Everyone's doing it (talking about politics, that is). So shall I.

"I am insert-any-name-of-any-self-righteous-politician, and I approved of this message."

Watching TV recently has taken its toll. I've been seeing too many political commercials which blatantly attacks their opponents. At first I think it's rather amusing as I could only dream of such public political sparring in Singapore! But now, 1++ months away from the election, I could only wish that it has happened already!

I remember on a dark cold windy night, about 4 years ago, I just finished my night class in college and was walking home. I'll never forget the night as I felt pretty angry about President Bush's win on his 2nd term over John Kerry. I also saw something/someone that night and that fueled even more hate (don't ask).

Although I'm not eligible to vote, although I'm not entirely interested in politics, although this is not my country, I thought I should at least care a little bit since I am unavoidably in this freaking country!

I watched the first Presidential debate on Friday night. I actually stumbled upon it, was looking for a more entertaining CSI-inspired show instead. Nothing else was on, so yeah, I allowed them to squabble in my living room.

From the first debate, I gathered a few thoughts:

1. McCain lovingly started several(at least 5 times) rebuttals: "What Senator Obama doesn't understand is......"
2. Obama stutters.
3. I rather watch my nightly David Letterman and Craig Ferguson late night talk shows. Their monologues makes more sense than these debates.
4. McCain is over-milking his sympathy card of a war hero and how he totally understands the single mother whose only son has heroically lost his life in Iraq for the country. But he has been a proud endorser of President Bush, so erm..........huh?
   

I am in no way an avid fan of the political game. I am just observing such as an average healthy heterosexual single working-class female couch potato in her 20s.

BTW, I had a great weekend sleeping over at my friends' lovely home playing the new uber cool RockBand II on Xbox. I've managed to "tour" many US cities with my "band", learn to play "guitar" and is advancing to be a "Medium" level player. We also attended a fun & meaningful Buddy Walk charity event for Down Syndrome kids earlier this afternoon before treating ourselves with a bukkit KFC and A&W Rootbeer floats. Yums.

Thank you!

A BIG shout-out to Sharon and WL of Soon Lee, the wholesome folks who sent not once, but twice (First attempt was lost in mail. I try to imagine the pins eloping to a little Spanish town by the sea.) to send these perfect little buttons across many lands and oceans to me.

This was after my silly attempt to win them, and even though I was late in my entry, they insist on rewarding me! Yay!

I have always and now, I can't wait to terrorize their lovely shop (and my credit card) when I fly back the next time.

Soon Lee 56 Haji Lane, level 2, Singapore. Open everyday from 2pm-8pm. (65)6297-0198

Love Cream Pie by Outgrabe

Don't blink or you'll miss me!

My friend asked me, right before I left San Francisco, to be part of the video. It's very flattering and Ooh la la! Did it turn out saucy or what? Kudos to the band and production team.

Visit their website here.

I'm famous! not.

48 Ways to Be Nice and Improve the World Around You

I thought everyone might need to take a chapter outta these ok! It's time to be play NICE.

Real Simple's The Guide to Happiness

How to Be Nice to Your Friends, Family, and Those Who Need a Little Extra

Channel your second-grade teacher and playfully give out gold-star stickers to all the people in your life — young and old — who somehow make your day a little easier.

If you know someone is going out to dinner to celebrate a special occasion, call the restaurant in advance and say you’ll pick up the cost of her wine or dessert.

When someone is moving to a new city, supply friends and family members with stamped, preaddressed postcards. (Hand them out at the going-away party.) By the time the family pulls into the new driveway, there will be warm wishes awaiting them.

When you run across a newspaper or magazine article you think someone you know would find interesting, take a moment to clip it out. Attach a Post-it note that reads “Thought you’d enjoy” and drop it in the mail. This takes less time than writing a letter, but the gesture still shows the other person you’re thinking about her. Laura Noss, who owns a public-relations firm for nonprofits in San Francisco, says her father, who lives in Cleveland, does just that. “It means so much that when he’s reading something, he’ll rip it out, fold it, attach a message, put the postage on it, and send it to me,” she says. “I save almost all of them.”

