Life expectancy

It’s raining again, these skies of November. Having dinner in my tiny kitchen, I realized my parents are no longer young. I worry that my incapabilities meant that I will not be able to repay their efforts in cultivating my growing-up environment. And I really don’t like to owe anybody anything.

It’s painful isn’t it? Being wholly unprepared for an eventuality that you are aware of the moment you become sentient.

“R, this came in for u”

"Sole purchase from Comex this year"

North Border

North Border Bar & Grill

I was thinking of finding a unique place to celebrate my dear’s birthday. I wanted to find a place that’s away from town; somewhere we can enjoy a quiet romantic dinner. Well, I came across this restaurant’s website and was attracted by its ambience and rustic setting. It seems like an ideal place for a romantic dinner back to nature.

This is a door

Situated on Rochester Park, North Border offers a relaxing alfresco dining area, lush with tall trees. It feels as if we’re off in a private garden somewhere… They serve authentic American food, which comes in generous American-sized servings too.

This is an exterior

Browsing through the numerous items on the menu, we settled for “North Border’s surf & Turf” ($35.90) and “Char Broiled Black Cod Fillet” ($29.90), paired with Cherry Blossom & Sweet bananas smoothies ($7 each). The 1^st entrée has a cut of tenderloin steak cooked in creamy wild mushroom sauce and served with three king prawns grilled and battered. The sauces they use really bring out the taste of the steak & prawns, great combi!

This is surf, with some turf

The 2^nd entrée consists of fresh black cod fillet seasoned in Southwest spices. I highly recommend this as you can really taste the  fresh & sweet flesh, seasoned to perfection. Yummy!

This is the fillet without the cod

For dessert, we ordered the Baileys ice cream ($4.50). It is made from Baileys Irish Cream. Special flavour that gives the dinner a sweet ending J

This is the view you get when you exterior + door

A short climb up the gentle gradient of Rochester Park promises good food with a laid-back ambience to dine in. In addition, generous portions served prove North Border’s menu to be sufficient in quality as well as quantity. Another good pt about the place is its close proximity to Buona Vista MRT. However, I find the price to be rather expensive, so only visit this place if you’re feeling rich or trying your best to please your special someone!

This is some kind of fountain

P.S. Found this uniquely designed fountain hidden at a corner

Rating:

North Border Bar & Grill

2 Rochester Park, Tel : 6777 6618

These are the hoops I jump through to board any nearest MRT

I can WALK to JE MRT stn in half an hour!

1st, I try service no. 98 & realises the next bus is due in 9mins & if I missed it, I have to wait 29mins net for another one. I frantically packed my stuff & even went a stop downstream to ensure I’ve a good buffer for the 98 arriving soon. Halfway to the downstream bus stop, I saw 98 zoomed past!

Nvm, I’ll walk ~1km further to get to another bus stop that has service no. 52, 105, 183. Which will allow me to reach Clementi MRT station instead of Jurong East MRT station (which was what 98’s for). There is a huge cross-junction before my new bus stop destination & as I wait there I saw 105 & 183 veering right across my path to that bus stop! (I couldn’t cross; red light for pedestrian)

I waited. Devasted. At that loathsome traffic light. But SBS Transit just want to kick me when I’m down: right before I can cross, 52 comes along and ensured me, that I wouldn’t be able to catch it even if I run. I really freakin’ wondered why SBS Transit can’t stagger their bus services which share a good portion of similar routes!

NDP Fireworks frm the Ritz Carlton

The 3 musketeers for a refreshing shower.

Many thanks to my cousin who presented us the opportunity to have a go at viewing one of the National Day Parade rehearsals from a 19th-floor room in the prestigious Ritz Carlton hotel! Unfortunately, I did not manage to capture any decent shots of the splendid fireworks that garnered the canvas of the night sky on this very occasion These unacceptable results were due to:

• Ad-hoc preparation on how to shoot fireworks, i.e. last minute reading of materials on the train
• Lack of tripod
• Pressing of lens barrel to the glass panel that was actually vibrating from the explosions
• Forgetting that any tiny amount of camera shake will give an inversely huge amount of blur during long exposures
• Forgetting to use burst mode to ensure continuous capture of every single moment

Nice bathroom

This is...NOT how you should snap a firework display

Likewise

Likewise

Likewise

Likewise

Likewise

Likewise

I tot I had it covered, limiting to small apertures (F8.0 is the smallest my camera can go) to prevent overblown fireworks, limiting ISO to 100 to prevent too much noise from the rest of the dark, black skies, extending exposure to 4 seconds to maximise the amount of effect captured per shot…in the end, also failed! Angryzzz! In fact, a veteran acquaintance told me he pin-holed the aperture of his lens down to F14.0 so as to ensure his fireworks turned out to be sharp, very strongly-defined streaks. & his shots are beautiful. My compact, can’t match his F14.0, of course. It also can’t match up to the noiseless results the freaking huge sensor of his Nikon D700 delivered at ISO200! All these I can accept, but one of my cousin’s colleague managed to 1-up me by using the burst mode on her camera…& all I can say is her PnS delivered. I guess I’m too inexperienced & nervous on that day. I tink the need for a tripod that is compact yet versatile surfaces again, which brings me to my next topic:

The Jamis Trail X2. Which I tot was a good idea.

