The Field Marshal

The Story of 2 Safety Pins and a Man's Modesty Safety pins. Little contraptions made of twisted metal with a sharp end. Use in tailoring, dressing of wounds, stitching torn clothings, and protecting men's modesty. Where did that come from? Since when did safety pins played such a noble role in the brief history of humankind? Well, that noble role was discovered by your very own Fieldmarshal today. Yup, my modesty was capably protected by 2 humble safety pins. While I have always attested to the usefulness of such a simple contraption, I have never depended on it, as I had so much today, to safeguard my modesty. If you know by now, these little buggers - safety pins - have come to our rescue when skirts get torn, buttons on our pants (near the zipper) drops off, and countless other scenarios. But I have never utilised them for what I did today. To start the story, I am starting on a course today which will continue till the end of the week. Being the lazy bugger that I am, having a course wasn't my cup of tea since life in office is actually more comfy. Life is that great. Anyway, I am not one of those who goes ga-ga over self introductions, sharing what I think about management processes, or presenting the group's ideas etc. My idea of a course is for me to park my lazy bum on a chair and just listen to the trainer drone on about the subject at hand. Spoon feeding is my cup of tea. I can be that lazy sometimes. I have to say the course is pretty interesting. Everything was going fine till we broke for lunch. Being the 'gulper' of water that I am, I had a bladder that was screaming for release. So, at the word go, I got up from my chair and made my way to bladder heaven - the toilet. Oh, don't worry, there's nothing R(A) about what I am gonna share next. It's more embarassing than anything else. Okay, trudging happily to the gents, I did my business as I would any other day. And as I zipping my pants, the entire zipper head came off!!! Yes, the brass like thingy in the picture here. It CAME OFF!!!! It took me some micro seconds before my mind hit the panic button. I was like WHAT THE HELL!!!??? What's the likelihood of that happening? Having recovered sufficient wits, I headed into one of the cubicles and attempted to repair my pants. After a short while, I realised that my attempts at being a tailor was rather unsuccessful. My only option now was to leave the building and look for the trusty safety pins. It is a weired feeling walking around knowing that one's coffeeshop is 'open'. While the open fly is nicely camoflaged under my shirt, I felt really naked. Have you ever felt naked while fully clothed? Well, it's a really weird sensation. While I know that I looked like any bloke on the street, I can't help but fear that someone will see my open fly and think that I am one sick person trying to outrage their modesty. A 5 minutes walk felt like an eternity. After a short search, I managed to find a small little shop in the market that sold huge safety pins. I was going, 'Thank you God, Thank you so much!' Here's a picture of what my 'saviours' looked like. Mine are a sweet pastel blue (see title of post).

Upon getting hold of these little fellas, I made my way back to the training compound - in doublequick time. Rushed into the toilet and started Operations Save the Fieldmarshal's Modesty. Stitching up the front part of the pants where the zipper is, ain't an easy task. The sharp point on the pins looked capable of serious hurt if the stitching is not done properly. And to be frank, I do not want to hurt my crown jewels. After some struggle, I managed to pin up my pants in such a way that my modesty as well as those of the others will not be offended by the missing zipper head, which incidentally is still in my pant's pocket, that little devil.

And the day was saved. By 2 humble safety pin. You can leave your credit card at home. But never leave home without a pair of safety pins. Ignore this advice at your own risk.

