Fusionopolis

This is a probably useless informative post about Fusionopolis, where I work. It's triggered by a lady who asked me for directions yesterday --- an occurrence I am usually terrified of, because I have terrible sense of direction and often end up having to apologetically tell the person I cannot help.

Anyway, the lady asked where "Fusionopolis 3" was. On my confusion (there are only "Fusionopolis One" and "Fusionopolis Two", no "Fusionopolis Three"), she clarified that she was looking for "3 Fusionopolis Way". We were then at the lobby of my office building, at 1 Fusionopolis Way (a.k.a. Fusionopolis One). I had no idea which building was number 3, but the address I could look up on my Street Directory mobile app... and it turned out to be Symbiosis, which is just another tower in the same building.

Ooooo.

After turning around a little (as I said, terrible sense of direction) I was then able to point her to the tower entrance.

A colleague I told about this was equally puzzled that the towers had different addresses. The buildings and towers around here (and perhaps in most business parks?) are mostly referred to by name, and block numbers are not prominently displayed (if at all; I haven't noticed any) nor remembered by the population. So even though having the company name and street address is sufficient to locate it, it may not be easy without noting the building/tower name. Add to it the similar road names, Fusionopolis Way/Place/Link/... although this feature is of course not unique across Singapore (so-and-so Street/Road/Drive/Ave...).

To further complicate things, the name "Fusionopolis" is somewhat overloaded. It is supposed to be the name of a whole complex, but this has been built in phases, and people who work here have been calling the first completed three-towered building just "Fusionopolis". The building itself has the name "Fusionopolis" on the main entrance, so. =P Its proper name is now "Fusionopolis One", with a huge signboard in front of the building to remove all doubts on the issue. The last completed (also three-towered) building next to it is given a similar signboard proclaiming it "Fusionopolis Two". (Trivia: It was actually phase 2A in the planning, but as it houses scientific labs with very specific requirements, its development was delayed so much that all the remaining phases were completed before it.)

Here is an image from a flyer by JTC, the "master planner and developer" of one-north, showing the whole Fusionopolis complex. The flyer was distributed as promotional material back when the complex wasn't fully completed yet, so not all names were finalized.

Just for fun, I looked up the addresses of all buildings in the complex. There is quite a variation!

Fusionopolis One (Phase 1)	Connexis North Connexis South	1 Fusionopolis Way, S(138632)
	Symbiosis	3 Fusionopolis Way, S(138633)
Fusionopolis Two (Phase 2A)	Innovis	2 Fusionopolis Way, S(138634)
	Kinesis	4 Fusionopolis Way, S(138635)
	Synthesis	6 Fusionopolis Way, S(138636)
Phase 2B	Solaris	1 Fusionopolis Walk, S(138628)
Phase 3	Nexus	1 & 3 Fusionopolis Link, S(138542-3)
Phase 4	Sandcrawler	1 Fusionopolis View, S(138577)
Phase 5	Galaxis	1 & 3 Fusionopolis Place, S(138522-3)
	Pixel	10 Central Exchange Green, S(138649)
	one-north Residences	7 & 9 one-north Gateway, S(138642-3)

Here is a map I adapted from OneMap, showing all the small roads that lead to the addressing of buildings (excluding the residential complex). Why the jumps in block numbers? I don't know.

So... if you ever need to find a particular office in Fusionopolis, maybe this would be helpful! XD In the early days, the name was really unfamiliar to a lot of people, including taxi drivers. And some kept saying "Fusion-polis" instead. Now that it's been around for a while (and that PM Lee has been here twice, for televised grand openings), hope there is no more such problem.

Subsistence

Leaf by leaf it sheds itself bare,
this lanky tree on the roadside,

standing under a harsh sun
on soil gravelly and dry.


Unlike the big lads across the road
it has no air of longevity:

its peeling bark is paper-thin
and its branches mere twigs.


Still it seems to placidly survive,
the scant leaves clinging;

its stick of a trunk stays well upright,
rising above the weeds.


Through long days of heat and dust
and intermittent rain

it somehow manages to keep on sprouting
just enough green.


Standing in the occasional breeze
under a sky never short of light,

leaf by leaf it regrows its crown,
this lanky tree on the roadside.


---


The above is the poem I wrote for and submitted to NLB Read!Fest 2015 Be A Poetry on Platforms Star Poet contest. I got a commemorative EZ-Link card for the participation. :)

While searching for a theme to write on, I remembered Carpark 15, sort of my "comfort reading" that evokes the soothing memory of a pleasant, breezy late-afternoon scenery. I wanted to write something with a similar feel for the contest, hence the "tree" theme and the similar structure.

I'm afraid this piece turned out not as pleasantly evocative as Carpark 15... Then again, I suspect the pleasant imagery I associated with Carpark 15 is really just my personal nostalgia and not much what the words do. Ah well. ^_^;

SGD Fixed Deposit: June Promo

While visiting the websites of a few local banks, I noticed that most of them are having 12-month Fixed Deposit promotions. Apparently there is a widespread need for banks to raise some cash at this time? I'm not financially savvy enough to analyze this, but I do like to keep a tab on FD rates and know my options for the in-between of savings and investment, so I went around and checked out all offerings within my radar.

After considerations, I'm not taking any of them at the moment, but since I have collected the info, I'll just dump it here. This might be useful if you just need to park some money for a short time without risk (other than the bank defaulting, of course). Outside this sort of promotions, I haven't seen good FD rates for a while. I've included the rates of equivalent products from banks that are not having a promotion, so you can compare.

Most of the promotions require a big lump sum, more than what I'm willing to lock into an FD. Where options are available, I have recorded the one more acceptable in my opinion, and noted the alternatives for you to check out if interested. As with all things, do read the terms and conditions including all the fine prints before committing.

Bank	Interest p.a.	Minimum Placement	Tenor	Promotion Period	Remarks
StanChart	1.50%	S$ 25,000	12-month	1--30 Jun 2015
HSBC	1.50%	S$ 30,000	11-month	2--30 Jun 2015	Higher for Premier customers
ANZ	1.50%	S$ 150,000	11-month	1 May--30 Jun 2015
UOB	1.45%	S$ 20,000	13-month	2--30 Jun 2015
CIMB (Step Up)	1.40% (average)	S$ 10,000	12-month	Not stated	Option: 18-month at 1.66% average
OCBC	1.40%	S$ 20,000	12-month	Not stated
Citibank	1.30%	S$ 50,000	9-month	1 Apr--30 Jun 2015
CIMB	1.20%	S$ 1,000	12-month	1 Jun--31 Dec 2015	Options for higher rate with larger placement
Maybank (iLOVE)	1.10%	S$ 25,000	12-month	?--30 Jun 2015	Options for higher rate with longer tenor
ICICI	0.75%	S$ 5,000	12-month	No promotion	Options for higher rate with longer tenor
SBI	0.70%	S$ 1,000	12-month	No promotion	Options for higher rate with longer tenor
DBS / POSB	0.25%	S$ 1,000	12-month	No promotion	Options for higher rate with longer tenor

EZ Replace

After more than a year of unplanned hiatus (^_^;) I thought this might be something useful to write about --- how to neatly migrate EZ-Link-related facilities when switching cards. Applicable to Singapore residents only.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of the companies whose products are mentioned here. I am just an opportunistic user in constant lookout for extra benefits (i.e., a stereotypical Singaporean).



