Washington Post

Pictures from my trip to Washington are up at Wide-Eyed Vagabond.

Washington is a very beautiful city, full of parks and great architecture. It is so European, and I mean that as a compliment. There is something about its historical buildings, wide boulevards and parks that reminds me of a gret Georgian city. It is hard to think that this city and Los Angeles are actually in the same country. They just seemed to be on different planets, never mind countries.

On Seats, of power and otherwise

This post is dedicated to seats. I just got back from Washington DC, which is the seat of government in the USA and the seat of power not only in the USA but also the world.

But it is not such lofty seats that occupy my mind. No, I find myself pondering airplane seats. More specifically, economy class airplane seats.

I spent a grand total of 59 hours in Washington (most of the daylight hours indoors in a workshop which was the whole reason why I was there at all), and another 53 hours in airplanes and airports. By the end of my five-day adventure, I had become quite intimately acquainted with my various airplane seats.

I flew on United, which would not be my airline of choice. For those who have enjoyed the luxuries of SIA and even of BA, this was rather like retreating to air travel in the 1980s.

A run-down of my 6 leg journey:

1) Singapore to Hong Kong
Flight time: 3.5 hours
Meal: Choice between omelette or sausages (this was a breakfast menu)
Neighbours:
1) To my right, two tai-tais from China. They spent the last hour of the flight exchanging stories about purchasing jewellery in HK and Singapore. At one stage, they opened their (rather chic) handbags whipped out their jade and gold collections in a spontaneous show and tell. It was rather like seeing brides compare their trousseau, except these women were rather older.
2) To my left, aaaaargh!! Loud, uncouth, uncultured Chinese man in his late 40's and his female posse. I guessed one of them was his wife, the other two women could have been his mother (or mother in law) and aunt. He sat with his unshod foot raised and pressed against the side of the seat in front of him. He was rude and demanding to the stewardesses. He and his posse were blatantly ignoring the safety procedures upon take-off and landing. During the meal service, he asked for multiple alcoholic drinks.
Flight experience: They showed Mr and Mrs Smith as the in-flight movie. After getting used to the in-seat screens of BA and SIA, craning my neck to see the centre aisle screen was a bit of a pain. Especially when I was seated quite far back and had to watch over people's heads. And so I didn't watch the movie.


2) Hong Kong to Chicago
Flight time: 14 plus hours
Meal: 1) Choice between chicken with rice noodles or beef with mashed potatoes
2) Cup noodles (!!)
3) Choice between chow mein or beef with rice
Neighbours: I was in a window seat, and the seat directly beside me was unoccupied. Bliss! Two seats away was a young lady from Hong Kong who slept for most of the journey and appeared to be studying engineering production notes when she was awake.
Flight experience: Window seat equals limited toilet breaks. But bearable on the whole, as I had extra space courtesy of the empty seat beside me. They showed Fantastic Four as the first of 5 movies (well it's a long flight), but UA seats are HIGH, and I could only see the top quarter of the screen. I listened to most of the movie track, and suprisingly manage to follow most of the story line.

3) Chicago to Washington
Flight time: 1 hour 40 minutes
No meal service
Neighbours: The flight was delayed by an hour due to bad weather. By the time it took off, I had been travelling for over 20 hours and was too tired to notice who my neighbours were!
Flight experience: From my window seat, I could see the snow swirling outside while the flight was preparing for take-off.

4) Washington to Chicago
Flight time: 1 hour 50 minutes
No meal service
Neighbours: An Indian couple enroute to San Diego. She slept most of the flight while he read a novel.
Flight experience: From my window seat, I got a pretty good view of Washington city as the flight was taking off. After that, I looked out as the plane flew over America's North East. The sun was blindingly bright, though, and I had to put the shades down after a while. At this point, I realised I was having a problem with gas in the guts. I had to suppress the urge to pass out the gas, or risk irritating a whole cabin of passengers. With a 16 hour flight ahead of me. Wonderful!