You Will Never Walk Alone That's the motto of my favourite football club - Liverpool. Entitled this post with their motto cos' I, as well as Mydaemon, have been hooked on the game Fifa Manager 2006. Being a football junkie, I have always bought the latest version of EA Sports' football management game whenever they are launched. The same goes for this year. Perhaps my addiction to this game comes from the fact that I don't play football in real life, something which I do regret a little, and also that Liverpool can win the English Premier League, something which they have not done in the real world since 1990, under my armchair managerial brilliance. Apart from the countless hours of gaming, I have also been busy with a much more important issue, my upcoming wedding. Although there's still around 6 months plus to go, I realised that holding a church wedding entails quite a significant amount of planning. Firstly, we had to confirm if we can 'book' the priest, the church and the hall on our chosen 'auspicious' date. Then there's the invitations, preparation of traditional gifts, wedding photography, catering and the list goes on. But I am more than happy to do all these lah. It's worth it. Mydaemon has also be the best fiance around, helping me whenever the 'fieldmarshal' in me decides to AWOL the battleground. Things are moving along fine. I am preparing to call up some offers which my friends have generously volunteered some time back. I remember a particular friend of mine saying that she wouldn't mind being the MC for me wedding. She was somewhat glad to hear later that I am not having a banquet, but I am sure a church wedding will still require someone of her talent. You know who you are. So don't try to hide by stop reading my blog, cos' I know where to find you. hahaha..... Jokes aside. Over the last few weeks, I realised that having a Chinese wedding involves a lot of customs and traditions for both the groom's and bride's families. My family is totally clueless to such practices since we are not particularly traditional in that sense. Being a kantang that I am, lost is a good word to describe the way I felt. What to do? Log on to the net lah! That's my last hope of learning about the obsure, and sometimes interesting, rituals that we Chinese go through during weddings. It's bizarre, but most of the websites that provide advice on traditional Chinese wedding are based in US. Yes, US, not China, Hong Kong or Singapore. It made me realised that despite decades of residing in the land of the free, our Chinese brethen there are as traditional as their forefathers who first set foot there. Bizarre!!! Just have to repeat that word. Fact is, I don't care if the information is residing in a US website, or an African one. The important thing is that they contain the information which I need to ensure a smooth and happy wedding. For those we are still single, and still harbouring hopes of having a western-style wedding, here's some advice from your very own Fieldmarshal. First, if you are born between 1970 to 1985, my advice is that you give up that dream of a simple no-frills western wedding. There's no such thing as a simple wedding in the vocabluary for parents of those born in this period of time. Yes, you, you, and you in that corner over there. If you still insist on hanging on to that dream, then get prepared to be cut out from your parents fortune. Secondly, traditions and customs are very important. Lest the severity of this statement is not evident, think of spending the rest of your life thinking what you would have had if you didn't refuse to haul a skewered roasted pig to your wife's, I mean potential wife, parents. Heard that the Cantonese requires a pair of jeans be placed under the roasted meat. Wonder if there's a requirement that the jeans must be Levi's. Would Giodarno do? Thirdly, simple weddings are potentially possible sometime in 2030-2040, when we become parents to children who are preparing to get married then. I am sure most would have gotten the drift by now. Having shared some interesting insights to the world of Chinese weddings, I will now impart my secret manual. Just like those kung fu manuals, Master Fieldmarshal guarantees that the manual will impart to all fellow future 'bridegroom pugilists' the necessary skills to win the hearts of the in-laws. Like all good and responsible kung fu masters, I had certain rules for those wishing to have a peek at the manual. Firstly, the bridegroom must love his future wife with all his heart. Failure to do this will lead to death by bleeding through the seven channels (those who reads Chinese novels would understand what I mean). Secondly, he must be willing to exorcise all evil thoughts, thoughts which include simple western weddings. Thirdly, he must take everything seriously. Don't laugh if the manual tells you to string together 100 needles with a red string. If it has to be done, DO IT. Darn, I am having a ball of a time taking jibes at this. But frankly, customs are an important part of the Chinese society. So, the manual, or in its modern day version, website, I am sharing, is really useful for all couples who are intending to get hitched. However, I have to warn that I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information. So, do read and follow the advice at your own discretion. And here's my secret manual... ... China Bridal.com. Have fun reading it!!!

New Favourite Radio Channel You know something has changed when your radio needle starts hovering around LOVE 97.2FM. Yes, 97.2FM is currently my preferred Chinese radio station. It has just dislodged YES 93.3FM from the perch I have left it on since my university days. Coming at a time when I just celebrated my 31st birthday, I can't help but feel that this change in my taste of music is but one of the symptoms marking a watershed point in my life. I am saying this since I have been one of those louts who laughed at the 'aunties' tuning in to the station in my younger days. Now having made the switch myself, I understand why those aunties and uncles enjoyed the music play spun by the station's DJs. Guess, it is time that I transit into the 'uncle' category. Have to say that I enjoyed the 20s. For those who still think that LOVE 97.2FM is for old fogies, I can only say that they are missing out good music from the early to late 90s. Guess the music strikes a deep chord within me since I have spent countless hours 'killing' songs (杀歌) with my friends in KTVs during our university days. Ur Sweet Lullaby was probably the best crooner amongst us then. I was just croaking most of the time. Think she's still the best songbird around even after becoming a mummy. There are also rumours that Mydaemon is also one 'mean' singer. Eh, how come I have yet to hear you sing? Anyway, listening to the station brings back a flood of memories. Going back to listening to my radio now.

