unlucky

*I'm out of control, please mind my unusually high usage of coarse language. Thanks.

Some horrible thing happened to me. I was freaking tired after getting out of my camp at 6.45pm (mega long meeting that I observed ><), and I took the 2 buses to get to Coronation Plaza to wait for my parents to pick me up. I sat outside on the marble benches outside NTUC, just starting to read my vocab flash cards to pass the time (preparing for SATS!) and drinking my oreo crush at the same time.

At 7.30pm, a messy-haired, bespectacled woman approached me, clutching her mobile phone, saying in chinese (gg... chinese... the untouched language) that she needs help with typing an sms. Her voice was barely audible and I swear that did not sound like Singaporean Chinese to me. I accepted her request, since I was wearing that pajama-like green uniform and had to be helpful to others to show the spirit of the ymra. That turned out to be a great mistake.

Apparently, as I deciphered her almost too soft voice and screwed-up speech pattern, she handed me her Nokia phone to type the sms. The screen displayed her inbox. Her inbox was filled with some system notification messages. At the top was at last, a normal message from someone called Gina Ng. She wanted me to reply to Gina. Suspiciously, the message simply said: "Who u?". I thought, since she actually contacted this person by sms, why is she asking me to do this? Then, she asked me to type, with much difficulty in deciphering her Chinese: "Dear Gina" She suddenly gave me her IC (her name's Ang something something) and some business card with Gina and Gina's number. Then she continued: "there were 2 policemen who came to my house." I stopped there. (A bit weird here because she never explictly told me to type her name out. She only handed me her IC.)

After that, she gave me an information overload. Like really random bits of information. About this Ah Boon, then she showed someone's photocopyed IC, perhaps some criminal. Suddenly, she switched to asking Gina to call her. Then this Gina and her boyfriend. That was it. I heard incoherent sentences in mostly weird-sounding Chinese come out and a smatter of sometimes incomprehensible English when I asked her to repeat in English. I was desperate, so I started typing: "Please call me". She stopped me, for weird reasons I can't remember. Then she continued on with repeating what she said, which was still far too much and too incoherent and random for me to type on sms.

I felt fucked up. Whatever she said in Chinese I did not know what to type. Finally, I said, "Can you slowly repeat what you got to say in your sms? I'm just here to type this sms for you." She was agitated. And went on to continue her random rambling. It was frustrating, intense and her original request sounded redundant; she had too much to say to me. "Can't you just call Gina?" I asked. She instantly retorted me, saying that she didn't want to call her because of some stupid reason I can't remember (maybe Gina wasn't picking up her phone). In the middle of her rambling, she switched her focus to aggressively persuading me to type the sms for her and saying how important it was to her, some police case thing and her I-don't-know-what illness. I thought, "What you fucking want me to do? I don't understand what you fucking want ok!" I couldn't say what I thought as I was in that green uniform. She reminded me that what I was typing at that moment could be some sort of police thing (evidence for something? I guess). That sounded extremely fucking pressurizing. I knew I had to back out, this was going to get stupider and stupider - an endless pit of stupidity.

I gave her phone back to her and prepared to pack my bag and bravely said, "Sorry, I don't understand your Chinese. My Chinese isn't that good." I hinted that her English wasn't too comprehensible. She said, "I'm going to sue you. Where are you from? (obviously, leveraging on my uniform)". I didn't reply because I didn't have any obligation to tell her anything. That was shocking anyway. Blackmailing me all of a sudden. I argued, "How do I help you when I don't even understand what you are saying? Anyway, you can easily ask anyone else out there if you need additional help." She irately replied in Chinese, "zhen shi mei you liang xin." ( No heart for the needy.) I thought, "Like what the fuck?! I eagerly volunteered to help you but I couldn't understand you and you fucking say that I am not compassionate?" As she said that, she was busily snapping a photo of me. (Like I care! You were in the wrong! STOMP me lah. I didn't care whether my sewn-on name or formation badge was in the picture.)

I briskly walked away after that, ignoring the grating voice she had, towards the stairs to the car park, feeling stupefied and confused, never turning back to take a look. I felt fucked up because she tried to blackmail me. She had to had that ulterior motive of making me get fucked if I didn't fully helped her. An innocent ymra personnel in a noob-looking green uniform sure looks like a good target to blackmail!

