Too much drinks destroys brain cells

I think my writing is horrific these days. I can't seem to put my thoughts down on paper figuratively of course. I blame it on the booze. Wed, Thurs and Fri I have been drinking and a tad over my limit.

I must be getting old, I used to drink almost everyday a few years ago. Now, 3 days of alcohol in a row and I am peeved. Thank goodness I don't work in Asia Pacific Brewery. I was telling a friend that I know of someone who after one and a half years of continual excessive drinking looks terrible; then she said "No what! I have a lot of friends who drink a lot and still look very good looking!". Whatever!

Anyway, Wed was a watershed day in my life. If you have drank with me before you would probably know I am not a beer man. Too bad, my customers are. I never drank so much beer in so short a time span in my life.
"Young man, cannot drink already ah?"
"Wait ah, I got gastric, let me rest a while." Ya right, never had gastric, but I have no desire to puke my gastric juices out considering I drank on an empty stomach.
I hate drinking beer, at least in a "bottoms-up" manner cos you don't really get high before the gas causes you to feel bloated. You could feel like puking and yet be perfectly sober, kind of sucks right?

Anyway, the next day thankfully I drank with whisky people. Fri was the same but luckily it was just for happy hour so I could have a normal night's sleep at last.

Well rested over the weekend, 6 hours of naps over 2 days should prepare me for the week ahead. But I really think my writing is more and more terrible. Maybe I have no inspiration, or maybe I am still hesitating to put my muse down. Oh well.........

Champion!

Yesterday, I witnessed the performance of a world champion, a Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, Schumi all in one. Don't believe me?

Watch: $500
Handphone: $350
Taxi fare: $8
Look on my boss' face when he sees his staff late for one hour: priceless

Thankfully the staff in question was not me, but I was with my boss when he saw my colleague sneaking in. His reaction was classic to say the least. He let out a guttural "huh", looked at his watch, looked at her and looked at his watch again to be sure. Pure shock registered on his face and all he could say was "You overslept?", almost spluttering the words out.

That was of course nothing, cos ten minutes later, she sneaked downstairs for breakfast. Her courage puts VietCong warriors to shame methinks.

To top it off, she tells me she is grossly underpaid.

I shall kindly refrain from commenting on that.

Pointless rants

Why can't I be psychic? Okay for starters maybe I suddenly completely forgot how to spell it. This is so embarassing, somehow it just slipped me by totally.

Anyway, if I am am Professor X I could.....

1) Know what my clients are thinking and come out tops in rates negotiations
2) Extract the truth from all sources rather than second guessing and analyzing every word and facial expression
3) Project my thoughts into someone's mind so I do not have to agonize over how to express myself or if I should at all

Sigh...................

Resolve and resolution

If you know me well enough, you probably would know I am characterized by my indecisiveness and inaction/inactivity. I am what a friend would describe as a roti prata- flip here flip there. Even if I finally made up my mind, I may still end up taking a very long time to do anything, often missing the opportune moment.

2 years in sales has helped me to correct much of this deficiency. Especially when you are in consumer banking (or rather I was in consumer banking), it's a serious handicap. If you don't grab the opportunity to approach a prospect, call a lead, it may just be gone, there and then. In sales, we call it call reluctance and it is the bane of every salesperson, a limitation of sorts. In my work life, gradually I have learnt to address that and eventually overcome it.

Yet in my personal life, this still plagues me albeit to a lesser extent as opposed to previously. Minor things, I make up my mind more quickly and take the course of action quickly. Have you heard the phrase "analyze until paralyze"? Yup, in some aspects of my life this is all so true. Running through all the possible scenarios in my mind, mentally role-playing the possible repercussions. Finally, no action taken. Status quo.

Indeed, I have been sitting on something for the past 3 years. In the past I brushed it aside, ignored it, avoided it, concealed it. Self-deception is actually more difficult than most people think. Self-denial is even more so.

The past month, the issue was constantly on my mind and I think my mind finally conceded what my heart has known all along. I only pray I have the resolve to bring about a resolution.

It's been a while

So much has been happening in the world around us over the past 2 weeks or so. Since I have not updated my blog in donkey years, I guess my input is not exactly timely.

