黑帶 Kuro Obi (2007)

Weeting generously lent me his latest acquisition - Kuro Obi (2007) DVD during Monday's training. At first glance, I did not have a good impression of the title and predicted that it might take me a few interrupted sessions to finish the film. Lo and behold, I finished the whole film in one seating.

Kuro Obi is not the typical martial arts movies like 殺破浪，霍元甲 or the latest 葉問. There are no brawls, or rather it does not focus on the brawls, between different sects. The story highlights the importance of honour, discipline and respect in pursuing the way of the empty hand - Karate. Taikan - the rash one, Giryu - the contained one and Choei - the one who decides, are the three main karate-kas. Choei lost one of his arm early in the movie and did not have much actions. Taikan impressed me the most with his sharp, accurate and deadly strikes although it's Giryu that the show is trying to portray as the good man. Taikan decided to seek glory by being the karate instructor of the Kempeitei. He subsequently helped the Kempeitei to take over numerous dojo before killing one esteemed master. His final match is between Giryu, who he watched, without lending a hand, the daughter of the dead Captain pushing down the cliff after stabbing him.

Both Giryu and Taikan gained enlightenment from the fight, and Taikan offered the Kuro Obi of their late master to Giryu, who in turn offers it back to Taikan(who I felt deserve it).

To sum up, I shall describe the film in one word - beautiful.

Emilia shall get one post

How can I forget Emilia...

Another sad day

Father called this morning and asked whether I am at the office. I wasn't. I thought I had nothing much to do today because I am done with my swimming on the X'mas holiday, and also more or less cleared the paper work. But Father told me a piece of news which is just a piece of bad news made worse. Xiang will be leaving on the 29th Dec. And Father was asking whether I was at the office, so that I can process his wages. 

Most of the time, I would be very happy to give out money to the workers because I know they are happy to be receiving the money they got from their hard work. But today in particular, I hate the feeling.

The only comfort I got today was from Nini the cat, who performed her signature death-roll for me, and Rose, Apple and Daisy who showed me the innocence of life.

Zhiling suggested that I feature her void deck pet on my blog, which I shall oblige. This is Ginger the cat. She has the same coat as Nini and Avenue3. Her 'meow' sounds delightful and cheery, and she walks (and skips) with excellent agility.

Seeking comfort playing with Nini the cat

I had another dose of the government departments' rubbish today, again.

As adviced by the ministry of morons, Bui brought Xiang to the idiots and cretins authority(ICA) to have his stay extended till his flight date. Lo and behold, the idiot at the ICA said that she could not do what we requested. 

I called up the idiots and cretins to asked about it and the idiot at the other end of the phone directed me to the moron ministry once more. Oh, I have to make a special mention that I waited 40 minutes of my life listening to "Our officers will attend to you shortly" and "Sorry, we are experience high traffic, you may wish to hold or call us later", and the on-hold music of course.

If you cannot give me a solution, please do not give me more problems.

Feeling helpless, I wandered around the office aimlessly. Nini the cat appeared out of nowhere and performed a death-roll. I played with her for a couple of minutes and gave her a personalised photoshoot.

I'm here

A close up.

Return of the killer brush

EVILMODE ON!

Give it to me...

I tried to do photo editing

Top: edited ; Bottom: original

Top: edited ; Bottom: original

But apparently, it did not turn out too well. 

Can any photoshop experts please enlighten me slightly?

葉問

I watched Ip Man today, alone, that is if you do not count in the chatterboxes in the cinema. I had planned to go ahead with this film, regardless of whether my friends could make it. First, it was sea monkey who said over the weekend that he get back to me on whether he wants to watch it today; but the reply never came. Then Senpai Susan wanted to come, but was unable to because of last minute commitments. But these had no influence on my decision to watch it. In fact, I had the company of Yuan Xiong and Manling, who I only realised were in the same theatre when the film ended. Then on the way home, I met Mingli and only then, did I realised that she stays one bus stop from my house.

Ip Man has to be one of the best films I've seen this year. The excellent fight scene done by an equally good artiste, Donnie Yen, choreographed by yet another gem in the industry, Sammo Hung. One line that stays in my mind until now is when the gangster asked the hawker who is the best martial artiste in Foshan, the hawker's reply was, "當然是葉問，難道我阿！" I forgave the whole theatre for 'lol'ing, though I thought the laughter could be minimised further.

Another aspect about this film that earns my liking is that it does not overly demonise the Japanese for their occupation during the WW2. In fact, this film highlighted how gracious the Japanese culture is (with the exception of Colonel Sato). Most of the feud in the movie are fueled by misunderstanding and miscommunication. And it also shows how haughty the Chinese can be about their own achievements. General Miura also earned my respect with his honourable character. The general chided Colonel Sato for blatant killings and despised all shadowy and disgraceful acts.

This film is definitely worth my $7.00 and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fighting scenes with sufficient humour.

