RAABAD: Daddy at Home

"Radioactive" Aquarium

2017-07-24T18:31:00.001+08:00

We "nuked" the aquarium last month after our tiny koi Elmo had a "near-death experience."

We got rid of the infection using a few drops of Rid-All General Aid:

It effectively sanitized the aquarium and also disinfected Elmo -- poured a few drops directly on Elmo's skin err, scales and gills.

Note to self: continuously replace 1/4 aquarium water every week.

Picked up a new hobby...

2016-09-11T14:24:00.001+08:00

Not as easy as it looks. We kind of just jumped in without looking at the basics and nuances of the thing. Ended up badly the first round. But once we got the hang of it, it's great. 😄

WWE Fastlane Results and Reactions

2015-02-24T03:19:00.002+08:00

Funny how Fastlane is scheduled on the same night as the Oscar's. :) Anyway, here's a quick look at the Fastlane card:

WHAT:

WWE Fastlane

WHEN:

22 February 2015

WHERE:

FedEx Forum - Memphis, Tennessee

MATCHES:

Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan & Ryback vs Seth Rollins, Kane, & Big Show	Six-Man Tag Team Match
Goldust vs Stardust	Singles Match
The Usos (c) vs Tyson Kidd and Cesaro	WWE Tag Team Championship
Nikki Bella (c) vs Paige	WWE Divas Championship
Bad News Barrett (c) vs Dean Ambrose	WWE Intercontinental Championship
Rusev (c) vs John Cena	WWE United States Championship
Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns	For WWE World Hvwt Championship match in Wrestlemania

PRE-SHOW Highlights:

Pre-Show Panel: Renee Young, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Booker T

Jon Stewart (host of Daily Show) and Seth Rollins. Well, this is Wrestlemania season. so celebrities from all over are expected to pop up here and there. To his credit, Stewart's promo was great! Better than, dare I say, the promos of the other Superstars in the roster! His promo was a throwback to the days when kayfabe still exists. :)
Dean Ambrose interview with Renee Young. The video package of the interview, simply put, elevated the Intercontinental Championship. It highlighted the illustrious history of the belt as well as the intensity of Ambrose both in the ring and on the mic. I almost marked out at the mention of the IC Belt as being the workhorse championship -- you rarely hear those words with this belt recently. Great hype for the Intercontinental Championship. :)
MizTV with Paul Heyman. Unlike the others, the Miz-Mizdow storyline started quite a while back and is going nowhere fast, yet. The split should happen soon between now and Wrestlemania -- if they wanted them to have that match. Paul Heyman is his usual phenomenal self on the mic.

WWE FASTLANE MAIN SHOW Highlights:

6-Man Tag Team Match: Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan & Ryback vs Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show

Pre-Match Thoughts: One of the biggest disappointments with this match is that it was last minute and there was barely any build up and just thrown together because they don't have anything better to do. They just relied on the history between the two teams and then ran with it. Still, with the mini-feud between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins being played up the last few weeks, you can expect, at the very least, a very solid match.
Ziggler and Rollins started off to a quick pace. Match then slowed after Rowan tagged in and eventually injured his leg.
Crowd, at one point, were chanting "We want Ziggler! Feed me more!"
Ziggler hits Famasser on Rollins while Rollins was getting in the ring in between the ropes.
Ziggler gets hit with Big Show's KO Punch then Kane's Chokeslam for the win.
Result: Team Authority defeats Ziggler, Rowan and Ryback via pinfall.
Post-Match Brawl: Another brawl ensues but Rollins comes out on top, Curb Stomping the other team left and right. Crowd starts chanting "Randy Orton!" (Ha! Smarks!) Shortly thereafter, Orton's music hits and starts RKOing everyone from #Outtanowhere! Rollins escapes though.
Post-Match Thoughts: This was a strong opening match for this PPV. But this is intended to be the on-screen return of Orton. No doubt this sets up a 'Mania match between Orton and Rollins.

Brother vs Brother: Goldust vs Stardust

Pre-Match Thoughts: Some would say that the perfect time for the split between the two has come and gone. At any rate, leave it to Stardust Cody Rhodes to tell a compelling story; when given a chance, he delivers the best promos. Just when you thought he couldn't top his promo a couple years ago (during his storyline firing by the Authority), he delivered his best promo yet against his brother and dad Dusty.
Stardust enters first, shirtless. Crowd seems to be just as stunned as I am. He's sporting silver and blue colors.
Stardust plays up the crowd well, reacting to all the "Cody" chants from the crowd several times throughout the match. And him saying "Who's your favorite?" and "Who's your daddy?" creepily adds to his deranged persona. That cartwheel was also a nice touch.
It's amazing that Goldust can still move around the ring the way he does. He looks better than his first run more than a decade ago.
Goldust wins after reversing a Cross Rhodes attempt with snapmare then a crucifix.
Result: Goldust defeats Stardust via pinfall.
Post-Match Backstage: Stardust lays out Goldust. He then said to Dusty "You killed Cody Rhodes! And one more thing... I am not living in your shadow; you're living in mine!" Chilling.
pay your respects #RIPCody
— Stardust (@StardustWWE) February 22, 2015
Post-Match Thoughts: It was a weird and an underwhelming finish to the match. At one point, nobody was sure whether it was a good three count. I think the ref botched the call. Anyway, the backstage attack afterwards clearly sets up a Wrestlemania match between the two.

Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs Tyson Kidd and Cesaro

Pre-Match Thought #1: The initial build up to this feud was ridiculous, centering on the Divas Natalya and Naomi. It's a disservice to the two talented divas, being relegated as nothing more than valets to their respective spouses. Regardless, this is a great opportunity for Kidd and Cesaro to finally break through and showcase their talent. Their matches so far have been great. Them winning the match should be the icing on the cake.
Pre-Match Thought #2: And one more thing: is Nattie a heel or a face? Kidd is clearly a heel both in Raw and Total Divas. Nattie is a bit more difficult to sort out due to her circumstances. Looks like a tweener but, I dunno....
Pre-Match Thought #3: Yes, I watch Total Divas, too :)
Usos take early advantage grounding Kidd for most of the early part of the match.
Cesaro takes control after tagging in and clips Jimmy Uso's left knee. Kidd and Cesaro then take turns working on that left leg.
Still holding onto the half-crab on the left leg, Cesaro lifts Jimmy and does a one-legged Cesaro Swing. He spun around about 4 times before being dropped on the mat, followed by a springboard legdrop from Kidd. It would have been cooler if Cesaro did a few more spins.
Cesaro does a deadlift suplex (yikes!) on Jimmy followed by an elbow drop from Kidd for a nearfall.
Sharpshooter on Jimmy was stopped by a superkick from Jey.
Crowd chants "This is awesome!" I agree!!!
Kidd hits a fisherman suplex finisher for the pin.
Result: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro defeats The Usos via pinfall and are the new WWE Tag Team Champions!
Can't be topped, won't be stopped!! This is for the few believers, the rest can kiss my........abs. TAG CHAMPS #FACT pic.twitter.com/pZ9fABy43B
— Tyson Kidd (@KiddWWE) February 23, 2015
Post-Match Thoughts: I was thinking whether it should have been Kidd or Cesaro who made the pin. I guess Kidd does deserve it after a long hiatus. He should just get a name for that finisher (if they haven't done so already) and have the announce team say it! :) Oh, and this is the match of the night so far. :)

Triple H/Sting Face-To-Face

Pre-Segment Thoughts: Although it is great that Sting is finally doing a program with WWE, we still don't have a clear idea why he's doing what he's doing. Sure it's cool to mess up the Authority/Triple H's plans, but still.
Triple H walks out, not wearing his usual coat and tie but his street fighting clothes. Long story short, he calls out Sting. Sting just nonchalantly walks down the ramp to the ring. (Huh? No theatrics? Oh well.)
Triple H: "My legacy is putting your legacy out of business." Triple H makes this confrontation with Sting about the Monday Night Wars. Hmmm... Isn't it more than a decade too late? Storyline is a bit too simple. Creative could have done better.
Triple H: "Or I can beat the hell out of your legacy right here tonight." There. That's more like it! :)
They finally ended with a brawl, with Triple H leveling Sting down. He then went for his trademark sledgehammer. As he went back in the ring, Sting quickly brings out his trademark bat (where does he hide that thing??) and pressed it against Triple H's throat.
Without saying a word, Sting points his bat to the Wrestlemania sign, making his intentions clear.
With Sting's back turned, Triple H is about to attack Sting, but the Icon beat him to the punch. He then smashed Triple H with his Scorpion Death Drop.
Post-Segment Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about this segment. It seems... incomplete. Don't get me wrong. I marked out on the Raw segment when he made his pseudo-appearance mind-game on Triple H. I thought that was a tough act to follow, and this relatively short segment kinda proves it. Although it is cool that we have another marquee match in Wrestlemania, this segment was really nothing more than an announcement of the fact. Still, it's so cool to see the legendary Sting beat Triple H to the punch. :)

WWE Purple Butterfly Belt: Nikki Bella (c) vs Paige

Pre-Match Thoughts: On the heels of a tremendous Fatal Fourway match for the NXT Women's Championship, the main roster Divas are pressured to deliver a memorable match. If only they are given more time, like their NXT counterparts. Storyline-wise, they finally hit the nail last Raw. The Mean Girls tactics of the Bellas is fine and all but there's really no need to have another reason to hate them; but Paige's grace is what finally made her interesting and sympathetic, and gives the crowd a reason to cheer for her. It may have something to do with that Gothic fairy look she got last Monday. :)
Cole reference Paige's "Anti-Diva" moniker again which she used a while back. Wonder if they are already going to use that permanently? It certainly fits her now with the way she's interacting with the other Divas.
Nikki takes control early on, dropping Paige on the apron and off to the barricade.
Nikki delivers an Alabama Slam. This move clearly fits her, helps to show off her strength. Nice touch of JBL referring to Bob Holly using that move on him a couple of times. (Where is he now?)
Not sure if Paige was going for a roll up, but whatever. Botch happens. And it won't be the first nor the worst one this night. :)
Sunset flip powerbomb from Nikki! Wow, she's really bringing it tonight. Only a nearfall for that one.
Paige tried for a PTO, but couldn't lock it in as Nikki reaches for the ropes. Then, a school boy pin with "a handful of tights" later, Nikki gets the three count.
Result: Nikki defeats Paige via pinfall and retains the WWE Divas Championship.
Post-Match Thoughts: Paige, Michael Cole and the rest of the announce team keep referring to Nikki pulling Paige's tights. After a few replays, we can clearly see that Nikki actually didn't. She touched her tights but is in no way grabbing it. Botch anyone? Let's assume for the moment that she actually pulled her tights. That was quite a dirty finish that we don't want to see right after the NXT Women's title match the previous week. Given that there wasn't as much time for this match (should be around 5 minutes only), I guess that's the only way they could think of to extend this feud up to 'Mania. (That is assuming that there will be a Divas match in Wrestlemania.) Pretty disappointing treatment of these Divas.

