The good old arcade days

I have not been much to the arcades for quite a while.
Most local arcades have shut down. The one in Orchard Emerald, Peninsula Plaza, Lucky Plaza, and my favourite, the one in Shaw Towers.
The remaining arcades suffer from dwindling business. Clementi and Jurong East arcades have downsized.
Many others looked like graveyards, and its only a matter of time before they close.

Arcades have always been a great place to make friends for me. Coupled with the gaming webpage I used to have, I got to know a group of gaming friends, both male and female.

I played mainly fighting games, and my gang will meet up every Saturday to practise against each other, all for the name of fun. My group was pretty huge, say about 10 people or so. We will crowd around our favourite arcade machines and dominate it. "Intruders" do challenge us, and if he's really good, we will take turns trying to kick him out.

We were obviously not the only arcade gang around. We do get in "fights" with other gangs.

There was this rival gang led by someone nicknamed "Moonrun". Most of them are bengs. Recalled theres this guy named Alfred, a small fat boy. He's POOKING arrogant, but unfortunately for us, he has the gaming skills to back him up. It will always be one member of his team versus any of us. A mini competition, for pride.

Then there's this gals' gang. Very nice people who are well-liked by both my group and Moonrun's. As female players, their presence in a man's arcade world, playing fighting games , is attention grabbing. When these gals play, guys crowd like bees to honey. Oh, guys are POOKING perverts! Unfortunately, most gals just don't really make the cut in fighting games, just like how gals are stereotyped to be poor drivers when it comes to parking. So sue me! Anyway, these gals are into anime cosplay. Kawaii!!!



A Saturday morning outing at the arcade will end with a dinner at night at our favourite endorsed restaurant - Burger King. It helps to let us know each other better outside of gaming.

Now that our group is disbanded, I only keep in touch with a few of them. If you are reading this, just wanna say thanks for the fond memories.

Arcade dies, good memories remain till the cup of ice melts.

Getting angry

My wife-to-be and I were watching the news on Channel 8. They were showing this footage of Lebanon, more precisely, whatever is left of Lebanon. Wife-to-be is not much into current affairs, the only news she read being that of the gossip filled Wanbaos (night newspapers).

She was somehow upset over why Isreal wanted to bomb poor Lebanon, and I spent some time explaining to her the history and why the war started.


Photo: What Lebanon should be.

It set me thinking about this very human emotion - anger.

Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to fear.
And fear leads to the dark side.

Anger is a vicious cycle.

Typical WWE storyline.
A scolds B.
B gets angry and attacks A, but the referees hold them back.
A is not going to take it lying down, and challenges B to a wrestling match.
It doesn't matter who wins, because the one who lost will say the win is a fluke and challenges the winner for a match at the pay-per-view.
It never ends until Vince McMahon feels the storyline is stale.

It's always easier said than done to control your anger.

Here's a tip.
In any argument or buay song instances, there is NEVER a SINGLE side that is wrong.
If you blame it SOLELY on someone, you will only carry a grudge for the rest of your life.
If you blame it SOLELY on yourself, you will only feel depressed.

Is it so important to find someone responsible?
Why is pride so important that revenge has to come into the picture?

Learn from the past, but always look forward.

A moment of anger can cause serious aftershocks.
3 minutes of destruction equates to 3 years of construction.

Before you start getting angry, tell yourself
HE WHO STARTS THE FIGHT IS WRONG.
And make sure your other half knows this.

May you find peace in your way of life.

Shingo T - The Cook Wannabe

I was on urgent leave yesterday - the lame reason being that I realised I left my pass at home after I reached the outside of my office.

No pass = No access.
I wasn't in the mood to take chances to sneak through security.
Quite frankly, I also wan't in the mood to work that day.
So heck.

When u start working, u start to appreciate that leaves are precious.
I was determined that it should not be a wasted day at home playing games.

