27%

it's been a month since my last Speech lect. effectively i attended 2 of the 5 lects up til today. so i was guilty. so i planned to come. many people planned to come for tt sole reason.

but still they didnt.

when it started, with still a 15-min delay by LCW, there were 24 people. in a 200-seat LT.

in e end, 26 people attended. tt will account for 27% of e whole cohort.

ok "9-am girl" sheila jang arrived at 940, after e lect ended. this her only class of e day. so ok we have 26+1.

quotable quotes: lian yiting

"it's awesome to the point that awfulness is no longer full."

"shifty eyes mean ur eyes are moving house."

"time is like cleavage. if u squeeze, there's sure to be some."

"time is like cleavage. if u squeeze, sure got."

"time is cleavage."

"i be no quote generator. i be refrigerator."

"I am a button mushroom because i have a belly button."

""lol" looks like chopsticks kiapping a bean."

"wat thing always comes before drizzles? 'B' coz brain."

COM208, or what they call Communication Research

boring was e repeated term used to describe this rich but small division of WWKSCI. i thot how big can tt word be. u muz think so too. cmon, everyone used "boring" as CR's pet name, but this is mass comm n is tt e best n varied word everyone can find?

oh yea until im in it myself. i think ive found e right word for this course. boring.

should e course coordinator be more lively than e tutors? by experience maybe he knows how to make CR interestin. by superiority he could juz be e boring-est around.

ok so marko-gabriel skoric-grey sylar put me to sleep. n considerin im one of e toughest in class and most resilient to fallin asleep.

ok vivien chen came n put me to sleep.

my tutor terrie wong is nice, n im glad ive got her over e others. she didnt put me to sleep coz she openly admits CR is "quite boring". so i respect her for e honesty n humility. but she wanna put me to e sword for being 20mins late.

n why in e blue hell does CR have a whole foundation module devoted to it but not journ or EBM or PR or advertising?

some testimonies from my course mates~
"if i have nowhere to go except CR i'll quit school. i rather be a cashier", meisee
"if im forced to go CR i'll drop out of here. n go SIM", sara-jean
"208 SUCKKKKSSSS and i wanna drop it", waisze
"damn comm research", yanyi
"if i can only go CR i'll commit suicide", myself

Be Safe. Use Protection.

we almost forgot his 21st. ha. when we remembered, we gathered e 23-1 gang n stormed his room at 1+am. it caught him out. ha. then we proceeded to our usual chill/talkin cok/get-fat-w-midnite-snacks session.

of course, wat can 8 guys in an enclosed area talk abt. but girls. n w e natural cognitive link-up btwn "hall-living" n "girls", it was freakin funny talkin. nat mentioned we guys are always ready; even NTU promotes it. "they even gave us condoms in the freshman welcome gift wat. n i told leon, if he needs it, just come my table take."

we went silent. wat condoms?

it was hilarous lah. made our sides split. embarrassment slowly appeared on nat's face. he reached for e pack, n read its wordins agn.

Be Safe. Use Protection. for long lasting pleasure, anywhere, anytime! "you are out and about, relaxing, having fun when it happens in the heat of the moment. you may think putting it on is uncomfortable and takes all the fun out of it. but before you go bare, let NIVEA Sun tell you everything you need to know about sun protection." Warning: This product is not a method of contraception.

n he pulled out a bottle of sun lotion. then he screamed. hahaha. yes, tan kern bai.

a late observation

after NS, im a changed man. life stopped for 2 years. ok maybe not totally. i have to admit i learnt alot abt life durin those 2 years. but academic life did.

even before entering university, i cld already feel how studies will become important to me. although i started treatin studyin seriously since olevels, i only did e minimum to get where i am today. but this time, after e void, or hiatus, however u call it, i cld feel e rush n anticipatn. n it crystallised. i became a mugger, n im proud of it.