Intercontinental Championship Match: Bad News Barrett (c) vs Dean Ambrose

Pre-Match Thoughts: This is a good storyline so far that somehow lacked time. Still, they managed to get the most of it with the video montages and interviews with Dean Ambrose. Smart money is for him to lose dirty on this match to stretch his quest for the IC belt in Wrestlemania.
Ambrose was very aggressive early on until Barrett took control after he kicks the living daylights of Amrbose.
Ambrose is really living up to Lunatic Fringe moniker with every Tornado DDT and a top rope elbow drop on a standing person.
Barrett reverses Ambrose' springboard clothesline with Wasteland for a two count. Barrett sets up for Bullhammer but gets reversed to a school boy pin for another two count.
Barrett got his belt and was about to walk away. Ambrose then does a suicide dive to Barrett. Barrett tries to get through the crowd but Ambrose catches him and throws him on the steps.
Ambrose then beats on Barrett inside the ring but won't let up. He is disqualified by the referee! WHAT?!?
Result: Bad News Barrett defeats Dean Ambrose via disqualification and retains the Intercontinental Championship.
Post-Match Thoughts: This is the kind of booking that is really grating on the nerves. Disqualification finishes have a time and place and when used correctly can be an effective plot device. But this is just... Lazy booking. Sure we expected Ambrose' quest to go on further to Wrestlemania, but this is a really cheesy way of doing it.

Undertaker/Bray Wyatt Promo

Druids come out with torches in typical Undertaker fashion. Then once the druids are in place... GONG goes the bell and Undertaker's music plays. A casket is then moved right next to the ring. The casket is opened and... voila! It's Bray Wyatt!
"There's a wicked feeling in the air tonight!" - @WWEBrayWyatt #WWEFastLane #Druids pic.twitter.com/BITscAHAju
— WWE (@WWE) February 23, 2015
"I am BRAY WYATT, the NEW FACE OF FEAR ... At @WrestleMania, I will claim the soul of THE UNDERTAKER!" #WWEFastlane pic.twitter.com/RjznOn2SUT
— WWE (@WWE) February 23, 2015
Post-Segment Thoughts: Finally, we have one question finally answered. It's Bray Wyatt vs Undertaker at the biggest stage of them all! It was a short and sweet promo and is on point. And yet another reason to watch Wrestlemania! This spine-tingling promo makes me excited for that match!

United States Championship: Rusev (c) vs John Cena

Pre-Match Thoughts: Still can't get over the previous segment, but I digress... Two thoughts here: firstly, him, being "the" John Cena -- whether you like him or not -- chasing the US title instantly brings up the prestige of the belt; secondly, John Cena is the "measuring stick" of the WWE, which means upcoming main eventers need to go through him. Daniel Bryan and *gasp* CM Punk battled John Cena first before achieving main event status. Is it Rusev's turn to head for the main event this year?
Rusev one ups Cena by hitting him on the thighs with fast kicks. Since this is a John Cena match, of course you will get the dueling chants "Let's go Cena!" and "Cena sucks!" For some reason, it never gets old. :)
A right forearm sends Rusev down and is then held in a headlock. Rusev quickly regains control and kicks him to the corner. Cena rallies back but is laid out by a spin kick
Rusev pretty much dominated the match, even sending Cena flying to the barricade.
Cena musters up a drop kick from out of nowhere for a two count. Rusev counters with a drop kick of his own for another two count.
Cena gains momentum. He hits one shoulder block. He goes for the second shoulder block but Rusev catches him and turns it into a fall-away slam. He's making this look easy.
Cena rallies with an explosive clothesline, which only got a two count. Cena goes for AA but was reversed to a DDT, which got a nearfall as well. Another AA attempt was reversed again then hit with superkick for another nearfall.
Rusev catches Cena in a spinning side slam for a two count. Later, Cena catches Rusev in a tornado DDT for another nearfall again. Lana is getting very livid at this point.
Cena reverses a second spinning side slam attempt into a crossface (I refuse to call it STF! It's a Crippler Crossface, not a Stepover Toehold Facelock.) Rusev powered out of the submission maneuver then delivers an Alabama Slam on Cena.
.@RusevBUL just powered out of @JohnCena's STF. Has that ever happened before? #WWEFastLane pic.twitter.com/a3Y967TcHz
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) February 23, 2015
Rusev gets a second wind and starts pounding Cena's back. Cena picked the leg and locks in the STF. (Now that's a real STF.)
Cena hits the AA but only got a two count. Cena then goes to the top rope then leaps at Rusev only to be caught into a powerbomb. Rusev then locks in the Accolade. After several attempts to power out, Cena finally stood up, lifting Rusev on his back. Lana distracts the referee then Rusev hits a low blow, a superkick, then an Accolade. Cena passes out and referee calls for the bell.
Result: Rusev defeats John Cena via submission to retain US Championship.
Post-Match Thoughts: You can't have Cena do two different submission holds -- one is a facelock with a toehold and the other is a facelock with an armhold -- and call them both STF. Or is that what they wanted to do? Any crossface or facelock that Cena does is automatically called an STF? I know the Crippler Crossface is associated with Chris Benoit and WWE is trying very hard to stay away from him. But if that's the case, just call it a crossface. I know Michael Cole can't tell the difference between the two but should the entire WWE Universe really listen and accept his calls even when he's wrong?? Anyway, what a stellar match! It's not a clean win for Rusev, but it was a decisive victory for him. Rusev remains undefeated, his winning streak intact and he gets to beat the best of the best in John Cena! 2015 could easily be Rusev's year. Was it a predictable win? Yes. But having him beat John Cena soundly was quite unexpected. I guess everyone is expecting a disqualification finish, but they went a different route, all intended to put Rusev over.

Main Event: Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns

Pre-Match Thoughts: The controversy surrounding this match is.. well.. I'll leave that up to you. :) WWE has certainly done a great job of building up Roman Reigns, winning more fans along the way. He went from being booed out of the building in Royal Rumble to being cheered on par with Daniel Bryan. Still, Bryan had his 'Mania moment last year. It's time to let another one have his.
Crowd sounds off dueling chants of "Daniel Bryan!" and "Romain Reigns!".
Bryan is annoying Reigns with his antics to start off. Bryan locks Reigns in a side headlock for a while and finally powers out and reverses to his own side headlock then drops with a shoulder block Bryan.
Bryan forces Reigns to the mat and tries to get him into a Surfboard but Reigns powers out again.
Bryan is thrown to the corner, does a flip, dodges a clothesline, but gets caught into a tilt-a-whirl slam, followed by a clothesline over the top rope, sending Bryan to the outside.
Reigns brutally manhandles Bryan on the outside then sends him back in the ring. Bryan recovers and kicks Reigns repeatedly on the left leg.
Bryan locks in the Indian deathlock but Reign simply counters with his huge fists on Bryan's face. Talk about powering out.
Reigns does a hangman on Bryan, followed by Samon drop, then his trademark leaping clothesline. Bryan does a drop toehold, sending Reigns crashing on the corner. He is setting up for his running kick, but was intercepted by a huge clothesline turning him inside out for a two count.
Reigns does his own version of the Three Amigos, which looks a bit awkward; one hand is around the belly, and his other hand is around the crotch. That might give Bryan a serious wedgie. Reigns then does his trademark dropkick on the apron.
Reigns sets up for a Superman punch, but is countered with a kick to the midsection (which the announce team lovingly and repeatedly calls the liver kick from here on out), followed by a series of running dropkicks on corner.
Reigns blocks the attempted hurricanrana on the top turnbuckle and turns it into a powerbomb for another nearfall.
Reigns pummels Bryan on the corner with thunderous clotheslines. He sets up Bryan on the top turnbuckle for a superplex attempt, but Bryan slips and trips Reigns. Bryan then followed up with a back superplex for yet another two count.
Bryan applied the Yes Lock on Reigns who reaches the bottom rope to break the hold and settles on the outside. Bryan then quickly does a couple of suicide dives. On the third suicide dive attempt, Reigns caught Bryan then delivers a rather stiff belly-to-belly overhead suplex on the outside. Reigns tries to spear Bryan who side steps and Reigns eats the steel steps instead. Both Reigns and Bryan barely beat the ref's 10 count.
Bryan climbs to the top and jumps at Reigns who catches him with a Superman punch but only landed a two count.
Reigns tries for another spear, which Bryan counters with a roll up for a two count. Bryan follows up with a spin kick to the head then his running knee finisher for a nearfall.
Crowd chants "This is awesome!" Again, they're right! :)
Bryan lands his trademark left and right kicks, with the roundhouse kick to the head blocked by Reigns and holding on to his leg. Bryan turns this into an armbar, then shifts again to a Yes Lock. Reigns lets out a visceral scream and powers out of the hold and beats down Bryan with right forearm shots to the head. Reigns gets trapped in a triangle choke but lifts Bryan and slams him hard on the mat.
Bryan and Reigns exchanged kicks and fists, which Bryan finally finished with a big roundhouse kick to the head sending the big man down. Bryan lines up for another running knee but was caught with a huge spear for the win.
Result: Roman Reigns defeats Daniel Bryan to face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania.
Post-Match Event: Bryan confronts Reigns and says "You better kick his ass." then shakes his hand.
Post-Match Thoughts: Kudos to Reigns for adding a variety of new moves to his arsenal, like the many suplex variations he has shown tonight, which shows off his strength. He's working hard to show that he has what it takes to be the main event on Wrestlemania. And kudos to Daniel Bryan for doing his part to make Roman Reigns look like a million bucks! If Reigns hasn't won you over yet, nothing will. Great way to cap off the show.

