the yellow ribbon project is a worthwhile project indeed. it helps ex-convicts to reintegrate into our society. a society which can be mercilessly unforgiving sometimes.

in our own selfish chase for the bigger better deal, the idea is to step on and above everyone else to finish top of the pile. in such a scenario, where does the ex-convicts stand? faced with such bleak future, the temptation to revert to their criminal ways are great and abundant. Wldn't that be at a greater cost to society?

of coz, it wld be childish and naive to believe in a utopian world where everyone accepts anyone. you and i are not born perfect and never will be. having said tt, a balance between these 2 extremes is very attainable.

in a way, the yellow ribbon project is trying to attain such a balance in my opinion. to increase the number of employers willing to take in ex-convicts to a certain acceptable level would have meant that the project is a success already. this is due to the fact that there is still widespread disdain towards ex-convicts in many many segments of our society. i have witnessed countless examples and personally, i feel totally sick of such behaviour. to quote one of my ex-colleague, ' cho kam eh, mah si lang, mah si wu bei bor eh ' . a rough translation would be that 'ex-convicts deserve to be treated the same way as normal ppl as they are humans made up of flesh n blood just like u and me.'

'to err is human' goes the maxim and the ability to learn form our past mistakes should be given the utmost importance rather then the punishment meted out and the stigma tt such punishment carries. how many of us can lay claim to a life free of mistakes and second chances?

so today being the end of the campaign, i wonder how much the impact would be on our society and how seamless the transition from prison to society can be for our society ,at times, is a scarier place then behind bars.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh gawddddddddddddd, is it so difficult to toe the straight and narrow? gosh, i nid some help here.

still pondering shld i make the trip dwn to queensway to get the pair of shoes tt i want. cos other places that i have been to, the design is still around but there is no more stock for my size.....DAMN! why such things always happen? haiz, blame it on my pair of duck feet.

all rite, on other fronts this week, have been doing the things i wanna do since long, like, servicing my bike. while maintaining her, the thot of buying a new bike came across my mind. hahahahahaha. shld i or shld i not? hmmmm........

work front is all smooth sailing with no storms in sight. and tt is good! hahaha. shucks.....

met up with some dtoo, panadol man, and hunag and they seem to be in snug jobs...good for them! mtg them for mos next sat....apparently towkay hunag is treating...but a shaker of salt is needed... its been a long time with these dudes... seeing them recount their aussie tales makes me wonder wat wld haf been if i did my degree in aussieland...hmmmm......

time now to brainstorm wat shld i have for lunch now... ciaoz.

'Cause the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes. The house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along, you bet and you bet big, then you take the house. '

----- Danny Ocean (Ocean's 11)

Always liked this quote.

Maybe its because I have always been a risk taker?

back with a review on the new jay chou album 'still fantasy'

basically, its still of the same style as the previous albums with its fusion of rap, zhong guo feng and slow ballands. this successful formuala seems to be in line for a change if not, it just might go stale in my opinion.

personal favorite tracks are 'ting ma ma de hua' and 'ju hua tai'.

the lyrics of the latter is very very well-penned imho. of coz, i am no master of the chinese language but even for a layman like me, to get the inherent sadness of the song means, the lyricist must be doing something rite.

'ting ma ma de hua' has a catchy tune to it and has the jay chou signature of dropping pop culture references into his songs. in this case, jacky cheung and his breakout hit 'wen bie' and chow yun fatt as god of gamblers. the fact that i was already old enuff then to 'appreciate' such events when they happened then makes this song that much more endearing to me. not forgetting the message of being fillial to your parents that this song is putting across.

alrity, off to enjoy the songs yet agian now.....

what do i want in life?

i myself still do not know EXACTLY what i want. VAGUE picture i can grasp but EXACT image, haiz....

tis is bad, very very bad.

BUT at least i know i cant continue with my current lifestyle and thats comforting to know.

things i have done this past week, in no order of (de)merit:

- drank way too much beer / alcohol
- forgo my fitness regime
- forgotten my vitamin regime
- ate way too much early morning teochew porridge
- stik a chainstay guard on my bike, finally.
- comtemplating a job switch
- setting my quest for a class 3 into motion
- spend sometime shopping for my clothes, unbelievable but true
- din manage to play mahjong :(

thats all i wld list out before i bore the shit outta myself.

things i am PLANNING on doing this coming week, again in no order of importance / frivolity:

- meet up with some frens for a unalcoholic drink
- going back to training for stan chart
- remember to take my vitamins and watch my diet
- to buy the clothes / shoes that i have in mind
- bring my bike for an overhaul, or maybe i can do it myself
- study and start looking for an driving instructor
- play mahjong!

seriously, out of those that i have listed out, the most do-able one wld be the running part. all u nid is a pair of shoe and some time and maybe some music on the go and all is set. the rest seems to be dependant on various mutually exclusive factors that would only come together if a tornado can go thru a hangar and leave an airplane in its wake.

recently, i gotten the chance to savour some singing by a sec sch fren of mine. the so called 'out-coming' of his band was pretty decent. with a pretty good-looking gal in tow, a guest singer of his, good looks coupled with good voice and the ability to carry a tune, i thot i saw the winner of the next project superstar. hahahahahaha

anyway, but i digress. back to the point abt my fren's band's outcoming. this fren of mine, we had a so called clinque of frens who had time for everything else except studies back in sec sch days. even then, this fren of mine was kinda tight with me, he has his own troubles and we 2 were always at the front of the class, physically at least. but now, its evident that both of us have gone our different ways in terms of everything. Somehow, this might be the very reason that i am still thankful that he keeps us in his invite list for his xmas chalet every year. it at least gives me a chance to be nostalgic and discuss abt the wat ifs....

isnt it ironic that time being an invention of man, be something that imprisons him till no end??

blardy hell..... i kid u all not, i woke up today at 1305hrs. damn!