To Most People, Completing The Race Is The End, But To Me, You Truly Complete A Race When You Are Also Part Of The Team That Made It Possible.

It Was Really Fun And Eye-Opening To See And Encounter The Many Different Types Of People Running And Here Are Just Some Of Them.

1) There Were Runners Carrying National Flags While Running (I Definitely Saw A China Flag). 
2) There Was A Runner Asking Me If He Could Flag A Cab Nearby.
3) I Saw A Runner Actually Dressed In Pajamas. Like Seriously?
4) There Were Runners Who Were Giving Motivation To The Other Runners Around Them. Definitely The Ones I Respect Most. They Aren't Taking It Any Easier Than The Rest And Yet They Are Shouting To All The Runners Not To Give Up.

~~~

Back Then..

And Now..

So.. If Anyone Were To Ask Me This:

Is The Feeling Of Running and Finishing A 42.195Km Full Marathon Better, Or Is The Experience Of Being A Volunteer Better?

You Would Be Surprised By My Answer.

Finishing A Full Marathon Felt Great. I Was Above The Skies Flying Really High And What's More, Most People Felt My Timing Was Decent. Gun Timing Of 4 Hrs 34 Mins. I Had Every Right To Be Proud Of Myself. Sure I Was. It Wasn't An Ordinary Feat And Considering That Was My Very First Marathon.

But TRUST ME When I Say This.

It No Longer Matters When You Are Done Being A Crew. A Volunteer. A Part Of The Race. I Can Assure You Most Volunteers Wouldn't Experience And Encounter Some Of The Amazing Things Which I Have Came Across. And I Would Say I Didn't Even Feel Half As Much Fulfilling For Completing The 42Km, Getting A Finisher Tee And Medal, Compared To Being A Road Marshal. Someone Who Is There To Contribute In Anyway Possible. To Motivate. To Inspire.

All It Takes Is Initiative. Being Pro-Active. Being Enthusiastic And Going That Extra Mile.

To Me, None Of These Proved To Be A Challenge. I Was Running The Same Race One Year Ago And Here I Am, Looking At All The Painful And Struggling Looks On Their Face. I Once Felt The Pain They Were Going Through Right Now. It Was A Mental Torture, Especially When You're Running Alone. No One Was There To Motivate You. The Thought Of 'Giving Up' Suffocates Your Mind, Tearing You Apart With Every Step Taken. You Are Literally Dragging Your Feet To The Finishing Line. It Was Hell.

I Had Prepared My Finisher Tee For Last Year's Sundown. Cheering Them On Wouldn't Have Worked As Well If They Didn't Know The One Who Was Cheering Them On Wasn't Just All Talk. Even If It Was, Try Doing It For 7 Hours And Tell Me This Is An Easy Feat. The One Who Had Cheered Them On Was Someone Who Has Experienced All The Hell They Have Gone Through. And Here I Am, Showing Them That The Pain Is Endurable. You Can Do This.

I Totally Lost Count As To How Many Times I've Said 'Come On', 'Don't Give Up', 'All The Way' Etc. I Was Screaming My Lungs Every 10 Secs So You Could Imagine How Many Times I've Said Them.  When I See A Runner Responding To My Words Of Encouragement By Continuing To Run Instead Of Walking.. It Felt Priceless. And Of Course The Countless Thanks I Had In Return. I Never Had That Many People Thank Me In A Single Day Before And This Was Not My First Time Volunteering For A Running Event.

I Was Stationed Along Ford Road At The 9Km (For Half Marathon) And 30Km (For Full Marathon) Mark And Most People Who Came Across This Route Were Drained Out. It's Really Pathetic That All Road Marshals Weren't Given At Least One Bottle Of Pain Relief Spray Or Muscle Rub. At Least We Could Have Attended Directly To Those Who Needed Them Along The Way Rather Than Have Them Drag Their Feet To The Next Hydration Point Which Could Be Far Ahead.

Nevertheless I Still Tried My Best, Offering To Help Those Who Stopped Along The Way To Do Some Basic Stretching. And Most Of Them Were Really Thankful And Grateful. Even Though I Don't Have The Supplies To Attend Directly To Their Needs, At Least I Still Had A Pair Of Hands Which Could Still Be Useful.

~~~

Anyway, Who Would've Expected A Crew Like Me To Run Over 20Km At The End Of The Day?

