fluent-truant

Fish Until You Die!

2008-10-29T02:33:00.001-07:00

Just got back from a week's long fishing trip from Kuching with my "Ah Kor" Brother In Law (Andrew). BTW Andrew is almost like my own brother cos we're kakis in more ways than one. Frequency : Microwave 90.5F(ishing) M(ad)

Yes, we both survived this crazy fishing trip (off Kuching-Sarawak, East Malysia) . We're out on this 5 nights 6 days, full stay onboard a 45 footer fishing boat. First 2 days were quite alright but as the discomfort and fatique start to set in the enthusiasm too started to wane. I was told, we were at some point, about 300km off Sungei Apong (our jetty departure spot) into the South China Sea. Sporadically we caught sight of Chinese fishing trawlers from afar. Its amazing that you can also spot sea birds, small as the minors in Singapore out in the open sea flying against the windy and sometimes rainy conditions. Amazingly, these small feathered species take breaks "sitting" on the water. We also had 5 playful dolphins for company, swimming criss-cross ahead of our boat hull for a couple of minutes during Wednesday evening. Got caught in a rainstorm on Thursday (23rd night) and was stranded facing waves up to almost 4m high??? feeling nausea, stuffy and poisoned by the diesel fumes from the boats engine....(caught between the devil and the deep blue sea) wah cow!....can die. There we were, 9 anglers and if I can also be considered an angler...hahaha. Those guys are true fishing keens.

Ah Kor (no surprise to me) landed the trip's biggest catch ( a 25+ - 30kg) "Chinaman" fish. Dont ask me why its named such. There were also a couple of some between 8-15 kg Groupers as well as Red Fish. The only set back is not being able to go for the Spanish Mackerel more known to us as "Tinggiris" (due to the Thursday night storm)Tinggiri fishing was supposed to be the highlight of the trip at least for Ah Kor and I cos we've never experience the much rumoured Tinggiri's frenzy in this part of the sea.

I heard this species here are anything from 5-12kg each and they are real delight to bait cos they fight and resist landing fircely. However as a small consolation, we did earlier in the day parked ourselves on a spot infested with a school of sharks (baby size like 1.5-2.5kg) Caught about 20 pieces in 20 -30 minutes. To the pros they are not interested reeling them in , but I dont really mind.Bad thing about this deep sea fishing is that we need heavy sinkers (up to 18 oz / 500gm??)

Ours will likely the last group out fishing in these waters as the monsoon has started. Boat captain and his 2 crews will be taking a 6 months break. But for these die hard fishing freaks, they are already planning their next trip in May 2009 albeit a shorter 4 days 3 nights under better weather condition I was told. - Thanks Alot for having me in mind but really No Thanks!! Nonetheless, I will be tracking them on their catches when they next leave shore for yet another "Fish Until You Die" Trip.

6.33p.m.

2008-10-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

Was driving home and the clock display on the dashboard show 6.33pm. Temp 28C. The feeling is a cool and calm evening. Noticed the sky is almost dark already and I suddenly recall we're into the first week of Oct and year end's around the corner. Nat's finishing her last 2 papers (Home Econs & History)tomorrow. Jacs into her last 10 days of her 7 week break. I should be feeling relieve cos exams period is over and we can take the foot off the pedal and let them both have some fun and outings together.

Its been a harrowing 2 weeks. The U S, and now, Europe economy had gone into a tailspin. They are now in a major recession, never before experienced. First Freddie and Fannie, than came Lehman and AIG and WaMu....what else can we not expect???? Though the US Senate vittoed the US$700b rescue plan, it was later rumoured that the money may not go very far in bailing out this disastrous economic mess they are in. Asia and the rest of the world are feeling the effect based on the stock market which I track. How could some wrong of this magnitude strike?? Only God Knows!

Guess we've to re-organise our plans, financing and priorities, business plans...etc... to ride through this grave period which they say will last several quarters. It'll be a long haul before we see some clear skies again. In trying financial situations like this, we're bracing our family unity, harmony, understanding and counting on it to weather through this storm. Dark and Long Storm. Its 10.47pm and the DOW is some 130pts down (DJIA 9318 pts) a far far cry form the 14,000pts about a year ago.

