to talk about the nature of my work. One of my army friend, one of my best buddy in army actually, he asked me about my job and company.

I think i shocked him by telling him i am working at my boss' home. That there are only 2 of us in Singapore. That we have only 14 people in my company.

I can understand how he felt. I must agree that i dun really belong to the norm of a working adult. What jolted me was that Singaporeans in general are still very risk-averse. My friend told me company is so small, higher chance that the company will be gone. While i see his area of concern, it doesn;t bother me much.

Seriously, i am not so concerned about the stability of my job, i wouldn;t have accepted the traineeship and went overseas alone. I still believe that i have nothing to lose by doing a job which i like when i am only 24 years old, and with a bank account with 3 digits of money. So i have everything to gain.

On a completely side note, on New Year's eve, on my way home from work, i was sitting beside a mother and her daughter and i peeled over to listen to their conversation cos i was too bored. They were discussing about the daughter's school work, i guess the daughter was going to enter Sec 1 in 2008, so school was about to start at that point of time.

They went yada yada about school and her daughter was asking if her class was the 2nd best or the 2nd worst in her cohort judging from the alphabet of her class. Actually, much of their conversation was de javu for me, bcos it seemed the thing people would have cared during my time as a sec student. And it still is after 10 years.

Goes to show how the education system(or lack of it) has changed over the past decade. People are still pretty much caught up with grades, comparing results over the pursuit for a holistic education for our kids. To think that we thought we making huge steps in changing our educational system. Harsh reality sets in.

In all, our educational system are continuing to churn out kids anxious about grades, risk averse and feeling happy remaining in their comfort zone.

2008-01-01T12:10:00.000+08:00

Resolutions 2008

I am not a person who liked writing resolutions because i used to feel writing resolutions is not useful in achieving aims. Or rather, resolutions are redundant. But for 2008, i have decided to list down my resolutions because i am a visual person. Writing them down and looking at list every now and then will motivate me to achieving them before the year ends. I will try to be as specific as i can in having resolutions. Have seen many many resolutions that gave a vague description, which is pointless.

Here goes:

1) Go back to Lithuania for holiday and to visit my friends there. Guys, i miss you all so much!
Already planning the trip. :)

2) Go on a holiday travelling alone. Not sure if i can find the time and money to do this. It will be great if i can do this. Need some time off for myself. People will normally avoid travelling alone. Has its good and bad as well. I am fine with it actually. It will be an Asian city for sure, hopefully a short trip.

3)To learn a 3rd language, at least at elementary level. It is both for work wise and personal development. Have started looking for classes, likely to be French or Korean.

4) To start learning driving. Note: i aim to start, not to get a driving license.

5) To save at least 10-20% for my Masters which i am considering to take before i reach 28 years old

6) To take up tennis lessons again to improve my skills

Seems sufficient to keep me busy until Dec 08. Note that i didn't put things like working hard. Guess it is a requirement not an aim to survive as a working adult. The new year let everyone of us to start afresh and i look forward to the challenges ahead.

2008-01-01T00:47:00.000+08:00

Year 2007 has come to an end. To me, every year is different so 2007 was unique in its own ways.

2007 is the year

where i graduated from university and bade goodbye to my studenthood

where i became a working adult

where i went to Europe for the first time

where i have seen snow for the first time in my life

where i lived alone overseas for the first time for 4 months

where i saw Maria Sharapova and a world class match

where i stepped into Stamford Bridge stadium and watched a soccer match in England

where i did not spend the 31st Dec playing mahjong but watching a heartland countdown party

where i discovered more about myself and become more confident of myself

In short, year 2007 was special but in a way i made it very special because of some decisions that i have made. I will never be able to forget about year 2007 because i have so much memories forged during this year. I will look back with fond memories and with a smile on my face.

While 2008 can never be the same as 2007, i am ready to embrace the arrival of 2008. I hope i can make 2008 as special as 2007

Will talk about my resolutions tomorrow

2007-12-26T22:10:00.000+08:00

Merry Xmas

I suppose many people are looking forward to this time of the year, where it is the time for celebration, time for love or whatsoever. I used to, as well because i too, like many people feel like it feels so good if someone is around to share your love, that sort of thing.

But no longer. Maybe i am not a Christian or an ang moh. Maybe i am at ease with the fact that i am single and loving it. To me, this time of the year is just a good time for me to stay at home.

Anyway, not important. Went shopping today. And my mind was doing some serious pondering while doing shopping.

I went to Carrefour to buy something this afternoon. Went to the cashier to pay for my purchases and i realised the cashier was a China lady. Nothing special to all, but it hit me out of a sudden that the China workers doing many of our jobs. This is probably not surprising to many, but quite a scary thought if you think deeper.

A couple of years ago, we brushed the Chinese off that they are doing jobs which we the locals do not want to take up, could be too tough or jobs that do not require qualifications. It was probably true few years ago, but the situation has changed drastically since then. Many Chinese are doing jobs in direct competition with us the locals. It just goes to show that the Chinese are moving up the job value chain rapidly.

We used to boast that Singaporeans are effectively bilingual in English and Chinese, but heed this warning: We are losing this competitive edge rapidly. Because the Chinese are learning English and bend on learning it well. And our English is not the perfect English that the English speak and our Chinese is half past six.

What is the lesson to be learnt? Not to be complacent and constantly pushing ourselves to differentiate from others. A third language is probably needed ( i am thinking of learning as well) and learn new skills fast. To the young ppl who have yet to enter the job market, get internships, traineeships and what ever ships u can during the holidays.

To draw an analogy, if we are doing a 2.4km route, Singaporeans are running at 10km/hour but The Chinese are running at 15 or 20 km/hour.

To my dismay, many of us are actually complacent with our current situation, because we are living so comfortably, drawing a salary 3-4k from our job. Many youths are worse, living a life too good for them. Spending money as if we have endless money in our bank. No good i must say

It took us 200 years to reach this stage of development, it will only take 20 years to wipe out everything if we remain complacent.

On a side note, shopping was ok, walked a fair bit today and a Massimo Dutti shirt

$80. Rather expensive, but hopefully it will spur me on for my work.

On a random note, I am starting to think of my resolutions for 2008. I never used to feel the need to list down what i want to achieve for a new year. Guess i should do so because i am visual person. Seeing the list can push me ahead

2007-12-23T12:11:00.000+08:00

Help!!!

I have invited a group of friends to my place and invited trouble!!

I lost money again!! *Screams*

Over mahjong. As usual, my losing streak continued, with me losing $30 in 2 rounds of mahjong. Not a lot of money, but the feeling sucks!

I thought my luck would take a turn for the better since i had been away from the mahjong table for close to half a year, but hell, NO!! Ultimate nightmare, I suspect the guys have been eyeing at my money for a looooong time and i literally become the Santa Claus before Xmas.

Other than that, it was a night of food and games.

On a side note, i went for a haircut yesterday afternoon. My mind went crazy. I opted for a haircut plus a wash cos my hair felt itchy. The main aim of the hair wash is to make the customer feel relaxed and comfortable. And these days, the shampoo lady( or auntie) would throw in some massage on the skull and neck that sort of thing. Obvious, i felt good when the auntie massaged my skull. Then, i thought did any customer make any sound during the hair washing? Those moans and groans, " Oooos and Ahhhss or Awww". Sounds sleazy but i was actually trying my best to contain my laughter at the thought of it.

Okay, shows my mind is full of crap when it is not working.

2007-12-15T11:03:00.000+08:00

Away from blogger for too long. Just too tired and lazy to blog. U shld understand working is very tiring and energy sapping. U just want to slack in front of the tv and then hit the bed.

Actually, there is nothing much exciting to blog about in particular. Life has been rather boring ever since i returned home.

Last wednesday, i went to Butter Factory for the first time. (yes, me being the sua ku sai). Not for partying, but bcos i had lunch with a broker last tuesday and he invited me to their company Xmas party. At first, i was kinda apprehensive about going because i didn't know anyone there beside that broker friend( obviously, he is not going to entertain me all night). But i felt obliged to go since he was so nice to invite me to the party and i am kind of going on my company's behalf kind of thing, u get the drift?

So went, and it turned out to be really fine. It was kind of awakard in the beginning, but i was introduced to some of the research guys there, and we just took things from there. It was quite a breeze to carry on a conversation since all of us are in the same line. It was really nice bcos it is quite important to network with those guys as well. Not bad for a start actually!

