Dogs are shining examples of enduring love and faith. Could we as Homo Sapiens, a breed far more intelligent than mammals, fare better? I guess not.......
[Quoted from Noah's Ark blog http://noahsarkcares.blogspot.com/2008/06/mans-best-friend-in-life-and-death.html]
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Im back from Tokyo!
I'm back from Tokyo after spending 4 days there! It was a short but nice trip. We stayed in Tokyu Stay Hotel in Yotsuya which is quite near the Tokyo train station.
Tokyo is a clean and modern city with a homogeneous Japanese population. The Japanese are polite and civic-minded. They will sort out their trash into bottles, cans, papers and combustibles etc before disposing them off in the respective bins. Compare that to Singapore where you see people throwing their leftovers into recycling bins. *Yucks* The streets are clean and the salesperson are friendly and helpful. Always welcoming you and ready to serve you, even though you did not buy anything. The service is truly first-class. The Japanese also have high integrity. Most of the people living near where we stayed rode bicycles and they can just park their bikes outside the shops and nobody will ride off with their bikes. Again, compare the stark contrast with the case in Singapore where even if you had LOCKED your bicycle, your wheels and handlebars will still get stolen. The only safe place to keep a bicycle (especially an expensive one) in Singapore has to be your home, I suppose. =S And one more thing, their pavements are wide and there's a special lane for bicycles. How I wish we have that in Singapore!
We travelled from place to place by train and the train system in Tokyo is very efficient though it's quite complicated. [Photos from http://vagabond.air-nifty.com/kp/images/JR-KantoRailway_2.png]
The tokyo station itself is so big that you can get lost inside there though you go there to work everyday, according to my sister. =S The station itself is a shopping mall selling all sorts of things and shopping inside there itself can take one whole day. Inside the trains, the Japanese also behave in an orderly manner, sitting only when seats are available, instead of rushing in and jostling for seats! A happy journey is just like that! =D
Of course, leaving in Tokyo has its downside (or else the whole world would have migrated there right?) The things there are really very expensive. =S A meal for 3 at a restaurant will easily set you back by $60-$80 Singapore dollars (partly due to the high exchange rate). So you may ask, why did we have to dine in a restaurant then? The answer is..... there are only restaurants and cafe there! There are no hawker centres, food courts or whatever place that sells cheap food. =(
In fact, I don't think one will ever use the word 'cheap' anywhere in Japan. Ok, maybe for cigarettes and alcohol. The cigarettes are sold using vending machines and a pack costs only 300+ yen which is like only $4+. If I were a smoker, I would have smoked my guts out there. Thankfully, Im not. =) The most incredibly-priced thing in Tokyo in my opinion has got to be swimsuits. The bikinis and tankinis cost $10,000-$15,000 yen which is like $150-$280!!! Im not sure how much they cost in Singapore but Im sure they are cheaper than that. And don't ask me why I was checking out the prices of bikini. =P
Ok, sorry for the lack of pictures as they have not been uploaded yet. Once I get my pictures into the computer, I'll post them up together with my experience for the highlight of the trip. The trip to Tokyo Disneysea!!!!
*To my darling: I missed you a lot throughout the trip and I wished that you were with me. Happy 10 months together! I love you!! This time round, I'll let the presents do the talking ;) !!!
Tokyo is a clean and modern city with a homogeneous Japanese population. The Japanese are polite and civic-minded. They will sort out their trash into bottles, cans, papers and combustibles etc before disposing them off in the respective bins. Compare that to Singapore where you see people throwing their leftovers into recycling bins. *Yucks* The streets are clean and the salesperson are friendly and helpful. Always welcoming you and ready to serve you, even though you did not buy anything. The service is truly first-class. The Japanese also have high integrity. Most of the people living near where we stayed rode bicycles and they can just park their bikes outside the shops and nobody will ride off with their bikes. Again, compare the stark contrast with the case in Singapore where even if you had LOCKED your bicycle, your wheels and handlebars will still get stolen. The only safe place to keep a bicycle (especially an expensive one) in Singapore has to be your home, I suppose. =S And one more thing, their pavements are wide and there's a special lane for bicycles. How I wish we have that in Singapore!
