Thoughts on turning 30

I've been meaning to put up a post and pictures regarding my recently-held birthday party at my sauna, I mean, my house, but I've just been too tired this past week to do anything constructive. Suffice to say, I didn't get drunk (thus preserving my 30-yr old dignity), and most of my guests stayed till late (which I take as them enjoying themselves), and so I'm quite happy for the result.

Shermaine helped me plan the party, reminding me way in advance that I should be thinking of a guest list and sending out invites early.. I procrastinated for quite a while as I really didn't want to turn 30 and get drunk (yes it was a really big factor, I haven't been drunk in nearly 5 yrs). Sherm also helped me plan the food menu, and together with my mom's mee siam, my maid's fried rice, Sherm's mashed poteto and many finger foods, and of course Ken's roast, there was more than enough food for my guests! What would I do without her, Shermaine is probably what's kept me going in the latter part of my life, and I am so thankful to have found this gem of a girlfriend.

Ken Tan brought a large, about 4kgs, piece of Prime Ribeye (still on the rib) which he prepared with his own tools (including his very cool looking knives - "Come Shermaine, let me show you how sharp my knife is", and promptly cuts himself by mistake..). This was cooked over a BBQ and later blow-torched to perfection on serving (as well as his home-made sauce that got some raves). Very very nice! So yes, I had my very own roast & chef present at my 30th birthday party =)

I picked the theme Bands, Clans & Gaming Gems because:
1) Bands - I was going to have Rock Band/Guitar Hero playing on my big screen projection TV for friends to have fun on.
2) Clans - was a shout out to my Clan [SyN] (for Syndicate), for the last few years of gaming together at LAN centres.
3) Gaming Gems was actually the main theme, I was hoping to see some classic game characters appear, cos they're so over the top and colourful.

What I didn't realise was that playing Rock Band / Guitar Hero sort of celebrated a bit of my past, when I was quite into music - anything that had guitar riffs in them. They had a lot of songs I don't listen to anymore, but sort of defined the ages that I went through. Songs like Today, Cherub Rock, Vasoline, Beat It, Enter Sandman.. Nostalgia was one thing, reliving my grunge days, the days when I would actually play a guitar, and when I was an angsty teenager.. brought back many memories.

So having a silly theme party with many of my friends and significant people was not just a celebration of a transient number but a remembrance of my life, and the people who have been important to me. I cannot say that I have led such a full life; it has had its moments, and its many many misses. Of these, I'm still striving (achievements and waypoint markers). Its the things that I have not yet achieved that were clouding my thoughts in the days leading up to the big three-o. Thank God for the party. Cos after all these things, though my life has not been perfect, I think, for a tired 30-year old, these challenging years, with their same ups and downs, and short-comings and regret, have still been more than I could ever wish for.

(Pictures to come!)

Hamster talk

Watching our hamsters, it is very possible to imagine their arguments or what's going through their little heads.. Sherm and I have a lot of fun doing this.

When the 2 girly hams are placed in a small space:

"don't want you so near me!"
"like I want like that!"
"go away!"
"YOU go away!"

OR

"Quit shoving!"
"You shoved me first"
"I jump on u!!!"
"I hit you with my paws"!!
*bat bat bat bat* "AHHHH!!!"


Diggy on being fed 2 snacky bits, a smaller one first then a larger one:

"Yay! I got a nice piece of chewy snacky bit!" *chompchomp*
(sherm dangles a larger piece in front of him)
*Diggy pauses, stock still hamster holding smaller snacky bit while staring at larger snacky bit*
"........."
*drops smaller piece, makes a grab at the big one, then runs off to hide it*

Please control us more!

Oh wow. As a civilian, I once was harrassed by police officers on patrol. They said that the bunch of us playing roller-hockey at the basketball court constituted an illegal assembly (cos there were more than 5 of us).. Mind you, we were kids aged between 13-17 then.

With this new law, any individual can be accosted based on a perceived threat..

April 14, 2009 by admin
Filed under: Parliament

Written by Ng E-Jay, based on information compiled from mainstream media and alternative media reports, as well as detailed clauses in the Public Order Act 2009 recently passed by Parliament
14 April 2009

Parliament passed on Monday 13 April 2009 the Public Order Act of 2009.

Unlike previous legislation which defines an illegal assembly or illegal procession as one that involves 5 or more persons, the Public Order Bill criminalizes public activities held without a police permit by ANY number of people which in the view of law enforcement authorities compromise public order.

Law Minister and Second Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam told Parliament on Monday that the Public Order Act is needed prevent trouble at major conferences such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to be held in Singapore in November this year.

The Law Minister also cited the recent example of political unrest in Thailand in which protesters eager to compel the ousting of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva laid siege on the ASEAN Summit hotel, Royal Cliff Beach Resort, as well as other top-end popular resorts along the Pattaya Beach.

