X'mas surprise!

Cuzs were back from USA, so we celebrated christmas this year in kind of a low key way with a steamboat buffet at Suntec on X'mas eve. We had an early day and were completely burnt out at dinner time, so the dinner itself was kind of quiet and certainly devoid of the x'masy mood that was floating around. Had planned to go to Clarke Quay for a drink after the dinner & wait for the countdown, but one of my cousins had to go back to Indonesia the next morning, so we went back home at 10 and sat around chatting in the living room. T was seated facing the door and he spotted something unusual. We went to look closer:




It was a REAL golden-coloured rabbit at our neighbour's doorstep! We couldn't believe our eyes! It was a total surprise as we've never seen something like this in the 1 decade (yes it has been that long!) that we've stayed in this apartment. We decided to take a closer look and it was made harder as it kept on running away whenever we were 2 steps away. It looked kind of hungry, so I went to the fridge and looked for carrot sticks and thrown it close to him, only to see it run up the stairs!



We went after it and saw it go into a metal enclosure outside one of the apartments upstairs. We threw more carrot pieces inside and this time it ate it! Think it was bcoz it didn't feel threatened by us anymore as it was quite a fair distance away from us this time.





After a while, we were looking around to see if its owner would come up to look for a missing pet, because there's simply no way it could be a wild rabbit out of nowhere in a private apartment. We thought it would be irresponsible to just leave it there, so we decided to 'adopt' it for a night and then look for its owner the next day.

Made a makeshift cage from cardboard in 10 minutes and we were ready to bring it back into our home! At exactly 11.45 pm, we finally managed to capture it, courtesy of more carrot and a broomstick to lead it closer to the gate, where my cousin's hand were lying in ambush waiting to strike!

Since we were gonna keep it for at least a night, we thought it would be good to come up with a name. After brainstorming for a little less than 2 minutes, it was almost like a 'Eureka!' moment when a few of us shouted out 'Santaro!' together! Can't believe how all of us came up with the same name at almost the same moment =) It's a name twist from a japanese anime about a rabbit called Sentaro that was quite popular at Indonesia, and since it was christmas eve, what better name to give other than this =) So there you are! The latest addition to our christmas eve night that made our night so much livelier!

Santaro in the makeshift cage



More pictures of Santaro at our doorstep before we began our chase:

Looking through the shoe rack



Caught in action (CIA) 1: Thieving around neighbour's potted plant for food



CIA 2: munching on the leaves (look at the barren pot beside! It housed a fully grown plant before Santaro came along and pulled it out to the last root!)



The next day though, Santaro was getting stressed up for getting cooped in the cage for too long, so much so that the 4 corners of the cardboard cage were filled with claw marks, although we left it with plenty of food and water inside. I did some research on the Net and found that rabbits always need plenty of moving space, & since we couldn't let it run about in the apartment, we reluctantly released it and immediately it became much more active again! We followed it for a while & it went around eating leaves in the potted plants again, until it was chased out by the management when some residents alerted them.

2 days later, T discovered another rabbit outside our door again at around the same time when we saw Santaro:





This time it's a fluffy white rabbit! It looked gorgeous but we told ourselves to resist the temptation of bringing it into our house this time to prevent it getting stressed out like Santaro. I couldn't help but to go out and pat it a few times & left it with some food. It had bruises on its back & I suspect its owner must have been a very careless person, or that it didn't want those rabbits as pets anymore & released it randomly in the block. It's a really irresponsible behaviour as these pets are defenceless since it has grown up in a protected environment, and they will be put to sleep, a permanent one that is, if they are handed over to the authorities.

Let's hope that Santaro and his friend will find a responsible owner. I will make that my X'mas wish this year, simply because I can't take them in as the apartment I'm staying at doesn't belong to me =(

A belated merry X'mas & Happy New Year everyone, and wishing all of you a blessed 2008!

Feelin' fulfilled (Part I)

Past fortnight has been amazing for me! A series of really motivating events has really helped me to fight back the depressing mood I've been having for the larger part of this year. Makes me actually feel proud of what I'm doing and also see the silver lining on every single cloud!

I shall start with the first event. It was a regular saturday night (after a long afternoon teleconference session with Kel, Am, Joon, Vinh earlier!) and I hit the badminton courts in Serangoon as usual. Unlike usual days, we had a singapore national squad player joining us that day and I took to the court against him with my usual partner. We didn't do too badly (final score: 21-15) as he was really off-form in the 1st game. After seeing my performance against him earlier, he invited me to partner him when he was asked to play against the 2 veteran players (I wouldn't call them the strongest, but certainly the most stable pair in the group). Those 2 are really arrogant players and many of the members don't like them, although we can't do anything as they were the original members in the group. Anyway, we got down to business and absolutely thrashed them (final score:21-5!)in the first game. They refused to concede defeat and asked for a return match, and this time the score was even worse: 21-3! Totally controlled the match and didn't leave them any chance to retaliate. Has been a while since I can really trust my partner to cover for me when I'm making my foray forward to the net area, where I'm strongest at (at least I think so =), and I could stay fully focused in winning net battles against the opponent.

The following session, he was again at the club and asked me to partner him against the strongest pair in the club: 2 ex-national squad players! I was really excited & pumped up as I know we have a chance against those 2 players that I've never beaten before. Just before we started the game, one of the arrogant players mentioned earlier asked me to let someone else stronger play in my place instead (let's just call this person K). I do admit that K is a better player than me as he is an all-rounder, but I was really dissappointed that I didn't get to play, & K apologized to me for having taken my place later. My partner was flabbergasted that they actually did that to me when I was already on the court, but couldn't do anything with it. They lost the match 21-16 in the end.