Maybe I should discuss a bit about my theory about the mentality of this woman. Why did she probably this to me? My guesses: The sms was important. Gina could be Ah Boon's girlfriend. Ah Boon could be her son. She was desperate because her son is a criminal and he's on the run and she thinks that Gina may know about his whereabouts. The 2 policemen were there to search her house. She wanted Gina to call her. She could have wanted to warn Ah Boon via Gina that the police may be about to find him. I feel it that it all links together. It is complicated. I swear that she was so damn despo that her emotional state overcame her rational, logical state. Desperate people will do anything irrational. I don't wish to get involved in this! o.O

I swear I was a bit lucky. I don't know how to imagine if I persevered to stay longer to help her, I could have got really scammed if I suddenly backed out by then. It certainly does not pay to try to help some people! D: Indeed, the reality of society sucks. Just hope she doesn't hire a PI to search me using that photo she took and implicate me in the future with crap that may involve the ymra to waste my time!

*Note: I don't want to state the ymra specifically cos they really do have people who search for bloggers who blog anything to do with them! I saw some blog posts in a powerpoint so I'm not taking any chances here.

new paper epic fail

HEALTH-SCARE SECTOR! THAT'S DAMN SCARY!!!!one!!1!

not possible

OMG! How could forget going to the BBQ on Sunday! It slipped off my mind. I saw the results. THe photos on facebook. I wasn't in there because I forget to go. Nobody reminded me too! D: WHY?! So I'm unwanted? Fine. I'm fine with parting with 10 bucks but being free and not going seems a waste! Sian diao. RAWR! I need humour. I need some laughs or I could die because my existence is being ignored!

I may be wols. But a narutard is a narutard. Click

Ok, I'm fine again. Laughter is the best medicine.

songs about army

Blogging about army is risky. Everyone knows that. Perhaps not me.

During the first 17 days of confinement that everybody in my company went through, people were bored sick in the bunk. Boredom, of course, gives birth to creativity. Our minds were filled with thoughts on how to make time fly faster, aka how to kill time. My bunk, which contained an excess of brain dead souls made up a song. Actually, 3 people made it up. Somehow, I'm one of them.

The 12 Days of NS (sung to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas)
On the first day of NS my sergeant gave to me, a brand new FAD (or SOG).
On the second day of NS my sergeant gave to me, 2 garters and a brand new FAD.
On the third day of NS my sergeant gave to me, 3 PT kits, 2 garters and a brand FAD.

IT'S NOT PRACTICAL TO TYPE ALL THE SHIT, SO I SHALL CUT THE CRAP AND TYPE THE IMPORTANT PARTS.

On the fourth day..., 4 NO. 4s... (In the end, everyone gets 5 of these but at the beginning you really only have 4 of these.)
On the fifth day..., 5BX...
On the sixth day..., 6 candles...
On the seventh day..., 7 core values...
On the eighth day..., 8 rounds of ET...
On the ninth day..., 9 push-ups...
On the tenth day..., 10 lights out...
On the eleventh day..., 11B...
On the twelfth day..., 12 bunk-mates... (According to my bunk, I do have 12 of them.)

A song that is NOT R21 or M18, for once. Such a relief. No gore, no violence, no inclinations towards sex, no vulgarities, no self-depreciating humour about your own death, no death threats to your superiors or buddies and no girlfriend dreams. Clean fun that's difficult to find.

The whole platoon came to know of the song, I don't know how myself. Soon, the whole company knew about it. The 3 of us, the unknowns, remained the unsung heroes of the song. It should remain like this for eternity (at least till this song becomes obsolete).

The bored-to-death section also came up with 2 games to play - Defence of the Lockers or DotL and When the Cold Wind Blows. Whatever they are I shall cover them next time.

a level results

Call me a perfectionist. 4h2 As, pw A, H3 contem physics dist, gp B, chinese C.
Heck Chinese. I always don't care about it.
But gp is B. omg omg omg. damn the essay. I did the wrong one and killed myself off. Of course not happy. I should have done better for GP, that's why.
Anyone who knows me from Barker would be familiar with this one. Again that curse struck. For six years it has been there. Is it just me or is it him? Another reason for sadness.
My bro came home and saw my results slip and he agreed that the GP grade is indeed very irritating. D:

There's a second chance, though a lesser one. When I take the SAT, my england will be so powderful, that the B shall be banished. There's hope of course.

In any case, results aren't everything.

Well, back to camp on Sunday. Sad. I'm confined after the pop for something that shouldn't have happened.

After confinement, time to search for scholarships and ask questions. And apply for the local unis. I'm not going back to NTU (If I apply for them, they will confirm want me because I've taken part in too many of their programmes but look at them, so cheena and all the China students over there omg). Not management, econs, law (I can't take with B for GP), business so SMU's out. That leaves me with NUS.

The whole world expects me to take medicine. No way I'm going that path. I going for a science/engineering course. Not EEE (horrible experience at NTU, sorry not cut out for it). Something else...

