Damn Them Scams

This is an urgent public service announcement. Sounds important? Well, it is.

There is a scam that appears to be targetting mobile phone users whereby a premium international calls service provider in China is calling mobile phones randomly and hanging up immediately. This will show up as a missed call and may prompt some mobile phone users to hit the "call back" button. When they do, they're routed to a voice recording, in Chinese, telling them that they've won a prize. Meanwhile, this premium service provider charges premium rates for the call to the mobile phone subscriber's service provider. Scumbags! I have a few other choice words but they're unfortunately not suitable for the Internet.

When I heard of this last week, I thought it might not be all that rampant... until I received a call myself yesterday. They didn't get me cos I was hip to the scam. Too bad for them. With knowledge comes power. Let all your friends and family know about this scam and do not return calls to numbers starting with +861 unless you're absolutely sure who the caller is.

I am not sure if they are targetting mobile phone users in other regions but its better to be safe than sorry.

PS. The number that appeared on my phone was +6813592795490.

Jinxed

This post has nothing to do with Halle Berry or her role as Jinx in the movie "Die Another Day". I just Google'd "JINX" to see if I could find an image of myself and out popped Ms Berry.

I seemed to be jinxed in a strange way. At a particular time of every year, usually around August, September and October, things around me seem to start to break or spoil. I don't know why but it seems to be some sort of curse.

Last weekend, I tried to boil some water on our spanking new Electrolux gas hob and when I tried auto-igniting one of the burners, it seemed like all three of them were igniting. Even though there was gas flowing through the outlets, it wasn't firing up. No tea.

Last night when I got home, I popped in one of Janet Seidel's CDs on my *ahem* Bose Lifestyle 35 Series II system to enjoy and I found that the digital display was acting up. Lots of odd characters starting popping up, looking like something out of the movie The Matrix. We bought this system in July of this year and paid an arm, a leg, a kidney and part of my liver for it. In fact, I only started using the system actively over the last few days - and that for only about an hour or two a day.

This morning, my wife told me one of our new kitchen lights had blown. Only after two weeks of use? Later in the evening, my wife called me at work to tell me that our new aircon system has started leaking. *sigh*

The time has come for me to be cleansed in a holy river somewhere.

Happy Birthday, Casey!

Today, Casey celebrates her 2nd birthday. That makes her 14 years old in dog years.

For her birthday, my wife prepared a special treat for her. Of course, Eddie benefits from such celebrations as well. My wife said they did not take their heads out of their bowls still everything was cleared up

Happy birthday, Casey!!

Classic Lefty

If you can't remember who Lefty from Sesame Street is, you've got to check this video out.



I love this guy!

Back To The Old School

I woke up sometime around lunch today to find my little boy sitting in his comfy baby recliner watching Sesame Street. He seemed bewildered with all the colours and Elmo's exceptionally high-pitched voice. Maybe I should just spring for the Elmo TMX and blame it on him! "It's for his development, dear!", I'll tell my wife. Hmmm... I digress.

My wife and I went on to discuss the virtues of Sesame Street and I shared with her how I was a huge fan of the popular children's television programme from the age of 4 till I was about 18. The Sesame Street aired today felt a lot different from what I used to watch years ago. It had more colourful characters, both physically and personality-wise, and it seemed to have more to teach. While Elmo was reading e-mails from children (yes, e-mails!), I wondered what happened to characters like Sherlock Hemlock, Guy Smiley, Grover, Cookie Monster, Sammy The Snake and my favourite, Lefty. They brought a great deal of fun and laughter to the show which is what is lacking in today's version of Sesame Street.

"It's a real pity they don't have the older Sesame Street on DVD", I lamented. My wife agreed. But surprise, surprise! I found out today on Amazon that they will be releasing the old school episodes of Sesame Street (1969 - 1974) close to the end of October and it is now available for pre-order. I was so excited with my discovery that I promptly whipped out my credit card to buy it.

"Its for his development, dear."

Tickle Me Pink

Come on, admit it. We all love Elmo. He's that cute red fuzzy character with the orange nose on Sesame Street. I love Sesame Street. "Can you tell me how to get... how to get to Sesame Street." Don't be shy... sing along.... "Sunny day, sweeping the clouds away...."

Believe it or not, I even have a Tickle Me Elmo toy that was a gift from a friend for my 24th birthday! It is a battery operated plush toy that giggles and laughs when you press his tummy and ends off saying "Oh boy, that tickles!" I can't help laugh along with it. I know... I'm weird.

The "Tickle Me Elmo" designers have taken Elmo a few notches higher. Introducing the Tickle Me Elmo Extreme - TMX. Check this out.



