Lousy Xmas Eve Dinner

Met up with 2 'irritating' friends of mine for Xmas Steamboat Dinner last evening @ Clementi, Sunset Way to be exact. We all agree that it sounds kind of weird to be having steamboat for Xmas but who cares since we all enjoy steamboat-ing.

We choose this place because we want to be away from the mad crowds in town. 'Older' folks like us prefer somewhere quieter and less havoc :) Based on a colleague's good review of the place, I suggested giving it a try. At the end of the dinner, I must say I've made a wrong recommendation, and its a pretty bad one :(

We had a reservation @ 7pm but we arrived around 715pm. The table's still there for us, in front of the ventilating fan outside in the alfresco area. Great! At least they took note of my request during my reservation call. The place is about 80% occupied as we arrived and were seated promptly.

They offered 4 choices of soup bases; Chicken, Tom Yum, Ma La & Seafood (basically seaweed soup) from which we are supposed to select 2. My 2 'irritating' friends made their way inside the premises to get the ingredients but they took nearly 10mins to come back with 2 barely full plates of veges and some meat. From experience, they're not those who would take so little, not especially on the first trip. Anyway, as they come back with the food items, I proceeded inside to grab more stuffs.

The first thing that greeted me as I stepped in were no sumptuous spread like what you'd see in a typical steamboat buffet-line but EMPTY trays lying there on the line!! "Ok", I tell myself... "they needed time to refill due to the crowd tonight..."

Making my way around the line, I saw a huge tray of neatly cut-up chicken-looking meat which I presumed was turkey. I wasn't firmed on this until I saw a BADLY HAND-WRITTEN label beside the tray that says "Turkey". Turning to my right, I saw a NEAR EMPTY vegetable, meatballs and non-marinated meat section! This is terrible!! Looking to my left now, there is this lady rolling up some sushi but instead of cutting them up when it was rolled up, she placed the un-cut, rolled-up sushi to one side and proceeded to roll the next one.

Moving further down the line, there stands yet another lady, 'fishing' some tempura out from the container with the mix and dipping it into the deep fryer. Next to her were some 3 trays which were filled only with crispy batter, NO tempura of any sort at all. Turning to my right once more, I finally caught sight of something decent, a pretty filled BBQ meat section. However, my relief was to be shortlived as again I spotted NEAR EMPTY TRAYS in the cooked-food section.

Making a left turn at the end of the line, there lies the dessert section which looks adequately filled for the moment but I was seriously doubting its presence later on in the evening as most of the patrons would have been done with the 'main course' and am proceeding with 'desserts'. The seafood section, somehow, is right next to the dessert section. I found this arrangement to be a little weird but am unable to pin-point the weird-ness. Anyway, as usual, there were barely any seafood left in the trays there, only ice....

No doubt we were able to fill ourselves up last evening, but the sight of 'emptiness' seriously TURNED US OFF big time! It seems to us that everything is empty most of the time. Are you under-staffed that you have delays topping up the food? Or are you simply trying to 'save cost' by putting out lesser food? Either way, they've just lost 3 potential repeat customers.

Oh, I forgot to mention that they do BBQ the meat from the BBQ section for patrons. However, it takes a damn long time to arrive. Our's were picked and handed over to them for queueing when my 2 'irritating' friends first went inside. The items arrived only 45mins later...

This terrible place, is Fortune Cuisine @ Sunset Way..... Patronise @ your own peril. Don't say I didn't warn you....

Irritating Passengers on Public Transport

When had you last taken a ride on our 'infamously' slow and packed-like-sardines public transport such as the bus or MRT? Well, for non-drivers like me, I had to face the 'crap' daily... and its more often than not, pretty much bearable (perhaps used to it), but then again, sometimes you'd just be so lucky and ran into some pretty inconsiderate or even irritating passengers to help make your ride even more miserable (if its not already bad enough).... I recently encountered 2 incidents which I could not resist but need to rant here!

The other day I boarded SMRT963 home from the AYE after work, intending to change to SMRT67 along the way as the former doesn't pass by my place. Just one stop after I've boarded, up came this long-haired uncle wearing tattered berms which looks like had been unprofessionally cut off at the knees to make a pair of berms from an orginal pair of jeans.... This uncouth looking guy seemed like a labourer kinda worker which explains the sourish smell emitted from him, smelt heavily of cigarette smoke. As the bus was packed to the brim, he stood somewhere behind where I was seated and started clanging against the metal overhead grap-poles using a coin (I presumed). Then as the bus reached a popular stop, many alighted and he came to sit next to where I was seated BUT across the aisle (thankfully). Immediately, he propped his knees against the back of the seat in front of him, whipped out his HP and blast the hokkien songs away sooooo loud that I can hear pretty clearly the melody even though I'm using an in-ear earphones!!