So I set my non-gaming target upfront. With the excess time that I have left, it will go to gaming. Not being able to game is killing, but its an addiction I have to control.

I decided to add cooking to the checklist. Being a while since I last cooked. Had taken half a year of cooking lessons a few years ago. But I was taught the theoretical techniques, never the practical skills, which really matters.

Shopped for ingredients in the afternoon, determined not to miss any ingredient out. Anyway, I shall just fast forward to the final results.

Long beans with Yong Tau Foo - My wife-to-be found it too fresh (ie. not cooked long enough).

Ginger Chicken with chilli and capsicum - Added too much starch. =( And gravy not salty enough.

Fried Sesame Eggs - Turn out to be the best dish. Seriously speaking, its hard to go wrong with eggs. As long as it doesn't go BBQ, it will turn out good. Eggs smells really good with sesame oil. Its machiam like my Granny's signature dish. I still can't cook as well as her.

Ok, so it turned out to be a cooking disaster. Mum-in-law must have crossed her fingers when she said it was ok. Pretty much embarassed, guess I should have stayed with the basic dishes. =(

Wife-to-be was supportive. She had no choice, no one bought alternatives for dinner.

Must learn to cook more, and BETTER!
Must start setting realistic targets again.

Cheers!

Parabens + Makeups are evil.

Some healthy advice from Shingo T.

Do yourself a favour. Go check the ingredients of your daily facial foam once you get home. If it contains "paraben", please do throw them away. Parabens are preservatives, so that your facial foam can last for 2-3 years. But they cause breast cancer, MOST cheap brands will contain them. Even some expensive brands (Biotherm for eg.) have them too.
Do a simple search for Paraben on Google and you know I'm dead serious about it. POOKING manufacturers.
UK Health Report
The problem with our media is that they asked people to go for mammogramms.
But never tell people how to prevent breast cancer.
Anyway, glad my wife-to-be has switched facial foam months ago.
Better late than never.

And for gals, note that all makeup contains trace amount of mercury and lead. Its an essential substance. Please wash them off ur face properly before you go to sleep. POOK the cosmetic companies too.

Oh, I have found a way to double your money.
Share with you guys another day.

The Pinball Machine

Below is an extract of an email typed by my buddy.

"but got one very interesting eg is he says this kid,.. used $43 bucks and bought a pin ball machine.
but then he cant put in arcade becuz there are other machines ard.

however he notice all the ppl at the arcade having crew cut.
So he fig there is a barber ard lar.
He made a deal with the barber to put it in his shop for 20% of his profit so tt the ppl waiting can play.

Everyday he earn $10 and gives the barber $2.

then someone come along and offer him $80 for the whole package.
but the boy laugh at him and compute his total earning possible if he keeps it for 10yrs.

assuming all other condition remains the same.
there are other parts to this story.. but too long to type lar."

I have always been a firm supporter of residual income.
Think about how you can work for yourself, not anyone else.

Bill Gates earn money when he sleeps.
What happens when you get retrenched tomorrow?

Love the job, but never the company.
Because you won't know when it will stop loving you.

Proud to be poor!

Though there were undeniably some dark spots in my childhood, I have always been proud of my past.

I'm proud that my family was poor. Though this may sound like a "sour grape" that my dad ain't as rich as the rest, but its true.
It taught me independence.
It taught me never to take things for granted.
It really make me appreciate the things around me.

My parents are the typically factory workers. They were too poor to continue studies, despite their good results.
Mum wanted to study medicine, but didn't have the means and ended up spending her years working for the same factory.
Dad wanted to be an architect, but ended up being an electrician and then a haulier driver for the same reason.

Life was poor but we were decently contented.
We never crave for anything extra. We purchased what we could afford and wanted nothing more. When you have low expectations, life is great.

I was given control of the keys during since primary 4, after granny went back to Malaysia. My parents were at work, so what better for a home alone boy do? No, I wasn't aware of porno or whatever then. All I wanted was to explore.

