xiaoyu

DIM SUM~~~

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:57:21 GMT

Arlow folks, anyone got good dimsum restaurants/eatouts to recommend?? Price not very important but of course, need not be too expensive also wor... =P

Revelations....

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:08:25 GMT

I haven been posting since the last ice age 'cos i am just plain lazy. Or perhaps my life has been pretty dull tat doesnt really warrant me to write about it. *ponders* Well, hopefully, for the umpteenth time, I TRY to post and rant more on LJ.

Anyway, I had a short met up with sister today. Met his beau too. Hopefully this A.B will go a long way and live happily ever after. Though still early, but nonetheless, all the best to u 2. =)

So.... During tat short meet up, I realised that the A that was attached to B and C is actually someone that I know and I know all 3! *gasps* Though I may not know really A well, but still, its quite horrifying when I have seen him happily attached to both B and C on 2 seperate ocassions. This circle IS really small. Think everyone is nursing from the breakup now and the delivery of the news wasnt really exactly pleasant but i think B and C are both victims somewhat in their own way. Just hope that this 2 will stay strong and come out of it soon ba. *hugs*

Gotta prepare for bed already. =X I'm working at Taka for this coming weekend. For those who loves coffee, esp gourmet coffee, come to the OSIM roadshow at Taka ba... LOLZ. Say hi and disturb me from work I also happy. =X

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:48:26 GMT

You Are 80% Boyish and 20% Girlish

You have a tough exterior - and usually a tough interior to match it.
You're no nonsense, logical, and very assertive.
Sometimes you can't understand women at all, even if you're a woman yourself.
You see things rationally, and don't like to let your emotions get the best of you.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

Obligations? Or not?

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:40:26 GMT

Think this mainly applies to all those that has a car. =X Those without still can give your 20 cents worth! (:

The million dollar question is this: As a fren, are you really obliged to sending your frens home? If assuming A stays near my place and coincidentally (or not), he ends lessons about the same time as you and says he wants to hitch a ride home. Would you say yes or no? Maybe on a first time basis, the answer should be yes since it's along the way. BUT project it perhaps to 10 times a month (hypothetically speaking) and 4 years down the road, this fren seemed to have been a regular passenger in your car. Now, even if his lessons doesnt really coincide with yours, he decides to go earlier or wait for u in sch later so that he can get a free ride home. How would you feel? Of course there will be other frens who stays not near u, but wouldnt mind a ride to your place as it's nearer to home and save themselves the dreadful bus journey nack to JP interchange.

I think I am at the threshold from being calm to simply irritated. It suddenly feels to the point that I am taken for granted. People start msging me "so 915 tmr?" just because there is a first, they expected a second helping. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Seriously, even if its car pooling for those that stays nearby and want a ride to work (like what I seemed when some people hitched a ride on somebody's car and go to work), they pay a minimal sum. For me? ZILCH. NOTHING! I do not get subsidised for my petrol in any way, neither a coffee treat at the canteen and sometimes not even a thank you. T_______________________________T How would you feel or might react leh?

Actually I would not have been that irritated but because for dunno what reasons that might be, the handle that is inside at the passenger seat broke, I told my mum and I get yakked for reasons that hasnt really been my fault save maybe for the fact that "Why should you be so kind to fetch your classmates?" and the possible repair bills that would come (which I hope is NOT expensive!). My frens seemed to be acting "Oh, how come it broke leh?", "Not me right?" >____________< and then made no other comment. While of course I definitely cannot pin point who exactly but while the other 3 handles are alright, it cant definitely be so sway as to be a defective product eh? Not after it decides to fail after almost perfectly alright for the past 4 years. Perhaps a logical person would think that it will spoil due to mishandling rather than a defective product ba. *shrugs*

Everybody likes to receive and not give. WIN LIAO LOR.... =(

SO NOW WHO PAY? I PAY!!!! Additional expense for nothing. Really! ARGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P/S: I HATE DRIVERS WHO LIKE TO CRUISE ON THE EXTREME RIGHT LANE!!! SUPER DUPER IRRITATING I TELL U!!!

Let me know ya views k? =X

FYP~~

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:50:10 GMT

I think I am getting stressed over FYP liaoz... 3 more weeks till the 1st submission and my experiments are like "WTF?"

