That sian feeling.

Sigh..it's the last hour before i have to book into camp and i've got nothing to do...don't know why, it's just that i've got a lot of anime that i'm not exactly rushing to watch, i'm starting to get totally off from computer games, and well...

Besides going for a haircut and helping my mum with her groceries, i haven't really done much today besides watching the last 4 episodes of Elfen Lied and learning a bit of japanese while listening to this Samurai Champloo OST that i have.

That's kinda besides the point though...what i want to say is that something's been eating at me again...it's that same feeling i've had sometimes in the past where there's nothing that i want to do and nothing to even look forward to in the future. I'm not rushing to finish watching so-and-so-anime, not thinking (daydreaming, more like it) about Her, not watching TV or reading books, i'm not in the mood to plan any of the upcoming outings/parties, i refused an offer from my mum's friend to play mahjong (imagine that) and somehow even ORD doesn't seem as beautiful as it once had.

I just stared at the unchanging computer screen for about half a minute...so i don't think i've got anything more to mope about regarding this depressed feeling that i'm getting. Well, the next four weeks's gonna be very tough, what with MC work, some endurance training for a biathlon-style competition that i got selected for -.- and guard duty. And of course, the usual IT stuff that we do every week.

I just stared at the screen for another ten-odd seconds..i guess it's time i stopped writing...

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Happenings. (Outing details included to save me some sms!! :D)

Ok. I passed my Final Theory Test for driving just this morning. On my first try too, well, which isn't really a big deal...the BIG deal's gonna be if i could pass my practical test on my first try, which's coming in July. A big IF lol, since i'm not so confident about my driving skills yet. No army exercise on that day, please!!

I've also been drafted to be the MC for a rather..*er hem* big event that's coming up in camp soon. Gosh, i suppose i'll just take the extra work as good experience. MC-ing IS, after all, one of the few things i do in camp which i don't find completely pointless and time-wasting.

There's also a senior/junior class outing coming up soon on the 10th of March! Let's just pray that i don't have to do the guard duty that's assigned to our company on that day...:\

(DETAILS FOR 10th MARCH BELOW)

Anyway dory suggested KBOX in the afternoon and i think that it's a jolly good idea!! Any comments from those involved? If you have a serious problem against it...well, then please suggest a better activity for us to do or suffer in silence!! >.< (I'll get more rooms if there're too many people to fit in.)

Those who aren't free or hate to sing can also join up with us earlier for lunch or later in the evening for dinner. I'm looking out for new movies that're coming up, or we can simply do the "go somewhere nice and take pictures" thingee...that one pretty flexible lah.

As for where we're meeting up...it'll probably be at orchard cineleisure until i inform everyone otherwise...so in any case, please tell me quickly if you're going for the whole thing and if not, then which parts of the outing (lunch, dinner, etc) you're available for.

(END OF DETAILS)

Well, besides the 10th of March one, i'm also planning a party for everyone once our new house is up! Details..well it's rather too early for details, don't you think?!! It's a kind of bring-a-friend-eat-a-bit-drink-a-bit-and-just chill-out kinda event...which's frankly very tiring to organise, but hey, if i don't do it, no one ever will.

I envision..lots of people playing mahjong or cards and watching movies or playing video games or even spin-the-bottle and truth-or-dare..with some dancing to pretty awesome music selected by *er hem* myself *er hem* and others sitting in one corner chatting.

And of course, i envision myself...

...permanently behind the bar counter. Man, what the hell.

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The spirit of Luck.

Woah...i lost $30-40 in two days of mahjong and poker during chinese new year, over at my grandfather's place...but when the whole family came over to MY place, i ended up winning around $20 in one day's of mahjong and poker alone.

And then, the next day (meaning yesterday), i won $56 from kenneth, jaclyn and chinhow (well actually chinhow managed to win one dollar lah) playing 20-40cents mahjong alone. I got most of it in my first two winds..when i won 3 max tai and 2 four tai, including a 7 tai qing yi se game which obviously broke the roof, and a super-fast ping hu zi mo.

Fifty six friggin dollars...must be an all-time high sia. The thing is, i think that my skills with mahjong has reached a stage where i can take almost full advantage of this totally imbalanced luck with gambling that i get when i play at home..without my MUM around of course. (Now that i think about it...my poker winnings only started to come when my mum left the table and passed a few dollars of her winnings to me.)

Of course, i'm still not going to play $1-$2 odds even at my place. The pain of losing $20 is much greater than the joy of winning $20. I don't mind simply playing with chips as a way of counting score without having to pay up later...as long as the other mahjong players can still play seriously.

