I'm utterly disgusted by myself for having put off updating this blog, therefore I feel compelled to finally break my self-loathe and post something!!! That being said, I have totally no idea where to start. Or an even more important question is should I be posting for the reading pleasure of you people or would this just be me hearing my own thoughts and feelings...I reckon I'll just go wherever my fingers take me and let you readers be the judge of it.

The 1st big thing is that I have finally graduated from NTU...3.5 years there is no JOKE and honestly I can't wait to get out of there and into a new chapter in life. Problem is...as most of you that know me, I've been occasionally riding my luck with regards to passing my exams. Mind you...I was never doing well to begin with, playing catchup since the 1st semester. The hardest thing is recovering from a bad start. Cutting the long story short, post exam jitters are getting to me and even more intense this time round as the pressure of graduating looms over me like flies to shit! Worse exam period ever! Losing sleep, nightmares, totally unmotivated to study and to top it all off, 3 out of 4 papers I sat for are potential death sentences condemning me to another 6 months of study...luckily I drank myself silly after my last paper and puked my guts out in the wee hours of this morning and I'm feeling much better :D

2nd big thing that stems from the above big thing...resuming NSF liabilities! I really want to resume and ORD asap...having this incomplete chapter in life is bugging the hell out of me, just like studying in NTU. I just want out of these commitments. Is it just me running away from commitments or the desire to begin something new? I really don't know at this moment in time. This is problematic, should I resume before getting my results (29th Dec) and learning that NTU has welcomed me back with open arms will be the shittiest thing ever! I will have to finish up army (5 months) before going back to NTU. This worse case scenario will prolong my need to be freed for another year. I will have to think on this...how to come out the winner of this compromise.

Honestly my mind is in a blank right now with sporadic memories from the last couple of months. I won't be thinking of anything from the past unless someone brings it up...probably a good thing from how this year has played itself out. So pardon the blackouts in continuity littered throughout the 100 posts! YEAH this is my century post. The BIG 100! FYI C.Ronaldo hammered in his 100th and 101st career goal last weekend helping MAN UTD to a 5-0 win over STOKE CITY.

Next up...FYP presentation on 1st Dec and then I will truly wash my hands of studying (GOD PLS HELP ME PULL THROUGH THIS ONE LAST TIME...AMEN)!

The Return

WOW! Hahaha I know I know anyway as the title suggest, this marks the return but I foresee myself going MIA pretty soon. That why I shall post this video for all of you to enjoy...if there are anymore of you left.

Well stay tuned for future updates...

WARNING!!!

I am super duper peeved with this...but let this be a lesson for those that got involved in this and a warning for those that haven't. 3 weeks ago while I was "busy" browsing blogs, this pop-up came up on my screen (makes you wonder if IE's pop-up blocker actually works). Anyway it caught my attention as you can see why.

Evil pop-up window (click to enlarge)

And yes, being a Singaporean, I lived up to it. Its amazing how we all take part in something knowing that it winning has a lower chance compared to getting stricken down with a live threatening illness. I'm not calling this a "scam" but I have my reservations when i'm typing this post. I'll leave it to my dear readers to interpret this on your own.

So I followed the own screen instructions...simple enough. Choose the correct answer and click submit with your mobile phone number. Harmless...no need for personal details and you can choose to ignore sms adverts or unknown callers if your mobile number ever gets sold to some marketing company.

Mistake 1: Never read Terms & Conditions (Typical of me...maybe most people in this situation).

Mistake 2: Trusting a pop-up, especially when your IP address is used (Notice the SG flag on the page).

Shortly after I submitted my answer I recieved an SMS with another no-brainer question stating that I will be charged $4.00 per SMS...so I assumed that meant if I replied to that SMS with my answer I will be charged $4.00. CRAZY!!! Of course I ignored the SMS and happily lead my life. But noooo...few days later I recieved another SMS question and ignored it and after recieving the 3rd SMS, I scrolled down and followed the unsubscribe instruction...it was getting irritating. Imagine my shock when I recieved my SingTel bill and was charged $12.00 for the 3 SMS!!! At first I was wondering what was this "Sybase 365" charge and after googling, I realised I wasn't alone in this. Other people have also fallen pray to this and apparently SingTel has been alerted to it but they claim there isn't much they can do about it. I'm not so sure about M1 or Starhub. But according to my sources within SingTel, this particular company rented an SMS pipeline from them therefore the sender's number 72288. I personally called up SingTel's billing department and they promised to get Sybase 365 to contact me back regarding this but it has been 3 days and I haven't heard anything.

My take on this whole episode? Be very careful when providing personal information and READ THE BLOODY TERMS AND CONDITIONS!!! Even if you don't know what those funky terms are, you should check what they mean (Singapore Code of Practice for SMS service??? WTF). Quite disappointed that any Tom, Dick and Harry can abuse the above mentioned. They don't do background checks like they used too...the thing I'm most pissed about is that anyone can just enter a mobile number and the person recieving the SMSes have totally not idea what is happening.

