I am sure that everyone from the Gen X or Gen Y batch has a favourite movie which he/she likes a lot. I pondered over what mine was and came to an inconclusive conclusion. That's the norm, my compositions in school always halt at an indecisive ending

Prior to Inception which everybody praises it after watching, I decided to pick some movies which I like most. For Mandarin films, I believe A World Without Thieves (starring Andy Lau) is the best of all. The message which the movie is trying to convey can be sensed greatly

Compared to Jack Neo's movies which try very hard to "teach" you some moral values through laughter and jokes with this year's Being Human being the epitome of morality (as it teaches you to Being Human Being?!), AWWT is simple and straightforward

Another movie which I would like to talk about is an English one. I seldom watch English movies so if I do recommend one, it's gotta be above average. And that is My Sister's Keeper

The storyline is similar to the original one from the book except for some parts. If you haven't read the book or didn't even hear about it before, just watch the movie. If you're a female, there's a 70% chance that you will cry while watching it. Lastly, the ending is superb

To be honest, I think this is my favourite movie or rather movies of all that I had watched so far in my life. It is a Japanese show. The story takes place in Japan, the actors are all Japanese, the story writer is also Japanese. It's adapted from a Japanese comic

So if you have guessed it, yes, it is Death Note. A perfect movie that just looks so perfect. It doesn't have humorous scenes which I usually look out for. The second volume is ridiculously long like Avatar but unlike the blue-alien film, every part of Death Note is crucial and thrilling

The only part which I dislike about this movie is that Light had to lose to L. I supported Light from the start of the show but the scriptwriter did not share the same view as me

An Average Singaporean

Hello again everyone! I'm back after a one, two, three day hiatus thanks to some assignments. So what had I been doing for the past 72 hours?

Well, I am not going into details like what most bloggers do (I woke up at XX am, took MRT to XX place, met XX and XX, went to watch XX movie, then eat XX at XX place, then bought a XX for XX, then we saw an XX and laughed like XXXXX)

Actually the only important thing which I recalled doing was breathing. That is really important and the most important to do to ah, ah, ah, ah staying alive, staying alive

Alright, lame jokes aside, I have thought of this topic recently. What/Who is the average Singaporean?

I have listed some points which I believe are the pre-requisites to becoming an average Singaporean

First of all, you need to be a commoner. Someone who walks down Orchard Road without getting much attention unless you forgot to zip your pants. JJ Lin is no commoner, same goes to Ris Low although they're uncommon for different reasons. Ok, so you get my point?

If you are a student

You undergo academic rigours in your school where only exam results matter

You are forced to join a CCA even though there isn't one which interests you

You only realized that PSLE was not that crucial after all when you obtain your O Level

You are aware that your school has more and more China students every year

If you are a working adult

You undergo work stress as Singapore is a highly competitive place where only work performance matters.

You are forced to squeeze on the MRT or pay ERP wherever you drive to

You only realized that qualifications are not that crucial after all as foreigners with lower salary demands can easily be employed

You are aware that you are getting older and older but your salary hardly moves

Weekends, what does an average Singaporean do on a weekend?

You sleep as long as possible until you think it's enough

You go to NTUC to stock up necessities and join a dragon queue with many other fellow Singaporeans

The only day/days of the week which you seriously read the newspapers

You read the newspapers to look for any discounts

If it is worth the deal, you quickly head down to the destination before another kiasu Singaporean does so

You take self-declared afternoon naps

Play sports with friends on a Sunday morning

You queue up at Singapore Pools to buy 4D without complaining

At least one of your meals in these two days is not home-cooked

Watch a movie that you think is worth spending ten dollars (or more if your girlfriend joins)

Go to JB

Things that an average Singaporean would and would not do

You can queue for an hour to buy Toto but will never queue up for ten minutes to enter a public toilet

You are willing to spend six dollars to eat KFC but will never pay ten cents to enter a public toilet (unless there's an urgency)

You use your home's toilet paper sparingly but pull out large amounts in a public toilet

You may forget to bring your handphone out but will never forget to tap out when alighting a bus

You privately complain about the ruling Pay and Pay party but never dare to voice it out publicly

You drive to Malaysia to refill your car's petrol but rather waste more time than take a taxi

You eat at a hotel only during wedding dinners and never visit a foodcourt if there's a hawker centre nearby

What do you as an average Singaporean think about?

