You Know The Name, Now Hear The Mix

"Ladies and Gents, DJ Mixfreak is in da house!"

*fans scream and cheer wildly*

Back to reality...

One of the many things I was busy with when I went AWOL from my blog was to get back into remixing. Remixing evolved from my passion for deejaying - and is a whole lot less tiring and stressful. It does help if you own your own studio like I do (ok, ok... I admit that it is strictly home-brewed and nothing like the studios that professional Producers and Remixers work in) and you get to spend as much time in there as you want but only until our 0.5 meter tall apartment warden yells out indicating you've had enough for the day.

Remixing took a back-seat for over a year when I tore down my bedroom studio at our previous apartment to accomodate domestic help when my father became very ill. And I told myself that when everything blows over, I'll get back into doing what I love doing.

So I did. And to spice things up, I entered a remixing competition too! Judging is still in progress but there's no way on God's green earth I'll win considering I've heard my competition. There are some really good 'home' remixers out there.

So, making it's debut on Blogger for the first time, "Highest Mountain" by Robert G, remixed by DJ Mixfreak.

The Christmas Spirit

I love Christmas.

I love the weeks that lead up to the 25th. I love shopping for gifts with my wife as well as for her. I love the Christmas songs that are played on the radio as well as going through the numerous Christmas CDs I own. I love the brightly decorated buildings along Orchard Road. I love shaking hands with the shopping mall Santas. I love sitting down to dinner on Christmas eve with my wife as we enjoy a nice store-bought-home-reheated turkey, honey-baked ham and a nice bottle of red wine. I love everything about Christmas! Especially the "Christmas Spirit" that overcomes me during this season.

Somehow this year, I can't seem to find that special "Christmas Spirit". What is the Christmas Spirit? I'm not sure if I can accurately describe it but I'll give it a go - Its that mixed feeling of joy and excitement and the "smell" of magic in the air that keeps me smiling all the time. Yes, you can actually smell it! Sadly, it seems to have vanished and I am fearful that if I don't find it before Christmas, it'll be lost for another 365 days. I can't let that happen.

So, I'm going on a hunt for this elusive feeling that sets the right tone for the coming new year. And how am I going to do this? By doing all the things I love doing during Christmas. And with a special little boy in my life now, I think that hunt will turn out to be much shorter than I expect.

The search begins...

Who's The Boss

"Alright kiddo, here's the deal.

I've been here a lot longer so let's get a few things straight and we'll get along just fine.

(1) All toys that are round and / or squeak are mine. You can keep the battery operated stuff. Batteries taste terrible. *bleah*

(2) Don't bother fighting me for scraps that fall from the dinner table. I can catch them on the way down in mid-air. Let's see you pull that off.

(3) Casey will lick you shamelessly. I have pride. We'll shake hands only.

(4) I get first dibs on the food and water dish always. No exceptions. When I am done, feel free to beat Casey to it.

(5) I like sitting close to your Daddy with or without you sitting on his lap. Hence, my being there is not an invitation for you to use me as a soft comfy leg rest.

Now that we've got that out of the way, hand me that ball pal!"

- Eddie

A Sad Farewell

Last week, I sold my father's car. It was one of the last few things my father bought and treasured deeply before he passed on and marked a milestone in his life. As such, the keys were handed over to the car dealer with a very heavy weight on my heart.

A milestone? Well, my father was a car enthusiast as a young man - much like his only son. At a point in his life where he was financially well-off, he owned up to seven cars at a go. Most of them were regular cars but the one that he truly treasured was his MG Triumph convertible. And when bad times hit him, he lost all of them - including his beloved MG. Since then, he never really showed much excitement for cars and because of his financial position, he never got to buy a new car. Whenever the topic of new cars came up, he'd say "Any used car is fine. It is just for transportation." But his eyes would light up when we talked about convertibles. I knew he loved them and now that I can probably afford to buy him one - a used one, that is - my father is no longer around to grant me the honour to bring that special smile to his face... the same smile that I saw as a little boy when he started the sporty sounding engine of his British-made silver sports car. This will haunt me forever.

My father worked very hard. At his age where many elderly men were retired and enjoying the fruits of their labour, my father was still labouring. And as a result of his years of hard work and facing many adversities, he rebuilt his business and was finally able to afford a new car. I recall in May of 2003 (a Saturday), my father asked me to drive him to the local Kia showroom "just to see" the new models. I thought it would be fun. When we got there, he opened the door to a Kia Spectra on display and said "This one is spacious" and without enquiring much else, he called for the sales agent to draw up the sales agreement! I felt my chest tighten. I asked him nervously "Can we afford another car? We have to pay a sizeable downpayment!". His casual response was "I'm not afraid of a few thousand dollars."

This was not the voice of pride or arrogance. He had lost more than half a million dollars as a result of unscrupulous partners and legal issues in the 70s - eventually losing his MG - so this did not worry him too much. However, I panicked... without fully understanding that he had carefully set aside a budget for his brand new Korean-made sedan.

He bought the car because firstly, it was something he always wanted to do for a long time. Secondly, he wanted to be independent and get around without waiting for me to come pick him up but most importantly, he wanted my wife and I to spend more time together on our own instead of scheduling our time so that we could ferry him to and from work. However, his "independence" was short-lived when I insisted that he stop driving about a year later after a couple of accidents. And not long before this, I too had bought a new car after selling my 13 year old Nissan. So, my father's pride and joy sat in our apartment's car park waiting anxiously to hit the roads.

