ROAD TRIP

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Day 2 in M-land

We woke up fresh and recharged. though the matter( refer to day 1 in M-land) still sticked in our head. we agreed to head to S-Land embassy 1st. did i mention in the previous post that there's something weird in their train design?

well, basically, when we first entered the station, we saw everyone queueing up in the centre among those doors to the train. i was thinking, oh come'on, there's other doors which you can enter the train. * laughing in my heart* little that i knew the train that arrived was shorter than the station could accomodate. it's like there's 8 doors on each side of the station, but the train itself has only 3 doors. OMG!!! we gotta rushed in else we would missed the train in front of our eyes.. and we managed to squeeze in. the one you saw left top in the pix above was taken in the monorail. it's more realistic.

bad news hit us when we arrived at S-land embassy. we were told by the security guard that the embassy is opened from Mon - FRi, 0900hrs to 1700hrs. huh? shouldn't it be opened everyday? i was cursing and swearing,:

qiang: " WHAT!!! shouldn't it be open everyday?

lip: "S-landers will run into problems on mondays to fridays and from 9 in the f**king morning to 5 in the afternoon?!?"

qiang: " Why like that?!?! And they gotten a M-landian to be a security guard? god knows what happen if there's riot here. *Pui!* and look!! Bushland embassy opposite is OPEN on a saturday ."

Well, nothing can cheer us up now. we could be listed as illegal immigrants. and we longed heard stories about S-landers got into troubles regarding the same issue. Well, we just have one more day to enjoy ourself.

Went to Sunway Lagoon. you gotta take a train down and switched to a bus to reach there. i was amazed by the bus driver and M-landians when the bus stopped to pick up passengers or they alight from the bus systemmatically. 'cos i don't see any bus-stops. i manage to solve to mystery. but i forgot to take picture of it. well, bascially there's a signboard nailed in on a lamppost or a wooden pole; with a bus symbol/ picture on it. 1st thing to do when we reached the enormous mall was to find a proper place to eat. which we all decided settle it over at A&W. whahah~ and we got a prize from there...

it wasn't that fun at all. though we wanted so much to try going near the man-made waves. but only with a body-surfbroad( those were the rules..duh~) We got changed, readied to rent the board when the guy told us the waves will stopped in the next 12 mins... huh? i guess it's juz bad luck. gotten the floats instead and went on the lazy pool ride around the whole lagoon. it was a misfortune for Lip to lose his Oakley shades we took the slides. And it was his misfortunate again~ in the bathroom when he didn't picked up the sony digital camera + battery + the cables, bascially everything intact in a sony bag. yesh.. the camera can easily compensate his shades..

Aww~! lip, why didn't you...

we were quite pissed while waiting for the girls. well, it's not the girls who pissed us off. it's the waves~! people were surfing in the man-made waves again....Argh~!

another unlucky day in M-land ...* did i brought pork in?*

to be continue...

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swimming pool

went to Madeline's(i'm not sure if her name was spelled correctly) mini house party last friday with Dickson. that's her in white. boy~ her place wasn't that near to clementi. we gotta walked a few distances before we reached there. but her place wasn't that cramped. i mean most newer condos nowadays are like squeezing the cement juice out from the each block. there's hardly any gaps between each block. hers was fine.. airy , windy. and a nice pool to go with. not to forget a jaccuzi on it's own by the pool side. most condos have these facilities i guess.

Only to find out that we (me and mad) were 'colleagues' (for a while) working under the same umbrella of mediacorp. for a while.

Pill? Patch? Pregnant?

today, i witnessed a tele-conversation by one of my colleagues. it's like a negotiation between 2 mafias. the story goes like this, apparently one was not "very happy" when his ad came out on the papers. to many, it just looked like any other same classified ads. but this guy just won't accept it. his reasoning was that the characters on the 1st line was not nice.( duh~ it's justify by the machine and the 1st 3 words were bold.) and he wants a full refund. well, the ad has already appeared in the papers. so if there's nothing wrong with the ad, (which it doesn't by professional eyes), and we refund him. he got his ad advertise for free; which is ridiculous.

and this man make a big fuss over the the issue.. and insisted on the refund. tsk, i can't understand why he can have a 1/2 hour or more worth of conversation on his handphone and claimed he's not free. he probably didn't know that he had incurred a bill of the conversation that the amount is greater than the refund.

lastly, everything is kinda settled for his ad. but he's still not happy when the refund took about 2 weeks to take effect. he went, " whaypayment by credit card takes a day and refund takes 2 weeks" duh~, it's the same everywhere in s'pore when you got a refund. you jolly well know that you won't get it so soon.

