Amongst Other Things

Recently, I happened to find out that mommy had an abortion before. I knew she had a miscarriage because she told me long time ago, but she has never mentioned about abortion and it was daddy's (as always) loose-mouth that gave it away. Mommy is an extremely reserved person and I felt she didn't want to talk about it; therefore, I didn't probe further. But I am curious!

Few days ago, I talked about one of my secrets that I thought I would not share with anyone forever. It has traumatized me for years and to my surprise, it wasn't as hard as I imagined it would be to talk about this. I merely said one sentence about this, leaving out the details on purpose. Mommy kept on asking the subject (i.e. "who is the person?") of this matter and guessed "ghost" when I kept quiet (it's hungry ghost month for us Chinese), how funny. Retaliation has been executed.

I especially enjoy a particular month of the year; the month in which we celebrate daddy's birthday. Corporate institutions usually send cakes, gifts and vouchers etc and usually, I am the only one who is bothered to utilize them.

Paranoid Woman Returns

I vouch by 'imaginary boyfriend' strategy. I have practiced it on several individuals and it worked all the time. Basically, I just told these guys that I am thinking of a particular person whom is not my boyfriend, however we act just like normal couples do, but status-wise, we are not officially together. Every single time I recited this sentence, I sensed that they instantly backed off.

Shortly after this post, I exercised the mentioned strategy on AK during one of our daily MSN conversations. I am not fond of lying but I grew tired of his persistent advances. So, when I threw in that sentence in our chat session, he simply wished me good luck and subsequently went offline. The very next day, as I expected, I received no sms from him throughout the whole day and the same goes to the day after the next day; basically, he stopped texting since the execution of that strategy. While I admit that I felt quite weird for the first few days because I was used to read his text messages every few hours, but I was elated at the same time, I need not rake my brain to come up with plausible excuses anymore.

Consequently, we stopped talking on MSN because I went back to my hometown for a month period. And credit to my stupidity, I called out to him on MSN when I got back to Singapore. These days, he has been non-stoply asking where am I heading for dinner or where am I going tomorrow. I am getting irritated by this; having to answer his questions is like intruding my privacy. Thankfully, he has not (not even once) suggest that I go out with him.

New Interest

Source: www.toonpool.com

I know I kinda ditch this blog for a while now but I have a good reason to do so. You see, I have just signed up for a gym membership as well as personal training sessions. Well, I am not that busy with the exercises because these personal trainings are just twice weekly for an hour each.

The real excuse behind the absent on the updates of this blog lies in the personal trainer, who I am madly flirting with. And he is not even a hunk! I guess I am just being a biatch.

Virgin Trips to Gynae

Source: Medrevise.co.uk

I finally decided to pay my mom’s gynae a visit after possibly a year of persistent persuasion from the parents. I didn’t realize but also thankful for picking such a good timing for a vaccination because the AH1N1 flu outbreak had made the queues (from taking a blood sample to various scans to meet the doctor) drastically shorter. I went into the hospital at 9:30 am and was done by 12:30 noon! So I walked around aimlessly for almost 2 hours because (knowing the check-up is usually time-consuming) I have fixed a rather late lunch date.

I must admit that I have been feeling uncomfortable throughout the day. The tests and scans done on me were perfectly normal, such as I had to take down my panty but it was expected. It must have been what I have experienced in the doctor’s room that makes me this uneasy. Can’t believe I have chosen to see an old male doctor, but he is well known in gynecology field.

Everything went fine until after the consultation, the doctor pointed me to a small, veiled area meant for check-up. A nurse, while helping me to unhook bra and remove panty, asked me in a very low voice with skeptical facial expression whether I really want a pap smear. I managed to whisper “I think the doc wants me to” before he came in. He first checked my boobs, quoted they were normal, and guided my hand to feel/check my boobs thoroughly. Then I had to spread my legs wide so that he could inspect my genital closely and extracted some discharge for an examination. All these while, I had been gazing at the wall above me, THEN he asked me to look at the monitor. Subsequently, he explained every aspect of my genital in great detail, for an example, “this is your clitoris and you should feel something” while tapping on the nut. To finish it off, he gave the genital a gentle 3 seconds massage.

I am not sure whether the majority of women experience the same kind of treatment as I did but the whole process felt like a sex education session, just in a practical way.

