The main characters

Speaking of main characters, the programmers... heheh we are the most important people wor.. cuz we are the ones who came up with the entertainment for everyone =)

Ta Da... The elite of the elite... With us around, the camp is guranteed a success

Some sea view on our way to the kelong

Everyone is having fun =)

Well actually I'm not sure if I'm supposed to post pics of the members but I guess one, two shots doesn't really matter since they can't really be seen clearly from these shots... Can't post more than these though...

Group photo

All in all, it was a fun trip and quite an experience... dun mind being part of the organising comm again for the next camp actually, it feels great seeing everyone having a great time cuz thats when you know that all the hard work that goes into the preparation is worth it.

Sigh... Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6 auto is currently going at abt $48k, so bloody tempting lei... if i do my maths correctly, its abolutely affordable if I get it as an OPC (Off Peak Car) but that would probable mean that my spending needs to be curbed and there ain't gonna be much savings too ... Is it worth it, you ask?

Well, depends on how you see it, I guess. Whether you want to have the comfort and thrill of having your own wheels and spend less or be able to spend more but have to go through the hassle of using the public transport.
But then again, guess I'll have to hold on till I job hop first bahz...

Won't be working tomorrow, gonna be a real busy day... Gotta go to the army market to settle some stuff for my upcoming reservist on 6 Nov, then go get a haircut, and hopefully by the end of it all, I still have the time and energy to go for a gym workout in the evening, and after that, pack for my Sibu trip tomorrow
Hahs, the gals were all saying 'Wow!!! So good ar, reservist can go Australia!!!' But horz... its only 2 days of R&R after like 14days of jungle and hills and dirt tracks lei.. *sigh* gals....

So anyways, a little bit about the Sibu trip tomorrow with ROvers... The volunteers are bringing the members to the kelong for a 2-day-1-night trip... the organising comm has been working hard to put this RO Camp together, its my 1st time planning for RO camps, quite an experience, not unlike those programmes that I have planned as A TAGL, though on a slightly bigger scale... hope the weather holds though...

A really slow day at work... time seemed to have stopped moving and the constant haze outside makes me sleepy each time I looked out of the window... Thank goodness its gonna be Friday soon... aloha long weekend!

Enuf had been said abt the haze which we are experiencing recently but I still can't help feeling pissed, cuz now I'm finally affected by the bad air... Somehow, my system had reached its tolerance level and my nasal passage is starting to get really pissed at the way it had to constantly 'purify' the air that passes thru... And also, this constant misty and blur vision is starting to get on my nerves as well.... It may seem kinda nice and romantic in a way at first, but now, its plain irritating... I can't even go for outdoor sports for fear that I may collapse from haze-poisoning...

I'm cursing those selfish Indonesian muthafuckas for all the burning... I mean, look at the number of people falling sick due to this haze and of course the hike in electricity bills for those who are now relying on air-conditioning like how mountain climbers rely on oxygen tanks?
And all the Indonesian gahmen can say is sorry but they have no resources for resolving the issue? So wat? We are gonna have this for eons to come? So wat if they are signing anti-haze agreement? If the burning continues next year, then wat? Are we gonna sue them? And wat? they are gonna pay with, Indonesian maids? My apologies for the use of 'Indonesian maids' but I really cannot think of anything that's of more value than their domestic labour, even if they offer to compensate us with their many islands, we still have to think of how to ship the island over and then of course, we would have to go to court with M'sia on how we are threatening their marine live and breaching into their sea space and blah blah blah....

Ok, I dun have a good solution for the problem but hey dats why we need the gahmen for rite? So in the meantime, I shall continue to curse and swear at the bloody Indonesian farmers until I can breathe again

Came across this story in one of the many forwarded emails received from friends and colleagues... tot I'd share this with you guys, so take a break from work and ponder on what it is that you really want in life... this is one life philosophy dat the Denster is adopting =)

A long time ago, there was an Emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he likes, then the Emperor would give him the area of land he has covered.

Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could. He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop because he wanted to cover as much area as possible.

Came to a point when he had covered a substantial area and he was exhausted and was dying. Then he asked himself, "Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only need a very small area to bury myself."

The above story is similar with the journey of our Life. We push very hard everyday to make more money, to gain power and recognition. We neglect our health , time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding beauty and the hobbies we love. One day when we look back, we will realize that we don't really need that much, but then we cannot turn back time for what we have missed.

Life is not about making money, acquiring power or recognition .
Life is definitely not about work! Work is only necessary to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life.
Life is a balance of Work and Play, Family and Personal time.
You have to decide how you want to balance your Life.
Define your priorities, realize what you are able to compromise but always let some of your decisions be based on your instincts.
Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of Life, the whole aim of human existence.
So, take it easy, do what you want to do and appreciate nature.
Life is fragile, Life is short. Do not take Life for granted. Live a balanced lifestyle and enjoy Life!