Then again...i'm starting to think of ways to move this little spirit of luck that's dwelling in our home over to our new house. After all, the former owner of that house had gone BANKRUPT...and after watching the Ghost Hunt anime, i'm starting to think that anything's possible.

Lol, now i'm starting to get too superstitious.

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An sms from mingjoo

I was sending sms wishes to quite a few people on my phonebook...some chinese message that i didn't really understand but sent it off anyway haha. (Later found out from dory that i had given people a "lucky pig" which'll give them all the luck they wanted this year. Which's fine by me lol.)

So i got this reply from mingjoo..

"happy cny! live a life of luxury like a pig excluding the slaughter part..."

...Excluding the slaughter part...

...

LOL.

Sometimes the most lame-ass of statements come from the most unlikeliest of sources.

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Dumdee

Lol i was going to my grandfather's place today (or more like..erm yesterday) for the usual Chinese New Year's Eve steamboat dinner and all that after watching Ghost Rider with jac&ken&tze at The Cathay...and well i decided to drop off at Chinese Garden MRT station 'cos i thought that i remembered passing by that station just before reaching his place when i'd gone there by car.

So i was walking and walking...and still walking, wondering why the HELL the lake/park on my right never seemed to end, when i suddenly saw, up ahead..

Another MRT station.

Doh! Turns out there was Lakeside MRT station as well..i suppose i don't know the west side of Singapore all too well...:x Super malu.

And Lakeside to his place is pretty long too, so i was quite drenched by the time i reached his place. Sigh...the life of sweat and dirt never ends for a National Serviceman...even on weekends.

Anyway i was walking along the road when i realised something completely pointless and random...

Birds aren't scared of me anymore.

Like LOL but it's true! I remember, when i was a little kid, that birds would take flight when i walked within 3 metres of them (and i wasn't the type to chase birds very much)...and in the evening yesterday i brushed past so many birds and all of them just cocked their heads at me haha...

Some of them even walked within a bloody METRE from me, which i noticed happening in camp last wednesday too, and i saw some of them hopping across the roads and knowing enough to STOP BETWEEN LANES...

Now why is that the case? Where has their FEAR of man gone? I was thinking that, hey, perhaps the past few generations of well..birds..have forgotten the wrath of men lol...Like human beings attacking birds have become a bit of a myth now among them haha...these new-age birds don't listen to their old fogies' stories. They're pretty comfortable around high-tech stuff like CARS too erps.

And the reason why we've stopped attacking them and chasing them is very likely due to animal cruelty campaigns and the fact that, with computer games and all that, chasing and catching birds isn't all that fun anymore.

Dumb and lame, right? Haha but there was really nothing to think about, back then..

One more thing though...where have all the crows and sparrows gone to???

Mynahs are as common as before, but crows and sparrows have become awfully rare, don't you think...i think it's been at least a MONTH since i last saw a crow in Singapore.

These changes are happening so slowly...but when you finally notice it, you start thinking: "What the HELL happened??"

I suppose that's how change often works, huh.

Totally random.

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Scary mahjong..0.0

Woah...today our company went to the Chevrons for a gathering/retreat or whatever, and after a meeting we had, we played mahjong, me, the OC, and 2 others.

We played 30-60 no shillings, which equates to $1-$2 for 1 tai and $10-20 for 5 tai

I won the first game small..then the 2nd game i zi mo 5 tai.

So in one game alone, i became $60 richer.

Like what the hell.

Of course i lost $20 on a few occasions too, but in the end, i still managed to win $54 in total. Still...I'm not playing such odds ever again! At least not until i'm making a five-figure salary haha. Or at least 5k a month...Too scary lah. And the only time i play anything more than $1-$2 is if i'm making like $20+k a month. Which makes it pretty unlikely lol.

Anyway, it's LATE. Better go to sleep..doing MC work again tomorrow so it's gonna be HECTIC urgh.

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Valentine's..A Day for Yearning..

Hmmm...so valentine's day is tomorrow...and well, just like last year, i've got nothing in mind and no appointments to attend. Although i was pretty busy with BMT last year so it wasn't much of an issue.

It's really weird, seeing all the NS dudes on the internet checking out nice restaurants on websites and going crazy over planning for gifts...seeing them trying to fight their budgets and their bank accounts too, for that matter.

I'm planning to spend a quiet evening at home by myself...which isn't as bad as it sounds because there ARE quite a few single people out there. My parents would probably want me to eat with them on valentine's day..like my mum would say something about there not being any dinner at home and all that.

