Don’t Look Back

Well, here we are at the cusp of 2007.

Making resolutions is a chore, keeping to them my Achilles’ heel.

I’d like to try to look back on 2006 and see how much mileage I’ve clocked and reflect on the smooth flights, and the turbulent times too.

Socially, I’m doing more good than bad. Yes, I’ve made some stupid mistakes and cost myself a few friends along the way. Perhaps words like “sorry” or “forgive me” might have done the trick, yet I found it hard to utter those words. I miss watching their little ones grow up. Did I really want those friends back bad enough, or was I too ashamed to face them again? On the other hand I’ve also gained some new ones through a common passion for competition, for music, for Arsenal.

I’ve flown for over 10 years, yet just begun to travel the last 2. I’ve watched a live match at Highbury between Arsenal and Spurs, paying through my nose for the coveted ticket that day. I’ve gone to Old Trafford, and while admiring its long history, taken a dig at it too. My sometime hobby of photo taking has seen me walk familiar paths, but with a keener eye. A footprint, children playing in the park, trees waving in the wind, mundane stuff becoming the focus of my digital library.

Perhaps it’s the age, but I’m watching more current affairs now. The World Wide Web is a big resource and differing views can be found within a few clicks. Satirical sites give me some respite from the cruel realities of any given day. Am I still apathetic when it comes to politics?

I’ve been in 2 adrenaline pumping races, and came away with a medal. It feels good to be competing, alongside comrades at work. Setting targets is easy; attaining them is a long hard drive. I find that I do not have the aptitude to last that long, and have surrendered many times. Yet time and again I kick myself for not trying harder.

I’ve experienced first hand the ins and outs of a relationship. There is joy and anger; the laughter and tears; the shouting and the soothing. I’ve seen couples grow apart, yet saw more that came together. Lessons to be learnt? Or is each case peculiar in itself?

Have I learnt from 2006?

Will I be better in 2007?

Walan eh...

I was already not having a good day yesterday. Wanted to head down to Wala Wala to drown my sorrows but decided to watch a movie instead at Cathay Cineleisure. It's been a while since I went out on a Sat night to town and the place was teeming with plenty of eye candy to suit all taste.

Watching a movie by oneself has it's advantages; you can sit anywhere you like, and getting a ticket using the self help kiosk is much faster thanks to the reduced permutations in decision making due to my solo outing.

The movie was heart-warming. Will Ferrell stars in Stranger Than Fiction. It's not a barrel of laughs and, like I said, one feels warm and fuzzy towards the end of the movie.

I ambled towards Hotel Elizabeth after the movie and sat down to watch the weekend matches with Steve-O and friend. Turnout was good despite Arsenal kicking off late. In between snide remarks at other teams I got some advice on choosing my future laptop(Mac or PC). Well wishes were passed around the group in anticipation of the new year. Seems like most of the group weren't planning to party too wildly.

Match report? I can't find the words to describe the defeat to a much lesser team, and have to ask that you peruse SGGooner's, who linked to Siren's, match report.

Apologies if this entry seem dry as a twig.

I feel that I will snap anytime soon.

Last burst..

2007 is almost upon us. Some are making new year resolutions, while others are yet to meet those they made for 2006.

Arsenal will play their last match for 2006, visiting Sheffield United. No disrespect to Sheffield, but I think we can end the year on a winning note. I've gotten used to the Gunners getting scrappy wins against the smaller teams now, all I care now is 3 points. They can shoot from the halfway line, or scramble the ball in at the goal line, even have the other team score an own goal for us, it doesn't matter. 3 points is all I want to see added to the table.

While in Karachi, I was fortunate enough to catch Arsenal play away against Watford. SGGooner called in to the show and revealed his mystery identity to many fans of his blog (20k, and counting leh). The Singapore Grove was open that night, and from what I read it had a good turn out. Some of us are quietly hoping that it would be open again on Saturday when we visit Sheffield United. Perhaps have an early countdown before the rest of the mad mad world does.

How, Mr Blog, eh sai bo??

LATEST:

Liz Pub is open so the guys will be there to ring in the eve of the eve of 2007!!

Moblog: Kampaii!

Merry Christmas to one and all...

Reporting from Cyber Grove

Last home game at Emirates before going into 2007. The next 2 are away matches. Blackburn are no pushovers this team at 6th of the table. In fact there are a few in the team who actually enjoy pushing other players over, players like Robbie Savage.

Thanks to modern technology I was able to watch the match as it happened. Tried to play commentator on various forum and blogs. Couldn't concentrate, so decided to try my hand at a match report.

Login:
3rd min
Toure gives away a penalty to give Blackburn the shock lead. At this point I've only walked in from me kitchen.

10th min
Arsenal quickly regroup and earns a corner. RvP's corner converted by Captain Gilberto's header to level the match at 1-1. Game on!

23rd min
Hleb "walks" the ball into Blackburn's goal! Really, he does!

26th min
RvP is tripped on the way to goal and earns a penalty, Ade steps up, converts to make it 3!

36th min
Hleb finds himself one on one with the goalie and should've shot instead of passing, suddenly this guy is goal shy again??

Half time
Arsenal goes to the locker room 3-1. Most exciting 1st half by Arsenal at Emirates this season, in my view. Can they hold on to lead or will Rovers claw their way back?

2nd half
Arsenal need to be on their toes for up to 50min. Toure best patrol the last line well.

53rd min
Cesc effort deflected off Lucas Neill's leg, ball rolls away from goal. Arsenal using attack as defence now. Good policy.

56th min
Cesc too wary of being offside, should've just blasted into goal instead of watching the linesman.

57th min
RvP can't cut the ball back properly from goal line ... can only imagine how it could've turned out

59th min
RvP tries a "Drogba" from outside the box... ball flies over the bar.

60th min
Oooo Rosicky's effort from Ade's cut back bounces off the bar!

62min
Arsenal wanna win big, really bombarding Brad Friedal's net now.

64th min
Still Gunners go at it as soon as Rovers make substitution. At this point the Gunners are overplaying it just outside of the box I feel.

