A bottomless pit to fill.

Suprisingly, I do not seem to hear alot of discussion about the recent slide of the Greenback. Everyone seems to take it rather easily - resembling, perhaps, the ease at which it slid to it's current state. Of course, who am I to judge on whether or not this decline is of any significance in the global financial market. Too young, too misinformed.

Countless scenarios - some with a strong dose of pessimism - of a weaked dollar predict how the world might react to the dollar's lost status in the forex market. The complex interactions between economics, politics, and an ever-suprising element of luck/misfortune bring about a financial world that often over-reacts; like a pendulum, markets swing back and forth in a seamingly consistant pattern, hoping to find the mid-point that reflects the true value we see in these markets.

Perhaps the loss of trading power of the Greenback would do the world some good. It's high time the world stopped building it's wealth upon a currency that holds no true value. Not one that allows for unprincipled and uninhibited reproduction at least. Not one that owes it's existence to the blindfolds governments around the world use to cut themselves off from the truth just so their products are sold in foreign lands, even with the awareness of where suchs funds come from.

"And if 2007 worsens as much as 2006 did our deficit will top $1trln per year in 2007. How much is one trillion? Well suppose you were to try to ‘sing the deficit down to zero’ and did so singing the tune ‘100 bottles of beer on the wall’, using the lyric ‘1trln dollars of deficit today,1trln dollars today, take one down what have you got? 999,999,999,999 dollars of deficit today’. Now assume you can sing that in 10 seconds –each verse. That’s 10 trillion seconds of singing. It would take you more than 300 years to get the current account into balance. If George Washington had started singing that song, and were he blessed with extraordinary long life, he would still being singing today...and going strong with his work still cut out for him." -- http://www.haver.com

I must apologise if today's post seems a little incoherent. There is just too many ideas flashing through my mind, but none of which I dare put to words for my lack in understanding of the financial markets. Perhaps I might be wrong over this entire issue. But if that were the case, I'd gladly be proven wrong.

Dinner@Geylang

The gang went out again yesterday night for dinner along Geylang. We headed off to somewhere near Lorong 19 for the Claypot rice first. I'm not a huge fan of claypot rice, but I quite enjoyed the one we had, except for the seafood tofu (which I did not like at all) that cost us a bomb. We then headed towards Lorong 17 for Dim Sum, which I found to be just decent. Cheap, but nothing fantastic. Just a decent place it sit down and snack while chatting. I told them my idea of the food-blog, and I guess we might need some time to work that out.

Here's the best of the night:

Marcus: Let's go midnight fishing.
Ben: Huh? Still got fish meh?

Blasted! Where'd they go!

Alright Ben! High-Five!

KevJumba

This is totally hilarious. Go watch all his videos.


Too bad you can't find such people in Singapore. None's nearly half as entertaining as this. Isn't he adorable! Okay, I didn't just say that.

Troubled, coupled with a faulty faucet of a nose.

I have not been reading alot lately; still stuck on the same book. Probably because I have been really tired and I never really got in the mood it sit down with my book to read. Not that the book is boring or anything.

I have yet to settle alot of administrative stuff regarding my not-so-far-away university studies, not to mention getting myself mentally prepared. All I have done so far is ignore all those thoughts. And it's a matter of time before they start to resurface again, not only in my mind, but possibly reflected in my actions once more. What a torture.

I hope I can mean it one day when I say it. I hate lying, especially to myself.

And I need another pack of Panadol Cold. *Sniff*

Struggling.

I have been struggling. With reason, with myself, with alot more. And everything's in such a mess that I cannot seem to think straight. So blur, so distorted.

I need a one-week break from life.

Waking up.

I want to wake up. To a day where I do not have to worry if I'm late for work. To a day where work does not cross my mind the first thing in the morning. To a day I can feel totally satisfied with the amount of sleep I had. To freedom.

I want to wake up. To a day where I do not have to worry. To a day where troubles do not cross my mind. To a day I feel satisfied. Where to?

Blogging.

