Electric Pulses as Words

Okay, so maybe this is a bit Australian-centric, but I came across this old Pseudo Echo clip from the 80's when I was messing about on YouTube before. It features:

- an electric drum kit
- air blown curtainy things in the background
- an electric guitar which, well, you can't really hear cause its drowned out by the drums and synths
- parachute pants on all band members

One disappointing feature is that there's a full sized electric keyboard, not one of those hand held ones that have a shoulder strap, like a guitar, which is usually the case. Shame really... Although there seems to be two of them for some strange reason.

Enjoy!

So I'm on the bus yesterday, standing up, totally minding my own business and this African lady stands next to me (though her ethnicity has nothing to do with this story). Anyhow, she suddenly says to me...

"It's funny isn't it?"
"Excuse me?" says I.
"How the rain comes and goes so quickly."
"Oh, well, it happens like that"
"Yes. Those evil Indians."

RIGHT. As she finished that sentence I decided she was probably a little frea-kay. But then, she starts singing (dunno what it was), like, LOUDLY, so the whole bus could hear. Thankfully it was a short bus trip and I got off a couple of minutes later.

I got off the bus and was walking behind some guy in bike shorts, who was extremely thin, and was walking down Orchard Rd like he'd been, well, riding something other than a bike for a while. Turns out he was going to my gym lol.

So I get to the gym, and walk through the little sitting area they have, and the ultra hot personal trainer was there. But, ugh, it smelt like, for want of a better description, "lady smell". Then later, he walked past with a client, and this time smelt like he'd been bathing in CK One.

Thankfully after that we resumed normal transmission :-)

...a gift returned in the mail. Address checked with recipient, parcel sent, and returned almost two months later unclaimed.

So today I went for a stroll down to the botanical gardens today cause its like 5 minutes down the road from where I live. So... ROLL ON THE PIX

This is a nice... errr... island type thing... in the middle of a pond. Or maybe that's a lake?





Now THIS really caught my eye. You know, botanical names for plants usually bear little resemblance to normal English, but this is just weird.





Hmmmm.... this got me thinking of soup



While this got me thinking of two bowls of soup



Ducks... these look really nice cooked Peking style, served in thin crepes with some greens and that sweetish dark plum sauce. I've been wary of ducks ever since I was attacked by one when I was a little kid!



No smart arse caption for this one... it just looks nice.



I don't know what the point of this sculpture is - maybe all the real swans fucked off someplace else.



After a couple of hours walking around there I was severely dehydrated and headed for a shopping mall (as you do) to cool down... I guess more pix some other time!

Well I am back in Sing after about a week and a half off back home in Melbourne and also in Sydney. Now I have a serious case of the shits. I might go into details later, maybe I won't... It's gettin kinda late and I should probably keep this post to a minimum, cause like, I do have to go to work tomorrow, its midnight, and my body thinks it is 3am.

So I been thinkin a lot about the future over the last couple of days... Being in the country (Batemans Bay in NSW to be exact) with not much to do except get sunburnt, and hours and hours of driving over broad, flat country gives you time to do that. Jesus my tenure over here is meant to be two years and I am coming up on 5 months already. That means moving back in august next year (its 2007 now after all). There's something I am planning on doing, and I'm not sure if it is the right thing or not. It won't be until like June anyway, when I next go back home (well that is the next planned trip at the moment). And trying not to be too cryptic, its because I can't get someone out of my head, and I need to do something about it. And you know what? If it meant fucking off from here a little earlier to make it all happen I'd do that. I think I'd even quit and move back unemployed as long as my finances supported that route. Wow. Craziness. Its kinda scary actually reading that in black and white. But need to jump that first hurdle before I get too far ahead of myself.

I was gonna write all these great things, and all I can think of is how shitty I am... 2007 is officially the year i stop being a fucking idiot. Yikes I think this Bundy OP Rum is going to my head...

In an earlier post, I made a rather uninformed remark that when I went to Little India when I was on holidays here in Singapore last, that the only Indians I saw were in the back of trucks, looking as though they were being carted off to concentration camps. Well, I can now confirm that this is happily not the case! They are construction workers (more Bangladeshi than Indian I think) being bussed around to fuck knows where - and if the guy who asks me several times a month for money near the MRT is anything to go by, not being paid a hell of a lot for their toil.