68th min
Rovers header bounces off bar, rebound scrambled in by Nonda. Arsenal makes usual mistake again at the back after leading a match.

71st min
Flamini in for . Arsenal seems to be stepping off the pedal, could be doing more harm than good.

79 min
Pederson's ball across face of Lehmann's goal fails to be connected by any players in Blue n White. Heng ah...

81st min.
Lehmann does well to push shot away from Pederson for a corner. Arsenal now trying to wind the clock down... not good idea. I still prefer them to go forward, at least with Ade at the front.

85th min
RvP does his twist and turns in front of goal to shoot into lower left corner. 4-2! I like this twisting and turning, maybe we can call it the "RvP special"?

88th min!
The trio of Ade, Cesc and RvP conjures up a 5th goal!! Nice execution beginning from our own half... Baptista and Walcott then come on. Arsenal still not satisfied with 5-2. I feel can pack up and go liao but...

92nd min
Cesc shoots hard at Brad, who parries away into the path of Flamini, who scores the 6th! Oh... my... freakin..gawd!!!

Full time
6-2 to the Gunners! Against an opposition like Blackburn it's a fantastic scoreline to wind down 2006 at home.

They're so good today, I'm gonna watch them during the repeat again!

Moblog: At long last...

Best package I got in the mail so far

Ce.....lebrate good times, come on!

I actually wasn't keen on organizing a X'mas party this year. The fact that I had to fly to Karachi on the 25th didn't exactly give me anything to cheer about. I thought about it for a while more though, and decided that I needed a lift before I fly to Pakistan.

I've done gatherings at my place before, and it's nice to have friends from different social circles come together; colleagues, buddies, Gooners. So I'll make sure that there's enough food, alcohol, other beverages plus entertainment to keep them happy. I prepared all the food the last few times, but this year decided that it should be a BYO/pot-luck party. Trouble is I may end up with more than 1 log cake, and.. who needs more than 1 log cake at a X'mas party eh? After many SMSes, I figured I have a decent size party that's gonna go on at my humble home.

Next, I got down to dusting up the place. Actually it should be more like overhauling the place. Furniture is being shifted around, the floor is getting a once over (k, maybe twice) , the mini bar is shaping up well too. Cleaning's a biatch I tell ya, yet in a strange way, therapeutic too. Plans are afoot to organise a few games to get the guests more involved.

So do swing by on your way to other parties, I won't hold ya back but I sure will try hard to kick start your Christmas celebrations.

And a Ho Ho Ho to you too :)

Meeting of 2 hearts..and minds

Most weddings I attend don't occur during the weekday. Most weddings I attend don't have their old school military band providing the music, with guests taking turns to jam.

Yet on a wet evening on the 13th, I was aurally pleasured when I stepped into the banquet hall. The dinner of Adrian (Liverpool supporter) and Sharon (Gooner) was interesting, with the St. Patrick's School band doing their seniors proud by playing some nice ditties throughout dinner. Of course the seniors took their turns during dinner too. Sorry for lack of photos...Ahtiong too busy drinking!

Congratulations Adrian and Sharon.

Anyhoo... came back and went to bed so can wake up for late match with Arsenal playing away at Wigan. Sent out sms to remind all Gooners too. Guess what? Sharon was staying up to watch it too! I can imagine some very naughty things that should go on after a wedding dinner, but watching Arsenal play?? That's a Gooner for ya.

By the way, great pass by Cesc to Ade who scored for Arsenal to get an away win.

Hell hath no fury...

Never, ever marry a woman in Singapore if you dunno what's in it for you. Recently a paper reported that a lady wanted almost half of what the man has, plus exclusive right toTHEIR daughters. Even though she's done almost nothing all the time she was married to him! She's taking the Women's Charter in Singapore too far I think, heck even the judge thinks so too.

The way women are built genetically, then influenced as they grow up, it's no wonder men have a hard time grasping them. Indulge them too much, they take advantage of your kindness; yet try to leave them be, all hell breaks lose!!

Like shopping. They almost, always buys another pair of shoes or a dress that you won't be able to tell from the previous one. Yet when presented with said new purchase, you'd have to grin and say," ya, nice..."

Which brings me to another point. Do women do all this shopping and preening for their self worth? Some tell me they do all this to get their man's attention. I say: Just stop buying so many dang things and start cleaning around the house, that'll get my attention!!

Masak masak..

Blowing hot & cold

The nature of my job requires that I travel to countries that experience the seasons different times of the year. Most of us moan about the weather in Singapore, but sometimes things are not that fantastic overseas either. Classic case of viewing the grass as greener on the other side.

Like this month. One moment my teeth is chattering from the cold in Zurich, next I will be baking in the sun in Melbourne. X'mas? I'm in Pakistan! Paki-freaking-stan!

So thank your lucky stars that you can move around freely in light clothing this holiday season.

I'm gonna go take off my jacket, then my sweater, then my T-shirt, then another T-shirt...

Cyber Grove

Most times I'd prefer to watch the Arsenal matches at Hotel Elizabeth's Elizabeth Pub, we like to call it The Liz. There I can order yummy chicken wings, delicious calamari, tasty pizzas and drink copious amounts of alcohol. I also get to swear loudly in Hokkien, and wear funny headress. Generally good clean fun with fellow Gooners la.

There will be times, however, that we have to watch the games in quiet comfort of our own homes. Though SG Gooner sometimes open up the SG Grove, more often than not I watch in on my teeny CRT TV with the volume down low, so as not to distrub the neighbour.

Recently, I watched the Fulham match online with a p2p software. I also stayed on SG Gooner's blog to communicate thru the CBox with other fellow Gooners watching the feed. It's a case of switching windows, refreshing the pages, keying in our 7% worth. Very technical.

Tonight we are consigned to our own homes again for the match against Porto FC. I feel we should go out for a win to top the group, and not leave it to matematics to advance. Remember that the ball is round, anything can happen.

With the lack of a laptop, and my CRT TV being so miniscule; I will only post me comments during halftime.