Background and Overview


My POSB Everyday credit card, which doubles as my EZ-Link card, expired recently. In my understanding, the EZ-Link purse should still be usable after the credit card expiry (it has a different expiry date), but it was better for convenience and security to simply switch all usage to the replacement card (hereafter called "new card") and destroy the expired card ("old card").

The switch, however, involves changes to a few EZ-Link-related functions I have on the card. I've had to chart those things to figure out an optimal order of execution, so I decide to document the steps. After all, the new credit card will expire in 5 years and this will become relevant to me again, although some functions might not survive until then.

The following is structured by functionality, while action items are numbered globally in the order of execution. Hence, there will be numbering jumps within a section. The sequencing is not really strict; some steps can be done in a different order or in parallel. The general direction is towards preparing the new card for use and retiring the old card. Actual dependencies are noted in explanations and illustrated in the summary at the end of this post.



EZ-Link Activate


I use this for transaction tracking / statistics and the free card insurance. I actually registered hoping to check card values off-site*, but that wasn't its intended function, as transactions are not immediately reflected. There are supposedly merchant offers and discounts but I've seen none of them so far.
* The tool for that is EZ-Online, but you'll need your own card reader.

(1) Add the new card to the Activate account

This step is not critical but it is the easiest to do, and it ensures all transactions continue to be tracked. Up to 3 cards can be registered in one account, so it is not necessary to remove the old card at the same time.

(10) Remove the old card from the Activate account

Statistics are up to past 3 months only, so Activate will have nothing useful on the old card when it has been retired for 3 months. It is not really necessary to remove until you need the slot to register another card, but it's a good housekeeping practice, I suppose. One less string of digits to compare in the event you forget which card is which.



EZ-Reload (Auto Top-Up)


I use the auto top-up facility charged to POSB Everyday credit card, because the current rebate for EZ-Reload on that card (2% --- $1 for each $50 top-up) outweighs the top-up fee (25c). The fee itself has been waived for some time now, "until further notice".

At the moment there are cards with higher rebate rate, but I don't want to get one more card just for this, when I can use Everyday for other payments with pretty good rebates too.

To clarify, it is not necessary to use the credit card itself as the EZ-Link card in your travels. Auto top-up of any EZ-Link card will earn the rebate when charged to the credit card. I use the same card just to keep my wallet slim.

(2) Apply for EZ-Reload on the new card

The credit card number (which identifies the credit account) remains the same upon replacement, but the physical card will be embedded with a different CEPAS Card Application Number (CAN), which identifies the EZ-Link purse. It is the purse that EZ-Reload is linked to, so the new CAN needs to be registered for EZ-Reload.

Clearly, the registration should specify the new credit card to charge to. The difference is only in the card expiry date, as no other information is requested. In fact, while the old card was still linked to EZ-Reload, the EZ-Reload system noticed the approaching expiry date and sent me a request to update the credit card information.

As specified, wait for confirmation within 5 working days after registration, before the EZ-Reload facility can be activated.

(3) Activate EZ-Reload on the new card @ GTM

Follow the instruction in the confirmation e-mail to activate EZ-Reload at a General Ticketing Machine (GTM) located at MRT stations.

If you do not plan to use the card for travel before this step (which is my assumption here), there is no need to manually top it up. The EZ-Reload facility will kick off on the first usage, when the EZ-Link purse contains exactly zero value.

(7) Terminate EZ-Reload on the old card @ TransitLink Ticket Office

According to TransitLink staff, the remaining value in the old card's EZ-Link purse cannot be refunded if the EZ-Reload facility is active. (As a refund will zero the purse, I suppose it will confuse the auto top-up system?) Go to a TransitLink Ticket Office to request termination of the facility. Cash refund can be requested (also at a Ticket Office) after 6 working days.



Travel Smart Rewards (TSR)


I think of this as some sort of rebate scheme for MRT travels. This MoneySmart article is a good tutorial on this. TSR's official FAQ with the advanced details is accessible only from within an account, which means one has to create an account first.

(4) Claim TSR winnings that are marked for crediting to the old card, if any @ AVM

If there is any winning with the status "Will pay to travel card xxxx" (where xxxx is the CAN of the old card), bring the old card to an Add Value Machine (AVM) to claim it*. We generally want the amount to already be in the EZ-Link purse for refund at one go, in a later step.
* The claim function is under "INSINC Rewards" from the AVM main menu, INSINC being the former name of TSR, apparently. I had some confusion in my first claim attempt (as a late entree to this game), so I thought I'd mention it here.

Winnings with "Pending" status will remain in the TSR account, so not to worry. After the active card is replaced (in the next step), future crediting will be to the new card.

(5) Register the new card in the TSR account

Right before starting to use the new card, register the CAN of the new card at the Settings page ("Request a new card number"). While it takes time to verify the new card, travels made on the card will be counted from the point of request, so start using the new card on the first weekday after the switch (since weekend travels do not earn points anyway).

Do not cancel the old card in the account (the button for that is appropriately in warning red). If it is cancelled, travels on that card that have occurred but not yet reflected (it takes several days) will not earn points. The old card will automatically be removed when the new card has been verified.

As far as I can infer, there is no harm bumping out the old card (in step 5) while it still has unclaimed winnings (before step 4); the winnings will remain there waiting to be claimed, as long as you retain the physical card to do that. But I prefer to make a clean break and do them in this order.



Any Other Business


(6) Put the new card to actual use

Test the new card for travelling and all other things you use it for, to make sure everything works as before.

(8) Get a cash refund of the remaining value in the old card @ TransitLink Ticket Office

About 6 working days after terminating the EZ-Reload facility, go to a TransitLink Ticket Office to request a cash refund of the remaining value in the old card's EZ-Link purse. In my experience, the staff asked to see my new card before she proceeded, I'm not sure why.

I read from DBS Live Fresh card FAQ that there is an option for "deferred refund" to the credit card tied to the EZ-Reload facility, instead of cash refund, but for some reason it wasn't applicable to my case. The TransitLink staff strictly told me to terminate the EZ-Reload facility first, and get a cash refund 6 working days afterwards.