Pay and Pay is incompetent to lead the country but when you look at the opposition, you sigh even more

ERP stands for Every Road Pay

HDB stands for Heavy Debt Burden

GRC stands for Governance, Risk and Compliance

You are thinking of more ideas which will soon surface

RC block parties are a waste of time and money

What number should I buy for 4D

Feel like punching those annoying China people in public

Feel like whacking them up as well

And ask them to balek kampong

When will I ever strike Toto

Should I put a parking coupon

Never shop at 7 Eleven unless it's at an unearthly hour

Roti Prata definitely needs to be eaten with curry

Buying clothes at departmental stores and Expo sales

What is really so good about Apple products

LKY should just retire

My country is always the safest among all the ASEAN members

Why must we serve NS

NS is a waste of time

Will I be able to survive after retiring

HDB flat prices are way too high currently

Marina Bay is the only place in the country we can boast about to the world

NEWater is an awesome invention

I love Singapore!!!

That was insanely humourous and it triggered a series of trajectories and transcending senses throughout my body and mind causing myself to display an uncontrollable expression of laughter. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

A million years

Once upon a time, a boy met a God and they talked

Boy: God, may I know how long is a million years?
God: In my perspective, a million years is like a minute to me
Boy: Then how much is a million dollars?
God: A million dollars is like a one dollar coin to me
Boy: Oh God, can you give me a dollar?
God: Sorry, I'm busy now. Can you wait for a minute?

As the old saying goes, time and tide waits for no man...

Ok, woman is included as well

Which is more important?

Oh sheeet. So near yet so far. I struck three numbers for yesterday's Great Singapore Sale Toto draw. 14, 23, 29. I should think positively

This is the first time that I got three numbers right. Ok, so just buy a few more times and I may be one of the winners in the Group 6 prize. Then, buy another few more times and I may end up as a Group 3 or 4 winner and then...who doesn't like to dream?

I was thinking about an old topic this morning. Who doesn't love money? People who say they don't love money are the biggest hypocrites in the world. It seems very strange to me that whenever I tell people money is great, they will argue back citing examples like health and family are more crucial

Come on people, you all need to look from another angle. Money, family and health are the three most equally important things in everyone's life. So you should not juxtapose them for comparison. It is just like asking someone if charcoal or lighters are more crucial for a bbq

Neither one of the three can be removed from everybody's life. Of course, money can't buy health and health can't buy money either. Both of them are "un-buyable" or rather not for sale

Just like why vegetarians maintain herbivore diets and there are always people jogging at a nearby park, there will also be others willing to queue up an hour to buy Toto. All of them are seeking different goals. So you cannot describe a person as overly health-conscious or too money-minded

Cherish what you have now before it's too late to regret

iPad or iPhone or Toto?

So we all know that the legendary iPad and the great-grandson of the over-hyped iPhone (4th generation) will be released in Singapore tomorrow and on 30th July respectively. Seems that none of the three telcos are selling the iPad which is rather surprising

Anyway, I can assure you that there is nothing great about a tablet PC from Apple. I had already touched one before about two months back. It is heavier than what you expect when you hold it for the first time. iPad is just maximizing an iPhone so that you need not squint your eyes when looking at the screen

I still think that a good old laptop would be a wiser choice. Apple die-hard fans like Galvyn will be eager to argue with me that this device is wonderful or any other adjective that means very good. That is the mentality of Apple fans, they defend their favourite brand like how the government defend the policies they've came up with

As for iPhone 4, there has been some antenna problem with this smartphone. Apple CEO Steve Jobs has offered free cases to all iPhone 4 users to fix the problem. I think we are better off buying our own plasters and fix the problem on our own

Oh yeah, check out this link. It is a leaked email of Singtel's iPhone 4 launch. So much so for my loyal support for them when such an embarrassing thing occurred. Well, never mind, I ain't no iPhone fan either and will never buy one unless there are no other brands on earth

In a nutshell, do not spend unnecessary money on these pretty-looking Apple products. Use the money to invest in tomorrow's 8.3 million Toto draw man!