Have I mentioned my birthday is around the corner? *hint*

With A Little Help From My Friends

Late last night, I was not able to sleep. So, I decided to spend it trying to unpack my CDs, sound systems and books into the study. Little did I know that my two pals, Eddie and Casey, decided to join me and keep me company while I was hard at work. Here's a picture of them.


They're the best!!

Here's To New Beginnings

After all the hype, we've finally moved on 15th September and settled in to our new home. The move did not go as smoothly as I expected because the weather decided to throw us a curve-ball. It rained buckets that day, representing a teary farewell to a place I called home for 14 years. Fortunately, we had the sense to cling-wrap everything as we were packing and as a result, there were no "casualities".

It was tough leaving our old place (see picture on top right), especially for me, even though there were a lot of painful memories tied to that apartment. But after the last box was moved out and transported to our new home, I stayed behind to walk around the house, remembering my dad writing his memoirs at his desk in his room and walking by the kitchen brought back memories of my mom standing in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove preparing dinner on weekends. Her signature dish was stir-fried corned mutton with long beans. It was my all-time favourite and I could almost smell it at that moment.

I remember when I first moved there from our two storey house back in 1992, I hated the place. But we had to move there due to circumstances beyond our control. Perhaps it was the circumstances that I hated, not the place. But as the years rolled on, it seemed like the most comfortable place on earth. And by last week, I was dreading the move to our new place. Although much more elegant than the old place with many luxurious comforts that I have accorded myself, I still felt a weight on my heart.

But in spite of the memories of my dad writing and my mom cooking, I also recall that I moved there with my parents but when leaving, my parents were no longer with me. While there, I lost a large part of my family through death as well as misunderstandings and quarrels. But on the flip side, I moved there as a son but left as a father. I moved there as a bachelor but left as a husband. I moved there as a fun-loving chap in his early 20s but left as a responsible adult.

Before I turned off the power to my now former home, I whispered a prayer for my dad and mom thanking them for the home that changed me from a playful youngster to a man, even though I gave them a lot of grief when we moved there. And as I embark on the next phase of my life in our new home with my wife and son, I look forward to the positive challenges ahead of me and hope that I can make this home a place that my son will remember fondly for the rest of his life.

My Big Fat Obnoxious Blogging Tool

I got my newly acquired PC set up today. I am usually a notebook person and tote it around wherever I go - mostly anyway. Anyhow, some years ago, I got into video editing and promised myself that when we moved to our new home, I will get myself a new suped up PC with the works.

Introducing my brand new Dell Dimension 5150 PC with 3.4GHz Pentium Duo CPU, 2GB RAM and 320GB of hard disc real estate. Comes complete with the wireless keyboard and mouse too.

And my first order of business with it? To write my latest blog, of course.

Isn't he a handsome fellow??

Year Of The Dog?

Recently, my son has developed a strange "habit". He reaches for his head, grips a clump of his hair and tugs at it really hard. This is, of course, followed by his loud screams. I don't think he knows that he is pulling on his own hair and keeps doing it until one of us moves his hand away.

This dog seems to have a similar "habit".



2006 is the year of the dog, isn't it? Hmmm....

Mr Cranky Pants

My little boy is 6 weeks old! Time really flies when you're sleep deprived. I can't quite tell between day and night anymore and everything seems to be done on "auto-pilot" mode, if you know what I mean.

Premster Jr is growing very quickly. And with his physical development, his mind is also starting to "connect the dots". He sees things and gets facinated. This was three weeks ago. Today, when he sees something of interest to him, he tries to reach for it. And when he can't, he starts to throw a fit. And when he throws a fit, he makes sure the entire neighbourhood knows that he's pissed. So, he now has a new nickname thanks to his Daddy - Mr Cranky Pants.

Sadly, he's not the only "Cranky Pants" in the family. I think it has become my trait as well. Sleep deprivation will do that to you. I can go without eating for 2 days, without water for 24 hours but if I am not allowed to sleep, I'll go berserk. So, I seem to snap at every little thing these days.

Fortunately for Mr Cranky Pants Junior and Senior, we don't have a Mrs Cranky Pants. The Mrs has a smile on her every day and puts up with Junior's tantrums - he pulls his own hair and then screams as a result of the pain! - as well as Senior's constant gloom. I really can't imagine how she does it. Two babies in one household has to be tough on her. She's a real trooper.

And during the breaks she gets when Cranky Pants and Cranky Pants are both alseep, she tries to scour the Internet for nursery rhymes to entertain our little boy when he wakes up. And having found quite a few, she pointed out this important fact to me. Have you noticed how terrible / depressing children's nursery rhymes are?

