When We Were Young And Forgotten Memories...

I wanted to do my work or research on investments but then I decided that this is more important...

This afternoon I decided to take out this box which I have kept for many years... I can't remember for how long and they contain the memories I shared with Ms K... You see as humans, we sometimes forget if not most of the times...

As I went to took out the box, I found this picture... and then I remember this is my favourite picture with Ms K... Thank you God that it is still with me...

Sometimes we forget that the most important things are actually with us... and that we already possess it... We keep pursuing our dreams of an ideal career, doing what we like, travelling around the world, climbing the corporate ladder, doing a great job, gain fame, make a name, being popular... In the midst of these, it has blinded us... We can see but we don't look... We can hear but we don't listen... We are told but we don't understand...

We have forgotten God, the creator... We have forgotten our parents, who brought us up... We have forgotten our love, the person who love you... We have forgotten to spend time on things that is important... Making money is important you might say... You are right... But I am sure Tiger Woods would give up his money to be with his wife and kids, and to keep those 14, 15 or 16 women away from him... Those women didn't love him, I am sure he didn't love them too... Then why spend time with people whom you don't love and people who don't love you?

In the chaotic world of grabbing more wealth... so that we can live in a bigger house... fly to farway countries... eat expensive meals... remember all these problems or desires can be solve when you realise that you don't need them...

When you were young, you didn't need these... So don't forget...

The Golden Mile and Beach

My office is in between 3 Golden Miles... Golden Mile Complex... Golden Mile Tower and Golden Mile Food Centre (opposite) forming the Golden Mile Triangle... I am sure this is a coincidental formation and have no idea if it is auspicious or not.

I am not sure where or why the words 'Golden Mile' orginated from, when the stretch of road in front of us is named Beach Road. I mean we should go with the easy name of Beach Complex, Beach Tower and Beach Food Centre. Wait... Why is the road called Beach Road when there is no Beach around??

I am very sure it is named Golden Mile for a very good reason, the buildings around my office were named as such maybe because it sits on a used gold mine about one mile radius... Maybe one day I will stumble on some gold nuggets... Maybe... Oh the answer is here...

infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_889_2004-12-23.html

Not Just Do It But What To Do

Do you often have the thought of what to do with your life?

As you move along life, maybe drifting... floating... Or flying...

You earn lots of money but have no one to share your success with...

You thought of other people as incapable and they think the same of you...

You sit in a high position and people are afraid of you but your child is sick...

You compare, you compete, you backstab, you plot, you carry balls, you lied, no one likes you and what did you get...

In the end... When God comes to take your life... the achievements... the money... the house... the company... nothing... nothing can be carry with you... Pity those people who struggle internally to sustain achievements but have no real joy... Pity those people who thought they have won but have lose... Pity those people that struggle daily to keep their status... Pity those people who in the end wanted to achieve happiness the wrong way...

Are you one of them...

ABCD ENTP

In case you think I did not pass my kindergarden, I do know my ABCDs. I know that the alphabet 'F' comes after 'E'. To prove that I pass my kindergarden I am going to recite all the 24 alphabets to you... Or is it 26... Anyway I am sure we can all live without 2 alphabets in our language...


I am sure almost everybody loves to do personality test, despite knowing myself for almost 27 years, I still can't figure myself out... So Ms Poots recommended me to take the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). So to take the test, go here... It's simple, you only need to answer 300 questions...

www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/

Actually only 60 plus questions...

Ok after you do the test, you will get 4 magical alphabets, here is how it works, you are either

(E)xtrovert or (I)ntrovert
(S)ensing or i(N)tuitive
(T)hinking or (F)eeling
(J)udging or (P)erceiving

Here is a sample of my result... As you can see it also recommends suitable careers for you... I knew I was in the wrong job!

I should have been an international spy assassin... Look at what keeps popping up... International spy, fbi agent, cia agent, assassin, fighter pilot, private detective etc... I am James Bond yay...

Looking at my overall personality as a ENTP, I am sure Ms K will agree that I am disorganized, insensitive, messy, careless, crazy and acts without thinking... But I must say that these are all not true because as an ENTP, the one description that sums up the whole passage is "I am just carefree"...