Logging Off now and retiiring for the night soon. - Cheers! Sleep Tight, dont let the bugs bite.

2008-09-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

Nat's starting her year end exams 2morrow. Crucial cos its streaming year. Whether she'll end up being a Rocket Scientist, Politician, or an F1 Road Marshall, this is it. I asked her last nite n she said she's not decided but she'll think over it very carefully. Good! Her exams will end about 2 weeks from now and it'll be relieve again for her...and us too. Good Luck Nat. Give it a Big Go!!
Jac, Jac's still relaxing. She's 41/2 weeks into her holidays and both Linda and her got into this Jigsaw Puzzle thinggy??? 500pcs initially and I think they are into bigger ones now. Boring Stuff. Jac n Nat r looking forward to their year end participation of "Promise", though Jac has'nt know for sure whether she's counted in. F1 is here this weekend and i feel that all the vibes and excitement are now been stiffled by the major U S economy setback as well as the melamine tainted milk saga in China. Well if you cant trust shelf milk anymore, go back to your mom. Lucky if you guys still have your mom around...hahaha

Talking about F1 - dunno who you guys are rooting for this weekend. For us : Jac's for Alonso, Nat's for Hamilton and I'm for Kimi. I have to ask Linda. Hope she wont me Gerrard?? Sorry, Just poking some fun....hahaha. How about Agnetha Faltskog??? Got to Go Peeps!!!

Long Time No Post

2008-09-02T01:08:00.000-07:00

Pai Say - Long time no blog. Cos I'm just plain lazy. Jacklyn reminded me that someone from her TPC mentioned that my blog's been dormant for awhile now. K, lets get started...first by clearing the cobwebs
This week's been eventful. Nat left us Friday night for a school trip to Brisbane for a week. She n her classmate Ming Ern, they've been paired to stay with one of the Aussie Family for a couple of days. She's required to attend class at the one of the Brisbane School.We called her the last couple of nights and she said she's doing fine. I'm starting to miss her already cos no one to argue with (Nat's a livewire in our household).

And Today...Today is our 19th Wedding Anniversary! - Dont believe that I'm still with Linda for this long? hear this...Linda and I started seeing each other for 8 years before we got married. So its like we've spent 27 years of our life together??? Hey Peeps out there, ppl who tought I would'nt stand the test, This One Woman Man have to dissapoint....hahaha. If I may relate a song for our being together, it had to be "Best Thing That Ever Happened" by Gladys Knight & The Pips.

Jacklyn's started her 7 weeks term break. You know these Poly education..quite switch off. She just completed her first week of break and already feeling bored without Nat's taunting and arguing. Linda suggest her to go work for a friend's boss (paid by hour n flexible time) at his luxury home doing scanning of his huge collection of photos. Jack refused. No work no $$$ and no $$$ means no shopping. Wonder whether she knows that the world's going thru a recession and we have to be a little watchful with our $$$.

I have to mention this report in yesterday's papers about a local family who receive a real nasty shock when they were shown a $700K medical bill for their 76 year old mom's heart treatment. Despite spending all the $$$ the mom died not too long after that- Hey peeps when I am 70+ and down with a chronic or terminal medical condition, remember not to burn that kind of $$$. Cos I may be cured for only a few years and even then, at 70+, we're only like half pace, how much can we really enjoy ourselves. On the other hand those who foot the bill will have all the ah long coming after them. Ah long breathing down your neck i think is worse than suffering from medical deficiency.

Back Home Again

2007-12-16T23:48:00.002-08:00

Landed 10pm on Sunday, caught a cab pick J & N from Riverina Cresc. Got this cab driver trying to "entertain" us with his own riddles, kiddy stuff though. Guess he's just being nice, but we're all a too little tired to be amuse. Starting to miss the kids already, their hugs and presence, their noise and their whatever.

Been a good trip and visited The Peak, Lei Yue Moon (Seafood), Macau - The Venetian (Opulent!), Discovery Bay, Shenzen. Golfing...eat, shop, walk, get tired, sleep...more or less the same routine in Hong Kong.