Gonna camp in lab for the next 2 weeks le... =( AND LAB IS BORING!!!! When you haf to wait for tat darn fucking thing to dry and get results.

Anybody got tips for good FYP report or something not eh? =X

T______________________________T

My Standard Chartered

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:34:07 GMT

It's kinda outdated considering that stand chart has already been more than a week since it started. But since its a first for me, think i should probably blog it down somewhere somehow. =X

Actually this whole thing never occured to me, have always wanted to run a marathon at least once at some point in life, did not really think that it would actually happen now, considering that my longest distance covered since army days, which is a zillion years ago, was 10km and it was at AHM. And the biggest problem for this race is I NEVER HAD ANY TRAINING AT ALL!!!!! My last run was AHM, which was 2 months ago, so literally, I can say that I'm on a suicide mission. And exams onli ended 1 week before the race day, and i slacked thruout that whole week. *sigh* T_________________________T

So 3 of my frens decided to bunk at my place on saturday, after collecting the race pack, bought all the bananas and bread, had an early dinner, we adjourned to my place. BUT none of us could really sleep at 8/9 pm, so we started talking and when we realised its 11 plus, we force ourselves to get some rest. =X

THE RACE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woke up at 3 am cos 'fren wanted to go to the toilet and we were blocking him in. >______________<|| End up, we played cards at 3am in the morning!!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Left for the stadium and almost 4 when our chartered buses was at 4! haha... walked pretty fast and then i got quite pissed. There weren't as much buses around compared to last year (as what my fren said when he took the race last year) and no instructions and there are ppl who are suppose to board the bus at 430 boarding together with those at 4. Some got quite dulan and they took a cab. We contemplated. End up got my mum to drive us down. *oops* Preparation work along the way, vaseline on our bodies to prevent unneccesary abarasions at the wrong parts. P/S: I forgot to put vaseline on my nipples. =X

We hurried to dump our belongings at the baggage corner before heading to start point for warm up. WHOA!! EYE FEAST!!! Whatever u want it, u have it all. Spotted frens as well nonetheless. And then it was it! FLAG OFF!!!!!! *jitters* *wails* I was really really saying my prayers and hoped tat I wun appear in the front page of Straits Times the next morning with the tag "24 yr old student collapsed after 42km marathon" LOLZ Really wanted to just give up and come back next year BUT BECAUSE OF THAT FINISHER TEE, I vowed to complete the race!!! *stupid organisers* =X

So we were off, so many ppl and the Kenyans can really run!!! I haven even started, I saw them running in the opposite direction liaoz. Seriously, they are meant for running. Always made fun of them that they always run from Point A to Point B 'cos they lack the proper transportation or too poor to afford that. =X

We sorta broke it down it 6 parts with each part stretching 7km. So 1st part of the race was a breeze, its normal paced running and we were definitely ahead of our target of finishing it in 1 hr for every part of the race. Then it happened. I THINK MY NIKES OUGHT TO BE THROWN TO THE RUBBISH DUMP!! *PUI* 'Cos like the 10 runs i had so far, I ended up having blisters!!! Can't wear new shoes 'cos it wasnt seasoned enough for the race so therefore sticked to the old ones. Even though i pasted 2 plasters and slaps of vaseline, still kena. CB! Pain was setting in and I actually stopped at the 8km stretch for toilet cum water break. Fren told me this "Pain is something that makes u feel alive", "ignore physical pain and lets go" T__________________________T Really can cry! There goes nothing, ran to 9km mark and saw my NTU classmates who were helping as volunteers! Chatted with them a bit before we proceeded.

