Dear Graduate of the NUS Class of 2004
Entrance fees for the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) just went up to $3,000.00 and will go up further to $5,000.00 by March 2009.
BUT... graduates who join within the first three years of graduation only pay $2,000.00. As a graduate of the Class of 2004, your three years is running out!
So wait no longer! Join before 1 July 2007 and enjoy the reduced entrance fee of $2,000.00 which can be paid through 25 interest-free
instalments of $80 a month! Exclusively for the NUS Class of 2004, you will also receive $1,000.00 worth of free NUSS F&B vouchers when you join us before 1 July 2007!
What's more, membership is transferable!
NUSS is Singapore's premium graduate club with not one but three clubhouses located at Kent Ridge, Adam Park and Suntec City Mall. Enjoy comprehensive sporting and recreational facilities, dining options, in-house events and much more when you sign up with NUSS.
NUSS is exclusive to university graduates and professionals. By March 2008, you will enjoy the use of a spanking new $32-million clubhouse at Kent Ridge and a $2-million clubhouse just beside the Botanic Gardens.
This is an offer not to be missed. So what are you waiting for? Contact us NOW for an obligation-free preview:
CALL 6586 3777
EMAIL marketing@nuss.org.sg
SURF www.nuss.org.sg
Please click here to download the application form
The world of NUSS welcomes you.
No thanks.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Slurp~
Hougang BLK 804 Western Food
While I was still staying at Hougang, I asked Houganger for food recommendations. I got my sister to pack chicken cutlet for me immediately that night. Boy I so did not regret it. If it still tastes good after surviving a bicycle trip, it must be damn good if eaten on the spot.
And so I did. Located in a coffeeshop opposite Hougang Plaza, obviously more crowded than the Kopitiam chain. There's 秋莲板面 and a duck rice which is supposed to be good too. The western food stall is manned by a few ah bengs who don't look like they belong behind stalls. The obese one was standing and had one leg propped up on a stool. You get the idea? Wonder what car they drive.
My mixed grill was served on a sizzling, overflowing hot plate. Got chicken and forgot what other meat, potato with melting butter, fries, salad, sunny egg, onion... any other? It's just good lah! How often do you get hot plate at coffeeshops?
Tampopo
J had ramen craving, so J, W and I went to this place at Liang Court B1 which sells delicious ramen in pork bone soup which takes 2 days to boil. I had Kyushu Jangara Ramen, which comes with cod roe(kind of regretted stirring it into the soup without tasting more of it), one BIG slice of pork that spirals with fat and one whole hard boiled egg which miraculously still has partially running yolk and white! I usually don't eat pork fat but this time I did, because I paid for it and there would be nothing left if I extracted the fat. Didn't regret it! Now I know what it means to have meat melt in your mouth. A downside is that when the ramen cools, I could taste a tinge of bitterness. Should be the noodle's alkali. I think the ramen costs $12.80.
J and W had a spicy version that comes with pork strips instead. I think mine is better :D W loves the egg so much that she ordered an extra :O
We got 2 desserts to share. I think one of it was a cheese cake but it wasn't outstanding, thus forgettable. The other was a jelly that comes in a hollowed orange, made with real orange juice and chunks of pulp. Mmm~
Congratulations to J on her engagement!
Jelly Belly
Bought this from a spree. I shouldn't have bought the soda pop shoppe! Because I forgot there wouldn't be any fizz -_-;; The burst of flavor only lasted a few chews and worst of all, the beans stick in teeth. The Sours flavor looks more promising in terms of taste, but I still don't think I will buy again. Meiji tastes good and the best thing is, they don't stick to my teeth.
While I was still staying at Hougang, I asked Houganger for food recommendations. I got my sister to pack chicken cutlet for me immediately that night. Boy I so did not regret it. If it still tastes good after surviving a bicycle trip, it must be damn good if eaten on the spot.
And so I did. Located in a coffeeshop opposite Hougang Plaza, obviously more crowded than the Kopitiam chain. There's 秋莲板面 and a duck rice which is supposed to be good too. The western food stall is manned by a few ah bengs who don't look like they belong behind stalls. The obese one was standing and had one leg propped up on a stool. You get the idea? Wonder what car they drive.
My mixed grill was served on a sizzling, overflowing hot plate. Got chicken and forgot what other meat, potato with melting butter, fries, salad, sunny egg, onion... any other? It's just good lah! How often do you get hot plate at coffeeshops?
Tampopo
J had ramen craving, so J, W and I went to this place at Liang Court B1 which sells delicious ramen in pork bone soup which takes 2 days to boil. I had Kyushu Jangara Ramen, which comes with cod roe(kind of regretted stirring it into the soup without tasting more of it), one BIG slice of pork that spirals with fat and one whole hard boiled egg which miraculously still has partially running yolk and white! I usually don't eat pork fat but this time I did, because I paid for it and there would be nothing left if I extracted the fat. Didn't regret it! Now I know what it means to have meat melt in your mouth. A downside is that when the ramen cools, I could taste a tinge of bitterness. Should be the noodle's alkali. I think the ramen costs $12.80.