there are 4 kinds of students. e 1st, isnt exactly smart, n is lazy. many of my friends took tt path. e 2nd, is e born smart group. they proved genetics. they dun mug, or even study, but gets good results. e 3rd, is e true mugger, someone who is not naturally smart or sharp but mugs so much he can fly. e last, is e ultimate package. born smart n still mugs. those tt everyone is envious, respects, but hates.

in a place like whitley, u mug abit, u win. in nanyang, u mug abit, ur somewhere there. this is varsity level. its a mug craze. i tried my best. n ppl even commented i mug quite abit. but after these many weeks, i realised n noe now im not gonna get anywhere. at this level, ppl are far too smart. n ppl mug. so if u combine those 2, u get Exhibit 4.

it's too late to be a mugger now.

perennial chokers

they have choked again.

all blacks 18-20 france.

im frustrated n angry. n i can feel it even in my bones. im sad, yes, but tts not e key emotion.

i noe ppl say it's just a game. but it isnt. it's not fanaticism as well, u see. im not a hardcore rugby fan. i do watch alot more than any ordinary folk, but definitely not as much as im a fan of soccer. but it's sth tt goes to e emotions. it affects u. deeply, in e veins. if ur a sports fan, ull understand.

u noe it's serious when u wake up e next day n e feelin stays w u. it's not e same when manchester united loses to a crap team. those days, i can read it. i can notice e usual flow isnt there. i can notice off-form players. i can notice a lack of heart. when they do lose, u dun see disappointment or regret. sometimes they seem so arrogant n narcissistic tt i'll be pissed how they can be so aloof to e poor showin. but it's different w e all blacks.

it's like. an all-conquering roger federer, sittin atop e tennis rankings since Feb 2004, chasin history, w only e clay French Open eludin him. movin into e Grand Slam, he snapped his main rival, claycourt kingpin rafael nadal's record winning streak on clay. he showed his class thru e French Open, reached e final, n then lost to nadal again. or. benfica inflictin a defeat on manchester united in e last group match of champions league 2005/06, e first time united failed to reach e knockout stages. those were e last times i felt this agonizing after-taste.

it is how everythin builds up. e expectations, e hype, n e history.

easily e greatest rugby team in e sports history. they're considered by almost all to be head n shoulders above e rest. it's as if rugby is e all blacks. e rest are there to chase after em. but, compared to michael schumacher, pete sampras, n liverpool, they do not have e records to show for it. tri-nations, six nations, or any other tours, or takin on other combined all-stars, e all blacks have performed like who they are. they do not just win. they mesmerise. n they walk over their opponents. but e blot is. they've actually not won e world cup since becomin inaugural champions in 1987. 20 whole years they've gone in as favourites. n they've choked.

this time, no different in reputation. an equally strong team compared w e past, w players who are e best in their positions on e globe. some critics even call e team e best ever. ull take note, considering greats like andrew mehrtens, jonah lomu, christian cullen, taine randell, jeff wilson, josh kronfeld, carlos spencer, justin marshall, kees meeuws, n tana umaga are no longer around. they have gone on a rampage under graham henry since 2003, immediately forgettin about e wound. not just were they winnin, they pulled away from their nearest rivals. jonny wilkinson hurt himself n england slumped; australia became a mess; france was in transition. their build-up to this world cup was excellent, most importantly without major disruptions on personnel.

ppl genuinely believed it's gonna be theirs after 20 years. but it was e case every edition. they come in, they sweep e group, then throw it away in e knockouts. e papers had it all. coverage n hype, over if they'll choke again. e match-up was 1999 replayed. france again. flashback, it was also a peerless all blacks against a talented but splutterin french. no one gave em much chance. n e kiwis led 24-10 in no time. but france pulled off one of e greatest turnarounds, scorin 33 points. how much will tt history influence e game? i thot it wont. e all blacks are too professional to be affected. france, supposedly a top 3 favourite of this edition but meekly succumbed to e argentinians on openin day, has gotten her groove back, though maybe not soon enough. e media played up e attention on e opposin hookers, anton oliver n rafael ibanez, legends in their own right, who featured in 1999. e french captain hoped e story will inspire his troops. oliver just wants to erase tt memory n set things right.

