kudboy's web

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Conversations Episode 6:

"Who's more stressed by who?"

With my mum at the kitchen sink.

mum: thadd, i'm stressed..

thadd: really? by who?

mum: you

thadd: is that why you have so much white hair now?

mum: yes

thadd: i see. do you know that i'm also stressed by you?

mum: really?

thadd: yes.

mum: but i don't see any white hair on your head. *smirks confidently*

thadd: that's cos different people express stress different.

mum: oh?

thadd: yes. you express stress through your white hair. I express stress through my pimples. and the pimples on my face far exceed the amount of white hair you have on your head.

mum: haha oops

i coughed @ 9:42 PM
______________________________________________ Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Conversations Episode 5:

"Fat? If you are fat then what am I?"

After doing a set of drills during squash training yesterday, a fellow team mate, Sarah sat beside the school coach, Mr Koh.

sarah: Mr Koh, I am fat.

mr koh: You? Fat? If you are fat then what am I?

me: Very fat. =p

i coughed @ 10:21 PM
______________________________________________ Tuesday, July 27, 2010

My Messy Cupboard

am enjoying my holidays while i can hahah. my december holidays are effectively over with exams ending on 23 dec so this august is technically my 'december' holidays.

have been enjoying a bit too much though. i think it's high time i got to serious packing in the house and start creating a conducive environment for myself to study both school work and the bible! there's a whole lot of junk in the house that i need to get over with and let go. like old school jerseys and shirts. i've always kept them though i don't wear them cos they were sentimental to me.

but now my house is becoming a bit too full! if only we can have a special remote to control the size of these items. maybe make them tiny first and if we want it big again, all we need to do is press a special button on a remote hahahaahaha.

i coughed @ 12:19 PM
______________________________________________ Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Conversations Episode 1:

Breakfast Note

3 weeks ago, my mum kindly started preparing breakfast for me every morning. She would steam something she finds in the fridge ranging from buns to chicken wings to even dim sum. I would wake up in the morning, after she has left for work, and find a note at the sink saying, "thadd, i have prepared breakfast for you. love, mum". sweet eh? This went on for about a week and the same piece of note was re-used. I would find the note at the same position of the sink and look forward to find what breakfast 'treat' mum has prepared in the pot that morning.

A week later, the very same piece of note was still at the sink. But when I opened the pot at the stove, there was nothing there! this lasted for the next few days. But of course I didn't complain. Mum was already so nice to prepare breakfast for me the whole of last week. I should not be taking it for granted but instead treat those breakfast treats as a literal 'treat' rather than a normal routine.

One evening, before my mum came home from work, she asked me cook rice first so that it'll be easier for her to prepare dinner that night. I did so duly, and my usual way, putting a 3-quarter cup of rice into the rice cooker, washing the rice, using my finger as a benchmark to gauge the water level at which the cooker must be filled with water and finally putting on the lid and switching on the cooker. "By the time Mum comes back," I thought, "the rice should be cooked."

So my mum came back and she asked me if I remembered to cook the rice. I nodded my head and went about doing my own work in my room when suddenly, a huge cry came from the kitchen, "Thaddeus! I'm sooo disappointed with you!" The first thoughts that came to my mind were, "Did I forget to put water into the rice cooker!? Did I mess up the rice!? Or worse still, did I forget to switch on the rice cooker!?

Moment of truth.

Mum: Why didn't you eat the breakfast I prepared for you!?

Thad: WHAT!? There's breakfast!? Sorry I didn't know!

Mum: Didn't you see the note at the sink!?

Thad: But... the note is PERMA (permanantly) at the sink man! I've been opening the pot the last few days and there's always nothing in the pot! Hahahahah!

Mum: Grrrrr...

i coughed @ 10:59 AM
______________________________________________ Monday, December 07, 2009

The Other Side of Football

Season 3 Episode 1: When you miss an open goal

Some cover their nose.

Some cover their head.