Another bullshit advert from the same company (click to enlarge)

Stumbled upon another version of the "contest" while I was trying to track down the pop-up window by browsing blogs again. Another advice is to remove adsense from your websites...you never know what kind of advertisement you are harbouring on your sites.

Those of you who plays Viwawa especially Wahjong, BITE THIS B*TCHES! Hahaha @ me, my nick is matt2466.

Damn it! My Euro 2008 campaigne might come to a premature end...my initial "winning" can't sustain my recent run-in with bad bets! Hope tonight will give me some hope...*fingers and toes crossed*

Langkawi Travelog

Hi everyone! I'm finally back from my getaway trip to Langkawi with Marcus, Milo and freeuns and as promised here is a slide show of pictures from my trip. Hope you guys enjoy!

Day 1

We departed from Changi Airport T2 at 6.40pm and arrived at Langkawi Airport just before 8pm. We were quite surprised we had to make our way from the runway to the airport on foot. Pretty neat experience and although the airport is small in size its pretty clean. Zackry's Guest House has arranged an airport pick up for us and by the time we got out, the driver was already waiting with my name on a placard. Our accommodation is about a 15min drive from the airport and Steward, an English man was on hand to receive us and process our check-in. We were given a short personal tour of the guest house and its facilities before we retired to our room. 4 to a room, 1 queen size bed and 2 single beds...pretty neat! After unpacking, we decided to check out a convenient store around the corner that rents cars and we needed to stock up on our booze and necessities! Dumped our purchases back at the loft and continued to explore our surroundings and found ourselves having drinks over at SUNBA. The night was still young and we were the only patrons. Tiredness and hunger fell over us and we heard each other's belly growling. Restoran Mangga! Had Nasi Goreng Ayam myself...probably the best tasting Nasi Goreng I ever tasted.

Day 2

Woke up to an extremely blazing morning...as weather reports suggest, this is rare. Decided to swap Day 3's itinerary to today to enjoy the beach. Before that we had to get our car! Rented a Kancil for RM60/day with no petrol included...our 1st full tank pump cost us RM30. Heaven...drove down to the beach to have brunch at this resort...nothing too fantastic but prices were still relatively cheaper compared to Singapore. Tanned and swam in the sea for about 3hrs before we couldn't take the heat, skin was beginning to burn. Drove back to the loft to shower...and enjoyed a cold bud! Heaven again...headed down to the Go Kart track for a race with the guys. I came in last but otherwise I has a great time. Almost collided into the daredevil Milo who eventually won but freeuns backed out and volunteered to take pictures of us instead. Next stop Oriental Village and the Cable Car! Milo and freeuns started getting cold feet the moment they saw the cable car take off from the base station. Haha but it was an experience. The view up there at 700m+ after sea level was breathtaking. Could see the entire stretch of Langkawi from up there. They even had this suspension walkway that linked 2 of the lower peaks together and the entire walkway was supported by just a fragile looking structure. Milo and freeunds almost pissed their berms there...fun! Wanted to check out the famed Seven Wells but it was too late but at least we caught a glimpse of it during the cable car ride. Drove back to Pantai Tengah where our loft was located and had dinner at Restoran Mangga again.

Day 3

Today we decided to take it easy after a night of heavy drinking. We were gonna go on a road trip instead to explore the island. Had breakfast at Cactus...highly recommended for reasonably priced good food. Very chill out place to have breakfast. Drove down to another waterfall and we sorta got lost a few times by missing turns but eventually we found our way. We were all still recovering from the sun burn from the previous day and when we saw the ice cool fresh waterfall forming extremely tempting dipping pools, we regretted not bringing our swimming gear. Its so beautiful and to be honest it looks like something straight out of some paradise. Definitely going back there for a dip the next time I'm there. Took many pictures there and was just absorbing the sight. Once we hit the road, a heavy storm caught us by surprise...couldn't go to places with no shelter so we just had to drive on and on...passed by the Hot Springs village and decided to go take a look as it was sheltered but there was nothing much so we left. Fortunately, the rain stopped as we reached the Wildlife park. Stopped there for lunch but did not go in. Decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at Kuah Town...the main town in Langkawi. It reminds us a little of JB, very congested with buildings and traffic. Capped off our time in Kuah by visiting Eagle Square, were the icon of Langkawi a giant statue of an eagle is erected on the tip of the bay overlooking the sea. Headed to Fat Mum's...absolutely delightful seafood dinner, cheap and nice...except for the black pepper beef which was tough. Wrapped up the day by checking out the nightlife! Based on the recommendations from the guy who served us at Fat Mum's, we checked out Aseania Hotel's disco, famed as the most happening place in Langkawi...we went in while the live band was performing...all I can say is I've heard better and was quite disappointing, only during the break did the music pick up when the DJ took over. Left shortly as the crowd was getting undesirable. Last stop was back at SUNBA, it was already full swing when we reached there but the music sucked so bad it seems it's catered for only 1 group...Reggae! The crowd was much better though!...freeuns was already talking nonsense and loudly at this time...he acts like that when he drinks. Headed back to crash for the day.

