Price Hike!

Its the time of the year again when the board of directors of SBS sit down and say "Hey lets up the bus fare again!". When I heard the news saying that SBS have decided to submit their proposal to raise the transport fares I was thinking..great, every year also increase, every year they also say "After careful consideration, they had no choice but to raise the fares to cover for rising costs"...I dun remember there was a year they said after careful consideration, we decided not to increase the fares. Of couse when SMRT heard that, they thought "kao! they also increase liao, if we dun increase we lugi!" and so next day, as expected SMRT also submitted their proposal after much consideration.

I must admit the Singapore transport services are quite efficient but they are really not that great yet to warrant a yearly increase. Besides, there is no competition! Its not like SMRT and SBS are competing with each other..they seem more like partners...increasing price one after another. Then came the news that there will be penalty for bus operators if the waiting time exceed 10 mins. Please... I cant remember how many times I waited for my one and only feederbus for more than 15mins...Who is going to monitor them anyway? Moreover, after years of price hike, I dont see any improvements in the transport services...On rainy days, I was appalled to see some buses with their upper deck seats totally wet as the roof was leaking. Many occasions I was sitting happily on the bus when I realised the aircon was dripping water on me. And talking about making places accessible to those handicap pple, our buses are way behind ...I saw buses in LA where people in wheelchair were able to board..boy was I impressed. Here, those old people have difficulties climbing the steep steps up the bus. Buses are always so crowded at peak hours and buses speed off bus stops without stopping just becos the front is packed and the bus driver cant be bothered to ask people to move behind. With all these they still have the cheek to increase the fare every year.

Talking about fare hike...there are so many merchants who took advantage of the 2% GST to increase their prices...can drinks selling for 1 buck now goes for 1.10, I bought a hotdog bun at Breadtalk this morning, previously at 1.20 now it cost 1.30..is that a 2% increase? How convenient...2% become duno how many percent..like those hawker..2% increase ah..my wanton mee at 2 bucks cannot become 2.10 ...make it 2.50 lor....

The end of Harry Potter........

Spent the rest of my off day yesterday reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Finally I finished it. I remember I started reading the first book in 2001 and its been 6 years already. I read an interview with JK Rowling and she said "Some people started reading the first book when they were 10 and now they are already 20 yr olds" Thats quite amazing to me...The book was quite boring in the first few chapters with lots of aimless wandering around but towards the end, everything just exploded..the last few chapters leading to the climax was one non-stop heart thumping ride that doesnt let up. In the end, everything ended well, all loose ends tied up..well almost..I have to start reading the first six books in order to refresh my memories on some stuff..Maybe to some, its just a children series but to many, myself included, its a journey..journey through the imaginative wizarding world of J.K Rowling and watch the three characters Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione change from innocent 11 yr olds to eventual fighters against the Dark Lord. Its quite a journey and maybe thats what makes Harry Potter series so special and I am glad I picked up the first book 6 years ago.

Daylight robbery....

Took leave to send my canon camera for repair..when I surrendered my camera and ask how much it will cost..the girl said "minimum 200" ..I was like "$@#$@wtf!" I bought this camera 2 yrs ago for 699 and now its selling for 500 and the repair is minimum 200? Sigh now I am torn...should I repair or buy a new one? If I were to buy a new one..shd I get a canon digital ixus 70, powershot or SLR...or should I get a different brand...sigh...

不能说的秘密

Just got this latest song by Jay chou from my fren Tim..Like it alot...once again, the lyrics are so nicely written....

冷咖啡离开了杯垫

我忍住的情绪在很后面

拼命想挽回的从前

在我脸上依旧清晰可见

最美的不是下雨天

是曾与你躲过雨的屋檐

回忆的画面在荡着秋千

梦开始不甜

你说把爱渐渐放下会走更远

又何必去改变已错过的时间

你用你的指尖 阻止我说再见

想像你在身边在完全失去之前

你说把爱渐渐放下会走更远

或许命运的签

只让我们遇见只让我们相恋

这一季的秋天飘落後才发现 这幸福的碎片
要我怎麼捡

My first site job!