The same FAQ also mentions that the TransitLink staff will destroy the old card after refund, but in my case, the staff returned the card to me. To be very safe, I would still suggest doing this after you are sure you do not need the old card anymore.

(9) Destroy the old card

As banks always advise, cut up the old card when you have no more use for it. Here's a tip on properly cutting up and disposing of old credit cards.



Summary

RECYClear

With moving out in mind, since some time before Chinese New Year I've been (not spring cleaning, but) spring clearing. As in spending the spring (well, the Sundays up to now) clearing out not-really-needed stuff. Which I've got a lot of. Ha.

So I've been looking up local recycling channels for various materials, especially those that cannot fit into the neighbourhood recycling bins* and those that I think could be better channeled somewhere else. Here's sharing a few channels that I think are useful, as a quick guide; you can definitely find more via Google.

Save That Pen
[Reuse/Recycle] If you've somehow accumulated from conferences / exhibitions more free pens than you can use, or maybe you / your kids have outgrown those color marker pens, this program will help you get them reused, or failing that, pass them on to the recycling bin for you.

StarHub e-Waste Recycling
[Recycle] For electronics. I'm not sure how updated the list of collection points is, but at least the bin at StarHub Customer Service @ Plaza Singapura should still be around for some time, I believe.

Salvation Army
[Reuse] Stuff that are still usable can go here.

Tzu Chi Community Recycling Points
[Recycle] This seems to serve the same purpose as the paper/plastic/metal/glass/other recycling bins, but there are volunteers manning the collection points if you need human intervention to maybe clarify your categorization doubts or the like. I also hope they have a more discerning sorting process, for cases where the stuff can go to a better channel.


* By the way, if you need to locate these bins, there's a handy app on OneMap. Find "Themes" on the top bar, choose "Environment" > "Recycling Bins".

Every Step Is Home

Just returned from CNY vacation in my hometown. Realized that nowadays I often have to rethink the context before using the term "hometown" -- should I say "birth town" instead? While I was here I'd say "go back to Indonesia" but while I was there I'd say "go back to Singapore". =X

Recalled that at my citizenship ceremony, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan said something along the line of belonging to the nation without denying our ancestry or forgetting where we came from, all of which shaped who we are. That point of view really impressed me at that time and had dispersed the conflicted feeling I used to have about my nationality.

A recent article that addresses the topic of the Singaporean identity in connection to the White Paper on Population also resonates with the above point of view:
6.9 million people and an emotional hump

Not sure whether that link will be permanent, so I hope it won't violate any copyright to quote the relevant parts here:

Singaporean is by definition a nationality, not an ethnicity nor a race.

It makes some sense for the Japanese to fear immigration as they want to preserve their ethnic homogeneity. Recently, when Hong Kong’s leaders made similar remarks that Hong Kong’s ethnic homogeneity of Cantonese people will be threatened by more Mainland Chinese immigration, it made sense too, even if one argues they are all ethnic Chinese.

But Singaporean? What is that?

It is neither race nor ethnicity, neither a language group nor even a religious community. Singapore is Singapore precisely because of its diversity, not because of homogeneity.

We seem to have forgotten the Singapore Story. It is a story of an island of immigrants forged from many races, many religions, many cultures. It is a story of a nation that welcomed different people who wanted to make a better life to find a new home. It is a story of a country whose descendants of these original people still celebrate various festivals, where Mosque meets Temple, where Christians live alongside Hindus, and even if most of us speak English or Singlish, we still preserve our ‘native’ tongues.

[...]

In the end, like others, I feel nobody defined it more eloquently than one of our founding fathers and the author of the Singapore Pledge, S. Rajaratnam.

He said, "Being a Singaporean is not a matter of ancestry. It is conviction and choice."

s.ty.lized

So there's this thing with some stage names or pen names which, though they consist of normal English words, are not supposed to be written with the usual capitalization rules. For example, e.e. cummings and k.d. lang. Wikipedia calls it "stylized", or sometimes "typeset".

It gets rather chaotic in the Japanese music scene, where some English names are natively written in katakana, which is ordinarily transferred to Latin in all-caps. So it is not clear whether DREAMS COME TRUE or FUNKY MONKEY BABYS should always be written in all-caps (which can really be quite glaring), since it might just be due to the katakana representation. It is easier to figure out true stylization when it's all non-caps, like the brilliant green (which looks like just a part of this sentence), or when it's mixed, like HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR (which is still glaring). Of course, some name owners themselves are inconsistent about the typeset, like how Every Little Thing have named themselves in all-caps, all non-caps, and katakana, all in three different single releases.

I am the type to rename my music files when I find out I've not been capitalizing them correctly, so this is significant. =D Well, getting someone's name correct is a sign of respect (though this guy here does bring up a compelling argument). Capitalization may not be as crucial as spelling (say, when mix-and-matching Patti Smith with Patty Smyth) but in names like hitomi the lack of capitalization is the factor that makes it Furuya-san and not Yaida-san or Shimatani-san, while missed capitals on names like KinKi Kids could push them a step closer to distasteful misspelling (as well as land one in trouble with dedicated fans).

This string of thoughts came about as I was just getting all starry-eyed blissful-eared clickety-fingered watching k.d. lang on YouTube, and trying to put my finger on how she can sing the same song differently every time (a swell here, a shortening there, a few different notes once in a while...) without ruining the original feel of the song. Even when it's a cover, instead of performing it as a musical composition she grasps its story and just tells it, and with that seemingly effortless divine vocal delivery she can surely afford to improvise and still tell it flawlessly.

...Yeah, watch me ramble, but the point is, for someone as accomplished as that, I'd pay really good attention to how she wishes her name to be written! (And here's a pretty entertaining article on the controversy over the miscapitalization.)

But this blog entry would not have been written had I not gotten extra rambling material from the recent realization that one-north (the MRT station where my office is at) is so far the only station with a stylized name... except counting HarbourFront, which would not cause any capitalization dilemma anyway, for example when the station name occurs at the beginning of a sentence.

Now to close this entry, Happy New Year! (And this one I'm pretty sure is meant to be capitalized like that.)

Bad Works at Werkz

This is going to be one spiteful post, my apologies. (If I know something is bad and I still do it, what does that make me? --Not caring, for once.) I experienced so much annoyance with these people that I'm actually writing this with the intention of leaving an online trace for anyone who may be googling for a review of Werkz Photography. (I'm even avoiding to hyperlink that to their site for fear of inadvertently helping them advertise; that's how spiteful this will be.)

