The majority of work in this thesis is original. However, some assistance with material and research has been provided by my fellow Gong-ers: Part 2

Presenting the sequel to Theories Part One (Ref: Ensui, 18 January 2007)...

You know you are seriously addicted to mahjong when you start correlating bus numbers to mahjong tiles.

Let me explain.

Lets say you are at a bus stop and are waiting for bus number 14 to take you home. Now, since only bus number 14 can take you home, this means that you "dan-diao" aka you're waiting for only one tile.

So by that same token of logic, if you're waiting for bus number 111, it means that you "dan-diao" (Ref: Ensui, 29 July 2007, third paragraph) three bamboo aka "san-suo". This is because there are three ones, and they look like the bamboo in mahjong tiles. On the other hand, you could also say that you are waiting for a "pong" aka three of the same kind, which is three ones in this case.

So while waiting for that single bus - be it bus number 111 or 14 or whichever number that applies in the current circumstances - to take you home, bus number 143 and 7 comes along. A bunch of girls get on the bus number 7, and you think to yourself: Darn. Those girls already "hu" aka win liaoz, and i haven't. Should i change my tiles to get a better chance of winning aka by walking to another bus stop? No, its too late in the game to change my tiles. I shall remain here.

10 mins later, another 143 comes along. Then you start thinking: Darn. I could have used bus number 143 as "yan-jing" aka two mahjong tiles of the same type. Then bus number 77 appears, then you start thinking: Hey! I can "pong" (Ref: Ensui, 29 July 2007, fourth paragraph)!

Another 10 mins pass, another bus number 7 appears and right behind is the bus you were waiting for.

Now this situation is slightly complicated, but i shall explain the best way i can.

So firstly, you "gung" aka four of the same kind, which is mahjong tile 7 in this case. So you pick a tile from the "flower" side and find the tile that you were waiting for, which means that you "hu" (Ref: Ensui, 29 July 2007, fifth paragraph)! That also means that since you picked the winning tile from the "flower" side, you "hua-sang"!

So in summary, you "gung" (Ref: Ensui, 29 July 2007, seven paragraph), "hua-sang" (Ref: Ensui, 29 July 2007, seventh paragraph) and "hu" (Ref: Ensui, 29 July 2007, fifth paragraph)!

And so you board the bus which you "dan-diao" (Ref: Ensui, 29 July 2007, third paragraph) for so long, and seat yourself with a small self-congratulatory smile on your face.

Oh. One other thing.

If one day, you see a bus number "hong-zhong" aka a red middle, "bai-ban" aka white coffin, or "fa-cai" aka wealth, you need to seek help. Fast.

Sometimes it’s good to hush up for a while and let autumn stick in a few words.

"Dragon, turn.
Dragon, climb.
Dragonrider, watch for sign.
Firestone chew.
Dragon, flame.
Char the Thread, make it tame."
- “Dragonsblood” by Todd McCaffrey

I'm due for a NS reservist call-up next week.

The good news:
My boss managed to defer me.

The bad news:
I won't be able to escape the next call-up. It'll from October to November, and its in Australia. Exercise Wallaby.

The good news:
Going to Australia. If there's one thing i miss terribly of Australia, its the calm, peacefulness and tranquility.
When i was still studying in Australia, amongst the various houses that i've stayed in, there was a student hostel situated just behind the university.
Living there was somehow even more peaceful than other places. This was because as you walk up the well-made brick footpath to your unit, you're surrounded by greenery and only sporadic houses/flats. The road is on the other side, so you can't see any cars or transport. All you see and hear is nature and the quiet bustling of students going about their daily lives.
Sadly, we don't have that over here. There are roads everywhere and within sight. True, there is greenery, but its different somehow.

The bad news:
The next call-up will be for three weeks and i'm not sure if my boss/colleagues will be able to cope.

“When she spoke again, her voice was quiet, near a whisper. “In the Eridani Way, we are taught that harmony is everything. A good change is invisible, like the wind. It belongs – it seems like an obvious part of the ecosystem.”
“You remember the ancient tailor’s saying: Measure twice, cut once?” she continued.
Emily nodded.
“The Eridani would say measure a million times, then a million times more and see if you can’t possibly find a way to avoid the cut. ‘A world is not easily mended,’ they say.””
- “Dragonsblood” by Todd McCaffrey

"It's no longer a question of staying healthy. It's a question of finding a sickness you like." - Jackie Mason

Its official.