like '99, nth was in favor of france. they screwed up openin day's festivities in paris by losing a given. much like e soccer team's loss to senegal on openin day in 2002, when defendin e world cup. they're stylish n has home advantage, but critics pan they lack substance. man for man, they're in for a drubbin. e all blacks now boast e most powerful front row in world rugby; e french were never renowned for tt. serge betsen is a world class flanker, sebastien chabal is fearsome, but richie mccaw, jerry collins, rodney so'oialo, ali williams as e back row looks like an all-star selection. leon macdonald is capable n experienced; france is using an upstart for e critical fullback position. in midfield e experienced first-choice fullback mils muliaina n e talented luke mcalister do face a battle in world class centre yannick jauzion. all blacks' wings are try machines; france only has cedric heymans who is dangerous. in e inspirational position of flyhalf talented youngster lionel beauxis meets 2005 world player of e year daniel carter. only at scrumhalf are the french more equipped, jean-baptiste elissalde a rising star, e possessed byron kelleher just capable. but snarlin on e bench further are most-capped chris jack, record try-scorer doug howlett, underrated nick evans n top deputy kevan mealamu, players who can walk into any other international XV any day. e mercurial frederic michalak is no longer e same man, more erratic than inspirational nowadays. n betsen, one of france's great hopes, was injured 4mins into e match.

this then happened. muliaina n carter injured themselves durin e group stages, n wernt exactly fit for this match. their play showed flaws durin e games against e minor teams. apart from their near-perfect moves in other departments, they were losin too many balls. i was fearful tt france can expose this. n e commentator noted, v insightfully, tt up till now, e strongest test e all blacks have had was scotland, whom they beat 40-0. they not just have to peak now, they must have the fortitude to match a top-pooled country. n they cldnt.

after displayin to france how to play smooth, passin, magical rugby in e openin periods, goin 13-0 up, everythin crumbled in e 2nd half. mcalister got sinbinned, e kiwis were exposed all over, france gained confidence n momentum, ran riot over a panicky all blacks. as all these played out, n when e all blacks needed their best, carter, oliver, kelleher n then reserve flyhalf evans were all replaced. michalak came on, n w his first touch n burst he split e kiwis, n assisted e subsequent try. e all blacks were down. they pushed n pushed w pick-n-gos n in e dyin minutes sent a half-field crazy drop kick wide. before they, as predicted, got turned over in their last possession.

though not like '99, france knew they pulled off sth special. an at first straight-faced but now jubilant bernard laporte vs a proud but defeated henry. there were other lastin images. carter was tearin on e bench, w e veteran mealamu givin him a consolin pat. he knows he cld have done alot more. with near 700 points at only 25, his scorin was relatively low here. if he wasnt half-fit n had peaked, e team cld go all e way. he still has his future ahead, but this cld v well be e best chance he will have. collins, so'oialo, kelleher, mccaw, oliver gave their all, blood n sweat, n looked miserable at e end. it was more than just a game. to these maori warriors, they've let down others whom they fight for. they've let down e performance of e haka. more significantly, they've let e great opportunity to be inducted in history as a formidable force slip.

she against e giant

NTU Ministerial Forum 2007.

we actually got LKY this year. we're lucky, n it's surprisin. we all know his partiality towards Nantah. so there were endless queues for e tickets when they were distributed. lucky i went on e 1st day (considerin e "tmr lah" mentality of undergrads) n at e earliest time i cld. titus joined me in e queue n conveniently got a ticket.

