...and then I got a job! Now i'm performing event work for a month, for marquee dinner and dance parties. Really good pay, free accomodation, free food, you're so busy everyday you won't get a chance to spend the money. Heaps of Australians and Kiwis, there's a Latvian guy, a Russian guy (karkanistan?), two Polish girls, a South African girl and there's me! The anomalic Singaporean!
It's all good really, I'm living in Eastern London now, at this place known as Syon Park (British Rail, Zone 4, Victoria line > Vauxhall), with beautiful sceanry. My surroundings are decorated with landscapes I have only encountered in travel magazines. A clear, glassy lake for trout fishing, a large open green field with geese and peacocks, a small castle. Even the blue sky glows with a different tinge of blue! It's all so post-cardish!!
The people here are incredibly friendly, a walk through the cold paths could bring you a couple of "hellos"and "good mornings" from the ever so approchable residents! I'd like to see some of these happening in Singapore! Ha. My very own neighbour has scant more than 2 words to say to me when I see him in the lift!
Until then...I'd like to go back to go back to my routine day dreaming again....
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Ozzy Osbourne's House gets robbed - BBC
The last 2 days was an eye opener. And my eyes were not the only things that were opened... you see, i got to see a professional pickpocket in action! How exciting! The bastard ran down the stairs of the tube and intentionly bumped into my friend. Next thing we know, his bag was opened... at least the chap didn't keep his wallet there!
Then there was a security threat on the underground. Rather exciting too. Only bummer was trains had to be delayed - again - .
Then I was in this place called Camden Town. And this dude was like.... "...pssst, mate...want some cannabis mate?"Ain't that so cool? And drugs are retailed like bloody kachang putih at the mamak stall!! Not that i'd want to buy any though....
Yeah, you think City Hall MRT is crowded? Then you ought to see Victoria Street Station at peak hours. It can be SOOO overrun by people, the train controls have to close up the gates to prevent anymore from going into the station!! And you see hordes of people at the gate entrances waiting to get in!!
I'd be travelling again soon, my work is bringing me slightly to the edge of London, so stay tuned for another exciting episode of....er...of....bah, nevermind.
Then there was a security threat on the underground. Rather exciting too. Only bummer was trains had to be delayed - again - .
Then I was in this place called Camden Town. And this dude was like.... "...pssst, mate...want some cannabis mate?"Ain't that so cool? And drugs are retailed like bloody kachang putih at the mamak stall!! Not that i'd want to buy any though....
Yeah, you think City Hall MRT is crowded? Then you ought to see Victoria Street Station at peak hours. It can be SOOO overrun by people, the train controls have to close up the gates to prevent anymore from going into the station!! And you see hordes of people at the gate entrances waiting to get in!!
I'd be travelling again soon, my work is bringing me slightly to the edge of London, so stay tuned for another exciting episode of....er...of....bah, nevermind.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Rain, rain everyday...
The rain in London is weird. It's not like, woosh downpour... or splat, splat, big drops... it's kinda like a mist... so you feel semi dry/wet, kind of like someone spraying a fine mist all over your person.
The Underground (trains) is so hard to figure out. And expensive. Rather than setting the prices based on distance, the prices are set by stations. So imagine a train ride from Bedok to City Hall is the same price as from Bugis to City Hall.
I got a dorm room today, sharing it with a Paris chick and a guy from South Africa. Not bad really... considering I get free breakfast and I get to buy a big dinner at 3 pounds! And bloody beer at 1 pound!
I'm so tired. jet lag is beginning to kick in. I keep waking up in the night and I feel soooo weary in the day.... help.
The Underground (trains) is so hard to figure out. And expensive. Rather than setting the prices based on distance, the prices are set by stations. So imagine a train ride from Bedok to City Hall is the same price as from Bugis to City Hall.
I got a dorm room today, sharing it with a Paris chick and a guy from South Africa. Not bad really... considering I get free breakfast and I get to buy a big dinner at 3 pounds! And bloody beer at 1 pound!
I'm so tired. jet lag is beginning to kick in. I keep waking up in the night and I feel soooo weary in the day.... help.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
1224hrs +0GMT U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell resigns
You think the stuff in London is expensive? You haven't bought something from Kuala Lumpur International Airport yet. To say that the goods at KLIA is slightly overpriced, is like saying America suffered a slight disturbance during September 11th. My breakfast of toast, egg and bacon cost me $14 blood Singapore dollars. Internet access is at $10 per one hour block. Fragrance and brand name goods? Too many figures in the price for me to remember. Ugh.