Like I said, very the technical you know...

Count to 10...

The time has come, the shops are pulling out all the stops to get people to open their wallets. With news of a re-surging economy, larger bonuses, increased pay for the new year; it's no wonder many are seeking more than a therapy at the malls. Heck, they are going for the whole package! I read in the Sunday Times that some average Joe's, such as you and me, are willing to splurge $7000 to travel in business class for a holiday to Hong Kong!

I indulge in some shopping myself from time to time. Usually it's something I take a fancy to on my travels. My most expensive buy when I started working was a video camera. I'd used my Bro's supplementary card, and they called him back to inform him about a "suspicious" transaction amounting to over $1000. They've since got used to my foreign transactions.

I am more conservative in my spending now, I hope. Therefore I cringe when others just walk in any shops and decide to pick up a few items as if they were groceries. There's only so many pieces of clothing a person needs.

I read somewhere that some people practise counting to 10 before they decide to pay for their purchase. I think it's a good tip, the money saved can always go to something else; a fund for a holiday, a ticket to a musical/play to feed the mind, even charity if one so chooses.

I will admit that I do lust after a few items;

• The new PS3
• HD Plasma TV
• A kick-ass Laptop
• Heading to Ibiza for a week of hedonism
  

Okay, maybe I should count to like, 1000 instead...

3rd time's a charm :)

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Go to SG Gooner if you want all the juicy details of the night we whacked the Spuds!

The Happy Gooners ;)



Half time, 2-Nil



72min31sec 3-Nil



Full time, 3-Nil to the Arsenal!!



Party Time@Timbre



Having a Ball :~)



Good night out for all Singapore Gooners! Next up, FC Porto.

Come on Arsenal!!

3 wise men... ok maybe 2

This is it. The London Derby any Gooner would flock to see, and as far as I know 2 Gooners from li'l Singapore will be there too in the thick of it all.

It's Arsenal v Spuds. Any true blue Gooner has to hate the Spuds. After being there myself last season, and seeing Arsenal edge them out in a climatic, conspiracy-laden end of season matches, I am raring to go down to Liz tonight.

Forget the Bolton match, put the Fulham game away too. This is, to a certain extent, personal. Wenger v Jol. The "Cannon" pointing at the "Lan Jiao". This time it's a new team facing each other altogether. The team will be doing without Henry, among a host of players out due to injuries or suspensions. I'm looking forward to see Julio Baptista start, for a change. Theo? I still feel he's useful in the last 20-30 minutes of the match with his pace.

Adding to the red hot encounter is the man in the middle. If the website is correct, Mr. Graham 'that'll-teach-Chel$ki-a-lesson' Poll will be the one with the whistle. I can imagine the colourful language the managers, players and the fans have prepared for this fella.

I am sure glad to be in town for this encounter, else I was gonna be cursing under my breathe 40, 000 feet in the air all the way back from GuangZhou!


Better bring my camera, Liz will be in full regalia tonight, with fans all togged up for it!

Come on Arsenal!!

On the wrong ball

"Hey, I don't understand how you were not promoted. You perform consistently well on board what..."

"Well, put it this way; Those who are promoted, did they get it 'cuz they perform consistently well on board?"

"Uh..ya hor. You have a point."

Sometimes, it's not a matter of how hard you work, but how much sucking up to people smart you work.

Like Thierry Henry. He plays his guts out for Arsenal and France. Who gets the Ballon d'Or though? Some Italian who played for a club involved in a scandal, who now plays for some abomination of a club in Spain.

Really catch no ball...

I believe the children are our future...

I'm not one to usually trumpet charitable causes but this one caught my eye.

MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) reaches out to disadvantaged children and youths by focusing on advocacy and fund-raising whilst working through their partners to implement preventative and rehabilitative programmes.

This is no NKF-esk foundation. Every cent goes to the fund, with costs sponsored or funded by the managment commitee.

As with all charitable drive in SG, there must be some prizes to "encourage" donor support. 2nd prize is a trip to watch an Arsenal match at the Emirates Stadium plus 3 days accomodation. I can live without the top prize of a Subaru R2 (without COE hor) , unless it comes with a cheaueffer.

So if you want to buy a coupon, or the whole book even, can gimme a ting-a-ling on my ring-a-ling. Or get in touch with any Singapore Gooner.

Knock on wood..thrice

The Singapore Gooners are really a dedicated bunch. Where else can you see a group of guys in a pub, 1am on a Sun morning, watching a big screen telecast of their favourite team? Mind you, these are not betting (at least, not heavily) people or some tikoh trying to score with chicks (there's none). Just honest to goodness fans who make the trip down faithfully for every Arsenal match.

The Bolton match was, in my view, a disaster. Arsene fielded a fairly "soft" team against our bogey team, due to injuries and suspensions to our starting XI. I say "soft" because that's the way Bolton plays against us, by bullying the ball off our feet. Heck, even the ref seem to be on their side, flashing the yellow card like he was in an auction. Like gooner4eva says... we need some good 'ol Martin Keown-type players to stand up to the rough play that some teams dish out to us. Cannot always depend on skills la...

The 4-5-1 shouldn't have been deployed in this match. Reason is Adebayor is not the lone striker that we can use in this kinds of matches. Theo, for all his tenacity, should have maintained his super-sub tag and come on to provide last burst of fire for the last 20-30 min. Why was Hleb not started? Someone tell me please.

We did come close, 3 times in fact. Damn woodwork just keeps getting in the way la. I always wonder why we say that, when in actual fact it's a case of the shooter not getting the ball into the net when we need it to be.

Like Sggooner says, doesn't matter what happens in the ManYoo-Chel$ki match liao...

No Ho Ho :~(

Dang, double whammy from rostering department.

I fly off to, of all places, Karachi on X'mas day.

As if that's not enough to take away my holiday cheer, they have me counting down to 2007 on a flight to Japan!

WTF!!

Moblog: Bored outta my head!

And no interneck too!

