How I spent new year's day

yesterday i bought a new cam. If you remember it was one of the things on my do list. After doing all my usual research it came down to the:



Konica Minolta Dimage Z3

and the:



Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20

It was a tough choice as they offered similar functions. The Konica had the advantage price wise but the Panasonic seemed better in most respects. So...I went down to Cathay Photo at Marina and made my purchase. I must say I am most pleased with it as it more often than not captured good pictures as evidenced from the pics I took today.

As for today, I met up with Lisa and we went down to the zoo. The original intention was to eat at the Ben & Jerry's and then hang out till evening as she had a dinner thing to attend. But me being me, we actually went into the zoo since it was hard to resist. Took some pics whilst there which I will duly post on my picture blog for all to see. The thing I like most about my new cam is the optical and digital zoom. Optical zoom is 12x and with digital zoom it comes up to 48x!! As from the pictures it looks like I was in the face of some of the animals (lisa included).

But Lisa had to be at her aunts place at 6, so we had to call off the rest of our walking. So missed all the exhibits from the mountain goats till the big cats. nevermind...it is not like the last time I will be going to the zoo.

To all my friends (and fiends) out there...

new years eve

It is New Year's Eve and I decided to stay home with the family (or whatever remains of it). Does not feel like new years at all with all that has happened the last few days. I am here, but my heart and spirit is elsewhere...

in Acheh...

in Sri Lanka....

..everywhere else affected by the tsunamis....

tsunami links

still pictures taken by a tourist from his hotel just before and after...

an awesome satellite pic taken just as the waves were about to hits Sri Lanka

Bloggers fill the void

these blogs were among the first with news about the tsunami:

Screenshots

AlwaysWoW! For a Great Great WoW in Life

ChiensSansFrontiers

wayward mutterings

Ernest's Whirrled

petertan.com

an article from The Star Online:

Tsunami Kills Few Animals

Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka expressed surprise Wednesday that they found no evidence of large-scale animal deaths from the weekend's massive tsunami _ indicating that animals may have sensed the wave coming and fled to higher ground.

"Maybe what we think is true, that animals have a sixth sense,"

Swept away..

What devastation! What a great loss of innocent lives and livelihoods.

In a matter of minutes what was once heaven became hell on earth. As Singaporeans we visit many of the places hardest hit by the tsunami or have under our employ people who hail from these places.Unfortunately many of those affected are the very poor and most do not have any form of insurance coverage. For these people it will take more than a lifetime to rebuild their lives.

Thankfully Singapore was spared from any ill-effects. But it now remains for us to do our part in this time of adversity. All of us can do something to help. Every bit counts. You may donate monies to the various relief agencies or supplies which would very much help caregivers and the re-building work that has to be done. Of course some of us may even decide that we can help best by actually being the ones to rebuild the places and lives devastated by the waters.

In times like these we realise what is most important. There are people out there who lost everything. All the money in the world can never bring back loved ones lost. My pain is but a drop in the ocean (no pun intended) compared to what they have to go through. Though the physical scars may eventually heal, the memory of that day will live on forever. It makes all our relationship problems, who sat where and with whom at lunch, how fat or thin people say we are and office politics pale by comparison to their grief.

Let us pray for those affected that though their lives are forever changed, their spirit be never broken.... and that there is still a Hope even in our darkest hours...

Things we can learn from John Mayer

Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Boys, you can break
You'll find out how much they can take
Boys will be strong
And boys soldier on
But boys would be gone without the warmth from
A womans good, good heart

On behalf of every man
Looking out for every girl
You are the god and the weight of her world

and

One mile to every inch of
Your skin like porcelain
One pair of candy lips and
Your bubblegum tongue

And if you want love
We'll make it
Swimming a deep sea
Of blankets
Take all your big plans
And break 'em
This is bound to be a while

Your body Is a wonderland
Your body is a wonder (I'll use my hands)
Your body Is a wonderland

Something 'bout the way your hair falls in your face
I love the shape you take when crawling towards the pillowcase
You tell me where to go and
Though I might leave to find it
I'll never let your head hit the bed
Without my hand behind it

Just love those lyrics as do all the women listening. Such a way with words....*sigh*

bookworms and fish and chips

Felt like crap today morning. Slept around 2 last night without even having a proper dinner. Had the feeling I shoulda been on leave as planned today and not at work! Did the DMM report and tried in vain to get started on my staff appraisal.

However I felt much better closer to lunchtime. For lunch we went to Prata Point, where Ko Koh gave us all a post-xmas treat. Too bad Khim, Poh and Lyn did not join us.

After work Lyn, Hasli and I headed to Woodlands library. We ate the fish and chips special @$3.90 at ther Galilee's Cafe at the atrium. Was not too bad considering the price. I had a chocolate truffle cake after. After our meal we moved to another table...then another. We chatted till close to 830. It is fun just hanging out with 2 of my closest pals. And now time spent with Lyn is at a premium since she and Poh got together. Really had a good time with my chums, although I must remember to tone down on the crude humour for Lyn's sake next time.

After we went to Causeway Point as Hasli had to go and convert his handphone plan at Singtel. But it was already close to closing time and there was a long queue formed when we got there so Hasli decided to forgo it till another day.

We then got back to the car and took a drive to Woodsgrove to check out the christmas decorations. Although it was not as gaily decorated as previous years, my 2 passengers had a good look nonetheless at all the stately mansions and bungalows of the estate. We said we would be back again next Halloween.