I seem to be fatally prone to wanting to buy any thing & every thing in sight! This impulse has to stop! Almost bought a solar charger the other day & it took me 2 days to overcome its novelty & accept its impracticality. Saw a bike on the Internet discussion forums & tot it was a good idea too! I dunno what’s wrong with me…this habit…this pervasion…must it see the demise of my wallet? Hence I’m deliberating the Gorillapod purchase till perhaps a week later?

The GorillaPod. Which is a good idea

Sometimes, some people just dunno how to “close one eye”

I was watching a social documentary (I think it is called “Focus” or something) on Channel 8 and this particular episode showcased a topic that piqued my interest: old folks selling tissue packets illegally along the streets being rounded up by NEA/HDB officers. Now, I do not wish to keep typing “NEA/HDB officers” repetitively throughout this entire post, so let’s just call them scumbags for short. Apparently, those old folks which is sonic-paced nation has pretended to forget, are now reduced to poor vagrants trudging along the streets to sell tissue packets in exchange for a less-than-decent livelihood. And apparently, our government determines that those senior citizens require a license to earn their living this way. So our government sent the scumbags to issue fines to those poor folks.

From a portion of the show, where one poor soul was being interviewed, he reproduced the summon letter which was typed in impeccable English, that declares he being fined $300 for his act. The uncle mentioned that the kind scumbag informed him that he can goto HDB to apply for a license to continue doing this legally. I was thinking, hey, if a one-time paperwork can save the uncle from any further trouble, why not. Until it was revealed in the letter that the license is to be renewed annually for $120!

So, I’m confused. I understand that many activities in Singapore require a license, i.e. owning a TV, using the radio in your automobile (yes, I learnt of this only recently), operating a foodstall, operating a night bazaar stall, etc. However, all these acts are consuming resources from the nation, i.e. electricity, properly-built stalls, broadcasted media, satellites, etc. So I was extremely perplexed, to say the least, why an old folk, moving from place to place, or even sitting along the street, not using any electricity or even any form of permanent shelter, selling items that he has acquired using whatever is left of his own financial resources, has to be taxed by our government in the form of a license??? Even the cardboard that they used to sheltered their parched skins are probably salvaged from a refuse elsewhere!

These folks are mostly low-educated. The corporations of this ruthless nation wouldn’t spare a thought, much less a position for them. So why tax them for simply, “existing”? Are they bothering the conscience of this nation’s government? I remembered a famous old man saying, “there are no beggars along the streets of Singapore.” So I presume this is his way of enforcing a no-nonsense outlaw, an unsympathetic eviction of his fellow countrymen (while welcoming more pests from foreign lands to scrummage amongst our homeland)? You may wonder why my disgust is distributed to those scumbags as well, since they are only executing the orders of their masters…well, apparently, we have laws here, that is above the remorse of social morals. What do you do, when the law is “wrong”? I, for one, cannot bring myself to carry out instructions that are obviously flawed in their ethics. When found in such a position that compromises their personal integrity against their ricebowl, I believe these scumbags can choose to negotiate a breathing room in their execution by “closing one eye”? I dunno, I hope I will never land myself in such a position to make such a decision. Perhaps the scumbags who can’t realise the errors of these tyrant laws, are the same scumbags that lacked a certain finesse to realise that the terminally unemployed old folk may not have the comprehension skills to understand the English typed in that dreadful letter?

Beggars & the unwilling unemployed should first be the concerns of their children, and then the issues of the nations’ government. The government refused to render them assistance by claiming that their children are in a “moderate-to-high income bracket”. But it fails to recognise that some children may be heartless enough to let their parents die out in the streets while they roam alongside them in their continentals and fine suits. These unfilial children should be publicly linked to their suffering parents! Use the nation media for these! Give that paper more purpose than lining the bottom of bird cages! And then, if all else fails, I strongly believe that if building a nation is teamwork, it is the responsibility of the government to take care of those who are not given the means to contribute (poorly-educated, handicapped, etc). If a country can’t even do this properly, I believe there is but nowhere else to look when seeking out those that are accountable for this social entropy.

I know now, where those people can’t close one eye…it’s not because they are inflexible; it’s because they need both eyes constantly wide open to look out for the Karma that will collide with them. Sooner or later.