Others are so kiasu they cover their whole face with two hands. ;)

i coughed @ 12:08 AM
______________________________________________ Saturday, December 13, 2008

Squashing Today

Today i went to S C C to train squash with my ex-coach, Allan again. I'm starting to feel really knitted to the club and my feelings were confirmed when I was presented with a form - the opportunity to join the club's youth development team. It was really an honour to be able to represent the club and also to continue being coached by my favourite coach.

During one of the training drills, one of the girls, who was a national junior player, came to join us in the squash court. Her squash was quite good for a girl, i must admit. Only just after a few hits of the ball which went really close to the wall, i was quite impressed. 'Wah... her shots are really tight,' I whispered to one of my friends, Kim Wee.

I found his reaction quite weird - he gave me a horny look and burst out in tears after being unable to control his laughter. 'Hahahha yea man. Can even see the lining already!' he added.

That very moment, I came to realise that he thought I meant that...

...'her shorts are really tight.' =p

i coughed @ 6:21 PM
______________________________________________ Monday, November 10, 2008

The Class 3 Driver

Just passed my driving test on Monday! I was a bit bewildered because the tester actually asked me to perform what I call car stunts during the test (which could have caused me to fail) but perhaps he was just testing me if i could react to difficult situations. 'Anyway,' as my driving instructor said, 'you passed! So who cares!?' Hahaahha... As a form of appreciation, I am dedicating this entry to him, even though he always starts the lesson five minutes later and ends five minutes earlier. Hahaah!

Driving has never been easy, especially in the presence of unnecessary noises, or to put it in a nicer way, the overwhelming concern that family members display. All is peaceful and smooth when suddenly 'EHHH!! be careful of that car!' screams my mum. That sudden 'EHHH!!'. In the words of the guy who lives in the room next door, 'From no accident can become got accident.'

And sometimes, accidents can be caused by other road-users too, especially road bullies who think they are superior in terms of manoeveuring a vehicle. Like today, a stupid car sounded his horn at me when he was obviously in the wrong. Haha let's analyse the situation together. I've even drawn out what the scenario looked like.

My red car was on the 3rd lane and I wanted to change to the 2nd lane (80km/h). A green car was originally on the 1st lane (80km/h) and wanted to change to the 2nd lane too. But the green car was behind me in terms of vertical distance (refer to picture). Hence I should have the right of way to filter to the 2nd lane first. But haha he thought his car big so he should have the right of way and increased his speed. He ended up behind me and had to slow down. So he got angry and he sounded the horn. This is a typical example of what I call road bullies. They see cars with a 'P' plate. They feel an air of superiority. So they think they're always right even when they are wrong. They should re-take their basic theory test man.

i coughed @ 12:42 AM
______________________________________________ Saturday, November 01, 2008

Camp ATTACK 2008

A week before, I was asked if I could help out in the p6 camp from the 16-18 Oct. I was more than glad to help. I really love being involved in camps, especially in the execution (no, not that kind of execution) aspect. As the camp approached, I learnt that it was going to be a day camp and I was going to be the game master for the camp. Woohoo!

Deadlines were quite tight. I was supposed to email Uncle Shin Hoe my games proposal by Tuesday night but because I was going to for Range the whole of tuesday (Day and Night Shoot), it meant I had to submit my proposal by Monday night! Neverthless, I got it done and pressed the 'send' button before heading to bed, looking forward to the prospect of getting markmanship for range, having only 5 hrs of sleep the night before! haha!

On Wednesday, I was cleaning rifle halfway when Uncle Shin Hoe called to ask if I could play the guitar for camp singspiration. I replied that I would be a bit more confident with the piano. And i suddenly found myself becoming the musician for the camp singspiration! Hahaa I didn't really look forward to it as I haven't played the piano for a very long time!

Camp ATTACK started off quite positively on Thursday. ATTACK - Aiding Tomorrow’s Teens Apply Christian Knowledge. Apart from my erratic, disastrous piano-playing, the message was very enriching as it sought to clarify doubts about the 10 commandments and the games were fantastic (heh cos they were planned by me). During camp, I appreciated the time allocated for discussion as it gave the p6s the opportunity to express their opinion on certain issues, especially about the 10 commandments. It also made the camp more of a two-way, input and output communication rather than just an input of content on the p6s' part.