We also made plans to perhaps meet up on New Years Eve, all of us office guys and some of our former colleagues.

Sent Hasli home and then sent Lyn to the MRT. Must organise this sort of outings again. Lyn and Hasli agreed...

the calling

SINGAPORE'S public hospitals are facing a shortage of health workers who take over caring of patients where doctors leave off. Not enough Singaporeans are training to become diagnostic radiographers, radiation therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech therapists, a group referred to as health sciences professionals.
There are vacancies for every position, and the Health Ministry's projection for 2002 to 2010 is that some 162 need to be trained each year - assuming no foreigners are hired - to meet rising demand.Those in the professions say something needs to be done because staff are stretched and unable to give as much individual attention to patients as they would like.

While new entrants are not coming fast enough, existing workers are also quitting for reasons ranging from burnout and a lack of prospects, to better pay in the private sector.

'It's a vicious circle - the lack of people increases the workload, people feel overloaded, burnt out, and leave,'

Training:
Nanyang Polytechnic offers three-year diploma courses. Graduates can obtain degrees awarded by the University of Sydney by doing one more year at the Singapore Institute of Management. There are scholarships available. The polytechnic also offers a two-year diploma course for those switching mid-career to diagnostic radiography.

For a while now I have been trying to go back to do what I do best;making a difference in people's lives. When I was in the zoo I thought I was doing something noble and making a difference in the world, but sadly commercial concerns were more a priority there and I ended up feeling disillusioned for a while. Now in AVA, I am still shooting blanks as far as making the world a better place. Cruelty and smuggling still go on whilst I sit behind my computer tying people up in red tape. I do not believe in what I am doing right now and how it fits into the scheme of things.

After reading the article above it got me thinking about going into healthcare. It kills 2 birds with one stone as I get to further myself academically as well as do something that will benefit my fellow human beings. I think I have all the tools and the temperament to do well as a health sciences professional.

Something to ponder...

stuff

Movies I wanna catch:

Meet the Fockers

Ocean's Twelve

National Treasure

Seed of Chucky

Blade Trinity

Now all I need are some nice ladies (or nice guys!)to go watch them with...

VCD's/DVD's I wanna get:

The Die Hard series

The Lord of the Ring's Box set

The Godfather Trilogy

Matrix Collectors Edition (just for the extras), maybe not on second thought..

boxing day

It's Boxing Day today and also Christmas Sunday all on the same day.

The plan today was to go shopping for some last minute gifts before heading to church and then meeting up with Rachelle for supper later on in the night.

However as best laid plans go, Neeven messaged me to ask me join her for her church concert at Woodlands. However later on in the afternoon she called to tell me that one of her friends had told her that the production sucked and was boring. So Neeven called up to say that we should not go for it after all. However it was left to me to decide if we still wanted to meet up,of course bearing in mind that Neev had to go home for dinner at 6. Due to the time constraint and a lack of a Plan B I decided to forgo our meeting and instead opted to meet up 'sometime next week'.

Then it was off to the Indoor Stadium for service. I made it there early but by then a crowd had already developed but I managed to get a good parking spot and a good seat nonetheless. Service was great as usual. After service on the way out I SMS-ed Lyn to ask her if she was around (the resulting conversation can be found in my earlier posting).

I then went to Suntec and grabbed the stuff I wanted. Whilst there Rachelle called to dutifully inform me that she will be unable to make it for our supper 'date' that night as she was with her friends. As usual I said "its ok","nevermind" in my usual obliging nice-guy manner. But I was kinda disappointed as we had already confirmed it and I had left that slot empty just for her. So...we agreed to meet up 'on one of the weekdays' and said goodbye, but not before Rachelle extended an invitation to join her and her friends for a New Years Eve Service at her church.

Came home and found no one home, Apparently everyone had gone out for dinner and did not even bother to ask me along. Meanwhile I just wrapped up the gifts I bought and listened to the songs I had just downloaded earlier today.

No idea what to do now for dinner though...

A bad day, but at least I got out of the house and did stuff unlike yesterday.

boxing day

Boxing Day is celebrated in Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Canada.
The holiday's roots can be traced to Britain, where Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen's Day. Reduced to the simplest essence, its origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after.

Although there is general agreement that the holiday is of British origin and it has to do with giving presents to the less fortunate, there is still dispute as to how the name came about or precisely what unequal relationship is being recognized.

For more read

L1 n L2

L1: sis...u here?

L2: Yup.I saw u in green.At entrance

L1: green? wah...nvr say hi... :p

L2: Poh w me ma..

L1: ah? poh wif u so u ignore me? :(

L2: Hey jus like e last time u were w j n u both saw me at suntec

L1: wah! revenge!! ;) anyway...when did i ignore u?

L2: Yup u did n i was upset.

L1: sorry...din mean to...it was unintentional...:(

L2: Ok.Anyway its over

L1: u know that i wld nvr do anything to hurt u.i thot u din want to talk cos joyce was there,when u walked on aft we had made eye contact.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I guess that is what has become of us. I love Lyn to bits. I would never do anything to hurt her on purpose but i guess i did this time.But i only knew that i had hurt my beloved sis today nearly 3 weeks after the fact. For that I am SORRY.

I guess having a possessive significant other brings out the worst in all of us...

*sigh*