The Village and a Bowl of Crappy Soup 1

Once upon a time, there was a great village chief who has a strange habit. The strange habit is to gather all the villagers every Monday morning to discuss on how to cook soup. You see, the village actually sells soup for a living, thus we pay utmost attention to it. Cooking soup is not easy and we have dedicated the art of cooking soup for more than 100 years. It is a tedious process and you will see why...

So every Monday morning, the villagers, all 30 of us will sit around a oval table. And then we will go through something call 'Minutes'. It is a detailed ancient historical record of who say what and what say who. I never quite understand why it was called 'Minutes' when the soup meeting actually took 'Hours'. I mean you need time to cook the soup right?

Every now and then the great village chief will ask around the oval table on what we should do with our lives, sorry I meant what new soup we should cook. That's because we have been selling the same vegetable soup for more than 100 years, yes it has make lots of money for the village but we need to cook up something new for whatever reason...

The village chief one day finally decides to put a big black pot in the middle of the table. Being an inclusive leader, she wants all the villagers to contribute to the whole soup cooking process. There is nothing more that she likes than to discuss cooking soup thoroughly because everyone has to love it! Being dedicated to soup making, the great village chief divided the villagers into the following,

1. Cooking Soup Team
- They are the ones that cook the soup
2. Packaging Soup Team
- They decides things as simple as the type of bowl to hold the soup
3. Analysing Soup Team
- They analyse things like how many litres of soup were sold in a day
4. Soup Distribution Team
- They think of new ways to bring the soup to you like a soup dispensing machine


To be Continue...

How to find a girlfriend

I actually wanted to do my work... But as I stare at my computer screen I decided not to do my work because there is always tomorrow... And as I stare at the screen, I thought to myself, why don't I writing something constructive like "How to find a girlfriend?" If you think it's all personal opinion, then you are wrong because it is back up by solid research by accident...

As I am talking to Mr Zidane on MSN, he told me most of his colleagues at his workplace are in their 30s and there are no members of the opposite sex. His expression is "sian"... Have you ever had this feeling of "where are all the female species?" I know you are looking for them but do you know they are also looking for you? The trick is to know where are they congregating (not sure the meaning of this word but it matches the sentence).

Back to the solid research by accident... One fine day we were at a food court in Orchard, Ms Lily told Ms Piggy that there is a dating event "Scavenger hunt @ the zoo which costs $25". Ms Lily wanted to join but couldn't, so Ms Piggy asked another friend to join her. Lo & behold, the event was full and they searched for other dating activities at SDU. The female slots were full but the strange thing was, each event still has vancancies for male participants!

Conclusion: Demand for men exceeds demand for women


Next solid research by accident... One fine day again, as I was working in office (ok who is not working in office), a female colleague Ms Bubbles who is bubbly and attractive walk past my desk. Then she turn around (probably she found true love) and spoke to me. Somehow the conversation turn to a dating event she joined, guess what, it is the dating event "Scavenger hunt @ the zoo which costs $25". I looked at her in surprise, how can such an attractive lady be joining a dating event? Impossible... Incredible... But it's true. Next is a shocking revelation, she say the guys at dating event usually cannot make it but the girls are usually not bad... Ok you must be thinking "Singapore girls has high expectations". Don't go into this debate, I want you to concentrate on "at dating events......the girls are usually not bad".

Conclusion: Women at dating events are not bad and most of them are congregating there!


So the first thing I want you to do is to join any dating activity... Go out and give other people the opportunity to know you exist in this world, give others a chance to know you...

A New Beginning

I stared at the computer screen and decided that I should clear the cobwebs on my blog by just typing anything. October will be a new start... Maybe any day can be a new start to our lives... Why not make it now...

Indifference

What I want to attain...

Despair

say...

Delusions

can I say...

Demotivation

What more can I say...

Failure

What occurs after non-compromise...

Compromise

What did not transpire after blame...

Blame

What unfolds after challenges...

Challenges

What happen after trouble...

Trouble

What I smell after problems...

Problems

What I realised after doubt...

Doubt

What I experienced after cluelessness...

Cluelessness

What I felt after coming out of meetings...

Meetings

What I hate most now...