A Paranoid Woman In Charge Continued

And so the date went well. AK wanted me to try an unique combination of ice-cream in a neighbourhood ice-cream parlour which I think suits best for teenagers. Prior to this date, I have never thought of (especially in this age and location) meeting a man over ice cream in a young and hippy dessert parlour. We chatted briefly (because ice-cream will melt) and he planned to walk me home. On the way home, he kept on suggesting we should visit a touristy attraction which I have never been to; I relented after his numerous tries just because I don't want to sound like we have a bad date that I just want to rush back home. So we walked for another hour before I reached home. Then the real problem start to arise: he practically smsed every 2 to 3 hours (minus sleeping time) to check up on me, ask me what's my plan for tomorrow and ask me out at every opportunity! This is painstakingly tiring; breakfast at 6 am, walk along the beach, exercise together and join him in a gathering etc. I am seriously googling for excuses to shut him from asking me out. Hmm ... I think I may put my imaginary boyfriend into a good use this time.

Next, I mentioned about the maid who I suspected taking possession of my night bras. Well, I found out *relieved* she returned all my current night bras into my wardrobe but is definitely wearing my old night bra without my permission. I must have dumped it somewhere and she picked it up. The other maid also has the habit of wearing the clothes I threw away, I am totally fine with this as long as I am not wearing them anymore.

Super Babies Continued

Continuing from the last post, I found a website that discussed the topic of gifted children in great detail.

Source: CartoonStock.com

ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children (1985) cites three types of characteristics of gifted children: general behavioral, learning, and creative characteristics.

General behavioral

Gifted children's behavior differs from that of their age-mates in the following ways:

Many gifted children learn to read early, with better comprehension of the nuances of language. As much as half the gifted and talented population has learned to read before entering school.

Gifted children often read widely, quickly, and intensely and have large vocabularies.

Gifted children commonly learn basic skills better, more quickly, and with less practice.

They are better able to construct and handle abstractions.

They often pick up and interpret nonverbal cues and can draw inferences that other children need to have spelled out for them.

They take less for granted, seeking the "hows" and "whys."

They can work independently at an earlier age and can concentrate for longer periods.

Their interests are both wildly eclectic and intensely focused.

They often have seemingly boundless energy, which sometimes leads to a misdiagnosis of hyperactivity.

They usually respond and relate well to parents, teachers, and other adults. They may prefer the company of older children and adults to that of their peers.

They like to learn new things, are willing to examine the unusual, and are highly inquisitive.

They tackle tasks and problems in a well-organized, goal-directed, and efficient manner.

They exhibit an intrinsic motivation to learn, find out, or explore and are often very persistent. "I'd rather do it myself" is a common attitude.

Learning

Gifted children are natural learners who often show many of these characteristics:

They may show keen powers of observation and a sense of the significant; they have an eye for important details.

They may read a great deal on their own, preferring books and magazines written for children older than they are.

They often take great pleasure in intellectual activity.

They have well-developed powers of abstraction, conceptualization, and synthesis.

They readily see cause-effect relationships.

They often display a questioning attitude and seek information for its own sake as much as for its usefulness.

They are often skeptical, critical, and evaluative. They are quick to spot inconsistencies.

They often have a large storehouse of information about a variety of topics, which they can recall quickly.

They readily grasp underlying principles and can often make valid generalizations about events, people, or objects.

They quickly perceive similarities, differences, and anomalies.

They often attack complicated material by separating it into components and analyzing it systematically.

Creative

Gifted children's creative abilities often set them apart from their age-mates. These characteristics may take the following forms:

Gifted children are fluent thinkers, able to generate possibilities, consequences, or related ideas.

They are flexible thinkers, able to use many different alternatives and approaches to problem solving.

They are original thinkers, seeking new, unusual, or unconventional associations and combinations among items of information.

They can also see relationships among seemingly unrelated objects, ideas, or facts.

They are elaborate thinkers, producing new steps, ideas, responses, or other embellishments to a basic idea, situation, or problems.

They are willing to entertain complexity and seem to thrive on problem solving.

They are good guessers and can readily construct hypotheses or "what if" questions.

They often are aware of their own impulsiveness and irrationality, and they show emotional sensitivity.

They are extremely curious about objects, ideas, situations, or events.

They often display intellectual playfulness and like to fantasize and imagine.

They can be less intellectually inhibited than their peers are in expressing opinions and ideas, and they often disagree spiritedly with others' statements.