Ran off to ECP and halfway thru, saw the Kenyans running back already. Kaoz. I just need 10% of what they have i happy liao. Seriously, i dunno how they can still run in full stride after finishing 28km and looked okie. Their kneecaps, everything wun cui one meh? *shrugs* So continued jogging until the 11km mark (i think) where they were giving out bananas for the marathon runners. Stopped, ate and then I sian 1/2 already. Pain getting worse and I really contemplated to walk all the remaining distance. Never happened though, got dragged on the floor by the 3 'good' frens of mine. So walked and jogged for the 2nd and 3rd part of the journey. Halfway thru, 2 of my frens left us and opened up their paces. So it was left with just me and another guy. Told him to join them but he says he accompany me. Because like I said, 10km was my longest and anything further is somehow an 'accomplishment' and a new thing for me, which means it's bad cos now I'm having aches all on my calves and thighs. Started cursing and every checkpoint, be it water points or stations with deep heats, I stopped. It's getting unbearable. *&#*!^#*!()$)(+)_%^ My legs are simple not conditioned to run a marathon at that point in time after the binge-ing of snacks during exams, all the chips that went down to my tummy.... *sigh* FOR THAT TEE SHIRT!!! I carried on nonetheless while cursing under my breathe on why am I torturing myself when I can just sleep like a log at my bed. Geesh... Somehow that concludes the 2nd and 3rd part of the race, until we were at the end of ECP making a U turn back to Padang. Think our timing wasnt tat bad, at the end of 21km mark, we were bout 3 hours and in line with what we aimed for, i.e. complete the race within 6 hours. Good i thought. Oh... and somewhere along the way, I kena nipple abrasion!! WTF!!!!!!!! SUPER PAIN!!! *boo hoo*

But seriously, the nightmare came onli after the U turn!!!!!!!!!!! My legs started cramping and felt like it wasnt mine anymore. I'm just walking for the sake of walking. Deep heat rubs doesnt relieve the pain already and its just momentarily that it worked. Everybody around me also started slowing down and walked. See some 'lames' along the way, just like me. I literally walked for the 2nd part of the whole race. My legs refused to run with all that aches and literally screaming to ask me to stop and rest. Stretching for a while at intervals proved to be useful only at the start. At the end, nothing works anymore and onli a prostetic leg might relieve all that. BAHHHH!!!!!!!!!! We managed to catch up with the 2 that were in front and we were walking all the way till the end of ECP where i see the 30km mark!! THANK GOD! I see a 3 somewhere already. hahaha... Also, I think somewhere along here, they were giving out vaseline. Promptly took it and applied it on my nipples to prevent it from getting worse! =( By then, one of my fren's knees were also giving way, so he was limping together with me while the other 2 walked in front. The sun by then was already up and we were getting a free tan on our shoulders, head and legs but thankfully, the weather is pretty much cool so we're not complaining.

Limped all the way, past kallang, national stadium, and geylang. Somehow along the walk, I kept quiet. I refused to talk. Like army always say. "Shag already cannot think" It applies to me. I just cannot think straight. And i could do was to focus and not waste any energy by talking. WALK WALK WALK is all I could think off. All the people around me are redundant. Just couldnt waste any more energy by looking at them. And anyway, I think they look like me. All shagged and worn out. At the 38km mark, saw my junior who's giving first aid duties. Good excuse to take a break 'cos the moment i sat down, I cramped! End up my fren gotta stretch and relax my muscles a bit. At here, way over 6 hrs already. 'Cos of the 2 'bai kas'. =X Endure endure endure!! less than 5km to go!!! Got up and resumed and walked all the way. FInally I see the Singapore flyer! 40km mark!!! *delighted* CHIONG AH!!!!!!!!!!!! Started to really forget all the pain and opened up pacing and aim for the finish line. Past marina floating platform and its ESPLANADE!!! But I think again, it was 2 million years later that i see the 42km mark! Fren says last stretch already, lets run for it!

The Cheers and everything made all of us hyped. So despite 2 limping persons, we made a dash for that final 195m and crossed the finishing line! Timing sucks like hell though but a consolation, none of us trained for it and we decided that we will join in next year again to improve our timings! YAY!!! Personal acheivement! So proud of myself. hahaha.... =X

Collected my finisher tee and headed for leg massage by the volunteers for marathon runners. All the stinky feet and hairy legs and wateva, still feel that the volunteers were great! Took of my socks and WAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! My blister!! Looked like a Mini Xiao Long Bao. All the water inside and its really DARN BIG! frens exclaimed that they never see such a big one before! T________________________T The volunteers there also agreed. Sianz.... But the massage was good. At least I felt better and i could feel my legs returning back to me already. Bleahz

Bought lunch and cabbed home. Showered and really the 4 of us just collapsed. Played mahjong for the rest of the evening till my frens left so i can sleep.

The next 2 days? Limping as well. I gotta use 2 hands to stand up and crawl from A to B. Oh well, The pride u gain is worth the pain. I couldnt agree more... Sundown anyone?? 6 hours!!!!!! =PpP

MAP

NAME:	KELLY KOH SHENG GUAN
EVENT:	Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon
DATE:	Sunday, December 7, 2008
BIB/DIV:	23824 / M1824
TIME:	7h:45m:20s (gun) / 7h:28m:30s (net)

Result in Entire Field - 11573rd place

820 finishers behind. About 93% of finishers ahead.