i heard e last time he had sucha forum, some wise guy thot he cld challenge LKY n ask some politically-incorrect (no pun intended) questions. it created a major hoo-ha n received a strong rebuttal from the man himself. tt guy was also subsequently killed in the media, doin sth tt seems expressive n noble but is widely regarded as impossible in spore. i didnt think this time wld b so controversial. especially if foreigners eventually dominate e QnA session.

being such a regimental Specialist myself i was subconsciously noticing e order of procedure. we were ordered to report one-and-half hour before LKY arrives. there was metallic screenin for everyone; common audience like us were separated from e press, who were e only ones allowed cameras, while we cldnt even bring bags in. when inside, e sternness was unmistakeable. e air had an undercurrent of anxiety. it was like a Communist congress. every few mins, e emcee wld appear to remind us of e magnitude of e event. when e few thousand seats were filled up in e manner they want, it was just right for e man's arrival. his entourage had his wife, his minders, and expectedly his bodyguards. they came in wave by wave, to clear e path n possibly part e seas. when he finally entered, it can be seen that his pace has slowed considerably over e years, but it simply adds to his aura. we were up in salute, but it didnt feel as much a host's welcome as a national reverance.

when e forum was nearin e end, there were tense movements all round. personnel gettin into position, e kind they rehearsed in much detail before. e emcee was timing her move, to end e forum in sync, n his entourage was mechanical in their jobs. but she broke e regimentation. in procedure, content, n argument.

i knew she had such streaks. i was proven right. she told me before e forum when i met her outside that she's here as e press, n that she wont be askin questions or wat. but when a forum goes by with 6 of e 7 questions asked durin QnA by foreigners, even promptin LKY to ask for locals to go to e mic, i cld feel she was comin.

after e moderator ended e QnA. after e emcee walked out. after LKY has stood up. she rushed to e mic, n boomed a voice that took us all aback. it almost felt like blasphemy. she seeked e man to answer one last question from her. it was a keen moment. he cld reject n walk away without much hoo-ha. but i sense he knew this generation of students n media wld expect him to not shy away. however his hesitance is understandable - e aggressive nature of this girl hints at a difficult question.

e Lit major went, "Do you see a natural contradiction in censorship codes and Singapore's efforts to promote artistic expression?"

LKY, "What is the problem you see?"

"For example, at the Singapore Arts Festival, there have been films that were censored to such an extent that the artists decided to withdraw their films from the festival.

So in this case, Singaporeans did not get exposed enough to artistic works, within Singapore."

LKY, "I don't see that as a great deprivation."

"The thing is we can travel out of Singapore..."

LKY, "No, no, you don't have to travel out. They will come. You can see it on the Internet..."

"Yes, but with regard to local artists' creations, there have been impediments because of the censorship code so there's a limit to what we can produce."

LKY, "I just find it unbelievable that your artistic expression...is being suppressed because of the censorship code. It cannot be. What is it you want to say, do, draw, paint?"

"OK, I'm not saying that pornography, for example, will help in artistic expression...Films relating to politics and explicit art are limited."

LKY, "What is explicit art?"

"As in maybe films that depict homosexual roles."

LKY, "Surely you can find expression through many other areas...

The movement is towards a globalised world culture. But we have to retain certain values of our own... Eventually, if that becomes the mainstream, with homosexual acceptance in China, in Taiwan, in Hong Kong, it will come to us. But we will go at a speed which makes our people comfortable. At the moment, if you move in this direction, you're going to make a lot of people unhappy and it's not necessary. Let's treat this in an adult way... If you're born homosexual, then so be it, but must you parade it and must you go out of your way to antagonise, embarrass or defy people with more conventional views? I think it is not necessary."

michelle chiang hui ling. my classmate. my Project Work grpmate. my filmmakin mate.

reflections

god wat's happenin in burma. somebody do something please.