Year end and things are tailing down, quiet in office on Monday. Most went on leave or holidaying still.

Dan Fogelberg passed away yesterday at age of 56, died of prostrate cancer. Love his music, His better tracks - Leader Of The Band, Longer, Same Auld Lang Syne, Hard To Say. As Christmas approaches, we'll probably reflect his "Same Auld Lang Syne" lyrics which is written about his meeting an old flame at a grocery store on x'mas eve. Wonderful song and wonderful lyrics. RIP Dan, Bet you be happy to know that I've got your Leader Of The Band lyrics (chorus part) on my Dad's Epitaph.

Monday Blues

2007-12-09T23:32:00.000-08:00

Last night, we had dinner with Andrew's family. Went to (where else) but Akira. Need to catch John as he's getting enlisted this Thursday and we're leaving tomorrow. John LOVES Sashimi (Salmon) and he can eat like 8 servings (each about 10 slices???). John's body must be full of Omega nutrient, hahaha....Amazing how time flies. We dont seem to have catch much of John lately. Hard to imagine he's been drafted in so soon. Seemed like not too long this Hai Sing schoolboy was deligently going for his regular saturday sailing at the changi sailing club with his good friend Graham and coming home all tanned and hungry. He's now going in to get toughened up again. Good Luck John!! - Take good care of yourself and make full use of the physical training the N.S. offers. You be amazed with the transformation when you are through with your 3 months BMT.

This morning - 6.10am my alarm went off. Need to get Nat ready. She need to be at Bishan MRT station to meet her Badminton team mates cos they're making their way to Tampines sports hall for some Berita Harian Invitation touenament. Nat trains with her school team and it is compulsory that they take part in at least one external tournament during school break to, This will help in her CCA points. last saturday after her church camp, Nat kept pestering me to have a badminton game with her, hoping that it will sharpened her game?? (hey nat, playing 1-2 games wont make much difference la). last night i can tell she's getting jittery. "silence of the lambs" re-visited...hahaha. she said to us that she's hoping her draw does'nt show up and she'll be given a walk over. what sporstmanship is this? - The school's nowadays are really kiasu - make the kids run all over the shop to train here, play there, how do you expect the parents to accomodate and keep track of their children man? - very disruptive

after dropping nat, came back home to get jac ready for her 1st day of work at LSL. getting Jac out of bed in the morning is quite a chore as she's always complaning. jac needs time to warm up. she's supposed to be there by 8.00am and still in bed at 7.25. how la? no need brush teeth, freshen up, tie hair, get change...too bad la, no time for breakfast. Managed to reach Andrew's office at 8.10. Jac got a shock of her life cos there were alot of Bangla Deshi workers hanging around and i teased that Gopalans are a plenty here....hahaha. am thankful to andrew and lilian for giving her an opportunity, anyway she's getting paid like $5/hr. handy pocket money for coming christmas. jac's gonna be our santa rina this coming christmas, she's gonna buy us presents....

Jolene and Amanda posted comments on my earlier blogs (horse with no legs). Jolene said she empathises For 12 years since Linda bought me the horse, it must be frustrating that it's now broken, she asked that i get over the matter. - Amanda said she did'nt know i like horses. She just posted again and said she prefers "1973" in that James Blunt CD that I just bought - she loves catchy tunes. - she must love dancing, i guessed.

BTW, Dont think i'll post for the next few days as we're going away with the SIM's / TEO's and later the LOW's will join us. - Hey kids, be good! take care.

Jac & Nat - Back Home

2007-12-08T06:41:00.000-08:00

Church Camp's over. Fetch J & N from Kuo Chuan and on the ride home they shared some of their experience. Both felt the last year's camp was better. Perhaps they're not quite use to mingling with other churches. Its now 10 to midnight and they are both still asleep (since like about 5pm). Looked like they'll sleep thru. The marathon sessions last couple of nights must have now taken its toll. Well we bought some pastries from Breadtalk just in case they get up middle of the night feeling hungry. Lilian offered Jac to work at Andrew's office this coming Monday helping out mainly with filing and answering calls - Hope she copes well. I am still having this naggling discomfort around my hips, and the bruises now start to surface - praying that it'll clear up by the time we leave this Tuesday.