I have sent separate feedbacks to somewhat-relevant parties, but there of course I limited myself to somewhat-relevant points, while here I wouldn't hold back so much... so I'm making sub-titles in hope that anyone finding this tl;dr can just skim through! ^_^0


* Background

It started July this year, around my Commencement ceremony in NUS. Werkz was the official photographer for the event, so it was the one providing the stage photography service (during the ceremony). I was looking for a studio to take a family portrait for this same occasion, and I decided to take up the offer from Werkz, as it conveniently came packaged with the stage photography. I thought this studio should be credible since it was the official photographer, and the staff who talked to me at the stall was a pleasant uncle.


* Photographing: Nice

The photo-taking session itself went pleasantly. The photographer was good at lifting everyone's spirits, and the helper showed a lot of care when helping me adjust the graduation gown, directing us for poses, etc. The photographer did jokingly say something along the line of, "I'm not the one who's going to take your money, though!" and looking back now, that turned out to be quite ominous...


* Purchasing: Money-minded much?

The package I took was for one framed family portrait and one individual portrait, each with 6 preview-sized prints. When I signed up, I asked how many takes we would get, and the answer was, "We will take many; we use digital films so it's not limited. You can choose afterwards."

Well, during the photo-taking we took a variety of arrangements by the photographer's suggestion: other than the whole family posing, we had my-parents-and-I, my-sisters-and-I, and so on. But it turned out that the 6 previews we could get were all of the same arrangement (the preview sets were fixed); we had to purchase the other arrangements separately at a minimum print size. (I forgot the detailed numbers and pricing myself, but I found belatedly this forum post relating the similar experience with better details.)

I said to the uncle at the counter, "But these previews are already done. Can't you just give these to us? We don't need extra printing." He insisted that even if we took those small-sized previews, we had to pay the price for that minimum print size.

Now we do understand that business people certainly can't make money if they easily give things out for free. They didn't exactly breach any term either, as we could indeed choose which photo to enlarge (obviously); it just didn't occur to me to clarify during sign-up whether we could choose the preview sets. At most I could say they weren't flexible about it. But it was the way he put it across that really got on our nerves: "[Just taking these?] Nobody does business that way!"


* Upgrading: Snide is worse than Snape

Anyway, we decided not to make the extra purchase, and settled with one family photo to be enlarged and canvassed, though we did upgrade the size. The uncle then offered to do the same for the individual photo for 30 dollars, which I turned down because I didn't plan to display my own face so prominently in our house, heh. Admittedly it was also largely influenced by my already deflated opinion of them.

The uncle nevertheless kept applying the pressure, saying that it would be a good investment because photos last longer when canvassed, especially since we wouldn't have the digital softcopy. At length, tired of his persuasion, I told him we could get it reproduced on our own if we ever wanted it (though I omitted the detail on how my sister used to work in a photo studio back home and still had friends there) and he outright laughed at me.

I could chalk that up to merely my hurt ego, what with his remarks implying how a "Doctor" was so stingy and misguided, but I seriously questioned his maturity (being disrespectful here given he was a generation older than me, but really!) when he deliberately said to his passing colleague in front of me: "She said she could do it herself! Hah!" I guess in certain cases annoying someone might get the person to do what you want them to do, but in this particular one, the more I'm annoyed the less I'm inclined to let him earn money.

(If my assumption is true that they were also the ones (with official photographer badge) taking photos in the post-ceremony mingling session outside the UCC Hall, then I have also encountered another photographer of theirs who came out of the blue and took our photos all cheerfully, and when we didn't want to buy them (we'd taken photos with our own cameras after all), said aloud, "So stingy!")


* Collection: Unapologetic mistakes

(This is still fresh in my mind, so there'll even be [paraphrased] dialogue! xD)

Then two months passed, and as promised, last weekend I received a notification that the processed photos were ready for collection, so I made my way there.

They produced the family portrait promptly, but the individual photo was missing. While a staff was searching in the back room, another staff, this time an auntie, showed me the receipts and said that I needed to pay 30 dollars more because the abovementioned uncle had made a mistake in the calculation, blaming it on the erroneous calculator. 0_0

In our upset mood the last time we had only made sure the component figures were correct but had not verified the summing itself (upgradedPackagePrice - stagePhotoDiscount - voucherDiscount - deposit) and now I saw that the sum was indeed mistaken. After re-clarifying that they had counted all the promised discounts, I paid her the balance -- reluctantly, to be honest, but at least that was fair.

And then the auntie mentioned (her speaking tone was probably naturally casual), "Oh, if that is a photo-only, without frame, then the amount is correct, because there should be a price reduction." Well, at least she was honest enough to tell me that even as an afterthought! The 'photo only' was clearly written there, and now I realized it was actually that individual upgrading part I rejected (I didn't know the upgradedPackagePrice had included that even after I said no), and I told her so.

"Then it's also a mistake, he should have put down here 'minus 30 dollars' and it'll add up," she said. So what, I thought, that is still your side making the mistake, but she continued, "We'll see when it's found, if it's indeed without frame, then I'll return the balance to you."

"But even if it's with frame, I didn't ask for that!"

"Then we'll just take it out, lor."

...-_-0

Well, I got the money back, but as for the photo, someone had apparently thought it should be framed yet hadn't, and thus had sent it back to the lab for framing. "But they did sent you the notice to come and collect?" she clarified, somewhat apologetic, or so I hoped. "Could you come back another day?"

I didn't feel like making the effort to fix the mistake they made, so I asked her to send the missing photo to me via post.

"But it cannot be sent, what, the material--" At this point she seemed to notice how I was ready to lecture her on the secure postal services available to the general public, and instead of finishing that sentence she quickly sent someone to try recovering the photo from the lab while I waited.

In the end, she told me they couldn't get it because "the lab was busy", but they would send the photo to me, though she still couldn't say when I could expect it because "we need to find it at the lab first".


* Feedback: Prompt response

I had thought of writing a blog entry to this effect after the photographing session, but I had only worked out the motivation after that second experience. Thinking that a direct feedback would be better than a whiny blog, I first wrote an email to Werkz. To quote the main bits:

"...I want to re-confirm that your studio will resolve the issue and send the pending photos to me, as soon as possible. I plan to bring the photos with me when I travel to my hometown in a few weeks, and I hope you will understand that my family has been looking forward to this.

If I may also offer a feedback, the studio photography session was pleasant and the photography staff were very friendly and helpful. But afterwards, during choosing/payment, and now during collection, I'm afraid the service attitude was disappointing, even if we tolerate the honest mistakes. This makes me worried if the studio will handle the pending issue well, and so I feel the need to write this email."

Against my grim expectations (considering that the ones reading the email might be the same problematic staff), the studio's reply was fairly prompt, via email and followed up with a phone call within 2 days, which almost made me feel that I'd been too harsh. Probably the same auntie (judging from that casual tone) talked to me, saying that they would send a courier to my office the following day, or latest on Monday, and she asked me to call back if I had not gotten it. That actually made me glad and thinking that the feedback had worked after all.