I got the flu.

As declared by me. As declared by the good doctor. As declared by the two days MC granted to me.

Grumpy-Me: Must be Adrenaline pass to me one. Dunnoe how she did it, but must be she passed to me one. (-.-)

Shameless-Me: Someone must be thinking of me. Thats why i'm sneezing so much. :D

Insane-Me: I'm going to board the train at peak hour tomorrow and sneeze on everyone! That way, everybody will get the flu too and get MC! o.o

Workaholic-Me: Will try to recover in one day and get back to work. I have too much stuff to clear. >.<

Childish-Me: Yeah! Got MC! Can play computer games all day tomorrow! 0.o

Help. I'm going crazy. (-.-)

Parodies at Work Part 271,197,083

The week before last was pretty insane. For your easy-viewing pleasure, let me break it down for you:-

Monday
Had a meeting in the morning to discuss our presentation on Wednesday. I'm assisting my Executive Director and we were in a competition with other teams to do a project for JTC. It involves building 15 empty factories, which is currently very much in demand by lots of companies.

In the afternoon, my boss called me and our conversation went somewhat like this:

Boss: How are you doing with your projects arh? Think you can handle one more?

Me: *mutters* Erm... Yeah, i think so.

Boss: I have a project with SPH. But the meeting time keeps clashing with my other meeting times. ISO says that i need a back-up in cases like this. So i need you to cover for me, just in case. You tomorrow morning free?

Me: *searches through my planner* Yeah, i'm free.

Boss: Ok. The meetings are usually on Tuesday mornings. So tomorrow you follow me to the meeting for the SPH project.


Tuesday
Before the meeting, the phone rang at the reception counter. Since our girls were busy and no one was around to take the call, i answered it:

Other person on the line: Hi, i'm calling from the Singapore Autism School. I'm preparing the Letter of Appointment for your company. Would you like to collect it personally? Or you want us to post it to you?

Me: *stumped momentarily* Erm... I'll check with my Boss and let you know. Can i have your name and contact number please?

Right after, our reception girl appeared and i told her about the phone call. She nods and said that she'll ask Boss. Right on cue, Boss emerges from his office and our reception girl informs him immediately:

Reception Girl: Boss. The Singapore Autism School called and asked if they should post the Letter of Appointment or we go collect it personally.

Boss: *Frowning at the offending piece of paper with the name and contact of the person* We have a project with them meh?

Reception Girl: Yes. A long time ago. We applied for it via the internet.

Boss: *still staring at the offending piece of paper, knowing that we have too many projects to handle* Wah liao...

At 10.30am, i followed Boss to the meeting for our SPH project. As it was my first meeting and i had no prior knowledge of what was going on, i tried as best as i could to understand the on-goings. The meeting only finished at 1.00pm, with Boss and I walking around the site.
At 2.30pm, i had another meeting for a condominium project. Since i had a late lunch, i arrived late naturally.
At 4.00pm, i headed off for another meeting at MOE. Only arrived home at about 8pm.


Wednesday
Went for the presentation to JTC and EDB in the morning. Sat right through the entire project without uttering a word. The 'main actors' were the Architect and the Developer/Contractor. As M&E Engineers, we were probably the least important of the consultants team.

When people see a building, they observe how it looks *cue the Architect*. The building has to be safe and not collapse *cue the Structural Engineer*. The project must be on budget *cue the Quantity Surveyor*. As long as the air-conditioning works fine, the electrical switchboard doesn't trip, people don't really care about us M&E Engineers.

After the presentation, as i stepped wearily into the office, my reception girl tells me, "Eh. The Singapore Autism School will be under you hor. Boss say one"


Thursday
My Executive Director told me that the Architect for the JTC project has just called him. Through various contacts, she has heard that we have gotten the project aka won the competition. In other words, he will guide me along but i will be doing most of the work.

So.

In a nutshell, in a space of one week, i am saddled with three new projects: SPH, JTC's 15 new factories and the Singapore Autism School. How brilliant is that. (-.-)

-----

Last week, one of our engineers (the Indonesian one >.<) had to fly back to his homeland because his grandmother had died. He will only be back next week.