Day 4

Our last full day in Langkawi and we decided to go for island hopping, engaged the boat operator to take us to Pulau Dayang Bunting aka Lake of the Pregnant Maiden, Eagle feeding and lastly to coral island. We didn't have breakfast that day as we did not want to feel sick during the boat ride...based on my experience in Tioman but the boat was a speed boat so you don't feel the choppy seas. We were famished by the time we reached Dayang Bunting. Lots of monkeys and I caught a glimpse of a dolphin or whale...can't tell only saw the tail followed by the sea spray from the nozzle. Nice...its suppose to be good luck. Nothing much at Dayang Bunting except the massive amounts of steps that need to be climbed to reach the lake. Some small kid almost drowned...irresponsible parents. Eagle feeding was probably an eye opener, the boat man will throw some pieces of meat into the sea and slash water around that area to attract the eagles. A few seconds later you'll see dozens of these majestic birds swooping down from the skies using their talons to catch the meat. And our last stop coral island...nothing much except the beach is slightly nicer than Pulau Langkawi's. Tanned and swam again...haha! Reached the loft to have a quick shower before finding food. Had lunch at Gecko's and the Nasi Goreng there is nicer in my opinion but the Tom Yam soup is killer...almost cried. Headed down to Underwater World...its abit different compared to Sentosa's because its more of an Underwater zoo not bad but the 3D show could have been longer. Everyone feeling tired, we went back to sleep till dinner time. Wanted to have Stingray and Satay for dinner and we drove all over the place to find. Finally we got re-directed at Lucky Restoran to May Hiang Restoran. Pretty good food there and cheap too. End of the day.

Day 5

Breakfast again at Cactus before we returned the Kancil. Settled our laundry and internet charges at the guest house before flagging a cab to the airport. Departed close to 11am and arrived back at 12.15pm. Home sweet home!

To summarise the trip...GREAT. I would highly recommend Langkawi as a short and relatively cheap destination. Langkawi is made up of 99 islands and the main island is called Pulau Langkawi...thats the mac-daddy of islands there. I think at low tide there might be a few more islands to add to the 99. Langkawi is a duty free island just like my Tioman trip last year but with much more to do and roads making the island more accessible for exploration. Food is cheap, locals are relatively friendly and willing to spare some tips to tourists in almost perfect english (except in Kuah - Main town). Booze prices are a dream come true as well as faqs and cigars. Avoid booking tours to Langkawi as it is usually overpriced. It is relatively easy to self plan the trip there as most almost everyone that can provide you what you need can speak english. Research well to get a rough idea what is the tour about and how much it would cost. If any of you need my help just contact me. I can provide you my research materials and lowest cost estimates for activities.

Well well well its been ages since the last post and I totally have no excuse for it. Yes i've been busy with a few things but not that busy to leave this blog forsaken. I don't really have much to say except that its only going to get more busy if i'm unlucky. Why? Well for the next 2 months, I will be working on my FYP fulltime, I really need to get into the swing of things and I reckon this 2 months will create just the right amount of momentum. My goal is to be able to start on my FYP report once school reopens after National Day. So i've just ended my summer class and I sould have more time dedicated to my FYP.

I've managed to squeeze out alot from the school holiday thus far. I'll be flying off to Langkawi tommorow and will only be back on the 7th. Hope the trip will rock! Incidentally Langkawi is my 2nd holiday trip, went to KL over the Vesak day long weekend about 2 weeks ago. Other than the 2 trips, watched a couple of movies:

1. Iron Man - 4.5/5
2. Harold and Kumar (Escape from Guantanamo Bay) - 4/5
3. Forbidden Kingdom - 3/5
4. Indianna Jones (Crystal Skull) - 3/5
5. The Chronicals of Narnia (Prince Caspian) - 3.5/5

and of course the long awaited jam out session at freeun's place on ps3's Rock Band yesterday. Really tiring but fun...right thigh aches from the drum paddle.

A special tribute to the Red Devils for winning both the EPL and the UCL. No regrets losing sleep watching both matches...

No pictures this this entry...will post the Langkawi pics when I return...signing out!

This song is just for you...

Tribute to you...

At approximately 3pm today I recieved an sms from an unknown number telling me that someone I knew has passed away. It took me a few moments to process the news. I told myself since its from an unknown number its a sick joke and every part of my being wished it was. I smsed the sender back asking who he/she is. Apparently my friend changed his phone number and I wasn't informed. That aside, my heart sank to the lowest. I refused to believe...turned on my computer and JX sent me an msn msg echoing the sad news. It was like a wake up call...countless messages followed from different friends, some of whom i've not spoken in years to. Something extraordinary was to emerge from this whole ordeal...