But i'm not going to do that this year of course...and it's not like i'm TRYING to be nice or seem nice and let them have their private time...it's just that valentine's day is a day for couples and even if they wanted me to join them, i'm grown-up enough to insist that they eat on their own. It's for their own good, anyways.

Well, i was thinking about couples and all that, and this particular person popped up in my mind again, as she's had countless of times this year.

Why does it have to be you, of all people?

I think any guy in my situation would just pick up the phone right now...

And find some excuse, any at all, to talk to you, or sms you...

But i don't do that, and it's not just because of shyness...

But also because it isn't possible for anything to happen...

It might work out, but i must hear it from you...

But because i can't ask you, i'll never hear it...

Which is why i sometimes yearn to get out of here..

To get back to the real world, to school life or working life...

Just so i can meet another You...

Yes, that's right, someone who looks, and acts...

...Just like you.

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Brainless little things.

Gosh, i just had mid-day parade...it's a kind of afternoon fall-in to check our company's strength and to issue new orders and all that. No real marching or whatever lah.

One of my fellow sergeants, who's also an army regular by the way, was conducting the parade, and i think he heard one of the men mention something about welfare...so he made everyone drink a full one-litre bottle of water at one go and empty the bottles on their heads to prove they had finished it.

That sergeant called it welfare, and it looked like he really believed it!! I mean, it IS exaggerating it quite a bit, but people can DIE from drinking too much water at one shot! And today was pretty much a no-sweat day too...

As a fellow sergeant, i didn't have to be forced to drink water for my "welfare". And to be observed doing it too, for "proof". But anyway i was standing on one side and trying my best not to laugh.

Or cry. Because i know these things happen EVERY DAY and will happen TOMORROW.

The brainlessness of it all...
.
.
.
...it's almost killing me.

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Dealing with Difficult People.

Wow i was fooling around in the Signal office earlier tonight when i saw this book lying around that someone had brought into camp: "Dealing with Difficult People" by Dr Rick Brinkman and Dr Rick Kirschner..started reading it 'cos it seemed quite interesting..tells you how to deal with problem cases like "tanks" - i.e. dudes with short tempers and abrasive natures who insist on shouting their point across before listening to anything from you - as well as "snipers", people who bitch behind your back and say sarcastic things about you even while talking to you in an attempt to embarrass you (or even attract your attention).

There're others types of difficult people too, like "yes" men, "maybe" men, "no" men, etc, etc..a person can have attributes of different types of difficult people, however, and it MUST be noted that not EVERYONE is a difficult person. The book mostly talks in a business and office setting but i'd recommend it for anyone who's just had difficult people in their lives or who just wants to feel clever. Erps.

I've found out certain things too lol. Like, according to this book, i'm living with a walking talking "Know It All"!! Haha, that's someone who has built up his confidence in his knowledge and opinions sky high because he really DOES know a lot and has learnt from impressive sources, but as a result doesn't ever listen to 2nd opinions and treats differing viewpoints as challenges to his authority. He'll be extremely doubtful of your opinion and information, and harps on things like having a less reliable source than his own and minor flaws in your presentation of your idea to completely discredit the WHOLE of what you had said.

Apparently one way to deal with him is to go with the flow and make him feel like he's actually the one lecturing you or teaching you new things, not the other way around...and some other things that i don't have the space for lol. So i haven't actually been dealing with that person properly haiz...sometimes i try to be passive and i DO try to absorb that person's knowledge, but i've also tried to go against that person head on pretty often, and that often leaves me much more frustrated in the end.

Then there's another person i know, the "THINKS He Knows It All", the one who tries to gain acceptance and attention by pretending (to others and to himself) to be knowledgeable, etc. You can tell a "Thinks He Knows It All" by his language 'cos he tends to use general terms like "always", "confirm" (in a singlish slang style) and "should be"...

LOL. I think some people out there know who i'm talking about already.

And judging by what the book said, i've also dealt with this guy incorrectly. The book advises you to resist the temptation to put the guy down, and instead be nice and accomodating; point out the mistakes in his grand logic (but not harshly) by going slow and making him "see the light" on his own, and then giving him a way out by suggesting a "compromise" that still doesn't make him out to be totally wrong.

That's something i hadn't done enough...towards the end of my JC life i just didn't have the patience to give him face anymore. That supposedly worsens his behaviour actually...Ahwell, i can't go back and change how i dealt with him anymore.

Anyway, i like to have a policy of never fully trusting everything that's said in textbooks or publications or that's said by my teachers/lecturers because it's pretty easy to turn into a "Know It All" who dishes out advice which MIGHT be wrong in the end..it's something along the lines of someone ten years ago who encourages everyone around him that trans-fat filled margarine and a high carbo diet is the way to go.