5) Chicago to Hong Kong
Flight time: 15 hours 55 minutes
Meal: 1) Choice between chicken with sticky rice or beef with sticky rice
2) Cup noodles (again!!)
3) Choice between chicken with rice noodles or cheese pasta.
Neighbours: I was in a window seat again. My immediate neighbour was a young man from Hong Kong who drank copious amounts of juices when awake and slept most of the rest of the time. Despite the amount he drank, he went to the wash-room all of ONCE during the 16 hours! Two seats away in the aisle seat was a Korea tour guide who made frequent trips to the galley for Starbuck's coffee. She was also moving around the cabins talking to her tour group members.
Flight experience: This was the horror flight.
1) During the flight, I got up to go to the toilet and BAM! My calf seized up in an almighty cramp. I probably sprained the muscle during my long walk through the streets of Washington the previous day. Of course, this was an injury best treated by constant flexing of the muscle. Seated in the cramped quarters of a economy class window-seat, this was not going to happen. By the time the plane landed, I was hobbling and not able to place my foot flat on the ground as it stretched my calf to excruciating levels of pain.
2) My gassy guts problem also persisted throughout the 16 hours of the flight. This was NOT comfortable at all. Because my neighbour was asleep most of the time, my toilet breaks were somewhat restricted.
3) They showed Batman Begins, a movie I really wanted to see. My view of the screen was somewhat better this time around, but I had to prop myself up to see over the other seats. When my calf started hurting, this became impossible. Towards the second half of the flight, the people in front of me reclined their seats backwards and I had a better view of the top two-thirds of the screen without needing to sit upright myself. Now that I had a good view of the screen, guess what movies they were screening? The remake of Bad News Bears. Not the original with Tatum O'Neal but the unnecessary remake.

6) Hong Kong to Singapore
Flight time: 3.5 hours
Meal: Choice between chicken with rice noodles or beef with mashed potatoes (the same menu as on the flight from HK to Chicago 4 days earlier)
Neighbours: Window seat again. My immediate neighbour was an African American lady travelling with her family, including two absolutely adorable grandsons (they had sat in front of me on the Chicago-HK flight and were so well-behaved). To her left was a Singaporean gentleman who slept through most of the trip.
Flight experience: Calf was still painful, guts were still gaseous. The seat seemed even more cramped than usual, mainly because I was completely knackered after over 2o hours without space to stretch my limbs. But I was on the homestretch and determined to just survive the damned ordeal. On this flight, I finally had a seat close enough to the screen that I could actually watch the in-flight movie. Of course, they weren't showing Mr and Mrs Smith or anything worthwhile like that. Instead, we got the remake of The Longest Yard, the horrendous version with Adam Sandlers. Ironically, I had just read the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which rated the original among the top 10 sporting movies of all time, but lamented that it spawned this remake. Sigh, just not my day.

So, after spending far too many hours in airplane seats, here's my manifesto to airline for comfortable long-haul travel:
1) Convert all economy class seats to economy-plus. They only lose one seat per row, maximum of 30 seats each flight.
2) If you cannot afford to convert to in-seat screens, could we have the small screens that drop from the top like in the smaller Airbus crafts?
3) Lower seats, with extendable headrests. BA and SIA have these. For UA, the headrest was well above my head, so I could not enjoy the benefits of its mechanism for neck support. That severely impaired my ability to sleep during the flight.
4) Make comedy tracks available on the in-flight radio channels. I find comedy records to be a wonderful way to make the hours fly by.
5) Provide socks
6) Inflatable pillows that we can put away if we choose not to use them. The current pillows take up space in already very cramped seats.

Moving - Arrrgh

Some statistics:
Number of years in current organization: 10 coming on to 11
Number of years in current position: coming on the 3 years
Number of times relocated office in current organization: 6
Number of times relocated office in last 3 years = 4!!!!!

Oh, I also moved house this year, so 2005 is The Year of the Move.

I hate, hate, hate moving. The thing I hate most about moving is packing. Specifically, the sorting part of packing. The decision making - what to keep, what to throw? - is just draining. How much sentimentality to attach to objects rarely seen and never used? Whether to throw away something is there is a remote off-chance that it might be needed in the future?

The thing about

I have bruises, sore muscles and a too much dust in my system. HATE packing.

