Motel Goblin

An End to a Reign of Error

2006-11-10T15:33:00.000-08:00

Midterm elections in the United States have never really garnered much importance.
But history books will write that 2006's has grabbed everyone's attention.
The United States, and indeed the whole world, breathed an audible sigh of relief when the elections ended with the Democrats on the ascendant.
One hopes that Republican hubris has been replaced by Democratic modesty and pragmatic enthusiasm.
Republicans and Democrats are the 2 sides of the same coin, so one really hopes that now having made history, the Democrats would now go on to make progress, on a bipartisan level.
Word has it that it's going to be a Hillary/Obama presidential tag team for 2008.
It would be unprecendented to say the least to have a woman run for President and her Vice-President an Afrian American.
But that's the redeeming quality of modern democracy. Its enduring ability for self-correction.

An article from the New York Times, titled 'The Great Revulsion'

Minerals and the image of maturity

2006-07-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

Perhaps its was the job. Or maybe the ignorant lifestyle which led to the depletion of minerals in his body, a system normally associated with vibrance and energy.
He knew the answers even before the results were out. His blood test revealed, or in this case did not reveal an adequate level of vital minerals needed to sustain a normal day.
Multi-vitamins was an answer he actually stumbled upon, stumble being the by-word. Dad had bought him two rather inconspicuos brown bottles and placed them in full view on his shelf the year before.
"What good could come out of it?"
Negative thoughts when a more positive (less negative) one would sound somewhat like "Maybe this might work, maybe not, then what"
And in the blink of an eye, he suddenly looked ten years older to himself.
Holding his shoulders back and keeping his head higher somehow added many more years to the reflection in the mirror.
"Ok maybe Id look younger again if I droop my shoulders and hunch" he thought to himself. But his facial expression remain unchanged. And he did look younger.
Good posture adds years, bad posture takes them away. But more accurately, its the level of maturity, not the number of years that is being formed on the mind vis a vis the reflection. Image.
And the multi-vitamins really did make some diference.

Tone depth

2006-01-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

So there has been a gradual move away from trance music and in its place an infatuation (healthy or otherwise) for certain genres and groups has developed.
In no order of preference, the ears now tune in to the grooves of Unkle, Teloportmusik, OK Go, Air, Hybrid and Portishead.

Clash of the Titans

2005-12-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

This season's Champions League promises to be a clash of epic proportions. Fans and neutrals around the world were practically salivating when the draws were made. Only giants walk the field now and nobody can say they were dissapointed with the outcome.

Arguably the most mouth watering of clashes: Barcelona vs Chelsea, and for the second season in a row too. Putting aside the animosity between the two clubs, this draw pits Catalonian attacking briliance against one of the meanest defences in England, if not Europe.

Equally titanic are the match ups of Arsenal vs Real Madrid, AC Milan vs Bayern Munch, Lyon vs PSV, and Ajax vs Inter.

Reigning champions Liverpool got off relatively easily with a draw against Benfica, and the same goes for the tie between Villareal and Rangers.

Come 21/22 Febuary and 7/8 March of 2006, hundreds of millions of spectators will be glued to their television sets as they watch what promises to be the most memorable Champions League season in recent memory.

The Art of Flight & Explosions in the Sky

2005-11-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

The one thing I really like about L.A is the scope and breadth of indie films offered at both indie theatres and mega cinema complexes. Couple that with a delightful deluge of film festivals and it soon becomes a delightful dilemma of 'too many films, too little time'.

Last night I went to the global premiere of The Art of Flight at the AFI Film Festival. The film is about the trials and tribulations millions of Sudanese face (how many of us can point out where Sudan is on the map) as their country plunges ever deeper into civil war, a war which has been raging unabetted since 1984. (Omg that makes it 21 years!?) It begins and ends in sadness and tragedy. Two million have died. Four million have been displaced. A whole generation of youth live and die by the gun, because that is all they know. It is the northern muslims against the southern christians, but that is the simplistic view. And there is no lasting solution in sight as the world turns a blind and apathetic eye to this long standing crisis.

The filmaker, Davin Anders Hutchin, who was at the premiere and gave a Q & A session after the screening, is a U.S citizen of Egyptian descent. From his mellowed responses, he sounded defeated yet defiant, and one could tell that he was deeply scarred by the experiences that making this film bestowed upon him.

"When I came back to the States, everyone said welcome home. But this didn't feel like home anymore"

And the most surprising thing about the film is the soundtrack. Actually it was just one track but it kept on playing in various parts of the film. Soundbytes are downloadable here! (Scroll to the bottom of page and click on the 'Cactus' track) The first half reminded me of some tracks in the Gladiator movie, the other half of a guy thats praying through loudspeakers at the mosque. But anyways, the track was created by a band of Suadanese refugees living in the ghetto slums of Cairo. They normally have no audience but themselves and on a few occasions the fim maker, who felt it appropriate to include their music into the film. I find the song very sad.

On a brighter note, I just discovered this band called 'Explosions in the Sky'. It was almost purely by accident as I had put my winamp playlist to shuffle, by accident, and they managed to shuffle through my 30GB worth of mp3s. So when I first heard the track 'First Breath after Coma', I was like 'This track is gooooood'. Then I looked at the playlist and said to myself "Explosions in the Sky'?!?! Where in the hell of my computer did they come from? And the whats better is that they will be coming to perform in LA come December 16th.

Quote of the Day

2005-10-31T15:11:00.000-08:00

"I quit, but stayed on the job"

Penny Knoll, as mentioned in this IHT article about prejudice in Corporate America.