==============================================================

qoute from 20 Nov 2003, TODAY's paper :

Forget the Pill, use the patch - by Tan Hui Leng
huileng@newstoday.com.sg

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Evra, the paste-on birth control for women, is said to be more effective than condoms. Imagine a little plaster that could help you practise birth control.

That is exactly what has been promised by a new contraceptive to hit Singapore called Evra.

The 20 sq cm beige colour patch, voted one of the "Coolest inventions of 2002" by Time Magazine, is pasted on a woman's body, releasing hormones through the skin into the bloodstream. The hormones used are in the same family as those found in contraceptive pills.

"Because the patch is pasted onto the body, it's unlike contraceptive pills that you have to remember to take everyday," said Dr Lien Lian Sze, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital.Available only by prescription, one Evra patch is worn for one week at a time and changed on the same day of the following week for three consecutive weeks, with the fourth week being patch-free.In Singapore, oral contraceptives are the second most popular method of birth control, with 16 per cent of the population using them. Condom usage is still the preferred method at 22 per cent, according to the 1997 National Family Planning and Population Survey.

But the Evra patch outperforms the condom, with a 99 per cent effectiveness rate (comparable to oral contraceptives and sterilisation) compared to 90 per cent for the condom.

The president of the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Singapore, Dr Lee Keen Whye, added that Evra is particularly useful on travels as there is no need to synchronise the time to take contraceptive pills. Because the Evra patch is self-administered, it can be removed anytime although it would stay in place even if users bathe or swim. It is also non-intrusive, painless and discreet under clothing. Users can choose to stick Evra on their buttocks, abdomen, upper torso, or upper outer arm.

Using Evra also means that sensitivity is not lost during sex, a complaint of some condom users, said Dr Lee.

Available from general practitioners, obstetricians and gynaecologists, Evra retails at $30 for a pack of three patches, comparable to one month's supply of higher-end contraceptive pills.

Possible side effects are similar to those from oral contraceptives such as headache, nausea, and breast discomfort. Those with a family history of clotting, high or uncontrolled blood pressure, severe liver disease and smokers are not encouraged to use the product.

Marketed by Johnson and Johnson subsidiary Janssen-Cilag, Evra was approved by the Health Sciences Authority in September and Singapore is the first Asia-Pacific country to give regulatory approval to the product.
Evra, the paste-on birth control for women, is said to be more effective than condoms .

++

xiaoqiang's words: it's a patch. ya'know, a patch. it really makes me wonder what the patch can do (it claims). apparently, people are trying to conceive; and sometimes the baby/ foetus isn't that healthy as we all might think it is. at least it's happening around me.

ROAD TRIP

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Day 1 in M-land

On thursday night, i rushed home , had a quick dinner, bathed, changed and gotten my stuffs. passport checked. cash checked. 'cos i going to M-land...wahoo~ met up with the rest at T**jong P*g*r Train station. what greeted me was an old building with a strange smell. *hmmm..* whatever, i met roger and his sis at the cafeteria while looking for seats. Lip and Jolene came later.

We went through the hard, bone-shaking, rocky 7-8hrs ride to M-land's capital. we took a train out of curiosity. and indeed it kills the cat. Guys, NEVER take a train up to M-land. it sux. apart from the uncomfortable position to sleep, plus sudden cut of air-con or slow moving; i see no pros but cons in taking a train up to M-land. *ouch...*

M-land greeted my friday wet(ly) 8am in the morning. it rained. and a 1st-timer in the capital for all, we had a hard time navigating to our hostel/ guest house if you were to call it. braved through the piercing rain( i forgot about the umbrella and M-land rains too), and stinko drains and canals( M-land's capital has poor drainage system). we finally found our resting place.. located on the top left-hand corner in the photo above is our room.

jol: " guyz, i think we forgot something. we didn't have our passport stamped.

eyes wide opened...

after long discussion, we concluded that all of us shall make a trip to S-land 's embassy tomorrow. it's obviously too late to make trip to J-State , get our passport stamped and back to capital.

we went to P towers to do some shopping. took many hours and walked around; took a few photos. took a break at Olio Dome. this shopping centre practically reminds of N**e A*n City in S-land. all branded stuff. so in the end we gotten nothing. We had lunch at "Madam Kwan's". You guyz really have to try the nasi lemak.. Ultimately PoweR~!!! then you will be enlightened that Ch**gi's nasi lemak wasn't that fantastic after all.*grin*