Anyhow, the flight to Heathrow was breathtaking. The ubiquitous mountain, the scarlet hue stained clouds, the brown lumpy deserts, the meandering rivers (i just love that word; meandering...oooh, it's like verbal orgasm), the mountains with berets of snow, the war ravished Iraq, i'm kidding about the last one. I was just so lucky to get a row of unoccupied seats, so i managed to spend most of my travel time reclining buddha style!
Heathrow was complete chaos. The Tube (the underground station) was another story altogether. The first Londener to greet me was this stinking, drunk bloke who was having his bloody stinking dinner 2 inches from my elbow. "Wow", I thought, what a perfect lasting impression!
So I had this friend see, her name's Kay, go seek her out in my friendster list, she had me on non-stop action from the minute I put my poor aching feet on the cold stony ground.
Trust me, she and her friends are absolutely insane. No, absolutely narky would be a more suitable word! And there I was, right in the middle of London city with two mad, laughing hyenas (which very soon included me) and nobody seemed to pay any attention! Amazing.
Now, I'm jet lagged, more tired than a lazy hog and feeling completely zonked. I need my sleep. Now. Otherwise I think I might just dro...zZzzZz
Anyhow, the flight to Heathrow was breathtaking. The ubiquitous mountain, the scarlet hue stained clouds, the brown lumpy deserts, the meandering rivers (i just love that word; meandering...oooh, it's like verbal orgasm), the mountains with berets of snow, the war ravished Iraq, i'm kidding about the last one. I was just so lucky to get a row of unoccupied seats, so i managed to spend most of my travel time reclining buddha style!
Heathrow was complete chaos. The Tube (the underground station) was another story altogether. The first Londener to greet me was this stinking, drunk bloke who was having his bloody stinking dinner 2 inches from my elbow. "Wow", I thought, what a perfect lasting impression!
So I had this friend see, her name's Kay, go seek her out in my friendster list, she had me on non-stop action from the minute I put my poor aching feet on the cold stony ground.
Trust me, she and her friends are absolutely insane. No, absolutely narky would be a more suitable word! And there I was, right in the middle of London city with two mad, laughing hyenas (which very soon included me) and nobody seemed to pay any attention! Amazing.
Now, I'm jet lagged, more tired than a lazy hog and feeling completely zonked. I need my sleep. Now. Otherwise I think I might just dro...zZzzZz
18th October 2004 21:58hrs GMT (Man dies from cholera – Singapore)
Fate can bring your life crashing to the ground. Fate can flood you with tears overwhelming. Fate can absolutely consume all that’s left of you. So what do you do when reality sours up? Cry? Run? Surrender? Sigh? Kill yourself? No need to. I’ve learnt that no matter what evil life can serve you; missing the bus, loosing something, you fall ill, your loved ones fall ill, getting arrested, being thrown into prison, being poisoned, being served a bankruptcy notice, loosing a loved one… nothing should be cause to bring your life to a complete halt. Sure, sputter and wince a little bit, but never completely halt everything. I’ve been looking through my belongings while packing up the house and I’ve come across artifacts, photos and letters from the past. I get a heart wrenching reminder of the people I met through time. People who loved me, people who hated me and the people who said that they could not live without me. Some are still around, some… who knows? And I’m only…what? 25 years old?! I’d hate to imagine what its like to be 40. But we’ll find out pretty soon eh?
“Everyday, it’s getting closer, going faster than a roller coaster… love like yours will surely come my way!” – Don McLean
“Everyday, it’s getting closer, going faster than a roller coaster… love like yours will surely come my way!” – Don McLean
21st September 2004 1100hrs GMT (American hostage murdered in Iraq)
No news yet, the lady at the Embassy told me to call back at 4pm
21st September 2004 1605hrs GMT
Darn! The lines are down at the Embassy! Must have been the lightning! Argh… keep trying… keep trying…
21st September 2004 1630hrs GMT
That’s it. After a half hour of redials later, I called up the higher office of the Consulate…and…guess what? (dRuM rOLL) My application is processed! Bwahahahah!!! This is it, Phase 1 is through and now my plans need to be set in motion. Need to get a job to occupy my time (and earn more kash for the voyage), need to rent out the rooms, need to set up payment channels for my bills… one more month baby! Just one more month!