J and W had a spicy version that comes with pork strips instead. I think mine is better :D W loves the egg so much that she ordered an extra :O
We got 2 desserts to share. I think one of it was a cheese cake but it wasn't outstanding, thus forgettable. The other was a jelly that comes in a hollowed orange, made with real orange juice and chunks of pulp. Mmm~
Congratulations to J on her engagement!
Jelly Belly
Bought this from a spree. I shouldn't have bought the soda pop shoppe! Because I forgot there wouldn't be any fizz -_-;; The burst of flavor only lasted a few chews and worst of all, the beans stick in teeth. The Sours flavor looks more promising in terms of taste, but I still don't think I will buy again. Meiji tastes good and the best thing is, they don't stick to my teeth.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
You Know 20070616 is Auspicious
... when you get invited for 2 wedding dinners on the same day. When I knew that J&F and D&S were having their ADs in June, I thought it wouldn't be such a coincidence, so I agreed to go when D asked me. It's a good chance to meet some university friends that I haven't seen since I graduated mah. Honestly, I prefer J&F's as the crowd would be more fun, my sister might get to meet her idol and I have more confidence in Tung Lok 金玉满堂's food vs Hotel Rendezvous (although I have eaten neither before). But promised already, dun upset people's plans lah :| Pakat with W and M to give $80. Cannot appear giam siap or too generous.
I was blur enough to keep thinking 16th is a Sunday, until Friday night.
Got home from work at 1.30pm. Got my sister to help dye my hair coral pink, which was a disaster throughout. The dye kept flowing down my neck (think she put so much that being non-drip didn't help) and the color didn't come out well. Well because I had some regrowth and I chose to be lazy and ignored the instruction set for regrowth, so the color came out uneven. But even the regrowth looked undyed! The conclusion is that coral pink only looks good on the box.
Tried my new cheap items:
First stop was 金玉满堂 to wish J. 6.45pm and she hasn't dressed yet. F was having his hair styled strand by strand. Took a photo with her, passed her a token angpow (why am I so nice?) and left. My sister didn't get to see her idol. Ran into the guys attending her dinner as I was leaving.
Next was Hotel Rendezvous. It's so near, yet so far! So much traffic and traffic lights that it was almost 7.30pm when I reached. But as usual, banquets never start on time. I think it was 8-something when we went in. Dropped my $80 angpow into a donation box lookalike. Didn't know it's like that now. Like quite impersonal.
Sharing the table was poopee, bug, WL, KT and wife. M flew plane because he had a stomachache. Xuelanghu got event. Razor... dunno why. Not sure if there's a 10th person.
It was the usual proceedings, usual food. Most of the time, my table was served relatively later than those around. I think it's my aura. W left before taking the I-was-here photo :(
The sharksfin was noteworthy for a generous amount of crab and dried scallop shreds and long sharksfin fibre than the previous few I had. And of course the 2nd helping since there were only 6 at the table :P
I didn't have the prawns because I didn't want to dirty my hands. It's delicious, according to the rest :(
Had 1 slice of roast chicken with sour plum sauce. Juicy meat, crispy skin, but slices that are ready to pop into the mouth are rare.
They turned off the light to screen the AD video while we were having the steamed fish -_-;; The funniest was the poor little boy commissioned to open the car door for D. He looked extremely pale, half-closing eyes and dark eye rings!
Sliced ab·a·lo·ne with spinach! Mmm~~
闷香菇. Not good, the mushrooms are tasteless inside. Must be didn't 闷 long enough.
生面. Worst. Tasteless gravy and squid. But it has peeled prawns!
Or-nee. Yummy! But it's very rich, so I could only have 1 helping. I would love to take the rest home but I didn't bring plastic bag.
Bug and poopee are big eaters! Thanks to them, we did not throw away 60% of the food. (4 people not here, W left early and I didn't really eat)
I didn't touch the booze. Wedding booze confirm taste bad. KT's wife was slightly sick towards the end. Did she have too much too fast, or it's really... bad? I acted cultured by drinking chinese tea.
People were gone in a blink after they finished their dessert. So 现实. Stupid sky was pouring. It was this time that I discovered that none of us at the table has a driving license *gasp*; KT paid $90 at Mac with his army friends and didn't get a cent back *OMG*
O yes, D's wife is very pretty, for that night at least.
The lousy cream isn't up to my expectations. Eyeshadow partly dissolved, but still visible. Worth the $3.
The gift that we took a good while to figure out the use. It's a salt and pepper shaker.
BooOooO~~ I've killed the red shaker!
I was blur enough to keep thinking 16th is a Sunday, until Friday night.
