highs and lows

now i just realized i've not posted anything for like a week.
i haf to say it's been a rather strange and busy week. some highs and many lows.

hairspray whose soundtrack i'm grooving to right now as i type. i have to say i'm very impressed by this movie version in spite of the expectation I had of it from the positive reviews in the papers. i nv even thot about watching the broadway version in nyc because e reviews werent great. but now it's the second musical i wanna watch when (if?? more on this later) i get back (after lion king). the movie was like one happy song from start to end and throwing in a bit of reality/history about racial segregation in the 60s in Baltimore was a nice touch. john travolta was a bit stiff and unconvincing in his role as Edna but Nikki Blonsky has to be one of the finds of the year.

i was glad to have watched hairspray on friday because i was really quite pissed/exasperated/!@#$%^&* on fri. as always the antagonist is the dear organization i signed the next ten years of my life to. to cut the long story short, let's just say the national science agency cannot do/see a simple math problem any average school kid in singapore can solve: express 3.7978 to two decimal places.

so it's been five days and there mite be a possible solution in the near future. but that does not put me in any better mood than on friday. sometimes i feel that they should start REALLY caring for our well-being rather than putting us such unnecessary emotional agony.

time to sleep

lasik 101

as some of you alrdy know, i had lasik done on my eyes on monday afternoon and i'm happy to report that things look good (and clear) at the moment.
there were two main reasons i decided to go ahead with the lasik procedure:
(1) i did not want to wear rigid gas permeable contact lenses all my life because they do have a molding effect on the cornea of which the long term effects are not known
(2) working on a microscope and playing football with spectacles are a pain
so yea here's a rundown of the lasik procedure which i have to say is pain-free but a wee bit uncomfortable at times:
step 1 is the evaluation session that takes a few hours and determines whether you are suitable for lasik and which procedure is suitable for you. so the clinic will run you through a series of tests, most of which are done by any eye doctor (if you have seen an eye doctor before) or even your optician. one of the tests includes the dilation of your pupil to ascertain the refraction of your eye at its natural (relaxed) state. there is no pain but there will be some temporary blurriness and sensitivity to bright light. at the end of the evaluation the doctor will recommend the appropriate surgery technique to take.
now on to the surgery itself. anaesthetic eyedrops are applied to numb your eyes. next the doctor will use sticky tape to tape ur eyebrows back before placing a speculum between ur eyelids. this device keeps ur eyes open and prevents blinking but the process of putting it in causes some discomfort. next a suction ring is positioned on your eye to steady the eyeball. pressure will be applied through the ring and it gives a sensation similar to the pressure you feel in your arm when ur blood pressure is taken. so u will feel like ur eyeball is being lightly squeezed. once this is done, the flap will be created (mechanically using a microkeratome in my case). this step has no pain involved but is rather interesting from the patient's point of view, which is akin to being at the bottom of a well with a transparent hemispherical cover. when the flap is lifted, it looks like the cover has been opened and flipped open (i dun think im doing justice to this with my tepid description). so after the flap is flipped opened, the laser treatment will begin and it feels and sounds like you are being shot at by a machine gun as the laser goes about re-shaping your cornea. the flap is then replaced and smoothened over by a sponge gauze before the instruments are removed from your eye.
post surgery, one should rest (i.e. sleep) as much as possible to allow your eye to recover. the steroid eyedrops must be applied as prescribed to stave off bacterial infection (one big cause of failure) and the eyes should be kept moist as much as possible to promote recovery.