The Worth of My Blog My blog is worth US$3,387.24. Not much compared to well-known bloggers. But it's enough for me to know it is not totally worthless. Find out about the worth of your blog here. Actually, I feel the value of this blog is the connections it made with other bloggers aka YOU. The worth of my blog - $3,340+, the worth of your readership - priceless.

Super Long Weekend The upcoming weekend cum holidays is the 'Big One' for all employees in Singapore. Its akin to striking the top prize for ToTo in terms of a 'super long weekend' draw-edition. The upcoming weekend will most likely be felt most keenly by working adults. I have excluded students here since they are already in the process of slowing down their engines and gearing up for their even longer year-end holidays. So, what will this long weekend hold for me? Well, I will be effectively free for 6 days as I have taken leave on Monday and Wednesday. No office 'visitation' for me till next Friday! It's a huge relief since life in office is getting really drab and highly demoralising. Think I am suffering from some sort of professional depression. Making it worst is that Mydaemon is out of office this entire week. Really miss her company. Thankfully, this depression ends at 6pm when I leave office. No point carrying that burden past office hours. Life's much more than work. Anyway, I am really glad to have the opportunity of recharging my almost flat batteries before going back to the daily grind or boredom in office. Well, to kick off the long break, I will celebrate my 31st birthday over the weekend. No party or expensive dinner for me. At most, I will just have a nice quiet dinner with Mydaemon at some restaurant tucked away in town. Just the two of us enjoying each other's company. As for the other 5 days, I hope to do doing some shopping as pre-Christmas sales are starting for several stores. A good time to buy some big budget items and save a couple of hundreds to spend on even more stuff. On my list are, a bed, bed stand, crockery, cutlery, electronics and various appliances. Hope to find some real gems in the sales. Wish me luck! Apart from shopping, I foresee myself putting in some serious time playing Black & White 2. Can't wait to develop my civilisation and unlock the Tiger divine pet. Looks like my new PC will be working overtime in the next few days. In case my gaming takes away too much time from spending time with Mydaemon, let me say that I am prepared to drop the game any time if she wants me to do something with her. Although I have to say that'd be somewhat difficult, but spending time with her is more important that playing god to some electronic signals. Think Mr Brown did a good job of explaining this conundrum, in his 'All hail the super long weekend' article, between family and gaming. Guess I will go through that phase some time in the future. It's another 6hrs 45mins to go before the official start to the weekend. This is one of those moments when I wish time would just move faster. To all my friends out there, have a super duper long weekend. See you guys next week!

Black & White 2 (New Game) Highly recommended for megalomaniacs out there.

New Books Finally finished 1984. Bought myself 2 new books, Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami) and Crossing the Threshold of Hope (Pope John Paul II).

The Shuttle has landed! Damn!!! I lost the entire post for this at least 4 times! Too tired to retype everthing again. Anyway, here's the new PC which Mydaemon and I bought over the weekend. Cool ain't it? Btw, it's called the Shuttle SN25P. Looking forward to the hours of gaming on it.

Here' my list of Se7en things which Dark Muse invited me to share. Read Dark Muse's Se7en here. Se7en 7 Things I plan to Do Before I Die Always cherish and love Mydaemon Find God and not let myself be lost again Climb to Mt Everest's base camp Have my own photography exhibition Run a marathon Find the version of Macross that I saw as a kid Learn how to draw/paint/'pottery' 7 Things I Can Do Be more patient with others Spending more time with my mum Improve my photography skills Planning more and playing less Jog more often Deflate my ego Be more charitable, since not all charities are NKF 7 Things I Cannot Do Tell lies Believe that there's no 'black' and 'white' in this world of grays Tolerate hypocrites (esp those two-faced people) Stop my dislike for Christians who say that Catholics and non-Christians will burn in hell Stop being the worrier that I am Not playing another PC or console game Not having any friends 7 Things That Attract Me to The Opposite/Same Sex Kindness Generosity Curiosity Filial piety Intelligence A loving and gentle spirit Willingness to challenge my oft-stupid ideas 7 Celebrity Crushes Brad Pitt Evangeline Lilly (Kate) Liv Tyler Cindy Crawford Jennifer Aniston Jeon Ji-heon (My Sassy Girl) Maria Sharapova 7 People I Want to Do This (but are not obliged to): Mydaemon My Sweet Lullaby Byzantine Beliefs Batman Luna Esa Batman Summer Breeze