One of the talking points is of course the NKF controversy. Overnight, TT Durai is hotter than Jay Chow and peanuts is a more valuable commodity than gold. Speaking of gold, there is also the taps to contend with, I wonder if he took it with him when he left. Anyway, all of a sudden there was a public upcry against Durai and the NKF, many claiming their disappointment with him and felt thoroughly cheated by him. $600,000? What a ridiculous amount!! I don't earn that much in 10 years........ NKF is cheating my hard earn money blah blah........ What an outrage!

Personally, I think there are two types of donors, type A and type B. Type A are those who donated out of the goodness in their hearts, to help kidney patients etc. Type B are those who simply dial the hotlines to win a condo, car, cash etc or to support their favourite artists. In perfect honesty, I am Type B. I would call in if any of my favourite singers/actresses are on air, performing dangerous stunts and all. I would call in just for the opportunity to win a brand new Nissan Cefiro (so I can sell it and buy a Civic) and so on. I will not pretend that I was moved to help the kidney patients otherwise I would not do so only during the annual NKF shows. If you look

If the brains behind that earns $600k a year its certainly none of my business. As far as I am concerned, he is a marketing genius, preying on the greed of the average Joe to rake in funds for his organization. If he is well renumerated for it, he certainly deserves it. If you tell me the person offering legal counsel to TT Durai is also paid $600k, I certainly think he is overpaid.

"But it is a charitable organization! People doing charity should not be paid so well, all the money should go to the patients. What is so difficult about his job, if it is a worthly charity, people would donate even if it is an idiot at the helm!"
Well, there are other organizations like that I suppose, KDF and the like. Organizations that doesn't register in our mind simply because they do not spend the same amount of money on marketing and promotion. It is not so easy to raise funds and it is not so easy to find people that nature to do it. Yes, there are people of genuine passion and talent who would do it and accept a token fee, but are there enough.

So what am I saying? The ends justify the means? A little evil is neccesary for a greater good. Of course not but what is so wrong about rewarding the capable. Davinder Singh may have made Durai look like a complete idiot in court but 1) he is one of the best known lawyers in Singapore and clinical efficiency is his trademark and 2) most of what we know of what went down in court were courtesy of SPH, the very people Durai were suing so absolute objectivity may be a little difficult. In any case, NKF is now one of the best known brand names in Singapore and surely Durai deserves credit for that. Raising that kind of money year in year out is not easy and surely the brains behind that deserves to be renumerated.

Of course I feel maybe the stringent criteria for NKF assistance could be relaxed a little in light of the fat reserves they have. Of course, coming from someone who overspends each month I am hardly an expert on budgeting. Maybe a fleet of 6 cars may be a little excessive. Of course the lack of transparency is the killer, yet maybe its kind of sad how decades of contribution can be wiped out overnight.

My shattered dreams

Right of the bat, this is not as melancholic as the title suggest. Rather, as I watched the Fantastic Four last Sat, I suddenly recalled some of the childhood/teenhood dreams I had that will never come to pass.
When I was in primary school, I wanted to be a wrestler. That was the era of Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior. Of course it was also the era when I truly believed in that the my Christmas presents came from Santa Claus and all that. Anyway, I thought it would be really cool to be a wrestler cause they seemed to do really breathtaking stunts and suffer unbelievable punishment and yet take it like a man. It seems to be the coolest job in the world, okay, everyone has a past. Don't despise me.






Then, when I also toyed with the idea of being an X-men. It seemed so cool to be a mutant with superpowers and all. My favourite character was Gambit cause he seems to be the coolest. Even though his powers kind of sucked compared with say Storm or Cyclops, his debonair persona and bad-boy image caused him to be my role model. I always loved his smooth talking and on-off romance with Rogue. Needless to say, I was disappointed when the X-men movies failed to include him even though they found space for losers like Pyro or Nightshadow. Anyway, I would dream of kinetically charging the chalk such that it would explode in my Chinese teacher's face when she touched it. Such was the innocence of youth, haha.






One of my long standing fantasies was to be a Godfather. I always thought the persona created by Mario Puzo was really the epitome of cool-ness. Like a man's man.
"It's not personal, its strictly business."
"I will make him an offer he can't refuse."
It is like uber-man! Even though Al Pacino looked a little wimpy in a fight and Marlon Brando looked like he can fight as well as Mohamad Ali NOW, these were the ultimate anti-heroes.