epl review

after another nite spent in front of tv watching the 'big four' in action..here's my view on how the teams are at the moment:
Man United NEEDS a damn striker..this is probably obvious for all to see except that stubborn scot who makes the decisions..or mebbe he's having a change of heart because anelka is back in the news as a possible 'target'..we shall see wat happens on dat front..but watching torres score such a brilliant goal abt an hour after grimacing through the missed chances of the derby was extremely harsh on my heart..
in any case..while it was excruciating watching poor tevez being manhandled by dunne and richards..this game exposed two reasons why he cannot play as the furthest upfront striker: (1) he is not physical enough to hold up the ball and (2) he does not have the proacher's instinct to finish in the six-yard box
while we can rue our bad luck and blah blah..it is obvious that the title defence has ended before it has even begun (five points is too much to spot the other three teams, especially after only three games)
Chelsea always seems to get a result even when they are playing like crap..i'm sure rob styles is gonna be at the top of moanrinho's xmas card list because they were totally outplayed by pool last nite..but i have to say malouda looks damn good (at both playing and diving)..their ability to grind out points means they will be right in the thick of things at e end of the season..
Liverpool was by far the most impressive of the big four last nite..totally outplaying the Blues last nite and being robbed of a victory by the farcical mr styles..torres' goal was brilliantly taken (at around the same spot where nani blasted straight into kasper schmeichel for that matter)..and they showed all match that they were up for the challenge of bring the premiership back to anfield..sadly the match fizzled out after the penalty but Pool looks totally capable of breaking into the top 2 this year..
I have to admit I only caught bits of Arsenal's game because of the absurd overlap in tv times (so much for maximizing tv coverage..the british still has lots to learn from the yanks in this aspect)..in any case they certainly played tougher/harder/rougher than they did last year in a quite obvious attempt to shed the softie tag placed on them last year..but its taken them away from the smooth playing style that has served them well over the past couple of seasons..they wld haf gotten the W if not for lehman's second howler in three games but they certainly look up for the challenge..i've never doubted that one can win titles with kids..

the demise of ah hock hokkien mee

let's start with a moment of silence to mourn the loss of another great hawker stall

i went to chomp chomp yesterday for the first time since i got back..and was surprised to see (1) a young man instead of the usual grumpy old man at the hokkien mee stall and (2) zero queue time (compared to the usual hour waiting time)..
to no surprise..i found that the quality of the noodles had dropped considerably when the plate of noodles arrived..
well..there are other great dishes to savor at chomp chomp but i have to say it is very disappointing indeed..
admittedly..the occupation of a hawker is unglamorous and time-consuming..which explains the shunning of many young people from taking over their parent's stall..in some cases..it seems it is the parents who do not want their children to lead the same long tiring lives they have 'suffered'..but i have to say it is a real pity that we are starting to lose the many local delights that distinguish singapore from other asian countries..

since im on the topic of food..i figured that i will take this chance to publish a list of my favorite hawker food stalls in singapore..
in no particular order (since i cannot choose any one over the others) except the order they roll out of my brain:
1) nam sing hokkien mee (old airport road market)
2) zhong zhong fine spice ngoh hiang etc. (macpherson road near the old jackson kopithiam)
3) geylang lorong 9 beef kway teow (go for the smaller dishes: the 10 dollar plate is smaller than two 5 dollar plates)
4) geylang lorong 9 frog porridge (chilli lovers should go for the gong bao version!)
5) bak chor mee (fengshan blk 85 bedok)

knowing me, knowing you

don't feel in the mood to write much today..
but my current mood can be summed up by ABBA's song knowing me, knowing you..
i've copied a stanza of it as follows:


Here is where the story ends, this is goodbye

Knowing me, knowing you (ah-haa)
There is nothing we can do
Knowing me, knowing you (ah-haa)
We just have to face it, this time we're through
Breaking up is never easy, I know but I have to go
Knowing me, knowing you
It's the best I can do

it's kind of ironic that the group i turn to to lift my spirits when i'm down actually has a song that fits my current sad mood to a T..sighhhh

with the first step out of the way..

actual blogging shall commence..
this weekend promises to be an exciting one for several reasons:
1) sg has been forecast experience tremors this evening at around 1800 hours with the return of the big one (aka charlie)..citizens are advised to remain calm..
2) the epl is finally gonna get underway after the rather boring (but positive :D ) appetizer called the community shield last weekend..
3) bowling this sunday when i have to (by hook or by crook) remember how to bowl (properly) again..
while i had in the past looked forward to a laid back weekend or two..im glad this weekend looks rather packed because it will take my mind off other matters..
more of that later but to quote nick lay-chey and his 98 degrees: "it's the hardest thing i've ever have to do"

first post

lemme start dis blog by writing about the inspiration of its title: a couple of lines from V for Vendetta

V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.

[carves V into poster on wall]

V: The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous

it's not hard to see that i've failed to hit the heights of linguistic excellence achieved by V (or rather his writer).. but i will keep trying though as this is after all my first post..