When You Feel Like Quitting Your Job

If you are depress over work, and every morning when you are at the bus stop or train station thinking that you have an imaginary stomachache or headache, feel like jumping onto the train tracks or into the path of anything mechanical gigantic... Watch this video. No need to see a doctor or counsellor, just watch this video 3 times a day and each time after your meals... It should help.

So when you like quitting your job, just watch this video because it could have been worse...

That's My FairPrice!

I was on MSN and I saw Veran posted a comment beside his name, "FairPrice Girl wanna challenge Singapore Girl man!" Took a look and realised what he meant in the following website http://www.thatsmyfairprice.com.sg/index.html#/movie-quiz

Come to think of it, I have worked part time at NTUC FairPrice 3 times. Each time it was during my break. 1st time was after my O Level, 2nd time was after my A Level and the 3rd time was after my national service. Each time I was in a different department - Grocery (1st time), Fresh Food (2nd time) and Cashiering & Frozen Food (3rd time). The only department I haven't been to is Non-Food department, if you are wondering what non-food is, one example is sanitary pad.

I know it looks like I am destined for great things in the supermarket line by working in almost every department from carrying huge bags of rice to weighing vegetables. Looking at the TV commercial, bring back memories of the aunties I have worked with. There were some nice aunties and the not so nice ones. After my third stint in one of the rural branches, I told myself I should try something new.

Through my three stints with NTUC FairPrice, I was proud enough to feature these experiences in my resume when I was looking for my first full time job. Though I am not sure how much it helped me but I pretty much would like to show that I learn to work when I was young. So young people, listen to uncle and find a part time job during your holidays, it will help you in life... I think...

Going through my memories again, I can't recall seeing that girl in the TV commercial in any of the branches I have worked in. I must call up my ex-employers and asked which branch she is working in. Because her teeth is so white that I really want to ask her which brand of toothpaste she is using (ok I want to have whiter teeth).

If they start employing sweet young staff like that girl in the commercial, well then that's my fairprice and I am going to do window grocery shopping more often...

The Village

Long long ago, far far away... Ok actually just one year ago, I left a town to stay in a village. The first time I step into this village, everyone looks normal however as time goes by, I realised it is a strange village and the villagers are actually crazy...

The strange thing about this village is that the villagers here love to gather together to cook soup. In these meetings, we will have this big black pot of water where everyone starts throwing ingredients into it and start cooking together. Since there are many chefs, the soup usually takes a long time to cook and taste awful. Each chef would always blame the other chefs for not cooking it well. But when the soup tastes good, everyone would claim that they are the chef that cooks it. Of course since the soup has been cooked, we will always have to drink it. But each time when we drank the soup, we came out in confusion...

The next strange thing about this village is that we have weekly visitation from witch doctors who are always trying to sell us all kinds of potions. According to the village, we are suppose to tell them our illness and seek a cure from them even if we are not sick (prevention is better than cure). I heard that every 2 years, there will be a village festival where we invite witch doctors from around the world to show us their latest creation. These witch doctors will present to us different coloured potions in various bottle shapes they made. As usual, all witch doctors promise us if we drank their potions, we will gain longevity, health, happiness, strength etc...

Despite all these strange occurences, the village folks are actually friendly and humble people but acted crazily in varying degrees. At first, I did not understand why, so I went to investigate and interviewed some villagers. Some of them in their occasional normal selfs, pointed out to me it was because of this well in the village which was poisoned...

It was then that I understood that the poison well is the cause of the villagers' illness and I stop drinking from it and the soup everyone cooks. As sane people don't drink from a poison well, why are people still staying in village? I am not quite sure why but if you want to stay in the village, you have 2 basic choices, one is to drink from the poison well like everyone else or risk accusation of being crazy (to crazy people, a normal person is crazy) or two, to leave the village. There is actually a third choice that is don't drink from the poison well but you have to act crazy, however you will become thirsty...

Recently in the village, I stumbled upon a little shrine next to the tiger's cave where a wise woman lives. She told the villagers that they are crazy and tried to treat them, however the crazy villagers told her that she is the one that is crazy and refused treatment. She was disheartened but kept trying to treat as many villagers as possible.

I visited her a few times for consultation, as she came from the city, she often told me wonderful stories of the outside world and what you can find in the city. Of course, like all wise women, they will choose to leave one day...

As much as I would like to tell you more about this village, I am starting to feel thirsty......