At some point in my life, I took a more Asian variant of the above dream. I dreamt of being a 'ku wat chai' or triad member. Inspired by the 'Young & Dangerous' series, its a very man's thing.
Loyalty, brotherhood, trust and sacrifice, it embodies the core values of being a man. I think most Chinese males my generation love this series, even though towards the end it was a little stale.
Chen Hao Nam, Shan Kai, Tai Tian Yi, Pou Pi and Jiao Pi. I know of countless people my generation who call each other by the above nicknames in honour of the show.




One of my more 'realistic' dreams was to be a rock star. That was the era when I listened to Van Halen, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins and the like. I would dream of being a guitarist like a modern day cross between Jimi Hendrix and Cream era Eric Clapton. Of course, I lacked any talent whatsoever but when you are young and idealistic, you never really realise your limitations. If you don't believe me just watch the auditions of 'Singapore Idol'.
Anyway, back then I would play my guitar everyday and wonder why I was not making any progress. I think the concept of talent was foreign to me then but I dreamt of being the next Eddie Van Halen and perform during Loolalapooza.

Nowadays, I just find these kind of music too loud for my taste. Apart from a couple of 3 Doors Down songs, I have no inkling what do people play nowadays, having mellowed significantly, the 'heaviest' music I listen to is Mayday and F.I.R.
Another silly fantasy I had was to be a street racer. My close friends would snigger at this thought since I am well-known to be a lousy driver. I always wanted to drive a modified parallel import like a Skyline or MRS. Of course, any car is incomplete without neon lights! The only time I get to indulge this fantasy is when I am playing Ridge Racer, Need for Speed et al. I even have a steering wheel to further this fantasy but sadly the only driving skills I exhibit is on the Playstation 2. Drifting in Dolby 5.1 surround is an out of the world experience but if I did that in reality, I think I would have a heart attack. Hey, I never denied I am chicken-shit!

The only remaining fantasy that I have any chance of fulfiling is to own a Honda Integra. I think its the ultimate realistic car to own. Even I am honest enough to admit by the time I can possibly afford a Ferrari or something like that, I would look ridiculous in it. Lau beng, lau hiao, lao tian zhen!


Slacker

London Blast

As I was on the way home, my friend called me to ask if I was watching the news, that there was some blast in the London subway. I immediately called my one and only friend in London who is okay, praise God! Apparently it is a total mess in London now so she couldn't talk but I am glad she is okay.

So guys & gals, if you know who I am talking about, she is okay. Unharmed, unaffected, so you guys can rest assured.

If you know who I am talking about and exhibit total indifference, lately the weather is not bad, you can go Marina South and fly a kite.

Supposedly that it is an Al-Qaeda attack, wonder if Singapore is under threat with the recent IOC over here. For all we know its some fanatic from Madrid, New York etc, buay kam wan London won it. Who knows? Quite a number of conspiracy theories but seems like Al Qaeda is the leading candidate.

Will this spark yet another bout of unrest in the Middle East? Is this just the beginning?

The world is getting crazier by each day................

Random rants

This is an edgy week for me up ahead. My confirmation is due this week, or rather theoretically tomorrow is the 4th month anniversary of me joining the company. Funny how time flies in this job. After the first month, time seems to zoom by in a flash. Everyday it is meeting customers, monitoring the performances etc. Just like that, four months has passed. Can't say there's much to complain about this job apart from some people I am forced to work with. But then again, it is the same everywhere.
Statistics have shown that nowadays people leave their jobs more because of the working environment/people rather than monetary issues. Personally I can testify to that, this is my fourth job and my first job was the only one where I left because of money. I loved the working environment there, great boss, little office politics apart from a little bitching here and there but no back-stabbing. The only thing was that the pay was pathetic. In case you think I am a greedy mercenary, allow me to share what was my first increment ever received, the whooping sum of 1% and as I had not completed a full year of service there, this grand amount of 1% is pro-rated. Hence, my pay for the next year was $xxxx.60. Yup, the $0.60 appears in my payslip every month and my credited salary is $xxxx.48 because of CPF, great huh? I never found out what was the fantastic increment the next year cause I left before that.
To this day, that memory still hurts. Haha, actually I am just bitching for the fun of it. Life goes on........ I must confess I do appreciate the 1 and 3/4 years I spent there. That was the longest I had stayed in any job. Hoping that this will change however, I think I am too old to keep switching around, here's to more stability in this job and career.
Anyway, mid-week and I am dying for a drink. My friend 'pang sey' me today. Not that I had a bad week thus far, not bad actually. Apart from some things or rather people beyond my control, its a pretty good week. Thurs and before you know it, its Friday. I really think time passes by in a flash nowadays, before I know it I will probably be 30. And then 40, and then reading orbituaries to see if anyone I know has left. What a morbid thought.