The car wasn't always just a spare vehicle. It came in handy when my father became ill last year when my wife drove it between work and the hospital to visit my dad everyday while I worked at his office during the day and headed to my regular job at night. It tranported my dear wife and our baby boy in her "tummy" to work and back till the day he was born - faithfully - without her having to worry about jostling with peak hour human traffic trying to cram into trains or brave long queues for taxis. The car that seemed like my father's extravagant purchase became a boon to the both of us. All it needed in return was a tank of petrol and a good wash once every two weeks.

When we decided to sell the car, it felt like we were abandoning a faithful soul. It pained us both deeply. But emotions aside, it was a financial burden with petrol prices, road-tax and insurance premiums being what they are today. So, for the sake of our financial future, we let it go. Although I feel like I let my father down somewhat, I think the loss is most felt by my wife. But as sad as we were, we were happy to learn that the car will not end up in the scrap yard but will be de-registered and exported to another country to begin a new lease of life. I am sure it will make another owner somewhere very happy too.

It may seem silly but I'd like to say "thank you" to a car that meant a great deal to all of us. I wish it be blessed with a caring owner and many more good years. Goodbye, my friend. We will miss you.

Missing Again?

No, I did not get abducted by aliens (they do exist, you know!) nor did I go on a secret undercover mission to find out the truths that lurk inside Area 51. I sometimes wish life were that dramatic but considering how tired I get these days just running a simple errand, I'm quite content with the life I have... to be able to crash on the couch at the end of a regular work day, flip on the tele and watch everything that gets beamed into my living room - crap or otherwise.

To all who thought something had happened or I had abandoned my blog, my sincere apologies. Its just that life decided to shift to a higher gear over the last three weeks and I got caught up with work, family and all the other stuff. On top of that, I've been having some trouble getting Blogger to work at home and my emails to their Helpdesk have been... er... of no help at all.

Well, I'm back and I guess my next few posts will be about all the stuff I've been up to as well as my reflections on 2006. It has been an eventful year and on many levels, I am actually quite sad that it is ending.

So fasten your seatbelts, folks. The Premster is back.

How's that for dramatics??

Happy Thanksgiving

It is a pity that Thanksgiving is only celebrated in the States. I think it is a wonderful tradition where families get together, share what they're thankful for in their lives and have a meal together.

I have many things to be thankful for in life. I hope you have the same.

Here's wishing you and all your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Couch Camping

Last night, I slept on the sofa.

No, the Mrs didn't get tired of my constant grumbling and toss me out. I was feeling a little under the weather. Kinda felt like a bad flu coming on so I decided to vacate our room where our son also sleeps so that they might not come get what I have.

The last time I slept on the sofa was a few months ago - at our old home - and for the same reason. The sofa was a nightmare to sleep on. It was half my height so my legs would be hanging off the arm rest. I'd wake up feeling even more ill than I was the night before. Understandably, I was a little worried about sleeping on the new one.

The new sofa gets 5 stars out of a possible 3. No, that's not a typo. It provided excellent support and even gave me enough room to sleep comfortably on my tummy. It was long enough for me to lie on without any of my limbs hanging out.

But the highlight of camping in our living room were Eddie and Casey. For some odd reason, they gave up the comforts of their doggie beds and decided that they wanted to hang out with me. They shared the ottoman that was right beside my sofa.

Here's a picture of the two fellas curled up taken from where I was lying. Pardon the picture quality as it was taken in the dark with my phone's camera.

Cute, aren't they?

Calculatingly Funny

NEW YORK -- A public school teacher was arrested today at John F.Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide ruleand a calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-gebra is a problem for us," Gonzales said. "They desire solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.

As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say,'There are 3 sides to every triangle'. When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes."

Baby Proof

Last night, while trying to steer (pardon the pun) a conversation with my wife towards cool new cars on the road, my wife, looking down at our little boy sleeping in her arms, suddenly smiled and said "I can't believe we have a son!". "Nice way of dodging the topic", I teased.

I know she didn't mean to detour from the subject (which inevitably would lead to talk about getting a new ride) but a sudden revelation had overcome her. I knew what she meant because I could definitely relate. When I am at work, everything seems like pre-fatherhood days but when I suddenly remember that I am now a father to baby boy, everything feels different. I feel I have to work harder, prove I am a very important cog in my company's wheel and present myself with utmost dignity. Not that I was ever sloppy but the need to do everything better was overwhelming.

If it sounds like I am complaining, I'm not. In fact, it makes me feel good.

Today, my wife and I were out plant shopping. A fengshui expert earlier said we should have a Money Plant to welcome good fortune into our home. And since we needed all the good fortune we could get, we set out looking for one at a nursery. While there, we scouted for a nice glass vase to put it into and have it perched on one of my ridiculously expensive speakers. My rationale was if it truly brought fortune, I could upgrade my speaker system if the plant ruined it. *pat on back*

Anyway, our conversation from that point on went like this :

Wife : Is it ok to place it on the speakers?

Me : Its ok. We'll just need to put some tabs below the vase to protect the speaker's surface. But what about Captain Crib?

Wife : Hmmm... He's starting to turn on his side and he'll soon be crawling.

Me : He might pull on the speaker wire and the whole vase might come tumbling down.

Wife : (wincing) You're right. No glass vases. Lets get a light plastic one instead.