We are in the Top 5....again

2005-10-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Singapore has yet again received high marks in another international study, this time on corruption (or lack of). Im sure this study pleases the Government very much, and will no doubt take extra pains to highlight this to it's emphatic citizens.
Transparency International recently released its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and taking a quick look at the rankings would show that we scored a high mark of 9.4, just behind Iceland, Finland, New Zealand and Denmark.
By perception (pun intended), corruption and poverty are directly proportional, which kinda explains why which countries fall within the top and bottom 30. I had actually scrolled all the way down to look for America's ranking, only to be dissapointed when I found that she was 17th placed with 7.6 marks. Our dear neighbours up north scored a 5.1 at 39th place while our lovely southern neighbours was placed 137th with 2.2 marks.
Not to be distracted by numbers and rankings, I think there is one factor that TI forgot to include. I havent read the whole report yet but I think you can base corruption on one immutable factor. The gap between the rich and poor.
Im making broad assumptions here but Singapore does deserve it's high CPI. There is no gapping gulf between the rich and poor, there is a budgeoning middle class, and with regards to GDP per capita (we are 29th placed) there is a strong correlation between a high GDP per capita and lack of corruption.
On another note, America is 2nd placed when it comes to GDP per capita. But a closer look behind the numbers would reveal that the United States has the highest poverty rate of any industrialized nation, studies and reports point to the inexorable elimination of the middle class (which in my opinion is the backbone of any nation), and that the majority of the wealth is accumulated in the hands of the minority. Don't ask me for links and numbers yet because I tend not to bookmark the articles and reports I read.
But one thing's for sure, the CPI rankings can be a relatively accurate perception of the state of corruption around the world, but it should not be taken as the bible truth. Simply because the CPI is based mainly on the views of business people and analysts around the world.

I love assuming people

2005-10-19T21:45:00.000-07:00

The thing about Los Angeles is it's multi-ethnicity. While this is always a good thing in theory, in reality the poeple never get a decent chance to mingle because each ethnic group ends up conglomerating in ther own self-sufficient enclaves. So I always get a god laugh me whenever I witness a faux pas in progress. This time it had to happen to my friend Vim while we were eating at this eatery called Little Java he googled on the net.

****
Vim: Can I get a chendol please.
Indo man: Coke? You want coke?
Vim: Not coke. Chendol.
Indo man: Oh ok I get coke for you.
Vim: No no chendol.
Indo man: Oh you know chendol? But you're Indian.

Haha.

On another note, my name has sprouted more spelling variations than bad Steven Seagal movies. His latest movie is tragically called 'Today You Die'. The poster depicts him walking menacingly in a black trench coat with a flames and explosions in the background. And I mustn't forget to mention the bonus black dude sidekick beside him. The best movie I ever saw starring Steven Seagal was Executive Decision. You guessed it because he got killed 15 minutes into the show.
Anyways, the other day I was developing some film, and the lady at the counter was taking down my particulars.

***

Lady: First name please?
Me: Eujin. E-U-J-I-N.
Lady then writes EUGENE.
Me: No no my name is spelt E-U-J-I-N.
Lady: Oh my bad.
And proceeds to write EUGIN.
Me: Erm....its J for Juliet....not G for Golf.
Lady: Ooh! Its been a long day.
And she proceeds to write YUJIN.

So I take another pen and form and fill it out myself.

Every great author has a philosophy

2005-10-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

Orson Scott Card definetly ranks alongside the Sci-Fi greats I have read such as Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert. So it was with some sadness that I put down the final book in his Ender's series. The 4 book series starting with Ender's game (which I had already read in college but read again) was devoured in little over 2 weeks, and I came away with some of his philosophies firmly entrenched in my psyche.
Im sure most avid readers would be able to name at least one author who has made an indellible mark on their psyche. Two authors come into my mind for me. Frank Herbert with his Dune series, and Orson Scott Card's Ender series.
What made me seperate them from the rest is that they couple great storytelling with engaging (at least to me) philosophies.
Frank Herbert's Dune is filled with poetic tragedy from beginning to end. His books are more about sociology and psychology than science fiction. And his main philosophy revolves around the belief that power corrupts, that it is no such thing as a benign superpower (be it a person(s), group(s) or nation(s)), and that all humans are not created equal. All very cliched views I know but his ideas are framed in a refreshing and very thought provoking way.
Orson Scott Card's views mainly (repeatedly) revolve around relationships and moral decisions. His outlook is taken with a pinch of salt because there is a heavy Mormon slant to it. Not that I am against Mormonism, I am just wary of anything that is religously influenced.
Does anybody have a good author, book or series to recommend? Great storytelling and great philosophy is a must. Preferebly if coupled together in one package.

Mad World

2005-10-04T00:40:00.000-07:00

My life would be more complete when I get these 3 things: My bonsai tree, himalayan cat and siberian husky. So after work I got myself a nice little Juniper bonsai tree, and made friends with a Bonsai Master as well. Anybody who has been growing bonsai trees for most of his 60 year life and has a several hundred year old bonsai tree in his backyard, passed down from generations defintely deserves the title of Bonsai Master. Then while talking to him, I could suddenly see myself in the old man's place, snipping away at his bonsais, caring for them, nurturing them, shaping them into my image. The Juniper he sold me took 12 years to nurture, so patience is one of the virtues that comes with this art he says. I almost told him that I wanted to come help him tend his nursery in my free time, to help clear all the clutter that had surely gathered over many years of negligence, to give him an avenue to pass down some of his vast knowledge and skill. His son had died many years before. But I still have many other things to do. Like go to the gym, play soccer, tennis, meet up with friends, drinks, clubbing, work. So one's life does seem complete after all. But the thing is that I don't want to commit, lest he expects more. Because expectations and dissapointments go hand in hand. Because tonight a dream died. Because tonight I went jogging around my neighbourhood in the wee hours of the night. And when I sat down to stretch at an intersection, a cat came up to me. Because when I came home to hit the play button on my window media player (it was on random shuffle), my favourite song came out. Gary Jule's remix of Tears for fears Mad World is absolutely magical. And here goes the lyrics. Good night and good luck.