They are sensitive to beauty and are attracted to aesthetic values.

BUT identifying gifted children is not an easy task. Some gifted are realised straight after they were born while some had shown later on in their lives. Below are the examples of the latter:

1. Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read.
2. Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school.
3. When Thomas Edison was a boy, his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything.
4. F.W.Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was 21. But his employers would not let him wait on a customer because he "didn't have enough sense".
5. A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he had "no good ideas".
6. Catuso's music teacher told him "you can't sing, you have no voice at all".
7. Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college.
8. Verner Von Braun flunked 9th grade algebra.
9. Admiral Richard E. Byrd had been retired from the navy, as, "unfit for service" until he flew over both poles.
10. Louis Pasteur was rated as mediocre in chemistry when he attended the Royal College.
11. Abraham Lincoln entered The Black Hawk War as a captain and came out a private.
12. Fred Waring was once rejected from high school chorus.
13. Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade.

Super Babies

In comparison to centuries ago, the continuing of developing world has witnessed people (talking about you and me here) accessing to sophisticated technology, abundant entertainment and not forgetting to mention the basic necessity of cleaner water, finer food and better health care and clothing. Because our standard of living has improved tremendously, we now have witnessed a minority group of women in this world to deliver super babies; something like these would have been called supernatural incidents if happened centuries ago. Below are just some of the articles that I have come across lately:

A Russian baby started talking minutes after being born. Baby Stepan pronounced his first word right after he was born, distinctly saying "papa" and "mama". According to the obsetrian, the fetus can learn while still in the mother's womb, "if a mother talks to the fetus, entertains it as if it has been born already, the baby is usually born gifted". The baby's mother is just 17 years old.

If you think the above is pure coincidence, then read this. The very next day, when the baby's mother was telling him that his dad was about to visit them at the hospital, he asked: "who? papa?". I wonder how the mother reacted to this circumstance; for certain, i would have dumb-folded. But at least we now can justify that all those silly pre-natal education work does miracles.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Next, karina Oakley is not a baby anymore but she certainly has a remarkable talent. A two-year-old girl has been found to have an IQ of 160, making her among the top 3% of the population in Britain. While the mean population has IQ of 100, it has been reported that a score of 160 was rare but was not unheard of.

Source: mensa.org.uk

A similar case, a two-year-old with IQ of 156 is the youngest Mensa member. Elise Tan-Roberts was five months when she spoke her first word, she was walking three months later and running two months after that. Before her first birthday, she could recognise her written name and by 16 months, she could count to 10. She is now able to do the same in Spanish. A written report stated that Elise was more than very bright and capable - she is gifted. Only those with an IQ of 148 and above, the top 2% of population, qualify for Mensa; Elise was recommended and accepted to Mensa, making her the youngest Mensa member to this date.

Source: modernbarbarian.blogspot.com

Lets move on to a physical-wise super baby, I am dead jealous of those mentally gifted babies. The above baby who was born in India, name being unknown, weighed at 52.5 kg is just 11 months!! Take a deep breath before you read this. His daily consumption is 1 kg of rice, 2 kgs of beef and 5 litres of milk!!

A Paranoid Woman In Charge

I am going to meet AK tomorrow! I have been turning down invitations by him all these while until I can't find any lame excuse get away with. This is absolutely crazy, either his insensitivity has reached to the maximum level or I am particularly good at rejecting without sounding offensive. We are meeting up on our own for the first time and the thought itself already makes me dread.

On a different note, I am suspecting the maid is wearing my night bra. I found my old night bra in her room yesterday and I saw the old bra and one of my current night bras hanging side by side in the laundry area tonight.

P.S. I am shitting while typing thi! A true multi-tasker, I would say :)

Something Freaky

I know I have not been blogging these days; in fact, my previous entry is more than a month ago. Yes, I have been extremely busy with more traveling and job hunting amidst the economic gloom. But today, I want to spare a time writing about something freaky which is scientifically inexplainable. Anyway, this is a true story, a story extracted from my life:

10k is a childhood friend of mine; we know each other existed but were not close until we were around twelve years old. Close, as in, close enough to know that we did not (and do not still) get along well. We could not stop bickering at each other and I remember his aunt once said that we will bring the house down if we live together. It is definitely an overstatement because we just happened to live together and the house we lived in was standing solid. By lived together, I mean we rented an apartment but occupied different bedrooms for a period of nine months.