Result in Gender (Male) - 9977th place

563 finishers behind. About 95% of finishers ahead.

Result in Division (M1824) - 2830th place

244 finishers behind. About 92% of finishers ahead.

LEGEND

The location of the figure on the line shows your position in the finish order of the race. The closer the figure is to the right, the closer you were to the winner.

FACTS

Who's who

Of the 12393 who finished, 15% were female and 85% were male.

Opposite Sex

For the record, you were ahead of about 14% of female finishers.

Timing Info

This page is based on CLOCK times. Click on images for alternative timing result.

From 30Km to Finish

You passed
266
runners

And 48
passed you

YOUR SPLIT TIMES

YOUR SPEED

YOUR FINISH - a bird's eye view


+27 secs: KUNG WEI TAI+24 secs: MAI JIAQI+22 secs: LEE SOU CHENG+18 secs: LEROY JOHN SOFYAN; RASABALAN PALAYYAN+16 secs: TAY KIAN LOONG+12 secs: TAN ZHI QUAN AARON+11 secs: CHNG LAY SAN+8 secs: MOHAMAD RIDUWAN BIN MISRAN; GERMAINE LIM+7 secs: GAN WEE SHENG; YIP HUIYU MALINDA; PANG SIN HOCK+6 secs: TAN THIAN SHIN VERLYN+2 secs: LUM JUN XIONG, MELVIN CHEW KIAN LEONG; KELLY KOH SHENG GUAN; NG HUI WEI TIMOTHY; LIU YONGSHENG-10 secs: NG KAH LEONG-11 secs: GOH YION SIANG-15 secs: YEO CUI LING; LI WEI MING-16 secs: TAN HEE LIM-17 secs: ZHANG CIYUN RUBY-20 secs: SHELDON YEO WEI WEN-21 secs: STEPHEN PANG-24 secs: CHAN YOKE MUN; TAN SIAM HEOK-28 secs: GUO JIANHAO ANTHONY; WU HWEE BOON; PHUA CHUN HONG-29 secs: BENJAMIN TEO
	KELLY KOH SHENG GUAN Male runners not your division Runners in your division (M1824) Female runners

LOCATION on COURSE

WHERE WERE YOU?

This chart estimates your location when selected leaders crossed the finish line.

The winner of the event was in division M3539 and achieved a time of 02:13:03.

SECTION KPH


Start -10k	10k -Half	Half -30k	30k -Fin

Mouseover for info

LOCATION on COURSE

WHERE WERE YOU?

This chart estimates your location when selected leaders crossed the finish line.

The winner of the event was in division M3539 and achieved a time of 02:13:03.

SECTION KPH


Start -10k	10k -Half	Half -30k	30k -Fin

Mouseover for info

PP/S: A bit lousy lah... But shall work on it next year... =X Oh... and how to paste pictures in ah? I know. I'm a bimbo. =X

When I'm Bored.....

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:43:19 GMT

I got inspired by xiaogou's entry and thus gave it a shot when I should be doing on my FYP instead of slacking... *darn*

Well, i think it somehow describes me... -,- Guess i can onli talk rather than work. Any job that pays for this?? Muahahhaa... =X

At a Glance

• Does not like too many work demands, prefers to work at own pace.

• Does not strive to complete tasks, prepared to leave work unfinished.Outgoing and likes the company of people.

• Faithful, trustworthy and devoted in long-term relationships.

• Wants to lead people, has considerable influence over others.

• Practical, prefers to build on ideas rather than generate them.

• Less inclined to decide how and what needs to be done ahead of schedule.

• Expressive, eloquent, artistic or sporty.

• Needs clear and thorough instructions, slow to act when uncertain.

While at Work

Putting in a lot of effort to meet the demands of work is not Mr Koh's preference. He does not like to rush around doing things and may feel demotivated if work constantly encroaches on his personal life. Although he does not like excessive work demands, Mr Koh may still be prepared to put in extra effort if it is on a short term basis.

Mr Koh is relatively dependable to deliver results on time. He may sometimes be late in meeting deadlines.