I am a bad egg I did something really horrible today. Basically, I expected somebody to trust me, while I expressed my total distrust in that person. The worst part is that I told the person in her face that I didn't trust her. It must be hurtful for one person to tell another person that 'I don't trust you'. If I can say 'sorry' to her now, I would. But the context of this entire thing is just too bizarre that a 'sorry' would be bizarre. Being one of those who absolutely hates double-standards, I am guilty of being a hatable double-standard person today. I felt bad the moment that I let loose my tongue and allowed it to say what's on my mind. Yes, I have been known to speak without thinking. And yes, I agree with everyone that that's a stupid thing to do. For speaking without using my brains, wherever it went just now, I have hurt a person. No one deserves what I just did. I will not offer an excuse for what I did. Excuses are nothing but tiresome explanations which are designed by the perpetrator of a wrongful act to alleviate the sense of guilt for taking that action. What I intend to do is to reflect on what I did today and train myself not to do such things again. Refraining from such actions is a good start, but more importantly, I must come to an understanding that what I did is wrong. Call me a purist, but the act of suppresing a wrongful act while still thinking that there's nothing wrong is a cardinal sin for me. Being the non-reflective person that I am, I foresee a long night later as I try to decipher how to understand my mind, and hopefully rein it in and prevent it from hurting anyone in the future. I find it intriguing that I am trying the understand 'me'. Ain't 'me' the person that is typing this post now? But the fact is that 'I' being who I am doesn't understand the entire 'me'. Anyway, my mind is like a monkey that's running every doggone place. Time to catch and tame that monkey so that it will do some good and not go around causing havoc and hurting people. Let me end this post a Buddhist teaching I found: Ancient Pali texts liken meditation to the process of taming a wild elephant. The procedure in those days was to tie a newly captured animal to a post with a good strong rope. When you do this, the elephant is not happy. He screams and tramples, and pulls against the rope for days. Finally it sinks through his skull that he can't get away, and he settles down. At this point you begin to feed him and to handle him with some degree of safety. Eventually you can dispense with the rope and post altogether, and train your elephant for various tasks. Now you've got a tamed elephant that can be put to useful work. In this analogy the wild elephant is your wildly active mind, the rope is mindfulness, and the post is our object of meditation, our breathing. The tamed elephant who emerges from this process is a well-trained, concentrated mind that can then be used for the exceedingly tough job of piercing the layers of illusion that obscure reality. Meditation tames the mind. Henepola Gunaratna, Mindfulness in Plain English (Source: Best of "Buddhist quote of the moment")