It is in that particular nine months, our friendship had taken its toll. Till today, I do not know what had happened before and the next thing I knew was that 10k had taken a liking on me. 10k, being a normal adolescent with his hormone raged up, hinted to start a relationship over and over to which I rejected again and again. My only point to reject him was that we have clashed personality; we could not even agree over a tiny matter and we practiced a cold war every two or three days -please believe me- for pretty much the entire nine months period. To me, the nine months felt like ninety months; I was physically exhausted and mentally traumatized (due to an action which I shall not explain further). I guess he did not like this dampened situation better than I did, and to my euphoria he decided to relocate thousands of mile away. This is how we lost contact with each other, I swear it was an enlightenment moment.

Fast forward few years later, an episode of freaky occurrences start to spring up. One night, I suddenly dreamt of 10k. I thought it was weird because I have not talked or seen him and not even thought of him all these years and all of a sudden, he appeared in my dream. Imagine my shock when I received an email from him the next day. After five years of absence, he wrote one (nasty) sentence message the day after I dreamt of him. Well, he apologized the next day quoting he was drunk when sending the email; I simply ignored both emails for fear he might haunt me again. Few years later, I thought of him on a spur of moment. Still unprepared, imagine my shock when a mutual friend of ours called me the next day. Apparently, 10k told the mutual friend a staggering rumor about me and she wanted to confirm with me. Yesterday, I dreamt of 10k again! "it is Joseph, isn't it?" referring to whom I was attached to. Well I do not know what to expect tomorrow but, after going through them before, I think I will be in a less shocking state of mind.

I have the feeling that 10k is out there to ruin my reputation. I admit that I am slightly bias due to the latter dream, but I have an evidence of him circulating a false information about me involving a rich man.

At Least There Is One thing I Am Good At

I am totally amazed by myself!

How do I amass up to 18.6% fat in a span of three months???

I believe the sudden gain weight is due to (which I have been told by the neurologist I visited) a side effect of migraine medication that I have taken but the mommy thinks it is majorly due to my lack of discipline bleh.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does #1

Source: popularwealth.com

I sprayed my whole face with deodorant this morning. What sadden me further is that when I realised that there is no cure (as yet) for stupidity.

Too Sexy for VIP Entry

Source: freefoto.com

I am writing this post from a desktop in Genting's hotel room; the suite's internet connection is so slow that it is possible to put my hometown's dial-up connection into glory.

The parents are extremely good at impulse traveling. The term 'plan' is probably not well acknowlegded in their dictionaries. Take today as an example, I woke up in the morning and was greeted with "we are going to Genting in the afternoon" and so I rushed to the clinic that I have an 11 o'clock appointment, then rushed back home to pack for an overnight stay and went straight to the airport to buy the next available flight to KL. Daddy made a call to reserve hotel rooms just before we departed. Just.like.that.

Anyway, I purchased a pair of stunning high heels recently and brought them along to this trip because Genting is the only place that requires minimal walking. Since the pair is gladiator heels and I am rather skewed to petite size, I decided to match the stilettos with a hot pant to visually lengthen my legs. Nothing prepared me for the remainder of a staff in the VIP entry door who whispered something like I should get changed first because my pant is too short. Frankly, I don't see the relevance between being sexy and gamble but I didn't ask for extra explanation. I have been wearing the pant for more than a year and even paraded in my conservative hometown; I guess Malaysia is more conservative in that sense.

In the end, I showed the maid around Genting and took pictures for her keeping. Then I head back to my room to write cover letter and resume to a fund management firm who is currently recruiting.

Overreacted peeps

Mommy and daddy are in town; I showed these to make them laugh.

Spot the good-looking peeps #1

Inspired by this entry, I shall dedicate an entry each time I meet (of what I consider) a good looking person.

Today's pretty lady is found at Gleneagles Hospital's eye clinic. I brought my aunt to see Prof. Arthur Lim to get her eyes checked; and there she was, working for Prof. Lim. I am not good at describing but she is certainly one of the most beautiful person I have seen to this date. She is striking tall with slender body. Her skin tone is so fair that is comparable to porcelain; well it could be she has good a foundation but I am sure she will look just fine without make-up. She has perfect facial features: well-rounded eyes, a sharp nose and small lips. Furthermore, her look comprises beauty with intelligence; I will not be surprised if she is an intern on her way to be a doctor.

