skywalk

afraid of heights? check this out...

skywalk

awesome...can't wait for them to finish building it so that i can go there and freak myself out. muahaha. =)

pet lessons

i heard this kid downstairs at the 4D shop today asking his dad if he could throw a stone at this stray cat. i think the uncle was aware of my hideous glare, cuz he quickly pulled his stupid son away and rushed off. when my siblings and i were growing up, my parents filled our lives with pets. i think this is why i love animals so much now...and in a way, it has made me the person i am today. i wish it were every parents' responsibility to ingrain this kind of awareness into their kids...in fact, it's not even about being environmentally friendly (i'm not the kind who will go and be a tree-hugger or anything like that...), but about respecting nature and it's children. you'd be surprised at the lessons that can be learned from raising pets.

when i was a baby, my dad's side of the family had this huge-ass german shephard that prowled the backyard of my grandparent's house back in taiwan. his name was "taka" (which apparently meant "eagle" or something like that). he was damn fierce to strangers...but the most loyal dog in the whole world to his family. i remember getting drenched in his saliva even as a toddler. on my maternal grandparents' side, they had a dachshund - aka sausage dog (can't remember his name though), who was the exact opposite...he'd lick every person who'd come his way...he was so friendly that he'd even let me ride on his back once in a while. they were my first encounters with pets. that's how i became comfortable around animals.

naturally, as i grew older, i'd start bugging my parents for our own pet. we were staying in an apartment back then, cuz my dad was still teaching in 交通大学 (jiao tong university)...and we couldn't get anything that barked or made a lot of noise...so ducks and rabbits were brought into my life. but they didn't last very long cuz the ducklings caught a flu...and died...while the rabbits were hunted down by stray dogs when we let them out to play on the grass patch downstairs...and well...died too. let's just say that i had an early introduction to the concept of death beacuse of that.

soon afterwards, we moved to the states. in california, we didn't have enough time to settle down to get a pet...so my brother and i would go out to our backyard and catch crickets, grasshoppers, snails, beetles, fireflies, and even earthworms to bring back to our little aquarium tank at home. they'd normally all die within a few days, cuz we didn't know that they needed proper food and housing in order to survive. but we soon figured out how to keep them alive a little longer with the help of my mom (who was very understanding, and probably concerned as well, about all the dead insects around the house). another few lessons learned on the basics for survival, and the importance of being caring and responsible.

and then we moved to the big apple. in new york, my dad brought us to the pet store one day, and asked us to choose something. it was one of the most brilliant days in my whole life. they had EVERYTHING there. i fell in love with the ferret in the glass enclosure immediately. back then, at least in new york, it was still legal to own one (though i don't know about now). ferrets are the smartest, brightest, cutest, most cuddly animals alive...but we couldn't afford one. i was so disappointed, but then we still took home a pair of guinea pigs, so...i learned to live with my disappointment, and be content with what i had. yet another chapter in the "life lessons" book.

one year later, my dad decided to change jobs, so we had to uproot again...this time, to michigan...where my dad was going to teach at the michigan state university. we had to give the guinea pigs away. by then, i had already gotten so attached to them that it was very heartwrenching for me to leave them behind. but i had to let go cuz the plane ride would have been too stressful for them to survive. another painful "breakup".

when we settled down in michigan, my dad decided that we were ready for a DOG!!! wowsers...that's up there along with the pet store in new york experience!!! we searched the papers for advertisements, and low and behold, someone was giving out free puppies! so we drove out to the farm where they were at and got ourselves a little black cocker spaniel puppy. we named her "小黑" ("little blackie"). we kept her in a dog house in our back yard, in a fenced up area, about the size of a king sized bed. 小黑 was a very hyper dog, and would want to run everywhere...but the more she wanted to run, the more i wanted to hold her tighter on the leash. finally, one day, while i was trying to get her back into her pen...she ran away. we never found her after that. eventually, we got another dog...a german shephard husky mix. DAMN cute. she had the german shephard golden dots above her eyes and a husky curled up tail. we named her "happy". silly name, but she was really just that. happy. but then, same story as with 小黑. same ending. it's not that we mistreated or ill-treated her in any way...it's just that she wanted the space to run, and the freedom to be herself, which i didn't give. if you love something, you have to set it free...if it loves you in return, it'll come back. a hard lesson even for an adult...not to mention the small kid that i was.