Knowing that such people sometimes do appear from time to time, I tried to ignore him. But I really do pity the lady seated right beside him for she had to endure the smell and the constantly repeating song.....

I encountered another incident on my way back from town earlier this evening.. As usual, the bus was packed like hell by the time it pulled into the Dhoby Ghaut bus stop... the front of the bus had already been packed until the passengers where standing on the steps! And when the doors behind had opened in anticipation for others to alight, this group of teenagers which I presumed were no more than 16, boarded from these 2 doors!! Not that I've a problem with them not paying for their rides... but I'm more pissed off with the din created by that group of pent-up teenagers with nowhere to release their energy.... They were standing near the exit, blocking everyone from moving further back to the rear of the bus, talking and laughing out loudly, spewing vulgarities from their foul-mouth like nobody's business! Damn it... I really felt like telling them off there and then... but then again, I'm only on the bus for the next 30mins, might as well just forget it?

Sometimes, I really do wonder what is today's world coming to?

War Against Roaches

A war was raging 10mins ago between Uncle Law and 4 roaches, 1 big, 3 small.....

I had just finished scooping my glucolin powder into the cup for my drink when I turned around and saw a BIG roach on the floor metres from me! My first reaction was that : "I must kill it!!!" However, the problem is that the stupid roach is in the path between me and my weapon of choice, Baygons. I carefully skirted around it and managed to reach for my weapon while it remain motionless, probably unsure of my next move....

i readied my index finger on the trigger, aimed and fired away! It ran, I missed... I fired again, strike! It continue running, eventually jumping into the hole leading to the drainage... Damn!! I've lost it!! I fired plenty of gas into the 'chamber' hoping to kill it inside but what happened next shocked me quite abit. Less than 1min after firing 'into the hole', out came 3 baby roaches looking dazed and probably dying soon. I helped them on their way to heaven. :)

The big one escaped. Lucky bastard.......

Letter to my BENEFACTOR

Dear Ms Kold,

Thanks for your "guidence", "help" and "mentoring" over the past 2yrs I was under your "care" where I've had enjoyed countless invaluable lessons.

I especially enjoyed how you :
1. sent emails without clear & concise instructions, resulting in me having to re-clarify.
2. sent emails without proper punctuation, grammar or spelling, wasting much time for both parties.
3. laugh heartily whenever I go to you with a problem which I was not able to solve.
4. never offered any advise besides sarcasm when approached for your views on matters.
5. never seemed to give others the basic respect by looking at them while they are talking to you.
6. does not share the "big picture" with the team, resulting in plenty of doubts amongst us.
7. does not enjoyed being questioned about the rationale of doing certain tasks assigned to me.
8. does not provide us due guidance and only know how to lay blame when things screws up.
9. scolds us via email and CC your boss whenever Pt. 8 happens.
10. implement scripts, updates, etc on the domain without informing the team, resulting in confusion when users feedback about errors arising from these actions.
11. did not attempt to share information with the team when you discover something is wrong with the servers under our team.
12. does not shield us and instead "stab" us in the back to your boss(es).
13. seemed to have a natural flair for getting your subordinates who weren't up to your standards to "voluntarily" resign.
14. embrace double-standards when dealing with users, especially those who ranked above you. for the rest of us, you treat us like nobody.
15. use your position to influence your BEST FRIEND the Snr Mgr to implement systems or policies which may be stupid, useless and most imptly, wastes time.

The list of accolades could go forever but I shan't bore you with too much. I'm just feeling kind of sad that I'm going to leave your team for IT Security. I'm not too sure if I can still keep up with my "fighting" nature once I'm over there. One thing I know for sure which makes me extremely sad, whoever I'd be reporting to over there, he/she ain't going to follow the above 15 pts I've listed.

Well, I guess I'd not go on much further as I wouldn't want tears to well up in my eyes, it'd be unglammed...

Once again, THANKS for your invaluable teachings over the past 2yrs. I shall miss working with you.