And so we did.

The discussion came very naturally - like we were seasoned parents. Long story short, I think parenthood has just permanently hit home. And I guess we've just embarked on Step One of baby-proofing our abode.

Our joyride with our son is just about to shift to a higher gear. Time for everyone to "buckle up". *smile*

Tales From The Crib

Our little fella, code-named Captain Crib, has his very own blog right here in our community. Clicking on the image above will take you straight into his crib (aka online blog).

Do pop by when you can. Mrs Prem might just be blogging there from time to time too! So will I.

Hope that's incentive enough. *wink*

Zune-less This Christmas

Alright... The Premster is MIFFED!!

Over the last 13 years as an IT professional, I have developed a certain level of disdain for Microsoft and their products. Their operating systems / software require to be patched every other day and troubleshooting problems are almost impossible because of the ridiculous / cryptic error messages. My life has been filled with "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shutdown" or the infamous Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD). Here's the craziest - "Unable to detect keyboard. Press any key to continue".

On the bright side, it keeps me gainfully employed.

It was only recently that Bill Gates and his boys were getting into my good books with the introduction of better designed software (Windows 2003 and Windows Vista) as well as their entry into the multimedia portable player market with Zune. Then, I read this!

Back in the dog-house you go, Mr Gates. My dollars will be ending up in Mr Jobs' pockets this Christmas after all.

Eddie and Me

In my quest to be "intellectual", or at least appear to be, I have gone back to something I loved doing when I was a young lad - reading.

I was mostly hooked on local writers as they wrote about people and things close to home. I think I must have read at least 80% of the works of local writers back in my teens and early twenties. Some of my favourite writers back then were Sumiko Tan, Philip Jeyaretnam, Adrian Tan, Sylvia Toh and Mr Spooky himself - Russell Lee. After reading almost every ghost story book ever written by Russell, I got a chance to see him in person a few months back at a book signing in a local mall - with his trademark black hat, black suit and black face-mask to hide his true identity. No one knows who he is or what he looks like. And "Russell" is not his real name either. He is, after all, a ghostwriter. *wink*

Anyway, I didn't want to be overwhelmed by the likes of Stephen King or Tom Clancy so I started off with a charming little book called Marley & Me - Life And Love With The World's Worst Dog by John Grogan. It is a story about the life of Mr Grogan and his new bride Jenny. In their journey to becoming parents, they started off by 'training' themselves with what seemed to be a sweet loving little Labrador puppy named after their favourite performer, Bob Marley. Marley grows up to be a riot (not in a good way) but still retaining his unconditional love and affection for his master and mistress. In one chapter, Jenny, suffering from post-natal blues, is seen pounding on Marley when the latter ruined their house. Instead of reacting, the dog just lay there and took the painful beating. It brought tears to my eyes.

Such are dogs. They have a way of understanding their owners and taking the abuse because of love, respect and loyalty.

The story, for the most part, is a reflection of our life with our Jack Russell, Eddie. As a result of a very low period in my life, my wife and my Dad decided to cheer me up with a puppy. Eddie became the baby in the house and my Dad would sometimes tease "Let Eddie be practice for the both of you". And practice he was. On his first day at our home, he kept us up all night because he had kennel cough. I remember I was worried sick about him when we left him at home to go to work the next day. He looked so tiny and frail. I prayed in between work that he would be ok when we returned in the evening to bring him to the vet.

Although a real rascal (he sunk his teeth through our cupboards, pee'd on our bed and clawed his way through our doors), he was forever loving and faithful to us. He saw me through the best and the worst days of my life and even if I scolded him purely out of personal frustration, he'd still come back and ask for "forgiveness", as if he was in the wrong. I love the times when he'd snuggle up by my side with his head on my lap while I watch TV. These days, Casey (our other Jack Russell), fights him for this position. Being the gentleman that Eddie is, he always gives in.

I've yet to finish the book and I should be done sometime this week. But I fear the ending would be a sad one. I won't spoil the ending, for those of you who might think of picking this one up, by posting it here. But if you are a dog lover and enjoy a bitter-sweet story, this is a must-read.

My next conquest will be iWoz : From Computer Geek To Cult Icon.

I know. Stop smirking. I can't help it. *smile*

Firewall

More gadget posts? No, this is not. I get the hint. *wink*

This one's on a movie my wife and I caught on DVD on Saturday night. It's a movie from early this year called "Firewall" starring Harrison Ford as a Vice President of systems security in a large bank.

Jack Stansfield's (Ford) family is held hostage and in exchange for their release, Jack is required to hack into his bank's computers and transfer millions of dollars into the captors offshore bank accounts. For a movie buff like me, I found the story highly predictable because it reeks elements from Air Force One (also starring Ford), Ransom (starrring Mel Gibson) and Hostage (starring Bruce Willis).

There was a little McGuyver moment when Jack took the image scanner part of his fax machine and attached it to his daughter's iPod to 'scan' account numbers off a computer screen. Being a tech-head, I know full well that this was impossibe without the proper circuitry in-between the scanning device and the iPod. I tried hard to explain this to my dear wife but I think she was more impressed that Jack came up with the concept than with my technical knowledge. Oh well....

Overall, a watchable movie but I'll bet one would be even more in tune with the story if they didn't bother with technical intracacies - like me. Definitely not for hardcore techie / geeks.

And if anyone wants to know what a firewall is, read here. Or feel free to ask a question via comments!