Sometimes I ask myself what I blog for. And I usually end up with the same answer - simply to pen down my thoughts somewhere. Having someone to read and understand what I am thinking, that's simple a bonus. And having regular readers, that's a bonus too. I guess it's pretty nice to be able to look back one day at all my past thoughts. My experiences and everything, be it happy or sad. And this is the only place where my laughter and tears are kept, always fresh and real, even years later.

Perhaps the satisfaction I derive from blogging is not something I can put a finger to. I guess it's just alot of different factors that make me enjoy blogging.

Chocolate Buffet @ Fullerton Hotel Singapore

Choco Choco!

After talking about the chocolate buffet, Jovan, Lionel and I got down to Fullerton Hotel on Friday night at about 830pm to satisfy our chocolate cravings. Unfortunately, the camera was giving me alot of problems. I eventually gave up taking photos that night. What a waste, but anyways, I managed to salvage a couple of photos. I think I should go get a camera for myself.

The red coloured thing is actually grape soup. One of the better tasting ones of the entire buffet. Not too sweet. And there's the Crème Brûlée (chocolate and vanilla flavoured) to the right. The little glass cup's some sort of a chocolate shooter. So-so, nothing fantastic.

There's quite a limited variety to the chocolate they serve at the buffet, but it was definitely more than enough for us to satisfy us curiosity. Mostly cakes and stuff. I loved the bread pudding, the grape soup, the melted-on-the-spot chocolate drink, the chocolate shortbread, everything!

Oh wait, the chocolate fondue too! Large fountain with bowls of strawberries, melons, marshmellows, and alot of nice crunchy biscuits. Free flow.

But I got to admit, $30++ is a little pricey considering you need to grab a bite before heading down for the buffet. Also, you won't end up eating alot of chocolate because those they serve is simply so rich that you'll feel sick eating too much of it. But the it's worth the experience and everything else. Nice ambience.


That's all. There's still a chance I'd go back again. Anyone for chocolate?

Blind me with colours of the mind.

The beauty of the human mind lies in it's incompetencies - the inability of human logic to assume control over emotions. Incompetent only because we percieve logic to be the only absolute truth, and that emotion is nothing more than a deception that does no good in the perspective of human reasoning. But it is emotions that brings colour to the canvas of life.

Would life be better withouut colours? Perhaps less blinding and confusing. But blatantly boring.

Gagged into silence.

If you compared the elephants in Africa to those found in Thailand and made conclusions about them, would that be a form of discrimination? Would listing out distinct differences between two groups of animals of the same species be a form of discrimination? No, because you rationalize and give reasons for differences - the survival needs of animals in different environments vary accordingly.

Why then does comparing different groups of humans seem as a form of discrimination? Are we being overly sensitive in the issues of race? Is it because we are too shameful to admit that all of us are competitive by nature and because of that we tend to make comparisons? We compare physical differences, we compare intelligence, we compare everything - knowingly or not, intentionally or not. And when someone makes a statement proposing that a certain of group of people may evolve to have more powerful brains, we accuse the person of being racist. Note that perhaps if the person had concluded instead that the majority seems to have evolved slower, we might not have such a huge reaction towards his propositions. Discrimination only applies against the minority? How absurd. So what do they call it when it applies to the majority. Acceptance? Enlightenment?

Sometimes, the quest for equality and political correctness ends up gagging us into a falsified silence - one that exists only because of the fear of a backfire or a loss of reputation. I think that it is high time we all realised that we cannot repress the inherent propensity to compare our own traits against that of others. Afterall, we just want to know where we stand in the world and whether or not we would survive. We shound learn to identify what we are questioning - the intention of the research or the research findings. It is alright to question in a scientific manner if the reports or findings are accurate, but we should not let our emotions get in the way and jump into conclusions that such reports only serve to fuel discrimination. Afterall, what if the reports were indeed true? Maybe some groups of people do indeed need to use their brains more. Don't expect a person living in the mountains to have the same need for mental capacity as one who makes a living as a stock broker.