I Actually Encountered Some Runners Who Took The Wrong Route And Ended Up Far Ahead. Somehow The Road Marshals At Other Points Of The Route Weren't Doing Their Job. If I Was One Of The Runners Who Was Misguided, I Would Definitely Be Really Pissed. The Whole Race Experience Is Ruined. But These People Said It's Okay. They're Here To Have Fun And They Really Wanted To Be Brought Back To Somewhere Near The Place They Left Off. It's More Of An Integrity Issue. They Could've Just Continued From The 30Km Mark, Finished And Still Gotten The Medal And Tee. Respect.

I Ran Together With Some Of The Last Few Runners Of The Half Marathon Along The Stretch. Had A Nice Chat With This Veteran Who Started The Race Late Because He Overslept. He Was Really Nice And What He Said Was Really True. 'Running Isn't About Competing. You Run Your Own Race And What's More Important Is That You Enjoy It'.

The Most Priceless Moment Of The Day Was When I Was Given A Bro Fist By One Runner Who Experienced Overheating. I Had A Nice Chat With Him And Told Him That He Should Really Take It Easy Since There Is No Way He Could Beat His Previous Year's Timing. Brought Him Two Cups Of 100 Plus At A Nearby Hydration Point And Bammmmm! The Next Moment You Know, I Was Offered A Bro Fist. (:

At The End Of Everything, All I Had Was An Aching Body And A Really Swollen Toe (It Was Swollen Before But Got Worse). Lost My Voice Too. The Fact That I Made Some People's Day Better. It Was Worth It. Totally Worth It.

All These Experiences I Had Were Simply Amazing. Something That I Wouldn't Have Felt While Running The Race. It Wasn't About Me This Time.

It Was About The Impact I've Made On The These Runners. The Lives I Had Changed.

Review On Buffet Lunch @ Shin Minori Japanese Restaurant (UE Square)

This Buffet Is One Of The Better Buffets I've Been To. I LOVEEE THE FOOOOD! They Have The Most Amazing Sushi Combos And The Taste Is Simply HEAVENLYYY! They Also Serve A Huge Variety (Over 100 To Choose From), From Sashimi And Sushi(s) To Grilled And BBQ (Teppanyaki). This Is An Ala Carte Buffet So There Is A Menu And You Can Either Make Use Of The Tablet To Make Orders Or Write On A Form (All Food Is Included In The Buffet But The Drinks And Dessert Comes At Additional Cost).
                                   

As You Can See From Above, There Are Picture Illustrations To Each And Every Food. A Colorful Way To Entice The Diner. One Tip I Would Offer Here Is To Order The Ones You Like To Eat All At One Go (But Of Course You Must Be Able To Finish Them). This Is Because The Orders Can Have A Long Waiting Time. We Waited Like Almost 20 Mins Before The First Order Came.

Temaki (Hand Rolls)

Too Much Variety To Choose From And Having A Small Stomach To Fill? Don't Worry As There Are Recommendations On The Menu As To What You Should Try, Such As The Dragonfly Maki Roll And Unagi Chizu Tanugi Maki. I Love The Norwegian Shake Chizu Maki (Salmon With Cream Cheese) As Well!

Try Not To Order Too Many Temaki (Hand Rolls) Because You Will Fill Your Stomach Really Fast!

They Do Offer 4 Different Types Of Soup As Well! Oh And Let's Not Forget About Chawanmushi.

Japanese Bacon Pizza!

Takoyaki!

Overall, I Feel That This Was Definitely A Great Experience. Even Though Fruits, Drinks And Desserts Weren't Included In The Buffet, The Large Variety Of Food Offered Still Makes Up For It. Food Was Also Fresh And The Makimono(s) (Mat Sushi Roll) Had Extremely Unique And Delicious Combinations.

Food On The Menu Is Usually Stated As 1-2 Pieces Or 1-2 Servings Per Order. One Thing To Note Is That Don't Get Tricked By The 1-2 'Servings' As They Are Generally Not Small And Food Wastage Is CHARGEABLE!

There Is Always A Birthday 1-For-1 Promotion, Making The Trip To This Place Extremely Worthwhile.

Lunch (11.30am - 2.30pm)
Monday - Sunday : Adult $34++; Child $24++

Dinner (6pm - 10.30pm)
Monday - Thursday : Adult $37++; Child $25++
Friday - Sunday, PH & Eve Of PH : Adult $39++; Child $27++

Food                                 : ★★★★☆
Ambience                         : ★★★☆☆
Variety                             : ★★★★☆
Service                             : ★★★☆☆
Price                                 : ★★★☆☆

Value (With Promotion) : ★★★★☆         (Without) : ★★★☆☆

Pretty Awesome Place To Try Out If You Haven't Already Been Here. Get Their 1-For-1 Birthday Promotion Treat And Enjoy! Check Out Their Buffet Menu Here: http://shinminori.com.sg/ala-carte-buffet-menu/

*Thumbs Up!*

Review On Buffet Dinner @ Momiji Japanese Buffet (City Square Mall)

This Post Is Long Overdue. Had This Buffet Early April To Celebrate My Brother's Birthday And I Actually Lost Count As To How Many Times I've Visited This Place. Definitely One Of The Worthy Buffets To Try Out.