Final Thoughts:
Fastlane is just a minor -- very minor -- stopover before Wrestlemania. It's a good pay-per-view, but it is nowhere that great either. Many of the matches felt just like a holdover for their respective bigger matches at Wrestlmania.

What the PPV did, however, was put over two of its new rising stars: Rusev and Roman Reigns. And they did it in a big way, by being put over by John Cena and Daniel Bryan, arguably the top two faces of the company right now.

Wow, I didn't imagine this post would be this long. Thanks for reading! :)

WWE Royal Rumble 2015 Highlights

2015-01-27T16:12:00.000+08:00

Pre-Show Match: New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) vs Cesaro/Tyson Kidd

Philly crowd is clearly behind Cesaro; and for some reason, the Philly crowd really hates The New Day;
Practically every move Big E does is booed;
A lot of good spots on this match:

Cesaro Swing + dropkick is a beautiful thing to behold!
Cesaro's Superplex from turnbuckle + Kidd's Elbow Drop
Kofi rolls through, Kidd pushes Kofi towards ropes where Cesaro was waiting with a huge European Uppercut followed by Kidd's twisting suplex for the win.

Nice booking for both Tyson Kidd and Cesaro, who really need it.

New Age Outlaws vs The Ascension

"You still got it" -crowd to Billy Gun. They're right!
"So is Billy the Man that Time forgot? I don't think he aged one bit." JBL on Billy Gunn after he delivered a Tilt-a-Whirl Slam;
The Ascension pins Billy Gunn for the win after Fall of Man;
This marks their first legitimate win since being called up from NXT; (No, I don't consider pinning local jobbers as legitimate wins.)

Tag Team Championship: The Miz & Damien Mizdow vs The Usos (c)

Extremely huge pop for Damien Sandow right from the get-go; Miz takes his shades off (boooooo) Mizdow takes his shades off (yaaaaaay!)
Miz falls on the turnbuckle, hurting his jewels; Mizdow, of course, does the same thing; huge pop from the crowd;
Cole keeps insulting Damien Mizdow whenever he does his stunt double schtick even though he is clearly over the crowd; that just doesn't make sense and one of the reasons I don't like Cole on commentary; talk about announcers who are sooo out of touch of the WWE fans; he's the real heel announcer there;
"Mizdow's awesome" and "We want Mizdow" - Philly crowd, showing their support for the stunt double;
The Usos win with Powerbomb and Frogsplash on The Miz.

Natalya & Paige vs The Bella Twins

"Ole!" chants from crowd for Paige
Brie and Natalya botched a move; I think it was supposed to be a neckbreaker or something; crowd didn't seem to care;
Nikki Rack Attacks Natalya for the win.

WWE Heavyweight Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs John Cena vs Seth Rollins

"Maybe we get a calculator out and start counting these supplexes" -King. Yes, sir. And here is the German Suplex Count for the whole match: John Cena - 7, Seth Rollins - 3, J&J Security - 1 (Yep! One German Suplex on two guys!)
Brock Lesnar legitimately damaged/destroyed one of the monitors on the Spanish announce table;
After three AAs and one Curb Stomp on the champion, Brock Lesnar is still the only one standing. "This is awesome" -crowd;
John Cena drives Brock Lesnar into the time keepers area, demolishing the barricade;
"You've got to be kidding me!" -King, "Naw, hell no, do it! Championship is at stake!" -JBL, as Rollins elbow drops Brock Lesnar through the Spanish Announce table. RIP Spanish announce table; "Holy $h!t!" - crowd;
"This is awesome!" -crowd. Yes, it is!
Seth turns a blocked sunset flip into a running powerbomb on the turnbuckle for a nearfall;
"We're getting preliminary information now that Brock Lesnar is suffering from at least a broken rib. At least a broken rib..." - Michael Cole. That's how you know that it isn't a broken rib :)
After Rollins delivers a Corkscrew 450 Splash on Cena, Brock sends Rollins flying with another German suplex out of nowhere;
Brock Lesnar avoids a Curb Stomp and then F5s Seth Rollins for the win;
"Broken rib and all, that man Brock Lesnar is unstoppable. He may have that championship as long as he wants it." - JBL. And that's how the announce team sells that Brock is an unstoppable beast. They better do that. Otherwise, him breaking the Undertaker's Streak will be for naught.
Five-star match; Match of the Night, without a doubt.

MAIN EVENT: Royal Rumble Match

The Miz
R-Truth
Bubba Ray Dudley (Welcome home!)
Luke Harper
Bray Wyatt
Curtis Axel
The Boogeyman (surprise! bye!)
Sin Cara
Zack Ryder
Daniel Bryan
Fandango
Tyson Kidd
Stardust
DDP (another surprise return!)
Rusev
Goldust
Kofi Kingston
Adam Rose
Roman Reigns
Big-E
Damien Mizdow
Jack Swagger
Ryback
Kane
Dean Ambrose
Titus O'Neil
Bad News Barrett
Cesaro
Big Show
Dolph Ziggler

Eliminations:

Superstar	Count	Eliminations
Bubba Ray	2	Miz, R-Truth
Bray Wyatt	6	Bubba Ray Dudley, Luke Harper, (Eric Rowan,) The Boogeyman, Sin Cara, Zack Ryder, Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan	1	Tyson Kidd
Rusev	6	DDP, Fandango, Adam Rose, Kofi Kingston, Damien Mizdow, Big E
Roman Reigns	6	Goldust, Stardust, Titus O'Neil, Kane, Big Show, Rusev
Dean Ambrose	1	Titus O'Neil
Kane	4	Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose
Big Show	5	Ryback, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose
Dolph Ziggler	2	Bad News Barrett, Cesaro

Legend:

Shared elimination by Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns

Shared elimination by Kane and Big Show

Rumble Notes:

Bubba Ray Dudley didn't miss a bit, delivering his signatures with makeshift partner R-Truth flawlessly;
Curtis Axel never entered the match after he was attacked by Eric Rowan;
I think The Boogeyman's entrance was longer than the time he was inside the ring; supremely underwhelming;
Daniel Bryan's elimination was the biggest shocker of the night; crowd is clearly upset from that point forward;
Kofi Kingston's save from elimination this year is the least impressive so far; anybody can be caught by the Rosebuds and thrown back in the ring;
Stardust tried to eliminate Goldust early on, teasing a split in the near future;
Tremendous amount of boos from the crowd as Roman Reigns enter the ring;
The Miz tried to take Mizdow's place but was knocked out by Reigns; Damien Mizdow was the crowd favorite at that point after Daniel Bryan's elimination; his run was very short-lived though;
When Ambrose was eliminated, leaving Roman Reigns, Big Show, and Kane, crowd sounds off a resounding boo, realizing clearly now more than ever that Roman Reigns will win the Rumble; crowd started chanting "Bull$h!t!"
Crowd quickly turned on the Rock after he helped clear the ring of Big Show and Kane;
"We want Rusev" crowd chants after learning Rusev is not eliminated yet;
Kane breaks HBK's record for the most number of accumulated eliminations at 39; previously, Kane was at 38, he now stands at 42;

#CanelWWENetwork trending after Royal Rumble

2015-01-26T18:18:00.003+08:00

With Roman Reigns with the Rock closing our the Royal Rumble and getting booed out of the arena, rants by disgruntled fans on the Internet is to be expected. But this is the first time that actual WWE Network subscribers took action and actually unsubscribed to the network.

Just how bad was it? A few hours after Royal Rumble, #CancelWWENetwork started trending worldwide. Although that doesn't necessarily mean that whole droves of fans are unsubscribing. Still, it doesn't look good. There are a few confirmed users who cancelled their subscription and posted it in Facebook and Twitter. And the fact that these unsubscribers (if such a word exists) are openly encouraging others to do the same should make WWE take notice.

That's the second straight Royal Rumble fail in the eyes of many fans. Last year's Royal Rumble winner, Batista, was also booed throughout his entire run. Depending on whose story you're going to believe, a few changes were made to the storyline which led to Batista turning heel and making that year's Wrestlemania the pinnacle of the career of Daniel Bryan (last year and this year's sentimental favorite to win the Rumble).

This year, though, they don't have the luxury of time. WWE fans ranting on the Internet is one thing. But WWE fans cancelling subscriptions is another. WWE obviously needs to address the situation. And they need to make that at the following Raw (2015-01-26) before it gets further out of hand.

Fix It Kid Soft Toys Set

2015-01-14T12:58:00.001+08:00

The bundle also includes a clear plastic carrying case, so your kid can carry it anywhere!

More details from below link:
https://carousell.co/kids.treasures/

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Found the Baby Doppler/Listener

2015-01-11T20:04:00.001+08:00

While cleaning out some stuff (our own version of Boxing Day), we found our Luvion Doppler deluxe-80 after 4 years.

By this time, there are probably more advanced products out there. But this one - as we found out - is still working just fine. Just had to throw away the worn out speakers and the empty tube of aloe vera gel, and replace the two AAA batteries.

Our baby's heartbeat was at 130-140 beats per minute. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Marvel WoH: Co-op X assignment Reward - Spider-man vs Electro

2015-01-10T18:49:00.001+08:00

This is the reward artwork for completing Coop Assignment 1-1 to 1-9. In the current Marvel War of Heroes Co-Op X Event -Sinister 6.

This is the cover artwork for Amazing Spider-Man #613.

:)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Tanglin Halt Road,Queensway,Singapore

Using a Timer to Sway your Child to Do Something Else

2014-05-26T22:00:00.000+08:00

Its night time, almost time for bed. You tell your kids while they're playing that it's time to clean up, brush teeth, and go to sleep. Guess what happens? Tantrums. No end to it.