Record Stores: Frustrations of a Musical Theatre Fan

I was at Borders and HMV Heeren last week, trying to scrounge for a couple of Original Cast Recordings (OCR) of musical theatre scores. A year ago, HMV Heeren had a semi-decent collection of what they called "Shows" recordings, lining half a wall on the third floor, taking up about two of their display racks. My recordings of Aspects of Love and Into the Woods were purchased from this store. Now, this section has been relegated to one third of a rack, tacked on at the end of a substantial display of movie soundtrack CDs. They even had more compilation albums (The Best of Broadway, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection etc) than recordings of individual shows.

Things were slightly better at Borders but not by much. A few years ago, I bought Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George" from Borders and the store was known for having copies of the not-so-blockbuster shows. The title cards in the display rack showed tantalising evidence of CDs that might once have been on sale but are now no longer in stock (or presumably on the inventory - show music is hard to move, so I suppose these titles are not high on the stockist's priority). The available recordings were strangely retro, with more than a few original Broadway cast recordings of shows that debuted in the 1950s and 1960s.

Neither Broadway nor the West End are anywhere close to being satisfactorily represented, but Broadway appears to have gotten the slightly longer end of the stick. OBCRs like Chicago and The Chorus Line at least had more than one copy on display. Even OLCRs of old standbys by ALW were hard to come by. The recording of The Woman in White, Lloyd Webber's latest West End offering, was available at HMV, but it was just one miserable copy, at the exhorbitant "import" price of $65. I know that pricing of these things has to do with exchange rates, but come on, $65???

You would also think that nobody on Broadway or the West End had mounted a new musical in years. Mamma Mia! does not count in my book - it's more of a pastiche revue than a musical. On that score, Smoky Joe's Cafe does not count either. In the two stores, I could get Julie Andrews and Angela Lansbury singing roles they originated in the theatre, but not recordings of the recent Broadway hits, Avenue Q, Wicked or even The Boys from Oz, Hugh Jackman's star-turn on Broadway. I can't figure it out - I know classics will always have their market, but would a modern hit musical not have some following? Maybe the classic recordings are just cheaper to bring in (it is all economics, I suppose).

Even the provision of the "staples" disappoint. Les Miserable has had 4 high-profile recordings. In both stores, only the 10th Anniversary recording was available. This is a excellent "live" recording, but best experienced with the visuals on the DVD. An enthusiast seeking a purely audio recording would have no options at all. The other block-buster musical, Phantom of the Opera, was available in both its full-length 2 CD and highlights versions. Still, the number of copies in-store was far fewer than the copies of the soundtrack for the movie version (found in the Soundtrack section, of course). I suppose we are now to accept Gerard Butler as an acceptable substitute for Michael Crawford (not even close, mate, no disrespect to Mr Butler) and Emmy Rossum for Sarah Brightman (I actually find Brightman's singing unpleasantly affected, but Rossum's uncertain technique is a far greater disadvantage on record). Heck, if they start making movie versions of all the big musicals (Sunset Boulevard seems a go, and Les Mis cannot be far behind), who would ever need cast recordings anymore?

Yes, both stores would say that if they can order in the titles that you want. That's all fine and dandy, but that means no browsing, considering of options (such as different recordings of the same show), no chance to have you eye caught by a CD cover design or the name of a performer. If I know exactly what I am looking for down to the CD number, I don't need to order at a store - Amazon.com is more convenient and just about as affordable. And for the more advanced, many sites offer legal digital downloads of entire albums. emusic.com is my latest find; it carries smaller labels and has OCR's such as 25th Annual Puttnam Spelling Bee and Falsettoland for download.

It's like musical theatre is a niche genre that cannot justify the inventory costs or shelf space. I think musical theatre is just as accessible as classical music, which is still decently represented (but more on that another time). It's certainly much less "difficult" than opera, and HMV has a whole rack of opera recordings, plus another of opera DVDs. Is it stuck in a vacuum - too high brow for some, too low brow for others? Or is it hampered by the relatively limited offerings of "live" musical theatre on the local stage? Does it really not enjoy much of a following here?