Similarly, when a young person in your hometown does something to merit a mention in the newspaper (the high school quarterback saves the big game in overtime or your neighbor gets elected student-body president), clip out the photo and article and send it to the person’s family. Chances are, they’ll want to collect every copy they can. (One notable exception: the police blotter.)

If you travel a lot on business, record yourself reading your children’s favorite bedtime stories; they can listen to your voice as they flip through the book. Finish each night’s reading with a countdown of the days until you’re back home with them.

Every day for a year, jot down one thing you love about your child/husband/friend (he has a crooked smile; she snorts when she laughs). At the end of the year, give the person your one-of-a-kind, 365-item list.

When you develop photos from a vacation or a major life event that an elderly relative missed, get an extra set of prints and send them to her.

When guests are leaving, escort them to their car, not just to the front door. If you’re driving someone home, wait until she’s inside the house before you pull away.

Hide messages for your family to find throughout the day, like “Thanks for doing a load!” in the dryer, or a silly joke in your child’s lunch box.

If someone you know is going through a difficult time, call to let her know that you’re thinking about her, but make sure your message doesn’t leave her with a sense of obligation: “Just wanted you to know I’m thinking about you, but don’t worry about calling me back.” When a friend was being treated for breast cancer in a hospital outside her home state, Sandy Donaldson, a community-relations coordinator in Newport News, Virginia, rented her friend a beeper and entered the names of the woman’s friends in its contact list. Whenever her friend got beeped, she could look and see who was sending kind thoughts her way. “The only rule was that she was not allowed to call anyone back,” says Donaldson, who didn’t want her friend to feel any more burdened during her illness.

When a neighbor is grieving, leave a basket on her front porch, filled with blank thank-you cards she can send to people who have brought flowers or made donations.

When stocking up on school supplies, pick up a few extras and give them to your child’s teacher to pass on to students whose families might not be able to afford them.

Donate two tickets to a major sporting or theatrical event to an organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters. That way, a Big Sis can take her Little Sis to something out of the ordinary that she otherwise might not be able to afford.

How to Be Nice to People on the Job

When the temperature dips, offer your mail carrier or the teenager shoveling your walk a fresh cup of coffee or hot chocolate. Buy lidded disposable cups so they can have it “to go.”

If someone goes beyond her job description to help you, call or send an e-mail to her supervisor praising her. The employee will get a small career boost, and the boss will probably be thrilled to hear something other than complaints.

Avery Horzewski, a communications consultant in San Jose, California, likes to give chocolates or Starbucks gift cards to grocery clerks, delivery people, and others who are especially friendly or helpful.

Bring in a box of doughnuts for your building’s maintenance staff. Just don’t consume all the jelly-filled ones before you pull into the company parking lot.

When you make an in-person donation to a nonprofit organization (such as an animal shelter), also drop off something to brighten the day of the people working in the trenches.

Lindsey Schocke, an administrative assistant in Atlanta, knows how stressful starting a new job can be. So whenever her company hires somebody, she makes a point of extending a lunch invitation. “I can answer some questions for them,” she says, “and then they have a friendly face to say hello to until they get to know everybody.”

Overtip your breakfast waiter. He probably put forth just as much effort as someone on the evening shift would, but his take-home pay is probably lower.

Also read other sections of " How to Be Nice to Your Neighbors" & "How to Be Nice to Strangers and the World Around You" here.

A good start

I've finally ventured into something new! Oh well, kinda.

I've proudly joined a business project as a fabulous merchandiser! This blog shop specializes in bringing luxury 100% authentic American goods to Singapore.


I've to admit that over the years, many people have came up with similar approaches and tried to recruit me many times for this sort of position. Thinking that I would have access to many brands that are very sought after in SG and could make a quick buck on the side. True, and I wished I had agreed to this earlier. But it didn't happen as I either didn't have the time/interest or the talk never got walked.

This time, I'm giving it a try. And oh my, it's hard work I tell ya! There's nothing like a free lunch ever~ If it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, then I tell myself that I've tried my best. So far, it's been pretty fun helping out to 'shop' for other people.

So my beloved friends and family, I only do free advertisement on my blog, and this is it.

