Browsed by
Author: Zhiwei

(Monstrous) Creativity Unleashed!!

(Monstrous) Creativity Unleashed!!

Creativity.. Creativity, an overused word touted by our modern educationists and frequently debated on in the national newspapers. Our children, our youths, the 4 million population of the country, Singapore, lack this omni-important ingredient – creativity!

What do we have?! A nation of robots, mass-produced by our ISO 9000 certified schools, only capable of following the book and walking in a straight line. This probably accounts for the lack of graffiti on our pristinely clean walls. Ta dah! Yet another blatant example of lack of creativity. (Ooops, should I think of a synonym for “creativity”?? Nah.. I don’t think I’m capable of it, being a true blue product of this uncreative society).

Parents lament over this and send their children to expensive, inefficient (from the looks of it) creativity classes all over the island. They even go to the extent of enrolling their children in schools at the other end of Singapore, bravely enduring the torment of traffic jams. (Well, since Singaporeans are even willing to trot across the island in search of gourmet dishes, this is a small price to pay, in exchange for children who will ooze creativity after attending the classes.)

Ahhh… BUT!!! Little do they know that, the best kept secret to funneling the essence of “creativity” is actually in this website. I present to you, the zenith of creativity (contributed by the God of Links, I totally worship him!!!) – Mr. Picassohead. Once you port over to this amazing website and start putting lines on the blank screen, you will positively feel the elixir of creativity gush into you…..

Finally, here is my very own masterpiece (For people who do not know how to open links, please click on the linked word-masterpiece to see my drawing. Sharon Law (she has kindly reminded me to put her surname in, since Sharon is such a common name), this remark is specially added for YOU!!). A new artist of the Impressionist era has been born….. *fireworks*

Psst… I have had my eye on this Picasso drawing for ages… Since it’s going to be Christmas soon… GET THE HINT?! Nah.. You don’t have to give me the original piece, just a nice decent printed copy will do. GET THE 2ND HINT?!

T’is the season to be jolly… Tra la… la la la….

T’is the Season to be Jolly. La la la la….

T’is the Season to be Jolly. La la la la….

Ho ho ho! Yes! It will be Christmas in 8 days.

Well, I must admit that I’m not a very Christmassy person. I was when I was little because Christmas equated to presents, many many presents. Right now, Christmas means that I have to trudge through masses of people just to buy necessities. Orchard Road is a madhouse nowadays. It seems that the whole of Singapore is there. SIgh….

Still, it’s a day to be celebrated, else I wouldn’t have a paid non-working day… Arhh.. That is bliss…. not having to go to the office and pretend that I’m working. Some information for people who simply love their jobs : Pretending to be busy is much more torturous than being really busy. *shrug*

Since it’s the Christmas season anyway, here are 2 links, contributed by Duma (See! I have the decency to acknowledge friends.. unlike SOMEONE… that SOMEONE knows whom I’m referring to! *folds arms*)

1. Snowfight!!

Somehow, it reminds me of SouthPark… Kenny in particular. The agonising shrieks emitted by the cute little fellows are rather disturbing… That goes for the unnatural cackles at the end of the game.

2. Snow Globe

Watch the little ones fly in the air in agony as you shake the globe. *evil laugh*

Where have all the cobblers gone?

Where have all the cobblers gone?

 As usual, my shoes gave way at the most unexpected time. Well, 2 nails fell out and the rubber sole at the heel was flapping (a little), and the very last nail threatened to join his brothers on the floor. Somehow, the old men (the cobblers), located at every corner of the town centres, just had to pick this appropriate time to go on vacation….

The nearest and definite place I could think of, was the Mister Minit at Thomson Plaza. Carefully stepping on the dislocated rubber, I finally made my way to the booth tucked away in a corner. Heaving a sigh of relief, I handed my shoe gingerly to Mister Minit.

“How much does it cost and how long do I need to wait?”