Spent 4 days at a site in malaysia. My first site job...kinda excited. Have to act like very experienced and very professional which I am totally not! Haha..actually I think I am quite a suay xing, when I was there, it rained every single day ...and work have to stop. In the end, 2 days of work have to spread into 4 days... I have to oversee the installation of the cathodic protection system for 6 underground pipelines...have to decide where to place the magnesium anodes, test point, reference electrodes blah blah..then have to teach the workers how to connect the cables to the pipes..it was quite fun and I learnt quite alot :) My work is only 1/3 done..one area done, 2 more pipelines more...looking forward to it..hehe

What a Saturday...

Woke up early in the morning to accompany my mum to see a doctor. She've been complaining about some "ringing" sound in her ear and was lamenting nobody cares about her...but I was quite pissed off by her...here was our conversation on friday night...

Me: Go to the clinic downstairs and see the doctor tomorrow...
Mum: No lah, downstairs clinic so expensive..later charge me 40 plus 50 bucks...
Me: .......
My mum likes to go back to the doctor in clementi (where we used to live) cos its cheap...
Me: Ok then lets go to the doctor in clementi...
Mum: erm....dun want...
Me: Why?
Mum: Becos the taxi fare from here to clementi and back cost 20 bucks! (My mum cant really walk that well, so we have to take a cab)
Me: .............
Me: Ok fine! I will pay for everything...cab fare, doctor fees...ok?
Mum: Ok...

Sometimes talking to my mum makes my blood boils....

Anyway thats how I spent my saturday morning..After that I went to get my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows..Yesterday was Harry Potter's Day, every major bookstore I went to, 8 out of 10 people queuing up are paying for a copy of Harry Potter...and there are stacks and stacks of it ...which makes me wonder...why preorder? There is no special discount or free gifts for preordering, so why pre order when you can get one on the day of release as everyone else? Anyway it costs me 48 bucks and it completes my collection. I am going to start reading it later, trying very hard not to flip to the last page for a sneak peek of the ending.

After that, went to watch Disturbia with Vincent...my classmate in NUS...It was a sleeper hit in the US and now I know why. Its a horror film with a story. Not those typical no brainer, blood and gore slasher pics...in fact, the slashing is quite minimal. Its a light hearted romantic comedy disguised as a horror film. It keeps you at the edge of your seat towards the end without having to show much blood ..unlike Saw and Hostel. The ending was quite cool too, not those typical..."I will be back" endings for typical horror films these days..

After the movie, I got a preview of the fireworks for NDP and it was great. Got myself a nice spot at Marina Square foodcourt. Not too crowded, and nicely elevated to view the fireworks display. Fireworks never fail to amaze me even though I have seen it like more than 10 over times...Maybe I will pop by again on National day to watch it again...

I thought my day will end after that but it didnt...my frens jio me go karaoke...and karaoke was just too hard to resist...end up singing from 1030 to 230am..haha..sing until I buay tahan....but it was fun...:)

Potter Mania...

This month is the month of Harry Potter...on July 23rd, all will be revealed. The first book of Harry Potter came out in 1997 but I wasnt hooked until I read the first book in 2001. I still remember I was skeptical about it when the first movie came out and I was like ....god, its just a children's book. Then I decided to pick up the first book and read it for myself and then there is no turning back...6 yrs later, I find myself waiting for the final book to come out next week ..like millions of potter fans. Its a little pricey though, at 48 bucks, I wonder if I should spend that kind of money on ...a book. Its quite amazing the kind of money parents are willing to spend on their kids these days....I remembered my mum wouldnt even buy me a book that cost more than $5 . I am always more of the book fan than the movie fan for Harry Potter...maybe becos I still cant get over the fact that movie 3 was just absolutely horrible. The last one was a considerable improvement from the third but the damage was done. Nevertheless, I went to watch the Order of the Pheonix on Saturday. The fifth book was my least favorite of the series...its just too damn hard to read..at 700 pages, I find myself losing interest at around page 400. When I was reading it, I thought..the movie version is gonna be so boring cause although its the longest book, there isnt much going on that can be put into a movie. Surprisingly, the movie turn out to be quite decent..in fact I think its one of the better ones. Maybe becos it was really simple this time to leave out the redundant and just focus on one major plot line and the movie doesnt seems to be too choppy. The acting was better and the flow was much better too. Although there are some scenes that I feel could be better dealt with, like the demise of Sirius, it is still the only movie besides the first that stayed true to the overall feel of the book. So...the movie didnt disappoint, I hope the final book will not too. My gut feeling tells me Ron is not going to make it...although most people have placed their bets on Harry dying. Oh well, we will find out in 7 days time.

back in singapore in 4 days...