PLEASE go to the website and show face a bit! Indicate that you're my friend when you're ordering that cute Coach bag and specials might happen depending on my Lao Ban Niang's mood.

http://nineteen80shop.wordpress.com/

For your easy reference, the website is also conveniently and permanently linked on my blogroll ——>

Did I

tell you that I re-pierced my nose? Okay, there might not be a thing call "re-pierce", but I did it on the exact same side to the exact same nose after the previous closed due to 'misunderstandings' between me and my body.

He was very skilled but a bit fierce.

My uncle said I'm too old for such actions (?) and my mom said: What?! (This fav. phrase of hers is also printed on her fav. t-shirt which she's guilty of wearing all the time.)

It was impromptu as Amy came to town and made me wanna do something painful.

Nah, it was just stress from work and then I realise I'm 11 months and 5 days old in Vegas! Almost a full year! I should be able to walk on my own at least, but I'm still so needy.

I'm halfway to becoming an LV native now, according to the cool funny old man who was playing his guitar on the roadside—complete with sock & sandals, kneepads (yes, you read me right) and a foldable camping chair in case he needed a break from the 'stage' he set up. It was an interesting night at the LV's monthly "First Friday" events.My friend approached him with a $5 contribution and asked about the kneepads. He said he will deomonstrate their purpose in a little bit and he did.Hard core. Take that all you Guitar-hero wannabes!!!

I actually went to this event in June, and I haven't been back since. I went for the first time in November but it was cold and raining. I don't think I'll go again, since my 'kaki' is not longer here :(

I count myself pretty fortunate (a-hem) that I've many many visitors during such a short time. Everyone either misses me so much (!!!) or they fancy my giant never-fail-to-shock bathtub or both. Either way it's a win-win situation for them. As for me, I get plenty of good company and goodies from foreign lands. Trying not to complain here.

My tally is at 14 houseguests and 13 visitors-with-their-own-hotel-rooms.

Just want to let y'all know that I rarely change my sheets and wash my towels.

Kidding.

And now I'm waiting for the day my mom will come visit. And I know Lesie & wife are not going to make the trip for some reasons. How dare these people have other priorities in life!

Also, it means my 1 year work review is coming up. I wonder if that actually means anything for me, given the somewhat weird vibe in the agency. Bad economy? Lay-offs? My department has so far been very secure. We even got new businesscards as we're officially in a seperate 'group'. But I do know I've worked my ass off. Pray for me people! Pray! And you know what I'm after.

And those of you who don't know my friends Lance & Nica, it doesn't matter. He just welcomed his firstborn Aiden into this world (YAY!) after his wife did all the hard work.Little Acorn, oops I meant Aiden, just a few days old. (Photo stolen from your album lance! Hope you don't mind spreading some happiness.)

In similiar news, my other friends Melvin & Cindy also popped their firstborn Layla about a month plus ago.Awwwwww.......this pic of Layla smiling simply makes me melt a little bit. She had a case of baby acne but she much better now!(Another stolen photo from Mel's blog. Where else could I've gotten them?)

So my very out and open plan is to introduce these two babies one fine day (one is on the end of the East coast and the other on the end of the West Coast). I know their parents will be great in-laws and both families will get along damn well. heehee I'm thinking a bit far along the road but hey! who knows right ;)

And no, my blog is not turning into a baby annoucement center. It's just happy when happy babies arrive in happy families to lead happy lives.

Best wishes to them and hope they grow up strong and smart to save the planet!

My mortality

If I wake up one day in the hospital bed, with the doctor telling me that I’m on bypass— which means I’m beyond hopeless and relying on the machine—saying that this is just going to keep me alive for a few more hours. What do I do?

If I have to lay there dying, with people I know strolling in one by one to say goodbye, what do I do?

And if I have to say something what would I say? Leave me alone and let me die alone?

And what if I am only in my twenties and my parents are crying and my brothers are hurting and my relatives are mourning and my friends are freaking out? Do I have to sit there in the middle of the static sterile hospital room trying to be calm and all?

Can I join in the crying or should I?

Would saying the last prayers make it all okay?

And which one of you want to volunteer to pull the plug eventually? Or rather, which one of you is the right one to do so?

I just saw this scenario on the cutting-edge TV series House. And I just had to think.