Shout

Spinning round and round

The whole sale process of my beloved Liverpool FC has been filled with loads and loads of spin in the media by bidders/potential new owners. All these have mean that throughout the last couple of months, Liverpool fans are often feeling super excited one day and brought crashing back down to earth the next. Argh... I am truly having a



Due diligence in choosing the right new owner is ultra important. Please god, let the right one take over... I worry about me health, otherwise.

Loso

Recently I went with some mates to the Thai Disco in Golden Mile. While there, I was 'introduced' to this rock and roll band, Loso. I must say that they are great!



Their hottest song - Som Sarn (with English subtitles)



Another fave - Pantip

Fever!

Pardon me if I ignore you, or can't find enthusisiasm for everything else...

How I miss Australia

Buy my hot-wood clematis,

Buy a frond o' fern

Gathered where the Erskine leaps

Down the road to Lorne

Buy my Christmas creeper

And I'll say where you were born!

West away from Melbourne dust holidays begin

They that mock at Paradise woo at Cora Lynn

Through the great South Otway gums sings the great South Main

Take the flower and turn the hour, and kiss your love again!"

Split Point Lighthouse, Aireys Inlet

Lorne

Erskine Falls

Twelve Apostles

Chapel Street, Melbourne

City of 可憐

I was in Tokyo for 5 days (from 19th to 23rd Apr) for an official trip. I stayed in the Shinjuku Prince Hotel, which was right within the hustle and bustle of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Says alot really when the Shinjuku train station is the busiest train station in the world. As the trip was confirmed at the very last hour, we made our own arrangements for travel to and flo our destinations, and meals as we didn't want to impose on our hosts (Japanese are well known in wanting to confirm arrangements way in advance due to their extremely busy schedules). That means jumping right into the hustle and bustle of the Tokyo citizens! After 5 days of rush, stress and suffocation, my colleague and I came to the conclusion that Tokyo people are super pitiful. The following are some of the points to prove that:

- Japanese men will go home late. Even if they get off work early, they will stay back near their office to play pachinko or go pub to drink... so that their wives will not think they are incompetent, thus not much work dished out to them from their bosses

- Even their entertainments are torturous! Pachinko arcades have to be the noisest places (I could not stand even 1 minute in them without going deaf). Also, their local drinking places are pathetically small and hardly anyone talk to one another when drinking (wah lau eh!)

- Seating spaces in restaurants/eateries are mostly so small that it almost induce claustrophobia in us (to think we as firemen are supposed to be immuned as we may need to work in confined spaces)

- An average working person will stay about 1 1/2 hour from office. And to think they mostly get home close to midnight and wake up at 5plus to get to work. No wonder theres so many of them dozing off in trains, even though theres hardly any room to breathe in the cabins! Also, explain their super low birth rate

- One is considered a failure if one is sacked/resign from a company. So, no matter what, many Japanese have to endure their bosses and working environment.

- Even though Tokyo is so advanced, there is still a shocking lack of escalators. I personally was ok with that but if one is like my colleague, who is still recovering from leg break, you can imagine the PAIN he went through.

- Ultimate: When we were trying to get across a road at a cross junction, we could not believe that we had to cross a "U" shaped overhead bridge that cuts across all the other 3 roads of the junction just to get to the other side (get the picture?) Wah! My colleague went from cursing to laughing non-stop...such was his flabbergastation. Hahahahha

So, they are really really pitiful...

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Unconditional

You must live. And you must live well. For only if you do, then I shall be able to live too.
If the almighty in heaven wants to have equilibrium, and for any given person to live in bliss there must be another heartbroken... then let me be heartbroken, so that you can live in bliss.

Sensitve Guy

When I was young, it was impressed upon me that "男子汉流血不流泪". Thus, for the longest time, except on the rarest of occasions, I have never allowed myself to be seen shedding tears in public.

Recently, I have been watching the korean drama, Chuno. And on one of the episodes, the ultra cool (and manly) lead character cried openly and unashamedly when he discovered that his love whom he yearned so much for so many years, is now married. This very open display of hurt touched another girl (who is secretly in love with the lead) so much that she also cried. She felt so touched because she never thought a man could be so emotional about love that he would cry so openly.

So, are SNAGs (sensitive new age guys) more desirable? Are 'hopeless' romantics extinct?

Duty

Today I am performing my 3rd duty in 10 days! No thanks to the umpteenth time I have forgotten to log in to the duty booking system to book my preferred slot. By the time I logged in, its left with the few lousy slots available. Today, being the eve of the command post exercise, was of course not the desired slot to book! Having done duties since my NS days (14 years ago) I have never gotten used to performing duties. Still hate them to the core. Lack of sleep, loads of responsibilities, away from family...these are the shits that comes with duties.

Hope to have a peaceful one tonight...Please...let there be no crazy people to call in at wee hours again :(

推奴

Am I a sucker for Korean dramas now? Hahaha...first I got addicted to Queen Seondok, now Chuno.

I think for me a serial is very likely to get me addicted to watching it if:

1. Its a swordfighting period drama

2. If theres heartwrenching love stuff

*Sigh*..I am just a big sucker for the heroes + suffering, love-hate shit...hahaha

Of 花郎, 上大等, 上將軍, 陛下, 神國........etc

Totally enjoyed "善德女王". Now that I've finished watching the whole serial, I am having withdrawal syndrome... haha. The policitical struggles, the battle of wits, the twists and turns, the 愛與無奈 ...all these brilliantly played out... are what kept me sacrificing a bit of my sleeptime everynight to 'chase' it. I am even falling in love with the songs. The below is one of them:

善德女王

I am watching this Korean period drama and am quite addicted to it now. I don't normally get addicted to TV serials nowadays...well, except for Louis Chia's titles or "Romance of the Three Kingdom" kind of serials. But since a friend of mine pointed me to this groovy online streaming/downloading website, I have got to know this serial that's been getting rave reviews. So, I've been slowly (each episode is 1 hr long) watching it every night. Sometimes, when the story line gets exciting, it means sacrificing a wee bit more of sleep too. I am trying very hard to resist the temptation and finish the whole show too fast though. Which is why I have only downloaded 3 episodes in advance with the intention to watch today, during my boring 24hr duty. Now I am regreting. Its getting really exciting and I should have downloaded more...

MMX: 10th Year of the New Millenium

10th year of the 21st Century; 1st year of the 2010 decade. Whatever way you look, it seems like this new year is a major new milestone... a cross over from the noughties.

I am certainly excited about the year ahead:

- SCDF is going full steam ahead with taking over the Marine Fire-fighting from MPA and I am going to be heavily involved. There may even be a chance that I be drafted into the unit in future.

- World Cup Finals in South Africa. 4 years is a long time to wait. Come on England!!!

- Back to Liverpool. I am going back! Still working out which month to go back there for a visit (and hopefully catch my beloved Reds live at Anfield again). It will be 2 years later than originally planned and this time I will make it happen!

Fingers crossed that it will be a great 2010 :)