I wonder if anyone has read my last entry on female soccer fans. I've decided to delete it because after reading through, I realised that entry was rather narrow-minded and tight-assed. My sincere apologies if I may have offended anyone. Sorry!

Just to let you all know, I will still be updating but it probably won't be on a daily basis. Will update anytime when the inspiration hits me.

Sorry for not updating for quite awhile. I've decided to take 2 weeks off blogging. In case any of you are thinking that I'll abandon this blog like my previous ones, NO, I won't. Will be back by the 31st.  I PROMISE. Till then, take care!

Let's face it. No matter where we go, it is highly unlikely that we will fail to meet people who (are):

1) Unreasonable and downright petty
2) Are actually stupid but have the self-delusion that they're oh-so-smart.
3) Attempt to intimidate us.

To add salt to the wound, so to speak, how should we react when we get engaged in a verbal slugfest with the abovementioned? Do we unleash on them our entire weapon payload of colourful vocabulary or in extreme cases, knock them over their block?

As difficult as it may be, particularly with anger obviously coursing through our veins, I say we do neither. So what do we do? We can't obviously take their crap lying down can we?

Rather, we should employ our wit and sarcasm to hit back at them. Using vulgarities and physical violence will probably only reduce us to the same level of these kind of people, and I'm sure most would find this an undesirable outcome. Take the Victorian novelist and playwright Oscar Wilde for example.

Wilde (W) arrives at a function hosted by the Queen (Q) dressed rather effeminately in frills and lace.

Q: Why Mr Wilde, you look almost like a woman!
W: Well, thank you Madam. And so do you.

(Note: This may not be an entirely accurate version but you get my drift.)

The thing is to use your opponent's words against them and throw in the sarcasm to add the 'bite'. This method works wonders most of the time and will usually leave them agape and speechless.

However, I must add this. In arguments which seem to be getting nowhere and all possible 'resources' have been exhausted, the best solution is to simply walk away. Let the fool think what he wants. It is definitely more feasible to retain your dignity and reputation rather than wasting your breath on someone who would never get it anyway.

I think I've started to show signs of brain rot. Or perhaps it had already started several months back and I'm only getting wind of it now. I bought this book, Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman around late Nov/early Dec and up to now, I've only managed to read till chapter 2. Somehow, I have absolutely no discipline to pick up any novel to read. To date, my reading material consists mainly of gossip rags like 8 Days and Life! section of the Straits Times. Probably the only worthy reading I have done so far is Readers' Digest. Reading aside, I find that I'm getting increasingly lazy to do anything that requires even a semblance of brain tweaking. Perhaps this is a result of having far too much free time and not making proper use of it. Hah.

This is going to sound rather cliche, but for lack of a better term, it is days like these where I feel like having something new and exciting to add that 'oomph' to my life.

This is the second time in 2 months that I have fallen sick and methinks this is a stern warning to re-adjust my screwed up biological clock. I have been sleeping at the oddest hours ranging from around 6am to occasionally, 7am ever since the end of my A' levels till now. That makes it like, 5 months that I've been sleeping like this!? It's seriously harder than you think, trying to regulate my sleeping cycle to more 'acceptable' timings. Blargh. But it really sucks being sick. Oh well.

And I'm sure most of us do so too. What makes it even more of a slap in the face is the very fact that the establishment that we, (my father and I) are regulars at, actually turn the tables on us and give us one of the worst service any restaurant patron, in particular a regular, doesn't ever deserve to receive. The guilty outlet in question? Boardwalk Cafe at Changi Beach Club. Well I do understand that today, being a public holiday, it is natural for some places to be short-handed but even so, we certainly do not deserve to be treated as 'second rate'  just because they were also serving, simultaneously, a table of comprising of around 10 people.

We patiently waited 45 minutes for my father's dish to arrive. Not only did it fail to but what really got to us was the fact that when someone from the table of 10 ordered the same dish as my father to takeaway, he got it within 10 to 15 minutes whereas we had waitied for 45 minutes and still, they had the cheek to give it to him instead! Just because we only occupied a table for 2 as compared to that group, does that mean they deserve 'VIP' favour over everyone else? Definitely not! The treatment we received is absolutely inexcusable and cannot be tolerated. To add insult to injury, even after my father had given the manager a piece of his mind, neither was there any apology nor any semblance of remorse from him.