Martians strikes from home

This morning, she called and ask whether I am at the office. I said "no". Precisely, I wasn't at the office because I was at the main door. She asked me to call her later on to make some changes in a document. When I reached the office, I heard her call reaching my boss. She had made the call to my boss. Haha. Which means, I do not have to call her anymore, and she did not bother to tell me that the changes had been made.

Then some late afternoon, she called again after calling numerous times to pass me a message. And she had to make a 5-second message into a 5-minute one. While she blabber on according to her own script, I put the phone on the table until I heard her say, "you heard me?"

And I hung up.

Yester-night's dream

I dreamt last night. I vividly remember seeing many centipedes killing their same kind. Spitting venoms from their mouth, getting me confused on whether centipedes do spit venoms from their mouth.

Here's the explanation according to Dream Moods:

Centipedes
To see a centipede in your dream, suggests that you are letting your fears and doubts hinder you from making progress and achieving your goals. You need to stop thinking negative thoughts.

Yesteryears once more

I make a registration for Xiang at about 13 00 hrs this afternoon and received the rejection in less than an hour. Yesterday at the ministry of morons, I asked Ramona Nita whether I could submit an application after canceling the S-Pass, and she merely said, "you can try." And I did just that, paid $10 fees and promptly got rejected by a machine I believe. That has to be one of the fastest $10 earned and lost, apart from casino settings.

I awed myself at the secondary school class gathering by remembering everyone who I saw. Their name, their CCA and some of their gossips. It's held at Shannon's house this time, and shameful to say, this was my first time attending. 

Phang Lei Ming, is now a successful photographer.

Ng Siyun, is now a freelance makeup beautician.

Lee Shu Hui, I believe, is a recruitment agent.

Yi Suqin, Ong Chee How@Wang Zi Hao are in their final year (degree).

Chua Chee Hao is working at CSIT.

Ivy Tan took ages to remember the classmate who used to sat next to her.

Shannon is in SMU.

Sheng Rong is working in IT line.

Albert is getting really fat. And so is the already big sized Zi Hao.

Jia Xian has moved to Bt Panjang from Yew Tee.

Serene is flying with JAL as a cabin crew.

Let's meet up some time.

Ministry of Morons 2/2

At the head office counters, there lies shamelessly stacks of 'feedback' cards. As from the writing, the cards are there supposedly to 'help improve the their service to us'. Apparently not. It appears to me that the cards are there to help the ministry churn out their own report card for customer service. For on the cards lies no evidence of their openness to feedback. They are only interested in people giving them positive feedback. 

"

I found that you were:

- Professional

- Knowledgeable

- Courteous

- Helpful

"

For the record, Tan Ah Moi gets 'None of the above' as far as I am concerned. 

There is no chance that potential user of the feedback card could choose 'unfriendly', 'atrocious', 'unhelpful', 'rude' and other detrimental remarks. And the counter staffs, according to my observation, only gets people, who they perceived were satisfied with their services, to fill up the feedback card. That is judgmental sampling for you. The researcher (in this case the counter staff) controls possible contaminants to the beautiful report card they would like to have.

I can only say one word - Shameless.

Ministry of Morons 1/2

I do not know how to break the news to Xiang.

I applied for his extension, failed.

I appealed for the failed application, failed.

I appealed for the failed appeal, failed.

The reason?

"We cannot tell you the reason." Says the ministry of useless nincompoops.

They are getting on my nerves with their service, or the lack of it.

1. The irritating automated call answerer who will go on and on even when people are already not interested.

2. Their apparent effort to hide the 'Speak with an officer' option.

3. The empty promises of 'We will call you back', or 'The officer will call you back', or 'We will call Mr Ang immediately.'

4. The less-than-helpful and 'fake' counter staff at the building itself.

5. Patrick Chow, Ms Lin, Tan Ah Moi, Shaun, Tiffany and others, the ultimate idiots.

Thank you all for NOTHING helped. You people have been the ultimate wastes of taxes.

Clash of the Tigers and Wolves

It's not as serious as I put it as in the title. It was a really fun morning watching the players entertain themselves and the audience which could not have been more than the fingers on one hand.

It was a cool morning with the sky threatening to let go of the rain. Nonetheless, it held off until the match ended, before the water came down. 

The tigers and wolves donned their beloved brown tees and white cdo tees in the match and it almost look like they were playing at Hendon field. Jensen had the honour of bagging the bizarre attire awards again for wearing singlet, shorts and running shoes for the game. Yeowee took home the best entertainer awards with his 'Dalsim' analogy of sliding tackle. Xian Ming won the MVT for being the most valuable 'traitor'. He very helpfully played for the tigers despite being from the wolves contingent.

The tigers won 2-1. But the result is really unimportant.

 Did I mentioned the field was yucky?

Another lapper

Bui's phonecall this morning woke me up from my beauty sleep which I suspect would have lasted till 10am. I have no plans for the day and decided that I should go for that weekly swim at Safra and then visit the 3 darlings and Nini the cat.