Went dinner with Linda at Newton hawker centre, just noticed there were so many similar seafood stalls (easily 20) selling king prawns, crabs, lobsters, targetting tourist type of business. Linda had Fish Congee and I had "Yew Mee Tar" we both have a popiah each. This popiah guy (one-man-operation) must be rich, his popiah is priced at $1.80 (self-service) and his buisness is like whoa....i stood in the queue like for 12-15 minutes and during this time he must have sold some 20 -25 popiahs.

Back home and since the kids are still asleep, I'm having more time with the newly acquired James Blunt (All The Lost Soul) CD. Better than I thought. My favourite? - track 4 "same mistake". - gotta go listen to it again....

America - Here We Come!

2007-12-06T18:24:00.000-08:00

since the kids are still at church camp, we might as well take advantage of this privy to immerse ourselves in some entertainment. just went on-line (sistic) to book up 2 tickets for tonight's America "Here and Now" concert. Think this concert is more to promote this latest release which I felt is quite nice. Like their previous concerts, I am sure they will also play their oldies. (sandman, ventura highway, daisy jane, i neeed you....and quite sure Horse With No Name will be performed too.....col...

Last night, Linda went to J8 (G.V.) hoping to catch Heartbreak Kid, stupid la, this show is screen at other G.V theatre. so we proceed to Plaza Singapore, caught the 9.45pm slot, worth the trouble, this adult comedy is quite hilarious.

Jac message Linda during the show around 11pm and that they've finished the day's activities, i believe they are going back to their respective classrooms to rest. - Hope they are all having a great time, cos we are.....

Everyone's Gone To The Moon -Church Camp

2007-12-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

Jac & Nat went for their church camp @ Kuo Chuan Pres. Sch located at Bishan, stone throw from Nick's & Manda's home. Yesterday I took a day off to nurse my butt. Dr Sim is a miracle healer, the jab and medicine he prescribed worked wonders. I'm like 85% back to normal. Our trip to Hkg next week is no longer in jeopardy...relief!

Funny that without the kids, its kinda quiet at home. I rested the whole day cos the musle relaxant cos drowsiness.

Work up around 4.30pm, and manage to catch "Body Guard" Kevin Costner / Whitney Houston on HBO. Sad to think what this Queen Of Soul is up to nowadays, heard she's just divorced, literally broke, hooked on drugs, alcohol and all messed up. Why did she marry Bobby Brown? All these fame and glory (without control) and manipulation by the managers, fair weather friends and press must have finally taken its toll on her. To think that she had almost everyone singing "The Greatest Love Of All", the big big hit in the early 80's - wonder whether she has anymore love and respect left for herself. Ironically, in the movie Body Guard, the track "I have nothing" is the main featured track......??? - Deja Vu???

Rocketball Found

2007-12-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

Good News! Nat work up this morning and discovered that the rocketball is in her bag. That's Nat for you. I woke up with a lots of pain this morning, around my left hips and butt. After dropping Jac n Nat off at Kuo Chuan for their church camp, Linda took me to Dr Sim. Linda is so important to me cos i'm almost like semi handicapped now. she's holding me ransom and make me say out loud things like "Linda's the best", "queen linda", "linda the most beautiful" before she offer her help to me. what to do, just tolerate for now lor. Dr Sim gave me a painkiller jab and it worked miracle. soon after i reached home, the pain subsided quite significantly. i'm racing to recover before our hong kong trip next week. i forgot to mention that i was'nt the only one that came out scarred during yesterday's soccer game. Terry got a complimentary char siew pao on his shin (courtesy of nick), and nick?, he discovered he's got blistered toes during dinner (like 1 hour after the game?) hey nick how come you got slo-mo nerves, hahaha....I'm going to get some rest now - hey those peeps who are at Kuo Chuan now, enjoy yourself and take care......see u soon