* (Failed) Redemption: Irresponsible claims

Today (the promised day), I hadn't thought much of it while at work, until she called me some minutes after 3pm and asked if I had gotten the photo. I told her I hadn't.

"But we have sent someone out this morning, you know? He said he would get there by 4pm."

"Did he actually report back that he had left it here? Because maybe he got to the reception [of my office] and not me directly."

"Yeah, so could you maybe check with them if they have received it?"

I okay-ed, a little worried that some mishap had occurred, and then went to check with our receptionist, who told me firmly that she would have called me if there had been any package for me.

I called the studio back, but before I could ask if she was sure the courier had come, she went back to her previous statement of "if he has not reached by today, then you will get it Monday". Whatever had possessed her to call me up then? If she had misunderstood anything I'd never know because she didn't utter a single word of apology.

...And that was the point where I decided that a whiny blog post was needed after all, because they have even messed up in the process of redeeming themselves in my opinion, not that I think they intend to nor care about it at all. They probably have enough customers, and so this evil part of me wants to ruin that just a little bit...


* Conclusion (?): Problematic attitude

I have also sent a feedback to NUS through the Alumni office, mainly relating the attitude I found unprofessional in contrast to the trust one might unsuspectingly place on the studio given its official photographer status, but I frankly don't expect much could be done on that front -- it might be a stable decision with a lot of considerations that will take stronger and more voices to change than just mine. But to quote what I said there in conclusion:

"To be fair, from what I have seen, they deliver good quality products, and the glitches might just be isolated incidents, but their service attitude has made it an overall unpleasant experience for me."

Of course this is a very subjective experience; your mileage may vary; there are certainly people who have no clashes and no reason to be upset with them, and so on. Every time I complain about someone's service attitude I do have to pause and think how much of it is (equally problematic) customer's higher-than-thou ego -- rather than the "customer is king" concept I much prefer the "civilized human give-and-take" concept.

So again, sorry for spouting all this negative energy; but at least I've gotten some weight off my chest (and into the cyberspace) now.

Unless they somehow find another way to annoy me come Monday.

The Good Doctor

I'm very impressed with my dentist today, so I feel the need to blog and help advertise his clinic, even though it doesn't seem to lack patients. =D

It's a dental clinic near where I stay at Ghim Moh, called Royce Dental Surgery. I've been having my regular cleaning/scaling there. They have two dentists; I didn't make my pick but the one who's been seeing me so far is Dr Ng. (Aside from him, a dental apprentice [forgot the term, sorry] only for cleaning.)

Today I went there with a GP referral because of the pain in my left jaw. I got it one fine morning after having fallen asleep in an awkward position ^^0 so I expected it to be some kind of sprain that should get well on its own (with a little help of medicated oil), but a week passed and the pain is still there, though only when the jaw joint is exercised, such as when I open my mouth wide ('dislocating' the jaw) or when I chew on something hard.

To cut the long story short, Dr Ng did some tests, concluded that it was inflammation, which might be curable with home remedy. He assured me against the GP's rather gloomy prediction (no harm done since she just mentioned possibilities and referred me to a dentist straight away), as he didn't think it was one of the worse possibilities, so there was no need for major treatment for now. He suggested I try applying ice compress on my own for a week. If this doesn't cure it, then only I need to return.

The impressive thing is, maybe as he thought he didn't do anything major for me, he didn't charge me any fee. ^^ We talked for quite some time, he was generous with explanations and I was quite satisfied with the conclusion, so I wouldn't have minded to pay the consultation fee. I guess that's one of the good things about independent clinics, as they can be flexible. (The GP I first consulted is from a major medical service company, and I did pay the consultation fee, without thinking it unjustified.)

I still need to see if the recommendation does solve the problem, but right now I am happy enough having consulted him. ^__^

Woman

Update entry accumulating the several past weeks. =) 'Woman' happens to be a common thread running through the rambling that follows.


-- be an evil woman --

So... I finished watching Yume wo Kanaeru Zou ('Dream-fulfilling Elephant') some weeks ago. It's a comedy about the elephant god Ganesha (ah, ITB mascot!) who appeared to people wishing to change themselves, and taught them how to do so by giving 'tasks'. Some of these tasks felt like the points in a self-improvement book, but there were also some that were pretty thought-provoking. The prelude special starred Oguri Shun as a salaryman who wanted to be successful, while the proper 13-episode series starred Mizukawa Asami (i.e. how I found this drama =3) as a woman who dreamed of a happy (married) life. There were plenty of parodies including one of Death Note I still feel like laughing at, cheesy as it might be. xD


Of all the tasks I particularly remember a rather peculiar one: "Be an evil woman". It certainly puzzled the main character, as she was on a mission to charm men. The task meant for her to say and do what she wanted instead of suppress her true opinions for the sake of being perceived polite or nice. The application in the drama was of course exaggerated for comedic effect, but I think it was a pretty good advice actually, for people with sheepish personality like mine, and also in the context of the Japanese society where one is always careful not to be rude or to inconvenience others. It means acting as oneself instead of merely reacting to the surroundings. It is, contrary to what it may seem, an appeal.

My watch-list then moved on to Majo Saiban ('The Witch Trial') -- that is, the real 'evil woman'. =) Well, deciding whether or not this woman is evil is a major point in this court drama, revolving around the lay judge system that was apparently newly put into effect in the country this year. (Anyone recall John Grisham's The Runaway Jury?) The case is of a woman -- an awe-inspiring one in many ways! -- accused of murdering her lover in order to inherit his wealth. As one of the characters said in the drama, though, "the verdict has nothing to do with the truth", because the judges were manipulated via threats as well as vague evidences. The string of twists was mostly quite intense (though I wished they hadn't played on the 'psycho villain' thing too much), and even the ending was... should I say... riling. =P In Indonesian term, 'geregetan', lol.


-- woman's day out --

As for life off-screen, I had a fulfilling me-outing last Saturday. Ehm, nothing particularly womanly in the activities (in fact, most were rather unwomanly-geeky if we were to stereotype) but... yeah... I'm a woman, and let's focus on the singularity of that noun instead of the gender implication? ^__^

It started with The Blue Mansion movie, which I've been wanting to watch. Eka only wants to know who kills the guy. xD As it turns out, this dark comedy focuses more on the family dynamics rather than the murder mystery. I think it is pretty well done and enjoyable. Being a local movie, it didn't lack the hilarious Hokkian moments, too. =D The only thing I have against it is the paranormal angle in the resolution, but I am quite content to apply my own interpretation to it.