They left quite early, so i stayed for a while. Then, i met my BMT sgt and his friend there. I was sure he didn't know me bcos he was not in charge of me. Well, just plucked up my courage and introduced myself and asked if he was BMT sgt. Again, just took things from there. Quite happy to know the two of them better, u can never complain for having too many friends!

Did i mentioned that i got drunk? Not dead drunk but felt it when i woke up the next morning. Yeahz, it happens when you order one drink after another when chatting with the guys. Well, at least i didn;t have to pay for the drinks, since it was on the host company's tab!

2007-11-25T22:22:00.000+08:00

For those who dunno, i am back to the sunny little island of Singapore!

Actually, i am back last Saturday afternoon. Perhaps it is good and appropriate to do a review of my time overseas.

A recapture in numbers.....

In this 3 months and 3 weeks, it is a total of 109 days that i was away from home....

travelled a total of 28922 km
went to 6 cities in 4 countries
went through 8 airports
left Singapore with 29kg but came back with 40kg
visited 2 tennis stadiums
watched 1 muscial
watched 1 soccer match
found my 2nd home

left Singapore with zero expectations came back with infinite memories

I always tell myself that choosing to leave Singapore for 109 days for this trip is one of or the most wise decision that i have ever made in my entire 24 years of my life.

Learnt and seen a lot of things and people during this time. Work wise and social wise.
Met some amazing people in my company..forged some amazing friendships whom i would make an effort to cultivate to make it last

Learnt so much about myself.
Realised that i am a survivor. Not exactly boasting about myself but i discovered that being overseas alone, to start living from scratch is no easy task. Got through the initial phase and things just fall in pieces nicely

Realised i can capable of taking care of myself. We are always kids in our parents' eyes but i survived without parents by my side. Probably it is nothing great bcos it is basic instinct to try and survive when u r alone. Nevertheless, i look back with satisfaction that i enjoyed so much staying alone and having so much fun

Now that i am back, i am trying to reintergrate back into Singapore. It is not easy. Though i did not go away for a long time, still i have got so used to the European lifestyle that i need some time to adjust back.

Frankly, i am still not used to staying with my family yet. No, i dun hate staying with them. Just that i am used to staying alone, cooking my own meals, basically all the selfish reasons. haha

And i miss Vilnius so much, miss my friends back in Europe, miss the times where we go clubbing or drinking in my apartment. I sort feel the sense of loss during this weekend cos i have no concrete plans back in Singapore. This is unlike overseas, where i would look forward to a weekend trip in Berlin, or Bath in UK etc. Even in Vilnius, where i would be busy having coffee in a lazy weekend afternoon and end it with a hearty meal that i cooked myself seem so blissful

I promised myself that it will not be the last time i am going to Vilnius. Promised my pals back in Vilnius that i hope to go back next year for Xmas and spending Xmas with them. I know Vilnius looks beautiful during Xmas with snow and the bitter cold feeling.

Will be back in Vilnius soon i hope. I have found my 2nd home. It is Vilnius

2007-11-12T02:09:00.000+08:00

So this is it. End of my London trip. I am at the airport waiting for my delayed flight back to Vilnius. Had such a wonderful time in London with King Yaw and gang. I want the experience to last a bit longer but at the same time, all good things must come to an end.

Can't blog much but i feel sad but at the same time looking forward to go home as well.

Yah, will be back in Singapore next Sat. Fast right?

2007-11-05T19:46:00.000+08:00

So this is my last week in London. I know i should be working but yet i am doing this entry.

I am feeling down because i am shifting again. After like 3-4 weeks, i have got used to the life in London, but i need to pack up and go. King Yaw asked me how come i have started to like London, since it is crowded, tube is bad, us being treated as 2nd class citizens( this is true, no matter what people say).

Actually, it is not the place. It is more of the people. I am so glad that i have King Yaw and his flat mates around during my time here. I will not die of boredom of course, but my experience in London will surely be totally different. We bonded so well, and i drop by their house so often for dinner and staying overnight. It just feels so good to have friends with you, especially overseas.

I will so miss them when i leave. They are my friends, my travel mates.

I will miss my Lithuanian friends when i leave for Singapore as well, but i dun tink it is that bad bcos in King Yaw's place, i feel as if i am in Singapore. A little Singapore in the big London.

I know i will be back to London in the future, the place may probably still look the same. Buckingham Palace, London Eye will still be around, but the friends may not be as they will graduate and seek their own career.

I sound emotional. I am and close friends know that i am.

Sometimes, i think i shouldn't be in this line. It is so hard to leave a place where i have grown emotionally attached to. I dun find it hard to adapt to a new life, but i find it hard to leave.

And everytime i leave, i have to go through the same shit again. Alas

2007-11-03T03:25:00.000+08:00

My entry on the soccer match that i caught on Wednesday night.

One word...Brilliant!

Being a non soccer fan, ( i normally scream at my brother for watching EPL on tv), my initial idea was to go and experience the whole thing, u get the drift? i mean UK is so famous for their english soccer, catching a soccer match is a must-do activity if u stay long enough in UK.

But it turned out to be VERY VERY exciting!!

People walking out from the Fulham Broadway tube station. The turnout was scary, they closed the main exit of the tube and only allow the exit towards the stadium

More and more people. And also a lot of policeman

See! The stadium! Yut and i exclaimed when we went into the stadium ' It is fucking good, man!'

The stadium has the amazing power of transforming anyone into a soccer fan, including me at least for the 90 mins.

Look at how excited am i! Electrifying atmosphere!

The crazy Chelsea fans sitting on this side of the stadium

The players, seeing them in flesh and alive

Frank Lampard in person!! Though i am not a fan of him, but i still want to snap some pictures of him, i mean he is worth like few million pounds and i was like 100 m away from him

A view of the people from my seat

Someone got injuried, lying on the ground

And this time, a Chelsea player was stretched off

Empty stadium after the end of game

I really enjoyed the game very much, despite i am not a soccer fan. The whole 90 mins was pure excitement, Chelsea leading in the 1st half but let Leicester be in 1 goal ahead till the last 10 mins where Chelsea scored 3 more to win the match.

I tell you, the match plus the experience plus the environment is worth every single cent of the 75 sgd that i paid.

Have to thank King Yaw for jio-ing me to watch the match. The lesson of the day: Even if you are not a fan, you can enjoy it as well

2007-11-01T00:16:00.000+08:00

I have nothing much to blog about actually..except that i am leaving for home soon, yet having mixed feelings. No doubt, i miss home especially my friends and family. But yet, i will miss my life here, the feeling of independence, being in a foreign land. Moreover, i haven't had enough fun, like partying and touring more European cities.

Work has been good as usual. Been given more things to look at now. At the end of the day, it is more of self learning and asking when in doubt.

Ok..pictures on London

The Original London Eye. Looks spectacular, i can see it even on the plane

Am I dreaming!? It is the Big Ben!! One structure that i have seen so much from the shows that i have watched when i was a child. And finally i have seen it with my own eyes!

Buckingham Palace. Taken this picture outside the gate. Obviously the Queen is not at home. Just imagine the Royal family standing at the windows, waving their hands at us.

* Screams and waving the Union Jack flag*

The Tower of London. One of the best buildings in London to me. I have yet to go inside but from the lightings and sheer size of it, it is very very good. I see it almost everyday because KingYaw's house is pretty close to the Tower

The very Oriental flavoured Chinatown. I like to go Chinatown because it cures my homesick with their chinese food. And everyone in Chinatown speaks Cantonese. Feels so at home or rather Hong Kong

The famous and charming Covent Garden. It is nice to go in the evening because i enjoy standing in the centre of the square and feel so small

The world famous Mayfair area, where i work. It is the place to work, i mean it

Canary Wharf is of course the financial center, which is the CBD area. But Mayfair is where the hedge funds are, and in Mayfair, there are many art houses, selling art pieces like 1 million pounds which we can go in and enjoy. I dunno how to appreciate though

But the fact that finance and art actually be located in the same area, in the same street is really amazing!!

Ok more pictures to come.. I am going to catch a soccer match later! *excited

2007-10-26T01:28:00.000+08:00

I know i haven't been that active in blogging. Sorry, busy with work and getting used to the life here. And of course, some travelling as well.

