Unemployed

Today is my first day without a job.  I'm not in school and jobless.  It is kind of depressing.  But I get to sleep late.  I've been rather tired of work.  It became tragically repetitive, boring and depressing after some time.  And I have been working at the same place, doing the same thing for approximately 11 months.

Yikes.  I'm glad to get out of my job.  I would have liked to stay a month longer... but things are the way things are.  Not within my control.  Typical.  But at least I do not have to drag myself out of bed each morning and go to a place I do not wish to go, meet people I do not wish to meet.  But I need the money.  Ah, life is full of contradictions.

I just feel unproductive.  I really don't like wasting time.  Work was a total waste of time but at least I got paid.  I applied for some craigslist jobs.  Lots of things seemed pretty dubious.  -_-..

Well, I have approximately 1.5 months to figure things out.  Maybe I can land something interesting.  The economy is tragically bad, lots of firms want unpaid interns to exploit.  Tragic.  Maybe I should go on a holiday.  I don't know.

Lots of reading to do.  But I just don't feel like reading.  

Strangely Disturbing

Read the previous blog post before seeing this.  It really changes your perception of things...

Cute Turtle

This is super funny.  I keep watching it over and over again.  What's wrong with me!! 

Different Worlds

Today at work, a bunch of interns mentioned something about the 'Projects' in NYC.   I have absolutely no idea what the Projects are and I have been in New York for 2 years.  I'm so out of touch... Anyway, I learnt that Projects are affordable government housing aka HDB-like things in very dingy neighbourhoods, apparently rife with crime and drugs.  Projects are also dirt cheap, someone in the group stays in a 5-room Project apartment for $800!!!  Hello, I thought this is New York with its overpriced rent!!

The interns mentioned that I lived in a different world.  Probably so.  I seemed to exist in a couple of extremely distinct, non-overlapping worlds.  I flutter around the edges of these worlds, not really belonging to any of them, yet not being fully excluded from them.

It is like being at the edge of a bubble, and looking into a world that is not mine.  Hm..  so what exactly is my world?  

Forbes' Billionaires

Mexican drug lord makes Forbes' billionaire list
- CNN

What do software mogul Bill Gates and banking investor Warren Buffett have in common with wanted Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera?

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, pictured in 1993, ranks 701th on Forbes' yearly report on billionaires.

They are all featured in Forbes magazine's world's billionaires report as "self-made" billionaires.

Guzman Loera, whose nickname means Shorty, escaped from a Mexican prison in 2001. He heads the powerful Sinaloa cartel, investigators say. Authorities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border blame the Sinaloa and other cartels for a surge in violence in the region.

He ranked 701th on Forbes' yearly report, with an estimated fortune of $1 billion.

Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora expressed outrage at the publication and described Forbes' calculations on Guzman Loera's fortune as mere "speculation."

"I will never accept that a criminal could be recognized as someone distinguished, even if it is by a magazine like Forbes," Medina Mora said to local media during a drug traffic summit Thursday in Vienna, Austria.

Forbes is "comparing the deplorable activity of a criminal wanted in Mexico and abroad with that of honest businessmen," he said.

Did Medina Mora really say this: comparing the deplorable activity of a criminal wanted in Mexico and abroad with that of honest businessmen

Can someone tell me how honest businessmen become Forbes' billionaires? Thank you. Goodwill, good karma or good luck?

I'm such a skeptic. Tragic.

Old School Stuff

This is so old school.  I heart this!  I'm so trapped in the wrong decade... 

Web Discoveries

I think I was still living in Singapore when America's Next Top Model first aired, or maybe I was home on a summer break.  I really have no idea.  I have been living abroad for approximately 5 years or there about.  Anyway, back to the thing about America's Next Top Model, I was really fond of one of the contestant (every one else was a total bitch), I think she won 2nd place in the show: Elyse Sewell.  She was a pre-med student then and I am oh-so-fond of the intellectual sort so it was no surprise that I rooted for her to win.  

Too much random web surfing allowed me to stumble upon her blog.  Elyse is hilarious and is currently modelling in China / HK.  *sobs*  She didn't become the doctor she said she wanted to be!

Fortunately she has not evolved into some total airhead and here is her clip on Shanghai:

The exercising things really remind me of Singapore's HDB parks.  Cheap gym, unlike the overpriced gyms in Manhattan which I don't have moola for.  So I'm oh so unhealthy and flabby... Boohoo.  Très tragique!

Moving on, I found this clip on Singapore's teenage motherhood on Stomp.  Yikes, I really don't like the oh-so-self-righteous Stomp; I don't even want to be known as someone who knows Stomp exists.  Darn irritating site.  It's a good place to go if you want to become appalled by how self-righteous people are.  