Ouch.....Soccer

2007-12-04T06:53:00.001-08:00

The long overdue soccer game went underway this noon 5pm at turf city.
Jeremy, Nicholas, Benjamin and myself were on one team / Terry, Chester, Joel and Eugene the other. Also present were the sporting poms poms - Jacklyn, Jolene, Chelsea, Natalie, Amanda, Sharmaine and some super mom (Lilian, Linda and Janice). The pom pom girls Jac, Jol, Chel, Nat and Manda were really noisy bunch. They were sitting underneath the tentage singing songs, oh man, you should hear them they really can sing, I mean loud. If you ask me voice wise? ya la, they are okay also not bad, can audition for church choir...lol

Later on Andrew and Leonard came to join us. Jedidiah also join in later. One thing i dont understand, Why was Joshua there? - He didnt play and cited bad stomach being the reason??? Hope he's feeling better now - Anyway, my team lost big time. By half time, we were like 1-7 down with Nick scoring our only goal. Just when I leave my goal post to try and stop the slide, Joel came in with a follow through tackle and floored me -honestly its quite painful and I'm still nursing a limp & my hips and butt hurts ... col....) Also I bought a rocketball from J8 last night (cost us $15) for the girls to play but nat who's in charge, forgot to bring it back. We're going back to the pitch to look for it tomorrow morning. hope its still there. Amanda said that i should write about the lost rocketball. She read my blog and she likes it. Aman, hope you enjoy reading this posting too, lol.... - Anyway, the game ended at 7pm and we (except Terry, Chelsea and Chester) proceeded for dinner at "Ah Yat". Can tell that the boys esp. Jeremy, they were really hungry. Beside my hurting hips and butt, it was indeed an enjoyable day for all present. - I asked the boys and they are looking forward to the next game. This time I want Joel on my side...hahaha. Cheers! & Thanks to Jeremy for co-ordinating the game. Hip Hip Hurray...............ouch my butt hurts.............

Horse With No Legs

2007-11-30T02:33:00.000-08:00

Bad Day - Got a part time Fillipino house help who came for the 1st time this morning last Friday. Guess what? - she broke my crystal horse (actually not crystal) Linda bought this for me during one of her earlier trips to Shanghai some 12-13 years back. I titled it "Horse Wih No Name" (a track from one of my favourite group "America", a track that I liked very much, cos we performed it in one of the competitions we took part in our younger days...chay bah bragging now though we did not win). I like horses cos they are fast, strong and non carnivourous. Linda knew I liked this horse very much and called me to tell me about the bad news just about lunch time. Jac's got the cheek to joke about it and she also rang me to tell me that it is now "A Horse WIth No Legs"??? - Very insulting you know. Jac & Jo went outing with church mates, dunno where and with who but can tell she's in good spirit and looking forward to having fun. - I'll have to go look for another horse now and make sure sure sure that no one gets near it, ever! . .....after three days in the desert fun i was looking at the river bend and the story it told of a river that flowed make me sad to think it was dead, you see I've been to the desert on a horse with no name it felt good to be out of the rain in the desert you cant remember your name cos there aint no one for to give you no pain, lalalalala.....A Horse With No Name will be here soon, yes America is performing at Suntec on Dec 7th not sure whether i'm going cos i've seen them twice here, once a gig at HRC and the last at the same suntec venue in 2002 i think. Here & Now their latest album is quite good actually I like "This Time"sang by Dewey Bunnell. Dewey have got this mystic voice that potrays a certain calm, relax and peaceful resonance. By the way he also sang Horse With No Name which I understood was a major hit back in the 70's ....ride on....

Back To The Drawing Board

2007-11-29T01:12:00.001-08:00

exams are over for Jac & Nat and i have now luxury of time to catch up with some of my own stuff. going to start my golf lessons with poh eng chong tomorrow noon at green fairways. its kinda embarrasing that since i first pick up the game in 1989, i still have not played a proper game, never shot below 100, only once i came back with 100 at OCC. must be some kind of record i've set. i chose eng chong cos he charges $45 while the other md salleh pros charges like $70, (wa lau ang mor big size ah?) support our local pros man! i heard the ang moh coach video tape your swing while eng chong does not. so he's like charging me $35 to catch me on video?? crap isn't it? since my absence from the game, (the last time i played must be almost a year back), and with the help from the pro, hope that i'll be able to finally pick up the right swing and play some decent golf after these lessons. i always blame my badminton wrist work for all the slice and draw balls...just excuses. T P my golf kaki swore that my aiming is always "way off" and its funny maybe optical illusion that when you are addressing at the Tee box, you tend to compensate for the draw effect and "aim off" - which is precisely the wrong thing to do. - wish me luck

