i really hate having to handle and engage myself in a verbal joust with unreasonably difficult customers. it kinda leaves me with a really bitter mental aftertaste long after it was over. somehow, i just cannot accept how some people can behave as such. idiots.

for the 3rd straight post im quoting something from the mass media. this time its from an article in the Sunday Times dated July 24, 2005. here goes.

"Never Ever" - these are some destructive communication patterns that couples should avoid.

1. Summarising Self Syndrome: you restate your position repeatedly, not listening to your partner's point of view.
2. Cross-Complaining: in response to a complaint, you shoot back with another.
3. Kitchen Sinking: dragging in every possible complaint, especially ones unrelated to the original issue.
4. Yes-But: you agree - superficially - before going back to your own position.
5. Mind Reading: you assume you know what your partner thinks, feels and wants and you put it across in a blaming, hurting or accusing way.
6. Insults or Character Assasinations: you resort to sarcasm, name-calling and putdowns.
7. Saying "you always" Or "you never": these statements, which are meant only to hurt, are rarely true.
8. Blaming: you blame your partner for relationship issues.

- source: Centre For Fathering's Beginning Parenting Programme

well, if it helps la for anyone out there. cheers.

whats in a name

i came across this while reading articles from Soccernet:

"After consultations with the club chairman John Wardle and deputy chairman Bryan Bodek, manager Stuart Pearce decided to send the controversial 22-year-old back to Manchester as a result of his involvement in the incident."

in my mind, thank goodness that the deputy chairman mentioned above wasnt living here. poor chap, what a name. he would have had a torrid time growing up amongst his peers. hahahaha...

"...train yourself to let go, of everything you fear to lose..."

- master yoda

note to meself:
- always always bring a jacket/sweater when im riding. especially during cold weather and during the night. it really aint worth risking getting pneumonia for all the thrill it brings to me. brrrrrr....

aniwaes, for the umpteenth time, i came home to the sight of my dad slouched in front of the television tuned into MTV. well sometimes it's the tv that's watching him la. i do not know why, but aside from all the sleaziness and funky music that comes from the channel, i'd just like to think that he's now a much cooler person, and a groovier dad. or mebbe there really isnt anything else to watch. today oasis was on, playing wonderwall. how interesting ya.

choosing modules for this upcoming semester is a chore. kinda difficult to match what interests me, to the ideal kind of weekly timetable and exam schedule that best serves me. ahhh well it just sucks la. oh yea and i think im choosing sociology as my single major from now on. and if my grades behave themselves i might do the honours year too. its a big if for now la. no more history for me, found it less enjoyable in terms of what i learnt as the semesters went on. disillusioned mebbe. if this is the Star Wars i would thus be seen as turning into Sith, so to speak. after years of subscribing to history, i think its time for me to move on. i just hope im doing the right thing la. but then again, Anakin thought so too. hahahaha.. so we'll see..

i finally caught the Batman Begins film with yan on thursday morning, courtesy of free complimentary passes i conveniently helped myself to from the workplace. started the day way way earlier than we normally would, partly due to the constraint movie timings, and partly to avoid the stinky and noisy schoolkid crowd. twas a good show, has a dark gloomy outlook to it. christian bale somewhat suits the role, and katie holmes looked very much like the sweet girl-next-door you'd wanna bring home to mom. though i think that some areas of the show has room for much more development to make us understand the whole story better. abit patchy ah.

aniwaes, we kinda splurged on ourselves at seoul garden after that. a very rare rare moment indeed. well mebbe not to others but for me patronising such places already is a step up from the normal budget places i frequent to. of course i binged myself on the char siew chicken, and definitely went round after round to the food display area to top up my plate. what i cannot understand though is why the heck is there a service charge totalling up to a freaking 10% when there isnt any form of service provided like what they do in restaurants and whatnots. and the whatever little bit of service that they do provide aint even worthy of such an amount. i think. bloody ripoff. and that was on top of a 5% GST. tsk tsk. well, out of it all, i enjoyed time spent with the missus. very seldom do we get to do stuff like that anymore. may the good times roll ahead more in the future ya.

