So, You want to learn japanese?

I got this from one of my friends at kawaiination ..... I thought it was hillarious! I couldn't stop laughing..... hahaha!


Go Here

It shouldn't be taken seriously, but it was reality to some (maybe more) westerners. Fortunately, Japanese is easy to pick up for (literate) chinese and eastern people, because there are some similiraties in the grammer, culture and stuff......

OK, excuse me while I read it the second time to have a good hearty laugh again. ^_^

Family Karaoke

I've always wanted to do many things with my family. You know, have a family activity or something. My parents came over to visit last Saturday, (after a long persuasion), and I've managed to go for a karaoke session together! It was a lotta fun.... I wish Cindy (my baby sister) was here.

It was something we have been talking about for years but we never got around making it happen, yet here we are last rainy Saturday afternoon, and we sang "Song Sung Blue" together.....woohoo~~~! :D

Our family was a oldie-junkie. We'd listen anything from Frank Sinatra, Marie-Ann & Tom Jones ....all the way to Carpenters, Bee Gees & Olivia Newton John. My favourite has been the 70's music. The funny thing? After years of assuming that Papa has a great hidden singing talent..... I finally get to hear him sing a full song..... and he sucks :). Hey, I've heard him singing hymms in church, and I thought he's got a Engelbert Humperdink type of low-key voice. But, come to think of it, it's been years since I've heard him sing at all.

It's one of those times, that I come to realise something...... Papa's getting old. Mama, on the other hand, took singing lessons before.... so no problem for her. Even though her age now adds a little coarseness to her voice. But it's absolutely great, to be able to do something together at least. Now I'm not gonna go about talking about how off-key and off-timing the singing was, the important thing about enjoying karaoke is --> Enjoy yourselves! And that's what we've been doing. Karaoke is about building a castle of happiness.... on top of someone else' moat of suffering. (The chinese would know what I meant there.) We've been singing and singing for 4 hours, all oldies..... well, added two modern songs to stay level headed, and I get to sing "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelbert to Papa. Man, it was great.

I would love to do it all again.... maybe the next time when I get back to hometown, I will..... yes that would indeed be nice. Let's not make last Saturday a "once in a lifetime" moment.

busy busy busy....

Over a month. It's been that long since i last updated my blog. Not that I have nothing exciting happening with my life this past month. It's just that I've been busy and i haven't the time to write anything down. My gang at kawaiination (formerly known as jsgirls and nippongirls) are slowly getting too active for me to catch up. Even the newbies are getting smarter. But then again, I'm seeing good things with kawaiination, cos there have been times where a topic more than a day old getting pushed to the next page.... just like forum.japantoday.com (where I have been dormant). Quite an achievement, I must say.

I'll recap what has happened in a moment. I'm breaking the laws of work ethics right now, typing me blog while at work...... (even though most of us do it anyway :) )

Google DOWN!

This is may just be the once-in-a -ifetime incident for Google.... my boss and I were laughing our heads off looking at the screen..... ^_^

Time of incident :
2nd September 2004
3:29PM EST

*Click to Enlarge*

Heart of the Matter

Have you chosen any theme song that you'd listen to when you broke up with your man/woman? Everyone has. Somehow most people would have a song or two that they can relate to.... that tells of the story of their love relationship. A song that acts as a reminder, or a nostalgic attachment. I chose Heart of the Matter by Don Henley. I've always loved this song for a long time, and it came to my head the moment she said those words.

Before i met her, it's bad enough that this song would bring tears in my eyes everytime I listen to it.... now it gets worse. The intro and the outro guitar riffs put a *thump* straight into my chest and my eyes will well up with tears........

Heart of the Matter - Don Henley, Eagles

I got the call today, I didn't wanna hear
But I know that it would come
An old true friends of ours was talkin on the phone
she said you've found someone
And I thought of all the bad luck
and the struggles we went through
how I lost me, and you lost you
What are all these voices outside love's open door
make us throw out our contentment
and beg for something more?

I'm learning to live without you now
but I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew
I'm learning again
I've tryin to get down
to the heart of the matter
but my will gets weak
and my thoughts seems to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
forgiveness
even if, even if you don't love me anymore...