Yesterday's premiere of Steven Spielberg's Taken has prompted me to talk about my interest in all things extraterrestial. Little green men, metallic suits, ray guns, are stuff that have captured my imagination at a very young age. I have no idea where this fascination came from. Graphic dscriptions of humans being forcibly taken or convinced to go away with aliens into their blindingly bright spaceships in countless books on UFOs and alien abductions is perhaps the primary reason for my interest in this. Having such an interest ain't good since many have been labelled mad, or looney, for believing in aliens. I believe that most, 99.9%, of the stories or photos are just stories or fakes concocted by pranksters for a good laugh. But I believe that the unexplained phenomenon observed in that 0.01% points to something which we humans currently can't explain, or even begin to find out. Life in outerspace is something which I believe. If the universe is infinite, I find it incomprehensible that planets in other universes cannot go through Earth's mind boggling odds of creating life. Statistically speaking, if it can happen to Earth, why not planet X, Y, or even Z, millions of lightyears away? Not seeing something doesn't mean that the 'something' does not exist. Many a times, the flashing lights or balls of flames in the sky could perhaps be explained by natural phenomenon, but some are still unexplained. So, the verdict is still out on that. At a personal level, I think it is interesting to know that life can exist in other parts of the universe. But being the worrier that I am, my question is, "would the aliens be the nice cuddly ones, or those that we saw in War of the Worlds." I would definitely not want them to be those featured in the Alien movie series. No thing is going to use my body as a host for incubating an alien baby. On hindsight, such things are actually happening now. There are parasites around us who uses a host, be it an animal, human or plant, to keep itself alive or to leech off the host for food etc. BUT we don't have a parasite which explodes from our chest at birth. What would I do if I come face to face with an alien? Fieldmarshal - Welcome to planet Earth my ugly looking friend! (grins widely) Furry Alien - wheeze, hoot, rasp (raises an appendage with a rock like rod) Fieldmarshal - Errr friend, I am not getting to you dude. And what's with that stick? (a present for Fieldmarshal?) Furry Alien - makes strangling sound while pointing the stupid rock-like object at FM. Fieldmarshal - Oh, my first interplantary gift. Cool, dude. (Grabs the stick from the alien) Furry Alien - screeches in high shrilly tones and start making lots of noise. Fieldmarshal - Ah, my very first alien present. Hey there's sort of a cavity for a finger here. What's that. Feels warm inside. (Fiddles with the stick and sticks finger into the cavity) Furry Alien - screeching like a crazed bird and turning more green (if that's possible) Fieldmarshal - (thinking it is an intergalactic way of greeting starts shouting together with the alien) THANKS YOU MY UGLY GREEN FRIEND. I WILL GIVE YOU A SPECIAL SINGAPOREAN 'FINE CITY' T-SHIRT LATER. I AM SURE YOUR BUDS WILL LOVE IT! AND AS A SHOW OF ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP, LET ME USE YOU STICK TO GREET YOU BACK! (points the stick at the alien and puts finger into the cavity, hears a soft 'psssssssfffff' and a sudden gush of warm air, but turns away from the alien after hearing his name being called) Mydaemon - Dear, who are you talking to? Fieldmarshal - Hey, come and meet this cool alien dude who just gave me this wonderful gift. (turns back to ugly green alien). Mydaemon - Hmmm, I don't see anyone here. Just a huge heap of dried green bird pooh. Fieldmarshal - (loss for words) But.. but... it was right where the bird pooh is now. MR ALIEN! MR ALIEN! WHERE ARE YOU? (still thinks that shouting is the best way of communicating with it) Mydaemon - Stop playing with that piece of rock and clean up the place. (takes the stick from FM's hand and dumps it into the trash can) Fieldmarshal - Darn, I could have sworn I spoke to an alien. (takes up a dustpan and broom to clear the huge pile of bird pooh) 'Huge Bird Pooh' (aka alien after being fried by superduper laser beam that kills humans) - f u c ....... (last sound it made) Tsk tsk, what a dirty mouthed alien.

Sleepy... Woke up at 2.30am this morning to catch the Champions League group match between Liverpool and Chelsea. Darn, was once again fooled by the timing, as the match started only at 2.45am. Anwway, I put the 'extra' 15 mins to good use by ironing my shirt, which I am donning now in office. Given the constant crap from Mourinho about the ball not crossing the goal line when the 2 sides met at Anfield last time, signs were that both teams will be out to get a win and the resultant bragging rights. While Liverpool has improved over the last few months, it continues to be hampered by the lack of goals. This is worrisome as no one ever won the Premier League by drawing the entire season. Coupled with the lack of goalmouth action, visiting Chelsea will boast of Arjen Robben and Damien Duff, both hellishly quick. Hyppia and Carragher will have a tough match shutting out those two. I have sobered sufficiently by the time the match kicked off. Liverpool started off well, and controlled the early proceedings. Chances were at a premium, but at least we kept the 'champions of England' at bay. Having survived the early pressure, Chelsea grew in confidence in the later part of the first half. However, both sides found it tough going forward as the defenders have already shut up shop for the night. Second half was more of the same. Lots of probing and 'cut and thrust' by both sides. However, Liverpool was unable to find the goal to finish off a stubborn Chelsea side. While the blues were quick and dangerous and the break, Liverpool were the ones asking the questions. We were denied 2 penalties. One of which I felt was clearly justified. But football, being the game that it is, is always full of such incidents. However, I have to say that the referee was rather lenient to the blues. The game ended a goaless draw. While I have to admit that I was a tad disappointed, but I consider it a good result. Fact is, up till now, all the teams that met Chelsea have lost to them. Ekking out a draw is a good result. For me, it shows that Liverpool is definitely not far, in terms of footballing standards, from the English champions. What they lack now is a goalscorer to justify all their possession. Keep up the good work Rafa. I am sure the lads will find their feet soon. Am in a daze as I type this in office. Looks like a long sleep day in office for me. Yawn...