MCYS 'Funeral' TVC

A TVC to tell singles to go beyond waiting for the perfect partner. This TVC attempts to tell the story that in every relationship, there will be flaws and imperfections. And we should embrace these little flaws in our relationships...

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_358952.html

Meaningless Rantings & Marketing Terms

Have you ever had the feeling of not knowing what to do with yourself? Suddenly realising that you have a conscious and you are alive, you thought "what am I doing here?". Leading an existence makes you wonder how you are going to 'spend' your life. Sounds very commodity and utility like how you are going to spend your money and how you are going to make your coffee -Cappucino, Kopi O or Expresso. And if you still don't know what I am talking about, ignorance is bliss or is it...

The following is totally unrelated to the first paragraph...

Marketing, Advertising, Sales and Public Relations are all under the same family. As much as the professionals tell you they are different, they have one ultimate aim - Make money. Thats all. Some say advertising is sales in disguise, some say marketing is sales, what about branding and public relations? It's also sales, how? Branding is to create good impression so that you will prefer to buy 'me' versus other products. Public Relations? It's to get free publicity so that you don't have to pay for it compare to advertising.

Before I write more and this becomes a textbook, let me introduce you to terms we usually use to describe our work and achievements,

1. You do a marketing activity (ie.promotion) and you realise no money was made or lost, you called it a Defensive Strategy.

2. Before you do a marketing activity (ie.promotion) with a partner and you know you are likely to lose money, you called it a Strategic Relationship.

3. You a do a marketing activity and you increase revenue but lose profit, you called it Market Penetration or Market Growth.

4. You realised you have put money to endorse or sponsor something and it is a waste of money and time, you called it Branding.

Most importantly always emphasize that marketing doesn't make money or marketing effects can only be seen in the long term and not immediate. This should buy you some time...

The Pineapple Times 4th Edition

I realised the last time I wrote for The Pineapple Times was in 17 August 2008. 6 months 16 days later I am back... I am the editor, the correspondent, the reporter and the columnist. This online paper was started for the purpose of helping people and unlike Today Online (a free newspaper offline + online), I don't believe in working for free. So if you still have conscience after reading The Pineapple Times, you should start to:

1. Open your CD-Rom
2. Slot in your credit card
3. Close your CD-Rom
4. A pop up screen appears so key in your pin
5. If it doesn't appear, no need to repeat step one
6. Just buy me lunch or dinner in kind... Times are bad...

Ok read those sections that interest you... It will help you in your life... Really...


The Pineapple Times

Money Matters
This morning I was early for work because there is a very early meeting, I guess it is God's will that I have this early meeting (though it was cancel in the end) because I met a ex school mate who is a regional analyst for light bulbs. He told me that year on year export for China has fallen by 80%. I have yet to verify this.

He mention that China is the world factory and it really means the world economy is not doing well since demand for export has fallen. Before I sound too economics, follow me on this especially the ladies. Since there is so much uncertainties, like the current job market, stock market and fish market, people will be hoarding cash because it is the safest...

When the economy recovers and with so many cash in the market plus all the stimulus packages and injections, the market will be flooded with cash and then there will be hyper inflation... Which means in future, prices of goods will increase very rapidly.

So what does this mean? It means that the best time to spend is now! There are sales everywhere now because people are not spending and hoarding cash. So isn't this the best time to shop?? Basically the world is on sale, so buy all the stuff you need now... I am going to buy a lifetime supply of toilet paper, there is no expiry date and everyone needs to use it right, imagine the savings I get...


Correspondent: Pineapple Tat


For The Love Of Pineapple Tat
Many women asked me this question many times, I am not sure why. Probably they knew that this kind of thing will happen to me sooner or later. Perhaps it had happened to me but I didn't realise. So what is the question that I have always been asked,

"What will you do when a woman throw herself at you?"

Well if you have never been asked this question, don't fret because when you have a girlfriend, I am sure she will ask you. And if your girlfriend doesn't ask you, don't be sad, most probably she has underestimated you.

Let me teach you how to answer the above question, you should counter it with something like,

1. "Why would a woman throw herself at me?" (Rating: Good, you diffuse tension)
2. "I am neither rich nor handsome, why would a woman throw herself at me?" (Rating: Excellent because you criticised yourself)
3. "I love you."
(Rating: Good, cheap trick but useful)

Besides the above excuses, usually they will follow up with,

"Are you sure that you won't want a woman who throw herself at you. It's free and you don't want? You men are cheap."

