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Articles from Secret Black Book

Humpty-Dumpty 2007-09-15 08:46:00 An egg, no matter how fragile it seems, will still HURT if it drops from the counter top and crashes onto your toe.Too tired to write further. Have been put in the Cafe section for 2 nights in a row in Starbucks. That entails sweeping and mopping the entire cafe. And i mean clean thoroughly, like pulling out chairs and tables to get to those tiny crevices and cracks kind of clean. I am aching now. Part of it from separating the dogs when they fought last night. My colleague saw my wounds and gasped in shock. It made even a person like me who fancy such 'battle scars' a tad self-conscious.I took the dogs out for a walk this morning. We love it. I let them loose so they could run freely. Both dogs had a great time. They even waded across the creek to play with another dog. Unbelievable. More next time when my mind is cleared of sleep. ...

Shaking 2007-09-14 11:18:00 I was going to blog about work and happy stuff but the dogs had a fight and everything blew away. I do not know what sparked it off; i only know that i just fed them, and had taken their empty bowls away.When my back was turned, i suddenly heard a snarl and that was it. Kelly and Daxter having gos at each other as though their life depended on it. I was holding a banana in my hand, dessert after eating the pot of instant noodles i had cooked. I dove into the melee of teeth, claws and growls. I caught the collars of both dogs, one in each hand. I had them separated though i was struggling. Both were fighting my restrains and trying to get a chunk off the other. I could have had things under control, except Daxter, that stupid bastard, craned his head around and bit my arm.He got his way. My grip loosened and the 2 dogs made contact. Again a separation, and this time i had to twist and move Daxter around to prevent him from biting me a second time. I yell at them, they didn't listen. I ...

Primary and Secondary education in Aussie 2007-09-12 22:09:00 Why am i not surprised?Having taught Shane, i have concluded that primary and secondary education in Australia, is frankly quite horrid. From local friends, i discovered that different schools have different curriculum, and you basically pay for a better education - private schools.Shane is 10. He does not know his timetable; he cannot read properly, and simple words he can barely recognize. Classes for him consist of going to school to some random teaching before being chucked a slip of homework which he does not understand. I spend most part of the tuition going through his homework (mathematical calculations are done atrociously here, no form of organization etc etc. Appalling!) and trying to slip in a few sums here and there. His parents, both from Egypt, recognized the failings of the education system here, because the education system back in Egypt is as rigorous as that of Singapore. Both implore me to push their son to achieve his potential. I am but it is difficult because Sha ...

Public domain 2007-09-12 20:41:00 It is threatening to rain again! Damn it! I just did and re-did several loads of washings! I did 2 cycles on Saturday and hung them out to dry. Monday it poured heavily, and there goes my washings. I thought i could turn a blind eye to that but Tuesday the same thing happened, and i had to drag everything in for another rinse. Now, the skies are threatening to open up again. Argh!And Daxter is becoming a man! From my study room, i spied Kelly pee in the courtyard. When she was done, Daxter strolled up, sniffed around and pissed at the exact same spot, and with his leg lifted too! 2 milestones - he never used to mark the territory that Kelly had urinated in, and with no support, he usually squats. Ho ho. Anyway i have booked the dogs in for desexing with the private vet in my new neighbourhood. It is going to set me back by half a thousand dollars. My goodness.The day before i was in the hospital doing a diabetes screening for Joy when i met 2 patients. 2 really sick patients. I never u ...

??? Vaccum Bomb 2007-09-11 19:06:00 So Russia has managed to create the Father of all Bombs - the Vacuum Bomb. It surprises me (with much dark humour) to read that the blatant fool who commented about the bomb was nonchalant about the consequences of its use. "The main destruction is inflicted by an ultrasonic shockwave and an incredibly high temperature," the reports said. "All that is alive merely evaporates." Do they know what they are talking about?? All that is alive MERELY evaporates? How can a person's life be reduced to the significance of a word mere? Every person's life is incredibly valuable, and the people who created this weapon of mass destruction just sees it as part of a simple outcome? Dumbfounded is all i can say. If i say anymore, i would be labelled jaded. Read the article on Reuters if you want. --- Posted via email ...