Hope you guys had a good weekend!

Something To Crowe About

I am so proud of myself and my Treo today. It just goes to show that The Premster does make sound judgement when he invests (read : flushes hard-earned money down the toilet) in top-notched gadgets.

Palm's Treo has starred in many TV series such as Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, House and even CSI:NY. Everytime the resident heros of these shows whip out their Treos, I beam with delight like a proud parent. The only thing that could make me more proud was if one of my son's first words were "Smartphone". "Dada" can wait.

While trawling the Internet hunting for new gadgets to obsess over, I came across an article titled "Treo plays prominent role in Ridley Scott's new movie, "A Good Year", starring Russell Crowe". Although not a fan of Russell Crowe, I am now anxious to see the movie.

More on what should be the story of the year here.

His Heart Will Go On (Hopefully)

Here's the deal. This young man, after going on a first date, had fallen head over heels for the young lady. And as a sign of his affection, he made this video for her.

Watch (and be severely irked) at your own risk.

Love does make a man do silly things but this fella definitely takes the cake.

Wonder how the damsel of his desire reacted. My guess would be to relocate, beg to be on the witness protection programme and... upload the video on YouTube for the world to see.

Crash! Boom! Bang!

Nope... this is not a Roxette album review.

One year ago today, I met with a car accident. Not my first in almost 20 years of driving but this one shook me quite a bit. Not that an accident would actually scare me from ever getting behind the wheel of a car but the circumstances behind it.

I drive a car that looks fast but really moves like any ordinary sedan on the road. And because of the mentality of young drivers on the road these days, they have to try to out-do you - in terms of flash or speed. If they can't out-do you at one, they'll try the other. The former is relatively safe because it simply conjures the green-eyed monster. The latter, however, can lead to the loss of life or limb. Allow me to elaborate.

While heading to town this day last year, I stopped at a junction waiting for oncoming traffic to clear before making a turn into a major road. I noticed a beat-up white multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) coming to a stop behind me. Not thinking anything about it, I continued to watch for oncoming traffic. A few seconds later, the vehicle that had stopped behind me overtook and stopped on my left. Again, I didn't think much about it and assumed that he was in a hurry.

When traffic cleared, I made my turn and so did the other driver. As I sped up on the clear path, this driver cut into my path from the left to the extreme right side of the road. I slowed down to give him way only to realise that he decided to slow down to a crawl. I was in no hurry so I followed him at the snail's pace he was driving at. Shortly after, he sped off and I continued on my journey. About a minute later, cutting across three lanes of traffic into my path again was the same beat-up white MPV. This time, I had to jam my brakes hard to avoid a collision. The driver proceeded to travel at snail's pace again in an attempt to slow me down. Again, I repeat that I drive a car that looks fast but does not get anywhere fast.

As we approached a bend, he sped off again. I shook my head and continued. I approached a traffic light and noticed that I had stopped beside him. When the lights turned green, I sped up and moved off. Mr Beat-up White MPV chased after me and overtook. That beat-up MPV could really gallop. And anticipating his predictable act, I prepared my foot on the brakes. True enough, he swerved in, narrowly missing the front right corner of my car. I sounded my horn loudly at the driver for his dangerous and inconsiderate act. For this, he responded by slamming on his brakes and my car landed straight into his rear bumper. Fortunately for me, I already had my foot on the brakes or the collision would have been far worse.

I got down and approached the driver, who turned out to be a military man in full uniform! I thought to myself "How can a man entrusted by our Government to protect the country and its citizens endanger the life of a civilian motorist?". Having served in the army myself, I knew what wearing a military uniform bearing our country's insignia meant. When I told him about his dangerous manoeuvers, his casual reply was "It doesn't matter what you say. You collided into me so you're at fault."

This was not far from the truth. According to insurance companies' representatives I spoke to, this appears to be the standard practice. A lawyer acting for my insurance company said that our Courts operate on the same premise. Knowing full well of his position of power in that situation, Mr Beat-up White MPV endangered my life, inflicted damage to my two year old car and was expected to get away with it. As a result of these unwritten 'rules', people have started advantage of this. Cars that require extensive 'rear cosmetic surgery' recklessly overtake unsuspecting innocent drivers and slam on their brakes to cause a collision. With the insurance payout, the "victim" gets to update his car.

We often talk about how crime rate is very low here and how our country is safe. But everyday, I am sure that at least one motorist faces an "attempted murder" and because everyone turns a blind eye, the perpetrator gets away scott-free. One word describes the situation - Disgraceful.

One year on, my insurance company is still fighting the case as, unknown to Mr Beat-up white MPV, the way the cars collided does indicate that he had cut into my path. He thought he was going to get away with this easily. Little did he know that I am not one to back down especially when the accident was caused intentionally.

If I have learnt anything from this incident, it is that people are generally self-serving and if they can take advantage of a situation or another human being, most will not pass up the opportunity.

Drive safe everyone, wherever you are. Although there are still decent people out there, you'll never know who you'll encounter or what their intentions are.

The iPod Killer

In about a week (14 November 2006, to be precise), Microsoft will unleash upon the world (well, to the US for now) what could possibly be the iPod killer. The Zune is Microsoft's first foray into the portable media player business and despite their very late entry into this saturated milieu, it looks like they're headed straight for worldwide success.

For all of you iPod fans out there (me included), here's a list of things that the Zune has / does that the iPod hasn't / doesn't.

