How was your weekend?

I usually get this question on Mondays. *bleah*.. monday is the most hated day of my week.

And I also don't know how to answer. I hate open ended questions. I've been cultivated, from young, when my parents ask me "How are you?" I'll always answer "I'm fine". I don't know how else to answer.

So when people ask me "How was your weekend?" I usually say "oh, its fine". haha. stupid hor?

Sometimes I try to add a bit of stuff in like "oh, it was great! I slept a lot!". and the other person would laugh. Very funny meh?

I also dunno how else I spend my weekend... mostly sleeping, lazing around, watching DVDs/CDs, eating, surfing internet etc...

And that brings me back to the "How're you?" greeting that pple (usually Americans, or so I found) like to use. Its not really a question like "How are you?" you know, its used more like "Good morning/afternoon" (depending on time of day) or like "Hey ya". I always found it weird when I hear people go like this:

"Hey how're you?"

"How're you? I'd like a soda with fries please."

Ah DUH? If I was greeted it'll probably be:

"Hey how're you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I'd like a soda with fries please."

Ok, now, that might be viewed as being not very nice, because I didn't ask the other person "how're you". But at least I'm not ignoring the question right?? Right??

Sigh, pple, next time please use good morning/afternoon or something like that instead of asking "how're you" when you have no intention whatsoever about learning how's the person doing 'kay?

Bitch update

The bitch came to look for me today.

She came to me asking "Why is it the fees are charged this way, off the index value rather than the certificate value ...." and continued for another 30 seconds.

All the while she was speaking, I was nodding my head.

I attempted to explain to her...

But then she went on again.

And then I said, "You know, the way the fees were charged was not my decision, it was XX and XX" (the names of a few higher ups).

And guess what?



She said "Okie" and left! Just like that! Wow! Don't even need any explanations already!! My goodness. I know exactly how to handle that bitch already. :D

The only way to go is up...

I think I'm pretty optimistic.

After that severe screw-up, I tell myself that it can only get better from here. And its true, its getting better.

For one, the bitch doesn't bother me anymore. I guess thats cause the product has been launched and she (and I) don't give a damn about it anymore.

And then just last night my manager brought our team out for dinner. The food wasn't fantastic, but it was still an enjoyable evening. We took a cab from the office to the restaurant, and then we took cabs separately back home. I was considering taking the tube, actually, before he announced to us "go take a cab home. you can claim for it tomorrow". OK boss, whatever you say boss. =)

And then today one of the higher-ups called me into his office to talk to me. I was wondering if it was going to be a proper lecturing session, since he opened with the sentence "About the incident about a week ago, I hadn't really had a chance to talk to you about it..." Well, I was quite prepared for the worst actually, so it kinda surprised me that he actually told me that it is a misunderstanding and that I shouldn't take it personally. yeah whatever dude.. i've gotten over it.

yup, and so today the sky began to clear and the sun is shining through the dark clouds. I don't mean it literally, because as you know its winter and its actually getting darker, colder, and gloomier. I mean I feel lighter, like a load has been lifted off my chest (wah damn cliche la.. anybody can express the same thing just as well?)

i'm fine folks. don't worry about me.

Bitch

There's this bitch at work. No I don't mean the female dog if you're thinking that I'm trying to be funny.

She bloody picks on me all the time! ALL THE TIME!

Give me a break man! bloody bitch.

Screwed up big time

I screwed up at work, a couple of days ago.

Well, it wasn't entirely my fault - it was language and interpretation. When someone says "Three days after Monday". What do you think? Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday! How about "Three business days after Saturday". ok, thats Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday! Simple as ABC right?

WRONG.

I was told "Three business days after the start of the month". Right.. so starting on the 2nd, I counted three business days. so if the first was a Monday, it would be Thursday, and if the first was a Saturday, it would be Wednesday. Right?

What they actually wanted was "First THREE business days of the month". NABEH. If you dont see the different go and write out the days on a piece of paper. I think I explained it to a thousand people a thousand times.

And there's more. I was told "Invest two business days before Friday". wah this wan damn subtle man. Sounds easy right? Invest on wednesday lor! So I used the closing price on wednesday.

KNN...

They meant to "Invest for TWO whole business days before Friday". So that means I should have used the closing price on Tuesday.



This whole screw-up blew way out of proportion because a lot of higher-ups were involved. Even the external press was involved. Of course the higher-ups will lose face if suddenly there was a gaping hole because of one lowly underpaid worker.

There was a flurry of activity on that day. All but one of the higher-ups involved were not in the office, but everyone communicated by phone and the conclusion was that I screwed up.

I was really thinking.. what would it be like if I was fired not even 3 months into the job?

Luckily my boss was very supportive and understood exactly where the mistake was coming from and how anybody could have made it. But my direct supervisor, really a collegue, bloody turned his back on me! KNN... CCB... (pardon my language - its a code word so people who don't know me won't understand me).

Next time I must learn to cover my ass a little better. DAMN.

My new computer...

