Playing God

Saddam is dead
So was Anthony Ler
Who's next?
Took? Huang Na's murderer?

There can be no denial
The atrocities of their crimes
But putting them to death
Would not bring back the dead

Who are we, mere mortals
To play God?
By sentencing them to die
Are we not murderers, too, in God's very eyes?

No, we don't condone
Their hideous, gruesome crimes
But surely God's wrath they'd face
During Judgement Day

Category: Musings

What's an Ass??

What's an Ass?
Can someone tell for sure?
I used that on a woman
And her man threatened to sue

A slip of tongue
This I'd swear
Uttered under provocation
From the woman I called an Ass

She demanded an apology
And I duly said, "Sorry"
But she pushed the envelope
"For what?" the vixen wanted to know

"Sorry," I said with deliberation
"For calling you an Ass," I obliged with much regret glee
"What?" she could hardly believe her ears
And I echoed again, what she wanted to hear

The husband turned to me
Accusing me of being sarcastic
This, I'd agreed
That was because I was angry

Angry at the woman
And mostly, angry at me
How did this scene blow up?
It's so unlike me

I turned
And slowly skated away
There's just no end to this ugly play
Cooler heads should have prevailed

Category: Humoresque

An unexpected christmas present

I'm not one who gambles. I'm all clueless when it comes to playing cards, or even mah jong. And the recent debate on the casino bores me. To me, it has all the excitement of a morgue.

But there are people who are just lucky when it comes to gambling. My aunt is one such lucky lady. But alas, she also owes people, some of them loan sharks, a lot of money. Whatever she won, she used it to clear her mounting debt. It's a vicious cycle. What's the joy of winning then?

My colleague MJM is another. He's always wining 4D, but unlike my aunt, MJM is rich and not in debt (as far as I know). Though short and round in stature, MJM has a towkay look - you know, the kinda of look that tells you he would rather pay his purchases with cold hard cash rather than using a credit card.

Okay, maybe the statement in para 1 is not entirely true. If gaming (a term used by the gahmen in their psychological game) is considered gambling, than maybe I have a vice to confess - 4D. But then again, I'm a small-time player. Honestly, my luck has never been good when it comes to lottery. I've never won TOTO or the Big Sweep. As for 4D, I hardly struck, and if I did, it's mostly consolation prizes ranging from $10-$20 because I normally placed a stake of only $2 on iBet. Many many moons ago, when I first joined the work force, I did strike $500, and subsequently, $75 dollars. But Lady Luck simply refused to smile after that. I continued placing bets for a year or two, and when it yielded nothing more than false hopes, I simply stopped playing altogether. I was resigned to the fate of having to work my butt off in the office to earn my "wealth". Such is my fate, like Boxer in Animal Form, the horse who was ever loyal and worked till he was sent to the abattoir by the conceited piggies. Hard life.

But since I took delivery of my car in February, I have started buying my car number. Usually, I'd place a bet of a couple of dollars on iBet, and another couple of dollars on the actual number. Lady Luck hasn't been too unkind. I've struck a couple of times, winning from $10-$20, enough to buy colleagues a cuppa. I told myself it was just for the fun of it. My sentiment in buying 4D has always been this - 有买有希望，没买没希望. Of course, one has to be very careful not to get carried away, and end up splurging all their money on 4D/TOTO or getting into debt or borrowing money from loan sharks, like my aunt did.

Yesterday, being Christmas Eve, I was at my mum house celebrating Christmas with my siblings. We had pot luck, and the spread on the table was simple but delicious. I bought the famous fish ball from Tiong Bahru and fried bee hoon. My siblings bought chicken, both the fried and the BBQ kind, pizzas, hor fan, among others. We had none of the usual Christmas stuff like Turkey or log cake because none of us really fancy them. It was a joyous occasion, everyone was in a festive and happy mood, especially the kids who juz couldn't wait to open their presents, all placed under a beautiful Christmas tree put up by my brother.

Then, while digging into a piece of fried chicken, my mum asked if I had bought 4D. My aunt has called to say that my car number came out 3rd prize in yesterday 4D draw. Of course I did, I told my mum. I got a windfall of about $1500. Not much really but hey, it's not very often that I strike, okay? So I told my family that everything is on the house!

It's an unexpected Christmas present!

Category: Musings

Mr Fix-it

There are guys who are juz good with their hands, and there are guys who are brilliant with their hands. I belong to the former. I give good massages (juz ask the Slim Lady), and whip out a good meal whenever the mood calls for it. In school, I was good at art and craft. Many of my drawings were showcased on the classroom board for all to admire. No, I'm not blowing my trumpet.

How could I be? When there are brilliant guys with brilliant hands who never fail to show off what brilliant things they could do. I call them Mr Fix-it. And Victor is one of them.

See? I had been suffering from internet-withdrawal syndrome for the past few days. While trying to set up a wireless network at home with a router, I accidentally broke the AC adapter of my cable modem, rendering the modem useless, and the family without internet access. I was most frustrated.