Watch your thoughts ; they become words.
Watch your words ; they become actions.
Watch your actions ; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character .
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny .

Went Vivio City with Chris, Abel, Joan and Slyvia with the intention of catching a show there but hor... blur Joan lah... din check the time slot properly so we ended up having lunch at Breeks at Harbour Front instead.

Speaking of this blur blur Joan ar... So I tried to call her last night on her handphone to confirm the timing for today, but she didn't answer the call, so sometime later, some guy called me using her handphone and told me that she had dropped it in a cinema in Great World City.
And so, I started Operation HP Retrieval by calling Abel and asking him to collect the handphone from the ticket booth, while we tried to contact her via her house phone, but then, none of us has her number. This Abel ar, also quite smart (he sure get hao lian when he reads this) guessed that Joan and Slyvia sure will go makan someplace after the show and true enuf, he found them in some fast food restuarant. Only then did our dear Miss Blur Sotong realised that she has lost her phone.... Super blur can...

So anyway, back to Vivio City... the place damn big and damn crowded although most shops are still under renovation, and as we were hell bent on catching a movie, we decided to revisit it some other time, and so over lunch at Breeks we decided to book tickets for Departed and Death Note in Plaza Sing (thanks to Joi, you are a gem)... Slyvia and Joan ended up watching Departed while the rest of us watched Death Note...

Super cool show ok? The synopsis can be found in the GV website and I won't spoil the fun for those who intended to watch it by revealing the plot... but just go catch the show!!! I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars...

Joan and Slyvia left after their show ended since theirs was at an earlier time slot cuz Joan wanna go back early as she was down with the flu bug... So the remaining 3 of us decided to walk around Plaza Sing a bit while waiting for XinYing, Mayber, Kenneth and Ah Loo.

Went for dinner at MOS (the burger outlet, not the disco) then we crossed over to Paradiz to pak pool, followed by supper at one of the nearby prata shops...

The rest of the gang should be at Kenneth's place playing mahjong as I'm blogging this entry... Can't join them cuz I'm meeting Kiam Siong for gym tomorrow...

The Denster looks like Korean superstar?

Hmm... Peggy was saying that I look like some outdated Korean Superstar by the name of An Zai Xu... I'm serious wor... even got the email to show for it... hiack hiack...

See? Got proof one can? But then, dun really think I look like him lei... He not as 'yan dao' as me... Think I got more 'sey'.... hee hee...



Oh then, Rainbow Lim said I look more like this guy instead... think he's called Ahn Jae Wook or something, gosh Korean names do sound farnie...

Since the pix look so different, at first I tot its 2 different persons, but then later she told me its actually the same guy... Blardy hell, but he looks kinda different in the pix lei....

Actually we were thinking of taking pix of me with the exact same pose so that we can do a comparision but then... I'm too busy so that will have to wait... In the meantime, you guys can do a mental comparision... hiack hiack...

I dun normally help do advertising, especially when I'm doing it for free... but since the owner of this blog is kinda nice, I shall make this exception...

So anyway, little girlie accessories are sold via this blog and they are unique in the sense that they are imported from Taiwan and Korea, so you definitely won't find them hanging around go-karts in local shopping malls, well highly unlikely anyway =) And the fact that I'm posting this here implies that this site is totally trustworthy...

So gals, click on The little witches on the left of this blog under My Denamaniacs and check it out, ya...

Okies, here's a preview of what can be found in the blog:

Nothing really spectacular about receiving awards for non-significant stuff like outstanding WITs project and Best WITs team but oh well, since I have to walk up and down the bloody stage 3 times, might as well post the pix taken...

Last award given by our PS, a loveable grandfatherly figure.
Noticed now that everyone smiles a bit?

*Sigh*... It looks like whenever I happened to be away from office, someone from my group of lunch kakis will be lucky enuf to get a job offer and tender his/ her resignation... It all started from last Oct/Nov when I was hospitalised for dengue fever, Eslynn left...

Then it was during the Chinese New Year period this year that I took a few days leave, Yen Fuu resigned, not that we are buddies buddies (something happened between him and the rest of us and we are not on talking terms now but I'll leave that for another time)...

Then of cuz, there's Kiam Siong, who chose to tender his resignation when I was on leave again sometime in March/Apr this year...

The latest blessed-by-Dennis chap happens to be Colin, our Mr Nice Guy... He delivered the bombshell last Fri when I was on half day leave...

So now, the last remaining few keep asking me to take leave, so that it will be their turn soon to leave... bah... superstitous lot... but then hor... 4 is too much of a coincidence rite? Maybe I should really stop taking leave for a while....