Wi-Fi Compatibility (great for updating your firmware - anywhere a hotspot is available!)

WMA and WMV support

3 Inch Screen

Video viewable in portrait or landscape mode

13 hour battery life

Music sharing (via Wi-Fi) with other Zune users (you get to listen to shared songs for 3 days)

FM Radio

Custom background images

Wi-Fi transferring of photos or images.

XBox Streaming

I haven't had the opportunity to try one out myself but the reviews have all been glowing. And anticipating the success, many accessory manufacturers have already produced cases and add-ons for the Zune. So, you'll be able to accessorize your own Zune as soon as you unwrap it.

Considering my 15GB iPod is old and dying (excuses, excuses), I'll definitely be checking it out when it hits our shores. Hmmm.... Zune, it will be mine.... *evil cackle*

If my wife reads this, she'll probably slap her forehead and say "Good God, here we go again!"

Bulb Technology

First and foremost, a disclaimer. I am not taking shots at women or implying that men are smarter. On the contrary, I think the reverse is true. However, our encounter with a sales girl last weekend left my wife and I perplexed. It was very reminiscent of a beauty pageant on TV some years ago when, during a question and answer segment, the host asked a contestant if she'd rather have her makeup kit or her mobile phone with her if she was stranded in a jungle. "Mobile phone!", came her smart answer. "Why?", the host prodded. "Because I can take it apart and send out radiation so that the rescuers can find me", she said with a confident smile. I guess dialling for help was far too difficult under those conditions.

Anyway, back to our encounter....

We chanced upon a table-top water feature (a fountain, basically) while out shopping and my wife thought it would look fabulous in our study room. So, we decided to spring for it. The petite girl who attended to us was unable to get the new fountain out of its box for us to inspect. Seeing her struggle, I told her not to trouble herself and if it was faulty, we would bring it back. I then studied the same unit they had on display to see if there was any assembly required. The following was our conversation.

Me : The bulb looks unique. Is it readily available?
Sales Girl : Not sure but we can order for you also.
Me : That means I'd have to come all the way back here just for a bulb?
Sales Girl : Well sir, you don't have to worry. The bulb uses electricity so you don't have to replace it at all.
Wife (whispering to me) : Was she a beauty pageant contestant?

*sigh*

Thank Yoo, Everyone

Hullo Unkles And Auntees,

Its mi, Dev! The contest for the Pichure Of The Week is over and alldough I did not win, I was in the top 3! I am so happie!!

I jus wanted to thank yoo all for tinking I am cute and voting for me.

Daddi says I now neeed to consentrate on growin up and lerning speling jus befour he went back into the study to rite his blog and lissen to his new Jon Lejand CD.

I luve u all and thank yoo again! *hugs*

Happi Hulloween from my Daddi, Mammi and mi!!

Dev

PS. That's mi on the rite!! :)

Save Room For Cool Grooves

As part of our very predictable weekend, my wife and I head out to town to do a little shopping - groceries, mostly - and I'd usually end up at some CD store or other blowing away hard-earned money on discs. Last weekend was no exception. One of the two albums I picked up was this one from John Legend.

I had only heard one track, Save Room, on MTV and thought it sounded really good. But to buy an entire album for just one song? I've done it a thousand times before (which explains the thousand CDs I own) so why should this be any different? I decided to be 'responsible' and give the album a listen before I actually put down good money for it.

I listened... and I was hooked immediately. If you enjoy R&B and jazz, this is a must-have. Tracks I really enjoyed are Each Day Gets Better, Maxine, Another Again, Where Did My Baby Go, Again and Save Room, of course. Some of these tracks have a real retro feel - you know, the good kind.

Currently playing on my MP3 player as I write this is Where Did My Baby Go.

More on the man here.

Happy Eid

From the premster household, we would like to wish all our dear friends, especially Dandoon, Princess, Zizo, OT and Orange Juice a very happy Eid.

Wishing you a fun-filled day with your loved ones.

Vote For Me

Hullo uncles and aunties,

My nayme is Dev and I am 2 1/2 munths old. I've heard a lot about all of yoo from Daddy and he has a lot of nice tings to say about everyone!

Mammy always says I am really cute espeshally when I smile and always points this big black thing that flashes a bright light at me. Daddy says it captures a still image of me called a picture. Mammy has taken about a hundred of these while my Daddy sits in the study playing with gadgets, listening to music or writing his blogs. He really needs to get a life.

Anyway, Mammy thinks I am cute enuff for a baby competition, so she has entered me into one. Its called Canon Pic Of The Week. Its no big deal but wouldn't be kool if I won? I'd be so excited!!

So, if you think I'm cute too, please vote for me, ok? Thank yoo. *hugs*

Deepavali Cheer

Its Deepavali today. This is the day that Hindus celebrate the triumph of good over evil. For me, I observe it as a renewal process... a renewal of my faith as well as my commitment to my family and loved ones. My wife, our son and I aren't celebrating this year because of my father's demise - as part of the year long mourning process.

The day didn't start out as well as I hoped because I woke up with a terrible headache. Long story short, the headache was eradicated three super strong asprins later and I am feeling much better now - well enough for an entry to my blog.

I have not been feeling too good since last Monday, hence my gloomy post earlier. But I managed to sort it out in my head, shared my thoughts and feelings with my wife and I was feeling much better by Thursday night. To add to my revived cheer, I got word that my new smartphone was arriving on Friday! Did I mention that I had an obsession with gadgets? What? About a thousand times??

