Off to Hanoi

Here's one last post before I jet off to Hanoi.

My bags are packed. Plane leaves at 5:05pm today. Estimated arrival time in Hanoi is 7:25pm. Have not booked a hotel for the night yet, so will look around when we reach the city.

Ta ta ...

Brokeback Mountain II - A sequel you don’t want to miss

Found this on Attu.

I guess after having missed out narrowly on the best picture at the oscars this year, Ang Lee has decided to tweak the almost-winning formulae and rope in Stern into the production team. This west just got wilder.

Latest : A queue line is forming at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood in anticipation of the sequel release. Not since Star Wars III : ROTS have we seen such mass hysteria over a movie. Reports also point to frequent arguments among queuing fans on which among the hot looking cast look sexier in cowboy hat, gun holsters and spurs.

Ok boys, stop dreaming. But we can keep on hoping.

March Babies

As long as we got each other

We got the world spinnin' right in our hands

Baby, you and me

We gotta be

The luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin'

To Pa and Josh, Happy Birthday !

Remember the Fifth of November

Watched “V for Vendetta” this afternoon with Vicky. Another stellar performance from Ms.Portman after watching her in Closer last year.

Back to the movie. The Wachowskis(from Matrix fame) really made this a smooth, intelligent and entertaining watch. No dodging bullet scene here, but V really held his own with his twirling cum slashing knife act and brilliant lines read out from behind the mask in calm soothing voice. And those confusing play of words. Just check out his perplexing introduction to Evey.

"This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

I lost count on the V-words that was used in that pick up line. Just don’t use this on any of your pick-up targets unless you are immune to rejection or have a spare mask in hand that will make those words sound sexy.

Just a thought, a scary one. As you scan the news today, you see so many societies struggling with internal opposition and strife. Iraq, Afghanistan, France, Philipines, Thailand .They are everywhere. In some places they are just demonstrators with placards and effigies, while in others they are known as insurgents or terrorist. I’m sure all those who oppose the government have the perfect justification for their cause. But many subscribe to the same beliefs as V, believing in Violence to end all oppression and injustice, and some sacrifices(like killing of innocents) are necessary to achieve the greater good.

Suddenly the movie takes on a all too familiar theme.

Anyway, go watch it and enjoy. Or you can check out this review first.

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot

I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot

Once upon a Magical Faraway Tree

I remember my primary school years when Enid Blyton’s books were the rage of the time. Infact she was the J.K.Rowling of that generation but with books that continued to captivate young children long after she passed on. And somewhere between the pre-school ‘Peter and Jane’ books and the pre-pubescent Hardy Boys mystery series, there was a time when Enid’s books filled almost all reading hours.

Among the many books about pixies, talking rabbits and meddlesome blokes, there was one that stood out. It had a magical tree and interesting folks that lived among the branches. And best of all, there were loads of wonderful adventures in the lands that appeared above the tree.

Sigh, it’s hard recovering from the walk down memory lane.

P.S : Here’s an interesting site about the Magical Faraway tree
P.P.S : The wishing-chair came in a close second


Updates (from Wikipedia):

In modern reprints, the names of the children have been changed - from Jo, Bessie and Fanny to Joe, Beth and Frannie - in the first case to make it clear that Jo is a boy, in the second because Bessie is seldom used as a nickname for Elizabeth anymore (most would go by Beth, Liz or Lizzie), and in the third because Fanny is a slang term in the United Kingdom (see Wiktionary entry). Cousin Dick, who appears in "The Magic Faraway Tree", has his name changed to "Rick" in new editions, presumably for similar reasons.

Whatever will be, will be

In the heart of Chinatown, along the sleazy quiet streets of Keong Saik Road, lies a row of shop lots with brightly lited glass windows. Looking in through these windows, you see shelves of books and bottled oils, a sleek bar counter, and a cozy dining area. The sign above the door reads ‘WHATEVER’.

We found this place through a friend’s recommendation and decided to check it out last Friday. The homepage sort of gave us a pretty good idea of what to expect in this place. And true enough, entering the door that night, we found the shop stacked from ceiling to floor with an amazing variety of New Age artifacts. A psychic healer was even seen wandering around the narrow quarters (guess she didn’t have much work to do that night.)