After sometime, we learned something: kids don't follow you just because you said so. At least that's how I see it. Shift your point of view to your kid's for just a minute: would you like it if you're busy saving the world (or blowing it up) when your mom or dad told you that it's time to go to bed? Not likely. You're finally winning and enjoying your time in the spotlight then all of that stopped when your mom or dad steals your thunder and tells you to go to bed. That's not right! We won't stand for it! We need justice! :))

No one likes force directed at them, especially one that forces a change in whatever they are currently enjoying. The natural response is to resist; and for some kids, they have an endless list of what that means. Tantrums. Crying. Shouting. Scratching. Clawing. Kicking (my son has some pretty nasty kicks, powered by those big beefy legs of his). Shouting louder. Destruction. Mayhem. You name it.

When kids enjoy something they're doing right now, they won't stop, and they don't want to stop. At least not right now. Inertia.

At this age when your kids have been socializing a bit, they recognize their self-worth. And they want to have their own authority. And they exert their will to anything and anyone! :) It makes them feel important (because they are but they're just grasping that concept now) and they want to do things their own way and at their own time.

Forcing a change against their will is catastrophic. Believe me I know. Been there, done that, still doin' it from time to time. So no, don't force a sudden change to your kid. Ease him into it. Give him some time to prepare for this change.

That's when we stumbled on this gem of simplicity: a timer.

As playtime is about to end, we told him that he still has 10 minutes which we set on our timer. The next steps that he wanted was that after the alarm goes off, he is to brush his teeth, then weewee, then read one bedtime story book, then listen to a made-up "once upon a time" story, pray, kiss mommy and daddy, milk, then go to sleep. When timer expires and the alarm goes off, he excitedly drops whatever he's doing (as if he's been waiting eagerly for the alarm to sound off finally -- because at this point, he is now READY) and goes to us to brush his teeth.

You don't give in to him and he doesn't give in to you. You compromise. Your kid feels you recognize his/her self-worth by respecting his/her to continue playing for 10 minutes more, giving them enough time to say goodbye to their toys (although they don't actually say it out loud). And you don't have to suffer through a pointless gauntlet of tantrums, crying, shouting, scratching, whatever.

Just sharing for fellow parents who might be running out of ideas. :)

FAiTH reports PHP 11B in Foreign Aid so far

2013-11-18T00:36:00.002+08:00

After the recent backlash received by the Philippine government on the recent relief efforts -- or lack thereof -- the FAiTH eService is launched in the official PH government website. FAiTH, short for Foreign Aid Transparency Hub, can be found here: http://www.gov.ph/faith/.

As of this writing, the total foreign aid received was a staggering PHP 11,654,775,900. This amount is further broken down to cash, non-cash, and pledged amounts. You can see the detailed report on their site.

Thank you World for all your help and support! >:D<

Now let's all just hope that all of that money is put to good use. This is a good first step in terms of transparency and accountability. The PH government had an embarrassing first week. Now, we're all hoping that Week Two onwards will be much better. #BePositive

First Encounter with Animal Death; Turning Guilt to a Positive Experience

2013-10-29T12:33:00.002+08:00

Today, my son had his first experience with the death of an animal. It's not his pet, as we don't have one, but it might as well have been one for him.

It was raining hard the past few days, and as such, snails are coming out of the woodwork. Today was exceptionally sunny, so they took the opportunity to go to the playground. While playing, he came upon a very very small snail. Having just watched Turbo the previous week, he wanted to play with the little snail, which he admiringly called Baby Turbo. He wanted to feel it's tiny shell. But -- as most 3-year-olds -- he does't have full control of his hands and fingers' strength and crushed the poor thing.

He was shocked and asked his Ate "Fix natin si Baby Turbo" (Let's fix Baby Turbo.) He cried. A lot. The same cries he makes when he is emotionally overwhelmed when he knows he did something he shouldn't have done. It was the cry of guilt and sadness. As his dad, I felt and heard the pain in his cries. (Parents, you know this.) And whenever he is reminded of the incident, he cries again. I hugged and comforted him, telling him that it's okay. I tried to redirect his attention first, as it was time for his bath.

While he was taking a bath, I searched the internet for some advise. Most of the things I found are related to kids dealing with death of their pets. While not technically a pet, these are definitely something I can use.

Later, I asked him again what happened to Baby Turbo. He's trying to hold back his tears but is clearly upset. With a sad face and eyes winking back the tears, he tries to change topic. Staying on course, I asked him to look into daddy's eyes. (We're training him to look into our eyes whenever we have to say something serious or important.) I said that I know that he is upset because Baby Turbo died. (Yeah, those internet advise said no sugar coating -- use the word "dead" instead of "passed away".) I said that it's okay to be sad and to remember next time to be more careful. I asked if he wanted to pray for Baby Turbo, to which he immediately clasped his hands in the praying position. (We teach him to pray every day and every night and every meal.) After that I asked him to give me a hug. It took a few tries but when he finally did, I knew that he found a certain amount of comfort in it.

He felt better at least for a bit, but I knew that he is still upset. This experience was weighing heavily on his mind, as it shows in his face and his body language. It's expected, I guess, as he is still in that grieving mode. This is his first grief so I have no idea yet how long his grieving period is going to last. All I can tell is that his crankiness level has increased tenfold but I'm extending my rope; after all, this is a traumatic experience for him. I just let him be and let him express it and deal with it on his own way. I'll just stay on the sidelines for now and observe how he progresses.

11:58 AM, he is about to eat his lunch. Before that he prayed on his own. (Normally we need to remind him to pray first before eating.) He prayed to Papa Jesus to bless the food, the "rice na may sabaw" (rice soaked in soup), and to take care of Ate Keizha (his cousin who just got out of the hospital) and Baby Turbo. As he ate, his crankiness went done several notches. So he was hungry and upset, never a good combination. :))

I'd say things are looking up, taking a turn for the positive. All things considered, something good has come out of this experience. A hard lesson in life (and death) introduced at an early age, and slowly reinforcing the praying habit. And I'm blogging again after another extended hiatus. :D

Riley's Great Wall of Toys! :D

2013-10-27T23:52:00.000+08:00

view full image

"Riley's great wall of toys! :D"

WWE Raw 2013/08-19 - CM Punk-Paul Heyman Promo

2013-09-02T19:18:00.003+08:00

Since I'm taking a break and doing a Raw marathon, I might as well write here another one of CM Punk's promos which is partly a shoot as well. This promo was on the August 19, 2013 edition of Raw (post-Summerslam 2013), where he rips apart one of the booing audience. Ha!

CM Punk: "You know I really don't know what to say right now. There's so much going on upstairs. But what I do know was that Paul Heyman was out here earlier. And Paul Heyman had a lot of things to say that were personal to me. A lot of buttons he pushed…

Sir, you paid your ticket, you want to boo, that's fine. But I dare. I dare you to step in between these ropes. And you will never boo again, because I will render you a toothless, crying heap of a man! I AM PISSED OFF! AND I WANT TO FIGHT! SO IF YOU HAVE THE B@LL$... I DARE YOU, FATSO, STEP UP AND BE A MAN! AND FIGHT CM PUNK!

COME ON, SON! COME ON! COME ON! COME ON! COME ONE! I WILL RENDER YOU TO TEARS! COME ON!

BE A MAN OR SIT DOWN AND BE A B!TCH AND SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

Paul Heyman says he can give me the WWE title - that's what I want. Paul Heyman says, he can get me the WWE Wrestlemania Main event - that's what I want. And I'm positive in my heart of hearts Paul Heyman, what he really wants, what he really needs, is an apology. Paul, if an apology is what you want… If an apology gets me those things. Then come out here face to face. You may just get what you want…"

{Paul Heyman with Curtis Axel comes out to the ramp.}

CM Punk: "Paul, this is all I know. The doctor says I'm not fit to compete right now, yet here I am in my gear and I'm taped up because this is all I know, this is all I have. And I lost a fight last night. And I've got my ass kicked before and here I am still standing.

The truth is Paul, I AM sorry. I'm sorry that I took my eyes off of Brock Lesnar for a split-second last night just to enact my revenge on you, and I'm sorry that that revenge wasn't enough. I'm sorry I didn't take your arm OFF and take it home with me! I'm sorry that I didn't break your FACE! And I'm sorry that the next time I DO get my hands on you, I'm gonna choke you out and I'm gonna wake you up, I'm gonna spit in your face, and I'm gonna take your arm home with me! And I'm sorry that you think a BEATING is gonna stop me. I am relentless and I will not stop and I don't care who you put in front of me or what you're trying to do. I'm gonna get my hands on you and I'm gonna get my revenge. And I say, we do it right now in Anaheim.

Come on! Come on! Have the guts that this fat guy over here doesn't have! Step into the ring with CM Punk, and fight me like a man!"

Paul Heyman: "You know, there is an apology that's due this evening. And to be blunt, the apology should come from me. CM Punk, I'm sorry… I'm sorry for what is about to happen to you. Curtis Axel, please go in the back and tape up your hands for a fight.

You have push me too far once too often. I'm not that fat guy sitting in the front row! I can be the worst nightmare you have ever encountered. So help me God if you are still in that ring when we come back from a commercial. Curtis Axel is going to be sent down to that ring by Paul Heyman, and Curtis Axel is going to finish the job that Brock Lesnar started on you."

WWE Raw - #PipeBombshell Transcript

2013-09-02T15:27:00.002+08:00

OMG you guys! I just watched last night's episode of Total Divas. And it was insane, oh my gosh. I mean, the Bellas were dealing with their obvious daddy issues… The Funkadactyls broke up and got back together again… Natalya's fiancee isn't much of a man… And the other two were also there… It was great. It really was. And it was the end of the world and it is only Sunday night in theE Network. Aaaaaah….

...

Do you want to know what I see when I look in that ring, honestly? A bunch of cheap, interchangeable, expendable, useless women. Women who have turned to reality television 'cause they weren't gifted enough to be actresses. And they just weren't talented enough to be champion.