Fireworks on Fourth of July....

Chrysler Building.....

Me and Ken outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art ....
View of Central Park and Manhattan at the top of Metropolitan Museum of Art...

Sunset at Manhattan...

The awesome view at the top of the Rockefeller Center...

Central Park....

Construction at the former World Trade Center site.....

Me at Times Square....

Me and Ken on the Brooklyn Bridge....

Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge...

Statue of Liberty with the Manhattan skyline..

This is a hell of a trip...but all good things have to come to an end. Have been travelling around New York quite abit and it really wasnt what I expect it to be. Nevertheless it was amazing. Times square, statue of Liberty, brooklyn bridge, grand central station, union square, wall street, former world trade centre site..there are just so much to see in this city! Went up the top of the Rockefeller Center two days ago and the view was breathtaking...you get the whole view of the manhattan city...empire state, central park, chrysler building...its just beautiful.

Did quite abit of shopping yesterday...spent so much at Abercrombie and Fitch. The levis jeans are really cheap though, I bought 2 pairs of 97 USD...thats like the price of one in singapore. hehe.

I had the opportunity to watch a movie in the states as I wanted to get the feel of it..its quite silly but I just wanted to waste 2 hrs of my travelling time on a movie. So we went to catch Transformers on Fourth of July. Its a nice movie but didnt quite live up to my expectation. For one, the storyline is kinda crap. The only thing that saved this movie is its incredible visual effects...even so sometimes there are so much going on you dont know who is fighting who. Most of the robots are redesigned beyond recognition so its quite disappointing for fans like me. The funny thing about watching a movie in the states is there are no predetermined seating arrangement. Something I totally cannot understand. People are allowed to take any seats they want...first come first serve. I thought its such a stupid way of resource allocation. In the end, due to our big group, and our late entrance, one of our frens have to sit on the aisle for the entire show. After the movie, there are actually people who stand outside the theater with survey forms asking you to fill up what you thought about the movie. Thats really cool...how come we dont get that in Singapore.

Had quite abit of bad luck during this trip...queue up for the treasure island show at vegas for an hr and it was cancelled due to strong wind, went to a famous club and it was closed for maintenance, wanted to go up the statue of liberty and the time passes were sold out ...and the worse, I dropped my camera on the floor and it totally died on me! Cant believe it..canon digital ixus 50....one drop and its dead..sucks man.

Ok, I think I am going out..today its arty farty day..going to metropolitan museum

Touchdown...New York!

This past week have been a blast...had so much fun and went to so many places, Santa Monica beach, Hollywood, Universal Studios, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon..Just reached my fren place in NY and wil spending the rest of my 7 days here..its 230am now, feeling really tired..shd sleep early so I can be prepared for my tour of NY tmr..Just checked my NACE course results, 88 for written and 97 for practical!! woohoo!! so happy! :)

Santa Monica Beach......

Me at Venice Beach....
Kodak theater at hollywood....

The famous HOLLYWOOD sign up on the mountains....

The view from universal studios....

Ken and I at universal studios...
Nightlights at Vegas....Me at the Venetian....

The magnificent Grand Canyon...

Sunset at Hoover Dam....

The musical fountain show at the Bellagio .....

Feeling excited...

Wow, time passed really fast....I thought I just said its the first day of my course and today its the second last day. Tmr will be D day. Have been trying hard to adjust to life here, adjusting my sleep and eating pattern. Now its been six days already and things are getting better. I really enjoyed my classes and it really broaden my entire perspective of what I am actually doing... its amazing when you thought what you are doing is so insignificant and you attend something and the instructors share with you their life experiences and you go...geez there are actually so much more I can learn and go through...if I stick to this field that is. Anyhow, I hope I will be able to do well tmr and then can truely enjoy the next 2 weeks with a peaceful mind...2 more days and I am out of here! So exciting...cant wait to visit other parts of US...ok time to go for my breakfast..