Mr Koh initiates plans and ideas easily but may not persist with the tasks until completion. He is prepared to leave tasks unfinished; hence he may prefer short-term assignments as he is more likely to complete these tasks. He may lose interest and focus when working on long term assignments.

Mr Koh is able to produce work that is moderately high in quality but he may at times be careless.

Mr Koh is generally objective but may at times be emotional.

Although Mr Koh is usually a sympathetic person, he may at times be selective about being involved in the personal problems of people.

Mr Koh is friendly and outgoing. He enjoys the company of his friends and is not shy or awkward when meeting people for the first time. As an extrovert, he fits well into the social groups. He is approachable and likes to make new friends.

Mr Koh is the sort of person who forms long term bonds and attachments. He is faithful, trustworthy, and devoted in such relationships. He tends to be trusting, dedicated and protective towards those he loves. Patriotism and sense of duty is a significant aspect of his character.

Mr Koh is moderately serious about his responsibilities and selectively takes ownership of his work.

Mr Koh is moderately concerned with prestige, rank and reputation.

Mr Koh is at times able to engage people to accomplish his objectives.

Courage, vigour and initiative are some of the hallmarks of Mr Koh's character. He wants to lead direct and guide people in a certain direction. Because Mr Koh is confident, forward thinking and visionary, he commands respect and has considerable influence over others. He is able to harness the support of people.

Intellectual matters do not interest Mr Koh. He is more concerned with practical issues than abstract theories. Mr Koh prefers to talk about useful and workable solutions than discuss hypotheses and concepts. He is more likely to build on ideas rather than generate them.

Being less inclined to plan, Mr Koh has the tendency to be disorganized, unsystematic and reactive to the situation. He may waste time and effort because he may end up having to rework his tasks due to lack of planning.

Mr Koh has a flair for words and is creative. He probably has multiple language ability and expresses himself very well. Not only is Mr Koh eloquent, he is probably also artistic and/or sporty. He is demonstrative and dramatic.

Summary

You have received this report because you have completed your Personality Profiling on JobsCentral. You may or may not understand the information fully. However do take a moment to reflect bearing in mind that your decisions are based on these sub-dimensions. This report can help you understand yourself better once you start making use of the information. You can contact C-VAT at enquiries@c-vat.com for further assistance on interpreting this report. Consultation fees applies.

WORK			RELATIONS
A	Hard Work	5	D	Affection	12
B	Time	11	E	Empathy	15
C	Finish Job	10	F	Sociability	19
P	Good Work	12	G	Loyalty	19

CONTROL			THOUGHT
H	Dominance	12	L	Abstraction	7
I	Status	15	M	Planning-Organizing	9
J	Politics	12	N	Exposition	16
K	Leadership	16	O	Tolerance Ambiguity	10

Visualization

1 more day!!!!

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:40:43 GMT

My god!!! The final countdown to D-DAY!!!! =(

Sian... The stress is getting on to me liao... =X

7 papers!!! CHIONG AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a sidenote, Beyonce's album is nice!! =P

21 Days to......

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:40:21 GMT

DOOMSDAY!!!!

haven start revision yet... *smacks* still got project to clear... hopefully can clear 1 tonight...

*YAWNS*

my poor eyes... PANDA soon to be... =(

Avenue Q

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:24:08 GMT

Hmmm... was contemplating on watching this musical... anybody going??? =X

Random~~

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:28:44 GMT

Well, its been aeons since i posted so i better post something to make it 'alive'. =/

5 more weeks to my exams!! *sigh* I need the stress to push me!! TOO SLACK!!! *shrugs*

Advice

Wed, 21 May 2008 13:28:31 GMT

Well, got a favour to ask of ya guys... Anyone knows which airline is a better airline to take to fly to the States? Am thinking of a trip this June but dunno which airlines leh... Think northwest is the cheapest i see so far but still at 2k odd. Got any lower or not de ah? =P

And wat's the places of interest in NYC??? Got any place is a must go?? =X

Thanks in advance...

UBER DISGUSTED

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:52:06 GMT

WHY IS THERE THE EXISTENCE OF ROACHES!!!

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!!! WHY MUST THEY LIVE IN THOSE DARK GUTTERS THAT LINK FLATS??? *SCREAMS*

WHY MUST MY HAND BE ITCHY AND SPRAY INSECTICIDE IN IT!!