Mad World - Gary Jules
All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places
Worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going no where
Going no where
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression
No expression
Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow
No tomorrow
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very very
Mad world
Mad world
Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
And I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen
Sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me
No one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what’s my lesson
Look right through me
Look right through me
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles its a very very
Mad world
Mad world
Enlarging your world
Mad world

The 'Other' Guide to LA

2005-09-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

So I frequently get buggered whenever I do an internet search for good cheap asian eats in Los Angeles. Firstly because most of the search results end up being cheap (if youre a celebrity) Asian Western fusion places. Secondly because most of the food review webbies seem to be written by Caucasians. No Asians for fried rice, no Mexicans for tacos and burritos, no Indians for curries, no webbies on good and cheap authentic international cuisines written by you guessed it, authentic internationals.
So heres me throwing in some morsel of good food gossip. And what makes me think that I qualify as a food gossip central? Because Im Singaporean. Nuff said.

1. Mien Nghia Noodle Express (they have Mee Pok!)
(626) 570-1668

406 W Valley Blvd

San Gabriel, CA 91776

I won't blame if you if you had let this one pass on first sight because the interior and exterior are moribundly functional, but the noodles they serve are oodles of pleasure. No.2 on the menu is Mee Pok. Only thing missing is tomato ketchup. So swing my McD's before you go over. Its as good as it get. And its cheap too. All noodles priced nicely between 4ish to 6ish bucks.

2. Giamela's (Best hot subs I have ever had)
(323) 661-9444
3178 Los Feliz Blvd
Los Feliz, California

With a sign as big as the eatery, that says alot about the sign, and place. All good eats here are priced between 4ish to 6ish bucks. 5ish gets you the pepper steak and egg sub which is omgomgomgawdly good. My appetite is still big, but i could only wolf down the 'regular'. 'Large' is ginormous. 5ish also gets you nice a generous portion of pasta. AND biggie garlic bread. AND minestrone soup with more stuff in it than the soup itself. I always end up packing the minestrone.

Fears well founded

2005-09-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I was suddenly overcome by paranoia after doing some project research on fault lines and geology in Los Angeles. So I googled a Los Angeles emergency/evacuation plan and came up with zilch. And now my fears are well founded.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/25/news/cities.php
There are at least 13 million people living in Los Angeles County. To the south, Orange County's (OC) evacuation plan is to move people to Los Angeles and San Diego. So when the Big One hits Southern California, where do we all go?

What do you think?

2005-09-23T13:16:00.001-07:00

It rained for 24 hours straight at the start of the week, and only when it was gone did I realize how much I miss the rain. Actually what I really miss is what comes after the rain. The clean washed out smell in the air, the clear skies and the cool weather. I didnt even mind stepping into a few puddles of mud and water, or driving slowly, or the overcast skies. Come to think of it I actually like gray overcast skies regardless, even though I find the clear sunny blue skies of Los Angeles too blinding and hot, just like its people.
So after Katrina (actually its still happening thanks to Rita), I got a bit nervous about being in Los Angeles so I started Googling. This is what I found (or didnt find):

1. Flooding and hurricanes in New Orleans was 2nd on FEMA's (Federal Emergency Management Agency) list of most potential and dangerous disasters. Los Angeles came in 3rd for tsunami and earthquake. 1st is a terrrorist attack on a chemical or nuclear plant on the East Coast.

2. There is no existing Federal or State evacuation plan for a tsunami in California. There is also no concrete, or should I say existing emergency plan for a post 'Big One' disaster.

3. Read this article about FEMA and Homeland Security. Their role in a disaster is not to help people and save lives. That is secondary. Their primary role is to protect the government and keep it functioning. Once this fact sinks in, New Orleans actually does make sense, very non-assuringly.

Wholly molly look at that lineup

2005-07-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

------------Crouch-------------
Cisse ------------------Morientes

----Gerrard ------ Sissoko----

Zenden -----Alonso------ Garcia

Risse --------------------Finnan
-------------Reina--------------

This has got to be the most kickass lineup the Premiership has ever seen. Benitez should really try this formation in one of the remaining friendlies just for kicks. Who needs out and out defenders when youve got the midfield pentagon of death? Ok maybe some defenders are always needed to collect stray balls that might wander into the last 1/3. But Risse and Finnan are more like defensive midfielders or offensive defenders, whichever tickles your fancy.
But chew on this for a moment. Which opposing manager wouldnt wet his pants over how to prevent the inevitable rape of his team? Out of the 11 Liverpool players, only the goalkeeper Reina (duhh) and Finnan are not proven goal scorers. Then the opposing manager has to figure out how to contain Gerrard. And Alonso. And Zenden. And Cisse, Morientes and Crouch. Omg I cant wait for the new season to start already. After 15 yrs of dissapointment and holding back,Im sure Liverpool fans the world over must be sensing real hope. Not some false dawn or revolution, but real hope for the future.
In Rafa we trust.