all in all, i think animals played a large part in my growing up years. i wished that the father today taught his son a lesson or two. cruelty to animals is actually punishable by law...though sometimes too leniently. i don't know...maybe i just have this respect for animals...the same as i would have for a teacher...a teacher who's been with me my whole life, and who's still tutoring me...albeit without words. get a pet for your son asap...i think you would reap more benefit from it than all those 4D tickets could ever bring you.

cut hair again

i went to le salon today to cut hair. luckily my shampoo girl (sg) was there this time...the last few times that i've gone, she's either been on leave or washing other people's hair...so today was my lucky day. =)

sg: how's the water?

moby: fine. thanks.

sg: what do you put on your hair???

moby: err...wax...you asked me that the last time already.
sg: oh yeah...forgot.
moby: blah blah blah...
sg: blah blah blah...
moby: damn stressed at work lah...your massage very nice leh... *closes eyes and enjoys*
sg: thanks.
moby: mmmmm...
sg: you wanna try the best shampoo boy in the house or not? ooi, eddie, show him a few moves leh!
moby: err ok...
eddie: come... *starts massaging moby's head*
sg: how? got difference or not?
moby: MMMMMMM... *eyes start rolling backwards inside the socket, shockwaves shooting around his whole body, feels better than sex...and almost better than making love...*
sg: ok...i'm back. *eddie stops massaging, sg takes over again*
moby: oh. ok. *sex starts feeling better.*
sg: so how've you been? blah blah blah...
moby: blah blah blah...
sg: so what're you doing tonight?
moby: err...don't know...probably going to hang around town i guess...nothing much to do...
sg: ok...i'll call you.
moby: err...ok...

*next scene - indochine wisma*

sg: hey, this is forgothername *introduces a friend to moby*
sg: she's very shy.
moby: hi!
forgothername: hi...eh, i wanna listen to your songs *takes out sg's mp3 player and starts plugging up her ears*
moby: err...ok...
sg: check out this video on my phone... *proceeds to show moby a video clip of a dog humping air while licking another dog...the clip is called "dog mastErbating...*
moby: err...ok... *thinks to himself: "youngsters nowadays..."*
sg: check out this other video... *proceeds to show moby a video clip of two girls fake fighting...i.e. - trying to pull each other's skirts off...*
moby: err...ok...very exciting! *thinks to himself: "knn lah jason...why you never come..."*

*end of story...till next month's haircut...*

p.s. - happy 18th birthday sg. =)

4 km walk

in order to prepare for the upcoming terry fox run where i'll be walking for 4 km, i decided to spend some more time with my folks today...we actually decided to go do the hiking thing today, minus the mountain bikes, but then it started drizzling once they picked me up. so we decided to head eastwards, in search of drier ground (don't ask me why...ask the driver...aka the ntu professor).

along the way, we passed by some big blue and yellow coloured tents on the junction of beach road and rochor road...


cirque du soleil tent through the windscreen 1

i actually had a proposal from winnie...she said that she'd go with me if i'd buy and pay for the tickets...wow. how irresistibly irresistible. i ain't desperate yet hor!!!


cirque du soleil tent through the windscreen 2

btw, does anyone wanna watch cirque du soleil with me??? pleeeeeeaaaaassssse??? haha. no lah...really...i'm not desperate. (pretty please?)

anyway, we ended up where i was two days earlier...marina promenade.


mom & dad 1

my dad, once again, wanted to jog...but this time, cuz my mom just came back from the states a few days ago (so she was still a bit jet lagged and all), i had the perfect lazyass excuse to walk slowly with her...

we took some pictures along the way...but the quality's not that great cuz it was so cloudy and all...yeah, i'm gonna blame it on the weather!!! =)


mom and dad 2


mom and moby


dad


panorama

but we DID walk for exactly 4km (according to the markers on the roadside that is), so i should be ready and fit for next week's task. hey, walking takes effort too ok. =)

we went to 鼎泰豐 (ding tai feng) after that and had a feast. my dad has a tendency to order for 5 people (inclusive of my brother and sister...both of whom, he probably forgot, are still overseas)...so we ended having to pack back almost as much as we ordered. but good food, family bonding, well done. =)

