Today was shaping up to be a hellishly hot day. When I went out of my room this morning, I was struck by a wall of heat that seemed to emanate from every single object around me. The sun not so much a warm yellow, but a steel-hot white. I had to steel myself and plunge into the boiling sea of air to reach the meagre coolness of the shower. Stepping out of the house, I knew this was going to be a long and arduous day for me.
And then the sky suddenly darkened and a light rain fell like a gentle mist upon the scorched earth.
Thank goodness for little blessings. :)
P.S.: The office was also peacably quiet today. (Especially since that loud, annoying cow is not here today. Let's hope it stays this way for a while). Yet another little blessing. This turned out to be one of the better Mondays, after all.
26.4.04
20.4.04
We live in interesting times
Was at the office earlier when a convoy of fire engines and ambulances screamed past the window. Turns out, that a portion of the highway near my old office collapsed. (My new office is about 15 minutes away from my old office). The first thing that people thought was that it was a terrorist attack. What happened, though, was that a tunnel they were excavating for the new train line collapsed, and the stress proved too much on the surrounding area. The traffic jams are gonna be pretty bad for a while, I guess. There were massive blackouts in the surrounding area, too.
Weird thing is, my ex-colleagues from the old office had no idea what was going on until I told them. Talk about the typical ignorant Singaporean. :P
Another thing, my flat is near yet another construction site for the same tunnel. Woah... that can't be good. :\
Weird thing is, my ex-colleagues from the old office had no idea what was going on until I told them. Talk about the typical ignorant Singaporean. :P
Another thing, my flat is near yet another construction site for the same tunnel. Woah... that can't be good. :\
17.4.04
I feel like I'm back in school again...
So, I went for my Cisco lessons today, and just before we finished, the instructor gave us an assignment to do for next week.
Hoo boy, I feel like I'm back in school again! :P
Hoo boy, I feel like I'm back in school again! :P
15.4.04
Firefox
Finally upgraded to Firefox 0.8 after much procrastination, and it's just getting better and better. (For the uninformed, Firefox used to be Firebird, and before that it was Phoenix. They kept the version ordering though). I didn't see any large improvements on Thunderbird 0.5, though, barring better stability and speed.
Try them out! It'll be the best thing you've ever done for yourself (and your PC).
Try them out! It'll be the best thing you've ever done for yourself (and your PC).
Death to the American infidels!
So, I heard on the news today that a new (purported) Osama tape was aired, where he offered a truce to Europe, provided they stop attacking Muslims. But, naturally, there will be "no truce for the U.S.!". Heh.
Speaking of which, apparently Bush finally admitted that he would've gone into Iraq whether or not there were weapons of mass destruction there. So what I've been telling you guys all this time is true, after all. He just wants to prove that he's a bigger man than his dad and finish the invasion of Iraq. :P
Speaking of which, apparently Bush finally admitted that he would've gone into Iraq whether or not there were weapons of mass destruction there. So what I've been telling you guys all this time is true, after all. He just wants to prove that he's a bigger man than his dad and finish the invasion of Iraq. :P
Resistance is futile
Despite not caring one whit about NKF's annual charity shows, I seem to run into them year after year. Last year, it was the bicycle cage thing in Bugis Junction. This year, it's the bunch of people in orange jumpsuits rappelling up and down a HDB block near my place. I saw them on my way home today, and all I could think was, "Who the heck is gonna wash the windows after they're done?" :P
Never talk to strangers
Went to the NTUC near my place last Friday to get some shampoo and stuff. As I was searching for the stuff that I need, I felt a pair of eyes looking at me. I turned and saw a little girl of about 4 or 5 staring at me. I spotted her mum a little way away looking through the stuff on the shelves as well. So I waved to little girl and said "Hi". Little girl stared for a little longer as I went back to what I was doing, then ran back to her mummy shouting, "Mummy, mummy, stranger talk to me I never talk back!" Mummy looked up, surprised, and smiled drily at me.
Oh-kay....
Oh-kay....
I hate bugs
Not the kind that has more than 4 legs, but the one that creates problems in software (or in Microsoft's case, the one that becomes "features"). I've been fixing bugs for the past few weeks, and they never stop coming! Man, I can't wait for this project to be over....
Jazz and Jesus
OK. This is gonna be a long update, because I have been putting off updating for a really long time.
Last last Thursday (that's 2 weeks ago, just to be clear), I met Len for drinks at Jazz@South Bridge. I'm sorry to say that I've never even heard of the place until Len asked me if I wanted to go there. When we got there, I found out that an old acquaintance of mine is the drummer for the house band! (Talk about a small world, eh?) The music was great, and we really enjoyed it. I haven't been to a Jazz pub ever since Eldee Young last came to Somerset's Bar (which has since been closed down), so it was a real treat.
But that was just the appetizer.
When the band had their break, Boon Gee, my drummer friend, came over to talk with us, and we got to talking about Jeremy Monteiro, who I last saw at Somerset's Bar, having a drink and enjoying Eldee Youngs's music. And who should walk in, but the man himself! He's put on weight since I last saw him. A lot of weight. But the owner of the bar convinced him to play that night and that was a real treat. He played a whole set before the house pianist took over again, and he was awesome. Afterwards, the owner sat down with us and chatted for a bit, before he was accosted by the people from the next table.