NOW I GOTTA CLEAR UP THE MESS WHEN SO MANY BLACK BLACK THINGS CRAWL OUT OF IT!! 8 AND COUNTING...

*PUKES*

*HAIR STANDS ON END*

T___________________________________________________________________________T

Weary...

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:57:33 GMT

I think after 2 years, i'm getting weary... I get tired when i realised that i dun really know the one tat i am sleeping with... When nobody bothers to talk to anybody until when shit is really in our face. =X

i'm tired.... i want a break... =X

Of Amici and Italian Sparkling Water

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:30:01 GMT

Hmmm... i know tat its donkey yrs since i last post, dun kill me... but nobody cares anyway. =X

just post to instill some 'life'. kept nodding at work... =(

anyway, had dinner with nicholas yest. he wanted to haf pasta so he decides to go to tanjong pagar to eat... place was rather nice but price a bit steep. =X But considering the friendly service we had and the quite nice food as well as the company, its worth it after all.

So anyway, we had this sparkling italian water with some bombastic name tat i cant recall now, this bimbo wanted to refill his cup and while we chatted, he lifted the bottle up and attempted to pour the water out but... no water came out!!

answer is because he is too smart. he did not remove the cap of the bottle!! LMAO!!

things tat onli bimbos do huh? =P

If you have....

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:12:35 GMT

too much protein, either in ya blood or urine, wat diet or wat food shud u avoid har???

Any other things tat may perhaps improve the protein level???

I NEED HELP ON THIS!!!

work and everything else...

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:49:28 GMT

am using office hours to post so i shall not keep it too long... work's kinda interesting at first, but when i am in week 4 and still doing typing and stuff, ITS BORING!!!!!!!!!! Minus the fact tat i can get to see cute execs walking ard during lunch time everyday, its still quite bored. 18 weeks more to go. *yawn*

MOST IMPORTANTLY, SOME CB TOOK MY PHONE!!! SO I GOT NOBODY'S CONTACTS NOW! *WAILS* THEREFORE, I NEED EVERYONE TO GIMME YA NO. BACK K? HEE.... COMMENTS SCREENED OF COURSE.

Think i'll buy w880 tmr... hahaa.... whee~~~~~~~~~

Weird Conversation

Wed, 23 May 2007 04:09:15 GMT

Yesterday while i was shopping for a birthday gift for a friend, i got a weird conversation from a salesman at heeren.

I was with allan and this guy kinda approached us when we were looking at a shirt. I told him that i am getting it for a friend. He sorta acknowledged it and stepped aside until i took the shirt down and he told me to try it on since i told him that my friend is about the same size as me.

After i decided in buying that shirt, he popped out a very strange question. "You're buying for which friend????"

For a moment, me and allan stared at each other, feeling weird and all wanting to laugh but we tried not to. Then i stared at him and said "Friend lor??" And he still can reply me... "Oh. Friend."

So weird. *scratches head*

Interesting article that i chanced upon... =X

Thu, 03 May 2007 06:08:30 GMT

From The New York Times www.nytimes.com

April 10, 2007

Singapore’s Highly Paid Officials Get Richer

By SETH MYDANS

SINGAPORE, April 9 — How much money does it take to keep a
government minister in Singapore happy?

The government says a million dollars is not enough, and on
Monday it announced a 60 percent increase in ministers’
salaries, to an average of $1.9 million Singapore dollars, or
about $1.3 million, by next year.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s pay will jump to about $2
million — five times the $400,000 earned by President Bush.

In this nation where the bottom line truly is the bottom line,
the argument goes, you have to pay to get them and you have to
pay to keep them clean.

"If we don’t do that, in the long term the government system
will slowly crumble and collapse," Defense Minister Teo Chee
Hean told reporters last month. "Corruption will set in, and we
will become like many other countries, and face the problems
that many other countries face," The Straits Times, Singapore’s
largest-circulation newspaper, quoted him as saying.

In announcing the pay increases on Monday, Mr. Teo, who also
oversees the civil service, said: "We don’t want pay to be the
reason for people to join us. But we also don’t want pay to be
the reason for them not to join us, or to leave after joining
us."

Singapore’s pay system was created in 1994 by the nation’s
founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew. It pegged the salaries of
government ministers and top civil servants to the money they
might earn at the top of the private sector.