So when i tell people things like what i did above, i like to emphasise that it's not a RULE, just what is suggested in the book or just what i heard this person say. AND i put in terms like "supposedly", and "according to so-and-so.."

Of course, it's not to save YOUR ass, but MINE in case my advice turns out to be wrong. I'd hate for anyone to come after me. And it's also an ego problem...my sucky-fragile ego will probably shatter if i started to develop a bad-rep of dishing out unreliable information. 0_o

BUT STILL, i'd like to say again that i think this book is really good 'cos it DOES kinda coincide with what i've learnt over the years..and there was plenty of "oh yah hor...that's kinda true" exclamations while i was reading the book. I mean, after writing all that stuff on the blog and perhaps "plagiarising" advice off their book, i've GOT to at least help them advertise the book a little bit haha. ..Then again, i'd suggest that you don't buy it..it's quite a new book (published last year) but they've got quite a few copies in libraries already..ACCORDING to my friend who had check the internet.

Anyway, i think i used to be a "Thinks He Knows It All" but eventually became a "yes"/"maybe" person with a bit of "sniper" qualities haha. I'll try to be less difficult in the future, alright?

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Oh...shit.

Ok i've done a complete reinstall of my operating system...and i've reinstalled the lan drivers..graphic drivers..printer drivers..most of my programs..almost everything lah. EXCEPT that when i went to my external harddisk to transfer my C drive data over......

...it was missing.

I was like OH MY GOD. I'd backed up TWO freaking copies of my D drive data for some reason..i think i clicked ctrl-a to select all my document items and then forgot to press ctrl-c to copy it..so when i clicked ctrl-v..it copied the previous set of files..which was like almost 200gb in size. No wonder the file transfer took MUCH longer (like 2 HOURS longer) than usual. Was in a rush to go meet the usual dudes at Kushin Bo as well so i didn't double check.

So...i've lost some of my music data (which just means i need to re-rip..thankfully), my saved-game files (ouch.), my resumes and other documents (yikes.) AND all my pictures.

The pictures part is the most painful...I've got photos of the game at S'pore vs Malaysia...some of my holidays overseas...my outings (ROULETTE outing, etc)...my Faces of the Year 2004 & 2005 pics, my class photos and my PROM pictures. All of them are pretty much irreplaceable.. :|

Thankfully, at least quite a few of them are still available at lower resolutions on my blog, friendster account...haiz. Much lower, sadly.

Ahwell. Shit happens. :(

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Frustrating computer problems..>.<

My computer had hit into another problem..Goddammit. I think it's a case of my antivirus program deleting some system files because they were infected..or perhaps a virus infecting them..or maybe they just got altered while doing regular functions. Just installed BitDefender and Zonealarm too, which's supposed to be the best in the business in antivirus and firewalls respectively..i hope it's not because i gave them too much "free reign" lol.

One thing i'm going to do from now on, though, is to scan all thumbdrives from my sister's computer before allowing any data transfer. I'm not blaming her for this incident 'cos it's a bit of an accident actually, but i AM concerned that her mac, which runs on mac os x WITHOUT any antivirus installed, is a breeding ground for windows viruses...like they can't infect her files or multiply, but they COULD remain hidden in one of her folders, and when she transfers the folder to my computer..

Whoops.

It's a kinda like err...ebola or AIDS viruses in a monkey or something..the monkey lives normally and healthily, but when you transfer his blood to a human...ahwell enough of weird comparisons haha.

ANYWAY, i've got a HUGE problem on my hands!! My computer seems to start up well, but when it goes into the user select screen and i log into any one of the accounts, it says "userinit.exe has failed to initialise. Press enter to terminate the application." And after i somehow mention to log in, i can't do anything and ctrl-alt-del gives me the same message, except with dwwin.exe instead. I CAN log in in safe-mode though.

It's supposed to be an easy problem...like it's just minor files that are corrupted. But when i put in my Windows CD (which's, surprisingly, original lol) and ask to repair my OS, the installation process gets stalled with "33 minutes to go". It's at "Installation of Devices". Weird. I don't think it's a harddisk problem because i transferred files out easily yesterday..though i'd be damned it was some kinda harddisk-WRITE (and not read) error or whatever that i've no knowledge of.

I'm really not much of a techno geek, despite what some people say..like a lot of what i know is just learnt in forums lol. I DO want this problem to be solved quickly, though..like by the end of this uber-short weekend. It's my COMPUTER, for crying out loud.

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