I haven't showed you guys my new computer yet right? Well, thats because I took many pictures of the assembly process - and because there were so many pictures, everytime I wanted to post it up, I got put off.

But finally, I've gathered enough energy and determination to post (most of) the pictures.


My new computer case. Chio?


Side view showing the window + fan.


This is my motherboard - DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra. I know it probably won't make sense to the bulk of my blog readers, but i'm pretty proud of this board, as you might have guessed. The yellow and orange parts supposedly glow in UV light, but I didn't install any UV lights in my case.


This is the CPU, the component that costs the most. Its an AMD 64 X2 (dual core) 3800+. can't remember the exact specs but its FAST. "hayai" - in japanese..


So then, after placing the CPU onto the motherboard, spread a little thermal paste on it. Kinda fun spreading the stuff.. like making crepes..


After installation of the heatsink + fan. The whole heatsink is copper - which supposedly conducts heat much better.


My memory cards - Corsair XMS2. It is pretty decent, cause I can overclock it to 2.3.3.6 timings at 230 Mhz FSB (i.e, 460 MHz), 15% faster than what it was intended for (400Mhz).


The motherboard inside the case with my graphics card installed. The graphics card is a Powercolor ATI 700 board, with dual DVI out. Not spectacular, I like it cus it doesn't have fans.

So, I'm quite happy with my computer because I managed to overclock the CPU by another 15% (2Mhz to 2.3Mhz), without upping the voltage. So its a cool running dude - at peak processing the temperature only runs up to about 45 degrees... and otherwise its at 36 degrees. So damn amazing.

On the other hand, I spent almost 900 quid on it.. so it better be good. =)

The bestest free dinner in my life...

A couple of days ago, this company that my company is working with, or more like we were hiring their services... a small group of representatives came down to London. Of course they didn't just come down to London just to see us la, they had other business to do. But they invited us for dinner.

Wow. They brought us to this posh restaurant, those kind that I've only ever seen on TV and never ever stepped inside before. The place was quite big, the ceiling very high, the chairs heavy and comfy.

To start off, the waitress recommended a "white truffle martini". Ooh man, its not Martini at all, it tastes like pure vodka (what brand I cannot tell la) serverd in a Martini glass. With an empty stomach, I was starting to feel tipsy just after finishing like a third of the glass. But I had to finish it soon because everybody else finished their starting drink already - beer, what do you think?

After that they served a complimentary "broth". or soup. whatever, it was this pinkish creamy liquid served in a huge plate with a tiny depression in the middle about the diameter of a tennis ball. I managed to get three spoonfuls of that stuff. haha, tastes like prawn/lobster soup. no idea what it is.

After that the wine came. It was a light white wine, I think chardonnay. Oh, I wasn't drunk yet at that time. So still could manage some conversation with the hosts.

And then my starter came, hot foie gras. Eh, I never ever had foie gras before ok, I wasn't even sure how to pronounce it. luckily the guy next to me ordered it too, and quite loudly, so I just copied the way he said it. "foe-gra". i think thats how its pronounced. It was sooooooo sinful. It tastes much like duck fat, very soft, very tasty, and also with that oily, fatty texture of duck fat. and also with the sweetish roasted flavour of duck fat. Except of course its not duck fat. It was served together with a side salad. which was nice because otherwise the oil dripping from the sides would just overpower me...

While I was enjoying my duck fat taste-alike, the waiter asked if I'd like to switch wine from white to red after the starter. sure, I said. And after I had finished with the dish, I downed the glass of white wine.

That was a mistake.

Soon after, my main course arrived. I had ordered loin of venison (with a lot of other trailing words at the end I don't remember). The waiter said "Just to let you know, the venison is served medium rare." Cool, I had never had medium rare before, and if a posh restaurant only serves the venison medium rare, it had to be pretty confident that medium rare is very good. So I said "yup, sounds great!".

When my dish arrived, I wasn't disappointed. Though the loin seems pretty small, it was nice and thick and juicy and yummy. Marvelous. Totally awesome. Ahh, I'm getting hungry just thinking of it.

While I was having it, the world was spinning a bit. There were still people talking to me and joking together about stuff with me. I had to maintain appearances and so talked as best I could and laughed/ made comments as appropriately as I could, under the heavy influence of alcohol. But I don't know if you guys experienced it before.. you know you're drunk. you're high. but you have to act as though you're not drunk. you're suddenly so "self aware" - not sure if this is contradictory, since you're suppossedly drunk, but you feel as though the noise around you beginning to rise in volume, yet you can't make out what others are saying. you inspect others people's faces to see if they recognise that your eyes are beginning to "stone". ah well, thats what I did, while I was still happily enjoying my medium rare piece of venison - and having little sips of the red wine, which smells so good.

After the main course, I wanted to go to the toilet. The guy on the right of me left first. So I said to the guy on the left of me that I would go too. I stood up, slowly, while pushing the heavy chair out. Turned around and realised that I wouldn't be able to keep up any apperance at all the moment I let go of the chair that I was holding on to. I will definitely be walking tipsy turvy to the toilet. So then I sat down immediately and told that guy "maybe I'll go later."

haha, so paiseh, luckily he didn't notice (or at least I think he didn't notice).