Well, everything good will always eventually come to an end. And I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to Uncle Shin Hoe, Nathanael, Uncle Luai, Auntie Yoke Inn (Not my mum. Another one), Auntie Poh Yeen, Brandon, Melissa, Auntie Wai Fong, Auntie Soh Moy and two other aunties (whom I accidentally forgot their names. oops.) for making the camp a success. I had a brilliant time working with you guys, especially Uncle Shin Hoe and look forward to more of such opportunities.

i coughed @ 3:00 PM
______________________________________________ Monday, September 29, 2008

The Other Side of Football
Season 2 Episode 6: A Universal Sport

Sepak Takraw: The Malays Will Be Proud Of Kuyt

High Jump: He should try representing his country in the sport

Basketball: Brad Friedel Promoting His National Sport Subtly

Touch Rugby: Or Touch Backside?

Judo: A Slick, Perfect Finishing Move

i coughed @ 8:52 AM
______________________________________________ Sunday, September 07, 2008

Listened to the radio today and heard a nice, sweet yet sad song hahaa... It's 'When I Called Her Today' by Frank Smaleck... Enjoy! And don't support piracy... Buy his original album!

Verse 1
When i took the time to call her to today
The conversation never went deep
And halfway through the phone she'll say
Okay, bye I want to sleep

All I wanted to find out was how are you
It's been so long since we had a good talk
I was busy had many things to do
Missed the times we went for a walk

Chorus
Question marks above my head
Who what where when how come why
Answers I want remain unsaid
Leaves me no choice but to wait and sigh

Verse 2
When I took the time to call her today
She said she wanted to watch her show
And halfway on the phone she'll say
Okay, I think I gotta go

No girl ever wanted to end a call with me
No girl in the world except you
All girls always wanted to talk to me
All girls in the world except you

Chorus

Verse 3
When I took the time to call her today
Her mood remained an all-time low
And halfway on the phone she'll say
Okay, talk to you tomorrow

Already don't see you that often
Talking to you is something I yearn
Well there's much I have to learn
Especially why you are so different

Chorus

i coughed @ 1:55 AM
______________________________________________ Saturday, July 12, 2008

The Other Side of Football
Season 2 Episode 5: The Wonder of the Third Leg

Only can use legs in soccer? So I use my third leg.

Even the best goal keeper in the world uses his third leg to save the ball when he runs out of options.

Disclaimer: But use it too often and it might hurt. Try using Power Walnut, Beckham. ;)

i coughed @ 1:24 PM
______________________________________________ Sunday, June 01, 2008

The Other Side of Football
Season 2 Episode 4: 20 Years and Counting... What I Learnt To Do and Not To Do

When I was 4 years old: 'Don't anyhow pee anywhere. Shoot properly.'

At 8 years old: 'Don't make monkey faces at your teachers if they scold you. Just complain directly to the principal.'

At 12 years old: 'Don't play with water, less waste it. But if it's free...... then.... haha...'

At 16 years old: 'Don't gay around. But it's ok pretend.'

Last but not least, at 20 yrs old: 'More importantly, don't let anyone anyhow grab your family jewels. But it's ok to grab others' jewels.'

i coughed @ 5:06 PM
______________________________________________ Saturday, May 24, 2008

The Other Side of Football
Season 2 Episode 3: World Gymnastics Championships

3rd placing: 'Angle of 120 degrees in the air with one leg perpendicular to the ground. who can beat me?'

Runner-up: 'Yoga-in-the-air'

Champion: 'The Cart-Wheel'

i coughed @ 11:34 PM
______________________________________________ Saturday, April 05, 2008

The Other Side of Football
Season 2 Episode 2: Too Close

To show who's boss, some get upclose and personal with their opponents.

Some head-butt their opponents.

And others take it to the next level.

i coughed @ 8:51 PM
______________________________________________ Sunday, March 23, 2008

The Other Side of Football
Season 2 Episode 1: How to make a really bad tackle yet escape a red card

The Wishful Thinker: 'Ref... When I turn my head change the card to yellow please...'