Ok, first up, my long back dated entry about Berlin

Boarding the air plane. It first came as culture shock to me that i have to be driven to the air plane by a bus and walk up the plane myself, with the wind howling strongly, threatening to blow me away

But i am becoming a seasoned traveller these days, as i feel ok about this, even this is not a budget airline.

Berlin Tegel airport. Looks quite nice, trust me, the exterior looks nothing like the interior. A relic from the Soviet times i guess

TV Tower! Seems like almost every city in Europe has a TV tower. Where's Singapore's? Not this nicest building around, but it still feels good to snap a picture of it

After i have checked into my hostel, i rushed to the Berlin Open Tennis Center. Not exactly a tourist attraction, but it is my dream to be in a tennis arena which is huge, at least to me :) And it is a clay court somemore!

Can you believe that the super stars like Steffi Graff, Jennifer Capriati and Justine Henin were in this court?? Thrilled just to think about it.

Aptly named after the legend, Steffi Graf

Lim Bei stepped on the clay court!

Forgot the name of this ancient building, but it just looks odd in the middle of the town center

Island Museum. Where there are couple of world famous museums surrounded by the river. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Quite breath-taking seriously

Sony Center. So futuristic right? As the name suggest, it is built by Sony. It is not any normal entertainment venue. There is a specially preserved wall during the Soviet times i think inside a restaurant

The wall i am referring to.

A green space outside Sony Center which we can only dream about

Me and the Famous Brandeburg Gate. The symbol of Berlin. Needless to say, it is my famous building in Berlin. Okay, i know i look retard inside

I love it so much, that i snapped many many shots

Brandeburg Gate at night. Charming and a view to die for

I joined a guided tour in the morning which starts near the Brandeburg Gate and it was really good. Get to know more about Berlin's tragic nostagic history.

The Reichstag, The German Parliament. It is a famous attraction and tourists can actually go up to the dome. I didn't because the queue was too long and i didn't want to spend my precious waiting.

Berlin is famous for its Soviet history and Hitler. This plot of space is actually the place where Hilter's palace was during the 2nd World War. I was told that structures and beams are still below the ground because it was too tough to be destroyed

At the position of this hole was the site where Hilter killed himself when he knew he lost the war.

The famous or infamous Berlin Wall.

The line was actually where the Berlin Wall once stood.

A famous square which i cannot remember the name :)

Pergamomuseum. One of the many many museums Berlin has. I went to this one because ancient civilisations items were displayed. Pretty good i must say

Okay..actually i have taken a lot of pictures. These are just the highlights. Can show it to you guys when i am back. Probably 3 weeks more. Berlin is actually very nice city, things are changing with a good mix of old and new. And it is cheaper than most European cities. Just a bit more expensive than Singapore. I spent 150 euros during my 2.5 days there. So it is pretty reasonable

I will blog about my Istanbul trip and about my life in London soon. If i decide to make a trip to Paris next week, i will have more stuff to show u guys. Hopefully, i can work things out. Time is always not enough. As well as money.

2007-10-19T16:23:00.000+08:00

Ok, i am now at the airport Terminal 1 blogging bcos i am too bored. Cab fare to airport set me back by 30 pounds. Heartache. Took bcos i heard it takes a long time to clear the customs.

Well, just try to save up next week. Time's almost up. Anyway, hope to have time to do shopping in Istanbul.

Ciao

2007-10-19T02:00:00.001+08:00

Will be away to Istanbul from tomorrow for a meeting. Oh no. Somehow, i dun look forward to it. Think i am going to get screwed cos i need to present :(

Will be back on Sunday evening!

Pray for me!

2007-10-17T01:49:00.000+08:00

Blogging in the office right now. As you have guessed, I have no access to internet in my apartment. And the TV is non functioning. But i can't complain so much. It is very nice of my boss to put me up in this apartment that he owes.

Yes, so i have arrived in London. The place where many many of my peers would dream to go because every shit thing happens here. It is the place to be. Global financial hub.

It is a totally different experience that i get in London than in Vilnius. Over here in London, people walk 10x faster, with fastfood restaurants littered all over the streets.

Perhaps, spending more than 2 mths in a slower paced Vilnius, i have a tiny problem of adjusting back to the hectic and busy environment that surrrounds me.

Nevertheless, i treasure my time here. Beside working, I spent my time wisely as well.

Last Friday, met up with King Yaw and his friends for a musical, Chicago! A must-do when one comes to London. 24.50 pounds, expensive in singapore standard but heck, this is London!

Saturday was spent exploring the city. Went to the Big Ben, outside of Buckingham Palace. After that, i went to King Yaw's place for dinner. It is so nice to go to a good friend's place in a foreign land, to bitch about life in general. I guess, it is normal as lonely souls would want to gather together for some good fun.

Sunday was also spent walking around, breathing London's air. Cooked for the first time in London.

Monday was work as usual but went over to King Yaw's place for dinner again. I guess it would become more frequent as time goes by.

Things are pretty good over here. New life, new adjustments. But lonely soul remains. I definitely feel more solitude and lonely than i was in Vilnius. I left all my Lithuanian friends in Vilnius :(

I am not sure if i can find any friends here, beside King Yaw's friends. I just have to make do.

2007-10-12T00:24:00.000+08:00

1st day in London...Lots of feelings

Feeling

tired
amazed
homesick from Vilnius cos all my friends are back there
thrilled at the same time being in London, an international financial hub

Will be busy settling down these few days and was busy preparing the past few days.

Will find time to blog about Berlin, London and my new life whenever i can

2007-10-03T00:26:00.000+08:00

This entry is about my weekend trip to Riga, partly to celebrate my 1st month overseas( yah, right)

This is the hostel that i stayed in for my 2 nights in Riga. It costs 8 lats, which is 24 sgd a night. Whether it is expensive or not, not sure, but it is in the heart of the Old Town and just opposite the bus station where the bus terminated. I guess it is wise to find somewhere near as i reached Riga at 1030pm. Not sure if it is safe to be on the streets

The street near my hostel. Notice its cobblered road. A usual thing in the old towns in Europe

The Freedom Statute. It is really very tall and it is sure a tourist spot as many tourists are seen snapping their cameras. So i did the same thing. Quite cool, huh the statute.

Just took the picture of the building because i like it so much. The fact that it is bright yellow in colour. Notice that there is a stone cat on pointed end of the building. Unique

Another nice and unique building in the Center of the Dome

A meseum i think, not very sure.

At noon the next day, i went back to the hostel where they had this guided tour of Riga where they took the participants to parts of Riga usually seen by tourists. Paid 5 lats for that.

This is what i had in return

This building is called Stalin's Birthday Cake. The shape says it all and it is now a government building. This is beauty and sadness of the Baltic States. Charming and sad because of their Soviet past

One of the stop over where we had coffee. This place is grand one lor. But coffee is cheap. 0.8 lats ( 2.4 sgd)

This building is unique because of the flowery patterns and came from one designer from the early 1900s. Not sure of his name.

Not forgetting that Riga is a city by the sea. Its harbour

Skyscrapers have made their way to Riga as well

The guided tour ended at the harbour but i went back to the Old Town for more self-exploration

My favourite place in Riga Old Town. I totally adore the building on the right. It is called the House of the Black Heads

This maybe a reason why. Didn't managed to go in because it was closed at 5pm

I love it so much that i snapped so many picture of it

A spanky new shopping mall in Riga shows how wealthy Latvia has become today

A wet and cold Sunday morning where people are seen manning their stalls

A lady selling flowers on a rainy morning

Interesting bistro name. Yes, TGIF!!

A scene near the bus and train station. It is a pity that Riga has yet to fully exploit its water ways. Could be beautiful where boats could sail by the river. But now, the whole area seems and is seedy and chaotic

So, that's the highlights of my Riga trip. It was my first holiday travelling alone. Overall, it is good, because Riga, in the Old Town is safe. And Riga totally is different from what i expected. It has progressed so much economically and because they are also occupied by the Germans, just reminds me of a German city. I hope it shatters the perception of people. I would really recommend Singaporeans to visit Latvia or Riga if you want somewhere modern/rich but at the same time cheaper than other Western European cities

But it has become somewhat tourisy, highly due to the fact that budget airlines fly from London to Riga. So it is a trade off isn't it?

2007-10-01T23:28:00.000+08:00

I felt homesick yesterday.

