Agitated

I think my social life is on the brink of extinction. And the main cause of it? Being in Engineering.

Study, study, study. Is that all they care about?

I need to know more people and less non-humans.

I miss USA

I have six quarters in my hands now, with this amount of money, I can wash clothes!

Everything in US is greatly, greatly missed. Everything seems so vivid still when I browse through the photographs taken during the trip, which currently amounts up to a grand total of 2,691 photos from four cameras altogether, and still counting. I have not received photographs from Maggie in Taiwan, who is sweet enough to post them all the way to Singapore.

I still have withdrawal symptoms from the trip leh, and what... it has already been 2 months since I came back, the longing to be back there and appreciating the American lifestyle is STILL strong despite many assuring me it'd eventually wane.

The photos seem to come alive as I browse through them - one look and I know where the pict was taken, the pre and post events which occurred, and who else was around during the time when the picture was taken.

I super miss US lah. Next entry will be on the things that I miss most in US. Stay tuned.

The Lonely-turned-Disastrous Dinner

The Lonely Dinner

It's Friday. Yes TGIF, you may say. I am still in school at this unearthly hour due to project liabilities. The discussion actually ended earlier at around 6 pm but since

1) I don't want to squeeze into the train with the rush hour crowds, and
2) I haven't eaten since my breakfast of one piece of bread and lunch of a cup of Olive Cove's iced mocha,

I decided to stay around the West first for my first meal of the day - the brunchinner. More letters from 'dinner' since it's technically dinner time. Most unfortunately, the friends of the West are tremendously busy people (it's Friday after all, who stays in school on Fridays to type out blog entries like this? Me loh.) so I decided to have a lonely meal in school - a first since I got matriculated into university. Not surprising though, for I don't usually have meals alone - unless I really have to.

I trotted along Arts to N.US BK for one of my favourite meals in the world - the Mushroom Swiss Double meal. Walked to an empty table, put down my stuff and went to the counter to place an order without hesitating. It's gottabe Mushroom Swiss, nothing else.

An Indian girl was seen backfacing me behind the counter, talking endlessly with another colleague, a Minah to be exact. So I waited.. and waited... and waited. Apparently, I was still being ignored after 10 seconds, afterwhich she turned to pass someone before me his burger. I was not furious, just a little annoyed, but I was lazy to open my mouth anyways so it's partially my fault. Never mind about standard "dos and don'ts" of staff over the counter.

Me: Hi, can I have a Mushroom Swiss Double meal please?
Indian Girl, IG: Upsize? (Her voice was so soft (not the soft spoken sort, but more to the can't-be-bothered sort of soft) I had to strain my ears to digest whatever she was saying before I finally understood.)
Me: Yes please, change the drink to Sprite, and having here. Do I need to show you my matric card?
IG: *mumbles something*
Me: Huh?
IG: S$5.70.

(Whatever happened to the response to the question I asked? Okay, never mind.)

*proceeds to give a S10 bill*

(To put it bluntly, any idiot would know what's the exact change for a ten dollar bill for a meal costing S5.70 - subtract 5.70 from ten, you get 4.30. Any idiot cashier would also know the exact change is automatically calculated by the cash register and is proudly displayed for him/her to present it to the customer.

She opened the cash register, took out a 5 dollar bill and lifted her hand with the bill in it, ready to pass it to me before she hesitated for a bit. Inside my mind, I was screaming "The magic number is 4.30, the magic number is 4.30!!!" but I didn't say it out loud, coz I was really hungry and this kinda stupidity is partially bearable.

What she did next made me want to bang my head on the counter until it bleeds profusely and I die from excessive bleeding.

She put the 5 dollar bill back into the till, went to the back for a while, and when she came back, she brought with her a

CALCULATOR

ZOMG, I screamed in my heart.

If she was nice and friendly from the start, I'd not have minded the lack of intelligence from not being able to calculate... erm... primary school mathematics? But she showed her back at me when I came by. One thing I forgot to mention is I don't believe she didn't see me, if she really did not, her fat Minah colleague would have seen me as she was facing me while talking to her and she'd have alerted her of my presence in front of the counter. But who cares, I went there to have a proper meal, not to pick on these bad service people. So I let it go.