Those 2 ex-national players asked my partner for a rematch later, having been impressed with his skills in the first. I was sitting quietly at the side then when I heard him say loudly: 'sure, but I'll only play if I get to partner Hendry in the next game'. They couldn't say no to that and agreed. All this while I was just too shocked to react when I heard him saying that, until he approached me later when the match was about to start, saying 'let's go. They say we've gotta pay 10 bucks if they beat us under 10!'. Has been a long time since somebody really believed in my ability that much when he obviously had the choice of stronger partners than me at his disposal. After warming up, the game started. We were leading by a big margin at the beginning, leading 10-3 as our opponent couldn't cope with our attack speed & fast drives. We were in control till then, before they changed tactics to play a slower game and mistakes started cropping up as we were both fast-play players who thrive on quick plays. Lost the game 21-16 in the end, but we were far from losing 'under 10' that we were predicted to do at the start. With a bit more experience and patience, we could have won the game, but it wasn't meant to be. It was fun though, and although I was huffing & puffing at the end, it was all worth it as I really played my heart out in that game. It has been a while since I faced an opponent of that standard (the last being Raymond/Jim in the Melb Uni Open) and played close to my maximum potential.

Nothing better than having the trust of a teammate that totally believes in your ability and counts on you to deliver in a doubles game. That's why it's always doubles over singles game for me anytime!

Will continue on my other story in the next post =)

WHEN IS THE NEXT TIME I'M GONNA PLAY LATE NIGHT/OVERNIGHT RISK???

IF ONLY...

FATE... Or the lack of it.

I just found out that I could have gotten to know the two of them had I decided to join a friend who has repeatedly invited me to those events... These 2 people amazed me so much with their worldly view and their colourful, vibrant life that I always feel so entertained, enlightened, & cheered up after reading their blogs. Now that I know I HAD the option/chance to actually know them personally, a flurry of mixed feelings hit me hard: dissappointment & regret being the top 2.

If only I have followed him just once, I'd have seen the world that was so different from mine, and become a better person by learning from that experience. If only I have known the two of you personally, I would have had 2 extra friends that I really respect and also cherish for the rest of my life. If only I could reverse back the time, I would not hesitate even for a second anymore to follow the path both of you are leading...

IF ONLY...

Nonsensical Rambling

First day of the month, & I'm back to my old routine: getting insomnia, as I so often had in the past. It hasn't happened for the last 2 weeks when I was back @ indo, becoming a live-in security guard for my bro's new house while he was away on his honeymoon to Taiwan & Korea.

No internet @ home, so I'd normally sleep early after watching late night chinese drama serial on TV. Ok I think that sounds weird. How can I possibly be tucking in early when I'm watching late night drama u ask? Well, it's shown at 12 am and ends at 1, and for me anything earlier than 2 am is considered early. Basically I'm down to the most basic stuff when I'm back @ indo, with no internet at home, & that means I won't be keeping one of the browser pages on my gmail account to see if there are updates even at night (as my customers are all on different time zones), & I won't be logging in to facebook to play Texas Hold 'Em when I'm bored. Admittedly, the nearest & the only place I could get internet connection, 1 that I know of anyway, is in my uncle's hotel (where my big bro serves as GM), which is 5 mins drive away. Yeah I know you must be thinking I'm a spoiled brat, blah blah blah, but whenever I'm at indo many times I just feel like hiding at home & just chillin', although there's really nothing to do. Bro isn't really a tech buff, so he doesn't have any gadgets that are of interest to me @ home, save the PS2 in the living room. I really think that it's the only connection between us, & when we're at home together we'll just sit & play Winning Eleven (soccer game, in case someone doesn't know) late into the night. Nothing complicated, just bonding at the very basic level since we live in pretty different world now, both work & life wise.

Yeah so there lies the dilemma in life. I don't know if anyone else has this thought on the option of living a simple life or aiming for the high-achiever, which comes with lots of stress and fun at the same time. Attending parties, socializing, etc etc. The whole package. I have always been nervous when meeting new people and takes me some time to warm up to 'em, & I don't like that feeling. That's why sometimes I'd shun social events if I knew there would be nobody I can connect to on a personal level there. That's part & parcel of the high-achiever life though, and I'm struggling to adjust to this requirement.

I'm still nowhere near the high achiever status of course, but I guess maybe it's not meant for me, & by this I mean the lifestyle. Sometimes I do feel that I need to have a group that I can hang out with, but I can't seem to find those people. It seems there are really little people of my age that holds the same interest and have the same thoughts. I really like Chinese history as it has a really rich culture from different dynasties & it can teach me valuable lessons through the chinese proverbs, but at the same time I'm also really interested in business related stuff, whether it is to do with finance, entrepreneurship or economics.

Basically my days are filled with work & the rest of the time I'm brushing up on my interest topics. The funny thing is that when I'm at indo, I tend to slow down my pace and I can even go a week without reading newspaper! That's so unlike me at all! I guess people need to slow down somewhat and not go full throttle each day, just like what I'm doing, though many people think that I'm actually leading a very relaxed life, even during my working days, so I have no reason to complain!

Hmm I think I'm really sidetracking too much from the main topic. Happens a lot when I'm tired but still unable to sleep. Mind's unclear & functioning at less than 20%, but it just won't shut down. Oh yeah just remember this happens a lot too during exam time, when I have only rested for a few winks before morning exams and gulped down 2 bottles of chicken essence to keep myself awake. That really worked for me; well at least I still have 20% of the brain functioning in the exam room!

1.30 am now. Gonna try counting sheeps/stars/etc now. At least I'll be asleep when I reach a thousand+ lambs an hour later =)