Got home from work at 1.30pm. Got my sister to help dye my hair coral pink, which was a disaster throughout. The dye kept flowing down my neck (think she put so much that being non-drip didn't help) and the color didn't come out well. Well because I had some regrowth and I chose to be lazy and ignored the instruction set for regrowth, so the color came out uneven. But even the regrowth looked undyed! The conclusion is that coral pink only looks good on the box.
Tried my new cheap items:
- CARE Pre-makeup cream $3. Sure felt very smooth after applying. Actually I just don't want to look like oily kuali. It better work.
- e.l.f. Brightening Eye Color, Silver Lining $3.03. Got a damn lot of color with 1 swipe. Will it stay? Only time will tell.
- e.l.f. All Over Color Stick, Persimmon $3.03. EEKS! Why is it so silvery?? Supposed to be dark orange-red I thought? Cannot use as lipstick lah. Used as a highlighter instead.
- Blusher from Daiso $2. Also very pigmented. Looked too wayang at first try and had to mute with foundation. This is so much better than that lousy $12 Maybelline one which you can spend a lifetime swiping and nothing shows.
- Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm $6.03. Actually, I hate lipstick. Confirm will drop off since I eat so chorlor-ly. Just put something to prevent my lipskin from peeling then.
First stop was 金玉满堂 to wish J. 6.45pm and she hasn't dressed yet. F was having his hair styled strand by strand. Took a photo with her, passed her a token angpow (why am I so nice?) and left. My sister didn't get to see her idol. Ran into the guys attending her dinner as I was leaving.
Next was Hotel Rendezvous. It's so near, yet so far! So much traffic and traffic lights that it was almost 7.30pm when I reached. But as usual, banquets never start on time. I think it was 8-something when we went in. Dropped my $80 angpow into a donation box lookalike. Didn't know it's like that now. Like quite impersonal.
Sharing the table was poopee, bug, WL, KT and wife. M flew plane because he had a stomachache. Xuelanghu got event. Razor... dunno why. Not sure if there's a 10th person.
It was the usual proceedings, usual food. Most of the time, my table was served relatively later than those around. I think it's my aura. W left before taking the I-was-here photo :(
The sharksfin was noteworthy for a generous amount of crab and dried scallop shreds and long sharksfin fibre than the previous few I had. And of course the 2nd helping since there were only 6 at the table :P
I didn't have the prawns because I didn't want to dirty my hands. It's delicious, according to the rest :(
Had 1 slice of roast chicken with sour plum sauce. Juicy meat, crispy skin, but slices that are ready to pop into the mouth are rare.
They turned off the light to screen the AD video while we were having the steamed fish -_-;; The funniest was the poor little boy commissioned to open the car door for D. He looked extremely pale, half-closing eyes and dark eye rings!
Sliced ab·a·lo·ne with spinach! Mmm~~
闷香菇. Not good, the mushrooms are tasteless inside. Must be didn't 闷 long enough.
生面. Worst. Tasteless gravy and squid. But it has peeled prawns!
Or-nee. Yummy! But it's very rich, so I could only have 1 helping. I would love to take the rest home but I didn't bring plastic bag.
Bug and poopee are big eaters! Thanks to them, we did not throw away 60% of the food. (4 people not here, W left early and I didn't really eat)
I didn't touch the booze. Wedding booze confirm taste bad. KT's wife was slightly sick towards the end. Did she have too much too fast, or it's really... bad? I acted cultured by drinking chinese tea.
People were gone in a blink after they finished their dessert. So 现实. Stupid sky was pouring. It was this time that I discovered that none of us at the table has a driving license *gasp*; KT paid $90 at Mac with his army friends and didn't get a cent back *OMG*
O yes, D's wife is very pretty, for that night at least.
The lousy cream isn't up to my expectations. Eyeshadow partly dissolved, but still visible. Worth the $3.
The gift that we took a good while to figure out the use. It's a salt and pepper shaker.
BooOooO~~ I've killed the red shaker!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Blah
I can't go hungry in my office.
Ikea's stuff are cheap because you have to DIY. The same goes for the letterings on this keyboard. This helps to keep costs down.
I have spent an atrocious sum in May and June. Both needs and whims.
I have done something dishonest. Or rather, I have not done something I rightfully should have. Continue to feign ignorance.
My beloved SE K750i has retired. The above are the last few pictures taken by it. It's sturdy, withstanding the countless falls from heights. I found a bug with the business card function. Upon edit, the phone reboots. But ok lah, doesn't bother me much. Overall, it has served me well. Thumbs up!
Ikea's stuff are cheap because you have to DIY. The same goes for the letterings on this keyboard. This helps to keep costs down.
I have spent an atrocious sum in May and June. Both needs and whims.
I have done something dishonest. Or rather, I have not done something I rightfully should have. Continue to feign ignorance.
My beloved SE K750i has retired. The above are the last few pictures taken by it. It's sturdy, withstanding the countless falls from heights. I found a bug with the business card function. Upon edit, the phone reboots. But ok lah, doesn't bother me much. Overall, it has served me well. Thumbs up!