Food-wise was, how should I put it, everything a health nut would wish for - all vegetarian, mainly organic and high on nutrition. The menu says it all. It even highlights food that are Gluten Free (GF), Wheat free (WF), Dairy Free (DF), Egg Free (EF), and Sugar Free (SF). Only thing lacking is a dish with AF classification. All-Free.

I had pesto and cream linguine with pine nuts. Not scoring too high on the taste charts but what do you expect from healthy cooking.

Pesto and cream linguine with pine nuts

Organic penne with arabiata sauce

Anyway after dinner we did not stay on to explore the other specialties that the shop offered. But it certainly deserves a second look.

Decoding the Four Ds

The Four Ds.

Death, Disaster, Deduction, Divinity

Four time-proven ways to pick the weekly four winning numbers. Yes, I’m talking about 4D.

Today, my co-worker greeted me with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. I dismissed this rare Monday morning enthusiasm. Maybe he was lucky with his wife last night I thought. Soon news filtered out through the grapevine (read : girl gossip) that a few workers had won the starter prize in Sunday’s 4D draw. That earned them a few thousand quids. And like all previous winners, they are giving a lunch treat to all co-workers this week.

And the lucky numbers … they were the part numbers of the components which were giving us much problems on Friday.

Yes, my workers have succeeded in internalizing wealth creation. Singapore Pools, Magnum, Illegal Gambling Houses, they all work the same. It’s a game for all races, Chinese, Indian and even Malays. My workers have developed the uncanny ability to extract these four numbers from everyday events around the company.

Like when the crazy gale winds blew the neighbours’ make-shift roof into our carpark, even before we made claims for the damage, a few opportunistic workers put our two addresses together and got the winning number.

Then there was the minor accident last year involving a worker who hurt himself in a fall. Not one to miss the silver lining from all misfortunes, a few Chinese workers placed their bets on the 4 digit employee number of the accident victim and sheepishly pocketed their earnings.

Even the four numbers picked out during last year’s Chinese 7th Month prayers in the factory have brought good luck to some patient ones.

Sure, there are many misses. That’s why I don’t participate in this weekly quest in the first place. But as long as the treats are coming, this gives a glimmer of hope to many that their day will come, maybe just around the corner or when the next misfortune strikes.

Working it out

Earlier tonight, I attended the AsiaWork’s Post Guest Event with Vicky.

Entering the swanky function room at Meritus Mandarin hotel, we were greeted by loud blaring music, highly enthusiastic adults and a room with 200 chairs that filled out as soon as the music stopped.

Then the sales pitch began. The gist of the introductory session was about personal goals and the ‘excuses’ that are stopping us from achieving them. It ended off with the question ‘What actions are you going to take now to achieve those goals?’ That was a signal to all the hovering AsiaWorks course graduates to move in to ‘close’ the unsuspecting guests. I left unscathed.

I guess I am not in the right position to judge the training and effectiveness of AsiaWorks. I’m sure it has its fair share of supporters as well as detractors. It works pretty much like a Multi-Level Marketing Company with its use of networking, trainings and purpose (self-awareness, lifestyle enhancement, blah blah…) .The only difference is in the product that it sells; for AsiaWorks case it’s the training not health supplements or aromatherapy products.

Some related links :
1. AsiaWorks in the news
2. Random blog entry about AsiaWorks Training experience 1
3. Random blog entry about AsiaWorks Training experience 2
4. Articles on Large Group Awarenss Trainings
5. Is AsiaWorks a cult?

P.S : BTW, the Basic training cost S$1100 + 5%GST over here in S’pore. The advance will set you back S$1900 + 5%GST.

Cai nay an co an toan khong ?

View from Sa Pa, I hope. But if it isn't, I will find out soon.

God, it’s dreaded Monday again,
The hated dawn that earns all curses,
Five days of floating on oarless raft,
As work current tugs from all corners.

But three weeks more to bear this gloom,
For the rugged land of north is waiting,
When carpal wrecked limbs turn all nimble,
As I trade daily chores for mountain hiking.

Yes, as my attempt on poetry suggest, I am due for a holiday in less than three weeks time. And it’s north to Vietnam this time, the land of delicious pho and fair damsels in striking Ao Dais.

The countdown begins.

P.S : Cai nay an co an toan khong ? = Is that safe to eat?. May not be such a useful term after I learnt that people there swallows beating cobra hearts in rice whiskey to relax.