9-11

i had a sobering conversation with jo just now on msn...

jo: shit it's sept 11
moby: yeah, i was feeling a bit down
jo: becos?
moby: just remembering how i first found out about the incident
jo: how?
moby: i was playing yahoo pool, then i happened to read the comments on the main page...they were saying something like "another airplane crashes into twin towers!!!", but i thought it was just a gimmick...until i received a phone call from mandy...cuz apparently she was watching tv, and they announced it...
moby: how did you find out?
jo: watching tv then somebody called, then we changed channel to cnn bbc
moby: i think everyone will remember how they found out loh...it's like a landmark event
jo: actually i thought the planes crashing in building idea was a cool...like if i saw it in a movie, i would be excited...
moby: but it's different when it's in real life right?
jo: yeah man...
moby: the thing is, i have this picture of the towers that i took just a few months before in june, when me and fye went there to meet up with his brother and emril....it's kinda scary when you think about it now...it's like they were planning for it while i was taking the photo...


twin towers

moby: now they're not there already...sobering...

photographsky - benjamin sheares bridge

WARNING: this post contains a lot of pictures (40 in all). please don't get discouraged if you cannot instantaneously see all the pictures due to your slow motherfucking cambodian internet connection. (yeah, i'm referring to you, jo.)

i took the day off today...mainly to get work off my mind, and to take some time to relax. i wanted to go hang out with friends and stuff, but most of them were either busy with their girlfriends or computers, or both...so...i just did things my way (i.e. alone)...again.

i've always wanted to go to the benjamin sheares bridge on foot. every time i drive on the ecp, i always had a tendency to wish for a traffic jam right at the bridge, just so that i could check out the view for a while longer. but now that i don't have a car anymore, and since i had the day off, i thought what the hell, let's climb this bitch.

one problem. i didn't know how to get there. so after a long long time looking for the way up, and circling the whole of suntec city twice...


journey to the top

i finally asked this construction worker for directions...which he politely gave me...in thai. knn. i had to ask his colleague for a translation (where's chen fye when you need him man...), and finally, i reached...


stairway to benjamin sheares bridge

it wasn't as hard a climb as i thought...cuz i expected something like 100 steps or more...but it turned out that it was a slope kinda climb...not too bad...but i was already sweating like pamela anderson on baywatch by the time i got there loh.


walkway to the top

now i know why the worker spoke to me in thai rather than in english...apparently he had to rush off for a very urgent meeting:


construction takraw

on the way up the slope, i saw some people jogging / walking...


crazy healthy people

and then i saw some more of them...


more crazy healthy people

apparently there was some "national healthy lifestyle campaign" crap going on today...crazy...with all the exhaust from all those cars and buses going past them, they probably smoked more than me today...ok, maybe only lah. haha.

and then i finally reached the peak...


at the top


at the top 2

it wasn't really what i expected, cuz it was still way too bright to take any REALLY nice pictures...i left my house at around 4:30pm, and reached there at around 6:15pm (after doing the merry-go-round at suntec), but it still wasn't sunset material yet...so i decided to walk along the bridge some more.

doesn't this remind you of the movie...


independence day

when i reached the other side, there was another staircase going down, so i went and found what it's like to be under the bridge...


"sometimes i feel like i don't have a partner..." - red hot chili peppers

i was quite glad that i wore my hiking boots cuz it was kinda muddy and sandy and shitty under the bridge...


hi-tec from chiangmai

i was so happy that i'll show two pictures of them... =)


hi tec from chiangmai 2

as i followed the dirt path, i realised that i had stumbled upon marina city park...and the first thing that i saw was...


bombs away!!!

(good thing i had my fisherman's hat on)

they have a lot of sculptures and stuff at marina city park...the first of which that i came across was...


sundial


time by marina city park

then as i was walking around the park to pass time (in order to get the nice sunset pictures of the city landscape), i saw many statues...apparently there are eight sculptures of chinese legandary heroes in the park. cool...more chinese education (they must have come out when the government had the "speak mandarin" campaign). i actually learned a lot. this was the first:

"confucius was born in the state of lu, towards the end of the spring and autumn period. he was a great philosopher and educator. his teachings, which included his thoughts on "humanity" and "propriety", are recorded in the "analects". confucianism has had a great impact on chinese society. he is honoured as a sage."