This video is quite interesting though, not the typical self-righteous nonsense on Stomp.  I live in New York, filled with surprisingly few self-righteous folks except those Scientology, Christian and Obama preaching folks.  Peace!

Cutest Ever

Anti Fresh Direct

The lazy me buys most of my groceries from Fresh Direct. But I really dislike giving money to Fresh Direct. One of the most irritating companies EVER! It is overpriced, the seafood is crappy and the most irritating thing: The prices RANDOMLY INCREASED!!!! My canned mushrooms went from $1.99 to $2.19 (10% increase!!). Same for frozen corn ($1.99 to $2.29, 15% increase!!!). I'm too lazy to go check the prices of my other produce. This is not the stock market, why are my food prices fluctuating... Anyway, if it is anything like the stock market, my food should be CHEAPER!!

Is it my fault that I have a good memory and I can remember the prices of food! Stop conning people who have bad memories!!! I still remember the price of Apple Juice when I bought them in Dominion in Toronto ($1.99). Why is Fresh Direct increasing food prices at whim!!! Inflation is not 10%!!!

The only reason I am still buying from horrid Fresh Direct is because I have some credits from them (from giving me smashed eggs) and I found free delivery with the coupon code "ENJOYFRESH".

ARGH! ARGH! ARGH! Overpriced!! Overpriced!! Overpriced!! + Random price increases!! Hello Fresh Direct, I noticed the price increases!! Stop trying to make more $ from such evil scheming methods!! I am a poor starving student!!

Contradiction

I find this hilarious and oh-so-familiar...  I can't believe I understand the Hokkien.  (some parts at least)

Love love love Vicky Christina Barcelona!!! (trailer below)  And I so miss Europe...  I totally need another holiday.  I heart Cinque Terre!

Anyway, it seems that only dysfunctional people love this show.  Normal (Doug-like) people don't.   Watch the show to find out whether you are normal.  

Cookie Monster and Friends

Cookie monster cupcake - $4.50?
Purin goes "Hmm..."
Pokes pokes!My friend...

I want the cookie!

Ouch!

Glue back!

Scary...

Alive and well... again

Almost gone...

Of karma: And so this is New York...

It was a relatively cold night (but not freezing cold) and I was out with an Italian friend, N.  We starting walking from Union Square to Times Square as we attempted to burn off dinner and get some exercise.  

At 32nd Street, we chanced upon a blind lady who was asking a young man for directions to the bus stop.  She was yelling "Do not point! Tell me where!"  (The young man wasn't pointing; she just thought he was...)  The young man told her she was at the bus stop and left rather abruptly. 

The lady was standing quite a distance from the bus stop (near the inner edge of the pavement, instead of the outer edge, next to the street).  N and I stopped and hesitated for a moment before N started approaching the lady to offer help.  I stood and watched.  (I really don't fancy approaching people, anyone.)

At this time, some people started gathering as they wished to help. (She has a very obvious walking stick.)  N asked the lady which bus she wanted to take and the blind lady retorted that she wanted someone who spoke English.  (My friend is White, Italian and has a slight Italian-English accent.  We finally decided to call it a 'foreign accent'.)

An African-American lady then asked the blind lady what she needed and she said that she didn't ask for help and knew where the bus stop was.  She pointed at N, and said she did not need people of that kind to help and did not ask for her (N's) help.  (My friend extra approached her to help.)  Upon hearing that, the African-American lady decided that she could be of no help and I also started pulling my friend away.  I was rather pissed and did not want to help that kind of people.  

As we walked away, the African-American lady apologized to N for the blind lady's behavior.  She reassured N that her English was fine and that the blind lady's comments were unwarranted.  She related to us that she was across the street when she heard the blind lady's "excuse me" and rerouted to help.  She said that after this incident, we all (me included) are blessed for the whole of 2009.  She made both N and I say out loud that we would have a blessed 2009.

N was somewhat shattered to hear that 'she-did-not-speak-English'.  Well, English was not her first language but she spoke perfectly fluent English, French, and, of course, Italian.  N, being the paranoid, guiltier sort, was worried that the blind lady could not get her bus.  The African-American lady and I told her that the lady would be fine and we went on our way after more well wishes.  

I just found this incident extremely ironic.  If the blind lady (Caucasian) could see, she would notice that my friend is of European descent. (She is white as white can be, with a sharp ang moh nose that made me ask her whether her nose was real.  Yes, the totally politically-incorrect-me actually asked that question.)  On the other hand, the blind lady was open to accepting help from the African-American lady as she has the typical American accent.  Well, for once, discrimination was not due to skin color but due to accents.  

I really do not know how I should feel about this incident.  I feel bad for the blind lady (she is blind, duh).  She reminds me of the bitter old man (Al Pacino) in Scent of a Woman.  But being blind does not give her to right to be a bigot.  Well, it is her life, her choice.