“The backdrop of current events in Thailand, with the international leaders having to leave the conference by helicopter hurriedly, showed very tellingly the need for this legislation,” said Mr K Shanmugam.

He also said that “the approach is to seek the optimal balance between the freedom to exercise political rights while not affecting public safety security and not affecting stability”.

However, opposition NCMP Sylvia Lim offered her view that the Government was taking advantage of political struggle in Thailand to “justify the implementation of draconian laws to inhibit the basic rights of Singaporeans further.”

She said: “As long as this Government respects and upholds democracy, the problems now we are seeing in Thailand will not happen here … … But if the government wants to tinker with individual freedom and democracy to an oppressive level, it will actually become the source of public order problems.”

I fully concur with Sylvia Lim, who has put across the main point of contention very succinctly. I am also pleased to know that Sylvia Lim voted against the Bill.

As I recall, only 3 hands were raised in opposition to this bill. Two opposition members and 1 NMP. Another win for the PAP.

Bellatrix & Narcissa

Sherm told me to kiss the girls goodnight and not to stay up too late playing with them.



She meant the new girly hamsters we bought in early March. haha.. Fearing that Diggy, our sole, lonesome and suspiciously gay hamster, was going to pass on within the next few weeks/months, Sherm and I decided to go ahead with our oft-talked-about plan of getting 2 new hamsters for our spare cage. We decided on girls cos we wanted them to coexist peacefully and lovingly, and not bully each other all the time to the point of separation (in the case of the boys).

While at the Serangoon North "Pet Village", we saw few hamsters, perhaps it was late on a Sunday, and patronage was high for the weekend? Anyway, we came across a nice looking Panda hamster and were quite taken with it, though not entirely. There was only one and we wanted a pair. Also, this one cost $25. EXPENSIVE. We went around and came across a trio of black & white hamsters. There were cheaper due to their colour not being as perfectly demarcated, but we weren't particular - so long as they were girls from the same family, and they were cute! We got them inspected, and lo and behold, 2 girls and a boy!

We extracted our girly hams from the cage and went off to buy a new wheel. The pet store helpers later topped up the display cage containing the single male with similarly-coloured hamsters, though slightly larger. The poor male, dominant in the earlier setting, was now being bullied by the larger newly-introduced hamsters. It was quite funny actually.

Just to describe their markings a little, Bellatrix is the darker overall ham, with more clearly defined colour separation. Narcissa is the slightly smaller one, her back isn't clearly black n white, more a mix of both, making it look a little spotty. They have different face markings too, Sherm can identify them better by face.

On arriving home with the girls, we realized how much bigger Diggy had become when compared to the girls. Their entire bodies were about the size of his head and neck only! Some 'dwarf' he turned out to be!

Anyway, they 2 girls fit into the spare cage perfectly, and they adapted to it very quickly, learning the positions of the sandbox, the hamster-hut and food dish, as well as water bottle. I knew this cos I took out the sandbox to replace the sand the next day, and saw some funny behaviour. Bellatrix came to where the box was supposed to be and started panicking! She ran around the cage till Narcissa came over curiously, and they both ended up wrestling on the spot recently vacated by the box.. I let them tussle for about a minute till they stopped suddenly, looking away from each other. I then replaced the box and they happily climbed back in, although they each took 1 corner and continued to face away. hehehe

Ok enough hamster stories for now, let's hope they live good long lives, and eat healthily!


Note: On why they're called Bella & Narci - its simply cos I read the last 2 books in the Harry Potter series recently, and they're named after the Black sisters on the side of the Dark Lord. Bellatrix is the dark fanatical one, fiercely loyal to Voldemort till the end. Narcissa is loyal only to her family, and is known to be blonde. So I'm sure you can guess which hamster is which! =)

"Bands, Clans & Gaming Gems!"

This Saturday (18 Apr), @ Seletar Terrace, there will be auditions for casting of an upcoming LIVE event! Walk-in-interviews accepted! From 1830hrs till late!

Stick to the theme and stand to win an as-yet-undecided prize!

Music and electronic musical equipment will also be provided (as yet unconfirmed), we only need musicians (musical talent optional) with flair and showmanship!

There will be food and drinks provided, but do feel free to B-Y-O!


*Management reserves the right to stay sober for as long as is necessary to retain semblances of 30-year old dignities.

Top 10 Highest Paid Politicians

An article came up recently on the Times Online, comparing the top 10 salaries of the G20 leaders. It was British by nature and the focus was on Gordon Brown. The hilarious thing about it was that the first comment was by a Singaporean, and the second comment received from that article stated that the entire list was wrong, and that the top 30 highest paid politicians are ALL from Singapore! Referece list here.

I echo this comment made -

"Maybe it’s time for LKY to come out in defence arguing that it’s because the leaders of US, Britain, Japan, France, Australia, etc., will tend to be corrupted because they have been paid so little!"

And LOL.