Well things have been goin all right here lately... Have had a couple of visitors in town to keep me busy (one totally unexpected and not seen for a coupla years!), and fuck, Christmas is but 2 and a bit weeks away, so as I type this, 2 weeks from now I will be on a plane headed back to Australia. Need to get my act together as to what I am doing when I'm down there - will probably head up to Sydney, and either back to Melbourne for New Years or down to the NSW South Coast before I come back up here on the 2nd. Hmmm... I need to get Christmas presents sorted out too. Ugh.

Actually I've had more than a couple of visitors... Well... 3? Maybe 2. I dunno if you'd class one as a visitor per se... They weren't specifically here to see me... Whole nuther story anyway. Can I be arsed to go into detail? I'm on the verge of changing the subject here... That means no I guess. Maybe some other time. I went for a run earlier and when you're poundin' the pavement its hard to stop thoughts driftin' through your head - not that the thoughts resulted in a conclusion, a plan of action, or anything like that... Just thoughts, nothing more.

I'll finish by statin' that compassion is big in Singapore at the moment. Apparently there has been a spate of people jumping in front of MRT trains and committing suicide. Not so nice. Not when you have one dead person, a heap of traumatised onlookers, and worst of all the train driver. Someone wrote into the newspaper today suggesting that the FAMILY of the jumper should be fined for "the misdemeanor" to deter further jumpers as well as the inconvenience to travellers. Un-fucking-believable.

Another letter writer was concerned that these jumpers exposed Singapore to a security risk. Al Qaeda or some other terrorist organisation may (and I am not making this up) organise for suicide jumpers to jump in front of trains across the island SIMULTANEOUSLY, causing transportation chaos. Obviously making people late for work as Al Qaeda operatives killed only themselves, rather than strapping a bomb to their bodies and taking a few hundred train travellers with them as they blew emselves up, is of greater concern to your average Singaporean.

Some of the things people write into the paper about really amaze me. I think I might start publishing some of the better (worse?) ones here...

Well I've been here just on two months now so I thought it was about time I posted again. So much for me doin this on a regular basis! So what have I been doin with myself? Well I have moved into a place and pretty much got everything on the home front sorted. Location is pretty cool, with a bus stop to work on the other side of the highway, and a pool in the complex which I take a dip in about every second night.

So anyhow I was gonna go out last Sunday and take a few photos of around town, but became a bit discouraged when it became apparent to me that the haze was gonna make photos come out, well, kinda crapola. Take this pic of the Singapore skyline for example:



Today was the first day in a long time actually that you could actually see blue sky, which was nice, and to be honest a bit of a surprise when i looked out the window this morning when the sun came up and could see it.

I took a couple of other non-descript photos, namely this one of the law courts...



And this one of the steps of what I think is the city hall building, tricked out for the Singapore Bienniele arts event - as you can see you needed to elbow your way through the crowds to see whatever was going on inside...



Cause the heat was startin to shit me and I was getting hungry, I wandered back to the Raffles City Mall, where I was excited to see that Gloria Jeans has set up shop here...



I wonder if they are closely linked to the Happy Clappers like they are in Australia? I was loitering around trying to get a discreet photo of the above when I realised I was actually hanging directly outside the toilets. How dodgy must have that looked? Anyhow I got a nice wrap from some place and a rather expensive juice smoothie thing (it cost me S$15 all up which is obscene here) for lunch and was on my way before it started shitting down rain, which it tends to do quite unexpectedly around here.

I've started doing a beginners German class here given I want to travel to Germany for a short spell next year. Its pretty good, and the locals provide a bit of entertainment. There's one girl who abbreviates her first name to KY which I think is hilarious. We had to ask one another our names and then spell them out as a group exercise in our last class, and amazingly a lot of people managed to spell my name completely with consonants (no y's), which I thought was hilarious. Our class even has a resident low talker.

Anyhoo, that's about all I can be bothered posting right now... More later!

Fuck... They've changed a lot... Since the last time I posted here I applied for, was offered and accepted a job in Singapore. And now I'm here! Arrived last Tuesday, and have already started work. Am stayin in a nice apartment off Orchard Rd while I look for a place to live - the pool is very nice! So I had a crazy month of trying to get organised back home for the move... All my worldly possessions (well the ones that I didn't bring with me) are floating on a ship somewhere on their way here. Had a great night out before I left where I got pretty trashed - the next day was a total right off but it was so worth it.