After all, overseas is where I want to go. Destination UK. If not, US.

So who's happy with their results? From my closer friends, they generally don't seem too happy. Among my classmates, there are bits of unhappiness but many are happy, with one calling it divine intervention.

the war

I'm going to fight the war. The war in Tekong.

First, I have to report there at 8.30am at the war command centre 2. Then they will inculcate and drill the idea into my head of having a war mentality before shaving my head as a sign of acceptance of the ways of war. They will give me lots of war rations and equipment and I will be led to my campsite. I will fall in and they will give me my rifle. Thereafter, they will send me into the battleground, to fight the war.

My commanding officer will decide my fate; he gambles with lives the same way a gambler gambles with money. Blood will be shed, but hopefully not mine. I will have faith and trust in him.

My company shall fight as one, forging a strong unbreakable bond. My comrades will cover me, and I shall protect them. With our lust for blood, the savage enemies will be defeated. God protect us.

There is hope. A light at the end of the tunnel, though only a sliver. The war will be over. Its days are numbered.

ian can cook episode 2

Hey kids, welcome to the second episode of Ian Can Cook (pronounced as yan can cook XD).

Japanese cuisine is something many people enjoy, but not many over here actually cook it. Today we will be making something simple which can be done in less than 15 minutes. It's called hiyashi chuka or cold noodles. Yeah, something different from your usual hot and soupy Maggi mee diet. :D They say it's great for the summer time. And since Singapore is always summer, you can probably eat it everyday (if you are willing to spend at least $6 for a packet of noodles for two).

So go to any Japanese supermarket or a supermarket with a Japanese section and find some hiyashi chuka. It looks something like that...
The recipe is in Japanese on the back of the noodle packet that feeds 2 people. I will translate into English here:
1. Boil plenty of water. Put your noodles in. Let it cook for 5 minutes.
2. Drain off the boiling water with a strainer and rinse the boiled noodles immediately in cold water.
3. Drain off the noodles with a strainer.
4. Put noodles on a plate with your choice of topping.
5. Pour attached sauce over noodles.

Refering to Step 4: Yeah! Free choice of topping! Take your pick among these:

• thin strips of fried eggs in an omelette
• thin strips ham or poached chicken breasts
  
• julienned cucumbers
  
• julienned carrots
  
• bean sprouts
• sliced tomatoes
  
• pickled ginger (beni shoga, in little strips)

For the ultimate cooling effect, cool them all after cooking or slicing and dicing!

Arrange them so that they look something like this:Well, let's see what I got around the house... Eggs, leftover frozen bacon, lettuce. Perfect!

Cooking in Progress. Boring...

Since presentation isn't so important to me and I can't be bothered to slice the bacon, the following should be sufficient for a great lunch!

Itadakimasu!

The noodles are chewy and light. The sesame sauce poured at the end gives it a tangy taste.
Oishi desu!

Rating: 9/10 WIN for hiyashi chuka!

We have come to the end of the second episode, kids. Oh yes, I almost forgot, get your parent's permission before using the kitchen knife. We don't want to see bleeding little escaped fingers wriggling around the chopping board. Alright, goodbye, have fun!

more anime

I think that this post is very boring... a mere reflection and description... and I feel that the connection between ideas is poor.

Congratulations, you are on your way to becoming an otaku. That's what sometimes I would think. Since I have chosen this path, l'm going continue to tread it for the next unknown number of months. So if I'm not blogging, I'm either watching anime (most of the time), sleeping (I sleep more than I watch them), playing computer or outside. Such is the life of one who has no school to attend and awaitng NS.

So, what have I been watching? I'm a little experimental here. Being an absolute noob in this delusionary world, I think that it's okay to watch everything popular that comes my way. In this way, I watch almost every genre like romance, comedy, magical girl, supernatural. I haven't watched much horror yet. I'm avoiding stuff like mecha and fighting. Anyway, ever-popular Naruto and Bleach both have way too many episodes for me to even start watching. Besides, there's a high risk of becoming a NARUTARD. :(

Here's my watched list:
Recommended
Clannad, Ginban Kaleidoscope, Alice Academy, Shugo Chara, Vampire Knight both seasons
Ok only
School Days (craziest ending ever), Kannagi, Lamune, Aizu Pure
Very Ecchi (adult)
Oruchuban Ebichu (a sick anime with dirty Japanese jokes and puns by a silly hamster,not to mention actual sex scenes but all drawn in a simplistic style)