Chill pill for driving

2005-07-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

Like everyone that drives in big cities knows, the roads are full of assholes. And before you agree with me, step back and think about this, am I an asshole on the road too? If you (grudgingly) admit that you are, then you are ready to read this article. If not, go fly kite. But anyways, my work entails me to drive many miles on the LA's super highways. These highways become mega parking lots for assholes during peak hours. Which is a good thing, because a parked asshole is safer than a moving asshole.
Take for instance my experience from just last night alone. Cruising at a comfortable 75mph on the 10 freeway, I see this Dodge emerge from an exit on the right at a breath-taking 5 mph. Accelerating at a pace faster than a grannie on a wheelchair going uphill, it proceeds to cut across ALL 5 lanes to the FAST lane, which conveniently enough was where I was. (ok bad english structuring there, so shoot me) Because my asshole detector was already going off the scale, I was high beaming this guy as he was inching onto the fast lane but no NO AVAIL (Yes I admit high beaming might be an assholic thing to do but bear with me) Anyways I just swerved to avoid his wreck of a car and popped some chill pills to calm my nerves. If people like him want to drive their wreck of a car at 5mph on any road, a faster bet would be to call a tow truck.
Then as I was going to slam in an Enya CD to stave off my blood from boiling, another asshole truck driver had to drive up right behind my ass. Not that I would mind under normal circumstances. But this was a ridiculous circumstance. Why? Firstly because at 2am the highways were EMPTY so he could have easily taken another lane to bypass me. Secondly he had probably only had 2 options for his headlights, highbeam and higher beam. So my face was being bathed in the incandescent light of his assholeness. Third, his bumper was probably playing footsie with my bumper. That was how close he was.
Anyways to remedy issues like this in the future, Ive decided to install highbeaming brake and tail lights. So the next time assholes try to smother my eyes with their headlights, I smother theirs with mine.

Rolling Bridge?!

2005-07-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

This rolling bridge design takes the cake for blowing convention outta the water. Im guessing most reactions will go like this.
1st pic....hmmm.....2nd pic.....woo.....3rd pic...wah kow.
It took both civil and mechanical engineers to come up with this piece of art. And maybe some wicked inspiration from watching lots of Discovery Channel caterpillar documentaries.
So why doesnt Singapore have anything like this? AT ALL? For bridges, we just keep on blowing away beautiful oppurtunities to build nice bridges. Im referring to Benjamin Sheares, the Causeway links, Jurong Island. If the arguement is that suspension bridges are 'out of fashion' and not practical for the relatively short distances in Singapore to be spanned, then why not cable-stayed bridges?
In the meantime, all one can do is take nice pictures of buildings and bridges the world over while lamenting at Singapore's apparent lack of aesthetical foresight.

Two great movies

2005-06-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I got off work early. Actually I didnt go back to the office after my drilling was done (who would anyway). So for the first time in a while, I managed to catch 2 shows in the afernoon.
The first one was 'Crash' and within the first 10 minutes I was already cringing (good cringing, not a bad one). The movie was a showcase of all that can go wrong when cultures clash. It was about bigotry, discrimnation, racism and prejudice. It was about hope and tragedy coupled with irony and poetic injustice. And because it's based in LA, I could connect with it. Like when the Persian family dismayed at being mistaken for Arabs and when the Mexican locksmith shrugged when faced with naked racism. So through my working experience with these nationalities I kind of understand where these ugly realities can come from, but I cant really condone it either even though I am very guilty of it myself (and not really willing to say more about it yet)
The other noir drenched movie is 'Batman Begins' which was really really good. I can't really put a finger to it but I came out convinced that this is one of the best Batman movie adaptions ever. And if someone out there knows of a company like Wayne Enterprise (I dont think it really fits the bill of a corporation), sign me up please. I would love to join a business entity that actively engages in projects for the benefit of society.

Flashback

2005-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

Then after work I was chillin at Vim's place, and this guy is a born again trance addict. So I was grooving in to his selection which consisted of 4 Strings, Binary Finary, Sygnum X and what nots. Real retro bunch huh, but those were the days and good times they were. But let me tell a short story first. I was in Sec 2 when I walked past "That CD Shop" in Tanglin Mall. The shop was pumping out some great beats and so I walked in to inquire about the CD. "Behind the Eye" was the name and "Orange Theme" by Sygnum X was the tune. That my friends was the first ever trance CD I got. That was in 1995. Its been 1o glorious years since. And I only need to go to Ibiza now for my pilgrimage=) That would be reason enough to come out of trance retirement.

The Sci Fi Grandmaster

2005-06-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

By saying this I run the risk of being ridiculed by Sci Fi loving book readers the world over. Isaac Isamov blows ma mind! So Ive resisted for eons from reading his stuff just because everyone's read it. Then I was confronted with the notion of no more book reading during loo breaks, lunch breaks, traffic gridlocks, and night time reads before bedtime.
So Ive gone on a steady Sci Fi diet of Greg Bear, Peter Hamilton, Orson Scott Card and Frank Herbert, with nice side dishes of Noam Chomsky (Politics of Power was quite mind blowing) and Jared Diamond (I only enjoyed his first book 'Guns, Germs and Steel'. His second one titled 'Collapse' was painful). Then suddenly I ran out of 'need to read books' to get. Soooo I reluctantly picked up Isaac Asimov's 'Prelude to Foundation', more out of desperation than anything else and flipped the first page. The rest is history. I unfortunately devoured the book in 2 days. At this rate Ill finish the unfinished series in like 2 weeks. Argh. But before I let slip any spoilers, I just had to say that the end of the book was one of theeee best endings Ive evveeeeeer read in my life so far. It had not one, but 3 twists. And all in the final few pages. I was nicely curled up in bed ready to sleep at the book's end but ended up jumping up and down exclamating 'Omgomgomgomgomg...wooooooooow'