The news spread like wild fire and I even have an old classmate from Australia telling me about it. Somehow everyone is rallying behind this unfortunate incident and we were all talking as if time reversed backward to 1999, the last time most of us saw of each other before graduation. I have much to post but as a tribute to my one of my closest friends from my childhood, I shall dedicate this post to him and i'm sure many others out there will be a testament to his living memory.

I first knew Jordan back in Primary 3, almost 16 years ago. He was freeuns classmate and we got to know each other through freeuns neighbour who was in my class. Jordan was quite a popular kid with a robust character and good looks but we didn't really become close until Primary 5 when we were classmates. He had a major crush on my form teacher back then Mrs Jo which was funny but anyways we were tight and did everything together. We formed an exclusive group and we built a tree house at the school's backyard. Using an old palm tree laden with lots of dead leaves and branches, we had our "fortress". Great memories...we planned attack strategies and escape routes in the event that we got "attacked"...*sigh till today I still have that folder where we kept all our "top secret" documents. Not to forget how we explicitly blackmailed Gurneet for extra pocket $ because we stole "sensitive" documents from her. Its all in the folder. How we would always sneak up to your roof access at the top of your block! I was literally on top of the world and at 11 years old that was quite an adventure! The adrenalin rush!! How I would always have lunch at your place...your mum's spaghetti. You'd never fail to tell your mum I was coming over for that. Lastly how we fought over the last slot for the Penang trip in Primary 6. There was 1 more vacancy and 2 of us left...Haha "Staple Stella Panis" told us to draw lots and although I drew to go, she gave the chance to you! I was left behind and feeling bitter but It was just for awhile.

We weren't that close as the years progressed in SHSS but neither did we lose touch. Vietnam trip in 1998 saw us being drawn as roomies! But we mutually swapped so that freeuns won't have to bunk in with Keith. I also remembered how we sneaked out off the hotel in the middle of the night to go clubbing at 15yrs! Apocolypse was the name of the club...haha we were so out of place among the adults but yet there we were, a bottle of tiger beer in hand grooving to the scene! Things got blurry after we returned and we went seperate ways after graduation. No contact until I bumped into you 2 months ago at Cineleisure. Was rushing to get movie tickets so didn't really chat much...who knows that would be the last time I would have spoken to you and shook your hand. But I was really happy to see you, all cleaned up and neat compared to your rebellious ways in SHSS...I was really overcame with a sense of hope and peace, knowing that things worked out alright with you and then I realised that the reason we weren't so close back in SHSS was probably the new friends you made and hung out with. Who would have thought it all ended prematurely...the life spark and potential snuffed out. I regret not doing more when we met 2 month back...I regret not following up and getting your contact number before you left...and now I have to stare my regret in the form of an open casket...and I only hope that your family will be strong and that you're in a much better place looking at how you've brought old friends back together, rallying under the memories you gave us that touch our lives. Farewell my dear friend, you will be missed...

My dear friends reading this, this is as real as it gets. Life is there to be treasured and remembered, likewise so are other lives. Pls take care of yourselves and don't live in the shadow of regret.

So finally the exams are over! I can now breathe a'lil bit more easier before summer classes begins next Monday. This 3 month school holiday will be the period where I intend to complete the bulk of my FYP, so when school reopens next sem, i'll have more time for my studies and hopefully cap off my final sem in NTU with a more balanced life. Much to update since the last post. Big thank you to all my avid readers for patiently waiting.

This exam experience wasn't entirely the best but it wasn't the worse but its the 1st time I felt I could have done better if I had planned my strategies abit better. Sat for 4 papers in the span of 4 days (22nd - 25th). Didn't have enough time to complete all my papers, left blanks here and there amounting to almost 25% of the paper. So really hoping to scrape through this time, any set backs now will almost push my graduation back 1 more sem. This sem saw me pulling extra effort and hours preparing but the feeling after the 4 papers is pretty demoralising but no point harping over it. Going to enjoy my holidays with whatever time I can spare!

After my last paper last Friday arranged to meet with freeuns and Jamie to go for Shopping and Dinner. Sad to say I ended the day empty handed and i'm still unable to find what i'm looking for! Hope GSS comes sooner, i'm holding off all items on my wishlist till then! Langston dropped by to have dinner with us at Soup Spoon (Paragon). My 1st time there and I had the Bread Bowl with some funky sounding beef stew. Not too bad 3/5 stars but it was very filling. Apparently Metro was having private sales on that same day and Jamie went to meet Eileen. So freeuns and I had to entertain ourselves outside Din Tai Fung....(hahaha *winks). The whole bunch of us headed down to Ice Cold Beer (SMU) to chillout. Nice meeting you Edwin and small small world! Eileen's bf, Abriel used to be my soccer khaki back in the day so it was nice to be see him again after almost 8 years.