孔子 (confucius)


"qu yuan, born in the state of chu during the warring period, was a patriot, a statesman, and a poet. as counsellor to the ruler of chu, he advocated political reforms in the interest of the country, but was sent into exile by the ruler. when his country was on the brink of ruin, he drowned himself in the mi-lo river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month to demonstrate his loyalty. nowadays people eat rice dumplings and hold dragon boat races every year to commemorate his death.


屈原 (qu yuan)


"guan yu, a great general of shu han of the three kingdoms era, is the embodiment of loyalty, righteousness and bravery. the brotherly affection that existed between guan and his sworn brothers, liu bei and zhang fei, and guan's exploits in overpowering six generals and capturing five strategic passes, have become immortal tales. he is respected as 'guan gong', a righteous warrior, and deified 'guan di'."


关羽 (guan yu)


"hua mulan was born in shang qiu of later wei in the northern dynasties. she disguised herself as a male to join the army on behalf of her father. fearless and resourceful, she triumphed over her enemies on numerous occasions during her twelve years in the military. she has shown that women are equal to men in intelligence, bravery and capability."


花木兰 (hua mulan)


"yue fei was an eminent general during the southern song dynasty. born into a poor family, he was studious, brave and intelligent. he was especially devoted to his mother. before his departure to defend his country against the jin army, his mother tattooed four characters 'jin zhong bao guo' on his back to exhort him to serve his homeland with loyalty. he fought the jin army with great courage for ten years and won every battle. he has become a national hero for his bravery."


岳飞 (yue fei)


岳飞的纹身花刺 (yue fei's tattoo)


"wen tianxiang was a great national hero during the southern sung dynasty. when the country and the people were in great peril, he fought bravely against the enemy, but was finally held captive. during his captivity, he wrote the 'zhengqi song' and other poems to demonstrate his readiness to sacrifice everything for his country. he is remembered for his patriotism and bravery."


文天祥 (wen tianxiang)


"zheng he, an eunuch during the ming dynasty is also known as eunuch san bao. a distinguished navigator, he visited southeast asia seven times. he devoted his lifetime to navigation and to establishing friendly ties with other countries. he is a prominent figure in the history of navigation."


郑和 (zheng he)


"lin zexu, a native of fujian, was born in the qing dynasty. as a court official, he was reknowned for his integrity. when he saw how opium was impairing the health of people, he ordered the drug to be seized and destroyed, and the import of opium banned. he is held in great esteem for his patriotism and noble character."


林則徐 (lin zexu)

after the brief history lesson, i managed to get a great shot in the park of the city landscape at different timings...


cityscape view @ 1845hrs


cityscape view @ 1900hrs

wow...what a difference 15 minutes make.

the purpose of this photographsky trip was to get a nice sunset photo of the city landscape, so i had to rush through all the other sculptures that were there...such a pity as i would have enjoyed slowly strolling through this park...but as it was, i literally ran through the rest of the stuff...


soaring vision


spirit of youth


pond at marina city park 1


pond at marina city park 2

i'll definitely come here again...not many places that you can actually see...


greenery in singapore!!!

this actually came with my camera when i bought it last year at expo...though i rarely used it...too damn small lah!!!


miniature tripod

as the sun was setting, i sprinted back up the stairs, onto the bridge and took my best picture of the day...


cityscape panorama

and then i thought to myself, "why not stay a while longer and take pictures of the city NIGHT landscape?"...so i had time in between the sunset and the fall of darkness to let people know...


where's rochor rd???

eventually...


cityscape @ night 1


cityscape @ night 2

and eventually, i had company as well...


pros @ work

check out all those REAL tripods and REAL cameras. i'm gonna get one of those one of these days...

and so, it was time to head on down...where the urgent meeting was still in progress...


construction takraw @ night

while i was walking back towards the esplanade, and as fate would have it...i bumped into victor and cuixia...of all people...haha. they were on the way to their anniversary dinner at MORTON's (wowsers).