Momiji Japanese Buffet Had It's First Outlet At PoMo And That Was The Best Buffet Experience I've Ever Had. Back Then, Their Lunch Price Was Low $20 And Their Dinner Low $30 (After ++) And You Get Almost Any Kind Of Sashimi. The Variety They Serve Was Surprising At That Price.

Now Momiji Has Shifted To City Square Mall And There Are Three More Outlets, One @ North Point And Another Which Is Steamboat Buffet @ Revenue House And One More Which Is Singapore;s First-Ever Collagen HotPot Buffet @ Shaw House. The Variety They Offer Has Since Been Greatly Reduced But Still, I LOVE THIS PLACE! What's Really So Special About Momiji Is That Their Food Is Of High Quality And During Promotions (For Dinner Only), They Offer Free-Flow Fresh Snow Crabs And Sapporo Beer (Till 8pm Only) And I'm Sure This Is The Only Buffet, If Not One Of The Few That Does So In Singapore At The Price Of Around $50 Per Person.

Extremely Delicious Sushi(s)!

The Sashimi Served Are Extremely FRESH!! Among Those Offered Are Tuna, Sotong, Salmon, Huge Prawns, SNOW CRAB And Some Other Raw Fishes. They Are Extremely Generous With Their Snow Crab's Servings And Rest Assure That If You Are A Crab Lover, You Won't Be Disappointed.

Like Most Japanese Buffets, They Provide On-The-Spot Preparation Service For Certain Dishes (Generally Hot Plates) Which You Have Ordered. All You Have To Do Is To Take A Clip (Which Can Be Found On Your Table) And Clip The Stand At The Food Display Section. This Idea Is Simply Awesomeeee Because I Can Improvise And Cook Some Sashimi That I've Taken Separately And Mix It With The Sauce. I Guess This Is The Part Where Creativity Comes In. It's Up To You To Mix And Match! (: And I Also Love Their Paper Steamboat!

They Do Offer A Small Variety Of Fried Food Like Fried Prawns, Chicken Wings, Fries, Potato And Shishamo (Pregnant Fish). Was Rather Unhealthy So I Took Just A Small Portion.

The Free-Flow Sapporo Beer That I've Mentioned!

Did Not Take Many Photos But Some Other Things Which They Serve Includes Siew Mai, Chawanmushi (Egg Custard), Cooked Oyster And A Small Variety Of Teppanyaki As Well. Their Beef Stew Is Superb And A Must Tryyy!

LOVE Their Desserts. Who Doesn't Love Haagen-Dazs (Comes In 4 Different Flavours) And What's More, It's FREE FLOWWWW! You Can Enjoy All The Ice-Cream That You Could Possibly Eat. Their Mochi(s) And Cheesecakes Are Really Delicious And They Do Have Fondues As Well! What's More, They Offer A Wide Variety Of Fruits (As Seen Above) To End Of Your Meal Healthily. Fruits Helps To Aid In Digestion So They Are A Must Have After Buffets (Especially If You Ate Alot)!

Lunch
Monday - Fridays : $24.80++

Brunch
Saturday, Sunday, Eve Of Public Holidays / Public Holidays : $39.80++

Dinner
Monday - Thursday : $39.80++
Fridays - Sunday, Eve Of Public Holidays / Public Holidays : $42.80++

Senior Citizens Gets $4 ($3 For Lunch) Off The Adult Price And Kids (Below 12 Years Old & 1.4m) Are Half Priced.

Food           : ★★★★★
Ambience   : ★★★★☆
Variety       : ★★★☆☆
Service       : ★★★☆☆
Price           : ★★★☆☆

Value          : ★★★★☆

Even Though The Variety They Offer Are Limited, I Really Love The Food They Have To Offer And I Believe You Will Too When You Visit This Place. Do Check Out Their Facebook For Up To Date Promotions : https://www.facebook.com/Momiji.JapaneseBuffet

Definitely *Thumbs Up*!

The Key To Financial Planning.

Start When You're Young And Do Know That It's Never Too Late To Start.