On Sat, met up again with Jamie and Cal for our long long awaited Pancake outing! We settled to have brunch because I had to go off for KTV at 2pm. We had pancakes and cakes for brunch at Cedele (Raffles SC). Yummy la!!! Best of all its all-day-breakfast means you can have it for dinner too!!! Enjoy the pics...


Blueberry Pancakes with Butter - Cal & I had this but mine came with a side of bacon


(L)Walnut Carrot Cheese Cake (R)Banana Merange


(L)2-Berry Muffin (R)Cherry Apple Pie


Jamie's Full Chocolate Pancakes

We were definately overloaded on sugar for brunch! Mind you we ordered on 3 seperate occasions because we just could not resists! So sinful! Unfortch I had to leave them to their shopping and run off to Teo Heng (Katong) for a KTV session with my poly mates. Wow new songs this month! Teo Heng never fails to surprise me with their english song selection. But the best is yet to come...


8 tickets to Mayday's Down to Earth concert 2008


Wah sit very far from the stage!


But i'm not complaining...


Strobe lights and pyrotechnics!


Finally they came closer much to the delight of those sitting at the back.

Yes! I attended my very 1st Mandarin Rock concert and its by none other than the famed Mayday or 五月天. It was totally an unexpected day. I did not even know they had a concert that night. Anyways the concert tickets were given to us for free by the management of Teo Heng and it would be a waste not to go. They gave us 4 tickets at 1st because only 4 of us were singing but asked for 4 more so we could ask the rest. Called rong mei+mich and mils+bf and asked if they were interested and they were...who wouldn't right?! It was quite an experience and the whole concert was highly entertaining with the visual effects and the interaction between the band and the fans. Pity i'm not into Mandarin songs haha and many of you might think the ticket was a waste on me and it probably is but *FOC leh!

DAMN IT!!! Chelsea won Man Utd 2-1...title decider will have to be postphoned to the next match. Will Newcastle do Man Utd any favours and upset a revived Chelsea or will the Hoodoo of West Ham continue its rampage on Man Utd? Any takers for watching the matches this weekend?

Anyway till next time...take care ya'll

What is true love?

As the title states, does anyone really know what true love is? Many times I have come across the "love" word being use in the slightest context. "I love this", "I love that" but what does it really mean? Heavy usage of the word love does take credibility away from it to the extent that its almost equivalent to "sorry". We apologize ever so frequent over every little thing that saying "sorry" is more of a reaction rather than an action. I'm not shooting my mouth off here because to me, 50% of the time when I apologize, I actually do not think twice about what responsibilities it brings. Its more for getting me off the hook at that instance. Likewise "love" seems more of a convenient expression in word for anything likable. How discouraging that thought is.

I remembered back in secondary school I sat for a literature exam and 1 particular question stumped me. It seemed like an open ended question, meaning any answer is acceptable as long as you are able to support your answer with examples and reasoning. This was highly uncommon especially for a secondary school standard exam. For those of you who used Catherine Lim's "Singapore Short Stories" as your school's literature syllabus, you will remember a story about 4 people, A couple and the guy's parents. The story takes us through the ups and downs of the couple's relationship but ends up a lost cause because the girl could not settle for a life living with her in-laws because the father was mentally ill and had only the wife to take care of him. The question asked, which character in that story displays true love? My conception of love back then was romantic love so I answer to my best ability had supported my claim that the guy displayed true love because he gave everything to the girl and he got dumped because of her inability to live with his parents and yet he did not make things difficult for her during the breakup. In my opinion I thought he was very self-sacrificing. WRONG! I got zero marks for that question and the right answer would be the guy's mother. The it this all too familiar phrase struck me: "In sickness and in health, do you take xxx to be your lawfully wedded xxx? Do you promise to love and cherish xxx till death to you part?" I believe nothing explains true love better. The mother character nursed and took care of her husband although the disease wrecked his mind and soul and left him a broken man who could not take care of himself.

I found this video on Youtube that perfectly represents true love and the promise made to love and cherish till the end. It really tugs at the heart strings so "tearjerker" alert for you weak at heart girls. It almost moved me to tears...almost but I've been called heartless before...eecks! So enjoy...just pretend its not an advert.



On a brighter note, I was fortunate to be invited to Jamie's 25th B'day party at Boiler Room on Saturday. It was fun and the gay stand-up comic was f-ing hilarious! Got everyone in stitches! Expect for the fact that I had a personal encounter with the gay stand-up comic everything that night was a blast and it was great to be reunited with the people from the past. Glad everyone is doing well and having fun together! Nursing this everlasting cold...so irritating to be sick when there is a party to attend and studying for the exams...hope LEMSIP MAX is good!

2L people - 1997 ~ 2008 (11 years)

B'day girl and I looking in opposite directions!