I have done more in one year than all of you have done in your entire collective careers. I have saved your divas division. I have shattered glass ceilings. I have broken down doors. Why? So, so a bunch of ungrateful, stiff, plastic mannequins can waltz on through without even as much as a thank you? You guys can't even go back stage and shake my hand and look me in the eye because you know that I worked my entire life to get here. I gave my life to this and you were just handed fifteen minutes of fame.

I didn't get here because I was cute, or because I come from some famous wrestling family, or because I SUCKED up to the right people. I got here because I am good. I EARNED this championship. And no matter how many red carpets you guys you want to walk in your four thousand dollar ridiculous heels, you will never be able to lace up my Chuck Taylor's.

You were all worthless excuses for women. And you will never be able to touch me. And THAT is reality.

- AJ Lee

JollibeeSG's new policy

2013-07-17T12:00:00.001+08:00

Just so that everyone's expectation is set, here's the new "seating policy" from Jollibee in Lucky Plaza. (They're pretty strict on this :)

Kicking it Old School! :))

2013-05-02T07:04:00.001+08:00

Limited Time Only: Efficient Card Mastery Farming in Marvel War of Heroes

2013-04-20T02:53:00.001+08:00

While playing through the Deadpool Raid Event in Marvel WoH, I noticed a simple but effective way of "farming" your cards' mastery.

Here's what you need to do:

Fix your ATT and DEF decks. Cards within these decks are the candidates for mastery increase. If an unexpected card gets mastered, check the system's "suggested" decks.
Proceed with the latest Raid Event Missions continuously. If you get a Deadpool fight, proceed to step 3.
In the Deadpool fight menu, do the following:

Use Light attack (1RDS);
(Optional)Ask for Support from your team; then
Go back to playing the Raid Event Missions, step 2 above.

Marvel WoH: My Page. Click on "Newest Event Mission"

After a Light Attack, press "Ask for Support"

Why this works
Unless you run out of energy, reach 100% mission progress and/or reach the next XP level, everytime you finish a mission round (from 3 to 5 attacks), the possible outcomes are the following:

Deadpool challenges you;
Get one Speed, Bruiser, or Tactics card;
Increase of Card Mastery.

As stated in the info sheet, only 5 active Deadpools are visible in your list. Once you reach that, you will no longer encounter Deadpool at the end of each mission round. That means, at the end of each mission round, you either get a card or increase in mastery, so roughly 50-50, which is the best odds of increasing mastery so far.

Not sure about you guys, but when I tried it, I have significantly increased the mastery of my three cards in my decks (the other cards I had are already mastered at this point.)

Note however that your mastery is increased depending on the raid mission levels. From Raids 1-* to 4-*, mastery increases by 1 (since each attack costs 1 energy), Raids 5-* increases by 2, Raids 6-* by 3 (which is where I'm currently at.)

It's much better to farm mastery here than the "vanilla" missions, because aside from the above, you also have the colored item to a specific set (i.e. Storm's Capes, She-Hulk's suitcases, etc.) which you typically don't need at this point.

Risks
Note that this is aimed at farming Mastery. Doing this significantly impacts you Raid Event Rewards (Raid Rating, ISO-8 Shards, RDS Bars), as you use only the Light Attacks.

The Ask For Support step specified above is a way to make up (although clearly not enough) for lost Rewards. This relies on heavy reliance on your alliance/team mates. You only get the First Contact Rewards (Raid Rating and Shards) when Deadpool is actually finished off by your alliance. No RDS bars rewards, as you are not the Last Striking agent.

Hope this helps. Please be aware of the risks and rewards.

In case you are interested to play and you need the boost, use this referral code which will be asked after the tutorial:

Referral code: mdp813328

Have fun!

My First Allergy Scare

2013-04-18T00:41:00.001+08:00

Normal evening. Just looking for some things for my bookbinding project.
Yes, I know. It's just a hobby I picked up somewhere. How quaint.
Anyway, I finally found the wax, the threads, the crafting needles, and some bookbinding sticky tape. Found them stashed in of 'em plastic stackable cases. I put them away to a container I frequently use, expecting to do them the next time I'm free. I had to go to bed early as I am on shift the next day.
In hindsight, those stackable cases were pretty dusty. Note to self: clean them later. Need some goggles and a facemask next time I do any cleaning around the house.
As we finished preparing for bed, I turned off the light. It was pitch black all of a sudden. It has to be, so my son can sleep sooner than later.
By this time, my nose was beginning to get really stuffy. I thought nothing of it at the time, recounting my dusty encounter with while looking for my things. My wife decided to get me some stuffy nose meds and water to help clear it up.
Shortly, my eyes have become unbearably itchy. I went out the room to get the eyedrops we have in the fridge, drop some on my eyes, then returned to bed.
It helped, but besides the slight relief, my eyes are still bothering me a lot. I decided I should get another dose of the eye drops.
I went to the toilet first though as it I really needed to pee. Turned the lights on, and saw my face. Holey sheet! My eyes were all puffy and swollen! I got the eyedrops again. Then went back.
Told and showed my wife, we decided to go to the nearest hospital, NUH.
For a while, I had this silly notion that the eyedrops would work just fine, even though my face was really swollen. First time I had that. Denial I guess.
My face reminded me of the vampires in Buffy and Angel. You know, the prosthetic makeup / whatever on the forehead and around the eyes of the vampire actors to make them look, you know, vampirey. Hehehe.
Decent clothes checked, phone checked, money checked, and so is my IC. (Never forget your IC!) Thankfully, a taxi was just unloading some passengers close by. I had to run there though, before he drives away. We got the cab and we got in.
I'm still relaxed for someone in my state, I guess; eyes nearly getting closed, breathing becoming more difficult. The taxi ride was thankfully a short one.
By the time we got to the ENI, I was still pretty calm, my mouth was open because my nose already closed up. I can no longer breathe through my nose.
The nurse there offerred me a wheelchair but I declined. I can still walk, I just can't breathe. In hindsight, another silly idea on my part. That was my chance to finally sit on a wheelchair! Damn! Missed opportunity again. Hehehe
Seriously though, I had to keep my mouth open most of the time. A bit tough for me to talk to the nurses when they examined me. They thought that I got this from taking paracetamol. Good thing the missus was there to check what the nurses were typing in my records.
I wonder what would life be like if I actually am allergic to paracetamol? It's the most common meds for the most common ills. With that out of the picture, I wonder what else I could take?
Just to backtrack a bit. In the NUH Emergency Room, there are some steps: Step 1: temperature check. Step 2: registration and payment (S$100 standard cost). Step 3: Triage (nurse's initial assessment). Step 4: Consultation with doctor (wait for queue number to be called; waiting time that time was 2 to 3 hours). Step 5: Pharmacy and payment of any remaining balance.
In my case, though, I didn't have to wait for my queue number to be called in Step 4. I guess they figured this was already an emergency. They said my BP is quite high. 195/105 or something. I guess that's one effect of not being able to breathe! So from Triage, I went straight to what looks like an ER. Lots of nurses and patients in varying ages, shapes, and conditions.
The nurses back in Triage offered me to sit on the wheelchair but I declined again! Oh well, I'll never get to sit on a wheelchair this round I think.
Back to the story: in that ER, I lied down on one of them fancy hospital beds. It was getting cold so the sheets were a welcome sight.
Nurse gave me six tablets. No idea what they were, they just told me antidote to the swelling and allergies. I'm guessing it's some form of antihistamine. (Thank you, Dr. House! Hehe)
I felt the immediate effect of the tablets. The itch around the eyes disappeared. And my nasal passages have opened up a bit. Big relief!
Shortly, they told me they will give me a big dose of anti-allergy meds via injection. They said it will be extremely painful so it had to be done on the bigger muscles: the thighs.
It's been a while since I got pierced with a needle. First thing that popped in my mind was when I gave a bag of blood for my mother almost a decade ago. The next one that I remember were a series of vaccine shots I got from the local clinic. I was jobless at that time, so I figured it was a good time as any to get myself some shots. Yep, never been vaccinated before. That was my first time. Hehe. All of my previous needles were on the arms or shoulders. Never on the thighs. I wonder what it would be like...
Okay needle's in. I've had bigger needles stuck on me. It was fine. But when the nurse pressed the meds in. Ooooh... It's like acid eating away your flesh from the inside. Yeowchies! Well, they did say it was painful...
Besides the irritating pain on my leg, I feel a lot better. I can now close my mouth as I can now breathe again through my nose. No more itchy eyes. And the swelling has hone down a bit. I was taken to some kind of recovery room. Recovery room had 10 slots, I was in number 5. Doctor told me to rest there until morning, as the antidote I took has that lovely drowsiness effect. Not sure what they were talking about. I was up and lively.
Then again, it just might be the fact that I haven't peed yet for the last few hours. Missed my chance at #9 above.
Good. Peed my worries away. The bed feels a lot softer and more comfortable afterwards. Still not sleepy though. I brought out my phone and used up all my energy in Marvel WoH and I started blogging about this rather fascinating experience.
And just like that it was morning. 6:30. I must have dozed off into a deep, dreamless sleep. I remembered I'm supposed to go to work today. Sent SMS to my boss and to my shift partner, then emailed the rest of the team regarding my MC.Thank God for Mobile Technology!
I was discharged shortly. They gave me a one-day MC, a referral letter to the NUH Dermatology Clinic for follow-up (this seems to be a common practice here), and a prescription slip which I am to take to the Pharmacy (aka Step 5). I hauled my butt off of bed and went straight there. A little anxious as it's really cold and it's raining really hard outside.
Got my medicine from pharmacy. Got 42 tablets of prednisolone (looks like the same one I got earlier in #23) and 10 tablets of loratadine. A quick wiki search says they're anti-inflammatory steroids (yikes) and antihistamine for the allergies, respectively. I have to take 1loratadine and 6 prednisolone in the morning after meal.
I was quickly on my way to the Kent Ridge MRT. I could have been there sooner if I didn't get lost! :)) It was my first time through the NUH grounds so I got to see a lot of eating places before I got to the taxi stand and the MRT.
Got home quickly and nicely. Once I'm in bed I dozed off immediately. I woke up past 12 noon.
A lot of things happened after that, but that is a story for another time. :)

It's not the Instagram Envy Effect, it's YOU!