These days, all of my blogger friends hardly blog. Things really change drastically in a span of one or two years. The norm thing which we used to do was visit each other's blog every other day. This fact has ended up becoming just a dream now

I find that I am the only person left stranded on a deserted island while everybody else have swam away. Can't be that I am too passionate right? Their blogs can be left rotten for like a month

I think it is more about one's character and mindset. Bloggers will experience mental block or there is just nothing interesting in one's life for one to pen it down. I do have similar experiences too but managed to overcame them

If I can do it, so can you. Come on fellow bloggers, swim back to this island and join me. I can assure you that it is a paradise island.

Flood

Floods have recently been a hit in Singapore and have been hitting the headlines on newsprint publications. Seems that we must be mentally prepared to expect a flood every time we go out now

Old newspapers appear everywhere on the ground of shops to absorb water while newspapers supposed to be delivered to houses vanished to nowhere. Cars are soaked in water so badly that one might need an ultra bamboo stick to hang it dry. People end up sitting on tables instead of chairs in kopitiams

PUB claimed that a culvert was blocked by debris which resulted in the first flash flood at Orchard Road last month. However, Saturday morning's sequel proved that that is not really the main problem since the drain has been cleared

Did Marina Barrage play a part? This dam was built to increase Singapore's water catchment areas and alleviate flooding in low lying places. Well, it did by holding back Kallang River

Dams are made to hold river water while this one is used to hold water back from the sea. The other side of it blocks run-off water from rain from flowing to the sea. The outcome of this is of course floods in areas (like Orchard Road) that look impossible to have a flood for a long, long time

Water flows from high to low. The water level in Marina area is higher than than one of the sea. Therefore, when the Marina Barrage gates open and water flows, it is flowing from within the Marina area to the open sea

That is where problems occur. An inland flood will result in water stranded there as it is not flowing quick enough to the pool. Because the Marina area's level is higher than the sea so water is accumulated at a slower rate

If there was no such thing as Marina Barrage, the Marina area and the sea would be at an equal level meaning that the latter is still higher as a whole

And who was the one who came up with this reservoir?

Nokia E52

I changed to a new handphone today. It is Nokia E52 ( I know it's kinda old but I think it suits me the most). After four years and three Sony Ericsson phones, it is back to basics with Nokia again

I still haven't sent an SMS with it yet. Wonder who would be the first lucky one? Anyway, there are three things which makes Nokia a better brand than Sony Ericsson through my experience from using their mobile phones

Nokia's battery lasts longer than Sony Ericsson. Using the latter will result in more amounts of charging. Fortunately, I can always take advantage of the free electricity available in school but that is not long-term. Nokia is still the most reliable

Sony Ericsson is better known for its beauty than practicality (somewhat similar to a certain computer brand that is the name of a fruit). I pride myself as an uncle so all those geeky stuff don't excite me. Well, I only utilize my handphone to call and SMS only

Sony Ericsson always have problems with their USB ports. After plugging in the charger, I will need to "twist and turn" it until the screen indicates that the phone is charging. Sometimes, twisting and turning for ten times will be a waste of my time because nothing happens

Seems that Finland is still a better place than Sweden after all

Some bloggers blog using Wordpress

As they always feel very depressed

Wordpress has a password-protected post feature

Allowing them to rant freely like painting a picture

People who choose to use Blogger are still the best

At least they are brave enough to put their posts to the test

Raymond

YOG Mercedes

Omg, now even Mercedes taxis are used as Youth Olympic Games transport. I bet the government is trying to justify that they are really the highest paid politicians in the world. Well done. My condolences to the taxpayers