And then she gave me black face and horrible attitude while taking my order. I know I'm being judgmental here but she looks the sort who'd get fired from all the restaurants in Singapore and only N.US BK is willing to hire her. Her working attitude in the service line is unsurprisingly negative and plunging rockbottom to negative infinity. Bad service = No Service. But I still let it go, I came to BK to take my meals, not to be disgusted by bad service personnel.

The final straw has gottabe the calculator incident. I tell you, I really really want to throw a banana at her! And this time, thank god she got her math right... If she hadn't, I really wouldn't know how to react. Perhaps I'd just throw a whole fruit basket full of rotten fruits at her.

So she got the change right, finally. She proceeded to take out 2 2 dollar bills from the till, and then - please do not choke on reading this - 1 fifty cent and 1 twenty cent coin. OMT OMT OMT. Really, too bad N.US does not sell bananas so late at night, else....

This time, she hesitated again, but only after she closed the freaking cash register. So she told me to wait while she served the customer behind me. Meanwhile, fat Minah was supposed to process my order, which she did a few seconds later. At the same time, the Indian girl finally gave me the correct change after she took the order from the next customer.

Me: Can I have chilli sauce please? Thanks.

Fat Minah opened the cupboard, took out a few pieces of serviettes, rummaged the cupboard to get a few packets of chilli sauce and THREW THEM ON MY TRAY. I wonder where did "You're Welcome" go. Maybe it is holidaying in Msia and forgot to come back to N.US BK.

I went back to the table and ate a pretty unhappy meal. I am quite traumatised by the service standards of N.US food outlets. First it was Subway, now it's BK. I wonder which is next.

This incident is not meant to insult any particular race, it just so happened that these two service personnel were not very service-oriented. I'd have retold the story here anyway if it were any other race.

This story isn't exaggerated in any sense, every single part of it was recounted to the best of my memory, and as you all know, my memory rocks. It is a true incident and not a figment of my imagination, maybe except the bananas and the rotten fruit basket. :p

Cap

Can anyone tell me if there is any shop in Singapore that sells caps of all kinds?

I need to replace my A|X cap which I lost in the cab in USA.

I feel very important now.

Mom and Dad wanted to go Giant on Saturday night so I tagged along even though I had lab report to rush over the night.

Hmmm... I sorta like it more when I'm alone with them. It somewhat makes me feel like I'm their only child! The whole night, I felt important, I felt I was the centre of their attention and the apple of their eyes... I felt I was the only one. Gosh, I haven't felt so warm and wonderful in ages! Makes me wonder too, what if I were the only child in the family? I betcha I'd be ten times more pampered than I already am. :p

The Sister used to be one 'commanding the household' back in those days when she was still around. Don't get me wrong, she did not rule the household with a heavy hand, nor was she any more authoritative than my Dad. It's just that in those days, Mom would listen to her advices about nearly anything pertaining to the household - the color of the curtains, the meals for the day, or even calls to complain/respond/enquire about bills/services/products/anything to do with household. In short, the family depended on her, especially when it came to speaking with people on the phone and writing letters to the various government agencies. She was the Jane of that trade. And I admire her for that.

Now that she's married and GONE, I am slowly (but surely... I think!) taking up that position of hers. But I must say I really hate enquiring about stuff over the phone (Don't really like the idea of conversing with a stranger over the line and fumbling over my words and losing my train of thought. I don't know why I am better speaking to people face-to-face.) and writing letters is so not my cup of tea (Let's do it the electronic way, Dad!). Okay perhaps my brother is also (kinda) taking up that position too, for he handles the less atas issues such bills and the calls.

Now, the weight of my words is heavier than before. Whatever I say now is usually not taken lightly, except when I am super 1) pissed MAD or 2) crazily mad. Having some form of authority over the family matters makes me feel happy and good about myself as a son of the family I call my own.

And I like it this way.

SLS

The other day, I went down to Sim Lim Square to check out prices for some stuff I needed to get. After spending a couple of hours there, all I can say is the things there are really cheaper than outside.


Challenger sells Norton Internet Security 2009 for SGD79 without membership; SGD72 with membership. I got mine for SGD65. Very cheap, works well on my laptop too. Now my laptop is FULLY protected - no one can do anything funny hurhurhur!!!