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Saw this interesting quiz thingy on milo's blog! Apparently I can charge $1,132/hr for my sexual services...hahaha Why the hell am I still studying?

A Response...

You told me not to say anything else and the silence that follows is more ear piercing that anything else, therefore I hope that you'll be reading this...I know you will, just as much as you'd expect me to post this.

I've been thinking up till now what you said. I admit I was harsh, I was angry and yet I had no right to tell you what you should do. I overstepped that boundary and would like to say "I'm sorry!" but it might be too late for that. You brought up things like punishment, unfairness and overwritten. These 3 words made me mince my words, it hurts to hear these words but more hurtful, is that you think that of me. I never meant to hurt you whenever we have talks like that. Every time I dread going through this talks with you, and I pray that you'll see my intentions but maybe god doesn't hear or I'm just doing it wrongly. I've never said the right things to make you smile but always the wrong things to make you cry. Sometimes I do get tired from all this but that one special moment outside JL's OCBC bank, where I made that promise to you and we did our little silly "Gou gou Finer" thingy still puts a subconscious smile on my face. Its the little things like this that keeps me going, making it worthwhile.

What I said earlier was meant to be between 2 friends, 1 telling the other "Hey! You know things ain't so great between us anymore, we got to put in a little be more effort to work things out" but it came out differently. Yes! I do feel taken for granted when I see an outing planned by your request only to end with you running off in a few hours. Lately "I've got to go off soon" seems to be the only consistent thing you say. Its not a big deal if we know about it before planning an outing. It seems that going out with us is like a chore and you need someone to ask you out last minute to rescue you from our company. I never questioned how you value our friendship but with tiny consistent acts like this I don't know what to think anymore, we all don't know what to think anymore. The final incident where you went MIA for 24hrs because you left your phone in your friend's car, what irks me the most is you made ZERO effort to get back in touch when you asked me to once again plan something. If you would have just called back the moment you got your phone that very night that would have meant something at least and yet you make it seem like a sin for me to question your valuation of us. For goodness sake your own sister is kept waiting!

Punishment? I'm just being honest with you. I thought we could tell each other anything? I'm not threatening to do anything but you took it as a personal attack. Unfairness? You compared yourself to others but why do that? This is now this is about you, nothing else matters. I wanted you to know what I'm feeling and I never compared your flaws against another person's virtues. Overwritten? I've never forgotten the nice things you've done but as friends why should we make judgment on each other based on weighing the pros and cons? How can as a friend, sit by and tell myself since the pros outweigh the cons, I'll not talk about it.

I still intend to keep my promise but its getting harder because I don't know if you think its worth it. Maybe I need a sign from you or even a little gesture to if you still need me to keep that promise, cos I know you get emotional talking about such things. I hope you get to read this and at the very least understand why it happened. Reply or not, it doesn't really matter. I 'll understand after going through this with me many times in the past, you'll get tired of it and just can't be bothered anymore. Like I said on MSN. My sincere wishes for you.

As I'm sitting here in front of my computer trying to gather my thoughts, I'm drawing a blank. The fact that I clocked just over an hour of sleep time yesterday is not doing me any favors. My brain has been working overtime recently due to tonnes of project and assignment deadlines to meet and with exams hovering around the corner, I can't help but feel edgy. Its true that as a student, this is part and parcel of live as it is now and I hear no end to the envious qualms from the working population of friends how they wish they could be in my shoes right now. I guess to a certain degree they are right but that brings me to assess my standing against theirs. I'm far from achieving the goals that money can get but I guess life is a little better now. All this "jibberish" while I'm still gathering my thoughts. Let me try again to organize them...its moments like this that got triggered by something. I'm probably too engrossed in my projects and assignments that I forget to "think" about stuff until it triggers off then a wave of memories, some random and some hard to forget, comes and engulfs me, like my brain sinking in its own cerebral fluids. You know how suppressed memories that suddenly just hits you hard, like a breakwater against the storm, weathering it down until your resolve is nothing more than a loose pebbled beach. Fragments of your soul frothing in the backwash, dislodging parts of it to be scattered elsewhere or gets dragged out to sink at the very bottom of the ocean. The constant reminder...destructive. What happens when there's nothing left of you? Numbness, constantly at one with it, no restriction or barrier...thats when everything becomes crystal clear! No more fresh sharp pains...just aches. Very soon time will destroy all and we will be lost entirely. I'm reaching there...very soon it I will just be a lost entity, reborn and recycled.

Phew...where did all that come from? Should consider writing novels as I find it easier to pour things out in the form of words rather than speech. On a lighter note, I'm having my annual chronic dry cough! Yay! This sucks big time and now isn't the best time for a recovery. Hope I'll just take a turn for the better!

Fingers and toes crossed for the Hong Kong trip confirmation. Damn hard work planning the itinerary. Take care all of you!