London Bridge Is Falling Down - Talks about the collapse of a bridge.
Ding Dong Bell - Rhyme about someone drowning a cat.
Humpty Dumpty - About Humpty Dumpty falling off a wall and broken beyond repair.
Rock A Bye Baby - A lullaby about a baby in his cradle which falls off a tree!
Little Miss Muffet - Rhyme about Miss Muffet who is arachnophobic.
Jack And Jill - Rhyme about two kids who went up a hill to get water and the boy fell and broke his head.
Three Blind Mice - Tale about a farmer's wife cutting of the... er... tails of three already suffering blind mice.
Old Woman In A Shoe - The beginning of child abuse and birth control?

*sigh*

Remembering 9/11 - Five Years On

Do you remember what you were doing on 11 September 2001 when the ill-fated planes hit the World Trade Centre? I do. Back then, I was working for a TV station. Every day, I would sit in front of my TV at 9:30 pm to watch the nightly news with the small satisfaction that I had played a part towards the successful transmission of the bulletin. That fateful day was no exception.

I remember our presenters, Arnold and Michelle, starting off the news bulletin with a cheery smile and reading the day's events to hundreds of thousands of viewers. Halfway through at about 9:40 pm, Michelle stopped reading and appeared to look distraught. Then came the horrifying footage beamed into our homes 'live'. A plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Centre's Twin Towers. At that point, it appeared to be a freak accident perhaps due to pilot error. And as the footage kept coming, another plane was seen approaching the second tower and before I could catch my breath, it crashed head-on. It was then that the world knew that this was no accident. Our usually eloquent presenters were left lost for words.

I watched the images in disbelief. Who would do such a thing? And why? Before 9/11, "terrorism" not a word commonly used in daily conversations. Today, we hear it all the time. Security has been tightened all over the world. Cars entering Government buildings and installations are routinely checked, airports are generously sprinkled with security personnel armed to the teeth and riding on the subway means you may be subjected to random bag checks. And all because one senseless man decided that he wanted to act like a barbarian and take the lives of more than two thousand men and women, each of whom was somebody important to someone out there. There was no justification for him to kill anyone but he did it anyway. I don't think I can begin to imagine the loss and anger attached to losing someone in such a cruel manner.

On 11 September 2001, lives were ruined forever. Our way of life changed forever. All that is left of a majestic building is a gaping hole in the ground. But the question to ask is "Has terrorism won?" My answer would be a firm "no". It was more of wake-up call. It was a wake-up call to the world saying that we should not take the freedom that we enjoy for granted. It was a wake-up call for Governments and countries all over the world not to take national security lightly. It was a wake-up call to each any every human being, regardless of race, colour, language and religion, to be united as one and fight the war against terrorism.

While I was shaken by the events I saw on my TV that day, I knew that the world would not take one madman's senseless act lying down and we will recover from it and be stronger. While we live slightly more "restricted" lives these days, I somehow feel safer knowing that everyone is doing everything in their power not to allow any act a fraction of the magnitude we witnessed on September 11th to ever happen again.

And while I do not know anyone who suffered the wrath of September 11th personally, I take time to remember those who have lost their lives needlessly and those who live on to mourn the loss of a friend or a loved one on this day. I hope they will be comforted knowing that we are winning the war on terrorism and eventually, terror will only be felt in the stone hearts of those who perpetuated it in the first place.

We will, without a doubt, win this fight.

Happy Teachers' Day!

On the 1st of September every year, students in Singapore celebrate Teachers' Day. Its a day set aside to honour, appreciate and recognise the effort of teachers here. Having spoken to some school-going kids recently, it appears that Teachers' Day is "just another holiday" for them. Not many students today truly appreciate the hard-work, energy and dedication that teachers put into drumming knowledge into their heads as well as moulding them into being invaluable members of society.

With today's busy lifestyle where both parents have to go out into the workforce to ensure a relatively comfortable life, the education and the nurturing of their children are often left solely to teachers. And when these kids mess up, the teachers often are on the receiving end of blame. I remember back in the day, if I made a mistake in school and was punished, I would only get "Good! You deserved it!" from my parents if I told them. Not even an ounce of sympathy could be squeezed from either. However these days, a teacher gets hauled up to the Principal's office by the parents if their child is punished. It doesn't matter if the child is wrong. And later, society wonder why our kids are so ill-behaved.

Sadly, the minute a student graduates from school, the sweat and blood of his teacher is often forgotten. And when they run into their teachers some time later in life, they pretend not to recognise them. I feel sorry for these students - and the teachers that shaped them.

My aim with this entry is not to yammer on about the sad relationship between teachers and students but to talk about one of my favourite teachers, how much I love her and will never forget what she's done for me. Her name is Mdm Tai.