Norton 2009 aside, I also got for myself a pair of SE Walkman Earphones - something I really needed to get (my right ear is already semi-deaf from listening to music because the left earpiece I had was spoilt) but have procrastinated buying since ten thousand years ago - for only SGD35 when White Sands shops are selling it for SGD48. Buncha money grabbers.


I love my new SE Earphones because it's the Ear-in type and for the ignoramus, my ear is oddly shaped and the normal earpieces usually drop after so many futile attempts of putting it properly into the hole, so I've been wanting to get this type where I can just stick it in and it stays put inside. Don't worry, I clean my ears every night after shower so I figure you won't see ear wax when I stick them out from my ears.


Big digress, I also got myself a pair of Sony Earphones (but in pure white) specially for watching webcasts in school. Right... Really! I swear I will spend more time watching webcast in school now that I have a decent pair of earphones to show off. :)

Loots aside, I have lots to complain about SL Square. True it is heaven when it comes to shopping for gadgets at ridiculously low prices but I feel that the low prices there are in exchange for their horrible attitudes towards potential customers, especially those who are young (lower buying power) and local (tourists tend to buy more than locals) like me.

I came into one shop and stood beside an angmoh and the differences in treatment was blatant. When queried about the SE Walkman Earphones, he quoted me the PRICE first (I cannot afford is it?), then I asked him to show me the earphones, he got them from underneath the counter, passed to me and attended the angmohs with the uber fake friendliness.

Another lady in another shop told me a super rude NO even before I could finish my sentence asking her if her shop sold the Norton 2009. And she immediately turned away without even looking the least bit sorry about the whole incident.

The rest of the vendors treated me so-so. I know I am not supposed to judge the place only based on two horrible incidents I experienced during that particular visit... but I'm sorry to say it's not only me who is perturbed by their attitudes.

Read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim_Lim_Square
http://sabisu.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/rude-service-sim-lim-square
http://www.sgclub.com/singapore/sim_lim_square_92772.html
http://forums.gameaxis.com/showthread.php?t=1482761
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Singapore/Singapore-1495679/Shopping-Singapore-Sim_Lim_Square-BR-2.html

The House Bunny

My heart is pounding like a nail!

Slapstick, bimbotic and just plain blonde.

Anna Faris is hawt and blonde and makes me go WHOOPIE whenever I see her clad in nothing but pink undergarments. But she's not the one I look out for the most.


Emma Stone (second from right) is dropdead gorgeous, especially in this scene!

Charmaine just found it lame and I think I know why. There are absolutely no hunks to ogle at. I find it hilarious and watching it makes my day. I think you know why.

Anti acne!

When I was in the US, my facial wash ran out and so I bought this:


Neutrogena MEN Face Wash, USD5.

I thought it was pretty good, nice smell and everything, so I brought it home! I used it for a while before it ran out as well. I tried looking for the same one in SG but I can't find it. The ones here are either too small (not worth buying), different type (don't know if my skin goes well with it), or too expensive (Neutrogena products are really costly here, especially when the bottle is smaller). I should be able to get it online, as mentioned in certain websites, but I find it a bit ridiculous to buy facial wash online leh.

So I squeezed the one I have to the last drop, and today, when I finally couldn't get anything out of it, I decided to go for a cosmetic hunt.





Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash, SGD11.30 - "effective yet gentle acne cleanser"

I think my face is too atas to use cheapo products, so I bought this to pamper this atas face of mine. Just kidding, it's just that I think Neutrogena products suit my (atas) face pretty well.

I was looking for something along the lines of oil control (These days my face is like an oil rig) and acne treatment and prevention (Skin getting more and more pimple-prone, must be the hot weather and the insufficient water intake during fasting month), so I got this.





Neem Face Pack for Oily & Pimple-prone skin, SGD9.

"Clears skin and prevents outbreak and recurrence of pimples"

It's a face mask, the smell's a little funny, but once it dries up, it feels like any other masks. I am not really a mask person, this is perhaps the third facial mask I've put on my face so far.

VERDICT AFTER FIRST APPLICATION OF BOTH PRODUCTS: Face feels very fresh, and less oily.

Hmmmm, so far so good, we'll see how it goes.