2013-04-16T03:00:00.003+08:00

I read an article here about the envy effect of Instagram. Honestly, I never even knew that this Instagram envy existed, but I'm not surprised to find out it does.

I agree with the article for the most part, but there are some things that I feel needs to be said. Hence, this post.

It's okay to be envious. Envy is a basic, natural emotion. And it's good that you experience envy because (1) it shows that you are still in touch with this far-from-ideal reality, and (2) it shows you what you need/want in your life. It means that you are not living in your own perfect world but grounded in reality that there are things that you need/want that still don't have until now.

Typically, you don't just get envious randomly. You get envious of some thing because that thing is one of your wants and/or needs. So in a way, your envy is your compass to what you want/need. This realization is always the first step to get yourself out of the gutters that is envy.

Don't force yourself to believe that you're not envious when you know deep down inside you are, because they taught you in school that it's one of the deadly sins. You're just lying to yourself and, last time I checked, lying is a sin as well.

Is it wrong to feel envy? Yes and no. And that's true for any other emotion. Feeling it the first time is okay. That's an immediate reflexive response to something to which you do not have control. It's how you handle your emotions and actions afterwards that determines whether you are right or wrong to feel this way.

This brings me to my second point: you should consciously choose how to handle your envy. Especially when you find yourself always feeling bad for the good fortune of others. The so-called crab mentality. (Poor crabs. Did you know that crabs don't pull each other down? They actually lift each other up!)

You see in Instagram a picture of your friend in the Eiffel tower. You feel envious. What do you do? (A) Get stuck in your envy and hate this friend for the rest of your life! (B) Stop following this friend. (C) Convince your friend to read the article to convince him/her to stop Instagramming his/her life. (D) Be happy for your friend and be inspired to reach similar or same goal.

In either case, YOU control what happens next after you feel envious. You can say "I want the same blessing that happened to him to happen to me!" Or you can stay mired in your envy and think "He doesn't deserve to be happy! Life is not fair!" At the end of the day, it is your choice.

The way I see it though, some people just choose not to make any move to feel better, not because they choose to do so, but rather because they didn't know that they have a choice. That it is their choice to be positive or continue to be negative. That they just let themselves wallow in that envy over and over until it consumes them, because they didn't know they have a choice. In this case, not doing anything to move out of the envious state is a choice in itself that leads to continuous, endless cycle of misery.

It's a rather sad and frankly an irresponsible way of living.

Remember, you cannot always control others. But you can always control YOU.

Choose to be happy. But then again, the choice is yours. :)

How missing the bus may have saved my life

2013-04-12T21:03:00.001+08:00

Just about to call it a day. Tickets are lighter for a Friday night. Just waiting for the next shift guys to take over.

Today, they arrived earlier than usual. I felt good thinking I can get home a bit earlier. Booking taxis are no good on Fridays, especially where I'm coming from. So I had to settle for the only real choice I had: the bus.

7:58PM I was frantically dashing for the bus stop, as I knew it could be arriving at any minute. The bus stop quite a run, had to round 2 corners to get there. Just as I was about to cross the street, the bus was arriving. I waved hard and mad and shouted from the top of my lungs, but to no avail. The bus just zinged by, not even slowing down as it neared the bus stop.

I was... disappointed. And honestly quite embarassed. There were people in a nearby lot who saw the whole thing. It's a bit dark, but I can clearly see their smirks, their white teeth gleaming quite distinctly from where I'm standing.

I guess anyone would have been embarassed.

Once at the actual bus stop, I tried to shake it all off. I wanted to stop feeling sorry for myself. So I did what any sane man would do: I distracted myself with my phone. I played Clash of Clans and Marvel War of Heroes. Nice game btw. (If you're interested and need a headstart, use this referral code: mdp813328. You'll get a Rare card right away.)

The next bus finally arrived. By this time, 10 minutes have gone by and I'm more focused on which S Rare card I should boost first.

Bus doors opened. I stepped in. I tapped my EZLink "toot" card on the "toot" machine -- TOOT! -- I still had 30sgd. Then I climbed to the second level. Yep, SBS 255 is a double decker bus. This one was open air though. Aircon by nature, we used to say.

I enjoyed the ride. Just fast enough for the breeze to flow through and caress my skin. As I closed my eyes to enjoy the cold wind, I suddenly had a picture of the bus earlier. Thinking back, the bus was really reckless. It was going really fast with no sign of slowing down. I, hiwever, thought it stranger that it suddenly popped in my head.

Just then, our bus slowed down. Everyone was curious and talking loudly. Then, one of them pointed forward. I looked and right in front of us was a bus.

A bus at this route? Only bus service 255 runs this route. So that means that bus in front was the bus that I missed earlier.

As our bus pulled closer to the side, we saw the wreck scene. Beside the bus was a forklift that was carrying long steel pipes and was toppled over! People on the ground were trying to pull it trying to put it right side up. Thankfully, no one was buried underneath it.
As our bus slowly drove further, I looked in awe at the other bus. I took a picture of it...

The seat in front right behind the blasted windshield was where I usually sit. I felt lucky I was not there. All the negativity from earlier was washed away with thankfulness that I was not there to be, quite literally, front row and center.

After this realization, I started writing this on my phone. Slowly and surely remembering the details. Time whizzed by quick. By the time I reached home, I'm ready to post this. I didn't mind that I didn't get home earlier than I initially wanted. It didn't matter.

I smiled reflecting thoughfully about blessings in disguise...

In hindsight, that wrecked bus may not actually be the same bus that zinged past earlier. It could have been the bus before that one. Be that as it may, I'm still thankful that I'm still here safe and unscathed.

Something to think about...

2013-04-11T21:47:00.001+08:00

My Post-Wrestlemania WWE Raw rundown

2013-04-11T01:20:00.000+08:00

Just finished my rundown of Wrestlemania 29. Read raving reviews about the post-WM Raw. As I understand it, it's because of the NJ crowd in Izod Center. Let's see...

John Cena Promo

Ha! Nice shirt "the champ is here" with arrow pointing down. Cena is wearing the WWE belt on his waist.
As usual, crowd is pretty split. Boos here. Cheers there. Hehe.
Cena talks about main eventing WM and winning and all the perks that go with it.
"The adulation." Crowd boos. "The respect." Crowd boos. "The cheers." Crowd boos. "The cheers?" Crowd boos louder. "The cheers??" The crowd responds with even bigger boos.
John Cena is having fun with the crowd. The crowd then had their fun at John Cena, chanting "boring!" "Boring!" "Boring!"
Championship dance? What in the world is Cena doing?
Shake? Crowd says no. Kicking? Crowd chants No! No! No! No! "How about a HEEL TURN?" Crowd took a while to catch up then cheers in agreement! What a tease! :|
You can say whatever you want to say about Cena. But he knows the what the people wants. He must be in reading comments from the IWC every now and then.
The champ is here! Then crowd chants "Same old sheet! Same old sheet! Same old sheet!"
The champ is in a fighting mood tonight and issues an open challenge Before he finishes, 3-6 Mafia's Some Bodies Gonna Get It plays. Mark Henry heads down the ramp! Yes!
Been waiting for this for a long time. Mark Henry could have one more run as champ before retiring for good.
Crowd chant "sexual chocolate!" Cena says crowd wants to have "sex with chocolate." This is PG14 still, right? Ha! :)
Crowd is loving the idea and so do I! Then Booker T hits the ring. Who made him GM all of a sudden?
Booker says Rock gets a rematch as #1 contender. "Once in a lifetime, best out of three?"
Booker T: Rock was injuted last night. Crowd chants, uhm, "Hoarse sheet! Hoarse sheet! Hoarse sheet!" No idea what that means... Booker was taken aback. This is a wild crowd!
Mark Henry gets a title shot if he beats Cena tonight at the main event. Nice!

Daniel Bryan (w/Kane) vs Big E Langston (w/ Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee)

A sort-of rematch from WM29. This time, we see how BigE holds his own against Goatface.
BigE takes early control with big slam.
Crowd clearly behind DB: Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Oooooohhh Yes! (6kicks to chest + 1kick to side of the head.)
Distraction from AJ and Ziggy leads to BigE getting upperhand.
BigE hits his finisher the Big Ending (according to Cole) for the win. Finally, we have a name for his move.
Good debut for BigE. Could have been better if a bit longer.

Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs Wade Barrett (rematch from WM29 pre-show)

JBL to Cole: "If you'd have a different head and a different body, you'd look a lot better." Zing!
Crowd is booing Miz. Then "Let's go Barrett" chants ring throughout the arena.
Wade hits Miz with a neckbreaker on the ring apron. Crowd is impressed. Commercial.
Impressive Winds of Change from Wade. Then flying elbow on the floor from the apron.
Not sure who botched the Miz's backbreaker-neckbreaker schtick. It looked ugly. Crowd chants "you pucked up" briefly.No idea why...
Figure four locked in. Can't say if crowd was saying "woooh" or "boo". Reaches the ropes and crowd cheers. Well, I guess that means those were "boos".
Wade is bleeding from the mouth. Not sure where he got that.
Wade hits the Bull Hammer. Wade Barrett is once again the Intercontinental Champion. Weird booking though.