yadder yadder

2005-06-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

So I havent blogged for ages because I simply wasnt in the mood. But alot of interesting stuff has happened since the last entry so I feel compelled to at least put it in writing, lest I forget everything.
Firstly, the front left wheel of my new ride came flying off while I was going at 80mph on the 10 East. (The wheel is still unaccounted for. I dont blame it since it was going at 85mph on a straight road) This was after my drilling work so thankfully all the soil samples were safe. (My boss was delighted to hear that the soil samples were indeed safe) Apparently the previous owner conveniently failed to mention that he did a half ass job of putting spacers on the wheels. He also forgot to mention that he drifted quite alot with the car. And he also forgot to mention that the accident to the car wasnt due to the original owner but was due to him drifting into some stuff on the road. Anyway, whats bought is bought. The only 'real' damage to the car were the fenders. The rest of the stuff that was damaged I was going to upgrade eventually over a few months, but not in one go though. I cringe now everytime I have to fork out 30 bucks for dinner with the Purdue crew, who incidentally are all getting grad level salaries. So being the reluctant 'Rice Boy' that Im going to be (car is still in workshop), Ive dropped the car abit, put in Tanabe springs, Tokico shocks, Konig 17" rims, performance brake pads and cross drilled rotors. Yes Im living the Singapore Ah Beng dream.
Secondly, I had 3 stiches on my foot after stepping on broken glass. To make a short story even shorter, I wasnt being smart when the pasta sauce bottle fell from the fridge's top shelf cos I tried to stop its demise with a soccer stop. The move ended with a 3inch long shard brilliantly embedded at the bottom of my footy. Needless to say it was bleeding profusely.

Office solitudity

2005-05-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

So I had to come into the office on a Saturday to do some work. It didnt really matter to me because I would have woken up at 2 3pm on a normal Saturday anyway. So hopefully by the time I get out of office, latest 2 pm, I would have gotten alot of things done.
But what surprised me most was how much I was actually able to get done. My boss was there to open the office for me, then promptly left at 10ish. After that I was all by myself. Total office bliss. No phone calls from clients, colleagues. No hollering from bosses to come to their office. No colleagues coming in to ask (demand) for my field reports, to ask for my help, or just to chat. The only sound being my keyboard typing away and my speakers grooving to the chill beats of Thievery Corp.
I could have probably stayed in the office for the whole day to get everything done, so quietly relaxing was the environment. But I also had a Zuma Beach thingie going on in the afternoon.
So Im thinking, would it actually help if I closed and locked my doors on normal working days? But that would only result in more phone calls. Or should I just put up a DO NOT DISTURB sign outside my office. But my bosses would just ignore it because they only pay me my wages. Bummer.
Anyways, I would gladly trade all my Monday madness for Saturday serenity in the office. Or work nine 9 hr days and get every other Friday off.

And the Red Army marches on

2005-05-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

Come 25th May Istanbul, visiting Liverpool fans and supporters will paint the town red, literally. I count myself fortunate enough to witness that magnificent match live against Chelsea. Liverpool have gone up against the Blues on 4 previous occasions this season without a win but it was 5th time lucky for the Reds, and the one that counted the most in the end. In actuality, luck had arguably little part to play in this titanic 5th tie. As Reds manager Benitez once quoted, "If you put in all your heart and soul and energy into the game, maybe luck and fate will smile down more on you" Pictures paint a thousand words.
Another glorious chapter has been written, and a match to match any of those great nights in the 70's and 80's burned forever into the memories of heart and soul Red fans the world over. Bear in mind that no cup has been won yet, and that Liverpool still have a final to play against the might of AC Milan.
Win or lose, I know that Benitez and company will be graciously humble either way. And irregardless of whether they will be in the same competition next season, to defend it or not, there is a swelling feeling of hope and belief that is engulfing the Red half of Liverpool.
Everton will now almost surely clinch the last Champions League place for next season, and who else but Benitez will surely be the first to walk over towards Goodison Park to shake hands and congratulate his counterpart David Moyes. Moyes has done wonders with his Blue squad this season, but this was just an appetizer for the Reds. Get ready for the main course to arrive over the coming seasons, served by none other than master chef Benitez.

Electronica bliss | Office orifice

2005-05-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sooo I said yeah lets go! and off we headed to dee Coachella Music Festival. Along the way we (me, Hiro, Garlun, Jasmin) drove past the humungous Coachella wind farm and a saw glimpse of the future. The sight of all those turbines turning lazily in the morning desert wind was mesmerizing to say the least, but at certain angles where several hundred seem bunched up together, it became psuedo psychedelic.
Ungressing, the next 2 weekends promises to be a bliss for electronica music lovers. Coachella attendees, who have already been treated to the sick sounds of Hernan Cattaneo and the eternal Chemical Brothers at Coachella, are undoubtly drooling at the imminent cometh of Moby and Timo Maas. Retrospecting abit, Hernan spun this wicked track "Fear (Uncle remix) which I first heard on Paul Oakie's Great Wall album (which is pure Perfecto bliss btw) , sending the crown blissfully wild. I know that bliss is maybe being teeny weeny bit over-used but thats the only word thats coming to my mind.
Alas my train of thought has been totally wrecked thanks to a million work related phone calls and other office blehbadoos. This is a puplic blog and I know that proper blog etiquette has to be adhered lest retribution cometh. So all I can say is that I wish I could be left alone in my office to finish my reports which normally take an hour each to complete, but now takes half a day.