Apparently, other than Apple, the other two canines have not adapted to Avoderm's kibble. But I have no worries because they are not the spoilt dogs who throw tantrums, but rather, they cherish everything given to them. Nini the cat got a pack of wet fish today, but she still called out for her usual Sanabelle and NutriEdge kibble. And she got them.

A few days ago, JEast cat climbed onto my laps for a lazy cuddle. Well, I have nothing to lose. I love the rainy weather, but the cold temperature made them cold and they would cuddle up to any source of warmth.

Tomorrow is the long overdue company soccer game again. Let's see how it turns out.

Forth World Class

World class transportation system? A joke. 

World class government? More like a family business. 

Robust financial system? First to go into recession in the region.

Excellent place for tourism? Yes, as long as it doesn't involve the citizens. I only see an oversized ferris wheel that was built upon millions of dollars. 

The end result? So that we can say we have the biggest, at least before a bigger one comes out.

Ah Xiang's pass is going to expire in 2 days time and all I heard from MOM is, "The status shown is 'in process'. So, you should hear from us." I asked how soon, but was not given an answer. Ah Xiang asked me about the pass matter yesterday, I could not answer him because I, too, am looking for an answer from the world class ministry. I have made no less than 5 calls and none of which solves my problem, instead, each one make my life worse. First, they asked me to send in a mail, then they gave me a number to fax in the same thing, then, they gave me another number to fax in yet the same thing. So much for efficiency.

When we need to pay taxes or make 'donations', the 'system' will 'efficiently' vacuum away our money. But when we are in need of the 'system', they will be 'cautiously' slow in processing. How 'world class' can it get?

Animals are like human

They long for companionship, they want to be love and they enjoy simple things that human beings are, many a times, too stingy to bestow.

On the way home today, I saw this cat (still thinking of a name, still trying to establish its gender, temporary calling her avenue3) whom I had met on 2 other occasions. Avenue3 is an orange-brown cat whose meowing sound suggests that it needed some cough syrup. Nonetheless, avenue3 came up to me and greeted me with the usual body rubbing. I knew it was hungry, I quicken my steps to the petrol kiosk to get a pack of cat feed, and avenue 3 gobbled it up in a jiffy.

Later in the evening, I walked to the nearby foodcourt to buy my dinner, and I saw avenue3 again. It looked satisfied. When I returned from the foodcourt, avenue3 was still there. I walked over and it climbed onto my laps and laid there. I offered her about 15 minutes of my time to stroke its soft fur and chat with it. It was time well spent.

Rose! You 走狗!

A few days ago, Rose staged a prison break. It's not that I kept Rose in a prison, but Rose managed to break the carabina that connected to her leash. And she enjoyed 20 minutes of dangerous freedom while I was running in the rain like a madman looking for her. For the record, it's the second breakaway this work-year, the first one was Daisy. Daisy was not as troublesome as this Rose. In the case of Rose, I could not call out to her and run after her because that would only make her run away further and faster. Pavlov was a genius for coming up with the classical condition theory and I used just that to get Rose back to me.

A day after the prison break incident, I was on my way home from Boon Lay. Bus 172 was packed with foreign workers. At one point, there was an India Indian worker who had no idea whether he was on the right bus for his destination, and he, so, asked the driver, who was a PRC Chinese national.

Indian: "emmekeg?"

Chinese: "Huh?"

Indian: "emmekeg?"

Chinese: "Huh?"

The driver, being very cool given the situation turned to the passengers/audience and asked politely.

Chinese: "不好意思，有沒有人听得懂能幫我翻譯一下？"

Act-Smart Auntie: "Where do you want to go?"

Indian: "emmekeg?"

Act-Smart Uncle: "Oh.. MRT, which one?"

Indian: "no.. emmekeg."

At this point in time, the Thai worker who was sitting beside me responded.

Thai: "Oh! Amakeng!"

Alas, I was suddenly enlightened by the words from the Thai worker. I knew where he was heading. And I told him to take a seat, as it was still quite a long way before the stop. The driver was not too comfortable with what was going on and ask me whether the Indian worker had taken the wrong bus. I assured him that everything was okay. It seemed that the nobody except the Thai and me knew where exactly the Indian wanted to go. And the Act-Smart couple carried on questioning the Indian to find out where he wanted to go.

The Indian was thankful to me and I was thankful to the Thai. Well, I supposed some credits could go to the Act-Smart couple as they did attempt to render some help. The bus driver did a good job as well. Although he was not proficient in English in that situation, Act-Smart couple, although being fluent in English could not understand either. But the driver had the heart to ask around and bite on until he was sure that the lost was heading the right way.

So, did the Indian finally reached Ama Keng? I think he did.

... continued from my Vox Blog

last blogged: octavius.vox.com

I finally could not tolerate the nonsensical errors from Vox blog. I could not type, could not click, could not save, could not add pictures, in fact, I am a cripple at Vox. We are through.

I welcome myself, and you, to this new space.