I thought replacing the adapter was as simple as shopping for one at Challenger or any of the IT or electrical shops. How wrong was I. A sales assistant who said he studied electrical engineering, told me that cable modems are delicate equipment that “toast” easily if a wrong adapter is used. Another one told me that he had a customer who not only toasted his modem, but along with it went his router and his PC. Victor was of the opinion that the salesmen were juz trying to scare me. But why should they? You would think that they would want to rip me off using scare tactics to get me to buy their products, right? The other alternative is to get a replacement from Starhub which would set me back by $42. A used one I spotted at yahoo auction went for $25.

Then Victor came to the rescue. He painstaking soldered back the adapter for me. Never mind if it's safe to use (no PUB approval sale leh), but see how neat his handiwork is?

I remembered the time when both my WC at home were leaking, jacking up my water bill to a ridiculously high figure. Victor too came to my rescue. No, he didn't fix them for me; but he recommended a really good and honest plumber to do the job. In the office, Mr Fix-it is also extremely adept at "deciphering" the number lock of the office key-press whenever someone accidentally scrambles the original number lock.

Everybody loves a Mr Fix-it when they see one. Mr Fix-it would fix any crook and cranny for you, anywhere, anytime. As a man, Victor put me to shame. But it's a shame I’m happy to put up with. I'm still waiting for him to come to my house to fix my door chime, and the power point from which I pulled the problematic adapter.

LOL

Victor - I'm sure the repaired adapter would work as good as new. But I thought it's time I replace the 3-year-old cable modem with a new one. Juz to let you know that I really appreciate your help in fixing the adapter, never mind that you did it during office hour. Hahaha.

Category: Musings

What does your zodiac sign have anything to do with the way you drive your car?

I'd be damned.

If you found yourself involved in one fender-bender too many, or if you simply couldn't resist "kissing" the car in front of you, check your zodiac sign. According to an article from Yahoo!News, your zodiac sign says a lot about your ability to avoid car crashes.

And, to add insult to injury, the article says that - yes, you guessed it - Libras like yours truly (born September 23-October 22), are the worst perpetrator of auto offences and accidents. This is followed by the Aquarians (January 20-February 18). Any wonder why I accidentally grazed the side of my car against the pillar while leaving the basement carpark at Tampines Mall? Or the smooch I gave the car (the idiotic driver should have moved on when the traffic was clear) in front of me while trying to filter out of the slip road at Simei Road?

Accidents happen. Hey, sometimes my car kisses; and other times, it get kissed - perhaps by libras, too?

This is so weird. Something tells me to treat that article with a pinch of salt.

And Victor, STOP sniggering. The best drivers are Leos (July 23-August 22), followed by Geminis (May 21-June 20). You, too, are off the mark.

Category: Musings

Postcard from Down Under

On a clear day in Gold Coast Australia, you can see forever .....

Wish you were here ......

Gone flying ......

Seeya real soon.....

Attachment & Expectation

It's been awhile
I feel the vibes
of hurt and resentment

Attachment and Expectation
The former, it creeps but insidiously
The latter, it comes unspoken

Easy
But the lines of friendship have cracked
Oh, Attachment
See what you've done

Category: Musings

Gimme my bowl of shark's fin soup!

Lovers of shark's fin soup, rejoice. There's no reason to be ashamed the next time you order a bowl of shark's fin soup in the restaurant, or digging into a bowl at a wedding dinner.

Why, it transpires that reports about sharks being in danger of becoming extinct are all crap. In truth, only three species of sharks, namely, the basking shark, the great white shark and the whale shark are considered endangered under the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora (CITES). The remaining 397 shark species are not classified at all and can be freely caught and traded (and be eaten without guilt, I must add). Saying that all sharks are endangered is as good (or as bad) as saying all primates (which incidentally comprises Victor, you, me, and Ah Meng at our zoo) are on the verge of extinction.

The animal activists sure know how to make man feel guilty in the consumption of our much-loved and traditional delicacy. They have done us a great disservice by repeatedly painting a distorted picture of how sharks are being killed and their fins extracted. Yes, there can be no denial of the cruelty some fishermen resort to in getting hold of the prized shark fins. These deplorable fishermen cut the fins off the shark and leave the poor creatures to die a slow death at the bottom of the ocean (called “live-finning”). The fact is, many in the fishing industry frowned on such practice, preferring to remove the fins from the sharks only after the death of the creatures. The barbaric practice of "live-finning" is outlawed in many countries.

The anti-fins group has misrepresented the facts by flooding the mass media with images of "live-finning". Their aim? They want shark's fin soup to be shunned. And to discard the tradition of consumption of the shark' fins, a Chinese culture, to the wind. Boy, have we been fooled for too long.

Having said this, I'd like to add that I'm not a great fan of shark's fin soup. But many of my friends and relatives are. My mum makes fabulous shark's fin soup. My son is a sucker for it. And so is the Slim Lady. In addition, a wedding dinner without the usual bowl of shark’s fin soup somehow just doesn't feel like a wedding dinner at all leh ....


Category: Musings