Postcard from Zurich

I am now sitting in the crew lounge in Zurich, Rolex country, sipping on my merlot while it drizzles outside with temperatures going down to almost 5 degrees Celsius. Wish I could sit down to some nice Swiss fondue...

I came off the plane this morning all aching as I was not operating on this leg, and had the "luxury" of sitting all the way through the night.

The 744 should be consigned to operate cargo flights only. This plane was a big hit when it started operating eons ago, but with newer aircrafts coming online, this dinosaur should really retire soon. The pitch is way too small even for Asian travelers, it gets very warm at the back of the aircraft while it is on ground, and the interior generally looks very dated. I was just walking around the aircraft for most times of the flight, as I did not wanna get back into my cramped seat on a full flight. I ate before the flight, and so didn't had much food on board. By the time breakfast was served, I had my eyeshade and earplugs on and slept till landing.

I think I should adjust to eating just enough from now on. Like not have the buffet and go ala carte instead when at a restaurant. I did well today; choosing to have a lamb fillet instead of attacking the buffet line (although I didn't expect a few slivers of meat with a large hashbrown). Dinner was a small Greek salad and a doner kebab. I feel lighter and not so stuffed like I used to. Hitting the gym was a good idea too. I have to keep reminding myself to be as active as possible. Have to keep up with the younger stewards, man.

Lucky thing I have my iPod and PSP with me on this flight. Swiss TV is the very boring, plus I dunno they gong simi...

Moblog: Running man

Finally got off my butt to do some running...

'Tis the season

Hide your adults! 'Tis the school holidays, the kids are running riot!

At work today, my supervisor kindly reminded us that the school holidays has started. I let out a slight groan. He jokingly said that most of us are not afraid to work with a full load, but are terrified of dealing with Singaporean customers.

Indeed, the prospect of having 200 odd Singapore-lang asking for the sky, while in the sky, sends shivers down my back. Adults ask, sorry, demand for newspapers; children who talk to me like I'm the maid at home; teenagers who only stare at the in-seat video and don't respond when you speak to them; tour groups behaving like they own the whole plane. Basically Singaporeans being themselves, la.

Many times I shake my head in disgust, while hiding in the galley. I've also seen other passengers looking on in amusement when they come across our fellow countrymen behaving as if they owned an international airline. I always hear or read about how Singaporeans prefer to fly Thai, ANA, JAL, MAS etc for "they are friendlier, smile more and go further". Well, if I were to swap places with the attendants of those other airlines, I'd bet they would come away bruised and battered too.

Here are some tips that I've come up with after a decade of service in the sky;

• Pack light. If you can't lift your cabin bag overhead, chances are the petite stewardess will have trouble with it too. And give a hand, we're not the baggage handlers.
  
• BYO. We don't have a newspaper for every single passenger on board. 80cents at the airport newstand will not burn a hole in your pocket. Share if required. You are familiar with the concept of sharing, right?
  
• What's that? When someone speaks to you, remove headsets from ear. It's only polite. Plus we don't have to repeat the menu to you, many times over.
• Use the attendant call light. Snapping fingers at crew will not earn you brownie points. And once is enough, we cannot magically appear in front of you.
  
• Choices: One meal without rice/chicken/noodles will not kill you. Order a special meal if your diet requires that you can "only eat chicken, with rice...and carrots".
• Special drinks. Have whatever is on the cart (juices, sodas, wines, beers) during the tray distribution. We can serve that special cup of warm milk (arrgh!) only probably 5-10 min later. You're better hydrated with the pre-cupped water anyways.
• Patience. You are not the only one on the plane. You will most definately have to wait for your requests to arrive. We are not magicians, nor are we speed demons.
• Smile. I smile at you, you smile at me. The world is a better place for it.
• Washroom. Flush, please.
• Children giveaways. Notice it's called CHILDREN giveaways??
• And NO. We do not do upgrades, not in a million years. It's policy, like how you can never get more opposition into parliament.

Well, after all that, I have to add that there are indeed nice passengers that make me wanna go the extra mile for them. They are the ones that make it worth all the acrimony.

Happy holidays, everyone!!

I'll huff, and I'll puff and I'll....

Of most reality shows, I count The Amazing Race (TAR) as my favourite. The drama, the characters (reel or real), the strategy, and the twists & turns captured me so that I once followed one season throughout, catching up on repeats if I missed an episode.

When The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) came along though, I was skeptical. First I found that some contestants were expats living in an Asian country. I know that this is a globalized world we live in now, but I’m sure they can find 11 pairs of true-blue homegrown Asians to compete! The producers did mention that they wanted competitors to be able to converse in English. Puuleeese, if you can understand the Indian models’ thick accent, you can understand anyone’s master of English. Besides, they have subtitles right?

2 episodes and I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a poor cousin of TAR; like miniature golf is never really golf? The tasks, detours, roadblocks and fast forwards are trivial and lame. Draw a batik design? Push a noodle cart for 500m, while singing? Bowl dancing? Abseiling down 8 floors of a mall?

Come on, there are plenty of exciting things to do in Asia! Try looking for the clue box in some ancient Malaysian caves; buffalo racing in Indonesia; dragon boat racing in Hong Kong; ok so you can abseil down some mall in Singapore.

The way some of the contestants were huffing and puffing through the race (or were they acting, after all some are wannabe actors), they won’t stand a chance doing the actual TAR.

This is one reality show I’d not regret missing.

Writer's block...

After performing well at the Singapore River Regatta, I've been asked to write an article for the company paper. If you're interested, our ladies team came in 2nd in the inter-corporate event. Great credit to them; in a race where very few people gave them a chance, they proved that the gals in the air can do good on water too!

I have been assigned this duty since the last article that I wrote appeared in the much more widely circulated Group newsletter. I did my draft, sent it to my team manger for editing, who in turn submitted it to be further edited by the actual editor. When it finally got published, I couldn't recognise it as my own, save for a few quotes I got from the rowers.

Now, I have to tell you that I am not that good at writing. It's one thing to mash at the keyboard and upload onto my own blog. To send it in for publication, where a minimum of 7500 crew and more will read it, is another. I have to watch the grammer, the spelling, the punctuation marks, and stick closely to facts and figures.

