karma

this was the headline on today's The Newpaper.

"S'pore netizen fury over YouTube video; Tourists taunt trishaw uncle."

curious and partially disgusted as to what i read, i decided to youtube the video on my computer to see what the whole deal was really about.

after watching the video, all i could feel was anger and disappointment towards the tourists, and sorry for the uncle. it's just... so wrong.

the man(Mr Lee) was 67. riding trishaws was something that he had been doing for 15 years. it was a part of his life. as if it wasnt tiring enough for a 67 year-old man to cycle 3 huge guys on a trishaw, they actually were insensitive enough to make remarks about him while he was cycling. fine.

the part that really hit a raw nerve of mine, was when Mr Lee didnt realise that they were making fun of him(because he couldnt understand them) and he looked at them and said, "very happy" with a thumbs-up sign. it just made me feel bad for him, and pissed at the way those chumbuckets continued with their taunts. i'm clenching my fist and i dont care.

"i can walk faster than this."

well then why dont you get off the damn trishaw and walk, young chap? you should've stopped wasting Mr Lee's time since you'd decided not to pay him in the end anyway. that's right. they ended up not paying. what jerks.

where they found it in them to do that to an old man, i'll never know.

so apparently, this is the account of the guy(Mr Bo Davis) who put up the video initially. some people have linked this to racism issues, but frankly, i dont think this has anything to do with race, sex or religion. it's just about having basic morales, isnt it? i dont care what you do, who you are, what you look like, or where you come from. you can be my neighbour for all i care. but if you do this to someone of that age, you know you're morally wrong. rudeness, dudes. i mean, come on. the man is friggin' 67, for heaven's sake. ethics. heard of it?

"i couldnt believe the comments- i was shocked by the threats." - Mr Bo Davis

now, now, did you really think that people were going to send you smiley faces made from a colon and a closing parentheses? :)

okay, now, i'll have to admit that many of the comments left by angry netizens were pretty harsh. and normally i'd feel sorry for people, even if they were in the wrong to begin with. but somehow, i dont quite feel the same for those guys. i mean, they really cant blame other people for feeling mad after watching the clip now, could they?

well, you chose to put the video up first. you put it up, so people watched it(whether you thought no one else would watch it or not). so unfortunately for you, you filmed it, uploaded it, and there you go. your music. face it. that's right. it's your bad, unfortunately.

hey what can i say?

oops. sucks to be you?

a colon and a closing parentheses.

picture perfect.

my dad came home from china on friday with this.


behold.

it's so drop-dead gorgeous, i dont know what else to say.

then a great thing happened. the last string burst on me. how exciting. but i've since changed it and re-tuned the guitar and it's sooo playable right now...although, i'm having reservations about even touching it right now. it's too gorgeous to be destroyed by me...

...oh who am i kidding? as if i'll be able to keep my hands away from that suckerbeauty.

i finally got my brother's birthday present this afternoon.

voila.

so hot, aint it? just do it. :)

by the way, here are a few pictures i took of the sky a few days ago. you know, for fun.


i just like the way this picture turned out.


check the sun out.


this was taken a while back.
sure felt like heaven had just opened it's gates. heh.


just the view from my kitchen window. was trying to take the reflection of the sun setting through the window, and at the same time making sure that my neighbours' underwear hung outside werent in the picture, while hanging on to my phone for it's dear life.

tagged.

*clears mind of useful braincells*

Questions To Die For

[Layer One: On the Outside]
Name: Swee Hoon
Birth Date: 27 December 1988
Current Status: single
Eye Color: black
Hair Color: brownish-black
Righty or Lefty: righty


[Layer Two: On the Inside]
Your Heritage: um, dad's parents were from Suatao(China), where the pure teochews reside. mom's dad was from Hainan Island(China), where... well, the pure hainanese reside. and oh, according to my mom, my great-grandmother was a peranakan.
Your Fear: small spaces. the big unknown. crowds. dolls. wax statues. portraits of women from the 1920s era, dressed in cheongsams. *shudder*
Your Weakness: i dont open up to people alot. java. tv. chocolates.
Your Perfect Pizza: CHEESE. pure cheese. mmmm...mama mia.