You may answer with the following answers,

1. "Yes I am cheap." (Rating: Good, this will make sure she never ask you again)
2. "I don't like women." (Rating: No good, she won't believe you, if she does, she will think you don't love her. Double edged sword)
3. "I am scare of STD" (sexually transmitted disease) (Rating: Excellent, this one is practical and sound more honest, means you admit you are a cheap man with no guts)

Then it will come with a third question,

"What if the woman strip in front of you? Can you resist that?"

You only need to answer with one answer, which is,

"Why would I get myself into that kind of situation in the first place? Allowing her to strip in front of me. If she can do that, it means that we are alone together in a room." (Rating: Superb, killer answer)

After the third question, and with that killer answer, you will regain a newfound respect among your female friends, girlfriend(s), wife / wives and the female race...


Correspondent: Pineapple Tat

Memories and I wonder how everyone is doing

Today I attended my ex-girlfriend's wedding whom I met at secondary school, we kept in touch somehow and I can't exactly remember how after losing touch for some time, we met again.

On Valentine's Day, I met another ex-girlfriend (also from my secondary school) on the street at Doby Ghaut, she was holding a guy's hand, I didn't say hi to her though because we don't really keep in touch and I am not sure if she still hates me.

One day I was queuing up to go into a cafe and saw a girl I once liked (when I just started work). I spoke to her and ask how she was and engage in polite talk. Different from last time where we can talk about anything.

Sometimes you wonder how those people who have crossed your path, walked with you in the journey of life for a while even if it is only for a few months, how they are now and what they are doing.

Not that you miss them but rather sometimes mattters wasn't closed properly and you wonder why it ended, why it just didn't happen or what could have happened.

Ms K asked me at the wedding whether I was feeling sour hearted when the groom wasn't me (one of the tests she always put me through). Of course I wasn't, that was like 13 years ago when I was 14 years old. The next test girlfriends usually put you through is by mentioning that memories of your first girlfriend is always the sweetest. Naturally, we would have to testify it's not and explain why.

And talking about memories... Last Friday, I went to Bellini at Clarke Quay and drank too much whisky. Ms K (very sweet of her) sent me home. Next morning, she asked me "Do you remember how many girls you hug that night?" I think only 2, or is it 3......

A Broken Heart Story

Every morning I woke up cursing... Every night I cry when I think of her before I sleep...

It was one year ago when I met her through a mutual friend. She is a fashion designer and like all designers, she has a fashionable and attractive look.

2 weeks after we met, she asked me out on a date. I cannot believe it because I have been single for 24 years (ok I am 24 years old) and suddenly an attractive girl asked me out. Of course I agreed. We usually went out two times a week. There was one time she asked,

She: "Oei... How come I am the one always asking you out? Can't you ask me out once?"
Me: "Can. But since it is so predictable when you are asking me out, then I just wait for you to ask."

One day, when I was sending her home, she told me that she does not want to go home early and I suggested sitting at the playground near her house. We sat side by side and then she lay her head on my shoulder. It was a warm feeling and she was the first girl to lie on my shoulder.
She told me about her abusive boyfriend and how bad he was to her. That day she lie on my shoulder for hours and in my heart I hope this feeling doesn't end...

We have knew each other for 2 months when one day I suggested we go to the beach. We were strolling along the beach when we saw this viewing tower on a little island. To reach there we have to cross a drop bridge which connect the beach to the little island. She suggested we both go up to the top of the tower which was five stories tall. When we reach the top, there was no one...

The view was beautiful with the vast sea in sight and many passing ships. However I wasn't interested in the view, I was interested in the beautiful creature in front of me... We sat down and she lay her head on my shoulder again. This time she doesn't talk to me about her boyfriend. We sat there for 10 minutes and then she turn her head towards me smiling, her head still on my shoulder.

She: "Have you kiss a girl before?"
Me: "No... Do you want to be the first one?"

She moved her head and kiss me on my lips deeply and it dawns on me that this is my first kiss. It has gone to this beautiful creature in front of me... And it will be a kiss I never forget...