Under that formula, ministers are to be paid two-thirds of the
median of the top eight earners in each of six professions:
accounting, law, banking, engineering, multinational companies
and local manufacturing.

There has been no public sign of discontent among the men and
women who run Singapore, but last month the prime minister noted
that they were earning just 55 percent of that benchmark. Hence
the raise for the three dozen men and women who run Singapore.

Defending the system against an unusual public yelp of pain, Mr.
Lee, whose title is minister mentor, painted a horrifying
picture of a Singapore governed by ministers who earn no more
than ministers elsewhere.

"Your apartment will be worth a fraction of what it is," he
said. "Your jobs will be in peril, your security will be at
risk, and our women will become maids in other people’s
countries."

It is true that Singapore has one of the most efficient and
corruption-free governments in the world. Transparency
International, a private monitoring agency, recently listed it
as the fifth most corruption-free nation of 163 surveyed.

It is Asia’s second-richest country after Japan, with a gross
domestic product per capita of about $31,000. The first Prime
Minister Lee said it could well afford to pay its leaders top
dollar.

The average Singaporean earns roughly $3,000 a month, and the
government has voiced concern over a widening gap between rich
and poor. The ministers’ pay was approved three months before
the sales tax is to be increased by 2 percent.

Talk of the pay raise drew criticism here that included letters
to newspapers and an online petition that has more than 800
signatures.

"I am sure Enron and Worldcom paid more than top dollar for
their top executives, and look where their companies are now —
six feet under," Mohamad Rosle Ahmad wrote to the editor of The
Straits Times.

The elder Mr. Lee said naysayers needed a reality check. "I say
you have no sense of proportion; you don’t know what life is
about," he said.

"The cure to all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent
government," he added. "You get that alternative, and you’ll
never put Singapore together again."

The Straits Times quoted him as saying his current salary as
minister mentor was about $1.8 million.

Some Singaporeans suggested that other motivations should also
come into play for government jobs.

"What about other redeeming intangibles such as honor and sense
of duty, dedication, passion and commitment, loyalty and
service?" asked Hussin Mutalib, a political science professor at
the National University of Singapore, in a Straits Times online
forum.

Carolyn Lim, a prominent writer, suggested in an essay that
Singapore needed a little more heart to go along with its hard
head.

"To see a potential prime minister as no different from a
potential top lawyer, and likely to be enticed by the same
stupendous salary, would be to blur the lines between two very
different domains," she wrote.

The minister mentor brushed aside such concerns. "Those are
admirable sentiments," he said. "But we live in a real world."

==========
door closes
another opens

faith a condition
and the rest unspoken

And its wau! George W Bush earns so much lesser than our PM! omg... then when is the private sector going to increase its pay raise? hmmmmm...........

Whee~~ exams over nonetheless!!!

Time has come yet again....

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:15:59 GMT

OMG!!! I'm so stressed up when i was studying in sch today! *sigh* The panic struck me so hard when i realised tat i haven finished studying and worst, some of the concepts on the things tat i studied are not right! ARGHH!!!!!!!!!

And tmr is exams already! Open book!!!!! I hate open books!!! Cos even the book may be in front of u, u will never find the answering appearing anywhere! DARN.... And me and my fren were lamenting wat the hell are we doing in ENGINEERING cos we think that business is more of our cup of tea...

Oh well, just hope to make the wrong more right by working hard and studying hard! Wish me luck ppl! I think i need it for them, esp tmr's and mon's pprs!

BAH!!!!!

comments anyone??

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:18:14 GMT

I copied this from my frn's blog and let's see if each of us has a different view to this.

Quote "this question has been bugging me for quite some time
pardon my lousy english
so hope you all can help me with this
i guess everyone agrees that "no problem" is correct
"no worries" instead of "no worry" right?
what about erm...
so should we ask "any comment?" or "any comments?"
and should we reply "no comment" or "no comments"? "

So wat the answer should be? =X

My best fren

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 15:48:32 GMT

I think i almost got shot by my best fren today. I FORGOT about her BIRTHDAY until my 'bro' called me and asked me wat date it was. I still can calmly say '22nd lor' and he has to prompt me again by asking so 'when is veron's birthday?'

I then jumped and immediately went online to wish her happy birthday!! (she's in aussie rite now) She kinda felt disappointed from the way that she spoke over MSN. *sigh* My bad... But apparently she was more upset tat the whole world seemed to forget her birthday... =X

Anyway, was chatting with her casually and it seems to me that she really wants to stay in aussie for good. She said that she found the life that she wanted and the things that she wants over here and that she will not find such things back at home.