victor and cuixia

i could have sworn that i heard rob thomas singing "i don't wanna be lonely no more" in the background as i watched them walk away. =)

i wanted a closer picture of the night landscape, so i walked along marina promenade until i found a nice place to take the last picture of the night...


cityscape @ night 3

and then i went home. =)

i'm quite content now. i'm not drunk. i didn't waste money on frivolous nothings. wow. i'm not so lonely after all...i've got my nikon coolpix. =)

river valley high school

after reading blinkymummy and furfur_angel's entries on the chinese language, it brought me back to the days of my own experiences in a cina school. while i'm not going to continue the debate of the other two, i must say that i am very grateful that my parents decided to send me to a cina school, despite my initial protests.

when i went into river valley high, i was pretty traumatised by everything in general...the uniforms, the chinese speaking majority, the strict teachers...and especially the white short shorts that we had to wear. damn gross. i vividly remember that first day back in secondary 3...i was escorted into the classroom sometime in february by the vice-principal, walking in with semi-long white tennis shorts (which i had to borrow from my dad's tennis collection) cuz i hadn't made my full uniform yet, and getting very surprised and amazed that every single student stood up when a certain class rep shouted "起立!" (all rise!). wowsers...i was really impressed...anyway, during the first few weeks, i remember that no one was able to decipher my american slang...but somehow or other, the guys all knew what i was saying when i asked "so who are the cute guurrls here?". =)

victor was the class representative when i first joined, so it was only natural that he took me in under his wing...and fortunately, he showed me the ways of homework copying and fucking up our chinese lessons so much that i became adjusted to life in rv...i even got used to speaking mandarin to my friends.

sigh...but alas, we lead a life of reckless abandon...or rather, we lead a life of reckless abandon during chinese classes...so much so that we (victor and i plus billy, seow and lilian) became the first ever rv students to be forced to drop "chinese as a first language". while the other classmates were having their chinese lessons, we were conveniently told to go to the library and do self study for our "chinese as a second language" course. this was kinda like the siberia of rv, so we equally conveniently relocated ourselves to another location to play football with balls of paper. haha...we had damn good times. which is why i think we're still so close now (except for lilian, who probably felt left out in those football games cuz we didn't let her play, just in case we went for the wrong ball...haha). =)

but then again, now that i look back on it, i wish our chinese teacher hadn't forced us to drop just because we were not really up to the standard. i don't know, maybe she should have put in more effort to teach the 5 of us...maybe she could have given us more homework...maybe she would have changed the lives of 5 students...should have, could have, would have...maybe if gangsta's paradise (the movie) had come out a bit earlier...and while i'm not putting the blame entirely on the teacher, it's also just sad to know that the students are the ones who have to make way in a system where school rankings are of the utmost importance, in both the pride and budgetary sense. sometimes we should stop and think what schools are for in the first place...or is it another chicken and egg situation? hmmm...

* actually this wasn't the only time that it has happened in my life...my economics and computing tutors in njc were fighting amongst themselves as to who would get me to drop their respecitive subjects after my promos...but that's another story for another day off...oh yeah, did i mention that i'm on leave? =) *

i feel that going to river valley high knocked back the chinese into me...if you know what i mean. i was a banana without knowing it...and rv brought me back to asia. even ang-moh girls don't attract me anymore (ok...maybe catherine zeta jones lah...but who doesn't like her...even after 3 kids).

cheers to rvhs! 立德立功 化愚化顽 =)


p.s. - i'd like to wish my best friend, victor, and his rv sweetheart, cuixia, who he married this june, a very happy 11th anniversary today...九月九日，祝你们: 爱情永固 长长久久. every time i get disheartened with love, i just look at you all and realise that there's hope yet...true love does exist. =)

se7en things

in response to a true blue mobydicksky fan, furfur_angel...one of the few avid readers whom i don't personally know...i will humour her and do the "se7en things" questionaire thingy that she completed as well...which she wanted me to do as well...so...err...this may come as a surprise who don't know me that well...or even to those who deem to know me inside out.

se7en things that scare me:

1. the dark (ever since i was a kid, i've always been scared shitless of those monsters under my bed)

2. not settling down and having a family (ever since i broke up with adeline, i've always been scared shitless of those lonely years ahead without a perfect mate and offspring)

3. getting hit by another golfer's ball / club when i go to the driving range (ever since i saw those dents in the metal dividers at the queenstown driving range, i've always been scared shitless of being on the receiving end of someone else's slice)

4. sitting on bar stools (ever since i got so drunk that i fell off a barstool at zouk and nursed a fat lip for 1 month, i have been scared shitless of those buggers.)