Yours Sincerely,
Uncle Law


PS : Sorry to have replaced your actual surname, Koh with Kold. Kold is a nickname we've given you due to the "Cold" outlook you've portraited.

Need to do until like this meh?

Over the wkend, I realised that one of my friend had gone somewhere which I'd be going soon. But yet when I asked her where she's going some time ago, she say its a secret.... When I found out about this thing, I wondered : "go there, jus say lor.... need to hide until like this meh?" Scared I tailed you? Scared I tell the entire world?

Come on lah, you've just gotten yourself into pretty much negative light in my eyes....

Ugly Cinema Goers

Today's post is about the typical ugly side of Cinema goers according to a report by the Straits Times. There is a wall of text below. Carry on at your own peril....

*Extracted from the 3rd Sept STi*
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TEN minutes. That's all the cleaning brigade has as cinemagoers walk out.

In that time, before the next screening, scattered popcorn kernels and paper cups - and even spilt drinks - have to be cleaned up.

Even condoms have been left behind.

The Straits Times staked out a popular cinema chain's complexes in Orchard Road and Bugis one Saturday night, and saw the spills amid the thrills.

Engineer Foo Mee Lin had just caught the film Mad About English and wasn't too crazy about the idea of taking her trash out with her. The 34-year-old said there were cinema cleaners who swooped in once the lights came up.

'It's their job and they're expected to do it,' she said.

The cleaners did move in - fast.

Mr James Tan, 54, a cleaning supervisor at the cinema for the past four months, explained the need for a speedy mop-up: The cleaners have only 10 minutes before the commercials kick in for the next show.

It is especially tough for them on Saturday nights, when it is full-house for most screenings. Resources are strained.

Small cinema halls get two cleaners, and the bigger ones have four.

Mr Tan drew a link between the kind of movies and the mess left behind. He said: 'The arthouse film crowd don't really make a mess.'

But it is a different story for blockbusters and movies that appeal to teens and young children, he said.

Mr Mohd Isa, 35, a supervisor at the cinema's complex in Bugis, backed Mr Tan's observations. When asked to name recent movies that yielded the most mess, he said without hesitation: 'Iron Man, The Dark Knight and Kung Fu Panda.'

These are movies more popular with the younger set - the ones who make life the hardest for people like Mr Tan and MrMohd Isa.

Five minutes before the closing credits rolled on the thrill-spiller film Death Race, MrTan and his crew were already waiting outside the cinema hall, armed with brooms and giant red buckets.

As the lights came up, The Straits Times saw the cinema hall dotted with empty shells of popcorn cartons.

The floor had not been spared either - two rows of seats were covered with kernels. An empty cup of Coke had been turned on its side, and its sticky trail of liquid stretched across five rows.

Mr Tan and his crew quickly mopped up the mess. He said that teenagers were the biggest culprits.

'Sometimes when I do a check while a movie is going on, I see them throwing popcorn at one another. They don't realise how difficult it is for those of us who have to pick up after them.'

Mr Tan said that caramel popcorn is a particularly annoying snack for cleaners. The sticky kernels are difficult to pry off the carpet and make cleaning more time-consuming.

He recalled a school-organised screening which left the cinema really messy.

'What's worse was that the teachers didn't do anything to stop the kids from throwing popcorn around!' he said, emptying his fourth dustpan of popcorn into a red pail.

That night's screening saw Mr Tan's four-man crew haul out buckets laden with empty cartons, drink cups, popcorn and potato chip remnants, and more.

Despite signs clearly indicating that food other than that bought from the cinema's food kiosks is not allowed in, moviegoers have not been deterred from 'smuggling in' fast-food meals such as burgers.

Ushers said it is difficult to catch these offenders because they are not allowed to search the bags of customers.

Cinemagoers The Straits Times spoke to said that the problem lies with the fact that cinema halls here do not have dustbins for people to dispose of their trash, which is why the option of leaving their rubbish behind is more convenient.

Mr Kay Chan, 34, who works in marketing, believes Singapore cinemas should emulate their American counterparts. He said: 'There, the ushers will carry in large bins and start shouting for people to throw their trash as they exit. We should do that here.'

Technician Mohamad Isa, 31, suggested putting up signs to tell people to take their trash out with them. He feels his suggestion will work. 'It works on the MRT because Singaporeans are generally quite obedient.' He carried his empty popcorn cartons out with him.