We travelled from place to place by train and the train system in Tokyo is very efficient though it's quite complicated. [Photos from http://vagabond.air-nifty.com/kp/images/JR-KantoRailway_2.png]
The tokyo station itself is so big that you can get lost inside there though you go there to work everyday, according to my sister. =S The station itself is a shopping mall selling all sorts of things and shopping inside there itself can take one whole day. Inside the trains, the Japanese also behave in an orderly manner, sitting only when seats are available, instead of rushing in and jostling for seats! A happy journey is just like that! =DOf course, leaving in Tokyo has its downside (or else the whole world would have migrated there right?) The things there are really very expensive. =S A meal for 3 at a restaurant will easily set you back by $60-$80 Singapore dollars (partly due to the high exchange rate). So you may ask, why did we have to dine in a restaurant then? The answer is..... there are only restaurants and cafe there! There are no hawker centres, food courts or whatever place that sells cheap food. =(
In fact, I don't think one will ever use the word 'cheap' anywhere in Japan. Ok, maybe for cigarettes and alcohol. The cigarettes are sold using vending machines and a pack costs only 300+ yen which is like only $4+. If I were a smoker, I would have smoked my guts out there. Thankfully, Im not. =) The most incredibly-priced thing in Tokyo in my opinion has got to be swimsuits. The bikinis and tankinis cost $10,000-$15,000 yen which is like $150-$280!!! Im not sure how much they cost in Singapore but Im sure they are cheaper than that. And don't ask me why I was checking out the prices of bikini. =P
Ok, sorry for the lack of pictures as they have not been uploaded yet. Once I get my pictures into the computer, I'll post them up together with my experience for the highlight of the trip. The trip to Tokyo Disneysea!!!!
*To my darling: I missed you a lot throughout the trip and I wished that you were with me. Happy 10 months together! I love you!! This time round, I'll let the presents do the talking ;) !!!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Today is National Day!
Happy 44th Birthday Singapore!
I love Singapore! Weeee! =D
I love my darling too!!! Muacksy!!!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Troubles
My paper was rejected yet again. Though that was something I expected, Im starting to feel the stress now. Still no meaningful work done up till now, and I wonder if Im doing the right thing. I think Im just too slack and lazy.
So many things have been troubling me lately. Seriously, I don't know what will happen in the future.
However, I came upon this blog post http://noahsarkcares.blogspot.com/2009/06/jolies-tale.html and realised that things are not that bad for me. There are others in a worse situation than me and I should learn from Jolie the dog as well as my own Chippy. =)
I need to work harder and stop slacking anymore. Ok, looking on the bright side, I don't have to go to Washington D.C. which will cost me a lot.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson
The King of Pop, Michael Jackson passed away last thursday due to cardiac arrest. Though I wouldn't dare claim to be a die-hard fan of his, most of the English songs that I listen to, if at all, are his works. My favourites are Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Black Or White, Beat It, Heal The World and You Are Not Alone. I even sang Heal The World as part of a trio when I was in primary three in front of the whole school. =) My group also presented Black or White for one of our courses, Music: Adventures in Listening, when I was an undergraduate. His songs are so captivating that the only reason that someone do not like his songs can only be that the person has not heard them before. However, what I like most are his music videos, especially the earlier ones like Smooth Criminal and Thriller, which are electrifying to say the least. In addition, one of my all-time favourite video game is Moonwalker, featuring Michael Jackson himself.I've been following news report about his death and about his life and what I realised is that his life was quite sad. Forced to perform since the age of 5, he didn't have a proper childhood which he felt was something missing from his life. That led to his love for children which in turn got him involved in the child molestation case and tarnished his reputation. In the end, he was acquitted of all charges but people still had their doubts. Only until his death did people start to believe him and remember the good things that he has done, the music that he has brought us. But isn't that a little too late?
That has always been the problem with human beings (myself included), always looking at others' bad points and overlooking the good ones. It is always until the person is gone that we will start to forgive, and start to remember all the good things he or she has done. But the person will never get to hear the good things about him or her again.