Soon after we held hands when we go out and at every opportunity when there was no one around, we will steal kisses with each other. The kisses were hot and passionate, understandable for a young man like me and it was my first relationship.

However our relationship was never open, it was not featured in our social networking profile like facebook or friendster. Her boyfriend was seldom mentioned and to me he was non existent because if she still likes him, she would not go out with me, I consider that as silent break. And as to why our relationship was not an open one, I am not concern as long as we are together...

One day, while we were out sitting opposite each other in a cafe. I remember it was raining that day and she was looking out of the window. Suddenly she said to me that she couldn't forget her ex-boyfriend and wants to go back to him. Upon hearing this, I was heart broken... She told me she likes me but she didn't love me.

What do you mean by that? If you didn't love me, why would you let me hold your hands, kiss you on your lips, touch your body and let me hug you. I couldn't understand... I couldn't comprehend what is happening... It was our fifth month of knowing each other.

2 weeks later, she called me to say she missed me and wants to come back to me. I was happy and thought that she finally knows who she truly loves. We were back together again. 1 month later, she left me again...

This time she went back to her ex-boyfriend for good. The 2nd time she not only smash my already broken heart into more pieces but also left me with no confidence of a 2nd relationship. I was totally fooled by this woman. This time she told me she was not good enough for me and that she is a player. She usually choose guys who have been in relationship before and not first timers like me.

I don't understand why she chose to go back to her abusive boyfriend when she keeps complaining about him and telling me how bad he treats her. I deleted her away from all my social networking tools like facebook and friendster. She kept smsing me and instant messaging me. I told her to leave me alone and block her on msn. Don't wish to see her again...

The End......?

And So It Was Like That

I think that life's greatest joy is to not do anything at all... Idling away is an ideal situation in an ideal world. I have many stories to tell yet sometimes I am either lazy to write or don't know can write or not...

Have been quite depress lately, not sure if it's my persistent cough that is bothering me, my backache that is bothering me, not enough sleep is bothering me or the huge amount of gas in my tummy that is bothering me... In anyway, I am not in tip top condition, I think being super healthy is important.

Mr Tomato ask me to join him for a trip in the Philipines. He will be staying at a guest house with someone he knows. Told me it is an idle place, the pace is slow and the place relax. Sounds like a good proposition and the kind of place to retire in...

He will be flying on the 30th Jan. Not sure can apply leave on time and also got work to do. Contemplating...

Last Friday, I had bak chor mee again with Mr Tomato at Circular Road (near Boat Quay). I usually crave for it when I go drinking around that area. However, purposely made a trip there for 2 times this month just to eat that.

I know the content of the article is as ambiguous as the title and so it was like that......

Maybe...

You know when you reach the age of 46, you start to wonder what you are doing with your life. You start to question your thinking, your actions, your ambitions and your life style etc. Your mind is full of questions but you do not have the answers.

No I am not 46 and I am starting to think like that at 26. Sounds like I got a mid-life crisis pretty early when I am hardly in the middle of my life. Sometimes I think and I wonder how I should I go about life. To take it easy or to take it seriously, what is the true meaning of life? I think if I continue to ponder and wonder, I will attend nirvana soon...

Sometimes I have this feeling of giving up everything and leave for the mountains, growing my own crops below the hills. Harvest the crops when the season comes (ok I don't exactly know which season). Hibernate when winter comes. (which means sleep and sleep and sleep). Eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired, play when you are bored. Isn't it wonderful...

Maybe I should be a philosopher, think out some quacky philosphy, spread my teachings and collect donations for being so wise and give lectures when the crowd comes to me... Or maybe an artist, sitting by the river, drawing anything beautiful that I come across including beautiful women and sell my paintings for whatever price it is worth... Or a bartender that mixed all these wonderful drinks, tossing and turning and doing all those stunts, give advice to drunk people and tell stories to whoever wants to listen...

Maybe I should just slack at home, be a loafer, go to coffee shop and hang out whole day there with a beer in hand or with a cup of coffee on the table. Maybe just lie on my bed the whole lazy afternoon and imagine what wonderful things could happen and it does not happen because I am not doing anything. Maybe its a wonderful feeling to just imagine, to just think and just let time pass... And maybe this is the best way... and maybe I am just tired......