I went to see the world on my own after school hours. I had a fascination for buses. I memorised the bus guide, and was an avid collector of bus tickets. Yes, bus tickets are cheaper than toys, ok? I will make it a point to take all the different buses routes in Singapore and collect their tickets.

Buses that go to Jurong Industrial Estates were the most memorable. The place gave me the creeps. Chimneys, distillation plants etc... And the bus driver will ask me where I am going everytime I'm on the bus. And I will just say "Just want to see see look look". It was a loop bus service, so I will go one round.

Journeys to explore various interchanges were exciting. On a trip to Ghim Moh Interchange, I realised that I was lost. Time was tight, because I had skipped my tuition class (which is 2 hrs long), and had to reach home before Mum queries why I'm home so late. An elderly woman whom I had asked for directions gave me all her coins when she heard I was lost. I wanted direction, but ended up making a profit.

Thank you, old granny, wherever you are. All I know is that u live in Bedok and had come to Ghim Moh market.

And for those wondering whether I did end up taking all the different bus routes, I will say I tool abt 50% of all bus routes then. As for the remaining, I cheated by picking up bus tickets on the floor.

I am poor, but damn, I'm smart!

Introducing... Mr Ego - Personal Assistant

I have been reading this book entitled "Self-made millionaire" by Adam Khoo. For those who do not know him, he's a self-made millionaire (duh!) at the age of 26. Considering that he spends 2 years in National Service, you gotta agree its quite a feat!

I shall quote a little experiment from his book (hopefully this is still within copyright limits).
Spend 5 minutes to write down exactly 5 reasons as to why you are not rich.
Ok, I know you readers are probably too "smart" to actually do that, but trust me, its for ur own good. When you are done, scroll on.











Ok, so you still decide to read on, huh?
Ok, enough silly excuses as I continue Adam's interpretation.

How many of these reasons are caused by environmental?
Reasons like
(1) My parents are not rich, unlike my peers.
(2) My luck just plain sucks.

And how many are actually self-induced?
(1) I spend too much time on computer games and neglect finding opportunities.
(2) I go back too tired and has only time for TV.
(3) I do not know much abt starting a business.

The bad news is that if u blame things to environment, you are destined to be poor (unless lottery, jackpot etc...). Its because you CANNOT change what is going on around you.
The good news is that if u blame things on yourself, you can actually change it!

Spend too much time on TV => Then watch less TV.
Know nuts abt the finance => Start reading on it.

My interpretation:
Blame yourself more, and then take the chance to do some corrective action.
Blame it on others, and remain a loser!!

Adam's book is actually better than "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" in my opinion, because I can relate more to Singapore-based opportunities and mindset.

So how do you get started to change your life "for the better"?
Find out what's wrong, and set targets to change!

How often have you set targets for yourself but have not achieved it?
Here's how I do it.

Close friends know me to be an egoistic person (hopefully not too cocky). I sometimes announce to them that I will do something.
Months ago, I told my colleagues that I will run the Marathon this year (which has since being adjusted to a half-marathon). And that has inspired me to practise jogging, despite my years of sports inactivity. Its ego that is driving me forward. I have sent the email out to so many people, no way am I going to lose face.
If my fellow Malaysian, Kenny Sia can do it, so can I!!
Set stretched but realistic targets for yourself, but make sure ego takes care that you implement the actions.

Recently, I volunteered to do some presentation at some meeting with my friends(non-work related) in a week's time. Because Mr Ego tells me I can't stammer during the presentation and look totally unprepared, it forces me to prepare for the "big" presentation. No way am I gonna look stupid in front of everyone else. So I find time for myself to prepare. Time that used to be spent watching TV, idling etc...

Seeing others doing it is the easy part.
When will you go into action?
Let Mr Ego drives you to your goal!

I shall end with a memorable quote from my mum.
"Not everyone can boast. Only those with ability!"

I am made for bigger things.
So are you!

Cheers! ^_^