The characters in this entry are as follows:
WR = My boss, no prize for those of you who guessed who that is.
Den/ Uncle = ME
L2 = Affectionately known as Auntie, even though she's born in the 80's

And so the story goes... Scene 1: On 28th Sept
L2: Uncle... come come read this mail... WR asked me why I wanna take half day urgent leave.
Den: Ya, why har? Usually your leave all planned one mah.
L2: Tired mah, dun feel like working, so take leave to go back rest lor.
Den: Then just tell him got something personal on lah, he can ask but you dun have to tell him
reason mah
A few minutes later...
L2: Uncle come read this 'Ok but let me know if we need to talk ok... Thanks'
Den: What the ...? Siao kia, take leave only mah... what's there to talk... Anyway Auntie, next Fri
take half day oso can?
L2: Wanna go pak toh issit? Lantern Festival wor, go lah....

And so... Scene 2: on 5th Oct
WR (calls me on my extension) : Dennis, can I talk you?
Den: Yup (then walks over to his cubicle)
WR: You want to take half day on Fri ar? Why ar? Dun scare me lei... (then laughs awkardly,
man how I hate his blardy laughter)
Den: Personal matters lah, dun worry lah, if got something will tell you one (yeah as if...)

The point is, if the f... (oops, promised Yvonne that this post will be 'fuck' free... hahah) management is aware that the support staff is gonna leave, then why not think of how to retain us? Stop givng us crap like 'We'll be giving you more opportunities to shine by giving you guys more projects to do, then we'll monitor your performance to see if you can make it for MX positions'

Balls to you understand? Why should we, proud MSOs who has attained our degrees, continue to be subjected to your ridiculous blabberings and continue to lead projects, initated by you? So that once, its being done and all is good, you may then walk proudly to the toppest management and say, 'We have completed this project. The greatest achievement from all this is that I can see my staff grow and work independently without supervision.' And then ta da... kudos to WR, for being able to lead his team well, while we will continue to slog pathetically, without recognition? I'm flicking my virtual middle finger to that!

And then, take another colleague for example, she's been here 8 years, promoted twice and when there's a vacant position for MX, what happens? In comes a fresh graduate from oooo... the prestigious NUS/ NTU and poor Miss 8 yr-old MSO with degree continues to be MSO with degree, leading projects for the fresh grad MX...

So I ask you, who in their right minds won't be taking half day leaves and go for interview?
So Mr WR, if you yourself are aware of the fact that we, the proud MSOs who had attained our degrees will no longer be willing to be under your beck and call cuz we, the proud MSOs who had attained our degree now deemed ourselves as your equal, then either swallow your pride and take us as equals or stop asking stupid questions like why we are taking leave and telling us brainless things like 'must give me notice'... I'll give you your notice when I give you da letter... dawg!

P.S. :
For those not in civil service, MSO = positions for diploma holders and MX = positions for degree holders. Usually MSO with degree don't get emplaced into the MX position, not in All Goons' Department, anyway.

And also, Auntie is a very good co-worker and a responsible one at that who normally do not take urgent leave to rest, unless she's really very stressed up or tired or fed-up with work or all of the above.

Finally, after 2 wks of crash course from my si fu, who has since gone back to UK, I have successfully carried out the wushu segment for the lantern festival celebration at Jurong Lake Park last Saturday... Coincidentally, 30 Sept also marked my one year stint as a volunteer with ROvers...

Special thanks to Charles, our official photographer again... but hor... next time bloody tell me when you wanna shoot ok? The facial expressions are all wrong... dun have the 霸气, but somehow, seeing the pix in black n white still not too bad lah... at least the 'sey' is there rite? hehehe...
Special thanks also to Thye Ann (though you would not have access to Denamania, but heck, thanks anyway) for helping me get the Wong Fei Hong soundtrack...

The 'Talk to my hand' pose

*Sigh* Euniece finally tendered her resignation letter again, after retracting her initial resignation... even though we saw this coming but the feeling of envy and dread still looms in the air, for the remaining few MSOs (minus those super old birds who are in contention of the 10 year long service awards and the newbies), most of us are thinking 'when is it gonna be our turn to get out of this wretched place?', and well in the case of Auntie Leng Leng, its worse cuz with one more man down, it simply translates into more work per capita...

Judging from the way things go, Euniece's resignation may signal another round of chain reaction... Praying hard that I'm not the last one remaining by the time I'm back from my reservist in Australia... *shivers at the unpleasant tot*

There is obviously something seriously wrong with the way things are going around here, but the so called management simply decides to be oblivious to everything... And if they so choose to be, why do they get all fucking jittery everytime we decide to apply for 'half day leave' or 'urgent leave'? All of a sudden, we would get this email from the so-called 'Caring manager' that says something like 'Can I find out why you need to take urgent leave? Let me know if we need to talk ok, thanks.' Pui chao nua, understand?