History lect. Dr Wang was really passionate while talkin abt e atrocities of CCP's Mao Zedong. considerin hes from China. but e class was either nappin, on msn, or chattin away. includin me. but i looked up for a moment n felt it. e apathy was really poignant. all in all, Mao caused e deaths of ard 72 million Chinese, more than e combined total of Hitler and Stalin.

did we care? will we ever care? if even History students are like tt.

not forgettin this bunch of us is e only hope in NTU, which offers no History degree even with a Humanities And Social Sciences dept. no wonder scholars are sayin e History discipline is dying.

"without history man is nothing."

to Dr Hao Xiaoming's credit

please dun massacre me for doin this. well its a public homepage anyway (if u thot it's juz for Dr Hao) so please be generous tt im makin it more public.

cheryl C aka cheryl curls aka cheryl chan aka the loner aka my Ward (means, apparently, im her Guardian)
Bet-u-didnt-know
"I believe that the earth is round and the moon is made up of cheese. I want to live in the 80s, with my disco ball, retro music, guys in bell-bottoms and girls in polka dots. When stressed, I unwind by simply stuffing myself with lots of food and I reach an all-time high at buffets. I plan to migrate, after I retire, to a farm in New Zealand. And there, I shall rear many cows and chickens."
I-want-u-to-know
"Date of Birth: 6 May 1988"
editor's note: coz mine's 7 May, n so its a form of amusement to me.

waisze aka YZ aka one of my best friends aka "she's really sad"
Bet-u-didnt-know
"the reason why the "Y" is missing from my surname is because according to my dad, the people who were in charge of writing down my grandfather's surname misspelled it and so it just passed down the generations"
I-want-u-to-know
"sadly, besides sleeping, eating, chatting and wasting time, i don't really know what other hobbies i have..maybe occasionally playing the piano! ok that's all thanks for reading! =)"
editor's note: told u, she's really sad. she cant figure out her hobbies. but she's v happy when playin piano n watching e 9pm serials.

sara-jean aka SJ aka mrs ogawa aka yip en aka pseudo-jap aka joker among e MTM girls aka one of my best friends
Bet-u-didnt-know
"I hope to visit the Nou Camp one day that's why I am taking Spanish now."
I-want-u-to-know
"Please call me Sara-Jean together or "S-J" if it's too long, not just sara or jean."

melissa aka mel aka meow(??) aka jeanette's symbiotic twin aka senorita aka my academic best friend
Bet-u-didnt-know
"Catholic Junior College really isn't as bad as you think/people say. Really!
Partial to potatoes whether it be fries, potato salad or the all time favourite mashed potatoes"
I-want-u-to-know
"Dance is something I want to do for the rest of my life"

jeanette aka jea aka nette aka G-Net(??) aka mel's symbiotic twin aka balletholic aka "the one who lost her voice at FOC other than elicia" aka "the one with the heavy accent" aka my briskwalkin buddy
Bet-u-didnt-know
"my confirmation name is Claire, in case anyone might've been interested to know."
I-want-u-to-know
"Great entertainment is often derived from engaging in a conversation with me in Chinese."

thaddaeus aka thad aka tat (as in "tit for tat") aka junyan aka 滔滔不绝 motormouth
I-want-u-to-know
loves "electronic music...techno is NOT beng...trance is godly...power/symphonic metal is plain melodic and yes I play the classical piano at the same time as well... And if you haven't already realized...I like using "..."...there's a term for it...ellipses.."
editor's note: oh whatever.

titus aka tits aka tit (as in "tit for tat") aka inspiration for MTM's classic moments
Bet-u-didnt-know
"Have an interest in extreme sports especially motocross. Other interests includes music, listening to loud music as long as its not classical."
I-want-u-to-know
"btw i do play e drums, so if anyone is interested in forming a band within sci let me know ya!"

chrystal aka pulveriser aka cheryl's friend at FOC aka "she must be from dragonboat" aka "she's from chinese orchestra?!"
Bet-u-didnt-know
"my biggest dream was to be a roller coaster operator. i have ever since, moved on to ferris wheels. who knows, i may actually reach the haunted house when i turn 60."

at e moment of e deadline (14 sep, 2359) and e time this work was manifested, our dear ah lian n elicia hav nth yet on their homepages.