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The Visitor
As I entered the guest's area of my office in the morning, an Indian guy looking lost, approached me.
Him: (In a heavy accent) Hi I am looking for Par-vri-ahn.
Me: Sorry I don't know who he is. Maybe he's from a different department. Do you have his number?
Him: O yes. (Takes out a crumpled piece of paper full of scribblings aka waste paper and shows me) Here.
Me: O Adrian! Yes yes I know. I go get him, take a seat please.
I went in and told Adrian that his interviewee was outside. Adrian mumbled that he was supposed to come at 9am, but it's 9.30am already.
How come that guy didn't call although he has a number? Odd.
When Adrian returned,
Adrian: You understand what that guy was saying ah? I don't ley.
Me: No?
Us: Hahaha!
I wonder what agency my company is using. I have never seen a single Chinese come for interview, much less employed. Am I racist? Maybe slightly, but you should see my team for yourself.
Him: (In a heavy accent) Hi I am looking for Par-vri-ahn.
Me: Sorry I don't know who he is. Maybe he's from a different department. Do you have his number?
Him: O yes. (Takes out a crumpled piece of paper full of scribblings aka waste paper and shows me) Here.
Me: O Adrian! Yes yes I know. I go get him, take a seat please.
I went in and told Adrian that his interviewee was outside. Adrian mumbled that he was supposed to come at 9am, but it's 9.30am already.
How come that guy didn't call although he has a number? Odd.
When Adrian returned,
Adrian: You understand what that guy was saying ah? I don't ley.
Me: No?
Us: Hahaha!
I wonder what agency my company is using. I have never seen a single Chinese come for interview, much less employed. Am I racist? Maybe slightly, but you should see my team for yourself.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Crap and Classic
明明
Comments: Er... I gave up on it after 30min. Does this count as a comment?
Ok if I really have to say something, to give this movie the benefit of doubt, I'm too shallow for this deep movie full of boring dialogues/monologues and what-not. I couldn't connect with it because the story is disconnected. Like I dunno why 明明 must go and steal a box lying on a counter when she was there for $5m and ended up preferring the box to money, and o btw, why is something so precious so carelessly left on the counter for everybody to steal?
People say 王家卫's movies have no story at all. Ya lah, but it's not as bad as this 明明 lor. At least superficially, 王家卫's movies have beautiful people like 梁朝伟, 王菲, 金城武 and 木村拓哉 to keep superficial people watching. Not that 吴彦祖 is not handsome, but most of the screentime is taken up by some ah beng bloke. Bleah.
Give it a miss, if you like slapstick comedy like me. It's not even worth downloading. I must apologize to my harddisk for putting it through such unnecessary torture.
Rating: Er..erm...
白い巨塔
It's 白い巨塔, not 白色巨塔 hor. First of all, I don't watch Taiwanese shows and secondly, I have zero confidence in shows starring 言承旭. But I must thank 白色巨塔 because I almost wanted to watch it when I saw the trailers on channel 8, since I heard the Japanese version was very popular. As luck would have it, 白い巨塔 became available on *ahem*, so why settle for an imitation?
There is no female lead. No cool, young men. No found-in-your-dreams-only romance. Politicking and bribery. A congregation of fake middle-aged women with irritatingly high-pitched act-cute voices. Limited soundtracks, sombre at best. An exciting plot that leaves the viewer more stressed than relaxed is what there is. Well this series lived up to, and surpassed my expectations.
Rating: 10/5! It can have 明明's stars as well!
Comments: Er... I gave up on it after 30min. Does this count as a comment?
Ok if I really have to say something, to give this movie the benefit of doubt, I'm too shallow for this deep movie full of boring dialogues/monologues and what-not. I couldn't connect with it because the story is disconnected. Like I dunno why 明明 must go and steal a box lying on a counter when she was there for $5m and ended up preferring the box to money, and o btw, why is something so precious so carelessly left on the counter for everybody to steal?
People say 王家卫's movies have no story at all. Ya lah, but it's not as bad as this 明明 lor. At least superficially, 王家卫's movies have beautiful people like 梁朝伟, 王菲, 金城武 and 木村拓哉 to keep superficial people watching. Not that 吴彦祖 is not handsome, but most of the screentime is taken up by some ah beng bloke. Bleah.
Give it a miss, if you like slapstick comedy like me. It's not even worth downloading. I must apologize to my harddisk for putting it through such unnecessary torture.
Rating: Er..erm...
白い巨塔
It's 白い巨塔, not 白色巨塔 hor. First of all, I don't watch Taiwanese shows and secondly, I have zero confidence in shows starring 言承旭. But I must thank 白色巨塔 because I almost wanted to watch it when I saw the trailers on channel 8, since I heard the Japanese version was very popular. As luck would have it, 白い巨塔 became available on *ahem*, so why settle for an imitation?