Dear Calories

Source: CartoonStock.com

I finally hit to the gym today, after a long long hiatus. Mommy, who needs to lose weight more than I do, has decided to accompany me. The two of us shed a total of 164 calories . . . a pathetic rate indeed.

Tell Me Quando Quando Quando

Of lately, I have been chatting with AK on a daily basis. Somehow, I feel disturbed over this. You see, AK and I first met each other through the introduction of a mutual friend three or four years ago. We, as a group of friends, watched a movie; the two of us shared a conversation for less than ten minutes. That was it, there was no exchange of numbers and no plan for second meet-up.

Fast forward to last few months of 2008, I received a message from AK through a social networking site. He wanted to confirm that I was in Singapore because he had seen me in a nearby restaurant. He promptly asked for my MSN address when I replied the message. That was the beginning of frequent chatting; we talked virtually everything under the sun. Soon after, he asked for my mobile number and started to text messaging. Just few days ago, he wanted to web-cam through MSN (which I politely declined); that was when it hits me, our relationship becomes .... too close.

One thing is, he has a girlfriend and he openly mentioned about his girlfriend often. Second thing is that I don't believe in purely friendship between a man and a woman to be in such a close relationship. I wish I can dig out AK's head and know what he is thinking.

I hope I am just being paranoid here.

Young Mommy & Daddy

This piece of news has sparked media interest across the globe; from newspapers to online news, from television programs to forums and I am sure it is the current hot topic for discussion at school and work.

Source: The Sun

Apparently, a baby-faced 13-year-old British schoolboy has fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend. He seriously looks much younger than 13 while she seriously looks much older than 15, I guess giving birth makes people look older in general.

Alfie Patten admitted he had not thought about how he and girlfriend Chantelle Steadman would support the baby daughter Maisie Roxanne. It was told that the baby was conceived after just one night of unprotected sex; Alfie was 12-year-old at the time.

Patten will undergo a DNA paternity test (paid by social workers) to prove that he is the father of the baby after Chantelle's mother, Penny Steadman, said her daughter had slept with other boys. It is reported up to six other boys claimed they could be Maisie's father.

The news has triggered debate about the country's high level of teenage pregnancies. As a matter of fact, Britain has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in western Europe. The case has drawn comment from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, while a former leader of the main opposition Conservative Party said it was an example of social breakdown in "broken Britain". British government has launched a strategy to reduce teenage pregnancy. According to advisors, the level has falling but have called for more accessible contraceptives and more sex education in school in areas which are falling behind. Sources of this story are from here, here, here and here.

Suddenly, I get pretty worried over DYB. Of course he is older than the mentioned schoolboy but DYB and DYBGF have been going on holiday at three destinations over in a span of three months!!

When Heart Attacks

What is love?

You can find so many definitions of love,

But I can't seem to settle for one.

We met through an university orientation.

We quickly grew close to each other,

Since we attended the same course.

But it was half a year later,

Only I discovered all along you had a lover.

There was a definite spark between us.

But we could not share a love divine.

Throughout the wonderful year,

I was deeply moved again and again.

How you phone every time you were troubled,

I was there to listen your academic and love problems.

How you delivered my favourite hazelnut hot chocolate,

Whenever you visited my place.

How you rushed to Selfridges,

To purchase the exact mouse mat you had when I lost mine.

How you accompanied my grocery shopping chore,

Insisted to devour those my unappetizing cooked food.

How you breezed to my place,

And took me away from harassment of a junior.

How you hold my hand,

As if you would never let it go again.

The list can go on and on,

But my heart aches more.

Was it love?

I did not figure out then.

I am sorry,

For I denied you in front of friends,

For I held back,

For I considered you as not an ideal candidate.

I am truly sorry.

We shared one unromantic valentine's day.

For today, I wish you a happy valentine's day.

Valentine's Day is Going Strong Despite Recession

So I headed down to Orchard for dinner tonight and being offered a stalk of rose at a grand $20 each! As I walked into Takashimaya, there was an unbelievable long queue for Louis Vuitton while Chanel and Tiffany & Co appeared chaotic with over-crowded customers.

This is so contradicting to what I have been reading in the news everyday. Hellooo? What about economic recession, market turmoil and financial crisis? Everyone was dragging the high-quality brown, white, blue and red (i.e. LV, Chanel, Tiffany and Cartier) paper bags. Wow, who would have thought that Valentine's day can actually help to stimulate the economy during recession.