Or has it always has its share of admirers, but who have ceased to purchase from local record store? Perhaps they have discovered the joys of online shopping or purchase from overseas stores, either when travelling or through friends. Certainly, there are many viable options for fans, and the lack of options in local retail stores is not a crisis. But I do lament the loss of visibility for the genre, and the inevitable relegation to minority niche status.

So many books, so little time

I have been reading since I can remember, and I have the myopia (literal, not figurative) to show for it! My shoe-buying habits are nothing compared to the way I buy, collect and borrow books, magazines and even e-books. I have started a new blog (An Unused Voice) devoted to my passion for reading. First up is my project to record my thoughts on the Booker Prize winning books that I have read. I will keep this blog relatively free of book-related ramblings as I like to get analytical about books and this is not the place for that.

I would, however, like to reflect on the prophesied "decline in reading", from my personal perspective. It's been said so often that it most likely has become an accepted belief that "people don't read as much as they used to". Many reasons are cited; television and computer games being the main culprit for young people reading less, long work hours and "information overload" being the whipping boys for adults. And yet, the publishing industry is thriving (and it cannot just be the Harry Potter books alone that is doing it). My theory is that people are buying as many books as before, but are actually reading less. That would explain my experience, at any rate.

I usually have 5 books on the go, with most of my reading done in the toilet or on the train. I used to read in bed, but my laptop and Internet access has put paid to that. That, and the fact that the lighting in my room is not conducive for reading in bed (and I have been told enough times about the dangers of reading while lying down to finally take it somewhat seriously).

It's getting harder to finish a book within any reasonable period of time. I have been reading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell off and on for close to 2 months and have not gotten through even a third of it. That is no criticism of the book itself; it's certainly interesting, inventive and attention-holding. It is, unfortunately, also the type of book best read when you are on vacation with all the time in the world to do nothing but read for hours on end. It is not a book designed for reading in bursts when one finds snatches of time for it.

When you juggle 5 books at one time, as I do, it's easy to lose track of what you have been reading in the different books. Especially if you don't have time to get through more than 50 pages a day. Sometimes, I find myself returning to a book after not having read it for a week, and have to backtrack practically to the start to pick up the plot again. Before work became so hectic, and before the distractions of the Internet and cable TV, I used to read a lot more, getting through 200 pages or more a day and finishing 3 books a week. It was easier to juggle multiple books then.

I suppose one solution is to cut down on the number of books being read at any one time. It just isn't possible. Unless I am on vacation, recreational reading is something I do for short periods each day. As work requires a fair bit of reading of rather dry materials, reading on my own time is preferably non-taxing, non-obligatory and something from which pleasure can be derived. What I read needs to suit the mood I am in. That's why I usually balance a serious novel with something lighter and humourous, together with something non-fictional or autobiographical and a dose of the classics every now and then.

Intervention Needed !!!

Aaargh!!! There is no cure for this sickness. I have managed to buy YET ANOTHER PAIR OF SHOES.

Well, in my defence, there were selling at less than half the normal price. And just look at them - they look GOOD!! (Whew, thankfully, my toenail polish is still intact for this picture).



And when you really think about it, sequins, beads and embroidery are all very nice and well, but hardly the sort of thing you can wear everyday. Not very practical, especially if it rains or for long sessions of shopping. But a pair of black strapped heels, you can use them everyday and on all occasions! So, the way I look at it, this was actually a practical purchase, and not really an extension of the shoe-whoredom at all.

*cough *cough ... I think I have managed to convince myself that this is under control. Intervention not needed anymore. Let's see how I manage to survive walking through the malls of Orchard Road over the weekend. The sales are still on. I must be strong, I must be strong, I must be strong ...

Reformed or Re-formed?

I am supposed to be a reformed shoe-whore. Sigh ... so much for that. Less than 24 hours after arriving in Saigon, I was marching out of a shoe shop, 3 pairs of shoes richer. I think it was not so much a case of reformation as temporary remission from my shoe-whoredom. The remission quickly became a thing of the past in the low-labour-cost environs of Vietnam. The habit is well and truly re-formed.