If this an example of the kind of service that restaurant patrons have to put up with, then I'm sorry to say but the G.E.M.S (Go The Extra Mile for Service) Awareness Programme has a long way to go. To run a successful food and beverage establishment, one of the vital steps is to cultivate and maintain a group of regular patrons. Well in my opinion, Boardwalk has already failed MISERABLY in this area. If they do not make any effort to do something about this and change this appallingly poor attitude that they have towards their regulars, I can only feel sorry for their patrons who do not deserve to be treated in this manner. My father and I are certainly never going back there again and we will soon be dropping a letter to the club to inform them. Such horrible service must never go unchecked.

All of us can play a part in improving customer service in Singapore. Remember, the customer is always right. Don't be afraid of airing your views whenever you experience or even witness poor service.

‘Cause we all just
wanna be big rockstars
And live in hilltop houses
driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and
the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny
‘cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s
gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
with her bleach blond hair
And we’ll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary and
today’s who’s who
They’ll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody’s got a
drug dealer on speed dial
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

~ 'Rockstar' by Nickelback

Well maybe for some people it is. Call me a prude if you like but even if I ever was given the chance to one day live the so-called 'Rockstar's Lifestyle' , I would rather choose not to. It is good to let down your hair, go crazy and there's nothing really wrong with walking on the wild side a little as long as you do not go too far over the edge. But to the extent of indulging in drugs and sexual debauchery? Nah. I definitely don't think so. Far too 'excessive' if you ask me.

Yes, life wasn't meant to be boring and dreary. We have all the right to kick back and have fun once in awhile. Enjoyment is definitely a good thing but as in the case of most things in life, too much of any one thing isn't always the best choice. I strongly believe that balance is the best route to take.

On the issue of sex ,drugs, fame and fortune as depicted in the above lyrics. Do both of these really mean everything there is to life?  Well, I won't deny that these would possibly bring about some form of enjoyment and ego boosting but in the long run, would they continue to cater to a person's needs? Almost everyone knows what drugs can do to you, let alone excessively relying on them. The same goes with the risk involved with sexual debauchery. Isn't it highly possible that the very two factors that some use to aid them in achieving enjoyment and/or ego boosting can be the very same factors that may cause them to lose everything? 

Fame is extremely volatile. We all know that it is inversely related to changes in taste. One day you're in the hot list, the next day, you're in the discounts section. On fortune, well let us take many famous celebs and millionaires into consideration. Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe definitely didn't last to their prime. 

I leave you with my thoughts...

Sometimes when everything seems to run so smoothly, just when everything seems to be going the way I want it, some things just have to happen to upset my emotional balance and peace of mind. I do not intend to elaborate on it here as it is very personal but I just hope that all these will boil over in a few days.  It's quite a small matter anyway. Perhaps God sometimes allows less pleasant things to happen for a reason.

I do not expect much. All I want is a fresh, new beginning without any negative elements from my past coming up to taint it.

I'm so glad that I've been accepted into NTU. One down, one more to go. Now all that is left is the outcome of the NUS application before I make a finalised decision. I'm really thankful that I have now secured a chance to be able to study locally.  Just the night before on Wednesday I was starting to get a little fretted up over my admissions and the next day I was blessed with a pleasant surprise in my mailbox.  Never thought I would actually see this coming. My time and experiences in JC has really paid off after all. I'm taking one step at a time and leaving everything in God's hands for He is the one who can make the BEST decision for every step I take in life. Praise the Lord!

It's almost always a good thing to help the people around you, but when doing so, it is crucial to note this: If you expect anything in return, you will inevitably be let down. We have to accept that some people are less sensitive to the feelings of others, particularly the ones who actually care for, and bother to lend them a helping hand. It's natural to feel disappointed, upset or hurt with these kind of people particularly if they're someone whom you regard as a friend. That is why I believe that the fact I've highlighted above holds somewhat true to this situation.

We get disappointed, frustrated and upset when our care, concern or advice falls onto deaf ears or is unreciprocated. The reason? It is because of our expectations on the person whom we showered our time and efforts on. We expect to see the results. We expect them to heed our advice and change. We get angry and insulted when they use us as a punching bag to vent their frustrations on instead of giving us any inch of the 'thanks' that we expect.

I feel that these 'expectations' that we have are a product of emotion. In order to prevent disappointment we need to let our logic override our emotion. This is why together with not expecting anything in return we must also bear in mind that we can only do our very best within our means to help anyone. If they do not know how to appreciate it, or if our efforts failed to reap fruit, then so be it. At least we made the effort to try. That's what counts.