MTM classics

continued.

1st, sara-jean related to me shes formerly a debater. well, debaters at least must hav basic general knowledge, no? i randomly asked her to name a town or a landmark in the north of this island. "oh shit." she started locating e north by runnin thru mrt stations. "wat's tt mrt line? northwest line? (wtf!)". 5 mins later. "ahh (relieved), marina."
footnote: sara-jean pleaded with me not to embalm her here in e league of MTM extraordinaires. 1st she argued her debates only talk about international stuff. then she argues shes just a "reserve" in e team.
conclusion: "oh, Tuas. the checkpoint. oh yes Woodlands. coz of Woodlands' Tuas checkpoint. all checkpoints are called Tuas. right?"

5th week of university life. titus asks zak. "1 year got 2 sems ah?"

i found myself in a lively n animated nostalgia of 3 girls' JC days. then they argued about this 1 girl (Girl X). sheryl mentioned (we all heard, sheryl) Girl X was her classmate. cheryl was appalled and insisted shes v sure Girl X was from her class. then without an end to e element of conflict, sara-jean seconded sheryl n agreed Girl X was in sheryl's class. they all looked damn serious. it was heated. but in this air of conviction, someone MUST be wrong. i laughed my way in n proposed tt "someone must be retarded" to be so vehement yet actually mistaken. e nxt moment sheryl said "ya i didnt say shes from my class wat". sara-jean was dumbfounded.
~P.S. altho it was 2 vs 1, inside i actually believed cheryl coz i think shes smart n clear-minded. im not implyin anythin.

for e subcomm welcome picnic, afew of us (sara-jean included) agreed we'll order mcdelivery as our treat to e subcommers. we've mentioned it for 2 days already. so e nite before, i wanna compile e orders. i hit sara-jean. she said, "oh u all really orderin ah? ok, i want mcflurry". yes, juz 1 mcflurry, sj. so u can enjoy it while bonding w ur food-less subcommers.

sara-jean n i were sent to represent SCI at e ISG main committee meetin. after some procrastination on e Vision of ISG '07, i threw up Sportsmanship Above Victory to hasten the meetin n move on. it succeeded n was finalised. all this while, sara-jean looked serious takin e minutes of e meetin. 2 days after, when she sent me e minutes, it said Sponsorship Above Victory.

freaked for a moment

nope nth to do w fright nites.

Can B. MTM lunch. a moment of ingenuity and spontaneity so out-of-this-world i was shell-shocked.

u see, this canteen is shaped like a semi-circle, and there are 2 tiers. only 2 small flights of stairs link em up. otherwise, e upper tier is like 1 metre higher w an additional safety barricade of another metre.

MTM always seats on e lower tier. so, obviously, wherever ur seatin, uve to go through e '2 small flights of stairs'. if not?

e flash of 'ingenuity and spontaneity' from jeanette brought enormous waves of thoughts to me. i thot of Immanuel Kant. e great philosopher juxtaposed Sanity and Insanity. one is perceived as sane when one conforms to e norms set out by the majority of society. one is insane (not because one is mentally defective) when one follows his own sane version of perception.

jeanette n meisee got up from their table to go get lunch. meisee went straight to e stairs. jeanette moved right to e 2-metre high 'obstacle' beside e table, in e most 'natural n nonchalant manner' quoting thad, durin e lunch peak with hordes of sane people...

she climbed it.
(i wonder how e guy who sat back-facin e barricade felt when a jeanette appeared out of nowhere)

this is madness. i look at jeanette differently now.