Went Ch*n*town after that. the food looked delicious by the roadside until we saw a few gas cylinders( slightly shorter than me) just a turn of a corner. *glurp* walked around. nothing fancy , nothing called my eyes except this guy lying on cemented floor in the middle of the stalls( pasa malam). this guy basically lying on his stomach with a few chinese writings on the paper next to him. beggers you might think. but this begger looked brutally tortured. one of his knee was broken (i guess) and his calf was just lying next to his thigh connected by the skin. *damn.. why didn't i took a photo of him?*

i saw a watch which i fancied but the price is abit steep $150. after the 1st bargain, $80, i saw a logo on the watch-face which i don't like. i called off the deal. the guy went," how can you buy things like that? bla..bla..bla.." i just carried on and moved away... "okay lah, i can sell you the watch at $110"...*just keep going* $90!!! last time!! *wahahahah i won~* but i don't fancy the watch liaoz. too bad, no deal old man.

We had dinners at Hardrock's cafe. We asked for a table for 5 and they told us they don't have a table for 5. and it took them a while to sat us at a table of 8. i mean it's not hard to create a table for 5...duh~ get round don't get square.*sigh* M-landians....tsktsktsktsk.

to be continue...
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l is ten

i've added a new feature in my blog. you probably see a player on the top right hand corner above the icq number. yes i've added background music. you can pause it to shut off the music if it annoys you.^_^ finally gotten the music going. HAH!! u guyz can hear the music while reading the story when there's one.

click |here| to view the Cake/ part 5. it's out. tell me about the ending for those who have been following it.

okie, i didn't spied on any japanese kids and i aren't no stalker. nor did i went to japan. it's my cousin above when she went to Perth. i know she's dark. but the picture took of her reminds of those jap kids. glad she had fun and enjoyed herself there.( 'cos i haven't been to Perth *sob*) the background in the picture according to my cousin was actually ice flakes formed on the glass. cool~ huh?

	Cheer Bear You're the Care Bear cheerleader! Your spunky personality and optimisim lifts everyone's spirit. Though you want everyone to be happy, you stand your ground on issues you feel strongly about and this can bring disunity among your friends. Despite this, you are a true believer in working together.
Take the Which Care Bear Are You? Quiz!

w i n d

xiaoqiang says:" this is part 3 of the story continued from the previous post. qoute from the story, "....Looking at her became my habit. Just like she likes to look at him....." hmm.. i remembered that. i had the similar experience before.

another love story in college days from one of my tom....ermm.. dick...mmm.. harry( what was his name again?) friends. didn't know he was so frank when he wrote his story. but after all, it's still a kinda puppy love that can only be found during those days. i liked the way he expressed his grief. for when the wind blows, leaves will fall or blown away from the parent tree."

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Singapore True Love Stories - wind ( part 3 out of 3)

currently playing Lisa Loeb - Stay

Wind

Because I like a gal called leaf. Because she's so dependent on tree so I have to be a gust wind. A wind that will blow her away. When I first met her, it was 1 mth after I transfer to the new school. I saw a petite person looking at my seniors & me playing soccer. During ECA time, she will always be sitting there. Be it alone or with her friends looking at him. When he talks with gals there's jealousy in her eyes. When he looked at her, there's a smile in her eyes. Looking at her became my habit. Just like she likes to look at him.

One day, she didn't appear. I felt something amissed. I can't explain the feeling except it's a kind of uneasiness. The senior was also not there as well. I went to their classroom, hid outside and saw my senior scolding her. Tears were in her eyes while he left. The next day, I saw her at her usual place, looking at him. I walked over and smiled to her. Took out a note & gave to her. She was surprised. She looked at me, smiled & accept the note. The next day, she appeared & pass me a note and left. Leaf's heart is too heavy and wind couldn't blow her away. It's not that leaf heart is too heavy. It because leaf never want to leave tree. I replied her note with this statement and slowly she started to talk to me & accept my presents & phone calls. I know that the person she loves is not me. But I have this perseverance that one day I will make her like me.

Within 4 mths, I have declared my love for her no less than 20 times. Everytime, she will divert away from the topic. But I never give up. If I decide I want her to be mine, I will definitely use all means to win her over. I can't remember how many times I have declared my love to her. Although I know she will try to divert but I still bear a small ray of hope. Hoping that she will agree to me, my girlfriend. I didn't hear any reply from her over the phone. I asked "what are you doing? How come you didn't want to reply?" She said, "I'm nodding my head". "Ah?" I couldn't believe my ears. "I'm nodding my head" She replied loudly. I hang up the phone, quickly changed and took a taxi and rush to her place & press her door bell. During the moment when she opens the door. I hugged her tightly.