I wonder if I have left anything behind sometimes - both in tangible and intangible terms if you get what I mean. I guess time will tell on that one. I've wondered about the whole "going back" thing - its really just a little early to be thinking about it to be honest, but its always at the back of your mind.

So yeah... I'm here... So I may as well try to make the most of it!

...next time i go to Berlin. How cool is this hotel?!?!?! Click the numbers for the different rooms.

Propeller Lodge

That's me at work at the moment... Okay, okay, not as busy as some people on the planet, but 730am through 7pm at work is stretchin it a bit. And the guy I work with told me today that he's resigning, and I just know that it will take forever to replace him, cause it always does in banking. That means even more work for me. And I just love spending half my day in meetings, or being asked to come to meetings that I have nothing to add to, or really doesn't concern me, because people think it might be a good "learning experience" - I don't want those when I have barely enough time to do my work thanks. So all in all, work's really lookin' up at the moment!

And how good did it feel to be back? Erm... Lemme get back to you on that one, okay? No, seriously, it wasn't too bad... I think I forced myself to have a pretty cruisy week, although the workload started jackin up towards the end of it. And its only gonna get worse from here, well, most likely anyway, as one of the guys I work with is probably gonna move to another area of the bank, and fuck knows how long its going to take to replace him. As long as I can take my couple of weeks leave in October, then everything will be fine. Had my half year appraisal this week as well, which went swimmingly - I was a little surprised actually. Maybe I rate myself down too much... One thing that came out of it is more courses; influencing skills and presentation skills. Nice. Bank is stumping up the $4,000 odd for those too. Two more things to put on the resume!

Hmmm, I was gonna call about that job opportunity in Singapore this week and never got around to it... Sheesh.

One of my friends told me today that him and some others (whom I am acquainted with at various levels) are considering going to the UK on the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, which after some research I realise I do not qualify for! Well not yet anyway, maybe in a couple of years time. So that'll mean even more dispersion of my friends. He also took the opportunity to have a go at me for wanting to go to Taiwan when I asked him why he wanted to go (which I thought was a reasonable enough question), which was a bit of a surprise. What is he gonna say when I tell him I want to go to Hong Kong now? Actually, I really need to call the Chinese enbassy and see about all of that.

Hmm, I have to email about 3 of my long lost friends this weekend... need to keep in touch with people. I resolved to do that at new years, and have done nothing about it since! My bad.

Finally got back to the gym today, after a three week hiatus. One and three quarter hours of weights. Cardio tomorrow if my body can stand it. Maybe I need to push it some more. I don't think I was really seein results before I went on holidays, although maybe that had more to do with my shitty diet. I've been thinkin about walkin home from work a couple of times a week, although its a fucking long way, either that or going to the gym straight after work in the city, so I can't lame excuse it when I get home and not bother.

I've had two cointreau lime and sodas tonight, and I think they're giving me heartburn :-( Bleurgh.

Went out for nosh and drinks last night. We ended up at a pub in the city cause we walked past the window and I saw a guy from the ferry who I think is cute. And no-one agreed with me! Guess he's all mine haha. Does that make me shallow though? Hmm I wonder. Procured two Asahi beer glasses which I was quite happy with. Mexican food after - maybe that's what's causing the heartburn... I finished off my meal, and a bit of my flatmate's as well.

That's about all I can think of for now. I'll post again when something genuinely interesting happens!

How I have missed thee. Not. Okay, in all seriousness, it ain't that bad here. Was actually quite nice today, about 28, kinda humid, but breezy. Then it rained, and the relative humidity shot up to a billion percent. Bleurgh. Messin about in the hotel pool before sure was nice.

Did some shopping today (Esprit, again), and had a walk around the Arab St area where my hotel is. Then I wandered over to Little India, trying to do a walking tour that I had picked up a pamphlet on. I think I was a little off track at one stage - all I could see were Chinese people, and the only Indians seemed to be on the back of trucks, like they were being carted away for internment.

I did manage to find Little India eventually, wandered around a nice Hindu temple (I think it was dedicated to Krishna, but don't quote me on that), and sweated it out some (as you do here). I got a massive Iced Lemon Tea from a 7-11 as well, managed to spill some of it on my t-shirt, and on most of the lollies on display just under the counter. I did scoot as soon as I realised - I blame the design of the Big Gulp cup, not my own lid on cup placing ability (or lack thereof).