William Tell Overture - Mum's Ed.

For all of you out there.



They should broadcast this on Mothers' Day.

Prelude No. 2 in C Minor / Prelude No. 3 in C# Minor - J.S. Bach

Please watch these.

Prelude No.2 in C Minor


Prelude No.3 in C# Major


I should just smash my guitar and quit learning.

Finally.

I cannot wait. After months and months of waiting and craving, I can finally satisfy my tastebuds. And I'm bringing my (sister's) camera along. The taste, the texture, the everything.

I shall return with my camera soon. That is if I don't end up stuck there.

Ciao.

Obscure revisited.

As I stare, once again, that those numbers. They bear no meaning. Not to the naked eye nor to me. What crafting is there to speak of when one does it without a purpose? Bullshit they say. And I concur. That with no purpose, nothing matters - same for life?

Those numbers. A puzzle? For me now I suppose. To find what should lie on the other side of the equal sign. For it never did exist. Not in the fullest form at least.

And obscure it shall remain. Like my vision. Darkness ahead - not bleak, just dark.

I realise that I blog alot easier when I let my mind flow. Where my thoughts are penned down as soon as they surface in my mind - even if I constructed them as such to be vague. And it's best after a shot of vodka in a semi-awake and almost unconscious mood. Let it all out. Save the emotions.

Goodnight world.

Be Right Back

I will be back. In awhile.

Standing against reason.

The ability to reason is perhaps God's greatest gift to mankind. A steel blade, unrivalled, that slices apart everything deceitful to us, unless the source of misguidance lies in us, or something more compelling stands in it's way.

We have an irrepressible propensity to rationalize; an innate and subliminal thought process. We call it 'finding reasons'. It is a simple cause-effect function instilled in us. Nothing wrong, perfectly fine and constructive at that.

Problem arises when we try to rationalize the irrational. You try to rationalize love. You try so damn hard to give yourself reasons why you love someone, or why you like someone. And you live your love life as if you are bound by some doctrine handed down by your ancestors. How dogmatic. And how idiotic. Finding a reason to love or not love someone, I call that 'finding excuses'.

Some things are meant to be. Irrational. Not within the domains of your cause-effect function. You might still find an answer when you attempt working it out. Irrational answers. Because you know that deep inside, past your sphere of human reasoning, you think and feel differently; that thing inside is immune to the onslaught of human reason. Because you are living it. Compelling, tougher than your reasons. And you become it.

Unless you give up. On yourself.

Some term it as 'waking up'. I can't find a word for it. I was never asleep.

Out of my wits.

Through the frame - an opening shared willingly - to the mind. I thank you. The ears and eyes open but mine shut. Closed gently, tranquil. And it swelled, into wetness, as I lived the seconds. Not living, but perhaps sympathy - an understanding. At least, what I thought as first. And when I stepped back into my bed with eyes open, I saw. Something inside that stirred.

I'm afraid.

It might not have been sympathy.

I'm really damn scared. Out of my wits. And I lay there, blank. Staring back into my closed eyes, wondering what hit me. Whatever it is, it hit hard. My guts out. And back to the Economic Hit Man till I fell asleep. And the split second before I did, my mind played a nasty trick. E.

Book: Sophie's World

Title: Sophie's World
Author: Jostein Gaarder

"He who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth." -- Goethe

With about three thousand years of thoughts and ideas crammed into a small 400-odd-paged book, Sophie's World is a definite 'Must-Read'. Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian novelist and philosophy teacher, has carefully crafted out an entire world of his own in this book. A story within a story, with much of his own thoughts and ideas left all over the book alongside those of great minds of the past. Gaarder carefully balances fact and fiction, cautious not to make the book seem too dry for readers, yet preserving all details that can satisfy the philosophical cravings of some.

The book brings you through time, into the minds of the Greeks, through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque periods, into Romanticism, and plenty more to come. Great insight into the thoughts of Descartes, Locke, Kant, Marx, Darwin and many many more. A great philosophical course embedded in the story of a little girl growing up in her world, with a rather warming ending. Overall, a surely superb book, only that you might need some time and energy to go through it. Not for those who are sated with living from hand to mouth.