Of course, i felt kinda affected after what she had said. For 10 yrs of frenship, i just cant seem to let go. All the laughter and tears that we had. It just seemed to hard. Nonetheless, i still have to be happy for her and hope that all this is just a phase that we had to go and i'll be fine soon. Everybody has their own dreams to pursue and their goals to achieve rite? (okie, maybe i'm just trying to make myself feel better)

=(

Happy birthday again pig!

Disgusted

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:23:29 GMT

Some people in this world just loves getting thrashed even though they like to say "Why am i being treated like that?" or "Do i deserve this?"

A fren of mine has a bf who is ill-tempered, throws tantrums like nobody's business, has a ego tat is a big as the universe, always think that he is right. Perhaps u can say u can tolerate it. Add to the fact that he was caught sleeping with somebody (apparently his bro), creates a big fuss when my fren found out, wants to stab him blah blah blah... Neglect the fact that he is rather good looking and lean.

The best part? My fren still is willing to go back to him. Eeewwww.... GROSS! Amusing huh?

Bah... Just hope that i hear less and see less of this. Getting bored... *yawn*

BAH!! Wat recess?? Mugging week more likely....

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:18:26 GMT

Yay!! I'm having my 1 week (sad and pathetic) break now! haha... Even though its supposed to be a BREAK but i got to catch up with all the work and tutorials!! *sigh* And the day sch starts next mon, i got a quiz to welcome me! *shrugs*

But i feel so nua to study!! *sigh* I just need that bit of spark to motivate me to study. Think i should prolly hang out in starbucks for this one whole week then... to catch up on my studies! =X (hopefully this will come true)

Those very free one can meet me there and haf coffee with me!! =pPpP

On another note, a fren's fren of mine is super fantastic. I lent him a mahjong set last semester. And when i want it back, he told me tat the set that my fren is holding to now is MINE! i looked at it and felt cheated. My first thought when i saw it was to tell him that his lies sucks 'cos obviously, that mahjong set was not mine. It has no chips, the colour is different from wat i lent him and is old with the box chipped and all. *roll eyes* I bugged my fren to ask him, since i think i only lent it to him on the basis that he knows my fren. He did some slip shot jobs and in the end i asked my fren for his no. Last week, he gave me the best excuse!

"I think i lost ya mahjong set!"

Yayness!! *applaud* Now, i shall not lend anybody anything at all. So irritating. Especially when these are the people who dun seemed to be taking care of other's possessions. Now i dunno if i should make him pay cos tat mahjong set was a gift to me by another fren and i feel so pai seh if he were to ask bout it in future. *pulls hair*

And my fren just dun seemed to be bothered by it at all and i'm quite pissed at that. Cos if it isnt for him, i definitely will not lend the mahjong set to him at all. Haiz.... ARRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Infidelity

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 14:34:52 GMT

hmmm... heard this news pretty long ago but well, was too lazy to post it. =X

I was chatting with a fren of mine on messenger when he told me the news. Fren of ours had a breakup. And the reason was he was caught sleeping around with people by his bf. *sigh* Sometimes i really wonder is sex and love really tat distinguishable, tat u can love one person and haf sex with others at the same time? However much i understand tat quite a no. of frens does tat when they are attached and they go out for flings still, i cant really seem to comprehend tat "why get attached when u still want to go out and haf all tat fun??"

Cos its not fair to ya other party and unless the both of u are fine with the idea of sleeping ard and being attached, its fine. But other than tat, either get attached or stay single. U cant have the best of both worlds. Choose between love and loveless sex.

And if u really sleep ard, oh well, good luck lor... dun get caught. Worse of all, dun sleep ard with frens! Cos if word gets ard in this small circle, it'll be publicity for u. Cos if common frens found out about this, i think the 3rd party is gonna get shit.

But best of all, stay loyal to ya bf. If not, remain single all ya life. Its for the best.

Went clubbing yest and fren got deadly drunk cos of his breakup. *sigh* However much i hate to see people getting drunk and troubling people, i guess i should empathise with wat he is going thru. Hopefully, he'll stnad up on his both feet again and move on.

To him, "You loved. You learnt. And you move on" *hugz*