Checking out the local work office here on Thursday - I know they have a job going... Am wondering if I should consider it - whether or not it would help alleviate the situation a few posts down, I'm not so sure. Its a step, but is it a step in the right direction for me?

...an hour to kill in the internet cafe am I posting again... I swear! Actually I came here to find Virgin Mobile's number back home so I can blast them for barring my voicemail access! What good is it overseas if they don't let you use it? Bizarre. I have a new voicemail and I am anxious to hear what it is...

Anyhow, what did I get up to today... Went to the Martyrs Shrine, then to Longshan Temple which was positively going off - so many people and so much incense burning that my backpack was covered in it (and I guess me as well). I think I got some decent photos there. Also went to the Shida Road area where I used to live, and it doesn't look like a whole lot has changed there. Picked up some Mandarin textbooks as well to study up on when I get home.

As for tonight, I might check out the Shilin night market, and tomorrow, some shopping I think... I have some NT Dollars that are burning a hole in my pocket!

Well LJ has decided to go all BIG5 Chinese on me, so hopefully this will post alright, otherwise I will need to do it again at a later date. I'm at an internet cafe (didn't think there were too many of these left in Taipei), right next to a sex toy shop that had its phallic wares proudly displayed in the window. But hey, I don't think anything really shocks me anymore.

That's one of the ways how things have changed here, mostly for the better - I'm pretty sure I never saw dildos on display when I was here ten years ago! I spent a year here back in 96/97 studying Mandarin, during my time at university, in case anyone is wondering what I'm going on about in this post...

The subway's been finished - no more gaping big holes in the middle of the streets - and it's fantastic - journeys that would have taken me 45 minutes when I was studying here now take about 15 - magic! I dunno why but everyone has been addressing me in Mandarin - without me prompting them to - from airport immigration, to the hotel clerk, to the guy serving me at Macca's today. Totally weird, but great fun, if not a little worrying to see how much my Chinese has deteriorated given lack of practice over the years. I'm gonna go to Caves Books around the corner from here and see if I can get some Chinese study texts after - they were always a hell of a lot cheaper then back home - hopefully they still are!

Another thing that's changed is the stares - you would always get looked at funny 'cause you were a foreigner (and kids would point at you and say "American"!). I don't think I've been stared at once all day. The big thing here (no pun intended) is the massive fuck off Taipei 101 skyscraper that was finished a couple of years back (I think) - 101 storeys of concrete, steel and glass soaring into the sky. Unfortunately you only go up as far as the 89th floor, but its a hell of a great view, especially on a clear day as it was today.

Got a nice hotel here as well, though I'm a little unsure as to whether its meant to be a boutique type establishment, or, well... a love hotel. Why you ask? Because I have a spa bath (which is great!) but it has coloured lights that change... Seems odd... And the condom and cigarette lighter next to my bed had me wondering. But then again I don't think many love hotels would have a guest laundry and serve breakfast. Nor would they be on HotelClub! I think the chick at the front desk fancies me as well - maybe that's why the condom was in my room... Bleurgh. I'm trying to remember how you say gay in Chinese...

*sigh*

Its always a strange feeling, deja vu... Its even stranger when its not a single repeat that you experience, but a second one, in my case anyway. I'm sitting here typing this, and telling myself that this time around its not eating me up inside... actually maybe that's being a little dramatic... gnawing at my heartstrings would probably be a better way of putting it. But maybe I'm kidding myself. Maybe it really is gnawing away, but its doing it somewhere deep inside me, where I've subconciously banished it to, so as to not let it get to me, as it has done before.

So here's the story for the uninitiated. Five years ago I met this guy through the internet... We got along really well, and decided to meet up overseas together, I suppose really to see what one another was like. Well, we did get on really well (really really well if you know what I mean) but it never went any further - distance played an enormous part - me in Australia, him in the UK. I talked about doing the 2 year working holiday thing over there to try and take it further, but never did for whatever reason - fear, lack of conviction... I dunno, and its not worth going into too much detail about it.

Then I went to Europe on a holiday in 2004, about 2 and half years after we first met (as in met in person). There's actually another post in here about it... from like April 2004... Found it, its here. He's recenty moved to Hong Kong to work (where I am now), so I came over to visit, and like... it all starts again... I just don't get it... And its fucking amazing, but what are you meant to do in situations like this? Where's the operating manual? He's only 9 and a half hours away instead of 24, but its not really all that different to before is it? Do I actually say to myself this time "Right, you really like this guy, so get off your fucking arse and do something about it! Make a move that's going to make him yours properly, not just for two week stints at horrendously irregular intervals". Or, do I just let it slip away again, to be possibly rekindled again at a later date?