Maybe it is bcos the idea that i can't see my friends and family for 2 more months instead of 1 has finally sunk into my head

Maybe bcos Audrey text me early in the morning to encourage me

Maybe bcos I went to buy gifts for my friends and the sale girl was unfriendly. So i felt unwelcomed in this country

Maybe simply because i had no work to occupy myself with

Maybe bcos i saw a funfair yesterday, where i saw parents taking their kids to the fun fair and i felt like going back to my parents. Reminds me that i do miss everyone back home and want to go to the fun fair with my family

I know i should take things positively. Trust me i am

2007-09-29T18:32:00.000+08:00

President Palace. Same street as where i stay in. Weird urban layout

Vilnius is famous for its churches. I heard there are more than 400 churches in Vilnius alone. The interior of the churches are really amazing. I am not sure if other European cities are as good as. But been to Latvia's, but churches there are not as intricate in design as Vilnius'

City Square of sort. can't really remember the name. But it is nice hor, with such European feel in it

The famous Gate of Dawn, where it is said that the Mother Mary painting has healing power.

View on top of the City of Dawn

Next entry will be on my short trip to Riga, ok?

2007-09-28T21:46:00.000+08:00

My apartment. The one on the third floor. It is quite nice to stand on the balcony at night, sipping a beer or red wine while watching people walked by. The building is actually very old. Maybe a hundred years old.

To get to my place, walk though this dorm, which is a typical design in houses here

Press the security code and enter the door.

Do you freak out when u need to walk through the stairs of this status? I did when i first came. It is dark, air is still and most of the time, without lights. When it is pitch dark when i return home after partying, just use my handphone to shine on the steps for some light. Trust me, it is not that scary after all. But it was a culture shock when i first came. Our life in Singapore is just too good right? Corridors and lights are taken for granted

The way to my apartment :)

The door to my apartment!

Ta Da! My apartment looks so nice..i love it so much. So different from the outside! So..dun judge a book by its cover

My kitchen. Where i now spend quite a substantial time. I actually learn how to cook and begin to like cooking.

Cam whoring with my packet of laksa paste. The latest food that i tried to cook. The difficulty is like 3/5 cause you have to make stock of the chicken breast bones

End Result of my laksa. No coconut milk, made do with fresh milk. So not as good but overall....

Good job, Keetzai!

Everything has gone into my stomach!

2007-09-27T23:12:00.001+08:00

I can no longer continue count down to the days that i am going home. As of yesterday, i looked at the calendar and thought to myself. 30 more days. In exactly one month's time, i am heading back to my little sunny island called Singapore.

A 10 minute discussion with my boss this afternoon changed the whole dimension of the game. Scrap the 30 days and put in a question mark.

I am leaving Vilnius but not back home. But my next stop is....

Yes! London! Will be leaving for London on 11th Oct and likely to stay there for at least 1 month or more.

Am i excited? Am i sad? I dunno. It is a feeling beyond words. I am both excited and a slight feeling down because my trip home is postponed. I am excited to go to an international city, i think Singapore is small and tiny compared to London. Excited to see the Queen!( I hope to see her, i am serious!). Excited to go into a whole new city with a whole new culture. Excited to adapt to a new environment again.

At the same time, i am tiny weeny down bcos i won't get to see my friends and family for another 1 more month. It is like a child looking forward to eat Macdonald's today but the parents say the outing to Macdonald's will be postponed until 1 month later.

But in anyway, i have to and i am keeping my chins up. Being young, being mobile is my advantage. I have proven i can survive and doing well in a foreign land. I just need to keep up the good job.

I know people and friends are envious of me, so i am not complaining. Though i tink my folks at home will be disappointed.

Gotten my air tickets already, so it is like an almost confirmed trip to see the Queen

Your Majesty, your humble subject, Keetzai is happy to see you.

2007-09-26T21:12:00.000+08:00

This is the street where i stay

Gedimino Ave which is next to Totoriu Street where i stay. Gedimino is probably the nicest street in Vilnius, at least to me. I adore the Catherdral, don't u?

Gedimino At night

Vilnius City in aerial view. I was on top of a hill, where the Castle is

The Castle

Yours truly posing beside the beautiful river

St Anne's Church and St Bendentine Church. St Anne Church is really one of its kind. The story goes that Napoleon wanted to bring this Church back when he was in Vilnius. He didn't managed and he wanted to burn it down. Luckily, the weather was too cold for the fire to be lighted.

And St Anne's Church is still around for us in Vilnius

Okay..next entry would be about my daily life i guess..

:)

2007-09-25T23:28:00.000+08:00

Didn't realised today is the Mid-Autumn Festival until YC told me about it. Bcos i absolutely have no idea. No such mood in Vilnius of course. So i gave a call back home, me being such a nice boy.

Other than that, no celebration or what, probably i will buy some candles back home and play.

They say one misses family such festivals, true to some extent i guess. Lucky i dun miss them too badly. Will be back home soon.

Normal day in a foreign land. Decides to go off work early to cook laksa. Come on, let me have my own celebration can!

2007-09-24T23:42:00.000+08:00

Yeah..finally got my cable with me now! Thanks KJ! You will get more than a fridge magnet from me okay!

I have a lot of pictures so i dunno where to start from.

Okay, maybe start from how my journey begins!

Plane landed in Frankfurt(Main) Airport at 6am. Looks clean and empty. The airport is damn huge but i felt good and excited bcos i am in Europe!

I certainly looked shagged after 12 hours on the plane. Ass hurt.

As i had 7 hours to spare before my flight to Vilnius in the afternoon, i decided to make a trip to the Frankfurt City Center. So i had to take a 20 min train ride to the city. And look at the train map. It looks damn complex. And it is not in English! Undaunted, i just had to ask the people around for directions. :)

The airport train station in the morning

Frankfurt City Center Train Terminal. Modern in the interior but ancient on the outside. What a beauty

Okay, i am a sua ku. Took this picture of EU symbol to exclaim...' I am in Europe!!"

A walk along the river bank in the morning.

Cam-whoring in the middle of the town square early in the morning. This is the most beautiful part of Frankfurt. So it looks a bit too touristy

dun u all find that old buildings behind look nice yet cartoon like? I felt as if i was in a cartoon scene

Skyscrapers. The blue building on the right is Deutsche Bank, while the left belongs to Commerzbank. I just give them credit and take a picture of them. The home of the big banks

Trams! Up close and personal for the first time. No chance to take it but it is nice to see the tram running slower pass you

No more as i only spent a few hours in Frankfurt. Being in an European city for the first time, Frankfurt really looks great. I didn't know what to expect at that time for the next 3 months, but i left Frankfurt with a sense of uncertainty and sweetness.

Up next will be Vilnius! Where i am working and living now. Trust me, it looks completely different from Frankfurt. It will be my next entry. But just to give you guys a sneak preview......

My home for these few months!

2007-09-21T03:34:00.000+08:00

A long journey from home. This is how i put in.

I was blog-surfing since i was done with my shower in office 1 hour ago. How my life has become so different from theirs. My juniors are still in school, busy with their hall activities and presentations. Entries were about school mates and how bitchy some of them are. And my closest friends, though working are still going out for supper and jokes.

My life probably deviates too much from theirs. Can't share their jokes, miss the supper and complaints. Miss everything that seem so familiar yet so distant.

These days i am more concerned with what am i cooking for my next meal and what programme should i have for the weekend.

It feels great to have a totally different lifestyle from the rest. But sometimes, i just wish to return to where i belong. Soon i guess. Back to apartment to much my chips for supper

2007-09-19T02:06:00.000+08:00

i am blogging in office now. The time is 9.05pm over here. Nope i am not doing OT. I left office around 7pm. I am back to the office to shower. Yes, SHOWER.

The heater in my apartment is not working for the 2nd day in a row. I was cursing and swearing when the ice cold water came pouring down on me. So, today i decided to come to the office to shower. And we have a shower in our office! So cool! (okay, can also mean we can do OT as much as we like bcos you can shower here!)

Unique experience. First time i have to walk a distance to get a shower. Well, there is always first time. Once in a lifetime experience. It is always good to take things in my stride.

Anyway, i cooked meatballs for dinner just now. Not bad, but i prefer my mum's. See, homesick again. I was thinking, anything my mum cooks will be delicious, after i have eaten my sub-standard cooking for 3 months.

I can't access net from my apartment bcos i lent my wireless card to my colleague. So can't update as often as i would want to. But i am still as happening (yah right!) as ever.