Currently watching:
Skip Beat!, Toradora! (both of them are showing on okto by the way), A Certain Magical Index, Maria Holic, Kiss x Sis, Clannad After Story, Shugo Chara Doki

Watching in the near future (probably after BMT):
The Melancholy of Haruchi Suzumiya (both seasons), GTO and its prequel OVAs, La Corda O'ro (both seasons), Kanon, Air, Higurashi, Jigoku Shoujo
In fact, the new Spring 2009 season seems very promising, but I need to catch up on older ones. :D

Well, in view of the long list of anime I am watching, I guess it's going to make me very introverted and unfit (lack of exercise). At the same time, the packets of subliminal messages of Japanese culture within each anime is turning me into one who adores their culture and their language. Not that the proliferation of their culture is a bad thing; it's good to learn about them. But I feel as if I am so crazy as to aim to fold 1000 paper cranes over this year and also try to find out more about their language to the point that my everyday greetings may soon become Japanese. Soon, don't be surprised in the morning that I may say Ohayou, and at night, Oyasumi. It is an overkill, isn't it?

To be continued... After I come back...

ian can cook

Hey kids, welcome to the first episode of Ian Can Cook (pronounced as yan can cook XD).

Muggles! Ever wondered what the food in Harry Potter's magical world tastes like? There are lots of food: from Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans to Chocolate Frogs to Cauldron Cakes. Today, we are making BUTTERBEER - the Potter gang's favourite drink at The Three Broomsticks. It has a smooth buttery taste and it warms you up! Perfect for a cold day! And it's easy to make! Even a noob can make it.

Butterbeer is prepared warm. Yes, there are cold ones, but today we are making the warm version, because it is better tasting. The recipe we are using today is borrowed from the web, with slight modifications.

Ingredients for making 2 cups (250ml each):
1 cup of cream soda (F&N Ice Cream Soda)
1/2 cup of butterscotch syrup (get the smuckers one, quite rare though)
1/2 tablespoon of butter
A few drops of of vanilla extract (if you don't have, I think the butterscotch has it already)
A splash of absolut vodka or whatever hard liquor you like

Directions:
In a jug or some container, pour the cream soda into the jug, add the vanilla and absolut vodka into it.
Heat a small frying pan (smaller the better) in a fire to optimum temperature and spread the butter onto it. Pour the butterscotch syrup into the frying pan. Stir until they mix well. Wait a while until the mixture bubbles like a potion in a cauldron.
Pour the mixture into the jug or container and mix well.
Serve and drink and enjoy.

Let us continue with the show...
You kids may think that omg, fat everywhere, just like drinking straight from the syrup bottle! And imagine the layer of oil above the drink. Yucks. Well, don't be so paranoid, just drink lah. Anyway the layer of oil will not be that thick as you expect it to be.

On my first try (making 1 cup only), I am going to add butterscotch, butter and vodka to the heated frying pan together. (Notice the word VODKA)

Omg...I self-pwned. How am I going to expect this to happen! (I am not going to take a photo of the real thing happening in my kitchen again, it freaking shocks me.)
I am freaking surprised. I am shocked. Then, I laugh for damn long. XD It is f-ed up to the max. And it is damn funny at the same time. There goes my alcohol - all gone.

SO KIDS, DON'T TRY PUTTING ALCOHOL INTO A FRYING PAN WHEN IT'S HOT UNLESS YOU THINK YOU WORK IN A POSH RESTAURANT. In other words, don't follow this noob over here.

So I heat up the mixture in the frying pan until it's bubbly all over and I pour it into the cup of cream soda and vanilla and mix it well and add vodka (remember it burned off!). So how it turns out? It looks brown, with some fizz. Blobs of oil on the surface, but nevermind. Ah... the smooth buttery taste. It isn't perfect though, there isn't enough alcohol; the buttery taste seems to cloud it over. Most disappointingly, it wasn't that warming - perhaps I need to warm up the cream soda first next time.

On my second try, I am not going to repeat my mistake AGAIN! I make the butterbeer. It turns out that I've not added enough butterscotch syrup... -.- . It tastes plain horrible. I simply add some butterscotch syrup and there it is, almost perfect! The smooth buttery taste with a tinge of alcohol! What I am looking for! If only I care to warm the drink up, it would be perfect! I would be in Potter land (whatever -.-).

My second try! As pictured below: (I put this cup in the fridge for an hour already, so there's no more fizz. D: )
Butterbeer RATING: 3/5 Good. Perhaps the real thing in that Potter land tastes much better but muggles like me will never know.

We have come to the end of the first episode, kids. Don't cry please, you can see me again when I attempt another cooking miracle, I'm not going away for good. Have fun making butterbeer.