Most People In Our Current Generation Are Really Spendthrift. Sometimes It Feels Like What's On The Outside Is Worth Way More Than What's On The Inside. Branded Goods Everywhere. Not Like It Matters Because Did You Earn It? Or Did Your Parents Bought It For You? If Your Parents Did Earn It Then Do Know That Your Outfit Just Depicts Your Parents Sweat And Perspiration, Not Yours. You Earned It? Of Course You Have The Right To Spend And I Have NO Right To Stop You. How Long Did It Took? Is The Image You Are Portraying Worth The Effort? If You Are Making Tonnes Of $$$ Then Maybe This Would Be A Small Issue, But If You Are Not Spending Within Your Means Then You Better Think Twice.

So What Is Financial Planning About? In My Definition, It Is About Managing Your Expenses Based On The Income/Allowance You Have And Plan For The Future. Do You Want To Get Married? Do You Want To Start A Family? Do You Intend To Start A Business? All This Requires $$$.

Financial Planning Revolves Around $$$ But Do Note That $$$ Isn't Always A Need.

Food Is. Water Is. Oxygen Is.

Most People Have The Misconception That $$$ Is Everything When $$$ Is In Fact Just A Medium Of Exchange. A Good Example Of When $$$ Would Be Useless Would Be In Times Of War. I'm Pretty Sure One Would Be Willing To Offer You All Their $$$ If You Can Offer Them Food. Another Example Would Be When You Have Your Own Farm Or You Are Capable Of Manufacturing Or Producing Your Own Needs. To Put It Simply, If You Are Capable Of Self Sustaining, $$$ Is Worthless.

Not Able To Do So? This Is When The Need To Work Comes In. You Work, You Get Paid And With This Amount Of $$$, You Buy Goods And Services. Most People Think That The Pay They Get Is What They Have Earned. The Truth Is, You Only Earn A Dollar If You Save It. If You Spend It, It's Gone. If You Save It, It's Still There. It Can Shelter You On A Rainy Day. It Can Multiply. And Last But Not Least, It's Still Yours. Keep It. It'll Come In Handy Some Day.

Saving Isn't Really That Difficult. The Trick To Doing So Is To SAVE FIRST BEFORE YOU EVEN START SPENDING! Try It. It's So Much Easier. The Rational Behind Starting When You're Young Is To Benefit From The Compounding Effect. A Dollar Saved Today, 10 Years Down The Road Could Be $1.10. And It Grows Even More As Time Passes. Does Not Seem Significant In The Short Run But Definitely Has A Huge Impact When You Are About To Retire.

I'll Give A Simple Illustration Of How I Save-Up Since I'm Managing My Own Expenses Right Now. (You Can Make Use Of Apps To Keep Track Of Your Daily Spending)

Current Allowance  : $40 Per Working Day
Total                        : About $840 Per Month.
Transport Expenses : $51 Per Month (Bus & Train Concession)
Target Saving          : $550
Remaining Amount : $239
Average                   : About $10
Assumption             : I Have My Meals At Home On Weekends And I Don't Spend $$$ On Entertainment.

OR

Average                   : $9
Entertainment          : $25
Assumption             : I Have My Meals At Home On Weekends

Possible? Yes.

Percentage Of Savings On Total Salary = 65.5%. If Assuming I Have To Spend On Weekend Groceries As Well, I Would Still Have Over 50% Of Savings.

So It All Comes Down To The Ultimate Question: Why Save? Everyone Has Different Reasons As To Why They Should Save, But I Will Give The Most General Reasons.

The 3 Most Important Things That An Ordinary Person Should And Would Consider About In Their Future.

1) Buying A House

Property Prices Have Been Falling Ever Since The Cooling Measures Have Been Implemented But They Are Still High. And You'll Never Know When Prices Of Properties Could Sky Rocket Again. Expect To Pay Installments Your Entire Lifetime If You Don't Start Learning How To Save. The Longer You Take To Pay Off The Installments, The More Interest You Are Paying. $$$ Down The Drain. Plan Properly And I'm Sure You Can Get To Pay Off Installments In Probably 20-30 Years.

2) Starting A Family

Have You Ever Thought Of Having Kids? If No Then Congrats. You Have Saved Yourself A Huge Sum Of $$$. Just Know That When You Grow Old, There Won't Be Anyone To Take Care Of You. If Yes, Then You Better Start Planning. From Diapers And Milk Powder To Food, Education And Daily Necessities, Be Prepared To Folk Out A Huge Sum. So, If You Don't Plan, Don't Pray For $$$ To Drop Down From The Sky~

3) Getting Insurance Coverage

This Is The Most Important Of All. Putting Your Money Into Insurance Is As Good As 'Saving' Your $$$ For A Rainy Day. It Is A Must To Have Protection Unless You Are Telling Me That You Can See The Future And You Can Expect When Something Bad Is Going To Happen To You. If You Can, Do Help Me See Mine Too. I'm Really Interested To Know My Future. If You Can't Then DON'T EVER SAVE THIS $$$.