Anyhow, I woke up bright and early (after only 4 hours of sleep) to head down to the distributors to collect my brand new Treo 750v. Needless to say, I spent all day with it - like a new found love. We got to know each other and I eventually "told her" all my secrets. In tech speak, that means 'transferred all my data from my old Treo 650 to the 750v'.

My new Treo 750v accompanied us for our 3 hour family outing today and performed well - by not adding to my already throbbing head. But I still miss my old Treo 650 - my constant companion for about 2 years through thick and thin. It had failed on me a few times but still, I depended on it heavily.

So, as part of my Deepavali renewal process this year, my constant companion has been renewed. I hope for many good years with my new Treo 750v... or at least till the next hot new gadget hits the market. ;)

The Old And The New

Reminder : Don't forget this, ya?

The Other Side Of Premster

Most of the people who have known me from the turn of the century onwards would describe me as a mild mannered workaholic geek. I take that as a wonderful compliment. Aside from enjoying quiet time with my family, I enjoy my work and indulge in gadgets. But there is another side of me that only friends from way back know - and that is I was once... *drum roll please*... a deejay!

"Surely you jest!" or "You've got to be kidding me" would probably be what you're thinking right now. But it is true. I even had a stage name- DJ Mixfreak! Ok, stop giggling. ;)

I started deejaying at the age of 14 when I accidently got roped in to help with a friend's mobile disco (companies that provided disco services at your doorstep). Being one who enjoys music, I was intrigued by how the deejay matched beats and mixed music and that curiousity got the better of me. By the age of 15, I was manning mic and turntables solo, freelancing at clubs and discos when their in-house deejays were on annual or medical leave. I entered a nation-wide deejay mixing competition at the age of 23 - and won. A one year contract remixing for some local performers, deejaying gear and bragging rights were mine.

By the age of 25, I started remixing tracks for local clubs. Most of this was done from my home studio and deejaying took a back seat. I 'retired' from deejaying at the age of 30 due to work commitments and poor health but my enthusiasm for the trade never died. I still remix in my spare time - just for kicks.

By the way, I have an Eid gift for my regular visitors (you know who you are). If you have a Gmail account (or one that can accomodate / receive a file of at least 10MB), please email your address to premster.blogspot.com@gmail.com before 24 October 2006 to claim your gift.

Hear from you soon?

The Blue Blog

I've been feeling down over the last few days. Been thinking a lot about my Dad. So many things are happening around me and and I am constantly laden with everyone else's problems. Then, someone said something to me recently that hit a very raw nerve. I never saw it coming - so it really stung.

Because they are loved ones, I take their plight very seriously but everyone is too full of themselves to realise that their words and actions drain me physically and emotionally. In situations like these, I always turn to my Dad. I no longer can.

So these days, I turn to my blog to rant. When I logged in today, I noticed something I never saw before. My blog was blue - and a dark shade at that! It felt gloomy and miserable. So, I decided to spruce it up, thanks to the Blogger template designers.

The blue blog is gone. Ah... this looks a whole lot happier. What say you?

Things That My Head Fill

When we moved to our new place, I promised myself a 43" plasma TV and today, it is proudly mounted on a wall in our living room. When I stand back and see how little space it takes up on the wall, I wish I had sprung for the 50" one. "It would be like we were at the cinema if we had it", I constantly lament to my wife. Too late, I guess.

In comes technology to the rescue. Toshiba has 'invented' a helmet that will allow you to experience a 360 degrees view of a TV programme. It is as simple as turning your TV on and plonking this monstrosity (its 3 kilograms!) on your head. Hmmm... I don't remember the helmets used by the boys on Apollo 13 being this big or looking this frightful.

Halloween is just around the corner. I'm tempted... it'll kill two birds with one stone.

More here.

Jazzin' Things Up

I am not a huge fan of record companies teaming up old school crooners with current pop performers. But a couple of weeks ago, I saw Tony Bennett's latest CD featuring himself performing classic tracks with some of today's well-known names and thought "this might actually be good". So, it was a case of great minds thinking alike (or fools seldom differ) when my closest friend in the world bought me this CD as a birthday gift. I was thrilled.

This CD is definitely full of gems performed by the biggerst stars like Michael Buble, John Legend, Diana Krall (*woohoo*), James Taylor, George Michael, Stevie Wonder and Sting. The tracks are not "enhanced" to sound more modern so what you get is still the good ol' feel. I haven't stopped playing it since I got it.

My absolute favourite tracks off this collection are The Very Thought Of You, For Once In My Life, The Good Life, The Best Is Yet To Come, I Left My Heart In San Francisco and my buddy's favourite - If I Ruled The World.

And hearing how much trouble he went through just to find this special CD for me was especially heart-warming. Everyone should have a friend like that.

Thanks for the fantastic gift, W.

Shop Till You...Smile!

Last weekend, my wife had a few of her friends over and needless to say, a house filled with women is really not a place for a guy like me to be. I had a couple of errands to run and took that opportunity to skip out to town.

While shopping at one of our gadget malls, I texted an old friend from school and coincidently, he was nearby. We met for a cup of tea to chat about the good ol' days as well as to talk about what we love most - gadgets. It was a pity he was rushing off to see his mom, who was not well, or we would have chatted till the cows came home. And just as he was leaving, I ran into a close relative of mine. Without going into details, the meeting saddened me a great deal even though I was glad to see him. Anyway, I wish him well even though the path he is on in life is very worrying.