I rather shame-facedly confess: My name is gentleice and I am a re-formed shoe-whore. I was "on the wagon" for all of 12 months before falling prey again to the temptation of multiple-shoes-buying.

Another rather embarassing confession: My total haul from Vietnam was 8 pairs!!

Here they are, in their sequined, beaded, embroidered and lacquered glory. You have to admit, I have impeccable taste!



I am particularly fond of the lacquered pine clogs (2nd from left, top row) and the gold beaded pumps (3rd from left, top row). The three silk embroidered pairs (black, green and purple) are also really beautifully done, with very fine needlework.

Total cost for all 8 pairs of shoes - under S$70.00 !! In Singapore, I could hardly get 2 and a half pairs with that amount. I consider this a significant mitigating factor for my spectacularly extreme puchasing behaviour.

Errmmmm .... now, can I use the same reason to explain all the new clothes I bought in Saigon? All 11 items??

Chaos, Culture and Communism

I am back from a visit to Saigon, Vietnam. It's now known as Ho Chi Minh City (and his likeness is everywhere, whether in the form of painting, photographs or sculpture, so you can hardly miss him) but Saigon is so much more evocative. Before leaving, I had visions of Miss Saigon, the musical, in my mind - vibrant colours, smoky cramped spaces, exotic looking women. Turns out I was right, sort of.

I kept a detailed journal of my first 2 days there, before nightly exhaustion took over, and took copious mental notes of the other days. I plan to post a full account when time permits. For now, this post will deal with some quick impressions I had of Saigon.

Chaos


Taken from the backseat of a car while going down Le Van Sy St. I can't imagine being in the driver's seat! This was pretty much how the streets are like the entire time.

The first night in Saigon was just a ruthless and relentless assault on the senses. The motorcyles were rather overwhelming just in terms of sheer volume. Sitting in the cab, I was first struck by how many there were and then, rather awed by the way they had no regard for traffic rules. But that multiplied a million times when I took to the streets and was confronted with having to cross the roads with motorcycles and cars barrelling towards me from all directions. The sounds of horns blaring was a constant and after a while, one learnt to shut it out. But on that first night, it was unnerving to hear the cacophony of honking and tooting. There was no respite from it and the heart was constantly jumping at the sound.

The pavements of Le Van Sy Street were narrow, crowded and so badly paved, they should be called something else. In many spots, parked motorcyles and street peddlers took up the whole five-foot-way, so pedestrians had to walk on the actual road, and come literally within centimetres of the throngs of motorcycles.

Culture


Taken in the room holding the musical instruments collection of the Reunification Palace. The lady is playing a one stringed instrument, reportedly one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. She was amazing; a multi-talented artist who demonstrated several of the instuments in the room. I took her name card, but left it in my pants pockets and it came apart in the washing machine!

Compared to many parts of Asia, Saigon appeared relatively untouched by influences of the outside world. Most people were dressed in "western" style clothes, but many ladies still wore the traditional costumes, even in going about their daily activities.

Their food was also largely local and the fast food invasion has not taken place. In fact, the Vietnamese diet is antithetical to Western fast food, with its abundance of vegetables and minimal use of oil. In the 6 days I spent there, I was hard-pressed to find more than 15 Vietnamese women who could be considered as being even slightly overweight. They were uniformly slender, due no doubt to their homogenously indigenous diet. Which is not to say that Vietnamese cuisine is without variety - I learnt that the food differed substantially from province to province in a very large country. However, the ingredients are always heavily weighted towards vegetable and light on oil and fats.

I think the society is still offensively patriarchal. Women, young and old, were everywhere, working. While I also saw many men hard at work, there were also far too many instances where I noted people indulging in the "loitering" culture (what in Malaysia we call the "lepak" culture) of hanging around doing nothing much, and it was only men who were doing this. Later, I had some personal contact with Vietnamese people, and while I would not call them overtly patriarchal in their attitudes, their words and actions served to solidify my initial impression.

