battle damage assessment.

thursday well. today's a public holiday in taiwan. some 228 thing that i can't remember what it's about now. and instead of heading to the office for work, everyone came to our residence for a pot luck. though it was to be for lunch only, everyone stayed on for dinner.

of course it's always nice to host people when they come over, especially if it's a whole big group where everyone knows each other and everyone's more or less comfortable with everyone else. the biggest headache were the kids. the small ones who run around and scream at the top of their lungs.

so yeah. off to war we went with the kids. we did what we could to reduce collateral damage to the residence. unfortunately in doing so, us young adults, presented ourselves as the only other "targets" for them. and so it all went downhill from the moment they came..

i had a door slammed in my face causing the nose bridge to break. i have a scratched lens on my replacement pair of spectacles. had my toes stepped on repeatedly. had my head whacked by a soft toy (which wasn't all that soft) till i had a migraine. all these over and above me trying to render medical assistance to the kids themselves for whatever nonsense that they did to each other.

but it's all over now. thankfully. the cleaning up was tiring. scratch that. extremely tiring. body's aching a little bit now and i'm very tempted to take off from work tomorrow just to sleep in late. haha! oh well. work first..

will be heading to luxy tomorrow night with kelvin, andy, ben, vivian, molly, calvin, gina and whoever else wants to come. need to chill out before everything becomes a blur the next couple of weeks..

for now, i need a mug of hot chocolate and some hello panda to munch on. hahaha!

the rush.

monday and so it begins. the rush to clear work. the rush to get things done before time runs out. from finance to logistics. from professional to personal. the time has come to start the mad rush all over again..

apparently i've got another 110 more days before i ord..

tainan - day 2

saturday okay. today was much better. finally managed to eat my dan zai mian. had 2 bowls too if i might add. bought a pair of birkenstocks. quite satisfied with it considering it's my first pair. in any case, i think it'll make a very comfortable driving shoe/slipper/sandal.

anyways, tainan. nothing much to do except eat and eat some more. the sights are well, apart from the forts and temples, there really isn't any. transportation here is hell. there aren't much public buses and cabs are very hard to get. walking is too far so.. you get my point.. think i spent close to NT$2000 on cab fare alone the past 2 days. damn it.

tainan - day 1

friday all i can say is, it's been a pretty disappointing trip so far. most of the night markets are closed until tomorrow night. the place isn't all that fantastic either. reminds me of kolkata and kaohsiung.

win some. lose some.

friday morning couldn't believe my luck. found a US$100 bill on the floor when i was sitting around in the first class lounge the other day. i have a knack for picking up money. but none of it is mine. damn it.

i remember once in poly, i picked up a whole wad of S$50s.. but well. that's the winning part. on to the losing.. blooy exchange rate is dropping. it was a high of S$1 ~ NT$22.84 not too long ago. today? today's closing rate was NT$22.26. looks like next month's remittance will be low. i'm predicting 22.35 tops. hopefully it'll hover around that range.

haven't got much more time here. in another month plus i will have to start packing my stuff to send back to singapore. i'm estimating at least 5 boxes.. darn.

so anyway, off to tainan later today with kaisheng. been looking forward to this trip since silly cow left. come next week, it'll be all work and no play. oh well. win some lose some.

definitions.

tuesday do you believe in them?

fate: that which is inevitably predetermined
destiny: the predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events
coincidence: a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance

or was it an act of God?

i'm a believer of all yet a skeptic at the same time. but this time. i'm at a lost as to which is which and what things mean. it's all grey.

if it weren't for what i believe so strongly in, i would have done some things which i wish i could do. some things which i know will hurt people only because i've been on the receiving end once.

almost home.

monday evening was thinking about how long more i had. doesn't seem too far a way now. 3 more months and i'll be home for good. can't wait for may to come. really. meanwhile. might swing by singapore sometime in march for a week. see how things work out.

photos!

sunday haha! i was looking through my external hard disk just a while back. found a fair bit of pictures that i took with my old phones last time. my p910i (that was stolen) and 6111 (that i traded-in) photos. hilarious!

and ivan posting some old pictures up on facebook does bring back some memories. oh man. i regret a lot of times not being able to take a decent picture of myself last time. but oh well. i think i'm making amends now. heh.

best time.. ever.

saturday afternoon i can't put into words how i feel about the past couple of days. it was sheer joy followed by a tinge of sadness that it had to end.

so yeah. silly cow came and left. it was by far the best time of my entire stay here in taiwan, no doubts about it.

can't help but laugh at the memories now though. bouncing siew mai on the first night. frigid cold in danshui (which turned out to be the record low for the winter so far). strawberries in shilin. "catching" in sheraton. oh man. never had that much fun since.. enlisting to be honest.

but anyways. i'm still speechless about the present she gave me. priceless.
her being here in taipei. priceless.

for everything else.. there's visa. hah. miss that girl already. damn it.

jump jump jump!

monday okay. it's a day of farewells but welcomes as well. family left for singapore. yeni and lini are both headed to melbourne. prata-kaki is a year older (hahaha!)..

the upside.. silly cow's finally in taipei!

and...

bertrand wee! welcome to the skydiving world!
ade.. waiting for you to get your license.. heh.