I still had a lot of errands to run and one of which was to get a birthday gift for a former colleague / good friend. Shopping for him was tough. "What do you get for a man who has everything?", was the question of the day. On top of that, the chance meeting with my relative was weighing heavily on my mind. So, for a long while, I was roaming the malls aimlessly until I came across a small, thumb-drive looking device in the window. It was labelled "Sony" and that was enough to peak my curiousity. I walked in and was told that it was an MP3 player. I asked to see it. "No big deal. Apple has the iPod Shuffle so Sony is just a copy-cat", the smart-aleck voice in my head went - until it was demo'ed to me.

This little thing, no bigger than my thumb (disclaimer : I have a big thumb!) played MP3 and AAC files, stored data, had a built-in radio, a sports timer for running or cycling and even supported playlists. It had a OLED display which was crisp and showed you clearly what was playing or the radio station it was on. And if all this was not enough, a 3 minute charge on this baby allowed you to run it for a full 3 hours! My unwavering integrity was quickly relocating to a new camp. "Beat that, Apple!", went that voice in my head.

I suddenly found myself smiling at this little device. I knew that my friend would love it as much as I did. So, I got it - two of it, to be precise.

Well, it made me smile, didn't it?

All Pooped Out

I was feeling a little blue on my birthday because this the first birthday without my Dad in 37 years. So, to cheer me up, my wife decided on a mini family outing - with our little boy. This is the first time he was actually going out with us and not headed to the doctor's for his monthly medical evaluation and vaccinations. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, with the baby and all, but I thought a change to our weekend routine might help.

Although we only stayed out for about two hours or so and aside from the fact that both our arms were aching from carrying Junior (we were 'clever' enough not to buy a baby harness or bring his stroller), we actually had a good time. And he was totally well-behaved too! No fussiness or being Mr Cranky Pants. He calmly watched people walking by and enjoyed the colourful things he saw. Our biggest fear was if he needed his diapers changed while we were out. My wife told him "Please don't poo while you're out, ok?" And he obeyed! He didn't till the end of the day!

That's my boy!!

Above : Picture of our little boy slouching in his car-seat tired from his two-hour outing.

I Turn 37

Premster's Birthdate: October 7

You are an island. You don't need anyone else to make you happy. And though you see yourself as a loner, people are drawn to you. Deep and sensitive, you tend to impress others with your insights. You also tend to be psychic - so listen to that inner voice! Your strength: Your self sufficiency Your weakness: You despise authority Your power color: Maroon Your power symbol: Hammer Your power month: July

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

From This Moment On

Its been a really long while since I did a post on new albums I've purchased. Not that I have not shopped for any in the last few months but most of them were not worth mentioning. Last weekend while out shopping with my wife, I picked up Diana Krall's latest jazz offering together with two other CDs. Diana has never disappointed me before. Last Christmas, I found it very difficult to get into the spirit of the season but after buying her Christmas album, I was humming Christmas tunes till the new year.

Did she disappoint with her new album? Negatory! It seems that she keeps getting better and better with each new album produced. Tracks that'll keep playing in your head are "It Could Happen To You", "Isn't This A Lovely Day", "How Insensitive", "From This Moment On" and "Day In, Day Out". Oh heck... the entire album is fabulous!

More on the Princess of Jazz can be found here.

A Dog's Life?

I found this picture on my mobile phone taken about a week before our son was born. I was busy working up a sweat cleaning and mopping in preparation for the arrival of our bundle of joy and when I felt I needed a break by crashing on the sofa, I found it was occupied by none other than the Jack Russell Duo - who were sound alseep.

Can someone remind me... was the phrase "A dog's life" supposed to be a bad thing??

Value Of Life

How much is "life" worth? I'm not referring to the popular magazine sold around the world.

About 15 years ago, I was a fan of a show called Northern Exposure and in an episode titled "Ill Wind", Maurice (a self-centered retired astronaut) was angry that Chris (the town's radio deejay) saved him from falling off a building. Maurice's anger stemed from the fact that he felt he was now unduly indebted to Chris. He asked Joel, the town's only doctor, "What is the price of a human body?". Joel tells him that his University professor did a similar study and came up with US$29. "I knew life was cheap!", came Maurice's flippant response.

I've been thinking a lot about life these days and this has put me in a solemn mood. Perhaps it is because I am turning 37 tomorrow. Perhaps it is because this will be the first birthday in 37 years I won't have my father with me - nor will he be for the rest of my birthdays. Or perhaps it is because of how people close to me talk about dying as if it was as simple as flicking a switch.

My wife and I spent a good six months of 2005 in hospitals - visiting, that is. A total of three of my family members, including my father, were in hospital. My father spent the longest time there starting in May till he passed on in January this year. One of the two relatives was in as a result of an infected toe because of diabetes - infected to the point that doctors recommended amputation. "If they amputate my toe, I'll kill myself", he said back then. He didn't go through with the surgery and by God's grace, his toe has healed somewhat. Last week, we chatted again as usual. Over the last few months, his eyesight was failing as a result of diabetes again. "If I go blind, I'll definitely kill myself" came his finite reply.

While I do feel sad for him, a single man over 50 and living alone, I can't help feel angry at his constant proclamation about ending his life, even though he has the support, albeit minimal, of the family. Why am I angry? Read on.