"Leaf departure is because of Wind pursuit. Or because Tree didn't ask her to stay"


:end:

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m a t r i x

2 hrs. 09 min. In the third installment, the epic war between man and machine reaches a thundering crescendo: the Zion military, aided by courageous civilian volunteers like Zee and the Kid, desperately battles to hold back the Sentinel invasion as the Machine army bores into their stronghold. Facing total annihilation, the citizens of the last bastion of humanity fight not only for their own lives, but for the future of mankind itself. But an unknown element poisons the ranks from within: the rogue program Smith has cunningly hijacked Bane, a member of the hovercraft fleet. Growing more powerful with each passing second, Smith is beyond even the control of the Machines and now threatens to destroy their empire along with the real world and the Matrix. The Oracle offers Neo her final words of guidance, which he accepts with the knowledge that she is a program and her words could be just another layer of falsehood in the grand scheme of the Matrix. With the aid of Niobe, Neo and Trinity choose to travel farther than any human has ever dared to go - a treacherous journey above ground, across the scorched surface of the earth and into the heart of the menacing Machine City. In this vast mechanized metropolis, Neo comes face to face with the ultimate power in the Machine world--the Deus Ex Machina--and strikes a bargain that is the only hope for a dying world. The war will end tonight, with Neo's destiny and the fate of two civilizations inexorably tied to the outcome of his cataclysmic confrontation with Smith....

xiaoqiang words: Everything in the movie is kinda expected. there is lesser fighting scene for Neo, except the scene when he fought with Smith in the rain, but don't that scene reminds you of Dragonball( if you know what it is). Kowtow to Niobe and the Captain who heads the the human army to fight against to machines. the lady(Niobe) proved to those men onboard she is afterall a better pilot, and the Captain who died gloriously in the end. below is a pix which i've taken. all 13 of us watched the show together. but the pix didn't turned out good ...*damn*

l e a f

xiaoqiang says:" this is part 2 of the story continued from the previous post.

another love story in college days from one of my tom....ermm.. dick...mmm.. harry( what was his name again?) friends. didn't know he was so frank when he wrote his story. but after all, it's still a kinda puppy love that can only be found during those days. i liked the way he expressed his grief. for when the wind blows, leaves will fall or blown away from the parent tree."

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Singapore True Love Stories - leaf ( part 2 out of 3)

currently playing Shakin Steven - Because i love you

Leaf

During Pre-U days, I like to collect leaves. Why? Because I felt that for a leaf to leave the tree she has been relying on for so long it takes a lot of courage. During the 3 years of Pre-U I was on very close terms with a guy. Not BGR kind but as buddy kind. But when he had his 1st girlfriend, I learnt a feeling I never should have learnt - Jealousy. The sourness in the heart can't be describe by using a lemon. It's like 100 rotten sour lemon. Sourness to the extreme limit. They were only together for 2 mths. When they broke up, I hide my strong sense of happiness.

But after a mth, he got together with another gal. I like him & I know he like me. But why won't he pursue me? Since he love me why he doesn't want to make the first move? Whenever he had a new girlfriend, my heart would hurt. Time after time, my heart was hurt. I begin to suspect that this is a one sided love. If he don't like me, why does he treat me so well. It's beyond what you will normally do for a friend. Liking a person is very heart wrenching. I can know his likes, his habits. But his feelings towards me I can never figure out. You can't expect me a gal to ask him right. Despite that, I still want to be by his side. Care for him,accompany him, love him. Hoping that one fine day, he will come & love me. It's like waiting for his phone call every night, wanting him to send me sms. I know that no matter how busy he is, he will make time for me.

Because of this, I waited for him. The 3 years were the hardest to go through & I really want to give up. Sometimes, I wonder should I continue waiting. The pain and hurt, the dilemma accompany me for 3 years.Till the end of my 3rd year, a 2nd year junior begins to go after me. Everyday he pursuit me relentlessly. From outright rejection to a point in time when I felt that I'm willing to let him have a small footing in my heart. He's like a warm & gentle wind, trying to blow a leaf away from the tree. In the end, I realized that I didn't want to give this wind a small footing in my heart. I know this wind will bring this badly battered leave far away & better land. Finally I left tree, but the tree only smile & didn't ask me to stay.