[Layer Three: Yesterday, Today , Tomorrow]
Your First Thought This Morning: 5 more minutes.
Your Last Thought Before Bedtime: 5 more minutes.
Your Most Missed Memories: probably australia 1997. and the stupid things my friends and i have done in the past.

[Layer Four: Your Pick]
Pepsi or Coke: coke light.
McDonald or Burger King: hmm. mcdonalds. sliiightly healthier choices? *cough*
Single or Group Dates: single dates, baby!
Adidas or Nike: "impossible is nothing". adidas.
Tea or Nestea: what's the difference?
Chocolate or Vanilla: hiii. chocolate. come to momma.
Cappuccino or Coffee: hmm. cappucino.

[Layer Five: Do You...]
Smoke: never.
Curse: i'm uh, trying to cut down on it. ohm.
Take showers: everyday.
Think you are in love: not really.

[Layer Six: In the Past Month]
Drank alcohol: nope.
Gone to the mall: just a few hours ago, in fact.
Been on stage: nope.
Eaten sushi: dont eat sushi. unfortunately. heh.
Dyed your hair: nope.

[Layer Seven: Have You Ever...]
Played a stripping game: i'd rather play boggle.
Changed who you were to fit in: no. stay true to yourself, everyone!

[Layer Eight: Age]
You are hoping to be married at the age of: 26? 27? probably around there.

[Layer Nine: In a Girl/Guy]
Best Eye Color: brown.
Best Hair Color: black. or dark brown.
Short Hair or Long Hair: wait, is this question about how i think a girl should look or how i think the right guy should look? because it doesnt matter what length it is for the former to me, but it's definitely short for the latter. or maybe bald. that's kinda cool.

[Layer Ten: What Were You Doing]
1 Min Ago: this. yes, this.
1 Hour Ago: watching grey's anatomy.
4.5 Hours Ago: drinking iced lemon tea at mos burger.
1 Month Ago: swimming in the bahamas. i mean, visiting mausoleums in london. okay fine. serving my jailterm working on my stale(and still on-going) project.
1 Year Ago: probably hoping that i wouldnt get some shit project for S.I.P. (well you didnt pray hard enough, SEIGE! damn you, girl. damn you.)

[Layer Eleven: Finish the Sentence]
I Love: tuna (chicken of the sea). burrrp. excuse me.

I would like to tag this to...
anyone who wants to do it. :)
or um, anyone who loves waffles.

wow. i am sleepy.

individuality

The individual has always had to struggle
to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
If you try it,
you will be lonely often,
and sometimes frightened.
But no price is too high to pay,
for the privilege of owning yourself.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

did anyone call for a superhero?

so i was with a friend at city hall's mrt station on tuesday, standing by the escalator, waiting for my watch to hit 9.40pm. i scanned through the adidas ads on the walls, like i always would, and then i couldnt believe what i saw.



let me show you a closer picture.



not close enough? sure. here's an EVEN closer one. (i zoomed in.)


it's 25794 ms elvia suryadi, y'all.

oh that's her, all right. even her name's written right next to her picture.

ok, just to satisfy your curious minds, she's actually a teacher from the ITCU, also known as the Internet Technology Competency Unit, a.k.a. the unit where i've been working my ass off for the past 7 months.

i think you should just call her 'superwoman'. now, we've always known her to be a really fit person, but... look at the guy next to her in the picture. i mean, just look at how tired he looks! ok? now look at her.

i swear she's 'superwoman'. really.

ok now wait. here's another one.



woaaah.

my mutant sense tells me she had a costume and a cape hidden under that sportswear.

Time

Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not.
Time takes it all.
Time bears it away.
And in the end,
there is only darkness.
Sometimes we find others in that darkness,
and sometimes we lose them there again.

-Stephen King

music.

"You got a dream? You gotta protect it. You want something? Go get it. Period."