What type of man are you?

In simplicity, there are 4 types of man.

The first type is the arch-typical go-block, no action no talk. Kill-joy. Wallpaper. You know the type, during gatherings you don't notice their presence, or worse their absence. You guys go to a karaoke, and the guy sits in one corner, either fades into oblivion or puts on a personal concert. Comes late or leaves early or both. And then does not talk to you unless you take the initiative.
Friend A: everyone is here already? Lets go!
Two hours later,
Friend B: s#@%! We forgot about C!
And then all the rest of the group act blur because they are not that crazy about the guy's company either.
Such men are characterized by Jiao Pi in the young and dangerous series? Who? My point exactly.

*Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm*

The next type is the No Action Talk Only character. You hear them from a mile away, they never fail to give you a blow-by-blow account of what they are going to do. Fascinating to say the least, but only delivers audio satisfaction. End result? Absolutely nothing.
NATO: Yesterday the girl we met really damn hot ah! Too bad we were late, otherwise i surely ask for her number ah!
Friend B: Here's your chance, she is walking over here!
NATO *picking up the phone* Hello? Hello? No reception here. I walk outside first ah.
After a suitable interval, walks back in and without missing a beat,
Where is she? Alamak! Wasted sia. Sky don't do beautiful ah! Why my boss early don't call, late don't call, now call me? Not her lucky day ah!

Classic example of Mr. NATO would be Jay's sidekick in Initial D played to perfection by Chapman To.

What is a god? God used to be like man, but they are able to do what man is not…….

Next, up one notch is Talk and Action types (T&A). These guys are smooth operators. They tell you what they are going to do, blink and mission accomplished. Fast moving, quick thinking and action packed. Only thing you are going to get when you are with them are leftovers.
T&A: Look over there, that girl is a real hottie!
NATO: Wow! You are right! Great figure, great legs, grea…… Oi! Where is the bugger!
T&A proceeds to talk to the girl.

Example, Adam King………..

Someone is going to be rich, a movie star, on the moon, blah blah blah…… Why not you?

Finally the ultimate, Wu Ling Zhi Zhun, No Talk, All Action. The silent killer. You have not got the slightest inkling what is going through the guy’s head because you either see nothing or results. The process is never visible. This is the stage every man should aspire to be at, results oriented, bottom line driven. Binary, 0 or 1.

And who better to portray this example than Jay Chow’s Takumi in Initial D

I came here to race…………

What type of man are you?

Heel-and-toe

Having watched Initial D last night, I am quite interested in the way the racers approach the corners, after D is for drift but it was interesting the way their legs were positioned. Didn't quite understand what they were doing so Mr Joe Average's solution is the internet. Found this pretty good article on heel-and-toe