Oh. And this was not the first time I was 'rescued' by African-American women in NYC...  For another blog entry.

Domo

The fallacy of sharp noses

In one of my $300 per hour class where I was supposed to be learning about leadership and all that sort of wonderful stuff, I noticed that the 2 male ang moh* classmates sitting across the desk have noses like this:

Granted, guy 1 is pretty good looking. But on close examination, the side view of his nose looks like this:

You can see the nostrils from the side!!!! Urgh! The nostrils are super tapered at the tip, I wonder how they dig their noses. With a hair pin perhaps!

The typical Asian nose looks like this:Here is a side by side comparison. Notice that the Asian nose is flat and wide. The ang moh nose is sharp and pointy. But I ALWAYS THOUGHT NOSTRILS WERE ROUND! No one told me that ang mohs have such funny rain drop shaped nostrils! Go look!

The Asian nose does not look very attractive in my drawings (snout-like). I think the nostrils are too circular!

.

Anyway, it means that if you have a sharp nose, you probably have ugly weird shaped nostrils. If you have a flat nose, maybe you have slightly better looking nostrils. Then again, the attractiveness of nostrils is purely subjective. Maybe people like weird triangle shaped nostrils instead of circular nostrils!
.

Side note: For those who are wondering why I can see people's nostrils. My torso is SHORT. When I sit at a table with a bunch of people who are the same height as me, I become the shortest. Short body. Boohoo! At least it makes it seems like I have longer legs. Or maybe I do! Hmmms... So the short-body-me is always looking up people's nostrils. I ALWAYS know when OF has nose hair sticking out. He can't see it because his nose blocks the nose hair from his sight. Argh!
.

Anyway, I have the nicest nostrils. They are heart shaped!! They look like this:See, they are so nice. My nostrils are pink (not black).

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And when I wrinkle my nose, my nostrils look like 2 symmetrical hearts! Like this:

Totally irrelevant post. But do check out the ang mohs' nostrils. Darn fascinating. Or maybe I am easily amused.

* ang moh: Singlish, Caucasian

Of Maps

My latest fascination: Worldmapper

The geek in me has discovered worldmapper!

Singapore is doing pretty well in chemical exports and cargo shipping. The government must be proud! Look how big Singapore is. Normally, it is near impossible to locate Singapore on a world map.

Chemicals Exports:

Cargo Shipping:

Charlotte, NC

I'm in Charlotte, NC. It is like a warmer Calgary, AB.

If Only...

Purin is almost famous! Someone please make Purin famous!

Purin is so darn cute... He doesn't like the kitty swiping at his face!

Mr Purin President

My Type of Guy

I think Anderson Cooper is really really cute. He is totally my type of guy. The boyish, nice guy, intellectual look. Swoons.

I'm a news junkie but I find him kind of boring. But he is so so attractive. Those blue eyes! Plus he is from a rich and famous family and reportedly earns $4m a year.

And he is funny too. Mr Cooper wrote: "Going gray is like ejaculation. You know it can happen prematurely, but when it actually does, it's a total shock." Read more here.

How can you not like a guy like that!!!

He is cute even when he is biting his fingers!!!

Look at him pointing at his hair. Argh!!!! Too attractive!

But rumours say he is gay. =(

Someone tell me he is not!!

Images from my phone: So this is New York

Thanks to my trusty Sony Ericsson Z610i (best phone ever!), I have some 2.0 mega pixels of NYC and NJ.

So here is my life in camera phone pictures: Donna Karan warehouse in NJ. There are lots and lots of clothes I cannot afford. There is a clothing library at the back. The librarian has (one of) the world's coolest (and slackest) job. And then, there is the story of the Donna Karan inspirer. Life is so totally not fair. Hmph! My work is real work. Sort of, anyway.

Organismic sandwich (When Harry Met Sally, see video below) from Katz's Delicatessen. Overpriced but good. But it is not good enough to justify going back and paying $14.95 for it. Hate the pickles though. One would think $14.95 pickles would be good too.

A Bengal tiger at New Jersey's 6 Flags.

A donated poster from a colleague who was laid off.

My whale has the gift of sight! It is so so happy!

Crazy traffic in NYC when there is no traffic police. Cars everywhere. No rules. Pure mess.

Overpriced decorative glass turtle. I saw this is in a shop window when I was wandering around aimlessly in NYC.

Real turtle with an aim. All his other turtle and frog pals seem rather resigned to their fate. This was seen in a newly renovated Chinatown supermarket. I feel so bad for the turtle. He is trying so hard so save himself from his sad situation. I could have saved him, but I didn't. He is probably not around any more. Sobs. Guilt. Peace to this turtle. I hope he is happy in Turtle Heaven.