Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum (I think that I think, therefore I think that I am) - Ambrose Bierce

If there is one compulsion of mine, its that I'll almost never pass up the chance to look at books. Be it at a book sale, old or new book stores, markets, whichever. I can be lost in there for hours, searching for particular books or those which interest me.

Which is why, when i saw that the world's largest floating bookstore, the Doulos, was docked at VivoCity, i couldn't resist and went to have a look on Thursday. I headed over after work, and was hoping to buy some books before they close on the 19th Nov.

Sadly for me, the books which they carried, had a religion theme. The closest book i could find that was in my area of interest, was the Lord of the Rings trilogy. -.-

The disappointment i felt was slight. After all, i didn't really think that i would find anything. But as i headed down the departure gangway, i heard something that nearly ruin my whole day.

"This one 'lao-ya' one." ('lao-ya' means lousy for the clueless >.<)

The world's largest floating bookstore comes to town and all you have to say is that the departure gangway is 'lao-ya'?!

And judging by the tone of the offending voice, i deduced it was some old grumpy auntie. Probably typically singaporean, meaning she's probably selfish, inconsiderate, very kiasu, easily biased, only enjoys eating and shopping, and gives a rat's ass about nature and other people.

You all know her. She's the one who steps on your shoes, blissfully unaware of your glare and obvious pain. She's the one who waits in front of the MRT's door, ignoring the yellow line that tells us to give way to exiting passengers. She's the one who rushes into the train the second the doors are open, frantically looking for a seat. She's the one who pushes and shoves in a crowd, without apology nor hesitation.

I could go on.

And so, i shall.

She's the one who snatches items in a sale. She's the same person who bargains loudly down to the last cent in a market/pasa-malam, insisting on her own price. She's the one who barges herself into the front of a crowd, just to find out what's going on. She's the one who thinks that her own race should rule the country and that the other races are either lazy, scheming or suspicious. She's the one who thinks that everything should be done her way, and if it isn't, its 'lao-ya'.

The only reason why that offending remark didn't ruin my day was because VivoCity showcased the Aston Martin DB9 Coupe for the latest James Bond movie, Casino Royale. Aston Martin hasn't changed their signature-style and till today, every single one of their cars are still beautiful.

I wished they could have taken part in the Singapore Motor Show. It would have been a blast. :)

Petrol-Head Time...

Just been to the 8th Singapore Motor Show. It wasn't as crowded as i thought it would be. Took a couple of pictures with my handphone, so i apologize in advance for poor quality. :)

The highlight to me, was of course, the latest Ferrari: F599 GTB Fiorano. With 620 brake-horsepower (bhp), 0-100 km/h acceleration of 3.7s, a top speed of more than 330 km/h and its not-too-shabby looks, it is truly a supercar. I can't wait to see what TopGear thinks of it in its upcoming season. :)

This is the Ferrari F430. Balanced, poised and with the same technology used in Michael Schumacher's F1 car, it will out-turn any car in any corner. It is truly an engineering marvel.

The mad and flamboyant Lamborghini showcased its Gallardo Spyder. Isn't it a thing of beauty? :)

I wasn't planning to take any pictures of Lexus, but this one caught my eye. The car of course, not the girl. It looks fantastic. I don't have any information on it unfortunately.

On the more affordable range, we have the Nissan 350Z. Decent speed and looks too. The car of course, not the girl.

If my guess is correct, this is the same Honda F1 car that Jenson Button used when he won one of the races. That car is all curves and form (the car of course, not the girls >.<), spoiled by a small vertical windscreen. Another affordable car is the Honda S2000. Its double wishbone suspension and X-frame means that it takes a good driver to drive it well. A poor driver will simply be thrown out.

This is the ProDrive P2. Its a one-off and a technological showcase by ProDrive, who tunes cars for Subaru, Aston Martin, Ford, Porsche, Honda and BMW. Its a real pity that they're not gonna make it for road-use. The TopGear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, drove this car in circles, going faster and faster until it made him throw up. :p

Anyone wanna contribute to the buy-a-car-for-ensui charity? :D

Super Blur Wednesday

Last Wednesday, i had a meeting at 9.30am in the architect's office. After the meeting, three incidences led me to believe that that particular day was the blur-est of my present "job-life":

1. After the meeting, i took the train back. Along the way, i stupidly and rather stone-ly step off at the wrong stop. I realised my blur-ness when i saw the station's name and managed to hop back onto the train. -.-