my saturday was spent working in the morning til late afternoon, before rushing to meet the SA people in Marina. traffic to that area was a killer, because of the NDP rehearsal shit at the Padang. many roads were blocked, thus i had to circle round and round the Bras Basah, Bugis and Beach Rd area umpteenth times before i finally thought of a detour to reach Marina Square. headache man. those present were fadzly, najib, farihah & rizman, shahrizal & zaridah, hasibah, syed faizal, & me. i missed khaidir and SK, for they had to go off earlier. we had fun outwitting each other in bowling, where my rusty skills never failed to fail me when it matters. ended the day them with dinner and sheesha at a Bussorah Street cafe. twas great, meeting them after such a long time, ages perhaps, and catching up on the bits and pieces of each other's lives ever since the last meetup. talked, joked, and criticised like nobody's business. what i find good about it is that despite not having met for so long, the closeness was never lost among us. apparently they wanna make it a monthly thingy. yahahahahaha. abit ambitious me think, but ok we'll see. hahaha.

hope it can be the same with the Swiss fellas. yoohoooooo where are u all?

played court soccer on sunday morning with my new white Puma shoes (after much deliberation and saving up). panchit to the max, and lousy like hell. no form at all. this is no good.

ok dunno what else to blabber about. gonna rest. adios amigos.

i cant believe how low my tolerance level for pain is. i could hardly withstand the sting felt when i rubbed salt onto my open sore ulcer on the inside of my cheek. yes yes i finally managed to brave myself to do the inevitable after days of enduring the torture. my goodness how unashamedly i yelped and teared trying to fight back the pain. this is sooo weird. i cant stand pain, i fret about injections, i hate the sight of blood, i have heightophobia, etc etc bla bla bla amongst the many peculiarities that plague me. man im such a wuss. (ok that last statement do not require any reiteration from anybody aite).

aniwaes, i am damn damn exhausted from work. due to a series of unfortunate events i was required to fill in and cover for my superior on my off day on monday, which come in between the 5 days of work i had prior to that, and before another 4 days of consecutive work. these means that as of now, i have worked for 8 days straight already. as much as i appreciate the 'rezeki' im granted with, im am kinda pooped and burnt out from doing the same thing nonstop. and to make matters worse, tom would be the 9th and final day. before i get to rest on friday. oooh god bless me.

im looking forward to these, if they do turn out as tentatively planned.

- playing soccer with the guys on sunday morning.
- the videoezy gathering at RV next friday.
- long awaited reunion with the guys from Kris Pusaka 97-99 batch.
- breakfast and a movie with the missus. weeeeeeeee....

ok, i need to sleep now. i guess the fatigue's real bad when i can even start dozing off at the counter. so yea i think i should rest. pardon the lack of interesting updates from me in recent times ya. ciao.

i hate ulcers. they're painful, ugly, and give your breath a bad stink. aside from from emotional distress, they're the worst kind of trauma anyone could ever face. it's especially terrible when they come in combos, either in pairs or spread all over. and they take the pleasure out of eating. so, do drink up everyone before its .. umm .. too late.

i got a haircut. because im lazy to style/comb it, and because i dont look nice with long hair (or so im told). so it's very short now, and i like it. less of a hassle to bother about, and it's convenient since i wear a helmet often. someone mentioned i look like a chinaman coolie with this dopey look though. grrrr..

after much personal deliberation and thought, public clamouring and support, and irresistable pleas from the dearly beloved, i have come to a conclusion to give myself a much deserved break before the new term starts. just a simple getaway, nothing too fancy, and nothing too expensive (remember, budget is still key here). but no doubt im sure the fun will still be there. most probably it'll be in late july or early august i guess.

i need to do these things:

1. service my bike
2. pay my bills
3. get a new pair of jeans
4. go out with friends
5. clean my room
6. get back my boots from sabri
7. update this page more often
8. spend more time with the missus
9. stop working too much
10. stop whining.