The Coaxer: 'Eh brudderrrrr... after match we go mambo... beer's on me!'

The Winner.

i coughed @ 5:05 PM
______________________________________________ Saturday, January 19, 2008

The Lucky Winner

This time, it seriously was luck rather than skill.

A certain person once mentioned to me, '...the difference between the westerners and the asians is that the westerners' annual dinners are always followed by a round of drinks and dance at the dancefloor...

...while the asians' annual dinners are always followed by lucky draw.'

And my brigade's annual anniversary dinner was no exception.

But we were greeted with surprise and to some, disappointment when the emcee announced that there were only going to be 8 prizes. And that meant that out of 200 of us, only 8 truly lucky winners will go home with prizes.

I, for one was not hopeful because I've never won before and my hopes always ended up in disappointment. So I might as well just sit back and relax and see who wins. Using the random pick programme, slowly, one by one, the 8th, 7th, 6th and 5th prizes were given out to the respective winners, whose names appeared on the screen with the click of the mouse.

I was honestly still quite dazed because I helped myself to the food like I haven't eaten for days when suddenly, my name appeared the screen.

'THADDEUS! YOU WON! GO! GO! GO!' went the crowd.

And suddenly, I found myself the winner of the 4th prize - a pair of Sonic-Gear speakers with a deep boom bass woofer.

This time I was really quite lucky. And having personally experienced it myself, I now understand why they call it 'Lucky Draw'.

i coughed @ 12:17 AM
______________________________________________ Sunday, January 06, 2008

The Skilful Winner

Actually I wanted to put the caption as 'The Lucky Winner' but i decided it was my skill that managed to win the bonus prize - a nokia 6131 camera/mp3/flip/slim phone. haha. It all started when I was on the way home after squash on saturday. But when I came out of the mrt, it was raining so heavily that I decided to tour around Novena Square 2 until the rain subsided.

The shopping mall was much bigger than I thought. Apparently, some shops are in the external isle of the mall so if i were standing in the internal isle, many shops were not within my line of sight. And TIMEZONE arcarde was one of them.

I went in and chanced upon this arcade machine called 'The Stacker' which caught my eye because the top prize was a choice between an Exilim Camera, an MP3 player, a Nokia 6131 flip-phone and a PSP! All I had to do was to stack up block by block (at the same position whilst being moved horizontally left and right) until I reach the minor prize level, after which I had a choice of ending the game with a minor prize (which were worthless stuff like erasers, sweets, highlighters and correction tape) or to continue to try for a top prize 4 levels away but risk losing halfway and end the game with nothing.

At $1.10 per try, I thought, 'why not? those stuff are worth at least $100.' but i set a limit to $20. If i couldn't win by then, then too bad... at least I would have gained $20 worth of experience to know what is called a gimmick. haha.

So my journey began... and I managed to reach the 2nd-last level many times before always losing on the last level of the top prize. I couldn't understand... I was very sure my box landed where it supposed to but somehow I suspect there's some bug to it that always moves my box to another position at the very last split second. But on my 16th try, I concentrated very hard and with an exasperated, final war cry, I gave the button a sharp, accurate and resounding blow and I got it!!! I won!!!!!

And I didn't realise there was a crowd behind me until they all started cheering and clapping for me when I won. Apparently they have been watching me play that game and some, scoffing at what they they thought was stupidity for a long time. Some people even started to congratulate me, giving me a minute of fame-like status. Kids surrounded me and bugged me to open the box after I selected the Nokia 6131 flip-phone.

I opened the box and indeed laying inside was a Nokia 6131... IN PINK. I was shocked and approached the arcade counter, saying that the picture of the phone on the box was black and asked if I could get it changed. 'I'm sorry, Sir. But it says here, ''Pink''.....' before pointing to a little sticker at the back corner of the box bearing the word, 'Pink' which looked like it was font size 2.

Such machines were thought to con people's money. I guess they can con people of the prize they win too.

i coughed @ 5:55 PM
______________________________________________ Tuesday, January 01, 2008

The Waraku Patroniser

29th December was the day we had our JC Class Christmas Dinner at Waraku Restaurant. And I found out something really interesting from the restaurant's food menu.