Rob Thomas - Ever The Same

We were drawn from the weeds
We were brave like soldiers
Falling down under the pale moonlight
You were holding to me
Like a someone broken
And I couldn't tell you but I'm telling you now

Just let me hold you while you're falling apart
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down

Fall on me
Tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you forever in me
Ever the same

We would stand in the wind
We were free like water
Flowing down
Under the warmth of the sun
Now it's cold and we're scared
And we've both been shaken
Hey, look at us
Man, this doesn't need to be the end

Just let me hold you while you're falling apart
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down

Fall on me tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you
Forever in me
Ever the same
Call on me
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me
Forever it's you
Forever in me
Ever the same

You may need me there
To carry all your weight
But you're no burden I assure
You tide me over
With a warmth I'll not forget
But I can only give you love

Fall on me tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you
Forever in me
Ever the same
Call on me
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me
Forever it's you
Forever in me
Ever the same

Forever with you
Forever in me
Ever the same

Chinese New Year 2008

saturday morning this week has flown by pretty fast. family flew in on wednesday morning and i must say that it's something different and special to be celebrating overseas.

things have been moving along quite quickly the past couple of weeks and the chinese new year holidays (6th - 11th) gives me the chance to take a breather before work resumes.

i said it before that i dislike the country. i still do. but i'm sure i'll be back here for years to come if only to look up friends that i've made. other than that, i find little to no reason as to why i would want to revisit this place. as prata-kaki rightly says, this place is a jinx. i've become accident-prone since i came here. too many accidents for my liking.

so. another long week to look forward to. will be out of taipei from wednesday till sunday. i loathe travelling long distance by coach. put me on a plane or the high speed rail anytime.

oh yes. had a blast last night at Luxy. brian, jan, siow, andy, ivan, vivian, molly, calvin, jenny, two other girls whose names i can't remember and my sis (HAHA!). so much for a CNY party. haha. great company. great time. pity it only happens here in taiwan. i very much doubt i'll experience something like this again in singapore or even canberra. i'll definitely miss the friends here.

Melee - Can't Hold On

Someone cries and it washes the street with tears
But when they are mine, they collect in my head for years
Rain or shine, still I'm standing on all I said
'Cause it's in my soul, carry on when the feeling's dead

But if you can't hold on
Let it go and come back in your heart
And if you can't hold on
Maybe it's not time for you
And if you can't hold on
On your very last try
I'll be there in the morning to pull you through

Someone dies late at night and I never know
And even if I did, so afraid of the face I'd show
I feel trapped and enslaved to this dark contrast
Need a feeling now, give me something that's going to last

I want to be free
I want to be free
I want to be free
Yes, I want to be free
I want to be free
Yes, I want to be free
Oh, I want to be free
Yes, I want to be free

You say you want to be free
But you can't fool me
You say you want to be free
Oh, but you can't fool me
You say you want to be free
But you can't fool me
You say you want to be free
Oh, but you can't fool me

Oh, and if you can't hold on
You can't hold on (Can't hold on)
You can't hold on (Can't hold on)
I'll be there, I'll be there

Oh, and if you can't hold on
Let it go and come back in your heart
And if you can't hold on
Maybe it's not time for you
And if you can't hold on
On your very last try
I'll be there so you know that you're not alone

CNY Holidays.

sunday morning haven't really had the time to blog much this days. work's been crazy and i'm so tied up trying to cover for my two bosses while they're back in singapore this 3 weeks. doesn't really help that we're in the midst of a "financial crisis" of sorts - trying to sort out some issues with some people.

in any case, next week i'll be on a long holiday. it's a week long holiday for Chinese New Year over here in taiwan. 6th till the 11th. family will be flying in on the 6th so i'm quite excited about celebrating CNY here in taiwan with them. unfortunately, due to the lack of personnel, i've still got to do my fair share of duties over the week.

the weather forecast for the next couple of days don't look that promising too if i might add. wet and cold. mixture for misery. hah!

anyway, i took off on 12th and 13th to bring silly cow around taipei before i head down south to help tidy up some finance issues. will be in kaohsiung till the 16th. i'm still thinking if i should go on down to tainan on the 22nd or head down to jiayi instead. in any case, it pretty much means i won't be working much during february. heh.

okay. i feel stupid for saying this but i'll say it anyway. i damaged the nerves in my gum (between the tooth and gum cavity) while eating lunch on friday. i don't know what happened (think i was in a daze) and the next thing i knew, i heard a cracking sound and felt an acute pain on my bottom front tooth. so it's now partly out of alignment and according to the dentist, it could be a severed nerve ligament. he's giving it till tuesday for it to improve if not he'll do some minor op.

speaking of the dentist. the clinic. haha. it's behind my office and it's one of those that we see in movies where the attendants and nurses are all female, and pretty/cute ones at that. it's like a pre-requisite in order to work there. the funny thing is this: the dentist is a singaporean! okay. not pure-singaporean but a singaporean nonetheless. he's a taiwanese with singapore citizenship. apparently he stays at kembangan (-looks at prata kaki and marilyn) and his brother-in-law stays at marine parade. how cool's that? haha.

so yeah. i'm unable to speak properly now thanks to the two injections on my gum, coupled with 2 ulcers in my mouth now. damn it.

and yes. before i forget. i spent a good 8 hours at the airport just now. received one flight, sent off another two after that. my goodness. i'm dead beat, my feet hurt and i'm still not asleep. sigh.