Hardly working but spreading soccer joy

2005-04-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

I woke up in the morning feeling more tired than the night before. Official office hours start at 830am so I managed to crawl out of bed at 820pm, which sadly isnt a record, 845am being my latest ever. So today was a really big day for English soccer with 2 Premiership teams (Chelsea & Liverpool) in the Champions League semi final. Normally I would have logged onto Soccernet, UEFA and Liverpool.tv simultaneously for live 'text' commentaries of Liverpool matches. Hardly a substitute for the real tele thing but 'what to do?' ANYWAYS, the main reason for my utter joy today is this webbie link that was sent to me by this 7ft USC South American dude who's a Juventus fan. Lloydslink is probably the best thing to happen to soccer fans in the States. Paying 20 buckaroos to watch a single match on cable is just daylight robbery. This Lloydslink on the other hand provides links to live soccer video streaming, and its is so free its not funny. But I first had to register (no biggie), download this 'Cool' streaming P2P program and update my WMP. Then with trembling fingers I clicked on ESPN and wala! And just in time to see Riise dribble past 3 blue shirts and then shoot agonizingly straight to the keeper from a good but tight position. Live Liverpool match! Live I tell you! Quality obviously wasnt that great but I didnt care one bit. It was live! And free!
So then my boss walked in to chat for a bit, all the while with the soccer noise in the background. Haha. Gawdamnit if Liverpool scored or conceded in that 5 minutes of WMP minimization. So nothing much got done in office today. Four cups of coffee has made me tired...and wired. A nice cold Asahi has never seemed better.

MoE should read this

2005-04-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

So as usual I am hardly working in the office, but I did come across this good article on IHT.
Its all about garbage, or in the case of Zurich the lack of. I read somewhere sometime somehow that Singapore disposes enough garbage to fill up Kalland Stadium, on a daily basis. I dont recall whether they used uncompressed or compressed volumes. But anyways that still makes one wonder where all that trash goes to.

Working hard

2005-04-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

After graduating, I knew that I will never ever have the luxury of anymore long holidays, period. My 'short' trip back to Singapore eventually lasted for 3 weeks, so upon returning back to office, I braced myself for the inevitable deluge of work, deluge being a gross understatement. Now and then I go to my computer's report folder to see how much stuff Ive actually done, and in the past 2 weeks since Ive been back, there are '71 items' (field reports) which roughly equates to 15 projects. And as of this moment, there are aproximately 19 projects still to be started. Sigh.
So on top of this my boss has also passed over some of the responsibilty of meeting clients and writing proposals for them, which is great for me because now I can be involoved in projects from start to finish. Im learning much more now too as a result, which is awesome.
The flipside of this is my inclination of walking through the house door to the fridge, straight as an arrow for that ice cold beer. Asahi or Guinness draught being my choice of poison. And thats for before dinner. When nearing bedtime, its merlot time. My preferred reds being Smoking Loon and Yellow Tail. And to top off this flipsidedness, Ive allocated some evenings as 'Body Shop nights'. Tea tree oil shampoo, conditioner and facial wash. Add satsuma lotion to that and Ive put myself in shower bliss. To end it off, there are those 4 mogu pillows to help me sleep the night through. Strange thing is that Ive been having alot of strange dreams since becoming a mogu convert.

Can We Make it? Nope.

2005-04-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Months of fruitless searching on the web at work and I have come up with 2 absolute gems.
Kontraband is full of nonsense clips and pics. But Ill give the cake to Big-boys. Its choke full of funny ass clips. I love it, my colleagues love it, Im still thinking whether to show it to my boss. Anyways, this Can We Make it clip is da best of da best. The dialogue between the pilot and co pilot is the stuff champions are made of. My pilot dad loved this one the most. If you always suspected that SAF was full of nonsense, put that thought on hold until you see this one too.(all I could say was whoooollly shitanadan) Put these 2 clips together and the future of the world is looking very purty indeed:)

Thankgawd for dunkin donuts

2005-04-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

I have never before been so thankful of donuts until last weekend.
As I was driving towards downtown along Alvarado St, an upcoming stop light inconveniently contrived to turn red, which left me in complete limbo. Should I slam on my brakes? Or step on the gas. It defintely didnt help that the road before me after the stop light was clear as green acres, which was absurd in its novelty because this is LA at peak hour traffic. The choice was too easy. So I stepped on the gas to beat the red. So while I was zipping through the intersection, I stole out of my left eye the sight of not one, but two cop cars. Absolute total yayness. This sinking feeling began to overcome me until, until I realized that the four pairs of eyes were not fixed on me and my red ride, but on the dunkin donuts being exchanged between them. Salvation! I never really liked donuts, will probably never ever really like them unless they come with bacon inside but nevertheless, totally grateful to them I definitely surely am.

A giraffe's speech

2005-04-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

I would want to read this article over and over again because the message within it is quite rather clarifying. The article is actually a speech by John Graham, President of the Giraffe Heroes Project
for the warriors to be of the US Airforce Academy. It is about his turbulent, flawed life and how he challenged himself to develop a moral context to base his character and life on. He said that the only mistake in life would be to ignore the 'quest', to settle for an 'ordinary' life, to live and die without ever having made a difference. He had found a very good direction in life.

Some kind of ennui

2005-03-31T09:17:00.000-08:00

I often find myself stuck at some kinda ennui when it comes to this blog thing. Like a writers block. Maybe I should call it a bloggers block. Im listening to the moody grooves or Kruder and Dorfmeister, and after a jug of Hoegaarden and a night of mingling, I have alot of things on my mind to say, but yet expression doesnt come easy.
This evening at Wala Wala, I was having drinks with some good buddies and we were talking about life in general. It was during a lull in the brilliant live performance of Shirlene and the Unexpected that I came up with this very clarifying but sobering statement which epitomized what we were going through. We are basically looking for someone to give us the answers to questions we don't know how to ask. Every generation faced destruction in one form or the other. The generation of the first half 20th century faced the very destruction of their lives. The pre world war generations maybe faced a war of the mind and soul. The current generations face the struggle and destruction of their spirit. Arguing which is better or worse misses the main point, which I know is out there but cannot bring it to mind. My apologies. Shout outs in the commentary would be very much appreciated nonetheless.
Quarter life crisis is the term which immediately comes to mind. But it feels like a very institutionalized term. Corporatized? I know there are help groups for this kind of thing. Maybe even a pill. Those are not the answers. But I do know that we have to be open to listening and asking questions first before anything else. What we need are mutual sounding boards. What we need is some direction. What we don't need is.....