Cabled and Liberated Finally, Mydaemon and I have free our Mediacorp's shackles by subscribing to Starhub Cablle TV. While I have cable TV at my place for years now, Mydaemon, who conforms to the mantra that too much TV stupefies a person, has not joined the bandwagon last weekend. Well, we have been meaning to 'cable-up' her place since I have been whining about missing Liverpool matches over the weekends for years. Guess the whining paid off. Anyway, I am more than willing to foot the bill. Moreover, the box-set will move with us when our new home is ready. So, in the interim period, it will provide entertainment for Mydaemon, her family and me. Fixing up the box-set was a breeze. It was as simple as wiring it up to the TV and cable point. And voila, you have cable TV. Being the impatient person that I am, I immediately surfed the channels, hoping against all hope that we will get instant access. Well, you can't fault me for having this expectation especially when we have already done an upfront payment for the first month's subscription. Were disappointed in the end as the channels really took 48 hours to activate. Tonight will be the first night that our cable subscription will be put to good use. Yes, I am talking about the 'live' telecast of the Champions League match between Chelsea and Liverpool. Although Channel 5 is also screnning the match, I prefer watching it on SCV as they provide the original commentary from Europe. Which is by far of a better standard than our local commentators. The latter always going into long lapses of silence and funny comment. Listening to the locals is a real bore. Hope Liverpool does well tonight.

Having heard so much about Google Earth, I decided to download it and check it out. After fiddling it with for a while, I actually found out that there's a satelite image of my home. I ain't gonna say where my home is actually located except that it can be found in the north-east area of the photo below. Do try out Google Earth. It's fun to locate the location of your home in it. Have fun!

Who Says Gaming is Bad I have been playing computer games since the good old days of Pac Man, Lode Runner, Digger, Western Bar, Alley Cat, Frogger etc. While not enough to qualify as an addict, I have been known to play a good game for 3-5 hours in one go. Gone are those days since I started working. Currently, I am playing Winning Eleven 8, Call of Duty - Finest Hour, and Prince of Persia on Xbox. Sid Meier's Pirates! comes on and off on my PC whenever I feel like leaving a stream of flotsam and destruction in the Carribbean. By the way, Pirates! is a damn good game. Its original version was released sometime in the early 1990s. Its second incarnation is awesome. My love for electronic gaming, be it on game consoles or PC, is unlikely to wane even as I grow older and into fatherhood in the future. I guess such phenomenon is going the way of mainstream in the coming 5 to 10 years as people in my age group enter middle-age. Anyway, gaming has taken quite a lot of flake from the various interest groups, for obvious reasons. Parents, for one, worry that their kids would become anti-social, develop violent tendencies or become unhealthy due to the lack of exercise. Other social groups argue that there's just too much sex and violence in today's games. Tell that to the developers of Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas. Religious groups have also been vitriolic in lambasting games for being 'satanic', unholy, and downright evil. Yup, there's a call by some churches to produce more Christian themed games. I, for one, will be giving these games a wide berth. Ok, I admit that some games are way too violent and gory. Sexuality is also common with barely dressed beach babes playing beach volleyball in Dead or Alive or Red Ninja.But to me, these are harmless. Granted that some of the scenes are too explicit for young minds. Perhaps that's the reason why all games are rated. If parents don't want their kids playing certain games, they should either, (a) check on the games they are playing, or (b) make sure that their kids can't afford the games. No one's to blame when parents give their kids so much pocket money nowadays. So, if you do not intend to watch what's your kids doing on the PC, then you better keep a tight rein on his pocket money. Many have also argued that gaming takes away too much time for other activities, like, homework, sports, social interactions, and even meals. Well, everything we do takes time. So, the same goes for gaming. But I do agree that there's a limit to how much one should play each day. For me, I used to play until my I cannot stare at the monitor any longer. And that's usually 3-4 hours of non-stop gaming. Actually, the amount of time one can spend on gaming depends on one's ability to cope with life. If a gamer can spend 5 hours on gaming and yet ace his exams, and still play competitive sports, then this fella should continue playing his games. But if the fella flunk every subject each month and is obese, then parental guidance should come in. I do not advocate gaming addiction, but only responsible gaming. A lot of parents ask what's that, or if that's achievable. Well, I can only say that people are unique and a one-size fits all solution ain't the best way to go. Parents, or even adult gamers, should know their kids and themselves. Only with such an understanding of self and their kids would responsible gaming be possible. Having rattled off from the original purpose of this post, which is becoming a habit of sorts for me. I would like to share with concerned parents or spouses out there that one can actually learn something from gaming. Take my example. Was playing Call of Duty the last 2 nights. Was having problem with one of the missions, and had to play it time and again, since the stupid game does not have intelligent save points. Basically, my mission was to take out German soliders who are advancing on my tank factory. The purpose of this mission is to ensure that no Germans get into the factory to destroy the tanks. At first, being the trigger-happy guy that I am, I took down all the soliders, especially those with bazookas threatening to blow the factory's doors off their hinges, that were pouring forth into my sniper rifle's scope. As the mission wore on, I realised that I would be swamped by the flood of Germans who kept pouring towards me. Despite my high 'kill rate', I found that I would eventually miss out that strayed bazooka that would eventually put away my doors. After trying the mission for several times, being the stoopid person that I am, I finally realised something profound. See, told you that gaming is good for all of us. Basically, I realised that I should focus on killing those with the bazookas, or those with the machine guns. Rationale being that these are the units that could inflict the most damage on me. Yeah, yeah, I am not a top rate gamer. Once that dawned on me, I had more success with this mission. Gaming aside, this realisation made me realised that this is a lesson for real life living too. While the management gurus have been harping about the need to focus on the core issues, companies have always had their eyes fixated on the least important of things. With people like me at the bottom of the corporate ladder taking the cue from the big bosses, I would also naturally fall into the same trap. What my gaming experience taught me, was this. Always find out the core issue that needs to be addressed. That's why I am employed by the organisation. To solve problems and not become part of it. Sadly, most middle managers and supervisors are so attuned to the system that they no longer see the real issues. Anyway, my mind has been sharper this few days as the lesson is still fresh in memory. But with time, I am sure it will fade away. The moral of the story is, play more games!!! It is good for you. (To readers: Pls note that the moral of the story is only applicable to those who reflect on the game. It is not valid for addicts and children below certain years of age).