Afterwards, I couldn't find my fave Korean hotplate tofu set in Plaza Sing kopitiam -- did I remember wrongly? -- so I ended up having a Yoshinoya lunch. Somehow I still feel a little insecure eating alone in malls =D; (while canteens are of course okay) but I liked the meal so it wasn't difficult to ignore the other customers who weren't watching anyway, lol.

My errands for the day were to get my watch battery changed [*check*] and to get a gift [*check*]. Speaking of which, I owe the good ideas for the two most recent gifts I've bought to the just-in-time suggestions from Yesie and Eka, respectively. Casual mentions of such things have good results! Thanks, gals.

Quite a number of stores were having 'moving out sales' in Plaza Sing, that I wonder if something is happening.. I took one round each in Fila and Hang Ten but didn't get anything from there. The more tempting one was Sembawang's half-price deal for all their CDs. The store corridors were not wide to begin with, and at that moment they were filled with stacks of CDs as well as (probably many times the amount of their usual) customers, but still I spent an hour or so scouring the title lineup, and honestly, felt kind of a bonding with the people there as we kept excusing ourselves while carefully maneuvering our bodies around each other. xD That and our love for music and our opportunistic kiasu-ness? Ahahaha.

I of course hovered back and forth the Asian pop section mostly, and was considering to get one of the albums by one of my favourite artists just for collection, but in the end decided there wasn't really a point to it. =P Not a very good fan, huh. But I figured I'd save my money to buy more worthy collectibles that they would still be producing. =3


-- girl-talk --

Moving on... yesterday, had a mini picnic at Vivocity with the choir bunch initiated by Rebecca, after the rehearsal. Two guys and four girls, and we still managed to have some women-talk. =3 Well, men-talk too, as Julia, as always, had a lot of gender observation stuff to share, on top of her very unique recent experience. I think I've always been too attracted to gender-defying views to not be skeptical about such categorizations, but as a generalization those are interesting and useful knowledge. And oh, August also linked us to this very funny 'lecture' on men's vs women's brains:




-- lady in red ...or blue? --

Last update... got a new pair of spectacles today because I (accidentally, of course) added one more crack to it a few days ago, and this time it was not quite negligible. =P While choosing the frame I was attracted to a flexible kind with modern-ish design, but it had to go with impact-resistance lens which were costly. For my second choice I hesitated between a red-black one (striking!) and a navy blue one (more 'general-purpose'). Red or blue -- warm or cool -- right or left -- 51 or 244? xD (Ahem, ignore the last one, just my random fandom bit.) In the end, my pragmatic side won, so...


-- masculine-feminine --

To close off! (Woooo, longest post in a while...) Just got this hilarious Rose of Versailles parodying commercial from DIsk (a 'childhood shattering' discovery, to borrow his term, so RoV purists please consider that a warning) and since it involves the all-female musical group Takarazuka, I thought it'd be appropriate. (Come to think of it, the story itself is already a gender-bender, and now that both 'men' are acted by women, it gets even more twisted!) Enjoy!

07.08.09

Found this amusing article while doing some planning for the long weekend:
7 Weird Facts about the Singapore National Day

It does mention 'history' and 'rumor' at certain points so be sure to check the facts with your friendly neighbour well-informed Singaporean friend before applying them to any significant current affair yea. ;)

Winter Much?

Being Born

I still remember the first movie that made me actually cry-- it was Armageddon. It sort of marked the starting point when I no longer held back from crying over movies or books. =P I suppose that was one of my emotional development stages-- living away from my parents did break a lot of my reserved habits.

In recent years I noticed that almost all of those tear-jerking scenes had to do with parent-child relationships. (Thinking back, the context in Armageddon happened to be the same.) This is probably yet another mental development stage-- connecting with the parental instinct in me, I suppose? =D

This thought particularly stroke me when I cried harder than I laughed while watching Money No Enough 2 today. It was meant to be touching, but I was quite surprised and paiseh at how readily the tears flowed, heh. The Hokkian insert songs at those points were unexpectedly beautiful too, and the mundane words in the lyrics made them all the more heartfelt to me.

Anyway.. the movie was part of a string of pampering treatments I'm afraid I've been indulging in these few days. =) Thank you so much, family and friends. I thought a birthday was the most unearned-for pampering compared to other celebrations.. =D Some say that on such a day we are really giving thanks for the person having been born, leading to them being part of our lives today. That is a very kind thought, but our parents were the ones doing all the work on that day, no? =P

With my Jap-entertainment knowledge overload, that made me recall reading/watching somewhere that Yamashita Tomohisa received that similar birthday message "Thank you for having been born" from his mother. How noble is that? His friends rightfully commented that he should reply to her with something like "(I'm the one who should) thank you for giving birth to me", but he was apparently too shy to do that in the end.

His senpai Doumoto Tsuyoshi on the other hand really got my respect when he revealed the inspiration behind a song he wrote, that was, the memory of viewing cherry blossoms with his mother; and that just before recording the song, he'd fought off the embarrassment and sent her the message: "I'm glad to have been born as your child (お母さんの子供に生まれて良かったです), thank you."

The birthday person themselves really have more reasons to be thankful about, na. From the Buddhist perspective, being thankful for the precious human birth, too, and taking care not to waste it. *nudges self*


With today comes the reminder of your love
With today comes the reminder of all the lives that make up a part of mine
今日まで全てにありがとう
今日からもどうぞよろしく

Where Has All the Sunshine Gone?

I am quite ignorant about the current status of global warming (and virtually all world issues) and I don't know if the recent snowstorms in China (a rare awareness on my part) are a contradicting evidence to it or an orthogonal issue altogether; but as far as I am concerned these days, Singapore is TOO COLD.

(Sorry beforehand to readers currently in four-seasoned regions, as all the complaining that follows will totally ignore the fact that you all have it much worse than I do.)

I don't remember the rainy season lasting quite this long before... although my sense of time is never reliable at the first place. On the other hand, in a closed, windowless, air-conditioned room, my sense of an outside raining event is pretty accurate, if I do say so myself. In fact, in that same room now, I'm typing this entry with wool-gloved fingers, which are STILL freezing.

I was born and raised in a town located on the Equator Line on the globe. I would have attributed my sensitivity to that, if not for the fact that the rest of my family doesn't seem to have a problem with cold weather.

Neither did Eka, who came by the other day when the room temperature was at the ideal one-layered clothing level (to me), and, like some of my Singaporean/Malaysian labmates, thought it was too warm. While her hometown is further away from the Equator Line, its population and activity effectively achieve the same temperature level we have back there, I believe. So why?

Besides, having more body fat than she has, I would think I should be more resistant to cold, too. I'm not on a diet simply because I can't be bothered, not for the purpose of preserving body heat, but not getting it when I need it is still a bit disappointing.