Back in the pore

2005-03-20T19:34:00.000-08:00

I would love to write more blogs, preferably on a daily basis. Its not a case of procrastination but more of waiting for the right moment and inspiration.
My 16hr flight was quite uneventful, made even more dour by the dood beside me who Im sure does not practise adequate oral hygiene. I could smell his breath with each phlegm laden cough and had to stop myself from visibly cringing.
I watched 2 movies on board. Both international. The first one was this Japanese film called Free and Easy 15 and the other one was this Italian one with this super hot actress. I cant remember her name but I sure as hell will take it down on my return trip.
OK Ive lost inspiration already. Heh. I need to start calling people to meet up so if anyone is reading this buzz me:) 91967184 is the number. Eujin is the name. Cheers:)

Da big eye in da sky sees you!

2005-03-15T12:36:00.001-08:00

This website is da ultimato peeping tom cum Big Brother satellite enabled service all of us thought only the Feds could access. And its free, for now.
Its called Terraserver with a pretty idiot proof interface. At the moment its only for the States though, but there are plans to make it global. I wonder how Zouk looks like from above. I checked up on my street address in LA and the aerial photos were quite pimp. Unfortunately West Lafayette's last updated photo was like in 1998. So the last place I lived in (Willowbrook) is still, you guessed it, farmland.

I almost didnt survive the LA traffic

2005-03-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

The 3 years since I had my car in Purdue Ive driven roughly 20,000 miles. 6 months into LA and Ive already driven close to 13,000 miles. And this is not counting in my 2,300 mile roadtrip from Purdue to LA in the summer of '04.
Besides the copious amounts of moolas and gas I burn everyday in my new ride (97 Silvia) , I also realized that my on-road patience and temper is proportional to my mileage. Directly proportional that is. The more I drive, the more I want to kill something. 2 invaluable websites I use to help me keep my rage in check. Sigalert provides an up to date traffic situation on ALL the freeways in California. Doesnt realy make much of a difference when the whole map is filled with stretches of red dots (snails pace traffic) during peak hours, but at least now you know that taking the highways is suicidal. The 2nd webbie is Mapquest. I know everybody uses it, but I also know that not everybody knows that after you get to the directions page for your destination, there is this teeny weeny option at the top with the words 'Avoid Highways' Wham bham screw the Joneses! Mapquest refreshes the page to give directions ON local streets.
This is what Ive been doing ever since to and from work. Saves me so much time and trouble. And I also get the chance to check out potential eateries on the way.
BUT yesterday will go down in infamy for me as 'The Day that God didnt want me to go home'
Sigalert validated that the highways were jam packed with soo alot of happy people, so I took local as usual.
The first bottle neck was along San Fernando St, Glendale at the Brand Ave intersection stop light, which had degenerated into a 4 way Armenian char kuay teow. The lights were out so the intersection effectively beacme a 4 way stop intersection. Yayness. 15 mins to crawl 1/2 a mile.
THEN after clearing that headache there was an accident further down San Fernando on the only SINGLE LANE stretch of the road. Another 20mins wasted as emergency crews did their work.
THEEEEEEEN as San Fernando merges into Main St, my rage goes up another notch when I had to wait for this freight train with 50 million cars in tow to cross the tracks at a pace comparable to a sloth on a brokenwheel chair. I was actually driving alongside the train which runs parallel to Main St to the Boca St. crossing. No I was raaacing against it to try and beat it to the crossing. If I had juust squeezed in maybe 10 more mph into my car, I could have made it to the crossing before the train did. But that would have entailed me drifting at right angles across the tracks in spectacular fashion.
Anyways...another 10 mins wasted watching trains go by. I bet the train crew was actually placing bets on how many maniacs would actually make it across.
AFTER that, it was the home stretch back babee. BUUUUUT wholllyy motthherrr of many bitchy gaaaawds, Garvey Ave had not one, but TWO FRIGGIN LANDSLIDES which transformed a 2 /3 lane road into a 1 lane road of friggin rage.
I got home after 1 1/2 hours. A 15 mile ride that would have taken me 30 mins on a normal day.
Good thing nobody took my Guinness this time. That would have been the final straw.

Blessing in disguise

2005-03-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Liverpool has got to be one of the moodiest European footbal clubs in recent history. Dazzling wins against formidable teams follow hand in hand with dismal defeats against supposed 'walk overs'.
The one thing Ive noticed through all this is that the Anfield crowd and fans the world over happen to be very humble, modest, and downright moody. This is in comparison with most of the Man U fans Ive know over the years (but they do have good reason to be cocky) Ive been posting a few good Liverpool articles lately (all moody ofcourse, and down to earth) But this current mental climate can be attributed to the (simplified) empirical fact that we were once the Kings of Europe, sweeping away every team that got in our way of domestic and European glory. Compare these past glories with what the Red half of Liverpool have had to endure for the past 15 years and you can begin to paint a clearer but rather dreary picture of the situation.
This article from the Echo sums up what I think would be the best for Liverpool. They are chasing that lucrative 4th spot to qualify for next season's Champions League, but sorely lack the means to do so. No team can go really far with an ego inflated squad of under achievers. Coupled with the fact that the team's injury list is phenomenal (Liverpool have not been able to field their best 11 all season, more like best 5 or 6) it is a wonder how Liverpool did got this far. All credit is due to Benitez. It is strongly believed that he will bring back the old glory days. But what he needs is time. Time to not worry about 4th place, time to not worry about qualifying for Champions league next season, time to not worry about Gerrard leaving, time to ditch all the deadwood in the team and build it from scratch. And shocking as this may sound to any die hard Liverpool fan (yours truly), the best thing that could happen to Liverpool is NOT to get 4th spot. Benitez will then have all the time and space in the world (albeit less finances) to shape the team in his image. Thats if the (did i also mention fickle?) Liverpool crowd allows him to last that long. Can this be a blessing in disguise? Only time will tell. And Im sure Benitez can't wait till that time comes at the end of the season.