And One Important Thing That We Should All Start As Soon As We Can If We Haven't Already Done So..

Investing.

Start Learning How To Invest Every Single Dollar You Have. Regardless Of Whether It Is Investing In Stocks, Bonds And/Or Even Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Just Invest. If You Are Not A Risk Taker, It Is Highly Advised That You Put Your Money Into Bonds And A Highly Recommended Bond To Take Up Is The Singapore Government Savings Bond (SGS). Absolutely RISK-FREE And You Can Take Your Money Out At Any Time Without A Penalty On The Interest You Earn. It Will Launched In The Second Half Of This Year.

Do Find Out More Here If You Are Interested:
http://www.mas.gov.sg/~/media/resource/news_room/press_releases/2015/Factsheet%20Savings%20Bonds

If You Have A Bigger Risk Appetite, Do Consider Investing In ETFs Or Blue Chips/REITs. ETFs Have Dollar Averaging Cost Effects. Basically You Invest A Fixed Sum Every Month To Buy A Certain Stock Or A Portfolio Regardless Of The Price. The Longer You Invest, The Lower The Risk. As For Blue Chips/REITs, They Are Generally Of Lower Risk And Have High Dividend Yields.

Whatever You Do, It's Always Better Than Parking Your Money In The Bank. Inflation Is At Around 3% And Even Though Interest Rates Are On The Rise At The Moment, The Current Consumer Floating Interest Rates Is Still Pathetic (Not Even 0.5%) This Just Means Your Money Parked In The Bank Is 'Shrinking'.

Looking At The Long Run Is Key To Securing A Smooth And Bright Future.

Good Luck And All The Best!

Note: Do Share With Your Friends If You Find This Post Interesting And Helpful. Feel Free To Tweet Me Or Message Me (If You Know Me Personally) If You Got Any Clarifications.

The 10 Types Of Friends We Could Possibly Have.

Life Is About Perspectives. We Come Across All Kinds Of People In Life And It Is Crucial To Accept The Fact That Not Everyone Is Like Us. There Will Be Differences And I Just Hope Everyone Can Look On The Bright, Positive Side And Get Along With People. After All, You Don't Get To Choose Your Working Partner (Unless You Are The Boss)!

Note: Him/His/He References Used Are In General.

Credits: www.wordle.net

1) The Popular

Don't Be Disappointed When You Don't Get To Interact Much With 'The Popular' When You're With Him. Do Understand That Many Are Seeking His Attention.. You Should Be Expecting Him To Pick Up Calls Or Text People 60% Of The Time And He Will Bump Into Someone He Know 30% Of The Time. Well, Be Glad That You Still Have The 10%. And If You Are A Credit Card Or Insurance Sales Person, That'll Be Simply Perfect! Just Imagine How Much More $$ You Can Make With His Connections!

2) The Noise Polluter

We All Have That Friend Who Sings Randomly And Out Of Nowhere. It Can Be Extremely Annoying Especially If That Friend In Particular Has A Horrible Singing Voice. Bringing A Masking Tape Along Wherever You Go Can Really Comes Into Handy. Otherwise, You Could Have Some Fun As Well By Bringing Along Tonnes Of Marshmallows. Every Time He Starts Singing, Just Stuff A Marshmallow Into His Mouth. If He Continues, Then Stuff Another. Play Chubby Bunny! Yayyyy! Don't Worry, The Marshmallows Can Also Be Used To Stuff Your Ears If He's Still Making Those Horrible Noises. Problem Solved! (:

3) The Vulgar (With Singlish)

One Of A Kind When It Comes To Communicating. The First Thing People Usually Say When They See Each Other Is 'Hi' Or (What')'Sup' But 'The Vulgar'? 'F*** You Lah!' He Will Try To Add Words Into Sentences To Make Them Sound More 'Interesting'. So 'Where Are We Going?' Will Sound Like 'Where The F*** Are we Going?' His Following Replies Would Be Something Like 'Wah! C*** B** So F****** Expensive!' Or 'K** N* N*! Always F****** Eat The Same Thing!' Notice If You Take Out The Bold Words, They Have The Same Meaning Too? I Definitely Suggest You Bring A Taser Along With You. Every Time He Gets Too Aggressive With Words, Just Zap Him! Have Fun!