Right now I'm tearing my hair out over the aforementioned article, and have a Friday deadline.

Great, just the way I'd like to spend my days off work.

UPDATE: Finally had it done 6pm Wednesday

We made it into the Semis!

I really am surprised to see all 3 teams(2 mixed, 1 Ladies') from AirCrew Dragon Boat Club make it into the semi-finals tomorrow. Honestly, I was not too optimistic as the teams didn't row together at all since the July events, just the few odd trainings with a handful of rowers. However, paddle hard we did and were duly rewarded with good timings to make it into tomorrow's races.

I'm most impressed with the ladies team. They got off to a smooth start, fell back after 150m, but managed to inch forward from there on to grab 1st position, a photo finish. I rushed to the control to wait for the official result, and saw the nice boy scrawl a "1" next to the our team name. I jumped for joy and ran to hug all the gals, who were dripping wet! No matter, I was most proud of them!!

I now believe that we are a team to be reckoned with in the corporate events.

Tomorrow will be more of the same, plus an extra ommph from each and everyone of us.

Come support us!

Bad day at work

I usually enjoy my work. Sure there are ups and downs, but not many to constitute to a bad day at the office.

Until today.

Today I got my work appraisal.

While I can't argue with the fact that I could not catch up with the speed of the service, I was shocked at a line that was written on the appraisal form.

"More interaction with pax (passengers) is needed, at the moment it's rudimentary only"

Rudimentary!! That's to say I'm still an amateur at this! While I may not be that chatty a person, especially when sober, I wouldn't call my PR skills rudimentary! I would like to think that I come across as a professional when working in the premium classes. No corny jokes, no loud guffaws, no overtly-animated gestures. Just even-toned, short conversations with people who would have more on their minds; work or rest mainly, than let the service staff get all buddy-buddy with them.

How does one strike up a conversation with passengers who've just finished work in the office at night, travelled an hour or so to the airport and wish only to keep to themselves on board. Them watching their movies with their headphones on just screams, "Don't bother me other than to serve me dinner."

The next thing this bugger told me got me hot under the collar.

"You know why I didn't respond much to you when you spoke to me? It's cuz I was testing you, to see how far you'd go to break the ice with me."

Is he kidding or what?? I thought that's what the forms are there for, to be as transparent as possible when it comes to appraisals, right?!! He had to resort to his own pseudo-psychological test just so that I would communicate with him on a different level?

"Hey you dumb f##k, move your lips and tell me how you would like to run this dinner service! I can't f##king read your mind leh, what if my trolley set-up is not to your liking, how? And stop grunting when I ask for your opinions, people from this planet respond when spoken to!"

Bet that'll get him talking...

Please, move to the rear!

I read this article in ST;

"making public transport the way to go"

It's about how the recent PTC survey states that commuters are sayin that overcrowded buses are the 2nd highest complaint, after long waiting times. One line intrigued me

"Public transport operators insist the public transport system is under-used, even during rush hours."

WTF??!!!

Do they expect all their buses to be packed to the brim all times of the day before they are satisfied that yes, there are indeed cases of overcrowding during peak hours.

Anyone who's taken a bus in the morning/evening rush hours know how terrible it is to try to squeeze onto a packed bus full of commuters going to/returning from work. They are probably not in the best mood to give up their seats, move to the rear, or sometimes queue.

I used to take a bus to work, and I will attest that it is the worst way to start your day. You wear your nicely pressed work clothes, gel up your hair, sometimes put on a bit of cologne. At the end of the journey though, you feel like you have to repeat all the above steps again before heading into the office.

As if that's not enough, sometimes there's the oddball bus driver, I mean Captains, that seem to be rushing to stick to their schedules. Too many times I've experienced buses that jolt to a start, causing elderly and children to almost trip. I had on one occasion seen the driver, I mean Captain, ask an elderly couple to hurry onto the bus!

Dude, you drive a fixed route, going any faster will not end your shift any earlier, and if you are indeed late, put it in a report or something. Safety first! (Although they insist that the priority is for commuters to Flag Early these days, seriously...)

The joke is that the heads of these transport companies have never stepped onto a bus themselves, let alone during peak hours. I'd tend to agree. The good people at mrbrownshow have one episode in their podcast about it too!

Click here for said podcast

If you haven't heard of the mrbrownshow.com yet, which planet have you been on lately?!!

Where everybody knows your name...

Although the Elizabeth Pub is not the official Arsenal pub in town, many SG Gooners will beg to differ.

Where else can you find more than a dozen faithful supporters 10pm on a Sunday night at a pub in town, knowing well that they'll have to drag their behinds back home to get some sleep before facing Big Blue Monday? It's sorta like the classic sitcom "Cheers", where everybody knows your name.

Other than the other odd hotel guests who goes there for a nightcap, I also spotted other types of audience.

One is the friend of a Gooner who decides to sit in on match day. They are the ones who ask which colour jersey Arsenal is wearing for the match; what are the words to our cheers; and of course the perennial favourite - what is the offside rule. Being the nice people us SG Gooners are, we explain patiently the ins and outs of the game to them.

It really helps when your friends are gorgeous babes, like Shai's...

The other is what I'd like to call the betting people. They are only concerned about the scoreline, and how it would affect their pockets. Even then I'm still not too bothered. It's only when they start mouthing off at the players/ref/tactics when the match is not going their way that gets to me. This person could've just stayed home, turned his TV and PC on, and made his bets throughout the match on his mobile without pissing the real fans off. NO. He had to come to an Arsenal joint and rile people up with his thoughtless comments, out loud. Sad, really sad.

Farhad got a nice birthday surprise before the start of the 2nd half, with a cake any SG Gooner would like. Happy Birthday Farhad!!

The match? Well, you know where to look (here, here and here) for the full analysis.

2 words; Referee kayu!!

UnXpected@Timbre

My friends tell me that I blog too infrequently.

Well, I do have to travel quite a bit for my work and without a laptop on hand, it's kinda rare to see me posting every other day, unlike SG Gooner.