An American couple, who declined to be named, said that a year of living in Singapore had cultivated in them the local habit of not clearing their own trash. With higher ticket prices now, they added, having someone pick up after them should be 'part of the service'.

The cleaning supervisors said they occasionally find 'interesting' items left behind.

Mr Mohd Isa has had to sweep up condoms, presumably left behind by less-than-discreet couples in the back rows of the darkened cinema.

Mr Tan said he has come across a pair of shorts and the smelly insoles of someone's shoes.

He said: 'It's very unpleasant. Just because they're paying customers, they think they can do whatever they like.'

But Mr Tan is hopeful. He said: 'Good values need to be instilled from young. That way, people will behave with consideration and respect in any circumstance.'

Clutching his broom and dustpan, he then made his exit, stage right. Till the lights come on again.

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Damn irritating, right? Ok, I admit I do usually leave my trash in the theatre for them to clean up. BUT.... my trash is usually limited to only UPRIGHT drink containers & pop-corn packs. Can you imagine? Even condoms are found in there! Wonder how the couple is able to carry out the act without generating 'extra' noise or to get detected.

I hate it when :

• the persons around me takes up more then his/her fair share of space
• the persons around me keep talking to his/her companion
• the phone rings during the show (I sometimes wished they can install jammers in the theatres)
• eat/drink, making lotsa noise in the process
• sit very upright, thus blocking those behind (me)
• slouch on the seat and prop both knees against the backing of my seat
  
• keep rocking the seat back and forth
• keep walking in and out of the seats be it my row or the row in front of me

Am I very mean? I doubt so because I believe the above are reasonable requests such that everybody can enjoy the show. Be considerate for others, not be self-centred!

Foreign Talents

They are everywhere...

Before I go further, let me clarify that I'm not against them working here IF they :
1. are more considerate and sensitive to our culture
2. are able to speak some decent English
3. do not create trouble
4. do not take any public place like their own home and do all kinda stupid things
5. genuinely am better than local talents

I've seen my fair share of FTs thinking they're high and mighty simply because our gahmen welcome them with open arms (later, I shall post a quote from MM Lee which pwned them all). There had been numerous incidents of them leaning on the grab-pole in the MRT during peak hours, causing other passengers having virtually nothing or little of the pole to reach out for balance. Another classic case is that of them pretending to be asleep/reading-papers/etc instead of giving up their seats to others who needed it more. Fair enough, many Sgreans are guilty of this, but it seemed that most of those I encountered are FTs (perhaps I'm 'lucky' to keep running into them). Other case which I personally hated is that some of them (typically Curryland Folks) carries a backpack to work, which I sometimes do too. However, in the crowded MRT, at least I would remove it from my shoulders and placed it on the ground between my legs so that I do not hit others with it when I turn or if the train jerks. These particular group of FTs simple love to fill up the backpack and carry it on both shoulders!! Imagine the impact as they move or turn, how many innocent passengers would be impacted?

I'm sure everyone had by now come across 1001 FTs in the eateries all over the island. Noticed that some of them can barely speak a word of English, yet they get hired to take orders!!! OMG!! If its some coffeeshop we're talking about, fair enough. But imagine you go to places such as NYDC and you had to place your order in Mandarin?!!!?? What if you cant speak the language which they can understand? This situation never fails to turns me off each time I encounter it. If you ask me, I think "if you wish to work in a country, you jolly well be able to communicate in their dominate language fairly efficiently!". Those from the Motherland cant speak English, those from Curryland can, but with a very very heavy curry smell that makes you cant understand the words they are trying to say while those ah-nehs dont know how to speak English but only know how to keep looking at you and grin away....

We have FTs in virtually every single industry and sector. Most of them are here because they cost the employer lesser in terms of salary and perks to hire. There had been a few recent cases of murder, suicides, scams all by them. But then again, they come here with virtually nothing to lose and everything to gain, as such, some of them try tricks and patterns to fulfill their dreams quick. If they resort to legal means, ok. Unfortunately, some chose the dark side, preying on the elderly, children and the defenceless (no wonder the crime rate has gone up). This is most shameful! I was listening to the Morning Express this morning on my way to the office when Glenn suggested to have such offenders given the death penalty. I second his idea! In fact, perhaps the death penalty should be meted by means of stoning, not hanging. :p

If you go to a foreign country be it to work or visit, surely you wouldnt display your bad habits in front of everyone because it shows alot about you and your upbringing. It seemed that some of our dear FTs arent aware or even ashamed at all. Some typical behaviour includes placing their bare feet on the seats, digging their nose and flicking it (whatever from their nose) into the air, spitting anywhere they like. I know that Sgreans are guilty of these actions too, however, I dare vouch that they are the minority, thanks to those past campaigns run by the gahmen.