4) The Mugger

Feeling Stress Because Of The Amount Of Workload You Currently Have At Hand? Fret Not, Because 'The Mugger' Is Here To Add On To Your Stress. Yes, ADD ON. Wherever The Mugger Goes, You Can Be Assured That He Will Be Carrying A Book/Notes Along With Him. Even When He Is About To Head To The Toilet, He Refuses To Let You Hold On To It For A Minute. Let's All Face It: If You Go Out With 'The Mugger', You Are Not Expecting To Have Some Fun Time Are You? Done Revising For One Chapter And Feel Like Taking A Break Or Just Calling It A Day? Look At The Mugger And You Will See That He Is Capable Of Sitting On The Same Chair For 10 Hours Straight And Finish Revising For Every Single Topic And Writing 91239612736 Pages Of Notes. This Is When You'll Just Feel Like Picking Up A Knife And Stab Yourself Because That's So Much Easier.

5) The Inert/Lazy

It Can Be Rather Tedious When Hanging Out With 'The Inert' But It Would Definitely Be A Good Workout Experience And Gym Replacement Session. 'The Inert' Simply Doesn't Want To Shift His A**. Dragging Him Along Is The Only Way To Get Him To Move. What Makes Him Really Unique Is That He Will Tell You The Most Ridiculous Things You Have Ever Heard In Your Life. 'Bro, Can Help Me To Buy Shirt? Help Me To Test The Size. If You See It's Fitting, Just Buy' So, I Might As Well Just Wear The Shirt For You. Or Maybe You Shouldn't Even Bother To Put On Clothes If You're That L.A.Z.Y. Go And Be Some Underwear Model!

6) The Mysterious

'The Mysterious' Is Known For Wearing His Mask Wherever He Goes. No One Really Knows His Intentions Of Doing So And What Exactly Is He Hiding. You Have Been Warned Not To Get Too Close To Him Or You Will Come To Regret It. Or Maybe Not. The Mystery Will Come To Light When You Catch What He Is Carrying. A Cold. Taking An MC And Getting A Day Off To Rest At Home Sounds Like A Great Plan! Wheeee!

7) The Blood-Sucker

Tagging Along With You Has All Along Been Part Of His Plan. The Plan Was Easy Enough. He Eats, You Pay. He Buys, You Pay. Well You See, Anything He Does, You Pay For It, As Good As A Mosquito Sucking Your Blood Dry. There Is However One Thing That I Am More Than Willing And Happy To Pay. My Respects. If He DIES!!! MUHAHAHAA! But Anyway, Sharing Is A Really Good Thing To Do And You Can Be Assured He Will Always Give You Something In Return As Well. A Hole In Your Pocket. Enough Said.

8) The Backstabber/Two-Faced

Definitely The Best Type Of Friend One Could Possibly Have. If He Goes Around Telling Your Friends What An Awful Person You Are And After Hearing All That Bullshit Your Friends Still Stand By You, This Is When You Know You've Made True Friends. Friends Who Trust You For The Person They Believe You Really Are. Be Thankful. And Do Understand That The Reason People Have Two Faces Is Because One Isn't Enough. Isn't Enough For You To Slap.

9) The Pig

Are You The One Who Is Always Wasting Food? Fret Not, Because 'The Pig' Is Here To Aid You And The Rest Of The World In A Battle Against Food Wastage. Countless Tonnes Of Food Are Wasted Every Year And We Should At Least Be Thankful Because People In Other Parts Of The World Could Be Starving. Morale Of The Story Here: Don't Make Fun Of Obese People And Trust Me, I Have No Intentions Of Making Fun. 'The Pig' Just Sounds Really Cuteee! (: It Is Also Definitely Possible To Consume High Intake Of Calories Every Meal And Still Stay Slim And Healthy. Just Exercise Regularly And Eat A Variety Of Fruits And Vegetables.

10) The Magician

Don't Be Mistaken. There Are Two Types Of Magicians And The One I'm Referring To Isn't The One Who Does Fancy Tricks To Trick And Impress. Well, The Other Type Does 'Impress' Too! Basically What He Does Is: Tell You That He Will Turn Up For An Outing And Then He Just Goes Missing. Like Totally Missing. Message? No Replies. Call? No Answers. He Just Goes M.I.S.S.I.N.G. We Shouldn't Rule Out The Fact That His Phone Could Have Well Dropped Into The Toilet Bowl Or Dropped Into A Bowl Of Soup. But He Goes Missing For Days, Weeks, Months. Absolutely No Reply Of What Happened, No Explanation And No Sorry. It's As If Nothing Happened. Definitely The Best Magic I've Ever Seen! Can Someone Tell Me How To Not Be Impressed? (:

BONUS:

The Same Boat

Having Friends Who Feel Like They Are On The Same Boat As Us Isn't Uncommon. However, When It Comes To: You Jump, I Jump. If You Ever Jump, I'll Say Bye Bye To You, Because Who The Hell In The Right Mind Would Do That? I Mean It's Possible. You Jump Off 100 Stories And I'll Jump Here, Right On The Spot. You Jump, I Jump.