I had just came back from a week-long flight to Frankfurt/New York. There's no haze, the shopping's good, and I still managed to watch parts of Arsenal running circles around CSKA Moscow. Good trip in my books.

I went down to Timbre on Sat, thinking it to be another atas poser joint, but came away impressed. Other than the fact that The UnXpected were performing there, I enjoyed the ambience there. Plus the food was yummy; the pizzas are like pratas with toppings, really. The company of a few good Gooners were a bonus and more friends of mine saw Shirlyn in action, which has to be good.

Chris was nice enough to hand me a slice of his birthday cake. Happy birthday Chris!

Tomorrow cheong Liz pub for West Ham v Arsenal. I remembered they sorta helped us keep Spurs at bay last season in the closing stages, but they are just rubbish now in the English league.

So, 0-3 to the Arsenal I say!!

YouTube killed the video star..

Very clever, hor.

Happy Bird-Day Daniel!!

Just so you know...

I admire your passion towards work, family and faith.


Enjoy this day with your family and friends.

HAVE A GREAT BIRTHDAY MAN!!

The dirty old man

"Wow that's a really short skirt, mind if I put my hands under it?'

Many would be taken aback by a statement such as the above. Yet, according to the perpetrator, it's always meant in jest. The victim was in shock by the leering bastard of a supervisor, and said nothing at first.

That's the modus operandi of these guys. They prey on innocent, unsuspecting women and get off making all these remarks.

They can go around telling people that it's the way they talk, but they must understand that this is not the 70's. Not all women can take their nonsense.

So what if he's gonna retire in a few months.

The faarker who said this has a daughter in the same company where he works.

Let's see how kindly she takes to it.

What goes around, comes around...

Mickey's new phone

Truly one for e discerning ladies...

Biang Eh Part 3

Enough of England under-performing at the Euro's

Check out Arsenal's/England Under 21's Super-Sub!!

1st Goal...



2nd Goal...



Always humble Theo, citing Henry and RvP as fine examples.



Good on ya, kid!

THEOOOO!!

WTF??!!

Not that I've done it but...

This is farrny!!

"Passengers who are unable or prefer not to swallow may use the paper receptacle bags located in the forward seat pocket. After use, give the bag to a flight attendant for disposal."

Don't just look at the pics, read the description too!!

Back to School

So there I was, sipping on my Tiger when my buddy told me about my Dunman High School 50th Reunion dinner.

I had, on more than one occasion, mentioned to him about a class reunion. I gamely agreed to going, and am rummaging through my closet for the school tie to go with my suit.

I don't have a clear recollection of school, the studying part that is. I was not a good student, and more often than not earned more visits to the disciplinary master than points on my report card. I suppose I didn't make any long-lasting friends there either, other than redcocoon.

Some say a class reunion such as these are only an opportunity for the alumni to go back and show off how much they have achieved since leaving school. I dare say that I am just about the only one who never furthered my education beyond 'O' levels (going to Poly for a year, and flunking, doesn't count). Past students of this SAP school usually move on to bigger things in life other than asking passengers on a plane about their choice of meals.

However, I will be holding my head up high still. I have a good career that pays well; I own the roof over my head, albeit a small one; and unlike some that I hear of, I'm still not divorced many times over!

So, 14th OCT could be my trip down memory lane, or a very big PR exercise. Failing both of which, I seriously hope they have enough alcohol to last me through the night.

Tsk tsk...

No off day?!

45,000 ft up

View from my window, way up in e sky.

Simply Hantum one..

Most of you would notice the Flickr thingy next to my posts.

On one of those very eng days I went to start another blog. Should I call it a photo-blog? Cuz I only post photos that I took and find interesting, with nothing but a title.

No words, no links, no videos.

Just photos.

Enjoy, and post some comments lah...

Click here

Mai Siao Siao

Yes, this film won an award at an international film festival, mai siao siao...

"We're still reeling from the shock. To my knowledge, this is the first time Singaporeans have ever won an international screenwriting award awarded by a major institution at a tier 'A' international film festival.

So there you have it - a simple little film from a little island about regular Singaporean folks, told partly in English, in Mandarin and in Hokkien, not to mention Singlish and some Malay, CAN TRANSCEND INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL BOUNDARIES and we can stop trying to make films to please notional foreign audiences by copying films from other countries. (Sorry for this outburst - but you won't believe the kind of crap we have gotten from certain quarters for wanting to do our 100% Singaporean story.)"

Colin Goh-Director, Singapore Dreaming

Go watch, else next time bo chan liao!!

I'll drink to that:)

So good, they made it into a drink:)

FEER is like... a porno mag

Waaa... now bring in Far Eastern Economic Review is tantamount to bringing in porn.

"Statement of the Far Eastern Economic Review
September 28, 2006

The Singaporean government today announced that it has banned the Far Eastern Economic Review from the country. It has explicitly warned that not only is the Review Publishing Company forbidden from importing or distributing the Hong Kong-based monthly, but Singaporeans will also commit a criminal offense if they import or reproduce the magazine for distribution.

In its September issue, the Review urged the Singaporean government to reconsider its decision to impose punitive regulations on the Review. These retroactive regulations furthered the interests of individual members of the government and harmed the magazine financially, but were never justified by the government under the applicable law. Today’s statement shows that the government has refused to reconsider its repressive approach toward the media.

We regret that this action infringes on the fundamental rights of our Singaporean subscribers and further restricts the already narrow scope of free expression in Singapore. The Review will publish a more complete response to the government’s actions in the next issue of the magazine to appear on October 6. "

from FEER.com

Only, porn needs less work from the big head, and more worth getting caught with *wink wink

Loss of hearing, from 25!!

So now the trend is those see gin-nah with the Mozzy ringtone is it? I haven't heard it, cuz they say those above 25 won't be able to hear the high frequency tone, and I'm like..more than 25 liao.

It actually started out as an alarm to shoo kids outta the malls but look what they've done with it, and making obscene amounts of money too!!