Lesson 1

Just finished my dinner and going to start doing my homework soon. Had my first lesson today and I was so worried I am going to doze off..surprisingly I didnt. I think its becos the instructor is very experienced, he is 72 yrs old, and also very humourous. The 5 hour lesson is not abit boring at all. Why cant NUS lecturers be like that...Anyway, had to do a self introduction at the beginning of the course, as expected...and I am the youngest and most inexperienced...haha. I am like the only 20 yr old seated among all the ang mohs uncles . When they introduced themselves, they were citing 10,20 years of experience in this field and when its my turn...I said one and a half....I was quite surprised nobody gasp. In fact everyone was very friendly even the instructors..Tomorrow is going to be really tough, 4 chapters to cover out of a total of 8. I think I better go and start my revision and try to get some much needed sleep...

Jetlag sets in...

Its 5 am in the morning and I am at the hotel computer room typing this ...I finally knows what jetlagged feels like...and it sucks..I felt so sleepy when I got here but I cant sleep at night. I slept at 11pm and woke up at 2 ..then I kept tossing around and trying to force myself to sleep but I just cant...in the end I ended up watch Apollo 13, smallville, and some other crappy shows on tv until I just cant take it anymore..so here I am surfing the net waiting for free breakfast to start at 7am...I am so fucking hungry...

My class going to start at 1pm later, so I hope I can get some sleep after my breakfast since there is not much to do here anyway. I am seriously worried I am going to fall asleep during class later.

There is so much to get used to..lol. I still cant believe I am in the states now. Its always been my childhood dream to visit the united states, and here I am at Los Angeles, just few miles from Hollywood...its just amazing. I cant wait for my course to end and do some serious exploration...

The weather here is cool...20 degree C when I arrived and I think it felt much colder when it was at night..I am so glad to escape the freaking hot weather in Singapore. The hotel room is quite fantastic too..139USD a nite, and its freaking huge. 2 TV sets, one in the bedroom one in the living room. ...yeah there is a living room, complete with a sofas, a fridge, a bar counter, and a dining table. Then a bedroom with a king size bed 2 cupboards and a shower room with a nice bathtub...what more can I ask for man..haha. Only thing I dun like is the toilet bowl flushes itself every 10 mins on its own...totally freaked me out at first...thought some unknown entity likes to frequent the toilet. Its really noisy and its probably one of the reasons why I couldnt sleep.

Gosh, its still so early, what am I going to do next?... the sun has only began to rise...yeah, the sun sets kinda late and rises kinda early compared to Singapore...

I am still trying to get used to the tipping system here. I am not sure how much tip is the right amount. When I first got here, the guy who drove me to the hotel told me it cost 44 USD, so I gave him 45 and asked him to keep the change...and he shot me a look...only then did I realise he did not factor in the tip in....so in the end he got 1 USD for tip from me..haha sorry..felt so guilty. But its really kinda expensive living here, 44 USD for a 30mins ride from the airport and thats like 60 SGD!! I can go from my home in boon lay to changi and back...midnite charges included! Food was expensive too..I had a small pizza and a calamari and it cost me 20 USD...but the service was really good though....the waitress looked abit like Linsay Lohan..haha.

Ok I think this is so not going to work...breakfast starts in another hr time and I am not going to spend the next hour facing the computer...maybe I should go back to my room and watch tv..
Grocery shopping at Ralphs supermarket....

Touchdown...LA!

Just reached my hotel at Downey, LA...super tired from 24 hrs of flight...transit and transit...its oreadi 5pm on 16th June...not sure what I am going to do now...feeling abit lost...where should I have my dinner? haha...maybe I should just call room service...feeling abit jetlagged...hope I wont fall asleep when class starts tomorrow...

Black is in...but not for me...

Totally regret my decision to dye my hair black 2 months back...so today i decided to bring back the browness in my life and I went to dye my hair again...lol and got a nice haircut...just nice for my holiday

Feeling bored and worried....

Here I am sitting in my office on a saturday morning, waiting to go back. Working on saturday really sucks..Not many people are around, and there is absolutely no motivation to work. Feeling very worried now as the day draws nearer to 16th June. Will be attending a course "Cathodic Protection Level 2" course conducted by National Association of Corrosion Engineers aka NACE in LA on the 17th. I am so not prepared for the course and I am kinda worried I might end up failing it. My colleague had three years of field experience before he went for the course...while I had one year of office experience...Lol. God help me! Really very sia suay if I go all the way there and fail. Hope that wont happen..I got only 2 more weeks to study ...and the manual is so freaking huge! See already also sian. And they going to cover the whole thing in 6 days..really all the best to me man.