21st September 2004 1605hrs GMT
Darn! The lines are down at the Embassy! Must have been the lightning! Argh… keep trying… keep trying…
21st September 2004 1630hrs GMT
That’s it. After a half hour of redials later, I called up the higher office of the Consulate…and…guess what? (dRuM rOLL) My application is processed! Bwahahahah!!! This is it, Phase 1 is through and now my plans need to be set in motion. Need to get a job to occupy my time (and earn more kash for the voyage), need to rent out the rooms, need to set up payment channels for my bills… one more month baby! Just one more month!
20th September 2004 1636pm GMT (Media Corporation merges with Singapore Press Holdings)
(I have since had an "update" of political views, please go to www.fivestarsandamoon.com for further reading)
First things first. Before I update you about the visa application, I want to give my own 2 cents worth about this stupid merger between MediaCorp and SPH. Does anyone really believe that an ad-filled tabloid like Streats be making a loss of S$5million a year? Look at all those medias, do you really think that they’ll allow making even S$2million loss go through? Can you guys recall a (now defunct) daily tabloid loosely named “Project Eyeball”? She never made it through the first 4 months of printing, do you think these guys would let a paper make a loss of S$5million every year for 4 years?
I mean, come on… not enough market for two media giants? Then why, for my grandma’s sakes, did they say that there is “enough business for all” when they deregulated the media industry?!?!
The Prime Minister quoted that this merger was “inevitable”, I think so too. Except that I feel that this is to make media regulation, censorship and control a lot easier for the MITA. So that the daily mush can be fed to Singaporeans… you know, the same old stuff about the world being a dangerous place, Singapore is the safest there ever is… life is so comfortable here, you shouldn’t be going anywhere else…blah, blah, blah…
Look at the headlines: Singaporean gets shot in Johor Bahru, Singaporean drowns in Thailand, Disaster all over the world….and the Home pages? CNB successfully nabs drug lord at borders. Wild python caught and turned over to the zoo.
Yes, all this news is real, but you can tailor the truth can’t you? I can tell you all the good things that I’ve done in my resume and sweep all the ugly facts under the rug.
Oh well, just my own thoughts… DO NOT quote me, I’m just free expressing. Lest I get hunted by the Internal Security Department. Ha, ha…c’mon guys! I love Singapore!!
Ok, back to the visa… I applied it… what, last Friday? So now I’m expected to wait. Today I’ve got a call from the British Consulate, asking for proof of my income and finances, I gave them what they wanted and I’m back in the waiting game again…
Keep tuned guys! News is waiting yet….
First things first. Before I update you about the visa application, I want to give my own 2 cents worth about this stupid merger between MediaCorp and SPH. Does anyone really believe that an ad-filled tabloid like Streats be making a loss of S$5million a year? Look at all those medias, do you really think that they’ll allow making even S$2million loss go through? Can you guys recall a (now defunct) daily tabloid loosely named “Project Eyeball”? She never made it through the first 4 months of printing, do you think these guys would let a paper make a loss of S$5million every year for 4 years?
I mean, come on… not enough market for two media giants? Then why, for my grandma’s sakes, did they say that there is “enough business for all” when they deregulated the media industry?!?!
The Prime Minister quoted that this merger was “inevitable”, I think so too. Except that I feel that this is to make media regulation, censorship and control a lot easier for the MITA. So that the daily mush can be fed to Singaporeans… you know, the same old stuff about the world being a dangerous place, Singapore is the safest there ever is… life is so comfortable here, you shouldn’t be going anywhere else…blah, blah, blah…
Look at the headlines: Singaporean gets shot in Johor Bahru, Singaporean drowns in Thailand, Disaster all over the world….and the Home pages? CNB successfully nabs drug lord at borders. Wild python caught and turned over to the zoo.
Yes, all this news is real, but you can tailor the truth can’t you? I can tell you all the good things that I’ve done in my resume and sweep all the ugly facts under the rug.
Oh well, just my own thoughts… DO NOT quote me, I’m just free expressing. Lest I get hunted by the Internal Security Department. Ha, ha…c’mon guys! I love Singapore!!
Ok, back to the visa… I applied it… what, last Friday? So now I’m expected to wait. Today I’ve got a call from the British Consulate, asking for proof of my income and finances, I gave them what they wanted and I’m back in the waiting game again…
Keep tuned guys! News is waiting yet….