The Selfie Master

Taking 'Professional' Selfies These Days Requires Delicate Skills And The Right Equipment. The Selfie Stick Must Have Been Invented By A Genius. Who Would Have Thought Of Attaching Your Phone At The End Of A Stick To Take Photos Of Yourself. Even A Blind/Handicapped Man Can Do So With His Walking Stick And Look Good! Simply Genius.

Of Course There Are Many Other Types Of Friends And It's Impossible To List Everything Down, Nevertheless, It's Still Possible To Appreciate Them For Who They Really Are. Be Thankful That You Are Not Alone Because I'm Sure Someone Out There Is.

Tips For Train Rides During Peak Hours.

Do Pardon Me For This Ugly Drawing And My Limited Vocabulary And Poor Usage Of English. These Are Based On My First-Hand Experiences.

I've Been Taking The Train To Work For The Past 3 Weeks. It May Be A Short Period Of Time And Yet, I've Seen So Much Happening In And Outside The Train. During The Rush Hour, The Trains Get Really Packed And I Often Encounter People Raising Their Voices Just Because They Got Pushed And Shoved. I Know It's Uncomfortable, But Do Note That Everyone Is Feeling The Same. The Fact That Some People Have Lower Tolerance Level Can Lead To Staring Incidents Or Even Conflicts.

The Trains Here May Be Really Crowded During Peak Hours, But It's Really Nothing Compared To How It's Like In Japan. I've Been To Japan And I've Experienced The Train Rides There Before The Morning Rush Hour (Around 6.30 Am). They Are Already As Packed. Couldn't Even Imagine How It Would Be Like When It's 7 And Even Later. Taking The Trains In Singapore May Seem Really Horrible, But Sure Enough, You Haven't Seen The Worst. (But You Could Well Argue That Trains in Japan Don't Breakdown As Often)

Now, Here Are Just Some Of My Opinions On How Train Rides Can Be Less Uncomfortable/More Tolerable (Enjoyable..? Not Really).

1) Queuing Up Before The Arrival Of The Train

I Do See People Doing So Most Of The Time But When The Train Arrives, The Queue Immediately Vanishes And It Feels As If Everyone Is Competing To Get On The Train. These People Should At Least Respect That Since They Are Already In The Queue, Then STAY IN IT. Not Like It's The LAST DAMN TRAIN That Is Coming. 赶着去投胎 (Rushing To Be Reborn)? Translations Taken From Google.

2) Allowing People To Alight First

This Is Where Shit Happens. There Will Always Be People At The Train Exit Blocking The Way Out Of The Train And Hence, Some People Will Take A Longer Time To Get Out. Before Entering The Train, Do Make Sure That These People Have Alighted Before Boarding. You Don't Want Them To Be Shoving You On Their Way Out.

3) Try Not To Listen To Music And If Possible, Don't Watch Dramas/Movies Etc. And Read Newspapers At All

It Is Generally Alright To Listen To Music So Long As You Are Aware Of When The Train Is Stopping At Each Station. This Will Allow You To Make Way For Those Who Are Getting Out Especially If You Are Standing Near The Exit. You Don't Want People To Be Screaming At Your Ears. If The Train Is Too Packed, Kindly Step Out Of The Train To Allow Others To Alight First.

If You Are Watching Drama/Movies, Chances Are You Aren't Even Aware. Hope You Get Shoved Out Of The Train Without Even Realising. Muhahaha!

Reading Newspapers Is One Of The Really Selfish Things To Do On A Train. When Everyone Has Already So Little Space To Themselves, Suddenly There's This VIP Who Whips Out A Newspaper And Takes Up The Space In Front Of Him Instead Of Moving In For More People To Board.

4) Spraying Some Perfume/Deodorant/Taking A Bath

I'm Not Too Affected By This Personally But I Believe Many People Are. Everyone Is So Close To Each Other That You Can Literally Smell Someone Else's Body Odor And Trust Me, It Can Be Really Disgusting. But Then Again, Spraying Too Much Perfume Can Have A Reverse Effect Too. Taking A Bath Would Be Just Right To Keep You Smelling Fresh.

5) Saying Sorry/Excuse Me/Thank You When Making Way/Giving Way

Basic Courtesy. Words Like This Are Really Pleasing To The Ears. I'm Sure If You Are Polite, People Would Give Way To You Willingly.

