^^ The Grass Is Bluer Where? ^^

Anyone can answer this? Is it just me or does most geminis like to sleep? Although I sleep around 7-8 hrs a day and the older you are the lesser you sleep. But it seems like a lot of geminis I know like to sleep or nap a lot. What about other zodiacs signs? Maybe I'm just paranoid.

Eg. I got an Aquarian gf, she doesn't sleep a lot. Not as much as me I think. *shrug*

I felt let down by Liverpool's poor performance today. How can they lose to Fulham!!! Maybe if I don't have high expectations I don't feel so disappointed. I don't think I'm obsessed with soccer scores and whether my favorite team wins, however it does make you happy to know your favorite team wins.

So tempted to just get cable to watch soccer only. What a waste of $$$ if I really do that. Cable cost like $49/mth here for the basic package. I could put that $49 for better use. I can watch live matches online anyway.

God bless Internet and technology and p2p. There are p2p internet streaming of cable TV's based around the world, however current ones are mostly in China (I wonder why...). Basically, it operates the same way as a p2p in that you connect to other peers that also want to watch that particular show/channel. The more peers, the faster and the better the quality of the streaming. Coolstreaming was the pioneer in this area till it was shut down due to copyright issues. Up and coming ones include PPLive and Feidian.

If you fulfill the following criteria:

1) Don't want to spend $ on cable coz you won't utilize it
2) Want to watch live or cable shows
3) Have a fast broadband connection (at least 512kbps, optimal preferably 1500kbps)

Then check out PPLive's site (note it's in Chinese). English version available too. Might be slow to load the webpage, so be patient.

I'm sure this is a much talked about issue over the last couple of months. Recently, there's a debate of whether to lower the casino entry fee or do away with it. I understand the need to keep the gamblers or Singaporeans from spending their hard-earned dollars.

I think I can understand the need for an entry fee knowing how Singaporeans who are deprive of such facilities in the past will immediately flock to it. However, setting a $100 entry fee is not the solution to the problem. It is a solution nonetheless but not an ideal one and definitely not one to sustain in the long run.

Firstly, $100 ain't going to stop the really compulsive gamblers from gambling. To them, $100 is still cheaper than going overseas to play and their mentality is that they can easily earn back the $100. Secondly, why do we have to restrict people from accessing a facility that is built and paid for by the taxpayers on the reasoning that we're trying to help you? If you're really trying to help, you won't build the casino in the first place.

Gambling has always been an issue everywhere. However, what I am disappointed with is the lack of support or help for those compulsive gamblers in Singapore. Recently, the government has stepped up their drive to educate the public. I think its about time they realize that and remedy the situation.

In the past, there were no avenues of support for people who fall into this category. There are no helplines to assist people with obsessive gambling. There is no public recognition of this wide-spread problem until now.

It is all good to setup up a website for people to get to know more information about problem gambling, and running ads etc to educate the public. However, most Asians have been slow to catch up to the 'I am sick and I need to seek therapy' mentality. A lot of this has got to do with taboo as well as lack of education.

In terms of education, it is good to see ads, talkshows etc to inform the public about the malice of gambling addiction. These targets the current & older generation of our population. What about our young? They should be taught in schools (like maybe start from secondary schools) where teenagers may possibly get exposed to such influences (like gambling or alcohol or drug abuses in the family) affecting their direct family members.

I believe that educating teenagers in recognizing the early signs of addictions can possibly help their parents in early intervention programs. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Of course, the responsibility does not solely rest on the child's shoulders. This is just one of the solutions to the gambling problem. Also, educating the kids on such issues means that as they become adults, they bring with them less social stigma on such subjects and possibly a social structure change where people recognize the need for help and the acceptance that they need help.

A wide-spread education coupled with less social stigma on therapies will definitely help to improve addictions or abuses. When that time comes, I may be more open to the idea of casinos in Singapore.

Yet another one, no this is not driven by political greed nor the desire to satisfy my friends who lust for more news. It kinda feels good to just write what you want here. Maybe that's my feel good brain cells or am I getting into the groove of it? Perhaps, time will tell.

Recently over the last few months, I've been watching lotsa Japanese dramas. I find them so refreshingly different from Chinese/HK/English dramas. J-dramas are often quite intense and fast-paced in their storyline. The number of episodes normally max out at around 12, rarely going above that. It also often tries to tell a moral or a story and you learn from the story and be a better person. Essentially, a lot of them tells about choice & freedom, and doing what you always wanted without any barriers or regrets.