Contemplating lunch 2007-09-09 09:43:00 I haven't been feeling all that fit lately. In fact, i have been feeling a little chubby. Living alone is terrible, because you can buy all your favourite food, and then you are pigging out all day long. My initial plan was to cook lunch and bring it to the hospital daily. But one drawback to that plan is that i usually get home around midnight. Midnight is not a good time to start cooking. I will be more likely to fall asleep and burn down my house, especially true for this house because there are no smoke alarms installed.I was going to cook lunch for the next 2 days just now, but just did not feel up to it. In fact i nearly missed my stop just now because i dozed off 2 stops before mine (i know, i am appalled too), but thankfully there was an unusual number of people who got off at my stop. Normally there are none.I was thinking, maybe i should skip lunch altogether or just munch on a fruit in the hospital. Then i can whip up my own dinner or meet some friends for dinner. That way ...

Online shopping 2007-09-08 09:39:00 I have just purchased a Dog Waterer Tap for my dogs. Previously i have inquired about this product at the pet store near my old house. The sales girls were scoffing when i asked them about it. They have never heard about such a product and they thought i was making it up. I wasn't. I have seen and read about this product somewhere before but i just could not remember its exact name. At the point in time i gave a polite smile and moved off. I also knew i was trying to get a rein on my temper and my impatience at the ignorance of these people. In the end, i did a Google search and hit pay dirt. I found Critter Cottage selling this product. Before placing an order, i asked my parents to help source around in the pet shops in Singapore first.They did. They gave me a call earlier on in the afternoon to check what dog products i needed. They could not find this product, which was quite surprising. In the end, i had to purchase it online. This is a very useful product. I attach it directly t ...

Organizational skills put to the test 2007-09-07 23:12:00 The lady cleaner came in this morning. She went to the wrong house and waited there for half an hour before i decided to give the company a call. She vacuumed and mopped the floors, washed the bathroom and wiped the kitchen counters, stove and the laundry area. Pretty good i reckon. Whilst she was cleaning the house, i honestly did not know what i should do. Should i be hanging around her, breathing down her neck every second (which i really did not want)? Or should i just be banished to one corner of the house and keep out of her way? Can i trust the cleaner with my valuables?In the end, i did a combination of both. It was quite awkward. Our morning introduction was quite eventful. When i opened the security door to let her in, the 2 dogs rushed out of the house, making a beeline for the neighbour's garden. I was appalled. I hastily told the cleaner to give me 5 minutes before i took off after the dogs, barefooted. Kelly, the intelligent one, responded when i told her to get her ass ...

Nearing the close of a chapter 2007-09-07 09:58:00 This afternoon i dropped by Aiken's office to sign the bond release form. The landlord is claiming close to a thousand dollars in damages which he says is attributable to the dogs. Not surprisingly, the extra bond that i had put in for the dogs was a thousand dollars. In the email which Aiken had penned to me, there were several statements that i believed bordered on the harsh side.Apparently the landlord is appalled at the condition of the 8 month old Townhouse. He compares it to the house in which he is currently living in with 4 teenage children and the condition of the Townhouse is still inferior. He wants a complete repaint of the walls because he stated that the walls are too dirty and the paint he uses is of the highest quality. I have also hired professional cleaners to clean the house when i moved out. Even that was unsatisfactory to the landlord.There are a lot of things i could argue about. For example, in the middle of our short tenancy period, the landlord did come to ins ...

A twinkle in the eye 2007-09-06 18:48:00 I was put on the till, which meant i had to take orders from customers and translate their orders to the baristas hard at work on the bar.2 men came in, and with them a strong gust of perfume. I believe their perfume was actually more feminine than mine.The tall one with long brown hair spoke first."Can i have a latte with soy milk please?""Sure," i keyed in his order into the register."Please make sure that it is soy milk, i will die if it is not soy milk," he drawled, in a not very friendly tone."Definitely," i replied solemnly, knowing full well that having a customer suffering from anaphylactic shock because of a mistake on our part is a disaster. And it is not just having a customer dying in the store, but also because my colleagues know i am a med student and they will be wanting me to do something, of which i know none."Stop it, you will not die!" the other guy spoke up and looked him straight in the eye."Yes i will. I felt really sick the last time i had milk," the brown haired ...