Back to the world

The last few weeks seemed surreal. I was staying in an unfamiliar place communicating to unfamiliar people. The maids in my home have been changed and we have communication breakdown; in fact, they laughed everytime I opened my mouth. The paternal grandmom has been bugging me about marriage and I quote "do you have a boyfriend?" "why you have no boyfriend still?" "you have to find one quickly" "he doesn't need to be rich but has to be humble" "he doesn't smoke and gamble" "then you can get married straightaway". She practically recited these lines everytime I visited (may I add, quite frequent) her. The nosy aunties kept asking why I am not working despite having graduated a while ago. On a different note, I had my fair share of hong-baos (red envelopes contain monies) which I have banked in :)

My birth-town is like a mini chinatown in a western country. During the chinese new year, lanterns were hanged on the streets and (almost) every home has fancy lights on display. Adults and children wore new clothes and rushed to see lion dance and fireworks. In my case, I took up a tourist role: sightseeing and enjoying local delights.

And now I am back, back to the world i am familiar with, back to the world I am used to; I am glad that I am back. On a final note, now I can appreciate the term 'high speed internet'.

Hiatus

Mysterieux is watching Obama's inauguration while writing this post. She plans to announce a hiatus of blogging for two to three weeks starting from today. We find out that she, along with her family members located just everywhere worldwide, will be going back to her hometown to join a family reunion during Chinese New Year. From what we have been told, ALL her relatives - from close to distant; grandparents, uncles, aunties, nephews, nieces, cousins ... you name it, she probably has it - will attend the usually-few-days reunion, oww that's gonna be entertaining.

Her hometown, which is nicely put as a 'developing country' is in fact a third-world country to which 'internet' is regarded as a high tech beyond imagination and not every household owns it; hence, the reason mysterieux will not be blogging anytime soon. It is unsure what she plans to do without her laptop and internet; we suggest her few good books to past her time. These are the only information we managed to dig out but stay tuned for mysterieux's adventure in a third-world country and how she celebrates the new beginning of a lunar year.

My Hairstylist Looks Like an Martial Art Actor

My favourite genre for movies - to everyone's surprise - is action. I don't know why I get adrenaline rush whenever I see people fighting, kicking, boxing ... uh yes these sort of actions.

Source: fighttimes.com

Having previously watched (and undeniably loved) Ong Bak, I decided to catch its latest work today despite having read skeptical reviews about Ong Bak 2. While I am not trying to write another review of this movie, I must say that the fighting scenes are incredible and I will definitely watch its next movie, somehow the story gives a feeling of a continuation. But I would like to share a piece of information regarding Ong Bak 2: Tony Jaa is ridiculously resembles with my hairstylist - the hair, the lip, the eyes ... well almost similar except with a contrasting skin colour.

On the news:

• Singapore is experiencing uncommon strong winds. Beware people, it is easy to fall ill with this climate.
• Study shows beautiful women are more likely to cheat. Beware dudes, do not underestimate female hormone.
• A Korean husband found guilty of raping his wife. Beware hubbies, something that is lawful will not always be lawful.
• A Chinese maid repeatedly slashed baby girl's face on a chopping block. Beware employers, choose your maids carefully.

Singapore MP Was Set On Fire

Mr Seng Han Thong, a member of Singapore's parliament, was set on fire on Sunday by an angry 70-year-old man over a Chinese New Year gift. The MP was done handing out bursaries and hong baos (red envelopes which contained $135 each) at Chu Seng Temple to about 150 needy people and was settling down to lunch with them in the club's hall when the attacker poured paint thinner on the MP and ignited it with a kitchen stove lighter. According to the officials, the attacker was disgruntled at not being selected to receive the hong bao; he was arrested immediately and charged on Monday with voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, an offence punishable by up to life in prison.

The victim

Source: The Straits Times

As a result, the Yio Chu Kang Member of Parliament suffered nearly 15 per cent burns on his face, chest and arms; he underwent a skin graft operation on his upper right arm at the Singapore Hospital. Aw Chui Seng, the temple chairman, who helped in covering the flame suffered about 10 per cent burns of his body and is recovering in the general ward in the Burns unit.