Then they served another complimentary dessert, which was some caramel pumpkin mash in a shot glass that looks like a test-tube. was interesting la, but didn't really like it.

And then my dessert came. It was this nice chocolate cake that has chocolate fudge oozing out when you cut into it (the kind that they serve at bakerzinn), served with pistachio ice-cream. yummy.

and they just kept ordering bottles of this dessert wine. I don't know what its called la, but its a light sparkling white wine (not champagne) with very low alcoholic content and tastes so fruity its like grape juice, not wine. But its nice. mmmm...

And the best thing of all, I didn't have to pay a cent (or pence). =D

My birthday cake(s)

My lovely housemates bought these two cakes for me two days before my birthday. Small la, but its the thought that counts rite?

Ugly warts on my hand

I had ugly warts on my hand. There were two on my thumb, one on my last finger, and one on the back of my hand, near the middle finger. Its so ugly, and worse still, it can possibly spread to other parts of the body and to other people.




I wanted to do surgery/ liquid nitrogen treatment in Singapore, but the National Skin Center is so slow at processing appointments, by the time I saw the doc it was like a day before I had to leave. So he prescribed me Verrymal, a salicylic acid (with some other stuff) solution that you apply externally.

It wasn't fun I tell you. First, the solution dries up and becomes white in colour, just attracting further attention to the warts on your hand. Second, you need to peel the previous layer off before you apply the next layer - and sometimes its so difficult (and sometimes painful) to peel. Third, sometimes when you peel it off, you cause damage to the skin, resulting in bleeding and infection.

And because I've tried cutting the warts away - to no effect, since they always grow back, this time I had to make sure that it is gone before I stop the application of the solution. But how do I know when to stop? it isn't in the instructions.. so I continue application even after the wart is gone, even after there is no skin on the spot, and even after there is somewhat of a depression in that spot.

And finally, six weeks later, I've stopped applying the solution - and let my wounds heal.

Another six weeks later, this is the result.



The warts are gone (I hope), and all that's left is a little bit of dry skin that will hopefully drop off in a couple of days.

Nice posters in the National Library of Singapore

A poster in the National Library of Singapore.


Eh, wah lao. this is the library la.. please be considerate can?

Making of green tea ice-cream

Its finally a weekend (ah well, actually its friday night) so I have the chance to blog. And since I got my brand new computer, I don't really have any excuses not to post some pictures.

Back in Stanford, after I had graduated, I spent like 6 weeks there before I came back. Back then I didn't have much to do, so I was very much like a house-husband. And I experimented with making ice-cream.

L's flatmate had like one whole bagful of green tea powder, which can be used to make "pao pao cha", also known as "tapioca tea" in the US (yah i know, weird names). So anyway, I used that powder to make the green tea icecream. its very simple really, as these pictures will suggest.


First, mix the green tea powder with water. Next, whip it, while grinning happily


Place the whipped stuff into the freezer. Wait for 15 minutes. Take it out and whip it again. It should get thicker and thicker, like so...


Repeat the procedure of taking the green stuff out of the freezer, whipping it, and then putting it back into the freezer for 15 minutes, until it becomes like so..


The finished product.


Scoop out a spoonful of the green stuff and feed it to any willing party.

Time...

How time flies by.. Its been slightly more than 2 months since I started work. I've started adapting already, knowing more about what I'm supposed to know, what I'm supposed to do, and what I'm NOT supposed to do. I'm feeling more confident, getting more responsibilities, and getting to know more people around the office.

I've made mistakes. Not exactly major mistakes, but mistakes nonetheless. Mistakes that I shouldn't have made had I been more careful and meticulous. but then again, that isn't my trait. thankfully Manager didn't scold me. He just pointed his finger at me in the shape of a gun and "shot" me. haha. ah well...

i've settled into a routine, more or less. Leave the house at exactly 7.03, plus minus 3 minutes. Reach the tube in 10 minutes. The train will arrive in between 0-6 minutes. I'll arrive at work at 7.43, plus minus 5 minutes.

I'll leave my desk at around 7.30, plus minus 15 minutes. I'll then go to the gym and workout. Been trying to trim my tummy.. haha, problem la. the fat around there so stubborn, refuse to go away. see, girls have it easier, when they put on weight, it distributes throughout the body. when guys put on weight, it goes straight to the belly. haiz.

And then usually I'll catch the tube back at 8.40. For some reason though, the train was late today. by half an hour. damnit. waste my precious time. very very very precious you know, considering that I sleep at 11.. if I reach home at 9.30, I only have one and a half hour of personal time. do the doctors in singapore have it harder?

haiz. not that I'm complaining la, but when the train gets late by half an hour, it really pisses me off. it just rubs on me that i have so little time to spare.

and then in the blink of the eye (ah damn cliche siah) its been two months already. i am left without a shadow of a doubt (since I am at it) that a few years will pass by very quickly.

don't even have time for reflection.