Ahh, these times are so uncertain
there's a yearning undefined
...people filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age
The trust and self-assurance that can lead to happiness
They're the very thing we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us
it doesn't keep me warm...

I'm learning to live without you now
but I miss you baby
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I figured out
I have to learn again
I've been tryin to get down
to the heart of the matter
but everything changes
and my friends seems to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
forgiveness
even if, even if you don't love me anymore...

There are people in your life, who've come and gone
They let you down , you know they hurt your pride
you better put it all behind you, babe
cos' life goes on
you keep carrying that anger, it'll eat you up inside, baby...

I've been tryin to get down
to the heart of the matter
but my will gets weak
and my thoughts seems to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
forgiveness
even if, even if you don't love me ...

I've been tryin to get down
to the heart of the matter
but the flesh gets weak
and the ashes will scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
forgiveness
even if, even if you don't love me ...
anymore...

Olympics!!

Who's your favourite Olympic team??

Oh my, China is tougher than I had thought. Well, nearly every Olympic games , they have been cool. But watching them in the diving, air rifle and table tennis had reminded me how GOOD they were....

...oopps times up.... i gotta go..... maybe i continue later? :)

Filtering friends...

Sometimes after a break up many people tend to remember and start counting - how many friends do you really have. There's a way to determine which one is your closest friends.

For example:

When you tell your friends about your breakup with your boyfriend/girlfriend, do your friends:
1) remain silent, but feels sorry for you
2) feels really sorry for you, and has said it
3) tries to console you in any way possible, even though you didn't expect it
4) buys you a drink, takes you out for a dance/party
5) tells you to get over it and forget about him/her
6) tells you to get over it , and starts to brag about "this guy/chick i know in the office"
7) no reaction, but pats you on the shoulder gently, and smiles in consolation
8) no reaction at all




....well,....there are no standards or rules set on how one filter one's "true friends" from the garbage friends . It really depends on you. And what you expect from them, and them you.

Email problems!

Some of you may wonder what i do for a living..... well, i'm a IT system administrator. I administor IT systems. Hahaha.... well, not so funny anyway.

Well, I pretty much do the same thing as any SA would, we are managed hosting professionals Stronium. As much as I enjoyed the IT world, it came to me as an accident really.

The only thing that bothers me is the workload and tension. It's nothing I've ever experienced before when I was a draughtsperson. Ahh~~ life back then was easy. We are the living photocopy machine for civil engineers and architects. We visualize and "graphicalise" their (sometimes) stupid structures and concepts and when there's nothing to do, we hang out at the coffee shop for a drink downstairs. What a waste of life..... i've wasted almost 5 years of it. My initial idea was being an architect, but financial restrictions have led me to be a draughtsperson all my life. Don't get me wrong, I learned a lotta things along the way, but I don't see myself leading an easy life later.

Oh,.... on topic...... I hate customer-having-problem-with-sending-email problems!!! ....there... i hope i wasn't off track.

Confession...

Perhaps I should confess here..... the date of entries here are not accurate to the post times. I was just feeling that I should express myself in some way, when my short relationship with a girl ended. She is one special girl to me, and I'll tell you why later.

I'm in a middle of 'soul searching' for myself. I blame myself for the fall of this relationship. I see myself and her going further all the way,... but I guess it's not meant to be, not at this moment. I haven't given up yet. I should be, but I love her too much to let it go.....

Love and therapy

I've missused a word to describe myself, .... I'm not a psychiatrist, just a therapist. A NAIVE therapist to the effect. I'll tell you why later.

I've just listened to the whinings of a passenger who's sitting beside me on a bus journey back to my hometown. Somehow he just told me about his business, his frustations and how it has affected his family. The trick? I just kept quiet. That's it! You don't have to be very charismatic and influencial to get people to talk. I remember from an article that says something about dealing with friends --> "Sometimes the best way to be a friend, is to keep quiet". And I think it's quite true. Remember how Robin Williams got Matt Damon to talk in 'Good Will Hunting'? He just kept quiet, and the 'Will' character won't talk, for 60 minutes of therapy session.... everyday. Until, one day Will breaks down and started talking (not before some few arguments). It's a surefire technic.