5b) While Exiting, If The People Standing Near Is Unaware (Watching A Movie Etc.), Kindly Tap On Their Shoulders To Alert Them

At Least Warn Others Before You Are Going To Push And Shove Right? Don't Give Others A Heart Attack. Who Knows, They Might Be Watching A Horror Movie. But If They Really Are, Tapping On Their Shoulders Could Be Even More Creepier.

6) During Train Emergency Brakes, Grab Hold Of Someone Who Has Loss Their Balance If You Are Holding On To A Handle.

This Happens Quite Often, Especially If There Is A Train Ahead. I Got Caught Off Guard Once When The Train Brakes Were Jammed But Thankfully, This Kind Lady Actually Grabbed Hold Of My Hands. Don't Just Look Out For Yourself. Be Nice And Lookout For Others Too! (: Of Course, Do Notice Where You're Grabbing Too, You Don't Want People To Misinterpret Your Kind Intentions And Accuse You For Molesting.

Here Are Also Some Problems Which I Have Noticed But Have No Ideal Solutions To:

There Is Uncomfortable, And Then There Is TEN TIMES More Uncomfortable Just Because Someone's Hair Or Face Is 1 Inch Nearer To Yours. Imagine A Lady/Gentlemen Stand Facing You And Her/His Lips Are Just Centimeters Away From Yours. When This Happens To Me, I Just Look Down Or Look Away. Looking At Someone In The Face Can Get Really Awkward And When The Train Brakes, The Unexpected Could Happen.

As For Farting On The Train, Holding Your Breath Would Be Ideal. Allow Others To Breathe In The Air First. When You Start Seeing That The People Around You Has Fainted, That's When You Know It's Safe To Continue Breathing.

Jokes Aside. I'm Sure If Everyone Puts In Even A Little Effort, Train Rides Will Be Much More Tolerable. We Will Be Able To Start Our Day Well Rather Than Being All Grumpy.

There Is Nothing As Hard In The World As Understanding Yourself.

An Awesome Week.

Work Life May Not Be As Interesting But At Least I Have Scheduled Weekly Tues-Dates To Look Forward To. And Fri-Dates With My Parents As Well. And Well, Time Passes Really Quickly When You're Busy. 2 Weeks Down!! 20 More Weeks To Gooooo!

Another Meet Up With Course Mates Again For K Session On Friday. Had A Blast~

And While Me And My Friends Were On Our Way Back On The Last (Or Last Second?) Train, Someone Vomited. It Was Near The Doors Of The Train. And As Usual, I Never Fail To Surprise Myself. 90% Of The Time I Don't Really Know What I'm Doing. It's Like I'm Only In Control 10% Of The Time.

At That Point In Time, When I Saw This Lady Vomiting, I Never Really Thought Of Cleaning Up The Mess. Really. This Isn't My Job. It Clearly Isn't. So I Offered Her All The Tissue That I Had In My Bag, While My Friend Also Offered His. She Did Not Even Respond So I Place The Tissues At A Seat Beside Her. A Lady Also Walked By And Offered Her A Plastic Bag.

And I Stood There Waiting. Hoping Someone Would Clean Up The Mess Miraculously. But Of Course No One Did. People Just Avoided And Moved Away, Disgusted.

Putting Myself In The Shoes Of Someone Who Was Entering The Train, He Could Slip, Fall And Land On The Pool Of Vomit. Putting Myself In The Shoes Of Her, She Would Be Feeling So Embarassed. Can Totally Understand That If It Was Me, I Probably Would Be Too Shocked To Even Make Any Movement Because I Could Imagine Everyone Staring At Me.

This Is When I Did The Craziest Thing I've Ever Done In Public. I Walked Over, And Started Cleaning The Mess. Of Course I Didn't Really Care About The People Looking At Me Because Obviously The Stench Was Bothering Me More. I Almost Threw Up As Well, But I Got It Done With And Alighted The Train. Luckily I Had My Friend Around To Carry My Bag For Me.

After Which, My Friend Actually Told Me She Was Drunk. I Never Really Thought Of That, But I Guess She Could Well Be (Because She Did Not Even Say A Word The Whole Time). And Logically Speaking, Maybe She Did Not Deserve My Help, But I'm Helping Those People Who Are Entering The Train And Risk Slipping And Fall.

It's Not Like I Wanted To Be A Hero And This Clearly Doesn't Make Me One. Not Like I Saved Someone's Life Or What. But I Guess Life Is Boring Without The Want To Constantly Help Others.

Sometimes, It Feels Like An Addiction.

因为不想接受

不能接受

又能怎样