Inferring this to a Jap culture (to a lesser extent other Asian countries), I can see why a lot of the main themes revolve around this. Not only that, telling a story in 12 or less episodes make for a very action packed and always (most of the time) interesting plot. Comparing this to say a western or chinese drama, which can often span up to 30+ or a few hundreds. I don't have the patience to follow it (imagine Neighbours or Home & Away - as Homer will say... BORING!!). Nonetheless for those who like their school days, I highly recommend GTO (some tissues may be needed. If you not into hentai, don't watch the anime version. GF-sama says the teacher was depicted as quite hentai) or Gokusen (Yakuza boss turns teacher. Funny rating of 8/10). After you watched these two, you'll feel like becoming a teacher. You'll feel so inspired that nothing is impossible. Although I pity the shits the teacher get sometimes. Then there's the romantic /sad ones like Last Christmas (prepare heaps of tissues near you. Cry rating of 8/10) or Beautiful Life (also lotsa tissues). If you have the extra shoulder to cry on good for you. Even not don't despair, by the end of the show you'll be VERY VERY motivated to do what you feel like doing.

Oh, not forgetting this new J-drama that just came out this year. It's called DENSHA OTOKO (Funny rating 8.5/10). Hmm... I think it deserves special mention for the storyline (coz actress chio too). To quote from the synopsis:

"Adapted from the best selling book "Train Man," this is the true life story of a geeky young man's romance with a beautiful young lady. The book is based on actual messages posted on a huge internet discussion board in Japan. A million internet users followed the Train Man's romance, giving him advices on how to impress the girl and take her out on dates. Train Man belongs in the so-called "Akiba-kei" category: a term that describes nerdy looking men who hang out at Akihabara (the famous electronics area in Tokyo) all day, who are obsessed with video games and computers."

Anyway, these are just a few of the good J-dramas I know and if you get the chance to watch it go for it. If you don't you can send a self-addressed envelope with at least 2 DVD blanks for each series and I'll kindly burn it for you.

Did I say I want to buy a digital camera? I've short listed a couple or rather mainly two. It’s either the Canon Powershot S2 IS or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 . Nonetheless, both are equally expensive but I like the features of these two cameras. Basically 12x optical zoom which will allow me to zoom all the way into the block next to me (now what are you thinking). Coming close third is the Sony Cyber-shot H1, the only reason it’s not in my list is it'll burn a HUGE hole in my pocket.

This is how they look like...

I've always wanted to fulfil one of my dreams, which is to own a SLR look-alike camera. I don't care if it doesn't have SLR features like manual settings etc etc as long as it looks like a bloody SLR. The terminology now is DSLR. Although these two cameras still don't belong into that category but for my sanity as well as my pocket's sake I'll persist with it. Ain't they chio? hehe

Anyway, one of the main reasons I'm buying one of these babes is so that I can take pictures of my place and wherever I go. So if one picture = 1000 words then I won't have to write so much. The chance of me getting carpal tunnel syndrome is greatly lessen.

What's happening... everywhere I see and read I see the words WEDDING written all over it. I read blogs, I talk to friends, I see events around and there's always the 7 letter word mentioned around. Is that a sign. As gals always like to say, my biological clock is ticking better hurry! Maybe I should setup a sperm / egg bank targeting middle age customers. Back to that 7 letter word, isn't it happy to see others willing to make that plunge and commit to each other and promises of ever lasting love and companionship.

It sure does take great courage to take that step forward. At least the way I look at it, if something bad happens at least there are two of you to take the shits together. Half the amount of shit is still better than the whole package. I'm in denial and I don't want to talk about this for now. If it comes it comes.

BTW, I should make out a list of things I miss now (not in any particular order).

1) Karaoke-ing with my buddies. Hearing Mata crooning out love songs eeeek! Or worse Green Ogre with his 'melodic' often off key tunes. :p
2) Talking cock
3) Singapore food!!! ARGH!!!
4) All my friends in Singapore
5) My family
6) My cute little cousins
7) Home sweet home
8) Having a direction, a focus where I can drive my energy to. No, not sex but I won't mind more.
9) Sim lim square, being a geek (I don't look like a geek but I do feel like one) and hanging out there
10) Just chilling out with my friends
11) Crowded trains so I can check out gals. Trains here ain't crowded, and nothing to check out.
12) Asian chicks, short supply of this here. That's why I go Chinatown in Sydney.
13) Yum cha, I always miss it even if I go once a week
14) Elaboration of food, chicken rice and carrot cake *sob* *sob*. If only some chinese chef will migrate to Australia, specifically Sydney area *hint* *hint* for those wanna be migrants.
15) Missing out of all the life changing events in Singapore of my friends. Can't be there for them. :(
16) Playing pool with you know who
17) I don't miss my freedom. I'm not complaining...