Happy 1st-year!

Still going strong. No buttons-fade

15-JUL-2009

$29.95 before 20% discount from GNC membership card

I’m sorry I couldn’t think of a more apt title. You know your life sucks when almost daily, your posts can be “filed” under the “Roadblocks” section. Anyway, decided to try some “Triple Cod Liver oil”. Hope it enhances my well-being. Didn’t buy the “Fish Body oils” in the end even though it has a much bigger discount (40%, as compared to 20% on the former due to a GNC discount card from a “friend of a friend”), as it lacks Vitamins A & D. Went to cancel my CapitaCard as the annual waivers had long worn off and I’m not rich enough to support a bank by $25 each year. Ended up with an “enhanced” ATM card nonetheless. I suppose DBS/POSB die die wants loads of cash flow (through their banks). Sooner or later I’m gonna find a way to severe all ties with DBS…now that their interest rates have dropped to an industry-low. Still wanna eat my $2 every month…

The "Go" card...my next aim, the "go-away" card

Got bad news from NUS that I didn’t managed to secure one of my critical modules from the Module Preference Exercise (MPE). I’m beginning to suspect NUS is incapable of delivering good news to me. I need to clear this module so that I can take Statistcs next semester, which happens to be my last semester, so that I can graduate. I thought this MPE was established to assist graduating students to secure their critical modules?! Or is this some sublime way of NUS warning me that I have no hopes of graduating? NUS, I have 2 words for you: Sugar Gli…darrrrr!!!!!

Watched some movies

ticket stubs

Terminator Salvation – Mr. Bales totally carried over his Dark Knight persona, kinda no effort on his part. Begins to dislike him because learnt from Wikipedia that he is not supposed to play John Connor initially. This sequel severely lacks the humour and “human” feel of previous Terminator movies. Arnold is still the “life” of the series.

Transformers: RotF – Robots look cool. Favourite scene is when SideSwipe sliced Sideways into two (yes, that R8 is NOT Barricade, & no, SideSwipe is not a Corvette Stingray Concept; he’s a Centennial). However, beyond that, feel that all the fancy animations and US military fanfare is just a cover-up for lack of plot. Luckily, this “cover-up” is solid enough to capture my attention for over 2hrs. Looks like once again, be it aliens or alien robots, only the US citizens need to worry.

Pelham 123 – Denzel Washington & John Travolta. ‘Nuff said. Denzel got plumber I tink, while Travolta manages to show off his latest Breitling endorsement. As agreed between my fren & I, a single small twist can make the movie an instant hit…too bad.

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – Expensive tickets for a cheap 3D experience. Glasses should be wiped/polished after each screening. Felt that the film did not fully exploit the 3D effect but story-wise, a slightly above-average, very “family” plotline. Personally, felt the show could be missed…not as funny as I wanted it to be.

Ghosts of Girlfriend Past – It’s more chick flick than your average chick flick. Extremely cliché. It has cemented my suspicion that Matthew McConaughey is forever typecast. My old favourite, the forever lovely Mrs. Jennifer Garner, was a saving grace.

NUS, making things difficult for students. Again.

Purple for shuttle bus route (1.9km). Red for direct footpath (741m)

Once again, due to the magical & potent combination of lack of manpower, location booking, curriculum arrangement, faculties’ position, I am coerced by the wonderful NUS to have back-to-back lecture for 2 of my necessary modules in this coming semester. It seems that despite paying a premium school fee, NUS students often are unable to study the modules that they wish to pursue; often due to the fault of clashing/back-to-back lectures or simply because there is not enough lecturer to manage the subject during that semester. If our school fees are not used to hire more lecturers, or build more lecture theatres, then all those cash fly to where? Oh, they (NUS) must have used it to pay the arse that gave us CORS!~

Anyway, if you have noticed my back-to-back lectures are quite a distance apart. The purple route marks the path that I will traverse if I take shuttle bus A2. The downside is the waiting time, squeezing during school term, more time consumed by alighting/boarding at each stop. On the other hand, I gave the red route a go earlier and I was stumped…not by the patches of green forest that you may have guessed…but in between the 2 circle-like structures nearer to the right, there was literally a hill separating me & my destination zone. Returned to my starting point and decided to measure the time it takes for a shuttle bus to travel the “normal” way. Took 11mins LESS waiting time and minimal stopping along the way.

A better but still tiresome footpath (1.51km)

Took a water break then travel from my destination back to my original starting point (took the black path on foot). Took close to 13minutes of brisk walking. Either way sucks. Try doing this every week for a couple of months and I may actually get fit. NUS. A student’s largest obstacle to hassle-free curriculum. & dun get me started about CORS!~