Daniel's leg has been giving him grief lately. Each time he walks, pain lances through his right leg. He has even seen a chinese physician, but to no avail. He's gonna see a proper doctor tomorrow afternoon.

So if he takes MC, which is highly likely, that means that I'm the only engineer left to handle any problems that may arise from my colleagues' projects.

And i'm starting to feel the symptoms of flu coming onto me: Blocked Nose, Slight Cough, Scratchy Throat, Head Feels Like Its Been Stuffed With Wool. You know the rest.

This is going to the longest week ever. (-.-)

War-On-Flab: D-Day Minus Four

I glanced around the road as i exited my house. Time to torture my body with my weekly exercise. I started off a slow jog as i made my way towards the new underpass to East Coast.

I had just gotten up and went downstairs for breakfast. I was told that there was a package left at our doorstep. Frowning to myself, wondering who could have sent it, i went to have a look. A sneaking suspicion had entered a tiny corner in my mind.

As i jogged, i started my customary breathing pace. I tried to recall the song i used last weekend, and pace my breathing with it. But no matter how hard i tried, i couldn't recall the tune. Shaking my head to get rid of any distractions, i tried to recall some music. I finally found one and paced my breathing with it.

When i saw the handwriting, i immediately thought: Oh shit. Don't tell me its her. And it was her. I opened the package and inside was a box and an envelop. The letter inside was written in her handwriting and signed with what looked like her new signature. Her new signature looked somewhat like mine, with a big inverted-C-curve as a "J". The box contained her birthday present to me: a pair of gorilla cuff-links.

It was a relatively cloudy day. Perhaps that was the reason why there were so little people about when i emerged from the other side of the underpass. Or perhaps the school holidays has ended. Whatever it was, i jogged in relative solitude with a few passing cyclists and roller-bladers. Not that i'm complaining. Jogging by nature is usually a lonely exercise, and i had already gotten used to it.

I had stored all our memories together into a room. I had locked that room and threw away the key. In fact, i had almost forgotten about that room. The birthday present had exploded the door to that room. With the room wide open like a burst dam, the memories rushed out in a torrential flood.

As i jogged past my first mental marker, i put my arms behind my back. This pushes my body forward and increases my pace. As i jogged up the small slope, i started to breathe heavily and in faster breaths. The number of people has increased as i entered a more popular area. Needless to say, there are girls around. I keep my eyes straight, try not to look around and focus on the repetitive tune playing in mind to pace my breathing. I'm here to jog, not to pick up girls.

What should i do? How should i react? What does this mean? Conflicts of emotions raged within me. The whirlwind of feelings swept within my mind. Without my daily dose of caffeine and when i just woke up, it was quite a shock to the system. I couldn't think. I didn't know what to think. I was confused. Seriously and utterly confused.

As i push past my second mental marker, i lengthen my strides. Now i'm entering really crowded areas. There is a bicycle/roller-blade rental shop where i make my U-turn to jog home. Hordes of people exit from the shop and head for their respective destinations. As i ran comfortably past the pedestrians, i pushed myself as much as i could. No point in exercising when i don't push my body to the limit.

Back in my room, i called and text-ed Caffeine Addict. I needed her advice. I needed someone to talk to. She replied almost instantly. We talked for a bit. I'm a complete novice when it comes to two matters: affairs of the heart, and understanding girls. When i told her that i was about to go jogging, she said, "Thats good. Exercising releases happy drugs. Try and do things. Happy things."

As i emerge back from the underpass, i jog slowly to the fitness corner some distance away. My legs were tired, but the rest of my body were still fine. As i tried to get my breath back, i paced around the fitness corner. Kids ran around in the nearby playground, playing the age-old game of "catching". Bracing myself and giving myself some short breaks, i completed my routine of sit-ups and pull-ups. With those done, i walked slowly home. Just another normal Sunday.

The whirl in my emotions had subsided. I grew calmer and started looking up. Thank you, Caffeine Addict. My life is starting to get back on track. Slowly, but surely. And to her: I really DO appreciate you remembering my birthday and your birthday present of gorilla cuff-links. For now, i just need a little time for my emotions to settle down. Thank you once again.