And so finally Thai Express got back to me via a phone call this evening. Apparently the branch manager of Paragon had the courtesy of making a personal phone call to apologise. Haha One Republic's - Apologize rang through my head. To sum up the conversation we had, I shall just list down the finer points of the phone call and it went something like this:

TE: Hi! Is that Mr Matthew Chan speaking?

ME: Errr...yes this is he speaking.

TE: Hi Mr Chan, this is XXX calling from Thai Express Paragon branch.

ME: Errr...ok.

TE: Is it convenient for you to speak now?

ME: Errr...yes it is. (I was at home doing my assignment)

TE: I would like to inform you that we have recieved your feedback and are very sorry that you had to go through such an experience.

ME: Errr...yeah it was quite horrible.

TE: We are also sorry to have taken over a week to get back to you due to the GM busy attending a funeral.

ME: Errr...ok.

TE: I would like you to know that the GM has already taken note of the incident and in future customers will be seated while waiting for the table to be ready.

ME: Oh?! Thats good!

TE: Yes, at the moment only the branch at Esplanade is able to serve customers requiring a bigger table but we will ensure all branches will adopt the right approach in handling future cases.

ME: Yes. Thank you for getting back to me.

TE: As such, we will like to invite you and your 10 guest for a free meal at any of the Thai Express branch at anytime. All you need is to call the Asst GM, he has already noted this down.

ME: Wow! Really? Thank You!

TE: Ok Matthew I will sms you the Asst GM's number so that you can make the arrangements with him. Thank You and have a nice weekend!

ME: Thank You Thai Express. I really appreciate it!

Okay, guess I ended up narrating the entire conversation. Haha credit to Cal for helping spice up the complain letter! Will sure include her in the meal. Oh and Milo too for his awesome spoof of a complain letter! Hmmm another 8 vacancies...well 1st 8 taggers will be invited!

Oh finally applied for the Citibank Clear card...whats all the hype? Thanks for the sabo freeuns! Hahaha the perks better be worth it!

So Thai Express promptly replied to my "hate" mail, so prompt I recieved the reply from them the very next day. Read on and you be the judge how I should be feeling regarding the reply.

______________________________________________________________

Dear Matthew,

We refer to your feedback to us on your dining experience at our Paragon outlet. We express regret learning of your experience with us dated 1st March.

Following up, we have at the same time forwarded your feedback to our Asst. General Manager and his team at Paragon for an immediate investigation. Thank you very much for giving us your valuable feedback. Till this end, we endeavour to provide you with an explanation on the matter soonest.

As requested, we are pleased to let you know that we have also updated your new mailing address into our system for all your future correspondences.

Yours Sincerely,

Stephenie Toh
Marketing Executive

______________________________________________________________

So far no reports on the followup action and i'm highly suspicious whether the reply was personally typed or was it just a template for complains. Anyway I can't be bothered about it.

Freeuns organized a KTV session yesterday and I helped him book it at Teoheng. Haha looks like he is catching on the KTV bug. I highly recommend Teoheng if you're more of an English song person. They keep their song database up-to-date with all songs and I believe that is what sets them apart from partyworld and K-box. Unfortch...Teoheng is at Katong and i'm at Pioneer...such long distance relationship...

I bet freeuns had fun but he left earlier so what can the rest of us do in boring ol Singapore? Watch movie lor! Headed down from Katong to Cineleisure and caught the 8.30pm movie for "Waterhorse". No spoilers but its mainly a fictious take on how the Loch Ness Mon'g'ster...I mean monster hoax actually came about. Its quite a feel good movie similar to E.T or Free Willy. So with time to kill before the movie started we had dinner at this BBQ chicken place at the basement of Cineleisure and its surprisingly quite affordable for the portion served. Food ain't too bad but its just chicken and very limited fish sets.

Movie ended, scb went out on another "date" and da jie went home so how about me? Meet Milo for supper lor!!! He drove down from Bishan and we went to NUS prata...saw the crowd and the lack of parking and decided to try out Pasir Panjang Food Centre...not much stalls opened there so we drove straight back. Ended up at Westcoast Mac...haha my 1st time there and 2nd time at westcoast park. Chatted for awhile while I sipped my 1st time order of a "latte"...not too bad but I think i'll stick to fraps next time.

Damn Man Utd are out of the FA Cup!!!...Everytime I wear their Jersey out on Match day they don't win...am I their "Ke Xing"?

Next up, HKG June 2008...will it happen after all this hype and planning? Guess will know in April.

For some strange reason, something snapped in me on the way home and I decided they ain't gonna get away that easily. So I drafted the following complain letter with the aid of Cal adding her own brand of spit fire quirkiness. What I had was hot but after being vet through by the complain queen herself, I now have RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS!!!

Read on...