“$13.80 and half an hour.”

*Eyes widened* “What?! You charge $13.80 for putting 2 nails into my shoe?! You have got to be kidding!!”

“No, I will be changing the whole rubber sole.”*flashed 2 rubber pieces with Mister Minit logos liberally peppered across*

“I don’t need new ones.”

“They are already worn out.”

“There is still one big chunk left!! Ok. Thanks for the information.”

Mister Minit shrugged nonchalantly and went on with his chores.

I limped into NTUC Fairprice (a supermarket chainstore) and bought a big bag of nails for ONLY $1.90. I managed to put 2 fat nails into my heel (narrowly missing my fat fingers). It seems that I have the makings of a cobbler. *Beam* *Pat on my back*

New Year’s Resolutions!!!

New Year’s Resolutions!!!

10th Dec 2003

Ok ok, it’s the time of the year again! A time to make resolutions, because it’s the trend, and not keep them. Here goes….

1. I will sleep early every night (latest by 12 midnight… Pumpkin hour…)

2. I will not watch so much television programmes.

3. I will catch up with all my friends.

4. I will not gain an kg from my gluttony.

5. I will invest my money wisely and not squander them away.

6. I will appear in the office on time.

Hmmm… hmm… I will add on as I think about it… Has anyone mentioned that New Year Resolutions are supposed to be made before 1st Jan? Does 1st Jan 2005 count?? *ponder*

Colours of Life!

Colours of Life!

Hmm.. The writing mechanism in my brain is rather stiff from long period of disuse. I’m too used to doing calculations and writing boring factual reports that I need some 10 minutes before I can gather my thoughts to write this entry. Maybe eating fish would help.

@@@—@@@—–

Back to the main topic – Colours of Life! Ta-Dah!! The latest brainchild of my friend, Jiahui, who’s into coaching. Her articles are revolving around Changes, Getting to know your true self and setting directions for your life.

In my opinion, which may be slightly biased, since she is one of my oldest friends after all, the blog provides interesting reading material. Of course, you probably won’t gain instant enlightenment, you know…. a 180 degrees change in your present lifestyle, but they may serve to direct your thoughts in the right area.

@@@—-@@@—

THERE! I have advertised your blog for you!! When will I be getting my dinner treat??!

Movie Producer in the Making!

Movie Producer in the Making!

I have sneezed so much in the past 2 days that I’m sure my nose will be falling off soon! In a totally miserable mood right now.

Still, I’m proud to say that I’m pretty productive today. Creating a short movie clip right now and I’m halfway through. Although my brother said that this was the easiest phase. Spending more than a few days collecting the relevant data and probably a few more full days to get it up and running. All for a 4 mins plus clip. Ack!

Peeling away the technical difficulties, (I’m sure it would be a breeze once I do it a few more times!), it’s a lot more painful to get people to give me one little photo and a short writeup. Well well, no air space for them then!

Undercurrents…

Undercurrents…

Have been waiting for the impact of the repercussion from Mon’s posting… All seem nice, quiet and peaceful at the moment… Because Duma has been recalled by the army to fulfill his manly duties – reservist!! (Info kindly volunteered by Kokwai.)

I expect to bear the full brunt of the impact when he’s let out. (Coupled with the frustration overspill from the reservist’s physical torture.) *Shivers in little shoes*

Dinner Topic for Today (backdated to 17th October, Friday)

Dinner Topic for Today (backdated to 17th October, Friday)

A group of my friends just paid a visit to Bangkok (They conveniently forgot to tell me about the trip! @#%#%!!!). The rest of us (who were left behind) could only enjoy the exotic tales from the horse’s mouth. (Literally, because the narrator’s nick is Du-ma aka Gambling Horse. *Dodges a tomato* Ok ok, forgive me for the tasteless pun. On with the story…)

We were having dinner at Kenny Rogers (Suntec City, to be precise) while Duma was regaling us with his Thai Massage tales.