Tag me if you have special request for me to blog!

2007-09-17T02:53:00.000+08:00

I cooked Bak Ku Teh this evening for dinner, as i have already said in my previous entry. And i did it!..yahz it wasn't that difficult all of you might say. True, but come on, gimme some credit! When i ate the tender pork meat (i didn't want to buy pork ribs), i felt a small sense of achievement. Personal achievement that is. I know, being alone in a foreign land and surviving until now is already a huge achievement by itself. I am proud of that as well. I am proud of the fact that i can cook something now as well.

These few days, i am feeling a stronger urge to return to Singapore. I love being in Vilnius, i am sure everyone who has been following my blog is well aware how much i enjoy staying here. But i started to have some kind of reality check on myself. I look forward to return home because i would have a pay rise. What am i getting now for my job is sufficient for a temporary stay here, but i have commitments back home, plus the difference in living standards. I did my sums this afternoon and this are my expected expenses:

Food - 300
Transportation - 200
University Loan - 500
Family Allowance - 400
Insurance - 170
Fone Bills - 50

That is already 1620. Bare minimum to get by. Not to mention some unforeseen expenses, like birthday presents plus neccesities purchases. I absolutely have no idea how much i will be getting and it keeps me in tenterhooks. I dun expect to be paid like my peers in big banks because the circumstances are different but i surely need a minimum sum to survive and live comfortably and to provide for my family. It is a fact.

You could have said i can go easy on repaying my university loan and family allowance now, depending how much i draw for my salary. Yes, but i rather not. My dad cleared the loan on my behalf and i think it is only fair i return his money as soon as possible since it is from his retirement nest. Money is always an issue, that is the problem

I am living a relatively frugal life now, and i always wish i dun have to think so hard when making purchases. Okay for now, i am trying to save for my holiday trip which explains my need to save.

And i admit that i feel unbalanced when my peers are applying credit cards back home. I dun want to compare because all of us lead a different life but it is just the materialistic part of me taking control for the moment.

Maybe i shouldn;t tink so much and enjoy while i can for the moment. Leave problems as they are. Some things are beyond control

2007-09-16T05:46:00.000+08:00

Today was super cold. When i woke up, it was raining. Had series of drizzles until now. I reckon the temperature is around 10 degree. Too cold for someone from the sunny and warm Singapore!

Was feeling too bored so i went to the office around 4 plus to work a bit (ok, i left at 945pm). Not exactly workaholic, just plain bored cos i had no plans for this weekend. And i found the time to actually chat with Ms Eu and Mr Jeremy! Haha.. so much of them to spend time entertaining a bored person like me.

We had a hearty chat, btw we chatted on skype( good choice bcos it is free!) and chatted on all kind of stuff. I felt so good chatting with someone from my country, where we understand each other's lingo and common understanding. It does ease my homesickness indeed! We talked about food and of course my job. It is so nice of Jeremy to give me some advice on career planning as well. It is always good to listen to a wise man speaks!

*p/s: i am not lao gan!

I am so looking forward to going back home and meet the two of them for a hearty meal! I owe them one meal, seafood zi char ok? hiak hiak

On a side note, i went to a casino this evening to kill and lost 35 litas! No good, but well, i guess it is still fine, just to train my gambling skills and just treat it as if i went to clubbing tonight.

Looking forward to a lazy Sunday tomorrow!

2007-09-14T03:27:00.000+08:00

In some way or another, i have become more localised. Well, i got to adapt right?

1) I start to litter on the streets. Dun look at me as if i am an alien. Actually, only Singaporeans don't or rather cannot litter. I try not to litter as well, but sometimes, u see litter bins are exactly a common sight over here. :)

2) I always have a plastic bag in my haversack. The marts here don't give out free plastic bags as if there is no tomorrow. I have to buy plastic bags one, ok! A small bag cost 15 centas and a big one cost 30 centas. Time for Singapore to follow suit if we are serious about reducing usage of plastic bags

3) I refuse to leave my apartment without my jumper, sweater. The sunny clear skies here gives you a false sense of security that you will be fine in a t shirt and shorts

4) I appreciate coffee more now. Latte, espresso and all sort of coffee. Nice

BUT, i still kinda miss what i have back home. I listened to the 933 web radio in office today. Feels so homely despite being so far away. The familiar voice and language is indeed heartwarming.

Another thing, it is 100% true that when Singaporeans leave home, we miss our food the most. It is not that i dislike the Lithuanian food, in fact i like very much as well. Not many foreigners will like the local food. Beetroot, potatos, and pizzas. In fact, i just had pizza for dinner. I reckon one reason for missing Singapore food so much is bcos i usually cook my meals a lot more these days. And it doesn;t taste that fabulously for sure.

So, despite more than 1 month away from my homecoming, i have thought of the food that i MUST have when i touch down in my Lion City.

In order of preference.....

1) Sambal Sotong! Champion!! I am going to order one plate solely for myself! The guys should know Sotong is my all time favourite food

2) Orh Lua aka Fried Oyster. Yum yum. I miss the juicy oyster that melts in my mouth

3) Laksa, (with hum please, thank you). There is a chic restaurant here selling Malaysian Laksa. I concur it doesn't taste like we have back home. I will try it out one day, but still Laksa still makes it to my #3 because of the tau pok

4) Frog's Porridge. Okay, chang and i share this common love. Grace, you cannot separate us for this. I so miss the tender meat which goes perfectly with the plain porridge.

5) Crab. It's in my #5 list because i dun want to die from stroke, considering the killer #1, #2 and hum from #3. Still, keeping in mind i am willing to pay SGD38/kg to eat this lovely creature shows how desperate am i

6) Sambal Sting Ray. We order this dish everytime we dined out. Shows how much we adore this sea creature despite its less-than-appealing appearance

7) Chong Pang Nasi Lemak. I miss the cute fried chicken wings which have the power to make me tear.

8) Tom Yum Soup. Just have soft spot for this amazing Thai dish. Have to make a dash to Thai Express for this one when i am back

9) Satay. Not really a big fan of Satay but strangely i am kinda miss the fatty meat in it

10) Loh Mee. I enjoy the Loh Mee at the kopitiam near my place

Dun be surprised that Chicken Rice is not inside. Yeah, i dun pin for Chicken Rice, though it is our national dish. Okay, maybe the skin, but i dun fancy much the rice.

As for Bak Ku Teh, i think i can make do with the instant soup base which the Gavi guys gave to me. I probably will make Bak Ku Teh this weekend for my meal

Also, one must do thing: Book a room in K Box for me to sing Hokkien songs too. I am itching to show my stuff

2007-09-12T03:34:00.000+08:00

Today, i watched some youtube clips. My keyword: getai

The getai clips just keeps me reminded of the fact that i am a true blue Singaporean. I just so miss the getai singing in Singapore. And i missed the happening scene of the getai this year because i am away from Singapore.

I want to remind everyone of my ambition is to become a getai singer!!!

At least part time. Somehow, i have realised that i have fulfilled another of my wish is to be a cosmopolitan and at the same time heartlander. I am here, globe treking some 9000km away from home, but somehow simple heartland things like getai still keep my legs go weak and heart skip a beat.

Probably i will always be a heartland kid, well i am so proud to be one.

Anyway, i always forgot to blog that i soo miss playing tennis. It's been a long time since i last played. I have to wait for another 1 more month before i can hit some balls. I am kinda subdued over here because there is nothing for me to swear at. I probably need some avenue like tennis to swear and get angry about. I am such an emotional person that it is so strange for me not to feel angry or swearing for such a long time!

2007-09-11T03:57:00.000+08:00

A new week. And i shall blog about the feelings that i have after a few weeks here. And i found that some of my local friends read my blog as well! Oh right!

After hanging out with the AIESEC-ers who are university students and comparing with how our university students in Singapore, i really have a lot of feelings. I really have to say that we are really a fortunate bunch of people in Singapore. Things seem a bit too easy for us in Singapore. We seem to just be contented with being a student and doing well enough in studies to graduate and jobs are pretty easy to find if we are not too picky.

Guys here are pretty like part time students and full time working adult. It is not so much about the money because i heard university fees are quite cheap over here. But i think it is because they want to equip themselves with useful and practical skills, knowing that their tertiary education is not that good. I see a desire in them to excel and to work around the restrictions that their university education is having.