Jazz@South Bridge is a real jazz club and I'm definitely going back there one of these days.
The next day, my project team had a buffet dinner at Hotel Plaza Parkroyal to celebrate the completion of the main bulk of coding for the project, and man that was a great buffet. They even had sashimi, which was really, really fresh. I managed to embarass myself by taking pictures using an empty camera, and only realizing it halfway through the dinner. :P
Anyhoo, after that, we went to watch The Passion of the Christ for free, because one of my colleagues has a friend who can get free tickets for the show. I secured 4 tickets for me and some friends, and I met up with them at the cinema. The show itself was really interesting, despite being almost entirely in Aramaic and Latin, that even Esther, who warned us that she might just walk out in the middle of the show if it's too boring stayed on to watch it until the end. (I said "almost", because in the beginning I heard Jesus saying "Not tonight, not tonight". I could be wrong, though).
(Just a bit of trivia. Jim Caviezel, who plays Jesus in The Passion..., is starring next in a movie called Bobby Jones, about a golfer of the same name who retired at 28. Talk about versatility.).
Of course, the downside was that we had to work on Saturday, and naturally, everyone who watched the show came late. :P
Last week, on the other hand, was a long weekend. On Friday, Len introduced me to Yan, a friend of his from primary school. The three of us went to watch Taking Lives, which, incidentally, was a sucky movie. The ending was stupid, and Kiefer Sutherland was wasted in this movie. Kiefer Sutherland appeared only briefly -- not much more than a cameo, really. But I guess they put his name on the posters to sell the movie. The plot started off showing pretty good promise, but it was thrown away at about the 2/3 point of the show. The ending was absolutely duh and it was a total waste of money.
The next day, I went for my first Cisco certification session. The whole thing lasted from 1.30-9.00 p.m., but it was worth it. I learned a lot of new stuff from just one session and I'm looking forward for more. I just hope I'll pass the exam on the first try, because to have to retake it would be really expensive. Ah well... something to keep me occupied. Plus it looks great on my resume. :P
Last last Thursday (that's 2 weeks ago, just to be clear), I met Len for drinks at Jazz@South Bridge. I'm sorry to say that I've never even heard of the place until Len asked me if I wanted to go there. When we got there, I found out that an old acquaintance of mine is the drummer for the house band! (Talk about a small world, eh?) The music was great, and we really enjoyed it. I haven't been to a Jazz pub ever since Eldee Young last came to Somerset's Bar (which has since been closed down), so it was a real treat.
But that was just the appetizer.
When the band had their break, Boon Gee, my drummer friend, came over to talk with us, and we got to talking about Jeremy Monteiro, who I last saw at Somerset's Bar, having a drink and enjoying Eldee Youngs's music. And who should walk in, but the man himself! He's put on weight since I last saw him. A lot of weight. But the owner of the bar convinced him to play that night and that was a real treat. He played a whole set before the house pianist took over again, and he was awesome. Afterwards, the owner sat down with us and chatted for a bit, before he was accosted by the people from the next table.
Jazz@South Bridge is a real jazz club and I'm definitely going back there one of these days.
The next day, my project team had a buffet dinner at Hotel Plaza Parkroyal to celebrate the completion of the main bulk of coding for the project, and man that was a great buffet. They even had sashimi, which was really, really fresh. I managed to embarass myself by taking pictures using an empty camera, and only realizing it halfway through the dinner. :P
Anyhoo, after that, we went to watch The Passion of the Christ for free, because one of my colleagues has a friend who can get free tickets for the show. I secured 4 tickets for me and some friends, and I met up with them at the cinema. The show itself was really interesting, despite being almost entirely in Aramaic and Latin, that even Esther, who warned us that she might just walk out in the middle of the show if it's too boring stayed on to watch it until the end. (I said "almost", because in the beginning I heard Jesus saying "Not tonight, not tonight". I could be wrong, though).
(Just a bit of trivia. Jim Caviezel, who plays Jesus in The Passion..., is starring next in a movie called Bobby Jones, about a golfer of the same name who retired at 28. Talk about versatility.).
Of course, the downside was that we had to work on Saturday, and naturally, everyone who watched the show came late. :P
Last week, on the other hand, was a long weekend. On Friday, Len introduced me to Yan, a friend of his from primary school. The three of us went to watch Taking Lives, which, incidentally, was a sucky movie. The ending was stupid, and Kiefer Sutherland was wasted in this movie. Kiefer Sutherland appeared only briefly -- not much more than a cameo, really. But I guess they put his name on the posters to sell the movie. The plot started off showing pretty good promise, but it was thrown away at about the 2/3 point of the show. The ending was absolutely duh and it was a total waste of money.
The next day, I went for my first Cisco certification session. The whole thing lasted from 1.30-9.00 p.m., but it was worth it. I learned a lot of new stuff from just one session and I'm looking forward for more. I just hope I'll pass the exam on the first try, because to have to retake it would be really expensive. Ah well... something to keep me occupied. Plus it looks great on my resume. :P
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