Back to business, how does the ability of listening and basic therapy knowledge help and involve in a love relationship. The answer is 'nothing'. I have a crush in an Indian girl years back, and stupid of me, I didn't take any action and let a Punjabi fellow get to her first. And almost everyday she will call me and tells me how stupid her boyfriend is, how inconsiderate, how uncaring,.... "I wanna break up!!" ...... and last one will be the next topic I shall start about. On topic, do not think that being there for someone who is in the middle of a heartbreak situation can guarantee you some pussy. It doesn't work all the time. Some of them just want to whine and cry about it to someone, and not expecting anything from it. In fact, those same "some of them" will be as jolly as a bird the next day, and went straight back to the uncaring and heartbreaking bastards. This girl here, knows how much I care for her in a more-than-friendship level, yet she still comes to me when she's down. I will do my entire best to cheer her up, giving advises after advises, telling her that her boyfriend is "not really that bad, you know" and stuff. She will cry and she will shout, and then she will smile again. But after all that she leaves, leaving me heartbroken everytime...

It's been years since I last saw her. News has it, that she's getting married this year. Not to the same Punjabi fellow, but a Singaporean. She rarely calls me now. I guess she FINALLY realised it. I'm not saying that it's bad to have an attachment to someone to whine to, but at least show some appreciation with pussywords at least, to someone who has been there for you when you're down, and to draw the line before any emotions are stirred.

.....but I will never ever touch another Indian woman again.....

Star gazing

An excerpt from a 1996 japanese soap, it's a conversation between the hero and the heroine up on a rooftop of a flat, a cold night..... the hero (coming off from a break-up with his girl) speaks first....

"hey, there are stars in the sky...."
"yes there are... we just can't see them in the daytime"
"they're beautiful isn't it?"
"...mmm.... yes they are..."
"...and there are darkness around it too, yes?"
"...yeah?"
"...i'm just thinking. Darkness exists so that the stars may sparkle and be pretty..."
"...huh?..."
"....i guess i'm that sort of person,.... what do you think?"
"...*pfft*...you poet!.."


I remember this well, cos it kinda reflects my life.....
....try and guess which drama this excerpt comes from... ;)
Hint: the guy is a pianist, the girl is a model

Whining down

So what's been happening? Well, my life sucks, my jobs sucks, my girlfriend is mad at me, my landlord sucks too.....! These are the so common stuff that we hear the guys whine about themselves over a few bottles of Two Dogs, (Chocolate Latte for the ladies). Whining is good, all the better if you can find someone to whine to. It heals the soul, supplying some measure of comfort in the much busy and hurryburry life in the city. I for one, have no one to whine to, (except to God).

I have been playing the role of the "listener" for many people since the day I can speak English properly (that's way back in high school). A friend has revealed to me years earlier that I have the sort of charisma and aura, that can make people talk, and tell their problems to me. No matter what, people will tell me things. Even if they are the seclusive and quiet sort, they will tell me. Why, I can still remember a certain friend back in high school seeking me for advice of love, when I haven't held a girl's hand in my life at that time. Eventually the 'patients' pile up.

Tis' a lonely experience being the 'listener' for so many years. While it's sometimes enjoyable to listen to their experiences and stuff, but it's not a two way conversation, it never was and will be. How can you tell a person who's been telling you about their love problems, about your own problems of debugging a goddamn SQL script? (ahh~~ that feels better).

I don't have many friends, people look to me as a cheap psychiatrist. Most people view psychiatrists as boring people, and would rarely fit into a wild and wacky group. Obviously, they haven't seen me drunk.

I believe it's a calling for me, to become a "supporting actor" to someone else's mega-movie life. The eternal sidekick that provides an amount of sanity back into the heroes and heroines. I've always love the concept of underdogs and sidekicks. Staying behind the shadow of successful people has a certain enigma to it...... Or i was just pessimist.

konnichiwa

Here i am.... swearing that I may never do a blog. I have thought that blogging is a waste of time. (in fact i still do) . But i guess any person needs a space to release their thoughts ..... it's ironic. I started this one to send a message of love and peace to the people..... NOT! I am not that goody-goody. But I do it so that others may benefit from it.... and I need to get a grip of myself. What am I saying.....? ^_^

Love and peace,
jin