2. After stepping off at the correct stop this time, i walked back to my office. Along the way, i stupidly and rather stone-ly climbed the wrong flight of steps. I realised my blur-ness when i reached the second storey and thought: Hang on. Those doors and signages don't look right. Have i climbed the wrong flight of steps? -.-

3. After work, on my way back home, i took the train and contemplated my blur-ness. Along the way, i stupidly and stone-ly tried to recall what day it was. I thought: Is today a Monday? Or is it Tuiesday? Hang on. I had a meeting yesterday. So is it a Tuesday? Or is it Wednesday? If its Wednesday, what did i do on Monday? Hhhmmm... -.-

There is seriously no end to my blur-ness. -.-

On a better note, i bought a few new 'toys': A new G15 Logitech keyboard which has glowing blue keys, and another DVD-writer which comes from ASUS and can burn dual-layer dvds.

I can justify my retail therapy: for the new keyboard, my mother and younger brother had asked me to get a new one for the house computer. So I thought I'll buy a new one and let the house computer have my old keyboard. :)

As for the DVD-writer, i had already planned to get a second one for some time now. Reason for doing so was because i wanted to burn DVD from DVD. I chose this particular one mainly coz it was cheap and i rather trust ASUS. The dual-layer burning feature was a nice surprise. :)

I'm a happy blur engineer. :D

A Little Help Goes a Long Long Way...

As i read Ang Ku Kueh's post on the bone marrow drive, i pondered if i should go for it. This morning, i decided.

All it took was my text to confirm my attendance, head down to the place, 5 mins to fill up the form and my signature to say that i was willing to donate my bone marrow, and 5 mins to take my blood sample.


Thats it.


A person could spend 5 mins, a little blood and his/her agreement to help a fellow human being, who is cancer-stricken, probably in pain and bed-ridden.

Or.

A person could be selfish, ignore their cries and pleas for help while trying to wish them all to the moon so that he/she can get on with his/her own life of pursuing his/her own happiness and his/her own ambitions.

Personally, i think the choice is a no-brainer.

I've done my good deed for the day/week/month.

How about you? :)

"You have to play ping pong for 12 hours to lose one pound." So much for exercising. -.-

It has been a draining week for me. I had meetings for various projects from Monday to Wednesday. Came Thursday and Friday, i had to rush on several tasks for my boss and client. I honestly believed that i could've slumped asleep on the floor, on the way home last night.

Next week doesn't seem to look any different, judging from my diary of events.

Oh joy. -.-

Weird Piece of News One:
A couple of weeks back, i hailed a taxi to go for a meeting. Shortly after setting off, the taxi driver suddenly turned to me and asked in mandarin, "Do you like to eat curry?" 0.0

Shocked as i was, i hastily murmured a somewhat affirmative reply. He then proceeded to chat happily on the various food stalls that we passed along the way to my meeting place.

Now. I totally understand that taxi drivers get lonely and want to chat as a way to relieve their boredom. I just wish that they have a better way of starting a conversation.

Turning to your passenger shortly after you pick them up and asking them if they like to eat curry, is not my ideal way of starting a conversation. -.-

Weird Piece of News Two:
We went to visit our malay colleague's house today for a somewhat belated Hari Raya, though it was probably more of an excuse to have a gathering of sorts. :p

I arranged with my friend to meet up at the nearby train station at 12pm, since the visit was scheduled at 1pm. Turned out the train came slow and he texted me to say that he would be late by 15 mins.

When i finally set off and reached there at 12.35ish, thinking i was late and that he had already arrived, it turned out that he was even later. He finally arrived 5mins after i reached the said train station, complaining about how long the train took to arrive.

Since we were planning to take a taxi to our colleague's house, he was to join the taxi queue while i went to buy some chocolates as a gift. When i came out, he had disappeared from the queue and a silver van was frantically horning with its occupants waving hysterically to get my attention.

It turned out to be two of our colleagues who were on their way to the house too. They were suppose to pick up the rest, but took a wrong turn and by sheer chance, saw my friend who told them that i went to buy chocolates. So we went to pick up the rest and went to the house in one big group.

So. In summary, i met up with my friend 40 mins later than arranged, went to buy chocolates while my friend waited for a taxi, and our colleagues saw us at the taxi stand by chance because they took a wrong turn.

Talk about making the right mistakes. -.-