They come here to work, to seek a living. In another word, to 'snatch' the ricebowl from Sgreans. The way I look at this is that 'If you are really that good, I'd gladly let you take over. However, if you're here just to smoke your way out, then please get lost!'. I've come across many of these head-shaking FTs in my course of work whereby during Pre-Sales, everything we request also can deliver. Once the deal is signed, things started to get delayed, then when you 'banged table' and call for a project review, they will tell you all kinds of excuses and say this one cannot, that one is complicated. If you insist on it, need to add on the cost. Basket!! How come during pre-sales you dont tell me all these, post-sales then make so much noise? If you cant deliver, you jolly well say so in the beginning, dont waste everyone's time!

This morning, I was reading the STD (Straits Times Digital, not sex disease) where our dear MM Lee was talking about the impact of the economy downturn and how the gahmen pledges to help us all (by raising GST again?).

He said : work permit holders will 'take the brunt of the retrenchments, saving many Singaporeans their jobs'.

These are some of the best words I've heard from him in years....

Body Combat - Part 1

Tues & Sat are my usual gym days. Mon, Wed, Fri & Sun are the other possible days. I typically hit the gym for BC thrice, sometimes twice, sometimes quadruple times. Do i sound like i got no life? If you asked me, gym-ing had already become part of my lifestyle. During the early days of my signup (thanks to MF aka fwenly gym-buddy), I go 3times to maximise the $ paid. But now, its more like "if I don't go, I'd feel weird" kinda mentality. I'm addicted I guess...

Anyway, if I hit the gym, I'd definitely be doing BC, otherwise I wont even be there in the first place. I absolutely loved the Tues class because of the instructor who is very dynamic, motivating and never fails to inject fun into the class. Of course, her "Fans" played a big part too in injecting life and fun into the class la.

The thing I hate about a crowded class is the lack of space... not that I needed plenty of space but at least let me be able to do my moves without having to worry about hitting anyone around me. I'd consider my day suay if I happened to stand near a newbie. Call me evil if you wish but you know la, these newbies cant follow the moves, so when the class moves forward, they stand there and if you are behind one such person, you must zam brake in time so that you dun bang into them!! arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! The other type of ppls I dislike are those with very excessive (aka "Extra") motions. Eg. ppls shuffle 4steps forward at most is 1-2m but there's this clown who does 5m!! He can really shuffle!! I once saw him shuffle all over the place from the back to the front, from the left mirror to the right glass panes!!! OMG!!! We nicknamed him "Shuffle-mania". :p

Uncle Thim suggested we go for the Instructor Course during its next run. I'm keen to try for fun but doubt I'd be able to go up the stage and conduct a full class on my own even if I managed to pass and obtain the cert to teach in PF. Its very intimidating I feel, especially since I dislike public speaking. Do you believe it if I tell you I'd feel nervous even if I'm presenting to my dept folks? I guess being the participant is still the best!

ho seh liao....

now lim bei oso into blogging... wan to try try see see. 1st time play, dunno wat to type, if u cant understand my lingo or words, too bad :p

Let me do a little intro of myself...

1. My frenly gym-buddy likes to call me Uncle Law even though i not uncle at all. but kana called until even not uncle oso uncle liao.
2. I work in some top damn secret place where u cant use camera fone & oso if u know too much, u will die type of place. so secretive until i oso dun dare to know.
3. My main source of income is from being a postmaster + bugs/worm catcher.
4. I like to lim kopi, pah combat, tart kiu, gong jiao wei & sng dian nao.

this morning on the way to work, read in the papers that Tao Li (dunno is Tao Zhe sister or wat) is in the finals of the olympiak swimming. if she win the medal, i dunno ish wanna be happy or sad. medal for SG should be happy lah, but she's ah tiong leh! where's the pride? imagine your sibling cheat in the exams and score top marks, would u be proud? at least i know i wouldnt!

jus now come home that time, walk past the open field opposite the mrt and saw got getai leh... but never go near to kpo la. dunno when else will have hor... if anyone out there knows where got good one, pls let me know ok?

thank you many many....