The middle is upon us!

Man, 2009 sure has been one thoroughly interesting year, hasn't it? It's the year that I turn the big 2 and 5. 25, to me, is neither old or young. It's a good number. It has a nice ring to it, no?

Actually, it sucks.

There's just not enough time to do everything that I like. Gym time has been severely hit as work is piling up (I'm not a fan of working out on weekends as the second statement shows why). To hang out I will need to check in advance as there's only so much time in a weekend to meet up with friends and family. But being 25 also means more responsibility. In my last post, I mentioned that an old friend of mine is doing well career- and life- wise. Cool, eh? Here I am thinking about the next outing whereas he and other people like him are changing diapers. Work has been up and down. Admittedly, there are more downs than ups. I keep telling myself that in 10 years' time I'll look back at all this and just smile. "I went through all that shit to get to this level so suck it up!" will be mantra that I will tell to all the wide-eyed trainees under me. Maintaining a positive mind is a must in such situations lest I let my anger to take over me. To paraphrase one big green dude said, you won't like it when I'm angry...

My feelings and thoughts have been a real tangled mess the past few months. I can't explain them here for highly personal reasons but to those who know a bit and who've helped me along the way, thank you. I really wanted to write an insightful and long post but I think I've said enough.

I wonder what the second half of the year will bring. I hope it's good stuff*.

This is Chris, signing off.

PS: I wish good things upon you, too.

I would shake your hand, friend.

He was a playboy, this person is. He was known to flirt with every female that came his way, even with friends' girls, trying his best to win them over with his charm and wit which he had in spades. And, boy, did he had them. If that wasn't enough, he was blessed with looks that could kill and a smile that could light up a house. Oh, he has a killer body, too. Some people have all the luck, eh?

Unfortunately, this is what most people think when they see him. Everything is untrue except for the charisma and appearance.

You see, back in the day, this guy was a real showboat; every single thing about him screamed "jock!" It didn't help that I had a little crisis with my own looks so when he came strutting into a room, I would groan and say fuck softly. He was always smartly dressed whereas I was content with my creased as can be shirt. He had the girls mesmerised while the guys wanted to be his best bud. The thing that always got to me was his holier-than-thou attitude. Come presentation time, he would lead his team and present a slick and engaging topic. He had the confidence and the panache to pull it all off. Did I forget to mention that he is also smart as heck?

There was this innate animosity between us, like how a gorilla when upon seeing another gorilla will want to puff up its chest and start pounding it silly. Well, I was a chubby, clumsy and comical gorilla whereas he was a silverback. This continued for some time but it died slowly and surely as we got older. So you can only imagine how far and hard my jaw dropped when I found out he is married and now has child! He, of all people, has settled down and is now a proud father. I didn't have his number otherwise I would've called and congratulated him.

I hated him, but why? you may ask. Back then I would've said that he was a damn prick. But now it all seems like trivial dribble. All the piercing glares we gave each other and the inane posturing all are a distant memory. I've always had a deep respect for him and his methods even though I agreed with them less than half the time.

So I raise my cup of milk and congratulate wholeheartedly to you, the missus and your newborn. Have a blessed life and hopefully we'll have a coffee together some day.

This is Chris, signing off.

PS: I am humbled.

Hooters was a bust.*

First,

Thanks be to the women of Singapore. More on this later.

Is it just me or are Singaporeans absolutely bonkers about their shopping centres? Or in local patois, malls? See any building that has "mall" etched on its facade and chances are you'll see, oh, hundreds and hundreds of people crowding an area that comfortably accommodates 5 people at any time. It it insane. Even Kuala Lumpur (KL) does not experience such waves of humans. (Except for when petrol prices are hiked up. You'll even see old women clamouring to get petrol for their cars.)

Granted, the Grand Singapore Sale is currently ongoing so that sort of explains things a little but it's as though the entire population is out and about. Don't they ever stay at home? If they're not shopping, they're eating. But most of the time they're shopping and eating. And boy do these Singaporeans eat a lot, from deep fried duck innards to squid on a stick, they eat it all. Yet they remain thin and in relatively good shape! It must be all the walking they do and it's what I did most as well. I could walk literally every where in Singapore, not get bored and best of all, feel safe even at night. Doing the same in Malaysia would leave me completely drenched in my own sweat, severely dehydrated and utterly frightened for my life as every passing motorcyclist is a paranoid person's nightmare.