My classmate Tian Wei, who also happens to be my classmate in Sec 1 and 2 (i can't believe it haha) and I were looking through the menu when we saw that under each food name, there was an 'R' and an 'M'. So we thought, ''Oh it must mean 'regular' and 'medium'.''

But the prices showed otherwise. Apparently 'M' was cheaper than 'R'. So we felt it was impossible that 'R' and 'M' really meant 'regular' and 'medium'.

So we decided to ask the waitress... maybe it's some words in Japanese or something...

And it turned out that 'R' did mean 'regular'...

...while 'M' meant.........

....'mini.'

i coughed @ 7:33 PM
______________________________________________ Friday, December 21, 2007

The Other Side of Football
Episode 8: What Football and the Army have in common

'Everyone water-paraded yet?'

'LLST'

'What!? Kena 3 extra?!'

'Knock it down 20!'

i coughed @ 9:31 AM
______________________________________________ Prom Norm

Prom was normal. And my good friend weizhi lost a bet to me again. He bet that the waitresses at the hotel were prettier than the aj girls even when the latter were dressed up. ;)

Realised that the plain-looking girls really stood out that night. and the normally prttier girls tend to overdo themselves so they looked really crap. and of course, there will always be some who already looked like crap and becos of their heavy make-up, looked even more crap than usual. hahahaa...

The emcee was quite a poor chap becos he was already despised by many in the school. Hence he was the subject of his own jokes many times. I rmb one occasion when he asked a 'best- dressed candidate' how he gained such immense popularity after receiving a thunderous applause despite being one of the underdogs for the award. His answer - 'just don't be like you can already.' hahahaa...

Obviously, the food cannot be compared to what i ate at furama hotel (previous post). But it was quite alright la...though a little pricey for such standard of food and service. the food wasn't fresh esp the prawns and jellyfish. drinks were super diluted and the ice complemented the already diluted drink. Ok la i changed my mind. The food sucks.

On whole, it was quite a night to rmb. Ultimately it's not the food but the memories that we'll hold in our hearts. The friends... and the fun we shared with them throughout these short span of two years. Many photos were taken and hopefully, they'll renew and strengthen our friendships in the years to come.

scroll to the right or click on the image for larger view...

I coughed
on Saturday, 9 December 2006, 11.48am. ______________________________________________

Experience with the LAW

My student attachment with the law firm commenced last monday..hahaa and it's really an eye opener for me...

besides discussing strategies with my boss b4 he presents his case in court, there is lotsa input for now ...like getting to know how a firm operates, how letters are drafted and how the legal system works. got to sit in during meetings with clients, staff and other lawyers...also got the chance to go for court proceedings/hearings...and read lotsa case files... oh yeaa...and one of the best part was lunching with a client...

on thursday, my boss was asking me casually if i wanted to join him for lunch...so i said 'ok sure..' all along i thought we were going to some hawker centre or something.

i was so wrong.

he led me into furama hotel and i was like...'errr...who's paying? it's not ala carte i hope!' hahahhaaa...this time i was right!

it turned out to be a 6-course lunch treat from the client.. hahahaa...lemme tell u more bout the dishes...

first it was the apetiser - double-boiled ginseng and chicken soup and there was extra soup so we could have 2nd servings! hahaha then came the cold dish of jelly fish and pig's cheek..hahahaa...next was the double-boiled chicken meat followed by my favourite 'abalone and seafood treasures' hahaa! it comprised of 1 huge abalone for each person and giant prawns, giant scallops, giant mushrooms, tender pork (i thought it was supposed to be seafood but anyway it tasted great!)... the scallops were one of the best because they were so soft they just melted in your mouth! haahhaa...then came this steamed golden gopy fish, fried rice with dried abalone and pig's neck (ok poor pig. first his cheeks. now his neck. ehh i wonder what happened to the main body) and mango sago dessert.

best lunch i ever had. haha. after that the client said 'i hope u enjoyed lunch.' and i replied, 'haha oh yes...i rarely have such an opportunity to be exposed to such a rich spread of delicacies..' then he smiled brightly and said, 'hahaa then u must come for lunch with us more often then!'