"Leaf departure is because of Wind pursuit. Or because Tree didn't ask her to stay"


continue...

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t r e e l e a f w i n d

xiaoqiang says:" another love story in college days from one of my tom....ermm.. dick...mmm.. harry( what was his name again?) friends. didn't know he was so frank when he wrote his story. but after all, it's still a kinda puppy love that can only be found during those days. i liked the way he expressed his grief (see the last line of the story). in mother mature when the wind blows, leaves will fall or blown away from the parent tree.

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Singapore True Love Stories - tree ( part 1 out of 3)

currently playing Wilson Philips ~ You're in love

The reason I'm called tree is because I'm good at painting trees. Overtime I start to use a tree on the right hand corner as a trademark for all my watercolors painting. I have dated 5 gals when I was in Pre-U. There's one gal who I love a lot but never dare go after her. She doesn't have a pretty face, doesn't have a good figure, doesn't have outstanding charm. She is just a very ordinary gal. I like her. I really like her. Like her innocent, like her frankness. Like her cuteness, like her intelligence and her fragility. Reason for not going after her is because I felt somebody so ordinary like her is not a good match for me. I'm also afraid that after we are together all the good feelings will vanish. I'm also afraid other's gossips will hurt her. I felt that if she's my gal, she will be mine ultimately & I don't have to give up everything just for her. The last reason, made her accompany me for 3 years. She watch me chase after gals, and I have make her heart cry for 3 years.

She wants to be a good actress and I'm a very demanding director. When I kissed my 2nd girlfriend, she bumped into us. She was embarrassed but smile & say "Go on!" before running off. The next day, her eyes was swollen like a walnut. I purposely didn't want to think about what causes her to cry but laugh at her the whole day. When everybody go back home, she was alone crying in the classroom. She didn't know that I returned from soccer training to get something. I watch her cry for an hour or so. My 4th girlfriend didn't like her. There was once when both of them quarrelled. I know that based on her character she's not the type that will start off the quarrel. But I still sided with my girlfriend. I shouted at her and her eyes were filled shocked. I didn't care about her feelings and walked off with my girlfriend.

The next day, she still laugh & joke with me like nothing has ever happened. I know that she's very hurt but she didn't know that my heart ache is as bad as hers. When I broke up with my 5th girlfriend, I asked her out. After going out for a day, I told her that I have something to tell her. She told me that coincidentally, she has something to tell me too. I told her about my break up and she told me about her getting together. I know who the guy is. He has been going after her for quite a while. A very cute guy full of energy, lively and interesting. His pursuit for her has been the talk of the school. I can't show her my heart ache but could only smile & congratulate her. When I reach home, the heart ache is so strong that I can't stand it. It's like a heavy weighted stone on my chest. I couldn't breath. Wanted to shout but can't. Tears rolled down & I broke down & cry. How many times have I seen her cry for the man that doesn't acknowledge her presence too. During graduation, I read a sms in my hp. It was sent 10 days ago when I broke down and cry. I haven't read it since then.

It says "Leaf departure is because of Wind pursuit. Or because Tree didn't ask her to stay."

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COFFEE, TEA or ME

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He met her on a party. She was so outstanding, many guys chasing after her, while he was so normal, nobody paid attention to him. At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him, she was surprised, but due to being polite, she promised.

They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, she thought, please, let me go home..
suddenly he asked the waiter: "would you please give me some salt?
I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at him, so strange!
His face turned red, but,still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.

She asked him curiously: why you have this hobby?

He replied: "when I was a little boy, I was living near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea , just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, think of my hometown, I miss my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are still living there".

While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has responsibility of home.. Then she also started to speak, spoke about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family.


That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story.

They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands; he had tolerance, was kind hearted, warm, careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him!
Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married to the prince, then they were living the happy life... And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that's the way he liked it.


After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said:

"My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life lie. This was the only lie I said to you, the salty coffee. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt It was hard for me to change so I just went
ahead. I never thought that could be the start of our communication!I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for
anything.. Now I'm dying, I afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste.. But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for t he second time, still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again".

Her tears made the letter totally wet.

Someday, someone asked her: what's the taste of salty coffee?

It's sweet. She replied.

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xiaoqiang's words:Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear. thanx to siew lian who send the story. but i think this story has been floating in the emailand for quite some time. but you can feel the sweetness at the end. though i'm not really a coffee person, but i wouldn't like a salty coffee.