Singaporean females, I have to admit, are hot, sexy and downright pretty. They are also unbelievably conceited. And that's just the teenagers. The more made up ones, whilst undeniably pretty and tall, were so full of themselves that I had no choice but to look at them. The level of pretentiousness is so great I am left amazed and thankful for my Ray Ban's. Surreptitiously glancing at said girls is full of win. That's the culture over there, I guess; it truly is a Singaporean thing. However, to me, the prettiest girls weren't the ones in 5-inch heels, push-up bras or decolletage-baring outfits, rather it was the girls dressed in a simple tee and jeans that caught my eye. While Malaysian girls are steadily upping the ante when it comes to fashion, they still fall three steps back to their counterparts. Even going to the nearby mall you can see young girls in dresses. Small dresses, mind you. What more can I say about the adults? Though, I have to say that my country definitely has the better looking girls. Looks-wise, it's almost equal, give or take the mixed girl or two but there's something that our girls have that many Singaporeans lack: pureness.

Patriotism never looked so good.

This is Chris, signing off.

* = Get it?

PS: To the women of Singapore and especially those in Hooters, I still love you all long time. I'll be back.

Man on Man. This doesn't sound right at all...

If you've been following this blog (you absolutely must, by the way) you probably noticed me dishing out praise like it was the Singapore Mega Sale.* Well, when praise is deserved I will praise, sometimes too effusively, I know, but I really mean it. The same goes with me criticising or unleashing a customary diatribe; I will go all out to make my point clear.

Anyway, this post is going to be about the L-word. Not that L-word, but, you've guessed it, Love. To be more specific:

Man Love.

In my Penang/Langkawi/Penang posts, I mentioned that my friends, Waffle Girl and G-Milo Girl, had this strong bond that seems to get stronger (I think they're drinking calcium-enriched milk) as time goes by. It made me think about my own friends; my brothers from another mother. There are only two guys in the world that I trust wholly with my secrets and emo, Fill and Irwin.

Fill, and I have this tacit understanding, a very manly bond, that allows us to work really well together. I'm more of the planner whereas he's the executioner. Together, we rocked the presentations during college. Except for one. We presented a Java program but instead of prepping ourselves we decided to just wing it which was the norm for us for all our presentations. But, boy, did this one implode in our faces. Midway through the presentation it was clear we were just blathering about everything except Java-related stuff. We were silly. We made a mockery of the classroom and the lecturer but the worse was that we made ourselves the biggest fools. At the end of it, we apologised to the class and walked back to our seats, heads hung low in shame. Life sure does know how to embarrass a person. So from that day onwards we made a pact that the next presentation we will sit down and plan everything in advance to avoid any more screw ups.

Irwin is someone I don't see often as he's in Italy for studies but when he comes back here for holidays I'll make sure we hang out as much as possible. He's someone I can talk to about anything yet have nearly the same thoughts and opinions. He and I have experienced things growing up that not many people can relate to, therefore, I guess that's why we're close. Which, is weird, considering we hated each other back in the day when we first met in college. It was a mutual thing: I hated his over-enthusiastic self and his endless gadgets while he hated me in return as I was this portly crap-spewer who kept saying stupid things to entertain people. But as we got to know each other, we learned to appreciate each other's foibles and flaws, the better the friendship became.

Guys are exteremely straightforward with each other. If we find that one of us has been acting like a prick, we'll say it. Loud. It's who we are. We love chilling with our coffee and talk about cars, chicks and comics but we can shut those all out in an instant and talk about the important stuff: Life.

Cos we're manly men!

This is Chris, signing off.

* = Which, coincidentally, I'm going to next, next weekend. Goods at bargain prices and vacuous but totally hot Singaporean chicks? Hot damn, yes!

PS: Bill, I know you're reading this, so, here's a big mug of milk for you. Thanks for being a total jerk in front of the other guys and a great friend when they're not there. We will have a very good friendship.