Team Brickie-Sheamus Backstage Promo
Sheamus demands a match with Big Show. That's it. :|

Booker T-Randy Orton Backstage Promo
Randy approaches Booker T to have the match with Big Show instead. Booker T overrules Vickie and gives the match to Randy

WHC Alberto del Rio vs Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter

Another rematch from last WM. Not really looking forward to this.
Zeb Colter is rausing the crowd and chants USA. Well, the crowd did chant USA! I though they were supposed to boo the heels? That just shows one of the many wrongs in this storyline.
Unlike earlier, the crowd is pretty quiet when ADR hits the ring.
Crowd: "We want Ziggler!"
JBL: "I've never taken anything away from Alberto del Rio. He's a great champion and he has a fantastic win last night."
Cole: "It was an INCREDIBLE win for del Rio."
JBL: "Well, choose your adjective, okay? We're agreeing with you, okay? You don't have to just restate it and say something else." Go shut him up, JBL! Geez. Could somebody please fetch Jim Ross please and take Cole's place?
JBL: "Everybody loves freedom of speech until somebody actually uses it!" How true! :))
Ha! "We want Ziggler" chants break out again.
Crowd chants "USA!" Geez, that's it. This storyline is completely wrong and should be buried. Ziggler really needs to cash in soon to finish this storyline and move on to another one.
ADR's knee and/or ankle hurting. Not sure when or where. Not interested to rewind and find out. Must have locked the patriot lock or something at some point. It's not like he has any other move...
I'm actually more interested in the commentary. That's how I much I don't care about the match. Well, except the chants from the crowd. Those are gold!
Cross arm breaker! Limping ADR gets the submission victory.
Dolph Ziggler's theme hits! He's cashing it in!!! CROWD EXPLODES!!! Every crowd's fantasy is finally here!!!

WHC Alberto del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler

One-legged ADR faces Dolph. Crowd is on their feet!
Crowd: LET'S GO ZIGGLER! The crowd is really in to it!
Cross arm breaker on Ziggler! Ziggler twists ADR's bad ankle.
Zig-zag! 1! 2! 3! We have a new World Heavyweight Champion! Crowd explodes again!
Crowd is on their feet! Extremely happy to finally FINALLY see Dolph Ziggler cash in. Wow!

Undertaker promo

Undertaker begins the slow walk to the ring. I was hoping to see the creepy hands from the ground reaching out to Taker like in WM, but they're a no-show.
As Undertaker speaks out about dedicating his match to Paul Bearer, the SHIELD hits the ring. Nice! They've clearly moved on to better feuds!
Boom! Hellfire and brimstone! Kane and Daniel Bryan hits the ring. The SHIELD retreats.
Wow! The rub the SHIELD are gonna get from Taker is great!
Does that mean Taker will have some matches post-Mania??

Dolph Ziggler interview with Josh Matthews

Dolph: "I've been too damn good for too damn long!" Crowd agrees!
Dolph: "I know, it's the day after. But this... THIS is my Wrestlemania moment!" Crowd cheers loudly in agreement again.
Dolph: "It's about damn time!" Crowd agrees again.

3MB vs Zack Ryder, Santino Marella and R-Truth

Okay bathroom break. Hehe
King on 3MB: "The audience booed so loud they couldn't hear themselves suck"
JBL: "No, no. They're not that good."
Wow! Crowd is really digging Santino's Cobra! Cobra hits, Santino pins for the win.

Randy Orton, Sheamus backstage promo
The two are arguing who gets Big Show. *sigh* I thought this lovefest was over...

Sheamus vs Randy Orton "shoot" match

Sheamus asks the crowd who they want to see lick Big Show's arse. Randy Orton hits the ring.
King: "I dunno if I'd be asking our fans here tonight anything. I dunno if it's me or if it's opposite night."
JBL: "These guys have a mind of their own. They're having a great time. I love it." Amen!
Oh great. Another tweet vote to see who faces Big Show.
Booker T and Vickie show up. Sheamus vs Randy Orton to face each other to determine who faces Big Show? What happened to the tweet voting thingie?
Probably a shoot. If it's a worked shoot match, it's really terrible.
Not everyone is happy including the crowd. What's going on behind the scenes?
Hahaha! Crowd is chanting Ole Ole Ole Ole. Orton a bit disturbed.
Crowd is chanting "Mike Chioda!" First time I heard the crowd cheering for the ref.
"Boring" chants erupt.
Crowd: "RVD! RVD! RVD!"
King: "Don't look at me with a quizzical look on your face, Cole. I can't tell what they're chanting either." Ha ha ha. Nice try, King.
JBL: "I don't think this WWE universe even thinks there's anybody in the ring right now. They're having a great time!"
Crowd: "JBL! JBL! JBL!"
Cole: "Are they chanting for you? Oh my Lord! This place is insane!"
JBL: "Smart fans! They're not insane! They're brilliant! These folks are brilliant!" As the camera then focuses on JBL on commentary, crowd gives him a huge pop. The guys in the ring really lost the crowd.
Crowd: "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"
JBL: "They'll never chant Cole, I can guarantee you that!"
Crowd: "Michael Cole! Michael Cole!"
Cole: "They're chanting my name!?"
JBL: "They've gone nuts!"
Crowd: "ECW! ECW! ECW!"
Crowd is now doing the wave from one side to another.
King: "They've resorted to a wave!"
JBL: "I wish Michael would drown it!"
Sheamus delivers Irish hand grenades! Crowd finally pays attention to the match for a bit.
Crowd: "Randy Savage!" "Randy Savage!"
King: "The wrong Randy!" Randy Orton is about to lose it, like he lost the crowd. Will this lead to his heel turn???
Big Show hits the ring. The crowd laps it up and chants "Thank you Big Show!"
Huge Big Show Spear on Randy Orton right in front of the announce team. Crowd goes "Holy sheet! Holy sheet!"
While Big Show is manhandling Randy Orton all over the announce table, the crowd is chanting "we are awesome!" This crowd really cracks me up.
Big Show started throwing the announce team's chairs to the ring. The two chairs fall short and did not go inside the ring. Crowd chants "one more time" and later "one more chair." This crowd is nuts and totally ignores Randy.

Fandango vs Kofi Kingston

Fan-daang-goh is up next. Good effort in WM, except for that weird finish.
King: "JBL he needs to tell the truth. The first time he saw his wife dance, he had to pay the cover charge." Hahaha. Kids, it's alright if you don't get it. I don't either ;)
After the huge Fandango's lighted silhouette pyro thingie on the ring (whatever that is) Cole says "I want one of those!" JBL responds with "The dancer? I do to!" Hahaha.
What the?! The crowd is humming his theme! Dan dan! Dan dan danan dan. Dan dan. Dan dan danan dan. Quite a catchy tune. I'm doing it justice. You have to watch it yourself!
Crowd explodes as Jericho assaults Fandango! He's really doing a number on him, in the ring, out the ring and to the announce table again! Crowd likes this feud!
JBL: "Come on. Where's the Spanish announce table?" Hahaha.
Jericho's really beating him. Way to go to put him over to the crowd!
Refs forced Y2J away, but not after delivering the Walls of Jericho and Codebreaker. Crowd was chanting gor a Lionsault but did not do it, with so many refs already in the ring.
Bell rings, and Fandango wins via DQ.
Fandango, still in character, corrects Justin Roberts and says "It's Faaahn-daaahng-gooh." Crowd cheers!
His music hits and the crowd is now totally into humming Fandango's theme!
Well, whatever went wrong the previous night, that was redeemed this time. He's waaay over to the crowd. Not sure though if he should still be heel or face. This crowd's really something else!

Paul Heyman interview by Josh Matthews
Two things: Brock Lesnar is ready to fight, but he doesn't fight for free. CM Punk will be in Raw next week.

Tons of Funk and Funkadactyls vs Rhodes Scholars and Bella Twins

The match that was nixed the previous night is up next. Still wondering which segment went overtime in WM29 that they had to take their match of the card. It's not like they were going to have a long match. Probably 10 minutes tops.
JBL: "These guys shop with Michael Hayes?" referring to Tons of Funk's new Mafia-like threads.
Naomi hits rear view on one of the Bellas who tags in Cody. Naomi does the hurricanrana on him before Sweet T crushes him on the corner. Crowd's into it as well, who were just chanting Fandango's theme still.
Sweet T...uhm...basically runs then flips over, crushing Cody on the corner with his rather sizable back. What is that move called? Rolling Thunder? Rolling sushi? Sushi rolls? Funky roll? Sweet roll? Hehehe.

Rough trajectory of Sweet T's, uhm, "Sweet Roll"
JBL: "What in the world's going on?!?" in a rather confused comedic tone.
JBL: "I think Sweet T's wrestling by himself. He's wrestling by himself...
King: "Like a Ric Flair match!"
Sweet T gets hit with a disaster kick, landing on the second rope. Bella's then hit, according to Cole, double bump muck. "Crushing" Sweet T's head with their rather sizable hips... Moving on...
All the while crowd is STILL. Humming Fandango's theme!
After Brodus' T-Bone (steak) suplex and a rather weird cover, Bella's get in and so did the Funkadactyls. Cody gets clotheslined to outside, leaving Damien with the Tons of Funk. Damien gets crushed with a double splash. One two three!
Crowd goes wild and dances to Tons of Funk's theme.
JBL: "I'm beyond speechless. I'm calling my momma. 'Mom!' And I'm telling my momma this is the craziest criwd I've seen in my entire life."
King: "Cole, is this your version of getting funky or are you having a seizure."
JBL: "You got the rhythm of a drunk elephant."
Cole: "Hey, the fans chanted my name, I trended on twitter tonight, this is a good night for me!"

Mark Henry vs John Cena

Mark enters first. Some of the crowd are actually dancing to his theme!
John Cena comes up next again to a mix of cheers and boos. Although the boos sound a bit louder than usual.
RTIME=NOW ? Sure, nice shirt, Cena.
Crowd is chanting Fandango's name still!!! Cena dances a bit and pays for it.
Action spilled to the announce table. Again. Crowd's yelling "Same old sheet! Same old sheet!"
Cena wins via count out victory. Not the best or impressive way to end it.
Post-match, Henry hits the World's Strongest Slam and raises the WWE belt to a huge pop from the crowd.
Ryback hits the ring and lays out Henry with a spinebuster. Goldberg chants ring out.
Ryback helps John Cena up, and crowd boos.
Ryback hits Cena with the Meathook. Huge pop from the crowd. Then shellshock. Ryback raises the WWE belt to an even bigger pop from the crowd.
Well, there's a turn. Perhaps not the turn that we're expecting.

Well, the WWE creative team got their work cut out for them. They struck gold with Fandango. The NJ crowd really put Fandango over big time. I f he continues to be in this character in the next few years with much success, he owes a lot to the NJ crowd at the Izod Center.