God is a DJ

2005-03-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Timo Maas is the new god of deep / dirty house. His Maasterpiece (I know its corny but its not me! The cover is titled that way) album for Mix Mag is massively wicked. OMGOMG. Im now a blind sycophant of dirty / funk house and breakbeats. His remix of Demeche Mode's 'Emjoy the Silence' is a gem. Sia's 'Numb' track is another absolute beauty. I normally don't dig female vocals in electronica tracks that much but this one is without doubt a brilliant exception. Im sorry Tiesto but you now have to share you throne with Timo Maas.

Inexplicably non-understandable 'religious' ceremony

2005-02-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

I came across this article on The Nation website which made me sit back in my office seat and really ponder about what's happening in this country Im currently living in. Abortion has in recent history been a very taboo and politically charged issue in America. Primordially involved are the religious groups, christian fundamentalists (what fundamentals do THEY stand by) and rightist conservatists (what ARE they trying to conserve I wonder)
But what really disturbed me was this Catholic church's involvement in an inexplicably outrageous 'burial ceremony' for the unborn. If fetuses were taken and buried in a religious ceremony with the absolute approval and validation from the aborted mothers and/or families concerned, it would provide a wonderful form of closure and comfort to the agrieved. But in the case of this Coloradian Catholic Church, the parish took matters into its own hands and acquired the ashes of the fetuses from an abortion clinic via a cremation contractor. And all under cloak and secrecy and without the knowledge of the clinic, and most importantly, the mothers involved.
And to add further insult, the parish invited the local media to its latest burial ceremony. Very audacious, but also very clearly engineered for maximum political exposure, and obviously with the backing of very influential people in the corridors of power.
Don't quote me on this, but we may be beginning to witness the decline of America's influence. When religion and state are married together, it almost always results in a decline and stagnation of the the many wonderful things that democracy is known for. Such as creativity, innovativeness, open mindedness, tolerance, and most importantly, the ability for self correction.
Looking back in history brings up the surprising example of the Middle Eastern region. The Ottaman Empire was in its heyday one of the most powerful and influential empires in the world. But the moment it was taken over by corruption, and then religious zealots, mullahs, and clerics,
the decline and rot that took only a few centuries to set in relegated that glorious empire into the far from glorious states that we are now familiar with.

Epiphanies

2005-02-28T02:15:00.000-08:00

Two friends over dinner at the wonderful Indocafe enlightened me with their epiphanies.
J's epiphany was very interesting. He postulates that people who have a zest for life, also always have a love for food. I added that maybe their zest for life is also crucially fulfilled by their love for food because it involves one of the 5 senses, which in this case is taste. But this case when taken vice versa may not always be true, such as in the case of gluttony.
The second ephiphany was from a very unlikely but nevertheless pleasant and most pleasing source in P. She in turn got this from N. There is a very subtle but crucial difference between being IN love with and actually loving someone. Being in love may be an infatuation of sorts, which came about at first sight or thereof. Loving someone takes time to develop and in my opinion feels more stable and long term.
So thinking in retrospect, I think that in most of my relationships, I was probably IN love with someone, which may explain why it all didnt work out. Too much expectations almost always leads to massive dissapointments for both parties. Candles which burn twice as bright last half as long. Thats the pessismists take of it. But to be optimistic is also almost always tiring.

Changing World

2005-02-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

There is this really good pro-eco site that Ive come across. A jewel among jewels, its a really good blog thats not really a blog.
A slightly dreary article on World Changing concerning the 'Collapse of Civilization' gave me lots of great food for thought.

Everybody wants to go to Hollywood

2005-02-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

So many artists and performers come to LA its almost mind boggling. Just for music alone, I have already grooved to the beats of Paul van Dyk, Marco V, Sander Kleinenberg, Armin and Ferry Corsten. And this was in the last 5 months alone. Besides them, I have also skipped the likes Tiesto, Oakie and Muse.
Last weekend, I was fortunate to catch the Collective Soul concert in Ventura. This was the group's first stop, and their first tour in over 3 years, so it was understandably emotionally for both the band and fans. Ive only really listened to their self titled 2nd album, which had 3 great great hits. 'The World I Know' went on to become the defacto anthem of my OCS platoon. Never would I have ever imagined listening to C.S perform LIVE, singing those 3 songs (Gel, Shine, The World I Know) that I grew up with in Secondary School.
Tonight, I go to Thievery Corp.
Next 2 weeks in March its Armin plus Gabriel and Dresden (their Depeche Mode remix of Useless is massive)
Come April its AMON TOBIN and the Coachella Music Festival.
I am one lucky bunny.

Not another 'friggin' blog

2005-02-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

I have finally caved. The repetitive demands of everyday life has led me this. In an effort to relieve my ennui, I have decided to inudate the world with another 'friggin' blog. This will certainly be an effort (feeble or valiant? We'll just have to find out yar), because Im going to try to pen down my thoughts about anything and everything that I see around me in as unbiased way as possible.
To start off (perhaps on a wrong foot?), I get annoyed at blogs that contain personal relationship stuff, ramblings and shout outs about personal happenings with the sole (and often unconscious) purpose of letting other people know how 'happening' their lives are. Hmm....that may seem a bit harsh because not everybody wants to blog just for the sake of blogging but if a blog gives off a 'celebrity' vibe, Im sure one can feel it.
Anyways, this will be a personal log to myself. Bad sentence forming there. Im actually curious how this will turn out.