- Chris Gardner (Will Smith), The Pursuit Of Happyness

i have a new found love for some new music. the band's called Automatic Loveletter and their music is really quite something. Juliet Simms(the lead) has great vocals and there's just something that band possesses that i love. do check them out. :)

also, i think that it's really awesome that bands are giving away their music for free. FREE, and LEGAL, everyone. i mean, wow! now typically, i'm not someone who is really willing to spend money on something like a top or bag that i think is too expensive to me, but music... i have a soft spot for music. good music. and believe me, it's a good and bad thing. heh.

anyway, Radiohead(whose music has always been fabulous) has probably finally reached their peak of brilliance, that they've decided to give away their music for free! now, just how CROUCHINGTIGERHIDDENDRAGON IS THAT, huh? tell me. how AWESOME is that? think about the money that they will be losing out on. the money that they dont give a crap about. it's completely ROCK 'N' ROLL, people. and now that they've done that, the fantabulous Oasis and Jamiroquai are going to do it too. WOAAH. hell yeah.

all hail to the trendsetters. *salutes*

i vote Coldplay next.
heh.

I Got It From My Mama - Will.i.am

"Baby where'd you get your body from?
Tell me where'd you get your body from?
Baby where'd you get your body from?
Tell me where'd you get your body from?"

"i got it from my mama.
i got it from my mama.
i got it from my mama.
i got it got it got got it.."

DUH.

"If the girl real pretty,
Nine times out of ten,
She pretty like her mama.

And if her mama real ugly,
I guarantee ya she gon’ be ugly like her mama."

oh wow. clever.

nonsensical. this song is getting real annoying. tsk.
my opinion? it's pointless.

when she tries...

a typical wednesday afternoon. 8 people were in the lab doing whatever they always did. the door opened and in walked someone. a lecturer. the same one who hasnt exactly been considered an ally around here. "what now?" we thought amongst ourselves.

lecturer: *takes out a big packet of candies* want sweet? come, take some sweets. come. take some. *walks around the lab and offers everyone some sweets before leaving the room*

friend #1: *looks at me in bewilderment* something's wrong.

friend #2: *checks for expiry date*

me: *mouths the word 'Poison'*

friend #4: *perplexed* DONT EAT IT. It's a trick.

ohhh yeeeaah. we're a hard crowd to please.

*pops sweet into mouth*

snigger.

something must've knocked me in the head.

had a great 2-hour long conversation last night. with my dad. uh-huh, i know. strangely enough, it was something new for me, i would say. but it was great. and i enjoyed it.

something my dad said last night.
"life is full of obstacles. but you dont see an obstacle in front of you and give up. dont give up on life. you just have to learn how to overcome it and everything else will fall into place."

mm. inspirational.
someone should sell it on those inspirational cards at Popular or something.
these are just the words that you try not to forget in life.

um, moving on before my words get too weird around here.

alright. moving on. i've decided to go to Australia for a break after graduation next year. that's right. a post-graduation trip. my friends might, or might not join me, but it doesnt quite matter because i had planned to travel there alone initially anyway. besides, i'll get to visit my friend who's studying there now and who i miss dearly(she'll be here next chinese new year though. cant wait!).

sure, it'll burn a hole in my bank book(ack). but i think it's a sacrifice worth making. and yes, i'll be there on a budget. then again, it wont matter because i dont intend to be there to really shop around but more to just kick back and relax. just a break that i think i'll deserve by next year.

mom said 'yes' but i could tell that she's hesitant. worried. makes sense because i havent sat in a plane for um, 12 years, and i told her that i'd be going there alone. so when i told her that my friends might come along, she smiled slightly more naturally. haha. um, we'll save the conversation of how i'm going to be fine alone(if i'm flying solo) for her when the time draws near. heh. dad's 100% supportive and he even started helping me with some plans as to where to go and what to do.

the only tiny, little thing that's standing in the way of me and my great escape, is whether i'll be able to graduate by April'08 or not. *cough* there. just a tiny problem. uh-huh.

anyway, i guess, after losing someone so recently, i've decided to try as hard as possible to fulfil other aspects of my life. the little things that i've always wanted to do. sure, school is pretty much making my life a lot harder but i've decided to try as hard as possible to make it the only bad thing in my life from now on. that's right. i'm going to try to live happy. and i'm not just saying it. i'm really going to try that. for myself. *enlightened*

pass the mourning.
over the grieving.
still wondering,
and not forgetting.
but moving on.

random fact: did you know that the possibility of dying because your plane crashed is much lesser than the possibility of dying from a car crash on your way to the airport? indeed. just thought that you might wanna know. now go freak out. in one way or another. heh.