______________________________________________________________

Recently on the 1st of March 2008, I decided to host my birthday dinner at your Paragon outlet as I am a Orange Card member. Expecting a large crowd, I enquired about making a reservation by calling that outlet but was told only walk-ins are accepted. That was fine so I walked-in at the Paragon outlet around 7pm requiring tables for 11 persons but was told they were unable to accommodate me at the moment until some of the existing customers had left.

I was told to wait unless I didn't mind having separate seats for my guest. This, to me, was unacceptable as I being a host, would want everyone to enjoy a splendid dinner at a reputable restaurant. I agreed to wait and even suggested I leave my contact number behind so that I could be informed once the tables are ready. However my request was denied by the staff, reason being that they could only adhere to the strict walk-in policy. To leave a contact number is the usual practice for many of the established and popular outlets like Swensen’s and Sushi Tei. However, your staff insisted that the only way for me and my guests to get a table is if at least 1 person waits in the queue. I tried compromising, suggesting some of my guests be allowed to occupy a table for 8 which was empty while we wait for the nearby table to vacant before joining tables but the staff promptly insisted that while it is possible for my guests to be seated at the table for 8, one of us needs to continue standing in the queue just to reserve the nearby table to be joined while it is still occupied.

I am seriously ridiculed by the lack of flexibility and judgment for the situation by the staff and even after consulting with another senior staff there was no concessions to be made in this instance. My concern is if your Orange Card members get to enjoy birthday perks by paying a $20 card fee, why are your outlets and staff incapable of providing the service that comes with the perks? Wherein does the benefit lie to be a card member then? I went to your restaurant expecting a joyous time with my friends but was extremely appalled and not to mention, disappointed at your service. It was an extremely embarrassing situation for me as I had to make alternative dinning plans while my guest bore witness to this fiasco.

Kindly update my mailing address as indicated in this form. I received the Thai Express birthday card at my old mailing address.

Orange Card no: xxxxxxxxxxxx

Regards
Matthew Chan

______________________________________________________________

Incidentally, Cal herself was penning poison at the same moment to another company that stepped on her tail. How weird is that?

Yes so it has been days but guess what I'm back with a vengeance! So nothing much since the last post except for the extremely fun 25th birthday celebration. Thanks to all who came and made it happen and to those that couldn't make it, you will be remembered. Nice way to conclude the recess week but now its back to reality and Friday's quiz shall absorb all my energy and time. Not to forget my FYP which is sitting there collecting dust!

Friday evening at a quick dinner at Asian Kitchen with Lionelay cos he ain't gonna make it the next day with the rest. :( So anyways its been ages since I last met him and we sorta just updated each other with the going-ons. Apparently Asian Kitchen don't accept Diners Card as I wanted to pay for dinner but before I could use my mastercard, Lionelay paid! Hahaha, well I got us drinks at Spinelli's, chilled for abit before I rushed home for a mahjong session with Shenny and Kenneth. Lost $14!!! Haven't won in ages but the sweet "couple" surprised me with a slice of cake at midnight just after "XI Feng"! Thanks guys!

Quick note, if you're intending to host a dinner at Thai Express Paragon, think twice if your numbers are more than 6 people. Had a pretty ridiculous episode at the particular outlet which sort of dampened the mood even though they knew I was hosting my birthday dinner there. I understand that they are unable to accommodate prompt service for large groups during peak hours but I would expect at least some flexibility from their customer service to make the wait less irritating then it already is. 1stly, they do not accept reservations. Fine! 2ndly, they are unwilling to call us when the tables are ready, sticking closely to their strictly walk-in only basis, meaning at least 1 person has to wait in line till the cows come home. FINE! 3rdly, they offered some of us to occupy an empty table while waiting for the other customers to finish so that they can join the tables but only if at least 1 person waits in line while the rest sits. And if you don't agree, they will have to give up the smaller empty tables to the person waiting behind you and you can happily wait till the right moment comes when just enough people sitting in the same area leaves so they can join the tables. Ok BYEBYE...Thai Express! Went across to My Mum's Cuisine.

Some pictures for your view pleasure...


Pre-dinner activity at Partyworld!


Dinner at My Mum's Cuisine @ Paragon


Zen presenting me a birthday card


Milo presenting me a huge gift box with a Man Utd Jersey in it


Last but not least, Miling's pressie. A bottle of France finest

Headed down to Dempsy Road to chill at Ben & Jerry's. Too bad freeuns had to leave for work related stuff. Too bad no group pic to show for our time at Ben & Jerry's. Like I said, in all my 25yrs and still have a group of close knit friends that I can call upon on any occasion, is the real gift and a blessing from God. So I hope as the years roll by I'll still be able to have these bunch of guys at my side and hopefully the group will grow by integrating new and like minded people. Yes this is my family away from home.

Decided to give Thai Express another shot the next day but this time with my family at Plaza Singapura outlet. No problem at all and received a bottle of wine for being a Orange card member celebrating my birthday there.

So Happy 25th Birthday Matt, you rock!