17th September 2004 1751pm GMT (Hurricane Ivan wrecks havoc all over America)
I’ve been thinking (yes, I’m actually quite capable of that you bloody bastard), why should my finances grow slowly when I can work while I’m traveling? I can’t work in Australia (Singapore does not have an agreement for a working holiday with our good ‘ol mates down-under), I sure can’t survive on Asian currencies (well, Japan and Malaysia is good…but language is going to be a huge barrier), America won’t accept a tourist-convert-to-work-permit sort of visa. Guess only the United Kingdoms bears a halo of hope. Before I get all excited and planning on which city I’m going to be working in, let’s try for the visa first eh?
Stay tuned for the exciting visa approval…
Stay tuned for the exciting visa approval…
10th September 2004 03:05am GMT (Australian Embassy attacked by terrorists in Jarkata)
Some people ask me: do I really hate Singapore that much to want to leave it so eagerly? Right… let’s put some things straight: I don’t hate the country, I know that our odd ball policies are all geared toward the sake of national progress (banning of chewing gum and all) and I love all my friends who are here. What I don’t particularly enjoy is the simple culture that we practice, the work-till-you-drop and life-is-all-about-material-gains-idea. I suck at speaking our local languages and I can see my future being reduced to Sundays with the family and a busy work week throughout. Someone once told me that life is about strolling through hilly terrain. For the first 40 years of your life, you climb up-hill, things are more difficult, you slog harder but you make your moolah. But after that, you walk easily down-hill, you retire on your savings, finally take your break and go traveling, or buy that Ferrari, or whatever.
Dude, this is not the kind of life I’m very much excited about. Why walk around hilly terrain when you can zoom about in a moped?
Dude, this is not the kind of life I’m very much excited about. Why walk around hilly terrain when you can zoom about in a moped?
Monday, November 15, 2004
September 06th 2004. 21:13 GMT (US Markets closed for Labor Day)
A big green grin
…and that’s how I chose to begin this blog! With a big green grin! (That is not to say that I have been accumulating algae on my teeth.) Yup, I want this to start with cheers and smiles with a hint of lemon. But that’s not the reason why though. I guess each major decision for escapism requires some form of dire emotional distress. In my case, it is the rift and eventual decay of human emotions, a deterioration from agape to ludos and then to a mere laconic friendship.
This brand new blog is going to be my documentation about finding out what the world really is about! I want to be out there, to see God’s creations. To see Man’s creations! To experience the different political systems and cultures of people everywhere. I want to learn, learn, learn and learn! Too long have I been living on an island and restricted to what the myopic media feeds me with. I want the real deal!
I am about to embark on what few Singaporeans would do. To take a few years off and go globe trotting. I’ll probably work, study and have fun internationally. It can be dangerous, it will be exciting, but nevertheless, it will be an experience that not many people will enjoy.
My date of departure is not exactly fixed yet though, but it’s going to be some time in December. That should give me some good time to clean things up and prepare. So much to do… get a new passport (my old one is really hideous), get a military exit permit (darned national service), fix up the finances… blah, blah, blah… not very many things to do, but they still need attention! Some of my closer friends must be wondering about what I’m going to do about my publishing business when I’m abroad, well, fret not guys! I’ll still be writing and printing via my correspondent back home!
“Au revoir” awaits all my friends here in sunny Singapore!
…and that’s how I chose to begin this blog! With a big green grin! (That is not to say that I have been accumulating algae on my teeth.) Yup, I want this to start with cheers and smiles with a hint of lemon. But that’s not the reason why though. I guess each major decision for escapism requires some form of dire emotional distress. In my case, it is the rift and eventual decay of human emotions, a deterioration from agape to ludos and then to a mere laconic friendship.
This brand new blog is going to be my documentation about finding out what the world really is about! I want to be out there, to see God’s creations. To see Man’s creations! To experience the different political systems and cultures of people everywhere. I want to learn, learn, learn and learn! Too long have I been living on an island and restricted to what the myopic media feeds me with. I want the real deal!
I am about to embark on what few Singaporeans would do. To take a few years off and go globe trotting. I’ll probably work, study and have fun internationally. It can be dangerous, it will be exciting, but nevertheless, it will be an experience that not many people will enjoy.
My date of departure is not exactly fixed yet though, but it’s going to be some time in December. That should give me some good time to clean things up and prepare. So much to do… get a new passport (my old one is really hideous), get a military exit permit (darned national service), fix up the finances… blah, blah, blah… not very many things to do, but they still need attention! Some of my closer friends must be wondering about what I’m going to do about my publishing business when I’m abroad, well, fret not guys! I’ll still be writing and printing via my correspondent back home!
“Au revoir” awaits all my friends here in sunny Singapore!
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