There is no female lead. No cool, young men. No found-in-your-dreams-only romance. Politicking and bribery. A congregation of fake middle-aged women with irritatingly high-pitched act-cute voices. Limited soundtracks, sombre at best. An exciting plot that leaves the viewer more stressed than relaxed is what there is. Well this series lived up to, and surpassed my expectations.
Rating: 10/5! It can have 明明's stars as well!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Citibank REALLY Cares For Your Pocket
This afternoon, a lady from Citibank called me. Well, what other matter could it be, apart from showing concern for my pocket once more?
So what made them call me again barely 2 working days later? I must have spent 2 working days reconsidering spending money on softdrinks? Or Citibank is so confident about 100% take-up that their database schema is like this:
Table Credit_Card_Customer
Name varchar(66) NOT NULL
Contact_No varchar(30) NOT NULL
Signed_Up_CS char(1) NOT NULL Default(N)
Then execute this:
SELECT Name, Contact_No FROM Credit_Card_Customer WHERE Signed_Up_CS<>'Y';
And they will keep calling the people that appear in the query? TELL ME CITIBANK, IS THIS WHAT YOU DO? Seriously, they should add 1 more column, Persuaded_But_Rejected so that they would stop trying to help me!! I CAN LOOK FOR HELP ON MY OWN WHEN I NEED LAH! Like sign up with them when I think I cannot pay my bill soon heehee.
Anyway, back to that lady on the phone. I interrupted her saying that they had called me before and I am not interested. I should have told her that her colleague just called me 2 working days ago and it's too quick for a follow-up. I swear I will lash out at the next person who calls me about this same thing within 3 months.
Although I'm still not sure how the premium is calculated, not interested in finding out lah. It's like finding out about life insurance when I will never get one.
So what made them call me again barely 2 working days later? I must have spent 2 working days reconsidering spending money on softdrinks? Or Citibank is so confident about 100% take-up that their database schema is like this:
Table Credit_Card_Customer
Name varchar(66) NOT NULL
Contact_No varchar(30) NOT NULL
Signed_Up_CS char(1) NOT NULL Default(N)
Then execute this:
SELECT Name, Contact_No FROM Credit_Card_Customer WHERE Signed_Up_CS<>'Y';
And they will keep calling the people that appear in the query? TELL ME CITIBANK, IS THIS WHAT YOU DO? Seriously, they should add 1 more column, Persuaded_But_Rejected so that they would stop trying to help me!! I CAN LOOK FOR HELP ON MY OWN WHEN I NEED LAH! Like sign up with them when I think I cannot pay my bill soon heehee.
Anyway, back to that lady on the phone. I interrupted her saying that they had called me before and I am not interested. I should have told her that her colleague just called me 2 working days ago and it's too quick for a follow-up. I swear I will lash out at the next person who calls me about this same thing within 3 months.
Although I'm still not sure how the premium is calculated, not interested in finding out lah. It's like finding out about life insurance when I will never get one.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Citibank Cares For Your Pocket
Last Friday during lunch, I received a call from a lady from Citibank. In a very serious tone, she said that from their records, (was she was going to ask why I haven't spent a single cent yet, is it because I haven't receive my card) I didn't apply for Credit Shield (CS).
Eh? Simi CS? The lady probably figured that I didn't know what it is, so she asked if I have heard of CS. No, I said, and she proceeded to introduce it to me.
Quoted from Citibank's Q&A
Q: What is CreditShield?
A: CreditShield is an insurance cover, exclusively for Citibank cardmembers and Ready Credit account holders.
CreditShield frees you and your family from worrying over your credit card or Ready Credit payments should the unforeseen happen. It pays the minimum amount due on your account for up to 6 months, if you are totally and temporarily disabled. Or your entire account balance up to S$40,000 in the event of death or total permanent disablement.
You pay only $0.36 for every $100 of current balance on your monthly statement of account. When your current balance is zero, you pay absolutely nothing.
It is easy to enrol and no medical examination is required. To be eligible, you have to be between the age of 21 and 60 years.
Actually I recalled everything by the time she got to the first sentence of the second paragraph, but I just let her continue anyway. I had indeed passed up the chance to apply for it while applying for my credit card (CC). Maybe I should hear her out first. Maybe there's a free trial or free gift if I sign up with her? Haaa.
She said that Citibank strongly recommends that all customers sign up for CS.
I didn't like the tone and wording of the last sentence. This product is obviously designed for compulsive shoppers, and I'm definitely not one of them, although the possibility of me joining the dark side is there, judging from how much I have spent in May *blush*. What is the likelihood of me spending till I cannot pay up? Even if something happened and I had to bleed my savings, I still don't think it can get to the point that I have to default on CC payments. Even if I'm so suay, CC bills will get top priority simply because of the exorbitant interest rate. I know the premium is insignificant, but I could use that money to buy a few cans of soft drinks ok! Throw away a few dollars monthly, 积少成多 can! Singapore's Visa default rate was only about 4% in 2003, so Citibank is scheming to collect free lunches from 96% of their customers! Hah! I won't fall for that!
