Master-bation

Agnes just received a letter of acceptance from NUS for her Masters. She has to submit her application by Thursday. I had told her that I will support her and be by her side if she decided to pursue her masters. And I meant that. But this acceptance thing came out of the blue. We were just talking about getting registered next year and talking marriage stuff. Planning for holidays together. But I guess all that has to be put on hold somewhat now that she will be studying. New term starts in January so things I kinda rushed for Agnes to get things in order before then. Agnes assures me that we can still ROM next year as planned and go on holidays during her school breaks.

Looks like our relationship will be taking on a whole new dimension when school starts. Agnes will not have as much time for me as she does now. Which is not alot to begin with. She may even *shudder* have to give up her piano! Not point mulling over it before anything has happened. Agnes apologises in advance for not having enough time for me. But I know we can turn this perceived negative into a positive.
Love will see us through this and at the end of this journey we will find out for sure if love really overcomes all things. But I get the feeling that we will come out of this stronger and with a better understanding of one another as a result.

Meanwhile,lotsa running around and form filling to be done....

Other stuff that do not warrant their own post

I read somewhere that NSmen are entitled to bonuses and incentives.

The government is working on plans to improve the incentives of the NS-men for their efforts in every In-Camp-Trainings. This of course is a welcome move by all NS-men, it is a good way to “reward” us for all the time and efforts we committed during each ICT.

Heard that the IPPT monetary incentive will be adjusted and greater Economic Restructuring Share will be given. Let hope to hear the good new announcement soon.

******

We have a new kitty cat in the house who some wise-ass decided to name Tiny because he is...umm... small. I guess he is one of the only kittens who is ... small. Will post pictures of the little (for now) critter when I take some. He is cute. Not unlike Haliain coloration(only with deeoer ginger coloured markings),my reclusive cat, who coincidentally has been more visible now as he assumes a maternal role to Tiny. Halia now comes closer and is often found in close proximity to Tiny. He can often hear Halia's calls to Tiny whenever the little one strays too far. Tiny has been well accepted by all the other cats of the Boyd household. They are generally a friendly bunch anyways.

********

It became cloudy. Murky and dark. Thus began the latest setback in my tank-keeping journey. I tried all sorts of chemical treatments and even used bags of carbon to clear up the water. In the end I lost most of my fish. Only 7 fish of the 30 odd survived. 5 gouraimis,2 tetras and one lone rasbora. Bought more new fish from Aquastar yesterday to replenish my stocks. Most are ok...but the rasboras I bought did not survive the night and one of the bigger tetras met its demise yesterday barely hours after being put in. I guess that is part and parcel of a fish-keeping hobby.

**********

The Art of Star War exhibition is now on at the Singapore Science Centre. I am a lifelong Star Wars fan and will definitely be going to see it soon. It is from 19 November 2005 to 3 April 2006. So there is lots of time to catch it.
For more information go here.

*******

Noel's birthday party was last saturday. We had a bbq at my place. Needless to say there was lotsa beer and booze. In fact the bottles of liquor are still on the table outside. Any takers?
There was also a soccer match on TV that night, England vs Argentina, which only added to the atmosphere for me. Loreen was around again, so it was fun. I kinda like her. She is such a sweet and decent girl. I wonder why Noel and her never hooked up. She is made of much better stuff than Paula, whom I think is a slut and a bitch personally. Anyway me and Loreen hung out most of the night after I sent my beloved Agnes home. Loreen had made a bet on the soccer match with Danny who was a horny drunk guy all evening. He (Danny) professed love, kissed just about everyone and even held my hand as he was attempting to cross the road from his pub. Leonard (both of them) got stoned. One ended up having an early night(WUSS!!). The other ended up on my kitchen floor and worshipping at my toilet bowl after his vain attempts to get me high (double wuss!!).
In the end I ended up going to bed at 7 am. Needless to say I was rather out of it when I had to go to Ismail's housewarming/Hari Raya later that day. After that I met up with Faith to go to church. We both dozed off at parts of the sermon although she did not attend the above mentioned party.
After church I went to meet up with Agnes at her place. Cannot remember what or why though at this point of time.

******

We just celebrated our 9th anniversary together. Gave my dearest a Spongebob Squarepants soft toy. I must say he is the most grotesque looking thing, but Agnes loves him despite it all. Ahhh... a mothers love.
This months celebration was rather low key. We went jogging/walking at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. We managed to cover nearly the entire expanse of the park somehow.
After that we had our dinner at Waffletown. Not exactly anniversary celebration fare but yummy nonetheless. Just love everything they have there. I never tire of their fried chicken.
After dinner we filled petrol and went to Thomson Plaza to withdraw some cash. We then headed back to my place to spend some quality private time together.

*******

Movie stuff

Am just now watching Jaws- The Revenge on Channel 5. It is funny how when Hollywood stumbled upon a milk cow that it soaks it for all that it is worth. The premise of the film is that the shark in the previous installations has now become pathological and bears, get this, a grudge against the family of the man who originally 'killed' it. So it systematically hunts down all the members of the family who somehow just cannot seems to get their feet out of the salty sea. It boasts a stellar cast and some nice set pieces but what lets it down is the ridiculous plot.This together with the hugely commercially made Jaws 3-D show just what happens when you take a good idea and try to make money out of it. The original and the sequel were gritty and suspenseful. Less is more in the case of the earlier films. The fear of the unknown was what made Jaws (along with the iconic theme) such a classic.

