well you know
that movies make me cry
and i know
that you're always so afraid to try
and you know that i run away from spiders
and six legged creatures and small things that fly

well i know
you can't carry a tune
and you know
when i dance i trip over my shoes
but it's just fine
cos it's just the two of us
and there's no one else here
and lovers don't mind

we're doing just fine
cos lovers don't mind

and i know
you don't remember the day i was born
and you know that i always leave the lights on
and it's funny how long we can fight over nothing
cos i never give up and you never give in

but i know it's just a matter of time
we kiss and make up
you know it'll be good
the moment we wake up
i know when you're faking
you know when i'm making it up
when you're down you bake
when you give i can take

and we're doing just fine
cos lovers don't mind

blood donor

today, in a desperate bid to escape from the office, i became a blood donor. at 4:45pm, i ran off with my friends to keppel corp to do my part for society, and we all left our boss in the office to fend for himself. it's not like we didn't invite him though. when we got there, we were made to fill out declaration forms, at which Dung (not pronouced the way you see it) had to drop out because she didn't bring her identification. we had to declare lots of stuff, like "if you are a female, have you in the past 12 months had sex with a man who had sex with another man?" and "do you know that you can give someone AIDS through blood donation even if you look and feel healthy? (i wonder what it means if you tick NO)". So after letting the doctors know all my deepest darkest secrets, i was allowed to have my life drained into a plastic bag.

i had a quick blood test done, but i didn't get to find out if i had HIV or high cholesterol or anything, though the nurse did tell me with an approving smile that i had lots of iron in my blood. score!

the whole procedure was surprisingly painless. i was watching the huge needle disappearing into my arm and expecting to at least cringe a little, but i felt nothing at all!

f almost fainted, which was scary, but glad she made it through alive and otherwise i'd have had to eat dinner alone.

home alone woes

finally sent in my credit card application form after months of needless procrastination. oh well, credit cards are evil things anyway.

our washing machine is broken, just when my parents are gone for holiday for 2 weeks. shit.

i wish meowmeow knows how to open her own cans of catfood. i mean, she knows how to destroy slippers, why can't she learn more useful things...

beijing!

really belated, but here's a glimpse of beijing from the frantic 2-hour self-tour around tiananmen square, before we had to fly back to singapore. although we did the customary walk around the square, i really wasn't very interested. plus the buildings are way too huge to fit into my camera lens. on the other hand, this little alleyway we ventured into yielded tons of little treasures!

precious one-childs battling it out to help reduce china's population

who needs landscape architects to design green roofs?

everytime i take out my money, i get dirty stares...

the fried rice definitely looks the least appetizing

you can't see, but their pants are open (both front and back) so they can pee directly on the sacred tiananmen square ground. at least this boy did.

and sometime before that, we had our Keppel Land International KTV night, where everyone delighted themselves with beer, curry puffs and old old chinese songs.

like that i dowan to get married liao...

check out this piece of news...

Plant a Tree for Each Newborn

JAKARTA - AN INDONESIAN city battling the effects of deforestation has come up with a novel way of tackling the problem. Would-be families must plant a tree.

'Everyone who wants to get married or apply for a birth certificate must plant a tree,' Mr Syahrum Syah Setia, the head ofBalikpapan city's Environmental Impact Management Agency, said.

'The city's condition is already worrying, and we must act to tackle global warming.'

The areas around Balikpapan city in East Kalimantan province have lost some of their forest cover to deforestation from the mining and timber sectors.

East Kalimantan loses 350,000-500,000 ha of forest land a year and the government can only replant 30,000 ha of that, local environmental group Walhi said.

Indonesia has lost an estimated 70 per cent of its original forest land, although it still has a total forest area of more than 91 million ha. -- REUTERS


come on, are you serious!? ONE tree? i mean, if you told me to plant a hundred trees before i could get married, i'd still do it! they're going to get these poor couples all the way out to the forests with shovels and boots and all, just to plant ONE tree. fainted.

oh and other news: somali hijackers explaining that their $25 million ransom amount was reasonable cos they had to spend $500,000 in hijacking costs. sign of the times man... charge your reimbursibles to the victims too. per diem, travel, accommodation, entertainment... hijacking not cheap nowadays ok?

helene

i realized there are websites that help you find songs by humming the tune! that's how i found the title of this french song which i heard while visiting a sales gallery in Tianjin. i knew i had no way to google the lyrics of this song, which made me really annoyed until i decided to have faith in the power of internet and googled "find songs by tune". wow. internet is awesome.