Perhaps we are too lucky. Perhaps we have things too easy. As a result, i feel we dun like their desire burning in us.

I feel the same when i went to the local university this afternoon. My immediate reaction was that my life as a student in NTU was too good. For those who still complain NTU looks like a grey factory and stuck in the middle of a forest and lousy lecture halls, you should really take a look over here. I am both glad and grateful that i had a chance to visit the local university, it made me feel so grateful with what i had for the last 3 years as a student.

Now i think those who complained about NTU or any thing regarding Singapore are just too narrow-minded. Obviously they haven't seen the world.

Another thing that evokes my feelings is that there are many old ladies selling flowers on the streets. Too many of them. And you guys should know i have a soft spot for old ladies.

Probably they have no choice but to sell flowers for a living. That's life. I guess some people will get left behind when the economy and world is moving too fast for them to catch up. But i dun feel good whenever i see them on the street, especially during the evening or when it is raining. The cold and the rain is no joke. And they have to stand under the elements of the weather.

So i decide to buy flowers from them. Maybe one of them, once or twice a week. Maybe i can't change their life by making theirs better. I can perhaps help them go home 5 minutes earlier by spending a few litas

2007-09-08T15:35:00.000+08:00

I am using my webcam to take some pictures to increase my blog readership. The blog count is falling liao. Need some dirty tricks to salvage my fledgling blog.

Ok, guys. Miss me? I still look very much the same after 1 month. Maybe a bit fatter? I now weigh 50 kg. Hurrah!

My bed. It's a sofabed. And it is messy

A part of my room. End of story.

2007-09-08T03:25:00.000+08:00

I had gone missing for like one whole week. Because i had been busy attending parties. *guilty

I met the two new friends for dinner on Monday evening whom i met on the bus from Riga back to Vilnius. After the dinner, the guy friend and i went bar hunting and i had a total of 1.8 litres of beer on a single night. *Gasp! 3 large glasses and 1 small glass. Reached back apartment at 3am

Tuesday night was spent at one of my colleague's place because he was having his birthday. So we had some beer and red wine. It was so nice of him to host us and cooking some salad for him. Probably left around 12 plus. Shagged out

Wednesday night was spent at my boss' apartment. His girlfriend said it shall be her turn to cook something for us to return the favour. So, beer and food again. Again, the food was fabulous and i pigged out again.

Last night was out with the AIESEC guys. After their meeting, we went to one of the guy's place for a party because she flew off to Portugal for her traineeship. Ah, nice place, both her place and Portugal. We left rather early but i had enough of beer and alcohol anyway! haha

Seriously, i enjoy all these parties and gatherings. Know more people, and it is especially important to know more people in a foreign land when you can get a bit lonely sometimes.

So, though today is Friday night, i am spending the night alone in my apartment. Think it's good as well. Let me recuperate for one day. I do enjoy the feeling alone in my apartment as well. Where i cooked my own dinner, watch some tv, and i most enjoy being in the balcony, have a smoke and drink some red wine in a European city.

Talking about work, i really need to work harder on my performance. 1 month have passed and i am leaving next month. I really need to equip myself with more skills and learn more things and contribute more to the company in an effective way. I dun want to be a slacker and be condemned. It is my career,man!

2007-09-03T04:39:00.000+08:00

Ok, so i am back from Riga, Latvia after 3 days 2 nights tour. It is sooo good and fun. Perhaps things are more expensive than Vilnius, at least 20-30% more expensive. I really didn't expect much from this Baltic state, but i was given a pleasant surprise.

This is my itinenery:

Friday

6pm - Bus leave for Riga
8pm - Stop over in a small Lithuanian town for 10 mins
1030pm - Bus reach Riga Main Bus Station
1045pm - Check in at Riga Old Town Hostel
11pm - Dinner at Pizza Malibu
12pm - Beer at Riga Old Town Hostel pub
1230pm - Retire with a hot shower

Saturday
9am - Rise and Shine
10am - Slow walk around the Old Town. Nice buildings
1115am - Early lunch
1200am - Return to Hostel for a 3hr guided tour by a local guy
3pm - Tour ended in the old harbour (Riga is a port city)
3pm - 6pm - Walked back to the Old Town. Check out more nice buildings in Old Town
7pm - 3am - Clubbing
3am - Sleep

Sunday
10am - Rise and Shine
11am - Check out of the Hostel
1130am - Early lunch
12noon - Last min shopping
1.15pm - Bus leaves for Vilnius
5.30pm - Vilnius Main Bus Station

Ahh, i enjoy this trip so much! Though it is a bit short, but come to think of it, 3 days is good for a city tour (applies to Vilnius as well). But i am really glad that i went for the guided tour ( I paid 5 lavs or $15 sgd) because we were brought out of the Old Town to places like a flea market and see some really unique buildings that i wouldn;t have gone to alone. Well worth the money

And i want to say Riga is so different from Vilnius. Believe it or not, Riga looks more like a German city like Frankfurt than a Baltic city. Most of the buildings in Old Town have been reburished and looks so clean and nice. And it is a wealthy little city as well. I think the standard of living is comparable to Singapore. Things are as expensive as back home and people drive nice cars. Vast contrast to Vilnius, not that Vilnius is a poorer cousin of Riga, but the pace of economic development and wealth creating is evidently faster in Riga. I would actually recommend people to visit Riga as you have a chance to visit Europe. And of course, drop by Vilnius as well.

And what is a bonus is that i made friends on the bus back to Vilnius. There are two people, one guy from Australia but working in UK and a Japanese girl who are travelling from Riga to Vilnius. They weren;t quite sure of the way to their hostel so i showed them the way. And we met up for dinner after that, learnt so much about other countries. I tell you, other people are so well travelled, Singaporeans need to travel much more and stop being a slave in work. There is so much to see and learn about the world than to hole up in your cubicle!

Well, work tml. Another brand new week.

2007-08-31T20:37:00.000+08:00

Can't blog yesterday because there was something wrong with my wireless card. So blogging now in my office. Just came back from lunch. And i tell you, even lunch we had beer, because today is friday!

Anyway, will be going off work early today probably around 445 or 5pm cause i am catching a bus to Riga, Latvia at 6pm! It will be a 4 1/2 hr bus ride, quite long huhz and will be back on Sunday evening. I brought all my barang barang to work this morning so all ready!

Dunno what to expect, except that i am going there alone, so quite scary. Yes, i am not used to travelling alone

Hope to blog about my trip on Sunday when i am back. Take care!

2007-08-30T01:59:00.001+08:00

I am feeling so sad. Because my handfone died on me. I went go-karting with my colleagues, cos my boss proposed to go go-karting, so it became a company outing. I put my handphone in my pocket and when i took out my fone after the race, the screen can't be seen. I reckon the screen can't take the impact of the go-kart (as if my kart flipped during the race!) and the fone was a goner. I am sad not because i have to spend money to get a new one, but the emotions attachment i have for the fone..and the messages, the contacts!

So i would probably get it repaired when i get back home. In the meanwhile, i spent 220 litas to get a new Nokia fone. Very Lau-yah one. No camera nothing. Well, i just need a fone to call and sms. I realised it is more than 1 mth since i am here. Yeah seen a couple of things and of course more independent than ever. But i do look forward to the day i go back to Singapore. It would be fast, 7 wks more.

Shall blog again. Go drinking later

2007-08-28T02:43:00.000+08:00

I had a pizza for dinner and i am feeling real full. The menu said it was a 25cm big, so i just ordered cos i was feeling real hungry. And i felt so good whacking every single of the pizza all alone. Truth: When you feel lonely, you will feel hungry easily. haha

Temperature is getting cooler and colder as September approaches. Today was mostly rainy. It is around 11 degree and likely to stay wet and cold for the rest of the week. Which means eating more to produce more heat to keep warm!

But i doubt my weight changes much since i left Singapore. I still look and feel light. My digestion system is just working very hard most of the time.

Work is good. Seriously. I enjoy working at the moment. Though my eyes feel tired after staring at the computer for one whole day, i don't feel like dying when i wake up to go to work every morning. Even on Sunday evening, i don't feel as if the end of the world is looming. Just a bit sianz since i can't slack that much.

I have this mission as part of the company. I have to become a China expert. A walking China bible. I am trying my best to be one as well. Trying to understand about the economics, industries, companies and everything. So have been reading more on Asia in particular on current affairs magazines.