Communism


Yet another of my shots from inside a car. This is one from a street that was lined with such flags on both sides. Note the high walls and gates in the backgound. Behind these are huge colonial type mansions. I am told that these were seized by the Communists when they took over in 1975 and now house either government officials (or their family and friends) or are rented out at exhorbitant rates to companies to be used as commercial space - no prizes for guessing who the rent-collectors are!

I am not sure what I expected, but I was somehow not quite prepared for the green-uniformed military personnel who manned the airport immigration and customs counters. The get-up, with the red stripes and stars on shoulders, was just so stereotypically Communist.

Vietnamese free-to-air TV was mainly Communist propoganda. Even without understanding a word of Vietnamese, it was so obvious from the images that the broadcasters were proclaiming the glory of the Party and what it has done for the People. One of the sights that may have scarred me for life was a baritone in a petrol blue suit and really outdated hair, singing a nationalistic song in an operatically trained voice, while standing on a stage with a red and white flag of the sickle forming the main backdrop. I didn't know what he was singing, but the tune alone was enough to let anyone know that it was a Patriotic Song. It had all the right spirited oom-pah and nominally soaring chorus. It was an amplified version of every bad memory I had of old Malaysian variety shows during National Day month.

There was one part of the city where the street was lined on both sides by flags bearing the sickle. There were also huge red banners with words and images in white relief. These looked very much like the banners proclaiming Chairman Mao that I had seen in China and in history books. It's strange how the colours red and white, when presented in a certain way, just scream "Communist" even when one doesn't understand the words that are written.

I am told that the Communist party controls everything that is disseminated in the local media. TV, radio and the press are heavily controlled and censored. But how will they keep out the Internet? Returning overseas Vietnamese will also bring with them tales of different systems abroad. I understand that most people in Saigon are closet capitalists who are sanguine about Communism; they live with it because they must. The propoganda doesn't really take. In fact, one cab driver (who miraculously could speak Cantonese, after a string of 13 cab-drivers with whom we could not communicate at all) informed us that most people in Saigon had at one stage or other tried to leave Vietnam to escape the Communists. I wonder what it's like in Hanoi, the seat of power for the Communist party and the centre of the former North Vietnam. Do the ideals of Communism beat more strongly in the hearts of Hanoi residents?

Final thoughts for the night
I enjoyed visiting Saigon; it is so different from Singapore and Malaysia. In many ways, it was like a throwback to my earlier years in the East Coast of Malaysia, with many things still done in an old-fashioned way.

Communication was a problem, with most people not speaking English and most signs monolingually in Vietnamese. Outside of Chinatown (where some spoke Cantonese) and the City Centre's tourist belt (where some knew enough English to transact), shopping was a problem and so was ordering food. It was truly a relief to see an English language newspaper when we were getting on the plane to come back. I had not attacked The New Straits Times (I was on MAS) with such enthusiasm in a long time, perhaps ever.

Ultimately, I think visiting a place like Vietnam reminds me of how lucky I am to live where I do and to have been born where I was. Sadly, I could see that there is a lot of poverty in Saigon and the level of hygiene in some parts is catastrophic. My hotel had occasional power stoppages which are apparently commonplace throughout certain parts of the city. The traffic problems are a daily reminder of a corrupt government that has failed to take a problem in hand, and has now lost control of it. Whatever else we may complain about here, at least the streets are clean and we can cross the roads without having our hearts stopping.

Phobias and Inner Demons

I had to visit the dentist last night. Now, my dentist is great; friendly, mild-mannered and not at all the type to strike fear in anyone. Still, I can't help but get tense just at the thought of seeing her. The sound of that drill alone is enough to give me an instant stomache ulcer. Without realising it, I spend most of the time in the waiting room like a very tightly wound coiled spring.

A phobia is a strange thing. The rational part of the mind knows that the fear is unreasonable and usually unfounded. Yet, the fear is a instinctive reaction and just comes upon you, no matter how much you rationalise. I think the scientific journals may have a perfectly good explanation for it (perhaps something to do with the synapses in our brains?), but I wonder how much of it is psychological as well?