Journey of Faith There's a similarly title post in Zap the Bug, since Mydaemon and I do most things together. Anyway, after much delay, we finally made our way to the Journey of Faith exhibition of Vatican art and artifacts at the Asian Civilisation Museum (ACM) @ Empress Place. Being a Catholic, I was keen to look at some of the art from the Vatican and learn more about my faith. It was my first visit to the Asian Civilisation Museum. Having been to the Singapore Art Museum, which happens to be my old school compound, and the Singapore National Museum, I had no great expectations of the ACM. And having visited both the Britsh Museum and the National Gallery in London it is hard not to compare our local ones with the world's standard. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a well maintained building which actually exudes an aura of heritage, which is somewhat lacking in the other 2 museums. Located at the 2nd-storey, the galleries contained local collections that were displayed based on cultural themes, e.g. Chinese, Malay, Indian etc. I have to agree with Mydaemon that the ambience created by the smart positioning of warm/spot-lights was good. But I still think that it was a tad too dark. This wasn't helped by the smallish font the museum used for information panels. Had to lean close to the panels many a times just to read what the art or artifact was about. The gallery containing the Journey of Faith exhibition, as with the rest, was dark, yet cosy. Playing in the background was a haunting, but beautiful, loops of some hymn sung by a choir. The ambience was about just right. Perhaps being a Catholic helps in my appreciation of the artifacts on display. Could emphatise with most of the themes displayed in the artwork. Learnt that St Peter would usually be depicted as holding the keys and a book, while St Paul would be holding a sword and the letters (Epistles) he wrote. There's a lot of interesting artifacts on display. Perhaps the most intriguing one was that of a gold-coloured crab holding a cross. From what I remember, the crab is a symbol of Christ's death and rebirth, since it sheds it old shell for a new one every so often when it gets older. It's a pity that I could take a snapshot of the crab since photography is not allowed for the exhibition. Might drop by the place again to get a copy of the exhibition catalogue. What's stopped me from getting it last Saturday was the price tag - $32. Took some photos of the museum itself and the publicity banners for the exhibit. Will post it here when I am done downloading them into the PC. Based on my past experience, this could take from between 1 month to never. It all depends on my mood. I highly recommend this exhibition to those who wish to look at really good pieces of art and artifacts, things which are seldom exhibited in our museums. See it before it goes back to the Vatican. Exhibitions ends on 9th October.