5. sleeping in the afternoon (ever since i read billy's blog about the night of the crusher and realised that i had the same problems, i've been scared shitless of sleeping when i'm not drunk.)

6. extreme heat (ever since i've been wearing long sleeve shirts and pants to work, i've been sweating buckets...damn gross.)

7. sharks in swimming pools (ever since i started swimming in the states, i've always been scared shitless of that great white who would come after me in the deep diving end where you can't see the bottom.)


se7en things i like most about me:

1. my smile (someone once told me that i had a million dollars...but then i wish it were monetary.)

2. my bomberman record (someone once told me that i was the legandary indestructable dark blue bomberman...but then i wish it were permanent.)

3. my blog (someone once told me that i had an "excellent blog"...but then i wish it weren't an anonymous comment from a spamster.)

4. my trophy cabinet (someone once told me that i'm a jock, but then i wish i had more medals and less brains to fit that description.)

5. my viola (someone once told me that i should continue practising, but then i wish i had more motivation to do so.)

6. my love for animals (someone once told me that i should be a vet, but then i wish it became true.)

7. my devotion to every single relationship (someone once told me that i was too intense, but then i wish they were wrong.)


se7en most important thing in my room:

1. my laptop (how to blog without it?)

2. my viola (how to impress girls without it?)

3. my boxers (how to live without them?)

4. my fishtank (how can they live without me?)

5. my liverpool scarf & banner (how to support the reds without them?)

6. my ruler (how to make nice birthday cards for girls without it?)

7. my extra mattress (how to support other people staying over without it? muahahaha.)


se7en random facts about me:

1. i have small eyes (as if you didn't know)

2. i have the 豆花 (tao hui) from the market downstairs everyday (as if you didn't know)

3. i have to make my entries on my blog exactly the way i want them to be (aligned and justified) before i publish them (as if you didn't know)

4. i have a slightly bigger left foot by 1/2 a shoe size (as if you didn't know)

5. i have a tendency to sleep on my right side (as if you didn't know)

6. i have never read enid blyton (as if you didn't know)

7. i have tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter (as if you didn't know)


se7en things i plan to do before i die:

1. get the perfect girl.

2. get the perfect woman.

3. get married to the perfect woman.

4. get babies with the perfect woman.

5. get babies through school / university.

6. get a wig.

7. get a life.


se7en things i can do:

1. get the perfect girl.

2. get the perfect woman.

3. get married to the perfect woman.

4. get babies with the perfect woman.

5. get babies through school / university.

6. get a wig.

7. get a life.


se7en things i can't do:

1. crawl through small enclosed spaces (yeah, i'm a claustrophobiac)

2. stand being played out (yeah, i'm a stickler)

3. believe that i'm 27 already (yeah, i'm a late-20's-person)

4. get with a girl who puts on a shitload of make-up (yeah, unless you're zoe tay or fiona xie)

5. watch horror movies (yeah, i'm a pussy)

6. make the rain go away (yeah, i'm a mortal)

7. get you outta my head (yeah, i'm a kylie fan)


se7en things i say the most:

1. wow

2. wowsers

3. err...

4. huh?

5. har?

6. i wish...

7. you wish.


se7en celebrity crushes:

1. zoe tay

2. fiona xie

3. i-don't-really-like-celebrities-cuz-they-will-only-make-you-feel-ugly

4. i-don't-really-like-celebrities-cuz-they-will-only-make-you-feel-like-a-genuis

5. i-don't-really-like-celebrities-cuz-they-will-only-make-you-feel-horny

6. dunnowho

7. dunnowhoelse


se7en people who i'd like to see do this:

hmmm...i can only think of one...i think nobody should do it...muahaha. =)