First and foremost, let me start by saying that very little scared me back when I was in school. The sight of teachers or even our school's Principal would not make me flinch one bit. Fortunately, I was not a rebellious kid or else this trait would have made me "famous" in school. But at the prime of my teenage years when I was in Pre-University, I met a lady that my classmates and I actually "feared". She is Mdm Tai, an elegant lady with impeccable dress sense. No matter how noisy the class was, the minute her well-polished high-heeled shoes made its first step through the classroom door, the entire class would go silent.

Mdm Tai taught us Economics and she was an excellent teacher. She worked very hard to hammer simple economic concepts through our thick skulls. With her in-depth knowledge of the subject, you'd think she'd be better off in a cushy job working for a business or financial consultancy raking in loads of money instead of standing on her feet all day in a hot classroom inhaling chalk-dust and making sure we understood stuff like Demand & Supply and The Law of Diminishing Returns. But she came to class everyday and in the three years of Pre-University that I knew Mdm Tai, I never recalled her taking a sick day.

If there is one word that described her, it would be "strict" - in every sense of the meaning. She was a no nonsense teacher. During our second year, we had to do weekly exercises from a pink Economics book filled with multiple-choice questions. For those of us who were too lazy to get our work done - and that was all of us - we'd borrow the book from the only other Pre-University class who had already completed the exercise with Mdm Tai and we copied the answers wholesale. We were "brilliant"... but Mdm Tai was two steps ahead of us. She started the class by reading question one and asking "Prem, what is your answer?" I stood up proudly and said "C" knowing full well it was the correct answer. "Very good, Prem! But why can't the answer be "D"? Please explain." The usually talkative, jovial and effervescent Prem could only manage the intermittent "er..... er..... um.... er....". I looked around the class and I could literally see the colour drain from the faces of my chums. "Made good friends with the other class, I see.", came Mdm Tai's conclusion and I was promptly invited to stand on my chair and looking like an Oscar. Not too long after, we were all standing on our chairs. We learnt that Mdm Tai was not interested in the right answer - she really wanted to know if we actually understood what we've learnt . We started taking our assignments seriously, forming study groups and making sure we were armed to the teeth with economics theories and concepts.

Mdm Tai was not all business. We saw her fun side when we invited her, for the first time, to one of our weekend parties at my house. Mdm Tai rolled up her sleeves and helped with the barbecue, made sure the fruit punch didn't have "punch", if you get my drift and when the thumping music played by yours truly came on, she got onto the dance floor and boogie'd the night away with all of us. We all had a blast - especially since we were having a wonderful time with the teacher we "feared".

Someone reading this will ask : "If you're so scared of your teacher, what made you invite her to your party anyway?" The answer to that is simple. While she often berated us severely for our laziness or failure to understand simple theories or simply because we misbehaved, there was one thing she could never hide from us - the care and concern that showed in her eyes and in between her yelling, you could clearly hear that there wasn't a tinge of malice or disdain. That was what made us love and appreciate her. Everything she did was from the heart. We eventually realised that we did not actually fear her but it was the feeling of our immense respect for our teacher. I think we were more fearful of disappointing her.

One evening about 5 years after we graduated, all of us invited Mdm Tai to dinner in town. We hadn't seen her before that. And when she walked into the restaurant, she was as radiant and elegant as ever and her fashion sense was still top-notched. I was surprised when she walked straight to me and said "Prem! Its wonderful to see you again!" and gave me a hug! I fought hard to hold back my tears of joy.

Sadly, Mdm Tai retired from teaching in 2005 and many students will not have the good fortune of experiencing her love, care and concern - even if it is hidden by the massive scoldings. And although in her 60s now, I'll bet everything I own that even if her hair maybe a little silvery, she's still as elegant as she ever was. I'd like to think that her class of 1987 - 1989 did her proud. All of us have successful careers with some of us in very well-known local and multi-national companies as Engineers and Managers while others have gone on to becoming successful entrepreneurs and even teachers, following in Mdm Tai's footsteps.

There is so much more to write about my fantastic teacher but if I go on, this blog will turn into a book. I am not sure if Mdm Tai will ever come across this blog but if she does, I want her to know how much we all apprecite her for everything she has done for us. She was a wonderful teacher and definitely second to none. I only hope that when my son goes to school, he'll be fortunate enough to have a teacher he can appreciate and respect too.

Thank you, Mdm Tai. Our affection and appreciation for you will not be subjected to the Law of Diminishing Returns.

Happy Teachers' Day!

No prizes for picking out Mdm Tai in the picture above.

Note From Premster : Mdm Tai is in her 50s, not her 60s. Stupid, stupid Prem!!