Living alone 2007-09-06 09:13:00 5/9/07 2.40pm For the lack of Internet (connection takes four working days to be activated, and even then I still do not take their word for it because this is Aussie), I have reached the end of my limit of not blogging for ages; and taken to blogging offline. So whatever you are reading now is whatever that had happened a couple of days ago. It is not updated. Heh. I have just taken the dogs out for a walk, our first walk exploring the place. Remember how I said that there is a creek running behind my house. Guess what? When I think back about the times I fretted about not being able to find a park to walk the dogs, I feel like laughing at my own silliness. I walked for an hour just now, and I can tell you it is not even one-eighth of the size of the creek. I discovered to my amazement that running behind my house are SEVERAL nature reserves linked together. The farthest (or so I think) is 10km away, and I can walk every inch of it, because it is connected. I was very tempted t ...

Let the rebuilding start today 2007-08-30 09:56:00 Despite everything, i still wish we could be friends. Sometimes, i regret flatting together, because then, at least we would still be friends.Things have changed now. We have been hurt too much. Don't think i have taken you for granted; i never have, and you probably will not believe me.I know the best decision for both of us now is to move on with our lives. There has been too many complications, though even if i wish to look past them, my conscience will not allow me to, because then i will be letting myself and my loved ones down.You may laugh and you may ridicule me. You may try to spite me. I will not flinch because the person i hung out with in College would never have done this. There is a reason for this behaviour that i am yet to understand, but i am willing to wait it out.You and i both know how good my memory is. I remember both the bad and the good times we have. The difference is i choose to recall the good ones and those will be the times i miss.I apologize for everythin ...

First day jitters for the dogs 2007-08-30 08:34:00 This will be a short post because it has been a long day, and i have a guest (Diva) in my house.Early this morning, the dogs and i were competing with the peak hour rush as we took the train to the new house. I was really stressed because even though we were travelling in the opposite direction of the crowd, we were still right smack in the midst of the morning commuters since we were at the same station. I was really self-conscious thinking that people might lament about how inconsiderate i am. 2 commuters passed and mutter something under their breaths. To give them the benefit of the doubt, i didn't hear what they said so it might not have been about me and the dogs at all. But i got increasingly paranoid, which made me irritated with myself because i wasn't in anyone's way. The trains i took were all empty. But then i met other commuters later on who started chatting with me and cooing over the dogs and i knew it could just be my over-imagination.The dogs were exhilarated when t ...

Burst of stars 2007-08-29 08:41:00 Today is officially the start towards the Big Move. I woke up early again, despite sleeping late. I guess all those mornings when i had to go to the hospital early, has tuned my body clock. It's good, i like it. Sleeping earlier and waking earlier is a healthier routine.I was still lazing in bed when Aiken gave me a call. He asked whether he could bring in a couple of tenants in an hour's time. The guy has been working quite hard since i dropped off a legal letter, drafted by the Housing Officer from the University whom i arranged to meet with. There was nothing threatening in the letter; i didn't want to sound overly-aggressive because i still have a very good impression of Aiken as compared to a couple of other agents i have met. I only wanted to send Aiken a gentle reminder that i have to pay the rent and he could help ease my finances by getting a little more steam into his job.Hence, i was forced out of bed and straight into the shower. I barely stepped out of the shower when h ...

Everyone, please say Hello to... 2007-08-28 10:24:00 Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in welcoming a secretive intruder reader on my blog.HALLO THE MISS.I know you are reading my blog.Please tell me what you think.This is pure cowardice and immaturity.Please also note that i know what you have been doing the past few months, spreading rumours back in the College about me. I am not in the least perturbed and surprised. Your karma is catching up with you. Some people are getting fed up with your poorly fabricated tales; they have come to clarify with me.I must say, it is quite interesting to discover together the elaborate lies you had everyone under.Good riddance.I regret wasting my sincerity and time on you. But thank you i must say, for introducing me to a whole class of people - manipulative whimsical childish people filled with cowardice. I will keep an eye out for them; they should be easy to spot - anyone who resembles you.Your supposed allies are turning on you. All this time you accuse me of talking bad behind your back and ju ...