My father walked in and was admitted to hospital on 12th May 2005. He was scheduled to stay only for a few days for observation. This escalated into a major spinal issue and everything went downhill from there - putting him into a wheelchair and unable to walk or stand on his own. Doctors talked about surgery but were too afraid to operate initially because of the delicate nature of the surgery and my father's age. They said there was a possibility that he would not make it through the surgery. I tried hard to catch my breath when I heard those words. I talked to my father about the only high-risk option available to him. After listening to me, he said "Let's do it. I'll be ok". When I asked him if he was sure, he said "Definitely!". I made the arrangements with the doctors despite fearing the worst and true to my father's words, he made it through. Even his doctors were amazed at his will-power. "He a real fighter", the surgeon told us. "That's my Dad.", I replied.

He was in severe pain from the surgery with tubes coming in and out of him at the ICU. But through his groaning, he would enquire if I had eaten or if his office was being taken care of. And a few days after his surgery, he told me "I am looking forward to going back to my office". I smiled because I knew he would fight hard to get well. It was a load off my shoulders. At a point close to his full recovery where he was able to walk with help and support, he suffered a stroke which affected his left hand, left leg and his speech was impaired. I stood by his bedside and cried thinking how life could be so unfair to him especially when he was so close to his recovery. My father, on seeing the tears in my eyes, mumbled something which I could not understand at first. It was after a few attempts that I heard the words "I'll be alright very soon."

He left the hospital three months later still in a wheelchair after doctors said there wasn't much more they could do to help him. He celebrated his birthday two days later. After the small celebration was over that evening, he called me to his room to say that he wanted to go overseas to try other alternative treatments. "When do you want to go?", I asked. "As soon as possible", came his response. My wife and I made the arrangements and the three of us were on a plane two days later. While in flight, he said "I will not be bringing the wheelchair when I return."

My father made good progress while seeking treatment overseas. He even sent us photos of himself taken by family friends there showing him "walking" to his physiotherapy sessions and even raising his left hand to wave. I was very proud of him. He fought hard and almost won - until a massive stroke took his life.

Despite the fact that my father was an old man and at that point faced with the prospect of being wheelchair bound for the rest of his life, he worked hard to be free from his four-wheeled prison. Even when he was overseas, we talked over the phone and in-between conversations, he'd always say "I'm getting better. I'll be back soon." And in spite of the ordeal of the surgery, strokes and other complications along the way, I never once heard him say "I'd rather die". He did anything and everything he could to get well. God, I believe, had bigger plans for him.

Its no competition but my relative's suffering, in my opinion, pales in comparison to my father's. Still, he wants so much to end his life but my father's was taken even though he fought to go on. This, to me, is the greatest tragedy / injustice of all.

During my low days, I sometimes feel that life is too long a haul. But when I think of my father and how much he wanted to live, I feel shame to even entertain these thoughts. What I've gone through in life is nothing compared to what my father had to endure. And now that I have a son, I hope to bring him as much joy as my father brought to me - and for as long as I can. I believe my father persevered for the very same reason.

In the end, I guess its how much you value your life - not your existence.

When Gadgets And Kitchens Collide

Everyone knows I am a gadget fanatic. I get excited over anything that has a digital screen, beeps and has loads of buttons. My dear wife? She loves cooking and baking. So, it was a match made in heaven when we were out shopping for kitchen appliances while we were having our home renovated.

While shopping for an oven, we came across a variety of brands and models. We settled on a Electrolux built-in oven which was touted to be a "smart oven". My wife thumbed through the manual and said "This has pre-defined programmes for Lasange, Pizza, Roasting Chicken, etc. Just pop it in and press the button." She also mentioned something about a long metal rod called a "meat probe" and I made an inappropriate joke about how it would benefit our salesman, who appeared to be gay. Shame on you, Prem!!

"It costs a lot more than a regular built-in, dear.", my wife said. I looked at it and analysed. Digital screen? Check. Beeps? Check. Lots of buttons? Check. And it was brushed metal too! "Technically sound oven", I thought with a smile. I gave her the thumbs up to go for it. Nothing like digital screens, beeps and buttons to make a kitchen feel high-tech.

Yesterday, I got to see the "smart oven" in action as my wife decided to take it for a test drive by making Shepherd's Pie. The final product? Mmmmmm.... it was heavenly. My wife appeared excited by the performance of the oven and the perfect Shepherd's Pie that resulted.

Her lovely smile and my satisfied tummy made for a perfect end to the weekend! The "smart oven" made us both happy.

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!!

Home That Prem (And The Mrs) Built - The Final

Alright everyone, let's all collectively breathe a huge sigh of relief. Our home is finally ready. No more frustrations, late-night discussions and hurling verbal abuse at our designer - in my mind anyway. Here are the before and after pictures of our place. Hope you like them - the "after" pictures, that is.

Our Living Room (Before)

Our Living Room (After)

Our Living Room - Another View (Before)

Our Living Room - Another View (After)

Our Dining Room (Before)

Our Dining Room (After)

Our Kitchen (Before)

Our Kitchen (After)

Our Bedroom (Before)

Our Bedroom (After)

Mrs Prem and I went through a great deal of stress to get this done. Well, Mrs Prem bore most of the stress. She did an excellent job! In all fairness, our designer did an excellent job too. Kudos, Angela!

What do you think?? Be kind, ya?