They've even went and do a dance track, splicing it into the tune!

"High-pitched, anti-teen alarm is now ringtone, techno track

A high-frequency sonic alarm created to stop troublesome teens from loitering in retail areas has been repurposed as a dance track and a mobile phone ringtone..."

-frm Boing Boing

Ah to be young again...

Biang Eh!!

Yes, Arsenal won again at home against FC Porto. Yes, Henry scored his 50th in Europe with a rare header. But check out Eboue's cross, the way it floated in. Dang the whole bloody team credit Eboue with the 1st goal! See already get goosebumps one, steady ah...



Steaam maann...

And Hleb finally decides to shoot!




2-0 to the Arsenal!!

My ears..oh..my ears...

So here I am, with the TV showing the Finals of the SG Idols in the background.

Not many people I know take too kindly to this season's competition, the participants, even the judges. What the hell is Jacintha there for?! All she does is repeat what Florence "Ah" Lian had said, but in a nonchalant(bochup) way. And Ken? They better be paying him big bucks for sitting through this competition. For a music producer, I would think it's killing him softly with each song week in week out. Dick Lee? He's there to see who's more stylo. End of the day, whatever they say means next to nothing as the teen populace vote for their own little wet dream.

Who I think should win? Well, the heart says Hady, but my head is telling me they'll let Jonathan win this one. Let the conspiracy theories follow!

I do hope the next reality talent competition The Dance Floor is something different. You can't fake dance moves now, can you???

Finding their feet

So the next group stages of the Champions League will start on Tue(early Wed here). I will be in Narita by the time Arsenal kicks off with Porto at home. I hope I can catch it at the hotel, else have to depend in LiveScore or my fellow Gooners to update me on the match liao.

Speaking of home. I'm not the only one who suggests that the Gunners are still feeling their way around on the new Emirates pitch. Even Wenger says that they are slowly, but surely, finding their way on the pitch. Perhaps it may even add a new dimension to their play, this new pitch.

However, I hope they do find their feet and the goal when they play Porto. With a brand new stadium, a larger crowd, and fellow Gooners around the world rooting for them, they should do well to go through. Yes, play beautiful football, but also take the shots. This is the knockout stage, so only goals will get us through to the finals.

Come on Arsenal!!

EPL Sat night

The thing I like about EPL season? You are never lost on what to do on a weekend. After a nice time at the Esplanade and dinner care of Mickey(for the side bet when Man Yoo lost to The Gunners), we made our way to Liz Pub to catch the Liverpool match.

As you might guess, most of the pub was rooting for the Reds against the Spuds. Spurs really didn't look like a big team that they always aspire to, how the NewPaper can lump them together with the top 4 and call it the Big 5 is beyond me. They deserved to lose 3-o.

As the regulars gathered, Arsenal were lining up to face Sheffield United. I shouldn't say that I was prepared for a thrashing of Sheffield United, after all they did make it into the Premier league. What I didn't expect was a goaless first half.

I was getting frustrated at teams that seem to park their lorries in front of goal whenever they play against Arsenal. However, as suggested by a fellow Gooner Lokesh, most visiting teams to the Emirates would be more than happy with a point already, therefore the negative play.

The first half was not doing me any good. Many times I was left cursing in my beautiful hokkien at the missed opportunities and the negative football Sheffield United were playing. I had a side bet with Mickey. 2-0 she gets a meal from me, 3-0 the next dinner's on her.

It took a little more than an hour later when Henry tipped the ball over to Fabregas, who then flipped it to Gallas, who then volleyed it high into the net, past the goalie. 1-nil to the Arsenal! The mood at the pub was lifted and my prediction was coming true. You've probably read the match reports already so I won't go into that. I must mention Henry's header in the 80th min though, you don't see too many from the King, and it was as good as any I shall say.

3-0. My next dinner is on the house again.

Oh and to round up a nice Saturday night out, Man Yoo only managed a draw travelling to Reading. Suffer the wrath of Ferguson, boys...

Visit to Old Trafford

I was in Manchester recently and decided to visit Old Trafford, homeground of Man Yoo. It was a 20min tram ride from where my hotel is, a return ticket costing about 2 pounds. The thing about buying tickets for public transport when one is overseas; better pay up than face the embarrassment of getting caught without one, which by then would incur a fine 10X, in some places 100X the original fare. Don't ngiao la...

So once at the station it was a short walk in the nice sunny weather to the Stadium. As one gets closer the neighbourhood turns very, well, red. Not everyone is too thrilled though.

I bought the tour for a little less than 10 pounds and was soon taking a walk through Man Yoo's history and record books. It's easy to get lost in all the trophies and memoroblia and players' stats, but most times I just had a fertive glance at them.


What I couldn't quite get over was when I went into the players' changing room, instead of displaying the full kit for photo opportunities, they put up photos of them players according to where they sat. Very disappointed at that, and it's quite laughable when you see the people snapping at it too. I mean, it's a damn poster la..

Then we went on to the pitch, or at least just outside it. It's a grand stadium, and bless them lucky souls who are able to catch the action here. Actually it was made sweeter by the fact that we beat their sorry asses the week before, but of course I kept my mouth shut la.



I can't wait to fly to London when I can visit Emirates Stadium and perhaps, even watch a match! It'll be tons more fun!

Review : Forbidden City - Portrait of an Empress

I decided to watch this musical before it goes on a tour on a Sat afternoon.

I'm usualy supportive of the local productions and this has to rank as one of the ones that can actually make it overseas.

Kit Chan plays the young Empress Dowager and her voice doesn't fail her. Seated nearer to the stage, I could see that she not only sang the songs, but told the stories through her eyes too.

The production was slick, with simple props that doesn't take your attention away from the storyline. There were even Chinese subtitles to go along with the musical. I had to buy the CD after the show, there were a few songs I liked, especially those done by Kit Chan. How I wished I'd seen her in Snow Wolf Lake, the Hong Kong version.

I do suggest you put aside a nice weekend afternoon to watch this musical before it ends its run on the 30th Sep. Watch the matinee at 3pm cuz it's two and a half hour long with intermission, so you still have the evening after the show for other activities :)

Drool...