How ToHeel and Toe DownshiftBy Brent Romans
If you have heard of the term "heel-and-toe" downshift before, but you've never known what it means, you've come to the right place. It is the mission of this article to make you a heel-and-toe master, a proverbial Jackie Chan of downshifts. Hi-yah!A heel-and-toe downshift refers to a specific technique used to downshift a manual transmission car. It might seem bizarre to the general populace, but racecar drivers use it all the time. Once mastered, the heel-and-toe downshift offers the benefits of reduced vehicle wear-and-tear, better driver control and faster lap times on a racetrack.The heel-and-toe downshift is a rather complex action involving both of the driver's feet, the driver's right hand, all three vehicle pedals and the gear shift lever. The purpose of the heel-and-toe is to smoothly match engine speed to wheel speed. Here is a generalization of how a normal person downshifts a manual transmission car.Let's say Frank is driving his '01 Volkswagen Passat around town. He is approaching a right-hand corner while in fourth gear at 50 mph. He is going too fast to make it around the corner safely, so he starts braking until he drops the Passat's speed to about 25 mph. Frank sees on the tachometer that his engine revs are dropping too low, so he pushes in the clutch as he goes around the corner. As Frank thinks about accelerating, he realizes that the Passat is still in fourth gear, which isn't suitable for strong acceleration at such slow speeds. So he moves the shifter from fourth to second gear, lets out the clutch and motors away.The problem with Frank's technique is that when he lets out the clutch, it is not going to be a smooth shift. The Passat is going to buck a little. Why? Because when Frank goes around the corner with the clutch pushed in, the engine revs drop to idle speed. When he releases the clutch, the mechanical locking effect between the engine and the front wheels (the wheels powered by a Passat) forces the engine revs to match the rotational speed of the rear wheels. In this case, 25 mph in second gear would mean the engine has to be at roughly 2,600 rpm. When Frank lets out the clutch after moving the shifter to second gear, his car's engine must instantly go from idle to 2,600 rpm. This sudden change causes the car to buck, as well as causing undue wear-and-tear on the clutch, transmission and engine mounts.The simple solution for Frank would be to give the car some throttle before he lets out the clutch. Specifically, he should raise the engine speed to 2,600 rpm. This way, the engine speed is equalized to the wheel speed for second gear, making the shift much smoother. For racecar drivers, however, this technique is too slow and also means that when the car is going around the corner, the clutch is pushed in, a serious no-no in a racecar.The racer's answer is the heel-and-toe downshift. The technique combines braking and downshifting at the same time. Using our example again, if Frank used a heel-and-toe downshift, he would have downshifted while he was braking for the corner. This way, he would have had power while he was going around the corner and he could have quickly applied more throttle once he exited the corner. These are critical elements to a racecar driver, but they can also be useful to any driver on the street.Here is a step-by-step guide on how to heel-and-toe downshift. It will explain how to shift from fourth gear to third gear, though the technique will work for any downshift.
Begin braking for the corner with your right foot. The location of the pedals and the size of your foot will dictate where you position your foot on the pedal, but most likely it should be canted a little to the right, closer to the throttle pedal.
Push in the clutch with your left foot.
This is the hard part. With your right foot still applying pressure to the brakes, roll the outside edge of your foot outward and downward to touch the throttle pedal. The pedal design on some cars makes this easier to do than on others. Use the outside of your right foot to blip the throttle. Blipping the throttle means temporarily raising the engine rpms to match the wheel speed. The exact amount of revs needed is dependent on a variety of factors, but it is usually between 1,000 rpm to 2,000 rpm more than the current engine rpm for a one-gear downshift.
Move the shifter to third gear.
Release the clutch with your left foot.As you can see, "heel-and-toe" is a misnomer. It actually involves the ball of your foot and the side of your foot. We'll be the first to tell you that heel-and-toe downshifts aren't easy. We've found that a good way to practice is to just sit in your car in your garage and pretend you are doing a heel-and-toe downshift with the engine off. Keep repeating the steps until you are familiar with the process. Once you are ready, try it out for real. Most likely, your early attempts will be botched. Keep trying, though. Practice each step slowly and then work your way to making them all one, fluid motion. Skilled drivers can execute a heel-and-toe downshift in less than one second.The trickiest part is getting the correct amount of rpms to match the new gear. If you blip the throttle too much, the engine has too much speed compared to the wheels and is forced to drop down to the wheel speed when you let out the clutch. If you don't blip the throttle enough, the engine rpms are forced to rise up. Either way, you know you didn't do it right as the car will jerk a little.You'll also know it when you did it right. A proper heel-and-toe downshift is so smooth and so satisfying that, once done correctly, you'll find yourself using the technique all the time. The great thing is that you don't have to be a racecar driver or be on a racetrack to use it. Additionally, using the heel-and-toe downshift technique on the street can improve safety. In certain emergency situations, you might be required to brake heavily and then accelerate quickly. By heel-and-toe downshifting, your car will be in the best gear to achieve maximum acceleration.So, let's recap. It's fun to do. It improves driving safety. It reduces the amount of powertrain wear on your car. Other than the amount of time it takes to learn, there is no downside. What more could you want?