MJ had a bad childhood where he was always beaten up by his father. He was in a bad shape towards the end of his life too. I guess the only happy moments in his life was somewhere in between. According to news reports, he took up to 8 kinds of drugs everyday and was not eating much, making him very frail. He was also heavily in debt due to his child molestation court cases and poor financial management, not to mention many people trying to fleece him. And the worst thing is, he had to perfrom in 50 concerts in London. 50! Can you believe it? 50 concerts for a weak 50 year old man with all sorts of health problems. How can he manage that? I guess death is his only escape. It's sad that things have to end up this way. Rest in peace, Michael Jackson, your music will always be remembered.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Massacre of the pigeons
Recently, there were a lot of pigeons around my block and the number was increasing by the day. The reason for the rapid increase in population of pigeons around here was that residents have been feeding them. People have even been throwing food out of their windows and this is attracting more and more pigeons. The droppings of the pigeons are a nuisance and the food used to feed the pigeons may attract rats. As such, I wrote in to the town council to ask them to stop these people from feeding the pigeons. And I specifically said that Im not asking for the pigeons to be killed. Just ask the residents to stop feeding and the pigeons will go away.
The town council didn't reply me up till now but on thursday, they sent people to poison the pigeons. I don't know whether they acted upon receiving my email or complaints from other residents. But I really didn't want them to kill the pigeons. The sight of it was terrible. Pigeons dropped dead on the ground just like that. The worst thing is, some of them are not really dead after dropping to the ground and they were rolled over by cars. I can see them flapping their wings in pain after the car ran over them. It was very sad. And none of them were spared. From late morning to evening, more and more pigeons were posioned and their carcass littered the grounds. Occassionally, the workers will pick up the dead pigeons and out them in a thrash back. I think I saw three big thrash bags amounting to almost a hundred pigeons if Im not wrong. Hundred lives taken, just like that.
Why can't the town council issue warnings to the residents who were feeding the pigeons and slap them with fines? Why must they so cruelly kill the pigeons? If the residents don't feed them, they won't come. Is it because identifying the residents feeding the pigeons is a more laborious task and killing the pigeons is an easier way out? Is that why their lives are sacrificed for the convenience of human beings? Somehow, I feel guilty for sending out that email. And Im sad to see the pigeons being killed. If I knew that the town council will resort to this, I wouldn't have emailed them. However, Im sure Im not the first nor the only person to bring up this problem as someone has also written in to the newspapers about the same incident in my area.
Despite all these, the problem is not solved. I still see residents feeding the few pigeons that are left and since pigeons grow very quickly, it will be a matter of time before their numbers grow large enough to become problematic. And when the time comes, will there be another massacre? This will become a cycle unless the problem is nipped in the bud by stopping the feedings. To the pigeons who were killed: Im sorry. =(
The town council didn't reply me up till now but on thursday, they sent people to poison the pigeons. I don't know whether they acted upon receiving my email or complaints from other residents. But I really didn't want them to kill the pigeons. The sight of it was terrible. Pigeons dropped dead on the ground just like that. The worst thing is, some of them are not really dead after dropping to the ground and they were rolled over by cars. I can see them flapping their wings in pain after the car ran over them. It was very sad. And none of them were spared. From late morning to evening, more and more pigeons were posioned and their carcass littered the grounds. Occassionally, the workers will pick up the dead pigeons and out them in a thrash back. I think I saw three big thrash bags amounting to almost a hundred pigeons if Im not wrong. Hundred lives taken, just like that.
Why can't the town council issue warnings to the residents who were feeding the pigeons and slap them with fines? Why must they so cruelly kill the pigeons? If the residents don't feed them, they won't come. Is it because identifying the residents feeding the pigeons is a more laborious task and killing the pigeons is an easier way out? Is that why their lives are sacrificed for the convenience of human beings? Somehow, I feel guilty for sending out that email. And Im sad to see the pigeons being killed. If I knew that the town council will resort to this, I wouldn't have emailed them. However, Im sure Im not the first nor the only person to bring up this problem as someone has also written in to the newspapers about the same incident in my area.
Despite all these, the problem is not solved. I still see residents feeding the few pigeons that are left and since pigeons grow very quickly, it will be a matter of time before their numbers grow large enough to become problematic. And when the time comes, will there be another massacre? This will become a cycle unless the problem is nipped in the bud by stopping the feedings. To the pigeons who were killed: Im sorry. =(
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Sundown Marathon Team Challenge
| Team Snoopy Rank: 96 | Total time: 05:02:17.23 |
Race results
First race of the year. Took part in the adidas sundown marathon team challenge with darling and her two good friends. Timing is as above. Mine was not too bad but not very good either. Hopefully the next race will be AHM and then SCSM. Still considering whether to take part this year. Hmm..... Congratulations to darling for completing her first 10km. 你真棒！Muacks!
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Ching Ching and me!
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Team Snoopy!
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