It has been reported that this is the second time that Mr Seng, who is also the adviser to the Taxi Operators' Association, has been attacked. In July 2006, he was punched by a disgruntled constituent who believed Mr Seng was not doing enough to help him get back his revoked taxi licence. Residents of Yio Chu Kang and those who have been working closely with Mr Seng described him as someone who is always willing to help. As a matter of fact, Mr Seng announced several measures to help taxi drivers tide over the economic downturn last Friday.

The attacker

Source: The Straits Times

Apparently, Mr Ong (an ex taxi driver) is a former mental patient; he was being held at a mental health institute for psychiatric test. Neighbours described Mr Ong as an eccentric character who would run up and down the corridor outside his flat for no apparent reason. Source for this article can be found here, here, here, here and here.

My oh my, I can't believe something like this happened in Singapore, one of the safest countries in the world with low crime rates.

Freedom Whiz Caters for Female

Have been wanting to write about this for the whole week but the migraine attacks kill the thought. Anyway, I was shopping for female necessity products in Guardian and by chance, to come upon Whiz Freedom.

Source: Whiz Official Website

Ladies, whiz away your troubles and reach to your freedom. Apparently, the tool above is a female "urine director" - and I quote from Whiz's website - to "give women the freedom to wee anywhere a man could". Having googled the product, I discover Whiz Freedom is antibacterial, hydrophobic and highly portable. Due to the material used, it allows users to fold Whiz Freedom up and spring it back into shape when they need it.

Well, Whiz Freedom is definitely a great invention for mobility impaired people; I can see the convenience aspect for people with mobility difficulties. But it is a niche market. It sounded weird to me and I gave it a miss.

On the news:

• Singapore's government will help citizens tide over the tough times. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made the assurance while he was giving out hong bao to residents in his constituency on Sunday.
• Singapore expects a challenging year for tourism in 2009 as the global economic recession curtails consumer spending and holiday plans. Tourist arrivals fell and though receipts rose, both figures missed government's targets. Consecutively, hotel occupancy rates slid.
• War intensifies in Gaza even as diplomatic officials issues urgent appeals for a ceasefire. Witness described how gunmen tried to lure Israeli soldiers into ambushes, as troops combed through Gaza's southwestern suburbs and took up stronghold positions in outlying building.
• Obama wants clean break with Bush intel practises. The elected president assures intelligence officials that his complaints are with the Bush administration, and not them. There are growing hints from Democractic Senate allies that spy agency veterans will not be prosecuted for past harsh interrogation and detainee policies.
• Obama raises estimate on jobs in his recovery economic plan, saying it would create or save three million to four million, nearly 90% of them in the private sector.
• Dubai will boost its spending by 11% this year to stimulate the economy amid today's global financial crisis. The new spending will result in a modest fiscal deficit, Dubai's first ever. Other Gulf governments, including Saudi Arabia and Oman, have announced recently that they too will risk deficits next year instead of cutting back on spending.

Welcome 2009

I woke up and actually felt good (well, this is something unusual because I suffer from migraine almost every morning these days). Lets hope this is a positive sign at the very start of a new year.

So I placed a new calendar (given by daddy) on my desk, slowly appreciated the pictures from the calendar and started helping out in the kitchen. It took hours and hours for the women in the family to churn raw food to something edible which included last-minute grocery shopping and I had to walk under the blazing sun alone with heavy, so-called (by maid) crucial ingredients. Subsequently, we only managed to bring out several dishes; definitely less number of dishes than we planned but whole family agreed they were delicious. The credit goes solely to the maid who is a superb cook.

Source: Sistic

Finishing the day, I brought mummy to watch a musical Wild Wild Rose (野玫瑰之恋). Having watched musicals across the globe, I personally think this piece of work has met the standard, but is nothing spectacular. My rating may be rather biased because previously I tend to visit large venues big-budgeted West End productions in London. What I like in this performance is (the lead actress) Perry Chiu's singing ability. This is my first encounter, I find her voice dashing and I thoroughly enjoyed those songs sang by her in Wild Wild Rose musical. Interior-wise, there is definitely large room for improvement; presentation has been set at the minimal setting although it has been noted that this musical will only last for four days. Costumes shown in the musical fit into the sixties era but those were not amazing enough to contribute towards the value of the musical. Finally, I smelled the cigarette smoke from the stage because we were seated on the front row. It was overbearing and unbearable; something has to be done on this as inhaling smoke is certainly unhealthy.