*****

Watched Just Like Heaven the other day. Loved it mostly. Reese Witherspoon has such a screen presence. Mark Ruffalo was a guy whom I often wonder what the big deal was about as I found him cast in romantic comedy after romantic comedy. He finally comes good in this one. There is a palatable chemistry between the 2 leads. The story is one that tugs at the heart strings . How a girl in a coma after a horrific accident on the way to her sister's home for a blind date her sis had set up for her and somehow their fates get intertwined. As the fates would have it, the guy who moves into her vacant apartment is the very same guy she was supposed to meet that fateful day. Mayhem ensues as they try to drive the other out of the house. Along the way they find themselves getting more and more enamoured with each other. She then enlists his help to find out the truth of her situation. He helps her and eventually she recovers from her comatose state with his help. Problem is she has no recollection of him or all that they been through before...until...the 'Touch'. Seems like everytime they make physical contact something special happens.

RATING: 4 flower beds out of 5

*****


The EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE
Watched it and liked it. it kind of reminds me of the Exorcist,one of my favourite horror movies. The main plot is the trial of the priest who conducts the exorcism of the demon-possessed Emily Rose and is out on trial for withholding medical care/help. The other thread is the actual accounts of the possession and subsequent attempted exorcism of the demons (and the Devil himself makes a cameo) that fill her. Creepy stuff. I found it rather believable in that it was not overly sensationalised how they handled the possession scenes. Not that I have ever experienced an exorcism before(although I do suspect some people in my circle of having such characteristics).

RATING: 3 1/2 crucifixes out of 5

*****

Movies I still wanna catch:

Sky High

Chicken Little

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Prime

Pride & Prejudice

Zathura

The Legend of Zorro

Noel

King Kong

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe


******

Soccer stuff

Australia finally qualify for the big dance! Australia finally outwit Uruguay and go to the World Cup next summer. Been 30 long years in the soccer wilderness for them. All these years my heart went out to them each time I saw them stumble at the final hurdle. All credit to Gus Hiddink and his Roo's (or whatever they call themselves)

*****

Roy Keane, the lynchpin of the club during the Ferguson years, has parted by mutual consent with immediate effect from Manchester United. Although officially based on statements given , it was an amicable parting of ways, the grapevine has it that Keane's comments regarding the younger players following the 4-1 collapse against Middlesborough was the straw that broke the camels back. Keane has his best yaers behind him, although he is still a force to be reckoned with and an inspiration to those around him. He is probably the only player from that wretched club that I begrudge some respect to (besides Cantona). He has an honesty and good work ethic which somehow embody all that is good and bad about Man U. Lets hope that his spectre comes back to hant his old club in seasons to come.

*****

Singapore face Vietnam later in their first contest of the SEA Games. Singapore has often fallen short in this competition despite the quality of the players who have donned the red jersey. Singapore recently won the Tiger Cup and are now basking in the rarified air of our highest ranking in FIFA's rankings. So it all seems rosy cheeks now for us. Some consider this the best Singapore team in years in terms of balance and teamwork. That remains to be seen still. We know better that to count our chickens before they are hatched. Singapore has been pooled in the Group of Death Singapore with Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos. Group A comprises of Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and hosts Philippines.

*****

George Best is fighting for his life. Probably the best (no pun intended) player to ever grace english shores and don the Manchester United jersey, now lies a beaten man after living a rock stars life. At least he can say he died(if he does) without regret doing all that he wanted to despite the toll it took on his health , finances and personal life.

*****

Chelsea crushed my Newcastle United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. If there is any consolation we were missing some key players and Chelsea were out with something to prove after their recent capitulations.

*****

Sexpo 2005

The Sexpo is now on at the Singapore Expo. Seems like the beginning of a sexual awakening of sorts in Singapore. Or so it seems.
I read with a smirk on my face of some of the stuff that was not allowed to be on display by local medical experts. One was a 9 inch dildo. It was deemed too big and a possible health hazard to anyone who might use it. I know a 9 inch dildo may be a tad big by asian standards, but pleeeze...

The other thing that was deemed undesirable was a prosthetic female torso. It was too lifelike for their liking, so there was outright fear that men viewing it might get too aroused, sparking off widespread riots and unrest in our peaceful city state, or something to that effect.

I wonder what people (namely men) go to such an exposition for if not to find ways to enhance their love and sex lives...

Another interesting point is that just a few halls away is the Family Festival 2005. I do not know if that is a bad...or a good thing. Somehow I figure they have more in common that we think...

A New Dawn

I been reading, or rather looking, at Dawn Yeo's blog for a while now. Of course the first thing that strikes visitors to her blog is how good she looks in pictures. Just loves her eyes. The point of contention in the news is that she had her looks enhanced or something. Like that should even matter at this point. She does not owe anyone an explanation.

Anyway, all the hoohaa that has been generated all because she got signed up to some talent management agency, make you feel that the girl should be given a break. So what if she looks 'better' than she did than during her school days as her old pictures attest to. It seems Singaporeans can be quite a bitch when it comes to the success of 'public' figures. She is not the first blogger to have her name dragged through the mud, and she definitely will not be the last. Seems bloggers just cannot keep out of the news...