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't." - the Bard
"Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy." - Janet Long
"A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free.” - Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis

MTM classics

MTM's classic moments. e first 10.

titus kicked it off at FOC.
tt scissors-paper-stone station. 1st 3 times he took e podium, he lost it all. n e classic was 1 time, he actually showed his hand late, but still incomprehensibly lost.

we all had our timetables n were locatin tutorial mates. as e T1-T5 ppl matched up, titus came along. "im in T6."

our pseudo-bimbo yiting. "wat's IMF?".

our great thad, e almost-lawyer n world-reknowned debater. checkin out e Christian tees of karen. "got wat sizes huh?". hello, S-M-L-XL?

elicia talkin to e guys abt army. we mentioned afew Companies like Jaguar(J) n Foxtrot(F). n then Golf Company. n she blurted. "Golf stands for wat? D ah?"

e pseudo-bimbo at it agn. she knocks into a trashbin at SCI. then she apologises. to it.

n shes at it agn. we're in e basement level of ACRC. then she needs e toilet. but she duno how to go back upstairs coz she forgot how she came down.

karen wondered e whole day why shes so alone n didnt see her fren at all. at 330pm, 7 hours after sch started, she realised. her fren's already in new zealand.

minute. is it 'mee-neet' as in 60 secs, or 'mai-new-t' as in tiny? well, at least for the lemonade, limeade, mandarin-pomelade drink label tt featured ong ai leng french-kissin some mediacorp bit-part actor. e great thad announced it as Mai-New-T Maid.

group of us talkin. wonderin how chrystal can join so many committees. but shes fine with it and truly believes it's manageable. then zak pops out. "wat's e matter?". blah blah blah. n in his super nice and assurin advice-tone, "dun worry, just pace urself". hello, duh?

SCI's freshmen survival guide

random thots

would u believe if i told u our beloved singapore's currently facin an epidemic? in a surprisinly-safe-from-natural-disasters country where we're used to only readin abt other countries' earthquakes, tsunamis, floods or hurricanes... n e biggest crisis to hit us in recent memory was Sars... for their richter-7 earthquakes, we hav tremors; for their killer floods, we hav flash floods; for their hurricanes, we hav waterspouts (ha!)...

but under state standards, we've a health epidemic if there are 378 reported cases a week... we juz went past tt... n apparently, it's e 2nd time already tiz 2 months... no wonder there's been so much concern for e dengue crisis... 300 cases a week is misleadin, but knowin now e state standard for an epidemic, it's alarmin...

i recall how anxious a colleague was 2weeks ago when he realised he was bitten by a mosquito... yes, once... n he thot of dengue n how terrible it might be n possibly fatal... hello, once? im bitten on average thrice a day for e last 8months already... my house is like an infested zone in itself... n if im not mistaken hougang is a hotspot too... though maybe not red alert, but at least amber...

ive gotten used to mosquito bites... but it doesn mean i can get complacent... im still worried occasionally... w 350+ cases a week, wat are e chances ull be next? at e rate im gettin bitten juz being at home, i dun exactly favor my luck... dun be surprised if my comin posts say im dengue-ed...

my bro remarked why his acct was deposited w $200... then we realised we've received our GST credits... no wonder e other day when i withdrew cash i also thot for awhile why ive more money... every little bit counts when ur acct's so slim... but anw wat difference does it make when goods n services which were taxed 3% awhile ago has been raised to 7%? mind u, 7% is alot ok? percentage-wise, ath below 5% is little, but ath close to 10% would be significant... tt's my logic... c'mon, e GST for a simple hatchback or medium-sized sedan is now 3.5k... n even for a low-priced commodity, when u hav to buy in bulk, or acquire frequently, e pinch would be felt...

n yes, another level up for e smokin ban! who can reckon tt now even nightspots, e tobacco's lair, hav limits on smokin? haha... good for e world...

a momentous incident

at e recruitment of my jc senior, i took up a 13-day assignment... nothin much... just to help an exhibition company (shall not name em!) set up Singex for e ongoin BroadcastAsia n CommunicAsia 2007...