I asked the lady if it's compulsory. She said no. I asked if there's any preclusion clause. No also.
But too bad, still not interested :P
Eh? Simi CS? The lady probably figured that I didn't know what it is, so she asked if I have heard of CS. No, I said, and she proceeded to introduce it to me.
Quoted from Citibank's Q&A
Q: What is CreditShield?
A: CreditShield is an insurance cover, exclusively for Citibank cardmembers and Ready Credit account holders.
CreditShield frees you and your family from worrying over your credit card or Ready Credit payments should the unforeseen happen. It pays the minimum amount due on your account for up to 6 months, if you are totally and temporarily disabled. Or your entire account balance up to S$40,000 in the event of death or total permanent disablement.
You pay only $0.36 for every $100 of current balance on your monthly statement of account. When your current balance is zero, you pay absolutely nothing.
It is easy to enrol and no medical examination is required. To be eligible, you have to be between the age of 21 and 60 years.
Actually I recalled everything by the time she got to the first sentence of the second paragraph, but I just let her continue anyway. I had indeed passed up the chance to apply for it while applying for my credit card (CC). Maybe I should hear her out first. Maybe there's a free trial or free gift if I sign up with her? Haaa.
She said that Citibank strongly recommends that all customers sign up for CS.
I didn't like the tone and wording of the last sentence. This product is obviously designed for compulsive shoppers, and I'm definitely not one of them, although the possibility of me joining the dark side is there, judging from how much I have spent in May *blush*. What is the likelihood of me spending till I cannot pay up? Even if something happened and I had to bleed my savings, I still don't think it can get to the point that I have to default on CC payments. Even if I'm so suay, CC bills will get top priority simply because of the exorbitant interest rate. I know the premium is insignificant, but I could use that money to buy a few cans of soft drinks ok! Throw away a few dollars monthly, 积少成多 can! Singapore's Visa default rate was only about 4% in 2003, so Citibank is scheming to collect free lunches from 96% of their customers! Hah! I won't fall for that!
I asked the lady if it's compulsory. She said no. I asked if there's any preclusion clause. No also.
But too bad, still not interested :P
Friday, May 25, 2007
Played Out By Machines
**WARNING - TECHNICAL POST AHEAD**
On a Friday evening, I wanted to finish coding this portion before going home.
public HashMap combine(Timestamp[] a, String[] b, String[] c) {
/*The objective is to group together each of the elements in
*arrays a and c, using c as the key.
*Arrays a, b, c contain the same number of elements and have
*been pre-processed such that c[0] maps to a[0] and b[0]
*and so forth.
*The resulting HashMap will be passed to a jsp page to be
*printed
*/
HashMap hm = new HashMap();
Vector v = new Vector();
for(int i=0; i<a.length; i++) {
v.addElement(a[i]);
v.addElement(b[i]);
hm.put(c[i], v);
}
return hm;
}
--
Expected output, assuming size of result is 4
Key: 1
Object: [28/05/2007, A]
Key: 2
Object: [29/05/2007, B]
Key: 3
Object: [30/05/2007, C]
Key: 4
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Actual output
Key: 1
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Key: 2
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Key: 3
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Key: 4
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Knowing how blur I am, I thought I did something wrong when retrieving the HashMap and printing in the jsp. Nothing wrong.
Printed out the HashMap within combine(), before return. OMG! It's already giving the wrong output! No wonder everything is haywire at the jsp.
Something wrong with my loop probably? But nothing seems wrong. In fact, nothing can be wrong, coz the function is so basic that even a noob can do it.
Added v.clear() to ensure the Vector is totally empty at each iteration. Didn't work.
Changed v.addElement(Object) to v.add(position, Object). Didn't work.
How can? I added line-by-line println. The correct values are being added into the Vector ley... So how did they end up with the correct key but wrong contents?
Ok. This time I iterated through the whole HashMap each time I added to it. Surprise! Everything is correct. The question just got bigger. Why was everything correct in the for loop, but wrong once it's out? Baffling.
I was supposed to have completed this task like 1hr ago, but I'm still stuck. I'm very certain it's not my fault, but somehow things are not working.
Is it some synchronization problem, somehow? Problem ran too fast and screwed up? Sounds unlikely, but well, who knows, since I'm having an impossible problem already. API said HashMap is unsynchronized, but Hashtable is. Ok. Faster change to Hashtable see how. But still not working!!
Feel like giving up already. My father has arrived and was waiting for me. But how can I just leave the problem hanging? I have to face it again if I come tomorrow. Would I want to waste a Saturday afternoon on something seemingly trivial? End a day without completing a task?
I resolved to go home only if I solve this.