here's the song, Je m'appelle Helene.

and the chinese version, 依恋.



i can't say which is better.

coffee with no sugar

so i'm in tianjin now, about to have some big meeting. to show us some chinese hospitality, the staff offered us coffee to keep us warm in the biting cold.

but....coffee with no sugar! bleargh...

ok gtg.

bufandeai

i hope they build a park connector from my house to bugis. plus showering facilities in our office so i can ride my bike there! or they could move bugis to upper paya lebar.... i don't think it should be that hard right? the Garment seems to be able to perform these feats every general election anyway.


anyone watching 不凡的爱 on channel 8? i think ruien is becoming prettier with every show! and chen hanwei really does know how to look sick. must learn. can totally get MC anytime man. but seriously, do they have to make everyone in the show get AIDS? unless of course that's really the case in Singapore, which means we should all be damn scared. no more sharing of food with people, no more standing beside coughing people, no more swimming in public pools.... haha. channel 8 shows.... always so irritatingly educational. cannot be a bit more subtle meh?


i'm going to china again! wah too soon liao lah... i barely finished clearing the minutes and follow-up from the last trip, now must go one more time!? ugh. but nvm lah i guess, as long as they give me top class hotel again. shiok. i have never stayed BY MYSELF in a hotel room before man.


sometimes i fantasize about what would happen if i could rewind time for just a little bit, because it is often in a matter of minutes or seconds that our day can get turned upside down, that happiness can turn into heartbreak. but then, maybe even if i could backspace life, things might still turn out the way they do right? cos i'm still the same person... and so is everyone else.

so mostly i just tell myself that tomorrow i get another chance, and maybe it'll be better.

the day the dustbins died

today, a trio of marauding green champions from corporate development raided our office and in a violent act of eco-terrorism, robbed us of all our dustbins. and to mock our helplessness, they leave 2 dustbins (to serve our entire projects department) right outside my cubicle, with an accompanying sign that says "General Waste Bin".

so now the outside of my cubicle reads:

Kenneth Lau



General
Waste
Bin

in other news, bicycles are all the rage now! just like i predicted. maybe i should ride this wave and open my very own full service bicycle rental shop?

i love it when couples tell other people how in love they are. i get a feeling that sometimes people are too protective of their own pride they can't bring themselves to admit that they're hopelessly in love with their partner....or could it be that not many couples are really really in love?

fortune teller

if i were a beggar
i could go down on my knees
without you thinking that
i've fallen for you
and i'm praying for
just a moment or two

if i were a writer
i could fill your whole shelf
with words that could
melt your heart like butter
and you won't know that
i'm really writing to you

and if i were a soldier
i'd be at the front of the line
so i can come home with a purple heart
and just be closer to you

and if i could
i wouldn't be another
silly boy you don't remember
and if i could
i would make the world a better place
so it can never take the smile from your face

if i were a postman
i'd put a smile on every letter
but i'll stick a stamp right over
so you won't know any better

and if i had a boat
i'd sail to the end of the world
and return with a pot of gold
and hide it in your purse so
you'd see a rainbow
every where you go

and if i were a fortune teller
and my crystal ball could give me answers
it'll know that i would never ever fall
in love with any girl but you

and if i could
i wouldn't be another
silly boy you don't remember
and if i could
i would make the world a better place
so it can never take the smile from your face

i hear a pin drop
because when you are not here
the world falls silent

it really sux to watch romantic movies on the plane, especially when i'm alone! makes me wanna hijack the plane and crash land it in ithaca.

not so drunken prawns

so my colleagues (well, not really. i'm like way way the youngest person there) and i went to this fancy restaurant in Tianjin for dinner after a long day of meetings and it's this cool beef steamboat place where everyone has their little steamboat and like 80% of the food was beef. the beef wasn't the most interesting though. one of the bosses ordered a drunken prawn dish, and the waitress came with this huge bowl of live prawns jumping around. so we're like, ok let's leave them there awhile and let them get drunk first, and then we can cook them. after about 15 min, one of the prawns jumped out onto the lazy susan, and it was then that we realized something was wrong. we asked the waitress, who told us that it was water, stupid, not wine!

everyone suddenly went queasy. we contemplated asking them to cook the prawns first, but then someone was like, aiyah, like that not nice already... so in the end we all had to fish out live prawns one by one and throw them into the boiling soup. gross! at least they all died in like 5 seconds.

but this must have been my most guilty dinner ever man.

fire drill

today, we had a fire drill in our building.