these were e details i received before it began... accordin to his experience from his last stint, or sld i add, e norms of labour, we'll get a standard wage every weekday, x1.5 if OT, n x2 for weekend... guess wat... they refused to give us details of our pay, because they wanted to gather e whole crew before such a briefin... when e 3rd day came, this was wat they told us... weekday is as usual, but saturdays follow weekday pay, n sundays will only x2 if e worker works on e 2 flankin days of saturday n monday...

at 1st, our grp of 10+ ppl had already committed ourselves, so we chose not to voice out n took e tabled offer... inside, i noe most of us are brewin... in e 1st place, e standard wage is already a (undisclosed) low amount... now they take away our saturdays n threatens us w e sunday weekend pay... we believed their stance is to force out labour from their usual crew of 17, 18 yr-old kids who are easily intimidated, take low pay, n noe nothin to retaliate (not forgettin this is a fairly big public-listed company)... but they must not have expected such a large grp of ORDed adults, rangin from 21-25, includin a SAF officer, a police inspector, n numerous SAF Specialists, all undergrads or grads, to come under their wings...

this was wat happend at work... e jc senior who roped us in for e job, had a small talk w some of e rest, n started flamin e system... e fire was stoked n it just got stronger... in half a day of discussn, we had gone from zero to decidin to confront e management w e agenda already planned n research done... e kids wld not walk-out, fearin a suspension of wages... but on our side (thanks to e wonderful education spore gave us) we noe if they refused payment we can take em to MOM... so realistically, this was a scenario where a walk-out might happen, 1st time i'll see it, n im actually involved... so coincidentally, half of our grp are NUS' Buildin n Real Estate students, n they noe a thing or two about e issue at hand... some had studied a little on law, others on labour... 1 has a contact who's a MOM employee, another has a close fren who studies labour laws n e Labour Act... we did our research at lunch n received positive feedback tt e company is indeed wayward...

we consolidated n sent e SAF officer n police inspector to negotiate... e management actually cut work n agreed to meet our representatives... our guys went for e showdown brimmin w confidence, knowin it was reason n facts against e reputation of a well-known company... they related to us how e company had again planned to throw their weight around, by sendin not just e whole bunch of rugged blue-collar supervisors, but also a grp of never-before-seen white-collar higher management... it was 2 guys against a whole board... lucky our guys are men of fortitude who have seen much adversity... at 1st e supervisor in charge of personnel n wages was decent n diplomatic, but did not make concessions, creatin an impressn on our guys of mostly lip service... so they pushed for tangible results, explainin tt we're just seekin a reasonable end, at e same time provin to em e knowledge we have on e issue... all labour is given extra for work on saturdays, n e threat of e sunday x2 pay is pure insane... why threaten us when our grp can do everythin nicely for u? n if sundays arnt x2, who wld want to work? n if tt's e case, who loses out more? e next interestin turn came... e white-collar company accountant, apparently a notorious Alice Ma, spoke n started throwin industry jargons at our guys, claimin our argument for fair treatment of part-timers is flawed, as we don't fall under part-timers, but something called "casual workers"... our guys then whipped out an sms tt indicated e exact chapters n sections to counter this errant management, n began displayin a harsher tone against this woman... in e next few moments, she lost e argument n left e room defeated... e previous supervisor was now also taken aback... they decided to relent... sundays will definitely be x2, w no bindin conditions... n for work on saturdays they will pay an extra day-wage... n btw, we heard from our 2 direct supervisors, 1 of em a 63 yr-old veteran, tt e Alice Ma is not 1 to be trifled w among e full-timers... n it became a big hoo-hah, both shockin n exhilaratin, tt 2 part-timers managed to shut her up...

we've succeeded in rightin a wrong, n in people's power... nothin unpleasant came out of it... we are currently still continuin work... n i dare say we're doin 1 hell of a job, n they'll be pleased to have us...