Teach yourself.

I don't teach. I don't educate. I don't. I don't do any of those - not my intentions nor within my capabilities.

I want you to teach. I want you to educate. I want you to think. For yourself, by yourself.

And if that is what you seek, good for you. Remember, you cannot get an answer to a question you don't ask.

Noise contained.

As I sit, quiet. In silence. And I speak, incessantly. Within.

The silence only serves to amplify my words from within. Resonating and reverberating relentlessly, tearing apart everything but my flesh. Only thoughts killing each other, building upon the death of the previous, towards an unknown mess that I cannot comprehend - expected of the imperfect human mind; a tinge of nihilism coursing through.

I crave for silence. I yell at myself to shut up. How ironic. Lead me out into quietness.

Hush.

Living within myself, drowned in Burgundy.

I had two years of contentment with you. Until now. I'm getting sick.
Pass me my wine. And make my day.
Soon.

Thank you.

Groupie workout and mahjong.

As expected, everything started late. We went to the gym at like 2 plus. Supposed to meet at 1. Worked out a little then went for a soak in the pool. I still believe it's a pond. It's hardly deep enough. Anyways, not bad. Can consider exploiting the gym and pool a little more frequently.

Mahjong got postponed, and we ended up playing at my place instead, while watching soccer. And everyone just left awhile ago. It's been quite awhile since we had a mahjong game together. And yes, at least the rest of them got to see my house.

Outing again next week I hope. This is getting fun. Heck camp tomorrow.

Oh wait. Let me whine again. 2 贡，砰砰胡，清一色，3 花. And I was one 花 away from eternal euphoria. It just slips away all the time. Curses.

Good night!

Dinner@Harry's

Horrible experience. Food was hardly nice, considering the price, and service was plain horrible. I mean, why would you want to switch all your television channels to the same channel and deny others the chance to watch soccer just because one bunch of rowdy Aussies want to watch rugby. No offense to rugby lovers, but I believe the staff at Harry's could at least leave one channel on for us. We went there to eat and watch the game over drinks.

We ended up leaving for Glutton Square for a quick bite. We had to make it a quick one because it started to rain. And off we went in search of a new place to hang out, and we ended up at Gelare at CityLink Mall.

The Banana Chocolate Frappe was disappointing. About the worst ice-blended drink I have ever tasted in my life (not to mention, the weird Bubble-tea store I once patronised long ago when each cup still cost $3.) Anyways, hung out with the group for quite awhile at Gelare.

Never really expected to have such discussions with the few of them. It's really nice to be able to find something we can all talk about and debate about. I guess that's just philosophy. It's something that links everyone together - no matter who you are and whether or not you have a great interest in it - unlike topics like politics or music. We did have a short discussion on music though.

And I cannot wait for exercise at Ben's tomorrow, and Mahjong at Gabriel's. It's been a really long time.

Off to bed now.

100th

With this, the milestone of a first hundred.

I've recieved much comments from readers of my blog, and I would like to thank you all for all your feedback and comments. Thank you for dropping by once in awhile to see what's going on. I always find it nice to take a break from your own life to see what's happening in another.

Anyways, I have just completed some personality test. Rather interesting and detailed, but I have not have the time to read up on the results to see if they are accurate. But scanning through the results, they seem quite coherent. So, here you go. Oh yes, I forgot. There is a moouse-over function that gives a detailed breakdown. Go try.

Cat in a bin.

Found this little clip white surfing other blogs. Cute.



But I'll never want my own pet. Can't afford to lose it I guess.

Dry.

I realised I need to quickly blog about something now because Google's Adsense is putting up weird advertisments on my blog. It seems like they have noticed my post on Chuck and Larry.

Unfortunately, I do not have anything in mind to blog about. So I shall return tomorrow.

For the lips.

If only they weren't meant for the ground but for my lips.
Slick. Sick. Sweet.