Ugh... Decisions... And I think I just felt something gnawing at one of my heartstrings. *Gulp*

Crikey, almost 3 months since my last confession on here. But have I sinned though? Hmmm... I always think that I should update here more often, and never get around to it, too many other distractions on the internet competing for my attention. Oh well...

So what's happened since last time? New job, same organisation. Basically the same thing I was doing before, just a little more senior actually, so not a whole lot of change there. My ear's gettin better. That's been a marathon saga. Ended up goin to the specialist, having an MRI done, a hearing test and a balance test. $800 later ($550 thanks to medicare), I was diagnosed with a viral infection of the middle ear (which would have gone ages ago, but it takes ages for the inner workings of your ear to heal).

Headin on hols in about 3 weeks, though not quite sure of the itinerary. I know that I am going to HK and leaving Singapore for Perth and then Sydney, but the in between needs to be sorted out. Soon. Need to buy a camera before I go, and set up a site for pix etc.

I find myself in Melbourne again for Easter. Its fricken freezing down here too. I think I am sayin that more and more about the weather down here! Maybe I have finally aclimatised to Sydney weather...

Off to see about the new Snow Patrol album now. Damn I hope they tour here.

Have just been through a harrowing experience... An encounter with a faulty smoke alarm in the building entry that went off constantly for 45 minutes until someone called the fire brigade to shut it off. If they hadn't I think I would have smashed it with a hammer, but I am not sure I could have done that, given that it seemed to be emitting its high pitched sound at an ear splitting 200 decibels or so, and getting close would have been very very painful. I swear I was going to go insane, and wondering whether a hotel for the night was a reasonable option. Luckily I get to keep my money in my pocket...

50 questions

1. Copy and Paste in your blog
2. Highlight anything true (in this case, umm, i will put "true" after it, cause I don't know how to highlight!)
3. Leave plain anything untrue

1. I miss somebody right now TRUE
2. I watch more TV than I used to
3. I love sleeping TRUE
4. I own lots of books/magazines TRUE (bookwise)
5. I wear glasses or contact lenses
6. I love to play video games TRUE (I love anything Sim!)
7. I believe honesty is the best policy TRUE
8. I swear sometimes/frequently TRUE (but not as much as I used to)
9. I have changed a lot mentally over the last year
10. I have a hobby
11. I’ve been told I have a nice butt
12. I've never broken anyone else's bones
13. I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal TRUE
14. I love rain TRUE
15. I’m paranoid at times
16. I need money right now
17. I love sushi
18. I talk really, really fast sometimes TRUE
19 .I love waking up early in the morning
20. I have at least one brother and/or sister TRUE
21. I shave my legs
22. I have a twin
23. I like the way I look
24. I have lied to a good friend in the past 6 months TRUE
25. I am usually pessimist
26. I have mood swings TRUE (but infrequently)
27. I have cheated on a significant other before
28. I have a hidden talent
29. I’m always hyper no matter how much sugar I have
30. I think that I’m popular
31. I am currently single TRUE
32. I have kissed someone of the same sex TRUE
33. I enjoy talking on the phone
34. I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants
35. I love to shop
36. I would rather shop than eat
37. I’m obsessed with my blog!
38. I don’t hate anyone
39. I’m a pretty good dancer
40. I’m completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother
41. I have a mobile TRUE
42. I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months
43. I have never been in a real relationship before errr... define real! haha
44. I’ve rejected someone before TRUE
45. I currently have a crush on someone TRUE
46. I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life TRUE
47. I want to have children in the future
48. I have changed a nappy before
49. I’ve had the cops called on me before
50. I bite my nails

Ever heard of labyrinthitis? Not many people have it seems... Its an inflammation of the inner or middle ear which plays havoc with your sense of balance. I've had it for about a week and a half now, with a bit of ringing in one ear which I am pretty sure is related to it all. Had a crap day Sunday, was dizzy all day, confined to bed, and throwin up all the time 'cause of the nausea. Have had about 3 days off work, and have an exam next week that I have only just started revising for. All in all... ARGH!!