Jac's 1st Dance Class

2007-11-28T19:17:00.001-08:00

Last nite Jac went for her 1st GRww Power lesson. Was running late as we reached Millenia almost 20 past seven and her lessons starts at 8.00pm. Had dinner at TCC and Jac went for half a sandwich. Linda and Nat order Slamon and Prawn Linguine (NOT RECOMMENDED!) I had Olio Aglio (little spicy Pasta with fresh scallop & prawns - WORTH TRYING). Bump into Terry and Chelsea (SURPRISE!) who was there waiting for Angie to knock off from her work and Chelsea had some stuff to check with Star Hub, probably her mobile phone plan or Uncle Terry is subscribing to the new HD Box for his weekend Live Soccer Game. Talking about soccer game broadcasted in H D, I caught last weekends's game and I must say I'm impressed with the clarity. Anyway Jac went for her lessons and we proceed to Starbucks for coffee and desserts. The Christmas flavour Latte is WONDERFUL. Cookies & Cream Cheese Cake which we shared is also worth worth trying. Jac returned from her lesson and she said there were quite a lot of older students in her class (hey peeps who's too old to dance?). Jac said she preferred dancing without shoes (what? U think Indian Dance ? hello we signed you up for Grww Power lah not Shamala Karma head swaying hiding behind coconut trees movie danicing...hahahha...). After we reached home and settled down, Jac also brought up about some of these ("Ah Huey" looked like) in her dance class. Maybe their look is a little too garang for Jac's liking. (hey Jac, thats the way the world is, and in dancing, it does not matter whether Ah Huey, Ah Beng, Faitmah or Lolita or even Gopalan) you got vibes, you got rythym and moves, you dance...no barriers no discrimination.....

Nat's going to Siloso Beach

2007-11-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

Nat called me at my office and amongst many things i have to attend to, she asked for allowance as she's visiting Siloso Beach with her badminto team mates. She asked for $25. I'm gonna be broke at the rate shes burning my$$$. She said that she's got salary from helping me write my purchase orders. she's charging (more like ransom) me $1 for each p.o. she writes (take like a minute). - things getting out of hand here

Marathon Man - My Saigon Buddy "Anandh"

2007-11-28T01:21:00.001-08:00

Yo bro- you're the man! - saw Anandh's interview for this Sunday's Marathon. He finished his 42km last year & he's doing it again. Club 40's proud of you Man!! Way To GO!!! - Rocketman

Flood @ Cuscaden Rd

2007-11-28T01:13:00.001-08:00

derrick jus got back to the office and said there is a massive traffic jam at Cuscaden Road (where the soon be completed St Regis Condo / Hotel & HRC's located) - probably caused by the sudden downpour about an hour-and the half ago. Tot our drainage systems here are all very well designed and able to withstand even high water level rise generated by melting ice from the north or south poles.....hahahaha

Nat's Badminton Training

2007-11-28T00:38:00.000-08:00

Wat Da? - Nat's got Badminton training this noon, her 2nd with this new coach. Why do they need to train at Yishun? Does'nt the school have their own hall? She's meeting her team mates at Toa Payogh Central to catch lunch and then make their way there together. I'm gonna call up the school to request for her training at her school instead of travelling all over Singapore. If not, I'll ask for a switch of CCA for her. Choir for Nat...what do you think?

Jac's First Dance Lesson

2007-11-27T22:05:00.000-08:00

Ha! 2 day's the day Jac's going for her Grww Power dance classs at Jitterbugs @ Millenia. Know that she loved dancing sooooo much tats why Linda and I encourage and sign her up. She's thru wif her O levels, so let her dance...