Oh, Liverpool won their latest match, I'm a happy camper. Although SBS (the sports channel in Australia) kept showing Chelsea matches, its irking me off. I vow to boycott SBS until they show me my favourite team in action.

Now onto the topic of friends...

Friends take ages to befriend but enemies take just a moment. Can I boost of many friends but few true friends? Ideally I would like to say no but I liken friends to like growing a plant. Let me paint a picture. You need to plant the seed, cultivate and nurture it. Look after it, water it. Give it sunshine. Give it TLC. Give it whatever you feel will make it grow. You want it to grow because you want it to blossom.

But what if you neglect it? Would the plant still grow? Most likely it would wither and die. Although certain plants (just like certain friends) can stand the test of neglect even though you didn't look after it. That's what I feel. I feel like I've neglected a lot of my good friends. Not because I purposely do it nor for the sadistic enjoyment of it. More like out of sight out of mind. I do think of my friends often but I don't take the action to call them or write letters. Yes actions do mean louder than words and one of the goals of this blog is to let my friends know the inner me. Creation of this blog is definite action already. hee hee.

If only I'm a millionaire, I would fly thru and back to Singapore and Australia and visit all my friends and family and buddies. I would fly back for every single wedding of my friends, every happy and sad moment where I'm needed. Maybe I'm feeling neglected because I've felt that I've done exactly the same thing to some of my close friends. Hopefully with the creation of this blog, I can start to grow this plant that I so sorely miss.

Of course if I'm a millionaire, I'll be sharing my love with you all.

Ooh ooh my 1st post of this blog. Yes i'm a n00b in this and why did i get persuaded to start this i don't know. Knowing how slack i am in retelling stories etc i guess i won't last 3 weeks from now. Only time will tell. Give me 5 yrs from now (provided blogger didnt delete my account and god forbides any natural disasters to the data center that holds these bits.

So, what should i write about. I could write about my life, what i do etc but that would be too boring. But isnt that what everyone writes too? Upon saying that i do think it'll be interesting to share my life, even though its simple and nothing fancy.

To be realistic, I wont be writing this everyday. Don't expect flowery words. Dont expect great poetry genius. Dont expect anything. Dont expect there not to be grammer mistakes. Dont expect me to reply to each comment, but it doesnt mean i won't read it and appreciate it :D

Now now, all i ask for is anonymity (but if so why am i writing here). Maybe I am vain after all. Confused now? Hopefully you're still with me.

Oh, btw i got 2 free t-shirt today (yes i'm a sucker for t-shirts, especially free ones although my gf promptly reminded me I paid 5 beers for it though in fact it was 7). That cost me about $20 for the 7+ beers so technically in my head the t-shirts are considered free. They only have it in XL, red in colour with 2 guitars in front and the tooheys picture (the beer logo) behind. Back to the beer, the buying part was ok, the drinking part aint. As it happened, you need to get a chop each time you buy a beer. When you get 5 chops = 1 free t-shirt. So you might wonder, how come i only have to pay for 7 beer instead of 10 (in actual fact i only have to pay for 5 beer to get 2 t-shirts, but i'll tell u the story). So i went to the bar counter the 4th time to get my number 5, 6 and 7 beer, this blonde gal wearing that t-shirt that i so sought after happens to be serving me. i approached her with trepidation as i know i'm gonna get my t-shirt. Hooray!! I paid her the $ and pass her the card, she asked "Are you drinking here for the night"? I wonder what kinda question is that but promptly answered "Yes!" as i'm so eager to get the t-shirt. She happily chopped the card and handed me 2 t-shirts. Weeeee!!!! I'm over the moon. So for now I have one extra t-shirt which I can give to someone. ;)

Now you may wonder, what's so big with one t-shirt. I wonder too, but if you're a sucker for t-shirts then you know how i feel. Btw, if you're far from me don't expect me to pay for postage if you get it as a lucky draw prize.

Alrite, that concludes my 1st post. Hopefully I have the motivation to continue further with my rantings (note that doesn't mean I want you to post comments on it, and it also doesn't mean i don't want you to post comments either).