Steve-o and company, er... his, has done it again.

Ladies and Gents, presenting the new iPod Shuffle...




Drool factor? 10 outta 10 ;~~~

1-nil to the Arsenal

Too dark..but just listen to them SG Gooners!

1-nil to the Arsenal!!

So there I was at Liz Pub in my yellow away jersey for "The Showdown".

Got there by 9pm, watched the Chelsea v Liverpool match. Drogba scored a nice goal, and if I didn't detest them that much, I would've applauded.

I didn't. Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0. Yawn.

To the main event.

The SG Gooners were slowly streaming in by now. Kev brought his Bro Blog along too to soak in the atmosphere. Yes, I'm sure he realizes that this is where the true fans are! I even heard that there was a small Man U group watching at the poolside.

This was a grudge match. Though the common enemy seem to be Chelsea these days, the history between Arsenal & Man U has always been good fodder for the fans and media alike.

Again I shall leave it to Kev to analyse the match through and through. We should've been 1 up on the 11th minute, but Gilberto slipped. Gallas should've thrown himself towards the ball on another opportunity, and got us the 3 points, but didn't.

Le Prof brought in The Beast-Baptista, and there were shouts for Theo too from the SG Gooners. He's my Super-Sub when Arsenal needs that extra oomph.

In the end, Adebayor provided us with late cheers on the 85th min. The whole pub erupted and roared in unison, Eric was dancing around the room too!

Ooo and by the way, if you read the Sunday edition of the NewPaper, you'd realise that only one punter made a clean sweep at the betting window on this match. His name? Jules Carter. Me like...


Ernest Luis is also the only guy who gave Arsenal a chance in the electric version of the Sports section. Good on ya, mate!

Nice way to start off a Monday eh??

I need my zzz's

Should I call it insomnia? Or sleep deprivation?

By choice mostly, I stay up way past bedtime on many nights. This is definately not healthy for someone past 30. Sometimes I even get up in the middle of the night, just to do things around the house.

Surfing, late night TV, packing luggage, chores, I even went jogging once way past midnight at the neighbourhood track!! I always know that I should go to bed, but my mind is so active that I'm better off staying awake!

Perhaps it's my time management, which is next to nil. I always am trying to do what I should've done the day before, only to procrastinate and have more things to do the day after(???)

I am so not a virgo, who they say...

"... is the sixth sign of the Zodiac and associated with purity and service. Individuals born under this sign are thought to have a diligent, analytical, self-sufficient, controlled, orderly, modest, and intellectual character, but one which is also prone to fussiness, perfectionism, harsh criticism, coldness, and hypochondria..."

Walaaan! Just bloody shooot la!!

Just came back from Liz. Most of the boys were there; Kev, Daniel, Shai, Hassan, Allen, Gooner4ever, Ashley, and many more. Daniel brought his friends from France along, hope they had a good time there.

Sigh.. Arsenal ended the match 1-1, and only after Boro were down to 10 men. Most times the people at the pub were just shouting for the Gunners to take a shot at goal.

The Gunners are many times accused of trying to "walk" the ball into the opposition's net. Although this time they weren't doing anything fancy in front of goal, they also left it too late to take any meaningful shots. By the time they start thinking of shooting, 10 men are already standing in front of the Boro goal defending!!

And why didn't they send in Theo?? Yes, he's no big time signing from Chel$ski or Real Madrid, but I feel things always happen when he has the ball. To start with Gallas I understand, but to send in Baptista - a newbie, when we needed a win badly?? I felt this was not a good time to "display" our new signing Baptista, not when he's not familiar with the team, with the English game, even the English language itself. Sigh..

Well, all I can say is that it's very heng that we managed a draw against 10 men Boro.

Not many matches will turn out so lucky...

Kallang, one last time

I don't remember watching any exciting matches at the Kallang Stadium. My elder brothers probably did, when they were selling otah-otah and kueh-kueh in the stands back in the early 80's. By the time I was old enough, hawkers were no longer allowed inside and thus I missed watching the early Singapore teams live at the Stadium.

In fact I was never a fan of the local soccer scene. However, since the Gooners asked me along for this opportunity to see the inside of the Kallang Stadium for perhaps one last time, I tagged along for the experience.

We've all agreed to go in our Arsenal jerseys (Red mah). As expected there were the Man-U, Liverpool and a few Lions jerseys around the stadium too. The Chinese supporters were out in full force, some arriving by chartered buses. Many had their national flags draped around them. I overheard some boasting about how they were gonna score 4, even 8 goals against the Lions. Patriotic, yes. Arrogant, perhaps.

The atmosphere in the stands was friendly in the beginning. There were friendly jabs about the opposing teams from both sides of supporters. The main sponsor had opened up the upper gallery to some 100 fans if they arrived early, with the promise of free beers and snacks. Lucky it was only 100, else once the beer starts to kick in who knows what might have transpired between them and the Chinese fans.

However, it was rude for the supporters to be jeering while the respective national anthems were being played, more rude when I heard a few unkind remarks about the Chinese nationals from the Singapore supporters side. I'd have preferred that we saved all that voice to shout out support for our own teams. I felt that there should've been some sort of segregation, between the 2 teams' supporters. I know, it's not the Malaysia Cup of the heydays, but still safety has to be a concern at events like these.

Well, the Lions did well against the "Red Army". When I say that I mean that they kept a clean sheet against the China team. The Lions had no ideas up front, always pumping the ball high and hoping for the best. Many could see that they couldn't out-jump many of the Chinese players, so why they kept doing that I don't understand. My man of the match? Goalkeeper Lionel Lewis. If it weren't for his safe hands, and some bad luck for the Chinese team, we'd have been 2 or 3 goals down at the end of the evening.

As we ambled our way out after the final whistle, we took a last look at the Stadium, all lit up. For many it holds fond memories from as far back as a decade ago. Hopefully someday a new Stadium would be able to hold more fans and one may hear the Kallang roar loud and proud again.