For instance, I fear dentists. At the same time, one of my oft-recurring bad dreams is one where my back teeth fall out due to incessant grinding on my part. The dream books say that dreaming about losing one's teeth symbolises fear of death. I don't know, I certainly don't think I fear death any more than the next person. I rather suspect that the phobia and the dream are linked and may indicate some underlying psychological fear of pain (or perhaps something deeper, like a fear of being made "less whole", as the actions of "drilling" and "losing" may suggest).

Wow, this has been a downer so far! Do I really need to make a phobia worse by endlessly trying to analyse it? Instead of overthinking, I will, of course, make a list, since that is my current modus operandi.


Phobias (or Things that would cause me to lose on Fear Factor)

• Rats (especially black ones - I am having the shivers just thinking about them!)
• Large house lizards. Strangely, this phobia does not extend to really large reptiles like iguanas and crocodiles. I just can't stand the larger-sized house lizards with their damp scaly skins. Yuks!
• Birds. Okay, it's not like I run away screaming whenever I see one. I do tolerably well with birds in cages, seagulls on the beach, even those darned pigeons in public places, as long as there are people around. What I really fear is when they start swooping towards me with their sharp beaks and claws. Or when I am the only human person around and vulnerable to their attacks, if they were the human-attacking type. I think ultimately, my fear of birds is about the claws and beaks.
• Dentists. Well, I have covered that one.
• Monkeys. This one goes back to a childhood experience in Penang's Botanical Gardens (not sure if it's the right name, but it's a big park). I was carrying a bad of fruit and kindly offering a rambutan to a monkey when the greedy bugger suddenly summoned his family and they made a grab for the bag. It was an ambush! I can still remember their shrewd eyes and very nimble fingers. I know they are our closest evolutionary cousins; no wonder I don't trust them!
  
• Dirty public toilets. Singapore is rather blessed that this isn't so much of a problem anymore.

Hmmm ... rather many animal related phobias in that list. I wonder if that says something about my essentially urban upbringing, or perhaps my innate introversion. Enough with the over-analysis! It may not mean anything at all. For one thing, I don't fear all animals. I am fine with cockroaches, worms, slugs, bees and dogs, which are objects of fear for many people.

Phobias: Nurture or Nature? A bit of both, perhaps.

A Truly LONG Weekend

It was a long weekend for most people here, with Hari Raya Haji falling on Friday. For me, it was a LONG weekend, alright, but not quite in the same way. Had to work all three days, which was a serious bummer and did nothing for chronic sleep deprivation. Not to mention the things I missed over the three days because of work. Here's a partial list because list-making is oddly cathartic.

Things I missed out on this LONG weekend (mostly stuff on TV)

• watching ANY of the Australian Open. I will be out of Singapore from mid-week and will likely miss everything from the quarter-finals onwards. So far, I haven't seen more than 2 matches strung together and that would probably be the score at the end of the tournament.
• the Global Edition episode of The Daily Show which normally airs on Saturday and Sunday nights.
• following the final Test in the England v South Africa series. It's been more or less a wash-out with rain leaving little time for actual play. Unless both captains agree to make bold declarations and effectively turn this into a one-day match, and assuming the weather gets better on Day 5, this is heading for a draw. England then wins the Test Series, as they are 2-1 up after 4 matches. It would be a great result for them, ahead of the Australians touring in the summer. But poor South Africa; I hope there are no recriminations for them because of this home series loss..
• the repeat episode of Charmed on Sunday (well, here's another embarassing guilty pleasure revealed!). It's not really a big deal. I missed most of the first half of last season anyway. I just thought perhaps I could try to be more consistent in catching the episodes this year, but given the uneven quality of the show, missing a couple here and there may not be so bad.
• last night's episode of The Apprentice on Channel 5. I did not expect to get home so late (it was 3 am by the time I did get back) and did not set my video to record it. This was supposed to be the episode where Trump shows that he basically just does whatever he wants and fires whoever he wants, regardless of how well the task was performed. I suppose we should have known that all along, but I really did want to see it.
• the Converse Warehouse Sale, although I bought a couple of bags from elsewhere, so that wasn't an earth-shattering miss.
• last days of the Robinsons Warehouse Sale. Not that I was sure I wanted to go, what with all the people that turn up on weekends.
• testing out my newly acquired digital camera ahead of my overseas trip later this week. Will have to find time to figure it out over these next two days.