in which i learned that fire drill = mass exodus of non-critical staff out of the building half an hour before the fire drill starts (in order to avoid being caught in the fire drill when it happens), followed by a 45min long tea break.

the little perks of being non-critical staff.

went for my 45min tea break with 3 of my colleagues (all girls), 2 of whom didn't eat or drink anything. why are girls like that. regardless, i had a very agreeable breakfast of sausage mcgriddle with egg, hashbrown & orange juice. so sad when we had to go back to office!

i miss you. sausage mcgriddle with egg makes me think of flynflyn!

i'm a growing boy!

another day, another 12 hours sitting on a chair, another layer of fat around my waist. sigh.

that's why i just did 20 crunches! although that isn't going to help my physique AT ALL, it makes me feel like i'm being a good custodian to my body.

maybe i'll do 5 more before i sleep.

haircut

after promising myself every single day, for 2 weeks, that i was going to "cut my hair tomorrow", i finally did it! after lunch, at QB House, where haircuts are but 10 minutes long and everything is sterilized in microwave-oven-like contraptions that glow ultraviolet. the tv screen shows QB House ads over and over again, which is kinda silly and surreal at the same time, considering the fact that the potential customer who is watching said ad is actually already sitting there having his hair cut.

but i dutifully mesmerized myself with the tv, and in just about 10 min, my hair was cut. i was a little annoyed at being rudely snapped out of my reverie as the girl started vacuuming my head and face but come to think of it, it actually felt pretty nice. after i got out of the chair, she said, "come i give you a comb", and gave me a comb. huh!? too short to comb!

so anyway i went back to office looking different from what i was in the morning, and dropped my new comb into my pen holder. i'm sure it would come in handy sometime, perhaps as a weapon or something. i realize i haven't combed my hair for more than 5 years... no wait, make that 8 (army days + uni). i don't think i could handle a comb.

anyway, my new haircut being worth all of 10 bucks is nothing much to shout about, but i promise i'll look decent before you come back ok? :)

oh and i saw a geoduck today. awesome.

mj

i should seriously learn how to play mj. for the past two mj outings, i've sheepishly won from pure luck and blurness, and you know when you blunder into good things too many times, it kinda gets embarrassing. can't really say that God is keeping an eye on me too cos i'm gambling and it's WRONG.

don't gamble.

but then again gambling probably gives us better odds these days than putting our money in the bank. unless it's posb lah posb won't die right?

can you see the stars
from the windows far
up in the sky above
they are full of love

for us but we only know
to curse at all the things we have
to lose and all the words we have
to choose not to
say we're sorry

and if we could see them smiling
we would know that we're not lonely
it's just that time moves slowly
sometimes but we're only
human

and if we could find a way to love
the things that hurt us most
it should be so much easier to lose
the pain that stirs inside us

can you see the sun
it shines for everyone
no matter who we are
or what we've done

to those who never stood a chance
as we wave our flags and dance
to a song of our own making
with words beyond their comprehending

i'm scared.

i feel like i'm walking on thin sheets of ice, with dark water swirling underneath my feet and threatening to engulf me.

i'm afraid that it won't happen because i take a bad step, but because, if i just give it a little more time, the ice will simply melt.

our rabbits

i love their eyes, cos they remind me of you. for some reason, tobi is starting to have helicopter ears! maybe it's a seasonal thing.

ooh the weekend is here! i love weekends... cos it means that lunchtime isn't a limiting factor anymore!

angel disguised

I see an angel
she's hiding her wings
as she's floating down from heaven
as light as a leaf
and she gives me
a reason
to keep on believin'
that life is worth livin'
as long as i'm breathin'
the words that she sings
of fall, and spring,
and summer, and winter
with snowflakes that dance
in the wind
like we danced
in the dead of the night
with the moonlight beside us
and music inside us
my angel disguised as
the girl of my dreams

my angel disguised
as the girl of my dreams

and when i'm walking with you
i've got clouds under my feet
and nothing in the world
can bring me to my knees
and if there's anything i fear
it's when i can't find you near me
when my heart is bleeding
its you that i'm needing
my angel disguised
as the girl of my dreams

my angel disguised
as the girl of my dreams

and i'll never desire
the love of another
and i'll rather be alone
if you need to go home
but till then i will give you
all the love you deserve
cos even angels need some heaven
when they're living on earth
they say you're just a figment
of my own imagination
but i've fallen for you
and i'll always be true to
my angel disguised as
the girl of my dreams

my angel disguised as
the girl of my dreams

flu

sigh, down with the flu again... except i'm not really down, cos i can't afford to be! everyday i wake up feeling like shit and i tell myself, for all of 2 seconds, that i'm going to take leave. and then i brush my teeth and get changed and go to work.