So one fact and figures about China everyday.

Did you know there are 7 million new mobile phones subscribers in China every month?

2007-08-27T03:01:00.000+08:00

I have been busy since 730pm. BTW, now it is 1010pm over here. This is what i did.

730pm. Fried chicken wings and fish
800pm. Cooked fish finger and crab sticks and rice
830pm. Dinner
900pm. Mopped the floor and stove. Oily from the frying
930pm.Shower
945pm. Ironing my clothes that i have washed over the weekend while watching tv

Looks like some household chores by some typical auntie. Thank you, every weekend i morph into some auntie and god damn it, the food that i prepared today was quite horrid. Plus all the oil. I dun believe i can't master cooking when i am adult armed with a Bachelor degree ( as if there is any connection between the two)

Well, at least there is beer beside me as i blogged about my life. See living alone in a foreign land is not as glam as you all think man! Yes, i enjoy staying alone for now, the independence, the drinking parties in my apartment, but i dun think i enjoy the cleaning part of it. For the very least, i have conquered clearing those food waste stucked in the sink. Still got all the hair that i caught by the bathtub hole. Till now, i still have to use toilet paper to dig it out (Disgusting!)

My friends have this idea that i am no longer homesick as i have expressed my desire to extend my stay last week. Yes, it is true that i am not that homesick as my first week in Lithuania, but i still feel homesick as well. I miss orh lua, my friends and most importantly my family as well. My family called me yesterday and my mom commented that i have been in Lithuania for one month exactly. I agreed and said "oh, yah very fast hor". My mom didn't reply to my comment. It struck me that probably my mom doesn;t agree with me that time passes very fast in my absence. She is probably worried sick about her dear son living 9000km away from here all the time.

And when i was on my way back to the mall, i saw a mother and her kid walking to the mall. Out of a sudden, i felt a bit homesick. As independent as i am, i feel the urge to go back to Singapore and go shopping with my mom like what i have seen in the mall.

Today was also the day where Kenji, my junior in university flies to Japan for his exchange programme. Lucky him! Japan is nice, though i have not been there before. Well, Japan is in Asia and much closer to Singapore at least! Weilong told me Germaine cried. I guess it is normal, a few months is not that short and having your loved one away from you is not easy. But no one cried on my departure! i am sooo envious heck lah! But on the other hand, i feel better as well. When u are single, you dun have to worry about your other half and let him or her worry about you as well. Just like now. I have less one person to miss and lead my carefree life, not bad to see things in a different perspective.

Looking forward to my pay day on Friday!

2007-08-26T03:43:00.000+08:00

Had a lazy afternoon today. Went clubbing as usual last night. Nothing really happening. And i didn't came back home drunk! (Hurrah!) But i was a bit tipsy and somehow i couldn't press the security key numbers correctly. In the end, an old lady staying in my apartment block was so kind to come down and opened the door for me. I swear i wasn't drunk lor!

I went to check out the bus station because i feel the need to travel to other cities soon. I need to know how to get there by foot just in case. And i made several new pleasant discoveries during my reccee of the bus station.

I saw a few more churches, different from the ones that i have visited.

1) And i discovered a market in Vilnius! Just when i thought the people here only have hypermarts and minimarts to do their groceries shopping. But it is really quite far from where i am staying, at least 2km away. So i doubt i will do my groceries shopping there.

2) And i discovered a shop selling porno dvds! First time in Vilnius. Haha..It's quite tough to find shops selling porn here ok...but i didn;t make any purchases

And yes, i also made some time to sit in a cafe to enjoy some good coffee in the afternoon. Coffee, magazine and nice scenary. I adore doing this during weekends. I guess it is fine to do this in Singapore as well, but it just doesn't have the European feel to it.

Talking about travelling, i was quite adament about making a trip to Stockholm. My initial plan was to take a bus from Vilnius to Riga, probably on a Thursday evening, spend a night in Riga and from there take a budget flight to Stockholm. The plan is good, but the cost isn't. It is already the cheapest to fly to Stockholm via Riga. FYI, budget airlines don't fly the Vilnius-Stockholm route. But things in Europe are really expensive, the hostels in Stockholm are really expensive. It will probably add up to 900 litas for this weekend trip. (Gasp! which is like 1/2 of my monthly pay)

Not sure if i should proceed. But since i am here, shouldn't i travel around and fuck the cost?
But i will be doing a 1 wk travel towards the end of my stay. Likely to join King Yaw in London bah. Maybe i shld just make do with the 1 wk travel and not be so ambitious and greedy. Afterall, money doesn;t fall from the sky

2007-08-24T03:00:00.000+08:00

Today in work i progressed to work on financial models. Felt excited whilst feeling stressed because it is important to analyze the companies well to make the right decisions. Will still be working on it tomorrow, hopefully i can learn more things as i progress.

Nothing much today actually because today is Thursday. But tomorrow is Friday. Woo hoo!
Went for window shopping in Zara after work. The prices here are way expensive, pretty similar to what we have in Singapore. Have this sudden urge to fly back to Frankfurt to grab Zara because it is much cheaper there. Think i have blogged about this. But the airfare to Frankfurt is quite expensive at the moment. Darn!

Seriously can't think about anything else to blog about. Maybe i ate too much for dinner.

This what i had for dinner.

1) Noodles equivalent of 3 packets i think
2) With it, 5 crab sticks
3) 2 saugges
4) 2 pieces of ham

and i god damn finished it all. How great. Oh yeah not forgetting a can of Heineken beer

2007-08-23T04:27:00.000+08:00

Just came back from a Japanese dinner with Thomas, my boss from UK. Not the boss that i am working directly for. Nevertheless, had my first Japanese dinner since dunno when and obviously my first in Lithuania. To orientate all my lovely readers, this Japanese restaurant is located at the Old Town (obviously!), few shops away from the Australia Embassy and one street from where both of us are staying. I expect it to be rather expensive in local terms but it came out to be extremely expensive!

My eyes nearly popped out as i flipped through the menu.

Nevertheless, we ordered these:
1) Fujisan, which is medium plate of sushi with Unagi, salmon etc
2) Egg fried rice for me and normal rice for him
3) A plate of Tempura with 4 Tempuras
4) Tempura sushi rolls
5)A plate of Soba which is damn little
6) A local beer for him and a bottle of Asahi for me

The price?? 148 litas which is around 90 SGD! i find it damn ex though the food is pretty good.

In any case, thomas said it would be on the company's tab. Well. I just ate then

I was thinking of extending my stay in Lithuania, as i have got used to the life here and probably can learn more things from the analysts like Jelena but Vilma, the one who arranged for my stay told me that i could only stay for 90 days because i am not on a working permit. A working permit will take 6 mths to apply and thus they didn't apply it back then

Well well, Miss Eu told me to come back as well. She said things may feel fresh in the beginning but family and friends are still more important. Well, she is true in a sense, and i can't choose either now. I will be back by 26th Oct 2007 then, bocs 26th Oct will be my 90th day and i can't stay beyond that

2007-08-21T02:57:00.000+08:00

Lina, a very nice friend of mine whom i got to know in Vilnius.

Lina's friend whom i mentioned that she looks like Stacy Orrico. She does right! Pity that i looked so bloody cock in this picture with her! Damn!

FYI, i haben recovered my USB cable. These two pictures are courtesy of Lina. Bleah. I have to start making plans for my weekends! I dun want to be lazing around in Vilnius City!

2007-08-20T02:06:00.000+08:00

The weekend is quite boring, as usual. Yesterday afternoon was spent walking around the Old Town. First spent a hour or less in a cafe, sipping coffee and reading The Economist. Later went to this church about 10 minutes walk from where i am staying. The interior of the church is amazingly nice, cravings and paintings are breath-taking. Too bad i can't show you all the fotos here, shall post when i am back in Singapore.

Had Macdonalds' for dinner. It is now considered a luxury to have Macdonalds' these days because it is so tough to find Macdonald's over here, though there is one near my place. But i seldom have it. Once a week is the maximum probably.

Today is the day where i transformed into a house husband. After i woke up, i swept the floor, decided that i should do some housework, before cobweb starts making its way into my apartment. Then, i cooked lunch. What's for lunch?? Oh..2 packs of instant noodles with hard-boiled eggs.