It seems that things seem to conspire to all happen at the same time, both the good and the not-so-good. If Lady Luck is fickle, how would we describe Countess Karma?

Early to bed, early to rise

Went to bed at around 5.00 am yesterday morning and was up before 8.00 am. Technically, this qualifies as "Early to Bed, Early to Rise". Those wise people from days of yore and their pithy phrases that apply even to our modern sleeping habits!

Took a couple of online tests earlier at blogthings to recover from the hectic whirl of morning activities. What age do I act? 27, according to the sage Internet engine. I can live with that, it's close enough to my current age (oh, note the coyness in not revealing what this might be!). The second test tells me I have Linguistic Intelligence; which is not unexpected. Hmmm, how would this have tested on Albert Einstein or Newton? Might be worthwhile to manipulate my answers and see the outcome.

Some earlier test I took at tickle.com told me that "if you were a dog, you would be a Bernese Mountain dog". To synthesise, I am a 27-year-old Bernese Mountain dog with a thirst for expanding my vocabulary!

First Post!

Well, this is momentous. My first post in my first ever blog. For such an Internet junky, I have taken quite a while to acquire a blog; I think it must be my aversion to revealing my thoughts in a public sphere. Just as well I don't actually expect anyone to read this, except those to whom I choose to tell the URL.

Random musings over the weekend (a sport related motif):

Michelle Kwan won her 9th US Nationals title. Whew! That was a relief. Everytime I have followed her competition progress closely, she has let the title slip; Olympics 98, 02 and Worlds last year. I was tempted by silly superstition (hehe, 'when you believe in things that you don't understand') to keep off the skating boards. My resolve did not last long, and I was refreshing MKF like mad. It's a good thing MK won, or I would be berating myself for jinxing her.

Glad to see Singapore's football fever returning with a vengeance. I was on the train and saw many people in red getting off at Kallang station. I was actually in a red top myself, but (a) did not get off at Kallang station; and (b) do not actually support the Lions because of that small matter of actually being a Malaysian citizen. I was glad the Lions won though, because (a) they played well enough to deserve it; and (b) those darned Indonesians denied me a Malaysia vs Singapore final!! Honestly, though, I was rooting for the Lions to win just on the strength of wanting to see Singaporeans cheer for their local boys. There is something irreplaceable about nationalistic fervour. I was pretty delirious when Villa won the FA Cup back in the 90's and when Liverpool did the 5-trophy season, but that was nothing compared to the delirium of Malaysia's rare Thomas Cup victory so many years back.

Talking about Liverpool, they managed to lose again. And to Man Utd, to rub salt into the wound. Morientes seems promising, so there may be hope for better things next season. This season? I am about ready to call the title for Chelsea and read a few books on Saturday nights. Sigh, if only it was still Ranieri managing Chelsea, I would actually be rather pleased. Mourinho, though, just needs to really shut the hell up. I can see that the man is really good at what he does, and that much of what he has accomplished is most admirable, but could he be any more smug and cocky and just down right full of himself??

South Africa just lost the 4th Test to England. Seems like it was a disappointing batting performance, after England had a rather good go at it in the morning session. My newest favourite cricket player, Jacques Kallis, had one of his off-days. He's had so many really good ones this year, I suppose he's allowed to have a few off ones now and then. Well, that at least sets up the 5th Test nicely.

And for the record, my former favourite cricket player? Stephen R Waugh. What a career! For years, I followed his career, which began its ascendance just as I started to love cricket. With his retirement, I could stop caring about whether Australia won or lost; and just hope for good cricket whoever plays.

On some things non-sport related:

Things I have discovered that work stress will cause you to have:
a) IBS
b) hunger pangs
c) trouble sleeping
d) very odd dreams
e) perpetual muscle aches in the thighs

Plans I have for this blog:
a) upload my photos from my travels last year
b) to actually finish my travel journal and post it online (wishfulness quotient is high on this one!)
c) rant and rave about random issues
d) attempt not to be so long winded (*cough, cough, choke)