but another reason why i'm not down is cos flyn flyn loves me. and how can anyone be down if flyn flyn loves him? i know right?

you are my superwoman

because you amaze me all the time with everything you do

because everytime you look at me i become a puddle of goo

because you fly into my heart and save me everytime i think of you

childhood memories

it's been so long since i tasted the joy of having hot, gooey, drippy, clumpy unborn chickens washed down my throat. last week, ya kun kaya toast brought me back to a time when life was innocent and happy, free from the trials and tribulations of working life....actually no. i was damn stressed lor last time. homework homework homework, then assessment book, then homework, then sleep, then homework.... then clumpy unborn chickens!

we added dark soya sauce and pepper, just a little too much, but it was good enough to remind me of the perfect eggs that my dad did when i was a kid. i want to make perfect eggs next time! and be a good dad too :)

when time flies

i watch the dates float past
little pieces of paper
with their bright, gawdy numbers
telling me how precious they are
right before they vanish

taking with them bits of summer
and bits of me

but i let them go at it
for no scheme in the world
can take from me
that which is most precious

that which i have
already given to you

monday tak blues

just conducted my first meeting today, with an engineering consultant. feels really good being a client! even the big shot managing director treated me well, smile smile happy happy the whole time. of course lah, since their bonuses depend on people like us. and this whole week, my boss is not going to be around, meaning i can stay at home the whole week and no one will know! yippee.

danglies

At long last, the all new handmade earrings designed by Evelyn and Kenneth! Check them out HERE and don't forget to look at the awesome studs too!

my new camera! phone!

finally, after 5 years of faithful service, my Sony Ericsson T616 has been retired. throughout these years, it has been a loyal friend, accompanying me tirelessly through almost every waking hour, stoically enduring my rough handling and frequent accidents. It has never really failed me, apart from the few months when it kept on turning my "you" into "zou" when i typed smses, and the few times when it refused to turn on no matter what i did. and the fact that it took a long time to process my typing and dialing meant that i smsed a lot less and hence saved quite a bit of money.

now that i'm back in singapore, i have upgraded to a permanent line and a new Samsung U900, and so my trusty T616 will finally be able to rest. i'm still considering though to continue using it as an alarm clock, because it has one of the most irritating alarm tones ever.

and as for my U900, 5.0 megapixels! xcbhdxcnxcb.nbxkjchfkdhsfa kdfhksdjhds jsdhsjdhffflkdj ihfd.

Haikupost 08

I, invisible
Silently drifting to you
Holding my heart out

Haikupost 07

can i dry your tears
with a big hug and a kiss
let us save paper

Haikupost 06

Take my flu away
Wring me up and let me dry
Dripping green mucus

Haikupost 05

shriveled old doctors
men hanging outside windows
scrubbing carcasses

First Day At Work!

so i am now finally an adult, with a job and all! it's been a wonderful ride so far in cornell, and now i'm starting a new phase of my life at Keppel Land, the place where I've spent two summers doing internships. whether this is the right place for me remains to be seen, but i will certainly do my best and hopefully have lots of fun too!

today i've already sat in a really interesting meeting, with architects and interior designers and various big shots in keppel land squabbling over building designs. quite fascinating how people pick up little details so fast, and hopefully i can be like that soon :) really excited to be working as a developer!

Day at the Zoo

looks rather morbid to me actually

don't they all look blind?

i sure don't want to be that piece of food flying through the air

why you stare at me?

20 yr olds being all mature and serious

how sinister

why they copy us?

zebra crossing zebra crossing

ah see? the 20 yr old fake ice cube

seconds later, the giraffe shot out it's tongue and devoured the child

i feel like a kid again! it's quite funny how in some ways, the zoo has changed dramatically, but in some ways it's the exact same thing that we've seen when we were 5 years old. like the polar bear exhibit -- still the same zinc roof and pathetic little pool, with the polar bear probably playing with the exact same fake ice cube it played with 20 years ago. but it was really fun, if i try my best to forget the heat and the commando mosquitoes that relentlessly consumed us while we tried to forget about them.

more random pictures!

creativity

hiro nicolemura

fleshy leaves!

random photos!

lotsa very dead little fishies

i am the dragon warrior!

cherries in a teapot

pebbles with ambition

nicole-in-a-box