“We had 2 sessions of massage. The first one was the real authentic one at the temple. Waa… The guy used a lot of strength! Shiok!!!”

“So you meant the 2nd one was not a “real”, “authentic” one? Was it by a woman?”

“Yalor. There was a row of massage houses near the hotel, so we just popped into one. Yep, woman.”

“Oh.. Was she caressing rather than massaging?”

“Something like that.”

“Waaa…. Did you have full service!?”

“OF COURSE NOT! We were in the same room as the gals!(4 of my friends went on this trip, 2 of them were girls.)”

“*gasp* If the girls weren’t in the room, you would have…..”

“Siao! I have good control ok!! (The rest of us were exchanging knowing looks.) I didn’t go….” (He re-enacted the scene from “When Harry met Sally”, Meg Ryan’s …. )

During this special moment, I could feel the attention of everyone in the restaurant focused on us. Unknown to us, the volume of our excited voices was increasing as the conversation progressed, climaxing at this point.

A group of young girls at the table next to us were giving us strange looks. (There were 5 of us at that table). When I meant, us, it was literally US, Pig and I, as our seats were in full frontal view of theirs. “They were all staring straight at ME!!!” he squealed. The Pig was rather concerned about his image, him being a professional and still single.

So, for the sake of his future, we decided to finish our dinner (in a hurry), and hunt for another place (Macs, as it’s usually rather noisy anyway.) to finish our Thai tales.

Latest resolution : No more visits to Kenny Rogers (Suntec City) for this whole year. Hopefully, time heals all humiliation.

Note : Through my magic crystal ball, I foresee a comment coming from pig/schwein/whatever-he-feels-like-calling-himself-at-that-spur-of-the-moment. He will not be able to pass over a temptation like that, staring at him in his face. We shall see. Or he might (with a strong willpower) control his emotions and abstain from commenting on this, one post, just to prove me wrong. DUH!

Grouses….. ^%#$%#$%#

Grouses….. ^%#$%#$%#

I simply cannot understand :

1. How a black and white document with less than 20 words can be translated into a 2.5MB file!!!

2. Why somebody would attach 2 stupid identical 2.5MB file to an email!

My Lotus notes has been running for the past 45 mins, trying to open this email and sending it out!

^%#$%#$%@

The only silver lining is – I have something to blog about in my boring life. Hmpf!

My Son is a Gangster! Ha Dah!

My Son is a Gangster! Ha Dah!

The air was heavy with the smell of perspiration and stale odour of cigarette smoke. Clusters of people were congregated in the little Kopitiam. A Malay song, from a beaten radio, blared above the volume of the customers’ idle chatter.

In a little corner of the Kopitiam, a middle-aged man was recounting his son’s exploits with relish.

“When my son was in kindergarten arh, he asked me to give him money to buy sweets. So I told him, “Daddy is very poor, no money lar.” Then you know what he did?”

Prompted by his question, I replied (with a typical and standard answer), wearing a look of intense interest on my face, “No, what did he do?”

“Wa…. He went to the school the next day and asked his classmate to give him money!”

*Gasp* “Isn’t that extortion!?”

“Yalor! He told his classmate to give him money, or else he will beat him up!!!”

“Did his classmate hand his money over?”

“Yeah! He did! And he came home and gave me the money and said, “Papa, papa! You said you have no money. I give you money!”

“Then what did you do? Did you scold him?”

“Aiya. How can I have the heart to scold him? He didn’t extort money for himself leh. He did it for me! So smart! He’s thinking for me.” He chuckled happily, reliving the scene all over again.

“Oh…. Erm… “ Laughed uneasily. “Your son is…. So con..si..de…rate.”

Just to keep accounts straight. This middle-aged man is a manager with high earning power and he owns a 2l car and a private apartment. I can’t help but wonder, how many of these little monsters will be churned out in this century, by the senseless indulgence of parents.