Putting aside housewifey concerns such as sunshine-deprived laundry... I do like rain. I drank and used rain water growing up; I persuaded my mother into letting me help collecting it. When I was small, watching the heavy rain from the window often gave me a warm appreciative feeling of having a home in which I'm safely protected.

Rain will make the flowers grow, says Eponine, and I too will be fine with a little fall of rain, or even not so little of it, if I can just figure out a way to keep myself warm.

Endangered Resource

Dish once told me that the Singapore transport system is such that we can get (almost?) anywhere within one hour, which is a nice property. The downside of that is, one hour is also the average time we need to travel to (almost?) anywhere.

Shortage of time recently (more than usual, I mean) -- research work + commissioned job + moving out + Soracco concert -- and so I've started to try buying time with taxi fares.

But I once took a taxi from Outram to Vivocity (there are somehow no direct bus from these seemingly close locations) and ended up taking more time combing the Pasir Panjang -- Telok Blangah Road compared to if I had just made that trip to the MRT station and taken the train.

While some of us tend to associate taxis with faster journeys, I guess they really are in the service of providing convenience, not time saving. Time still cannot be bought -- most of the time, anyway...

...But but but, L the movie coming up! I will make time to watch you no matter what! *maniacal stare* Anyway, seeing as it'll be released in Japan in February, we won't get it so soon here.

Saw the poster on the MRT station when I was walking with Yesie and went all excited, which prompted her to ask, "You like that guy?" (referring to Matsuyama Kenichi) in a rather... innuendo-ish... way... huaha.

Haven't dug much into him to properly appreciate him as a person (rather than a character) yet. I even missed him totally in Gokusen -_-0 because, ahem, another Matsu- there is kinda too charm-spreading... huehehueh.

Searching

First laid-back weekend after a while. =) This blog will have jumbled things I've wanted to say for some time, so it's unlikely to be coherent..

First, a link: The Keropok - Singapore Daily Photo

I guess partly because the photos are well taken, partly because I'm rather tuned to sight-seeing mood recently, and partly because I'm currently away... I thought, "Eh, Singapore is quite a beautiful country too." =D (Over here all they say about Singapore is "So clean!")

Hope I will still think so when I'm back in a few months, so I'll make time to look around the few places I've never really explored before. Eka, would you be up to it? As an alternative to our movie weekends. ^^

The photoblog by the way was found through a "Google query chain" for "NUS School of Computing relocation", when I needed to find out the new location of my lab, to re-apply for the expired IT resources. I'm working on something related to web search these days, so these search stuff mean a little bit more to me now. =) My browser starts on Google, and I always have an open tab for on-demand googling the whole time I'm working at a terminal. Now, occasionally I'd feel like I should contribute to my own datapool by using MSN Live Search instead. =D

As for the browser, I've been using Mozilla Firefox back home, mostly for its convenient tabbing. (It is supposedly more secure, too, but I never understand much about computer security, so. =P) Now that IE7 -- pre-installed on my lab machine, while Firefox is not -- has tabs too, I've switched sides.. for now. =D IE's tabbing feature feels slower in response, but this comparison is on different machines. Any of you have the experience?

Before the trip to the Redmond campus, we met up with our General Manager Hon Hsiao-Wuen, during which I asked him if, being "Microsoft people" (of which sense I don't have enough yet), we should be careful in revealing our preference for competitor products to these people we were going to meet (within/outside the lab/company). He said that, they would actually encourage us to experience other products and provide feedbacks and criticisms, but please make sure to convey it respectfully. =D

I did miss the powerful built-in/shell tools I'd been using on SoC Linux servers, and once gushed to my project leader about them. =P Hopefully that wasn't too... er, enthusiastic-for-the-wrong-side. The researchers I work with are very young and the team shares a much more casual interaction compared to the professor-student relationship I've had in campus, so it's easy to reveal those kind of things in conversations. =D

Things are moving at a faster pace for me here, being in a team, compared to doing my own research in the uni. My prof gave me a lot of time to explore ideas; we met once a week; I have life outside school. ^^ Here we have concrete targets and are eager for progress; we meet twice a week, plus occasional sync meetings with another department; I don't have much to do outside the lab.

Conclusion: OT. =D

(Of course a portion of these OT periods is utilized for emails, blogs, chats etc, like now. Search data are huge so experiments have long runtimes, and so I have sort of excusable in-between idle periods, har.)

I'm working on a photo blog for recent happenings, will post the link here when it's ready. I wonder if the amount of photos I'm putting up is giving you the impression that I'm on a long vacation trip instead of an internship? XD Somehow I feel obliged to post them just because my usual folks (family and friends) aren't here to experience it with me.

Last-last week my parents were here in Beijing on an invitation to attend the MSRA Intern's Day. My father has always wanted to visit China (the "knowing your root" thing) so despite my normal paiseh attitude I worked out the courage to ask the management if I could invite them. Glad I did, because they approved. =)

So by now I've visited the Badaling Great Wall twice and the Summer Palace twice, but still I would like, someday when my mood has recovered from this touristy overload, to hike the Simatai and to go all the way to the hilltop of the Palace. ^_^

But aside from the general feel-good I'm probably losing the enthusiastic edge with all that happened in my life, though when casual acquaintances asked I'd surely say they were exciting, just so it wouldn't sound as if I were disappointed with anything, which I indeed wasn't. I am still aware how fortunate these were for me, so I could at least not appear ingrate. =D

But still I feel that I've been giving a whole lot of "it was all right" answers, which were honest, because the amazement did not stay with me for long. Now that I'm analysing this to write about it, it might be because I sort of know what standard to expect once I get into certain situations, so it wasn't as impressive when they came to pass.

Does one become like this when too many pleasant surprises came in a row? It seems like I got lucky once, then one unexpected thing comes after another; and suddenly I look back at all these "high-end" experience that were amazing as I name it but not so much as I feel it... if you get what I mean.

I guess the biggest weight was that I think of it as an "undeserved favor" (Hady's term), and it really is a favor in more than one sense as various parties have kindly made room for me -- those breaks from my regular obligations, less work accomplished because my time was divided for the preparations -- so, for one, my mind was not entirely free to enjoy it, and there's also this pressure to justify this good turn by, in some way, earning the rights after-the-fact.

I kept thinking "I really should be more excited about this!" but you know when you think that you should feel something, it just means you shouldn't, because you in fact do not feel it. Am I making sense? =PP

Yet here I'm faced with an offer for another weekend++ trip to Shanghai with a group of foreign interns end of this month. I tend somewhat towards the negative decision: I'm rather tired of the sight-seeing business after all these weeks; this trip is expected to be exhausting, plus it's going to eat a day into the work week and I don't want to ask for another leave. It's also a bit of a bet, because I'll need to decide (and pay) on Monday so we can book tickets, but I cannot be sure what to expect from the trip as we do not have a solid itinerary as of yet.