I wrote a simple java program to test if HashMap really works the way I want. Basically the same as the code above, except it's using the oh-so-familiar public static void main and hardcoding the elements in the Arrays. Worked as expected. Frustrating is the word.
9pm already.
The server console stopped printing output. Damn, now I have to waste 1min to restart it.
Server up. Added more printlns. I must get to the bottom of this.
The jsp prints correctly now. I DID NOT FUCKING CHANGE ANYTHING. Nothing. Zilch. It just decided to start working after I restarted. What can I say? Stared at the screen in disbelief. I don't even know what to blame. The computer? Java compiler? IBM for this server? Myself for not deciding to restart the server although it seemed fine? I wasted 2hrs of my life on nothing.
Great, now I can go home. The mood to work tomorrow is totally shattered.
On a Friday evening, I wanted to finish coding this portion before going home.
public HashMap combine(Timestamp[] a, String[] b, String[] c) {
/*The objective is to group together each of the elements in
*arrays a and c, using c as the key.
*Arrays a, b, c contain the same number of elements and have
*been pre-processed such that c[0] maps to a[0] and b[0]
*and so forth.
*The resulting HashMap will be passed to a jsp page to be
*printed
*/
HashMap hm = new HashMap();
Vector v = new Vector();
for(int i=0; i<a.length; i++) {
v.addElement(a[i]);
v.addElement(b[i]);
hm.put(c[i], v);
}
return hm;
}
--
Expected output, assuming size of result is 4
Key: 1
Object: [28/05/2007, A]
Key: 2
Object: [29/05/2007, B]
Key: 3
Object: [30/05/2007, C]
Key: 4
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Actual output
Key: 1
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Key: 2
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Key: 3
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Key: 4
Object: [31/05/2007, D]
Knowing how blur I am, I thought I did something wrong when retrieving the HashMap and printing in the jsp. Nothing wrong.
Printed out the HashMap within combine(), before return. OMG! It's already giving the wrong output! No wonder everything is haywire at the jsp.
Something wrong with my loop probably? But nothing seems wrong. In fact, nothing can be wrong, coz the function is so basic that even a noob can do it.
Added v.clear() to ensure the Vector is totally empty at each iteration. Didn't work.
Changed v.addElement(Object) to v.add(position, Object). Didn't work.
How can? I added line-by-line println. The correct values are being added into the Vector ley... So how did they end up with the correct key but wrong contents?
Ok. This time I iterated through the whole HashMap each time I added to it. Surprise! Everything is correct. The question just got bigger. Why was everything correct in the for loop, but wrong once it's out? Baffling.
I was supposed to have completed this task like 1hr ago, but I'm still stuck. I'm very certain it's not my fault, but somehow things are not working.
Is it some synchronization problem, somehow? Problem ran too fast and screwed up? Sounds unlikely, but well, who knows, since I'm having an impossible problem already. API said HashMap is unsynchronized, but Hashtable is. Ok. Faster change to Hashtable see how. But still not working!!
Feel like giving up already. My father has arrived and was waiting for me. But how can I just leave the problem hanging? I have to face it again if I come tomorrow. Would I want to waste a Saturday afternoon on something seemingly trivial? End a day without completing a task?
I resolved to go home only if I solve this.
I wrote a simple java program to test if HashMap really works the way I want. Basically the same as the code above, except it's using the oh-so-familiar public static void main and hardcoding the elements in the Arrays. Worked as expected. Frustrating is the word.
9pm already.
The server console stopped printing output. Damn, now I have to waste 1min to restart it.
Server up. Added more printlns. I must get to the bottom of this.
The jsp prints correctly now. I DID NOT FUCKING CHANGE ANYTHING. Nothing. Zilch. It just decided to start working after I restarted. What can I say? Stared at the screen in disbelief. I don't even know what to blame. The computer? Java compiler? IBM for this server? Myself for not deciding to restart the server although it seemed fine? I wasted 2hrs of my life on nothing.
Great, now I can go home. The mood to work tomorrow is totally shattered.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
We Must Make Up Our Minds
... about what drinks to have in future. Cannot say "whatever", "anything", 随便 anymore, or we might just get Whatever or Anything for real.
Haven't tried it yet. I will consider. Dunno when, not curious about it.
I didn't see its super ultra creative advertising campaign anywhere. Maybe because I'm asleep on the road most of the time. Too bad it's being dismantled before it's due, because people have been picking the empty cans as scrap. I thought the company behind this drink is called Out of the Box Pte Ltd? Seems like they have been living in a box and didn't know that drain covers, road signs and lightning conductors have been disappearing off the streets.
Haven't tried it yet. I will consider. Dunno when, not curious about it.
I didn't see its super ultra creative advertising campaign anywhere. Maybe because I'm asleep on the road most of the time. Too bad it's being dismantled before it's due, because people have been picking the empty cans as scrap. I thought the company behind this drink is called Out of the Box Pte Ltd? Seems like they have been living in a box and didn't know that drain covers, road signs and lightning conductors have been disappearing off the streets.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
下一站…吃什么
I just realized that I have been to 2 of the eateries recommended by this tv programme hosted by 许振荣 and 赵彩菱.