I went to Akropolis(again) for my weekly dosage of window shopping. But it was more of shopping for groceries in the hypermarket. See! How uncle can i get. Bought eggs, sauggages, crab sticks, mushrooms and instant noodles. Well, decide to cook meals more frequently as i need to check my finance. Badly need to save for my trip as i have said.

Took the trolley bus back and cooked my dinner. Just finished ironing my clothes and ready to slack some more!

Talking about food, i have a growing feeling that there is really a serious problem with me. My capacity for food has grown again! The Macdonalds' that i had for dinner apparently wasn't enough for me. Hey hey i did not just had a fucking fries. I had a McChicken meal.( McChicken burger+medium fries+small Fanta). I still remember i had that at 7.30pm local time and by 11.30 i was hungry again! WTF!! In the end i opened my first packet of my Myojo instant noodles that i brought from Singapore.

My fear of my growing food capacity is confirmed today when i felt hungry 3 hours after i had my lunch. In the end, i landed my bum at a restaurant for an Apple strudel and an ice lemon tea. Still, i happily gobbled up my dinner at 745pm. How nice! My stomach will be damn big by the time i am back home!

I officially invite my friends and all to come to Europe and join me to travel as i badly need some travel mates! you can stay in my apartment when u come to Lithuania ok! Tml's Monday..arghh i know everybody is going to suffer from Monday Blues, but heads up, things will get better, i hope!

2007-08-19T01:32:00.000+08:00

Yesterday night was spent clubbing with the locals. My first time clubbing in Lithuania since i came 3 weeks ago. What can i say, yesterday was a blast!

My friends, Lauras(a guy fyi) and Jonas first came to my apartment for some drinks. Beers, vodka and apple wine were what we drank. I stuck to my apple wine which was incredibly cheap. I bought the 1 litre apple wine at the minimart situated below my apartment for 6.30litas which is around 4 sgd. I drank half of it mixed with some peach tea as we chatted.

Then, we went to this pub situated round the corner from where i am staying called Prospekto Pub. Paid 15 litas for the admission and went to meet another friend of ours, Lina and her group of friends. I ordered another 2 glasses of beer bcos the rest were drinking as well! The music is ok, pop music plus some local songs. Well, heck the music! We had a ball of a time. So the guys went to invite girls for dancing and for me, ahem, chatted up with the girls in our group. And there's these two ladies whom i like.

And most amazing thing is they are sisters! The elder sister is 27 years old and still studying medicine. And yah she looks like Mary Pierce. Go google for her picture. We chatted and went to dance. Okay, a bit of flirting but that's normal right!? But i prefer her sisiter! She is 24 years old but she looks like Stacy Orrico, but yeah no chance to dance with her though. Well, the two of them are hot i think, but then again, everyone looks doubly good thanks to the influence of alcohol and those shimmering lights.

Second time in 2 weeks that i got drunk to the point where i puked. That's bad but i didn;t drink a lot! My body is just too slow to work those alcohol out!

2007-08-17T03:34:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow's Friday..woo hoo...my spirits are getting better as the weekend approaches. Yesterday was supposed to be a public holiday over here in Lithuania, but a few of us still went to work as usual because my boss was working and we are involved in the US stock market. Moreover i had no plans so working seems like a good choice for me.

But after work, i joined one of my colleague, Ieva and her bf and one girl from UK for go-karting! Woo hoo! I loved it so much. It was my first time playing go-kart and i am very sure it will not be the last time! Being a first timer, i was last in my detail but i am very sure with some practice, i will be way better. Yup, it is quite expensive to play go-karting over here, cost me 39litas for around 9 mins, for 10 laps. But the experience is too cool to be missed. Come on, go-karting in the faraway land of Lithuania, hidden in some woods!

And we had beer in the circuit after our race while watching karts raced past us, it was just a nice feeling!

After which, we went to a nice and fanciful restaurant for some drink where i had my dinner as well. What a great way to spend my evening. Cars, friends, drinks!

Got my fortnightly pay today. 850 litas. Well, it is not a lot, not too much. Still, i would need to save a bit to go for my mini europe trip and weekend getaways!

2007-08-14T02:48:00.000+08:00

It's 9.50pm local time and i am sitting in the living room, sipping beer(what else!) while doing this entry.

I know, i seriously know that many many people would love to be in my shoes. Getting paid to come to Europe, ok a less developed part of Europe. To work in a hedge fund, which many many people find it exciting and glamorous. To live in an apartment in the heart of the capital all by myself for at least 3 days a week.(Yes, i am living just like in our Singapore's River Valley or Paterson area.) Just walk 20m to reach the center of the Old Town.

Well, it is very true that i am fortunate to land myself in this situation. Doesn;t matter if my boss decides not to keep me after 3 months in Lithuania because i know this experience cannot be bought with any amount of money.

By that, of course i am currently not earning as much as my peers. Perhaps one third or less of what my peers are earning now. I am not the least worried but i just dun like the feeling that i am unable to give my family money with my meagre allowance(at least in Singapore dollar terms), since all of us are expected to do so.

But i have gained many things as well. Like cooking my own meals, to really be on my feet. To buy my own daily neccessities. Yes, i just replenished my toiletries with a 12-rolls toilet rolls from the minimart. And to struggle with a complex trolley bus system to get from my place to a shopping mall all alone and to come back safely. And to iron my own clothes. Seriously, for the first time, i ironed like 6 pieces on my own. Though it is not done in the most professional way, i am very sure my skills will improve as the weeks go by.

All these being said and done, i know i still want to come back home. Being an Asian or traditional or whatever shit u call me, my roots still belong to Singapore. I will and must return to where my family and friends are. 落叶归根 is the word. No matter how wonderful other places are, no where can be compared to where u come from.

I went to a Chinese restaurant last evening for my weekly Chinese Dinner. The price was steep but i was so happy to see the boss and probably chef who is a Mainland Chinese. I could see he was equally as happy to see me. And he quickly came to my table to chat up with me. We chatted just about anything as i ate my dinner. The kind of bond where you can speak to a person in our native language just can't be explained in words. And i was told there are around 280 Mainland Chinese in Lithuania. How cool is that!? I am not being racist over here, but it is indeed heartwarming to know someone of my origins is also striving in a foreign land.

See, keetzai can be funny and can be emotional and with depth as well. I will blog again soon ok, if i feel the need to.

2007-08-13T02:56:00.000+08:00

Drinking beer(again!) as i am typing this entry, i seriously think that i will return home in 2.5 months' time with a beer belly to show. Warning to my friends first! haha

I shall blog separately on what i have done today on another entry. This entry is simply to lament that i have grown accustommed to not being able to understand what people at my surrounding say. Usually, the locals say Lithuanian language, so it is naturally that what they speak sounds alien to me. Then, at my apartment, i have cable tv( thank god!), of course they have BBC and CNN which i will watch ocassionally, but normally i will switch to a korean channel or a thai channel (yes, they have thai channel, from the dish i gather). Just minutes ago, some guy was singing in thai, so familiar yet so foreign! God, i haven't been speaking Singlish for quite some time.

Checked out the air fare to Helsinki in the mall in the afternoon. 450 litas which is quite cheap. Have plans to visit Helsinki, Finland on my way back home in Oct. So, money saving shall start from tomorrow. And by this, i am also replying to my dear Geraldine, i am not living a life here as an expat, man! Poor keetzai me, though is only living a normal lifestyle. I need to save up if i want to buy clothes or to go travelling ok!

Tomorrow's Monday. Start of a new week, hopefully i can get more settled in my work and really learn a lot of things because i need to!

2007-08-12T16:12:00.000+08:00

Just finished video caming with my family. Well, the tranmission quality was rather bad because of my wireless network speed at 1.8Mbps...but well at least i had a decent conversation with them. Ahh...and i miss them dearly of cos.

The saturday afternoon was spent with Giedre, a female friend of mine. We went up to the castle on a hill, i can't remember the name. It overlooks the whole of Vilnius, i tell you, it's just so cool..sorry no pictures for now! Then we went to a beautiful church, i think it's St Anne Church. Well, she told me the Lithuanians are really proud of this church because Napolean wanted to bring this church back when he saw this church. Trust me, i would want to do this same as well.

Then we went to a cool place where the artists declare themselves as a republic of themselves, where they live by the river side, doing their own stuff.

Then, dinner at a small bistro bar along a cool street full of bars and pubs

Yeah you know what i love and hate about Lithuania?

Alcohols and cigarettes are too cheap to be true