Then i smiled back brightly...but not for long after he said, 'but we take turns to pay.'

I coughed
on Saturday, 2 December 2006, 8.58am. ______________________________________________

Heart of Worship

When the music fades
All is stripped away
But I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless your heart

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much you deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is yours
Every single breath

I'll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
It's not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You
It's all about you, Jesus

I coughed
on Sunday, 27 August 2006, 11.58pm. ______________________________________________

Hair Scare

Today marked another day of hair scare.

I went to the barber shop, sat down on one of the seats...and approaching me was the same noob barber who gave me an experiment-gone-wrong haircut the previous time.

So i said, 'erm i think i'll let the guy after me go first...'

But the noob barber replied, 'dun worry! i give u special haircut! veli nice!' before giving me a sneaky smile that resembles that of weizhi's. I winced at the thought of having to undergo another haircut torment.

Alright...and as u know, they turn on the radio and tune in to the malay channel while cutting customers' hair. I guess there was one part when the deejay was saying some joke in malay. And my barber suddenly started opening his mouth and laughed non-stop. in the process, he accidentally made some wrong moves and cut wrong parts of my hair. despite realising his mistake, he merely said 'uh oh' and smiled to himself before continuing to cut and laugh. What's more, whenever he opened his mouth, a huge stench of 'aroma' filled my lungs and i could hardly breathe.

I couldnt tahan anymore after 10 minutes. So i stopped him halfway and said it's enough. Alright...at least my hair is only half as bad as it was about to be.

I coughed
on Saturday, 5 August 2006, 11.58pm. ______________________________________________

Draw me close to You

Draw me close to You
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear you say that I'm your friend
Draw me close to You
Bring me back to You

You're all I want
You're all I ever needed
You're all I want
Let me know You are near

I coughed
on Monday, 31 July 2006, 8.38pm. ______________________________________________

The Race against the Rain

Today was madness.

I hung out the clothes to dry and then went to read the papers. I actually felt quite proud of myself for accomplishing what I thought to be an arduous task :)

I was so wrong.

Just half an hour later, lighting flashed out of the blue and it began to pour. I raced all the way to the kitchen and to my horror, the clothes were still outside to 'dry'. I opened the windows and quickly brought in the clothes. It was as if I was doing shuttle run. But in this case, I wasn't carrying bean bags. I was carrying bamboo poles...with heavy clothes on it!

By the time i managed to bring in all the clothes, they were more wet than when I hung them out to dry.

I coughed
on Thursday, 10 Nov 2005, 4.38pm. ______________________________________________

When your hair gets cut by a noob barber...

I just came back from my hair cut at the usual barber shop i've been going to these 10 yrs or so... ...but this time, i found the person who cut my hair very unfamiliar. The first thing that came to my mind was that this barber was a newbie. I didn't mind having noob barbers cut my hair as long as they give a nice hair cut.

But I wasn't so fortunate this time.

As this monkey cut my hair, my hair looked more and more like a nerd. Suddenly he scratched his neck with his ring finger. But that was not the point. The point is that he used all his fingers (including that same finger he used to scratch his filthy neck) to rub my hair!

Finally, after 10 minutes, he had turned my hair into what looked like a plate of carrot strips otherwise known as 'lou1 hei2' (what some families still do during Chinese New Year) in cantonese.

The worst had yet to come.

While making payment, i gave him a 10 dollar bill and he returned me $4. I was surprised. I asked him how come today got discount cos it usually costs $7. Then he replied, 'Oh...boy I thought you in primary 6!'

I said, 'I'm in JC already la!'

To add insult to 'injury', he said, 'JC already? haha then you still so short!'

...

Sian. I thought, 'What if Uncle Kum Mun gets a haircut under that same barber...?'

He'll probably only need to pay $5.

:P

I coughed
on Saturday, 10 Sept 2005, 9.10pm. ______________________________________________