Ricciotti
Indian Wok
Maybe next on the list is 小旋风 at Hougang Mall? Since I'm just nearby.
Edit
I went! The 拉面 is so-so only. There's a 黄飞鸿香辣鸡, not bad! And not spicy at all. The 小笼包 was good too, but I still like 鼎泰丰 best. They forgot my bro's noodles for the longest time and had to remind them, only to find that the order was not taken. But they remembered to charge for it later :| Forget must forget 到底what...
Ricciotti
Indian Wok
Maybe next on the list is 小旋风 at Hougang Mall? Since I'm just nearby.
Edit
I went! The 拉面 is so-so only. There's a 黄飞鸿香辣鸡, not bad! And not spicy at all. The 小笼包 was good too, but I still like 鼎泰丰 best. They forgot my bro's noodles for the longest time and had to remind them, only to find that the order was not taken. But they remembered to charge for it later :| Forget must forget 到底what...
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
I'm Lovin' AMK
5 days away from home and counting...
I take 1hr to get to work now. I don't know how people living in Hougang (and beyond) and working in the west survive. I refuse to trade AMK for less in future.
I take 1hr to get to work now. I don't know how people living in Hougang (and beyond) and working in the west survive. I refuse to trade AMK for less in future.
I Am Now In A Happy Company!
Because my company made me paste a smiley sticker at the back of my tag. It is supposed to show that we are in a happy company. We are not to paste it over our faces. Preferably on the flipside.
Will the money spent on the stickers be better spent employing a temp from China to help me with my work, so they can have a happy worker in the happy company?
Duh.
Will the money spent on the stickers be better spent employing a temp from China to help me with my work, so they can have a happy worker in the happy company?
Duh.
Reaching Out to the Older Generation II
After the Workfare bonus, the time has come for the GST Offset Package. As before, the letter is sent in 4 languages. Nothing much has changed, but I am glad to see a slight improvement.
根据我们的记录，您有资格获得$Z (请参考英文信件第二段的数额)。
They tell you where to find the figure now. Well done!
*clap clap*
*throws confetti*
根据我们的记录，您有资格获得$Z (请参考英文信件第二段的数额)。
They tell you where to find the figure now. Well done!
*clap clap*
*throws confetti*
Saturday, May 05, 2007
I Know Why He Wants To Quit!
Overheard this telephone conversation between a TL and the HR about making an offer to a new colleague-to-be.
Have you seen the quotation I faxed over?... Is it too high? His previous pay is $2k only ley... Just give him what he wants ah?... ok ok... This person is quite good you know? He has masters...
:O Which evil company has been underpaying this poor fellow??
Have you seen the quotation I faxed over?... Is it too high? His previous pay is $2k only ley... Just give him what he wants ah?... ok ok... This person is quite good you know? He has masters...
:O Which evil company has been underpaying this poor fellow??
Sotong Lives in a Pokka Warehouse
Fancy 3 cartons of jasmine green tea, 2 cartons of melon milk and 1 box of green tea peach?
Cheers.
Reaching Out to the Older Generation
Some time ago, my mother received a letter from CPF informing her of her Workfare bonus. As the targeted audience is the older generation, CPF was thoughtful enough to send the letter in 4 languages.
English
We are pleased to inform you that you have been awarded the second portion of Workfare Bonus for work done in 2006. The amount is $999.99. (the actual sum has been censored by me, of course)
中文
我们很高兴地通知您，根据您在2006年的工作记录，您将可领到第二次发放的花红，数额为$XXX。
The sum printed is also $XXX for Malay and Tamil. Not that useful if you can't read English. So much for getting the message across to the English-illiterate.
Maybe their letter generator program cannot handle foreign languages?
English
We are pleased to inform you that you have been awarded the second portion of Workfare Bonus for work done in 2006. The amount is $999.99. (the actual sum has been censored by me, of course)
中文
我们很高兴地通知您，根据您在2006年的工作记录，您将可领到第二次发放的花红，数额为$XXX。
The sum printed is also $XXX for Malay and Tamil. Not that useful if you can't read English. So much for getting the message across to the English-illiterate.
Maybe their letter generator program cannot handle foreign languages?
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
TMRB
New York has TMNT. My house has TMRB - Teenage Mutant Red Bean! Planted by my sister, the seed leaves didn't rise with the stem and leaves failed to grow. We'll see how long it will last.
This variation is good for 银芽. Saves the effort of plucking out everything but the root! But it's unfortunate that it won't be able to reproduce itself.
Added on 5 May: The TMRB has stopped growing eversince.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
A Preview Of My New Colleagues-To-Be
People have been coming to over for interviews. I only saw people of the race starting with I. Is it plain coincidence or my boss' obsession?
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