The decision comes down to: I'm totally okay not to go, but I'm wondering if I'll regret it later if I miss the opportunity, considering that I'm already in China right now. Classic, eh. =P

By the way, the title came about as I tried to connect these jumbled parts.. and you might notice I've highlighted the relevant words using the color of this text. **PLUG** It is also the title of one of our Soracco songs from the Passage of Time musical, which we're going to restage January next year, and which I might as well promote here. =D Stay tuned!

Heart of Bronze

Looks like it's Singapore Poly Flag Day today. Came across several waves of them on my way to campus.

First wave was just standing there without approaching me. In semi-rush, I passed them by.

Second wave was standing in a group of 5 or 6 on either side of the overhead bridge, chatting to pass time -- looking in all appearances to be ganging up on people. XD Brought the nostalgic term "tukang kompas" ("extorter") to mind... except that these were of course decent girls and boys for a noble cause. This time too I didn't make time to reach for my wallet, and passed them by.

Third wave was just a few meters away from the second, by herself, looking enthusiastic and asking sweetly. Naturally, I stopped and put in some money. =3

This is definitely the wrong way to approach the subject of charity, so I'd like to disclaim first that this post is not meant to go in that direction.

I am of the type of people who do charity if it is convenient. While in a rush I most likely will not stop for flags; if the rush is not so bad, I will contribute if I feel like it. (In fact, most things I do whenever I feel like it, regardless of the rush factor. ;P)

And yes, I belong to the camp of thoughts that says humans do good because it makes them feel good. I volunteer for things I enjoy doing. After all, taking pride or joy in what we do, charity or not, can only be a good thing, isn't it? Purpose has to come from oneself to be a sustaining power.

Does it make us hypocrites then? I hope this quote won't be looked down upon if I tell you it's from a manga, =D but a volunteer doctor in Fullmetal Alchemist impressed me when he said he'd "rather be a hypocrite than not do good" and went on to treat people who'd rejected him because he belonged to the other side of the war.

But I digress. I guess the point of this entry is that, most people will judge a god by his vehicle, and that's just natural.

I used to frown upon those charity shows on TV, but come to think of it now, they did what it took to be effective. I am idealistic enough to believe in the existence of pure altruistic intentions, but I don't think there are enough of these to make an impact on its own without a strategical push in other aspects.

Not to criticize the passive flaggers, though; certainly not from me who do things as I feel like it and who've been out flagging a total of once. =P Charity shouldn't turn into a reward system, at any rate. But the fact remains that people will be more inclined to give to those who "earn it", hence the need to tailor charitable efforts accordingly.

Continued

As promised, on the topic of horrendous sinetrons (other stuff in separate entries later). Just realized I haven't explained this word for non-Indonesians: sinetron is an abbreviated term that (doesn't literally mean, but) refers to Indonesian TV series.

In short, I don't click with these. I guess a few years after their conception, most of the plot devices had become so cliched that I avoided watching them. My family tuned to these from time to time so I did peek into two series this time. Oh my, they're still the same since I last watched one many years ago. The pace felt very slow: we only tuned in like, four or five episodes apart, and they're still solving the same problem. Aiyah. But Mom said it's due to the amount of advertisements. =D

But mainly I avoid them because, somehow, watching them makes me irritated (they are supposed to entertain!). In every series I'm sure to find a totally annoying character who won't be reformed in a very long time, if at all. (In my case this is usually the magnified Cruella deVil or the glorified, whiny damsel in distress. Some nasty scheming stepsisters can still be entertaining.) Sometimes it's the conflicts that just feel petty; much drama about nothing.

(Yet, I saw one that was touching on homosexuality, but I didn't follow up on how it is resolved. I wonder if it's quite the trend nowadays since Brokeback Mountain?)

In comparison, I appreciate Singapore's local drama better now. Huhuh. There's the occasional annoying character and soapy stuff too, but at least they're always educational, with the not-so-subtle campaigns and all. =D

Haven't tuned back in though. I've wanted to catch Parental Guidance, but now that I have something on every Thursday evening... argh.

...so please don't say love is blind

Here be mushiness. People with less tolerance to Chinese-style romance (SG/HK/TW/etc drama) better skip. =P

So. This clip is how I finally got what yb (haven't asked permission to disclose real name) once tried to explain about unmistakable flirt signals. ^^

(Go, go, don't peek below first.)

Actually, you can also go there just to listen to the nice song and the refreshing female vocal (what impure motive from this blogger's part...) The actress was just lip-syncing, by the way.

As for learning the flirting method... eh, can't vouch for its applicability in real life. =P We know chenhw is pretty much an expert, there. And most importantly must be on the same wavelength, otherwise will only freak out the other party.

Like my reaction to a certain drama scene that sparked the question to yb. It was a close-up shot of the two staring at each other, back and forth, doing nothing else, and it was rather intense, and it was rather long. 0_0 This happened to be a Western TV series, and yb was more tuned to that type while I lean more towards Asian ones, so she got what was going on while I was all "huh?" So, wavelength.

Though there were also some moments in the above clip that got me thinking, creepy lah, brother~~ But I didn't know the plot to be saying that fairly. From the spoiler I accidentally got, it should be very sad, so he probably had a good reason to look like that. =P

A lot of people were praising this particular show, too. 1995 production; wonder if it'll ever be re-run.

Hitting Close to Home

So, Jonathan Leong will be at the UCC at 5pm today. I did checked his blog this morning (as per Daniel Ong's instruction) because I was curious, but never thought I'd be receiving the confirmed news in my work/school email inbox. NUS Centre for the Arts asked for support for the event, as Jonathan is a member of the NUS Jazz Band.

It was also a surprise yesterday when I saw a poster beside the lift in my building, soliciting votes for Jasmine Tye because she turns out to be a "schoolmate", a Life Sciences 1st year. Strictly speaking, "less" of an NUS student than Jonathan (3rd year Political Science according to CFA's email) since I figured her being first year meant that she had missed all the lectures since the start of the academic year. Most probably they also have similar posters for Jonathan over at Arts Fac. Erm, not that year and faculty should be a factor in deciding who to vote for, ya. *disclaim disclaim*

Anyway, I hope they don't mind me discussing their, uh, academic life here. I'm just a little surprised at how such a commercial thing finds its way to a school I'm close with. I guess it's only me making that distinction.

So, being a half-fan of Jonathan (I voted for both finalists yesterday), I'm a little tempted to go, but decided not to since I don't know anyone else at school that can go fangirl/boy(?)-ing with me. Paiseh lah. =P Huaha.