My Wrestlemania 29 Rundown

2013-04-10T15:54:00.003+08:00

Okay VOD, here we go...

Orton Lovefest vs The SHIELD - 3/5

Great opening match. Cliche "what a way to start the show" really works in this case.
Clean match so far. No outside underhanded tactics yet. Rollins tags Ambrose in. And there goes the triple team. Hehe.
Big Show removes Ambrose's protective vest. Big hands to his chest. Oooh the sound... That's gotta hurt...
Frequent tags by SHIELD gives them upperhand for most of the match. Action's fast-paced.
Finally, action spilled outside of the ring. Seth Rollins' suicide dive was sick. Nearly took his own head off.
Damn spear by Big Show. Biggest spear in the business today.
Sheamus looking for a tag. Orton steals the tag from Show. Show visibly upset.
Orton catches Rollins with RKO. Gets hit by Reign's spear. Ambrose pins for the win.
Post-match, Big Show gives KO punch to Orton and Sheamus. Not the big "heel" turn we're expecting. He's been a heel for the most part last year, then becomes a tweener during WM season.
On the bright side, the Orton lovefest is over! :)
"All out for good guys" Cole is getting annoying again, blaming everything on Big Show and feeling for Orton. Thank goodness JBL is there making good sense.

Mark Henry vs Ryback - 3/5

I was looking forward to this so it got higher marks than others would give it.
Crowd was booing Ryback and cheering Mark Henry! I knew I was nit the only one pulling for the World's Strongest Man.
Funny how the 300+ pound Ryback was picked up by Henry then dropped with a running powerslam. He never looked smaller in the ring.
Very slow pace though. Too many bear hugs and so much time outside the ring.
Pure strength by Ryback, picking up Mark Henry. Twice! He redeemed that Tensai botch late last year.
Despite the slow dragging pace, it was a good finish for both; Henry dominating most of the match and winning, and Ryback looked REALLY strong despite the loss.
Never agreed that Ryback NEEDED to win this match, due to a string if PPV losses. That's just ridiculous I think. Henry needed to win in order to legitimize the aging veteran's claim as one of the biggest monsters in WWE. Glad the match ended this way.

WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No vs Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston (with AJ Lee) - 2/5

This match I think is just to highlight Dolph. No point in having them win. Then again, I guess there was a hope that the awaited implosion of Team Hell No might happen. But with the way things were going...
Goatf.... Err... Daniel Bryan flying all over the place. Lasted longer this year than last year.
Big E manhandling Kane was... WOW! His part in all of this is too short though.
A disappointingly short match but they made the best of it I think. No dramatic turns for the tag champs, but Ziggy and BigE did look great.
Wow look at that crowd! YES! YES! YES! YES!

Fandango vs Chris Jericho - 2/5

Great entrance by Fan-Dahng-Gooooo!
Just saw Y2J's face a bit bloody. Still don't know where he got it...
Ha ha ha! JBL ripping at Fandango for posing. Here's one reason why I like JBL in commentary. He's not just sticking to a heel or face. He's smashmouth wrestler so he respects tough gutsy moves whether it comes from a heel ir a face. Cole and King should take notes from him.
Is it me or is the pace quite slow?
Lion-sault was too close, that's why he missed. Weird finish though.
Fandango won but it's hardly a debut that got him over.
Y2J smirking and shaking his head after the match. Was that because he kayfabe list? Or because he knew that ending was not what they had planned to do?

World Heavyweight Champion Alberto del Rio vs Jack Swagger - 1/5

Zeb Colter's promo was good; some boos here and there, but still a better reaction than the two feuding wrestlers. Well, maybe Ricardo gets better pops. These two 'sidekicks' are more fun and appreciated by the crowd than Jack and ADR.
Whoops. Sorry I snoozed a bit.
Hehehe the crowd knows what it likes: "We want Ziggler!" "We want Ziggler!"
Cross Arm Breaker countered with the Patriot Lock was sweet! Crowd's reaction is very low though. Makes me wanna press fast forward...
ADR wins and retains the title. Zeb Colter's face was incensed! Hahaha what a heel!
Dirtsheets said the crowd booed when it was clear Ziggler was not cashing in tonight. Too bad I did't see it here...

Undertaker vs CM Punk - 5/5!!!

Watching the preview. Heyman caught the urn then made a run for it. Look at him go! Didn't know he had it in him to scramble like that. :)
Living Color sings Cult of Personality for CM Punk's entrance. Great! The old timers' still got it! :)
Intense look from Punk and Heyman, working the crowd real good. Crowd getting really loud now. We're all waiting for this match.
Whoa! Creepy hands reaching out during Takers entrance! That's really... Wow... The slow walk from the ramp to the ring begins. His entrance is getting creepier and creepier every year.
Taker looks like a character from one of those games. That hood... Can't remember which game though...
They start off real quick. This is how you start a match! Big slap from Punk heard around the world.
Crowd chants "Undertaker!" "CM Punk!" "Undertaker!" "CM Punk!"
CM Punk hits Old School! Never imagined I'm gonna say that.
Paul Heyman makes his presence felt, both verbally (he doesn't need a mic!) and physically, running interferance distracting Taker.
One in the crowd shouting "Randy Savage!" as Punk climbs up top rope and drops the elbow.
King: "We have seen Punk put away many wrestlers with that move." No he doesn't. Really, King...
First finisher: monstrous chokeslam for a nearfall. Punk sold that one nicely.
Punk hits the "Randy Savage" to Undertaker on top of the Spanish announce table! The table lives! The table lives! The table lives!!!
Hell's Gate countered with pin. Then Anaconda Vise locked in.
Taker stood up while the Vise is still locked in. Punk is in shock! Crowd is in shock! Biggest pop yet. Picture paints a thousand words. Whoa. That was great!

Deadman Rising - Undertaker stood up, shocking CM Punk.
Vise is broken. Chokeslam! Countered! GTS connects but only grazed Taker. What the... Tombstone Piledriver. Nearfall!!! Paul Heyman was ecstatic! And so was the crowd!
Crowd's boos and yeahs are split when Taker and Punk are exchanging blows.
Crowd goes whoooo... Kick to the shoulder. Taker no-sells! Chokeslam! no, ref gets knocked out. Heyman distracts again.
Last Ride countered with the urn! Ref's up (that was fast). Punk pins Taker! No! Two! Streak is still alive!
GTS no! Tombstone no... GTS again no! Pure strength! Taker lifts Punk off his boots! Tombstone.... BAM!!! 1! 2! 3! Streak is alive! Streak is now 21-0!!!
Stellar match! Match of the Night!

Triple H vs Brock Lesnar - 4/5

HBK is here. Yeey... yipee... Ho-hum... Sorry, it's just not like what it used to be, Mr. Wrestlemania.
Back-to-back match appearance by Paul Heyman. Great wrestlemania for him!
Huh? What's that white stuff on Trips' belly?
Trading blows. Action quickly spilled to outside if the ring.
Oh right, no holds barred. There goes steel chair #1...
Ah finally. Brock's in control on the outside. Belly-to-belly suplex on the floor was sick!
Yes! Suplex to Trips on the table! Yes! Not this time, Spanish announce table. Table's down! Finally. Hehe...
Action dragged back into the ring. Brock taunts the crowd to a huge pop. Not sure if I was expecting pop or heat for that one.
Paul Heyman's really good with his character. To Trips (and without a mic): "Why do you put yourself through this? Stay down! It's over!"
First foreign object to actually hit someone: steel chair #2 on Brock.
HBK's sweet chin music blocked. F5 to HBK. Hehe.
Did Brock botch the Pedigree for a bit there? He knelt a bit sooner I think.
Sledgehammer cones into play. Blocked with F5! Bam! 1! 2! Kickout!
Brock re-arranging furniture. Steel steps in hand, levels Triple H. Then the other half of the steps thrown inside the ring.
Kimura locked in for a long time. Looks really painful.
With Kimura still applied, Trips picks up Brock and slams him. Move might have hurt him more though.
Low blow to Brock! Oh well. No hold's barred. Beginning of the end I think.
Kimura on Brock! Wow! Paul gets steel chair. HBK hits sweet chin music.
Brock picks him up and slams him on the steel steps.
One sledgehammer and one Pedigree on the steel steps... Boom! Triple H wins.

Tons and Funk and Funkadactyls vs Team Rhodes Scholars and Bella Twins
- nixed :|

2013 HALL OF FAME!
Nice interlude. Almost made me cry. ;) Donald Trump got booed though. Hahaha! :))

WWE Champion The Rock vs John Cena - 2/5

John Cena is again with a chorus of cheers and boos as he goes to the ring.
Rock is taking too long to go down the ramp. A bit annoying. Fast-forward...
We know Cena's gonna win. (Duh!) Unless they pull a big swerve here. The question is whether he will turn. :)
Slow start to the match. Come in do something. Enough with the shoulder tackles...
Geez, these announcers keep mentioning the "downward spiral" thing with Cena. It's only good if there's a real chance for a heel turn but...
Now I'm critiquing the announcers. That's how boring the match is. 5 minutes into the match and we're down to rest holds :/
Some of the crowd agrees with me. Small "boring" chants break out here and there.
Even the announce team is struggling. Dead air for a half-minute. Come on guys! Pick it up! Do something!
The biggest reaction from the crowd: boos as Cena us about to do the U Can't C Me and 5 Knuckle Shuffle.
Cole, that's a crossface, not STFU! Need a manual or something? Geez!
JBL: "There's the STF, Michael." See, Cole? Learn your submission moves, please.
"Let's go, Cena! Cena sucks!" "Let's go Cena! Cena sucks!" Classic! :D
Rockbottom. Nearfall. AA. Kick out at two. This can't get any slower even if I wanted to. COME ON!!! DVR just finished recording Raw! Come on!!! Hurry up!!!
If I thought Henry-Ryback earlier was dragging... Zzzzzzz...
Finally pace is picking up. Crossbody was blocked; Cena catches and sets up for AA. NO! Rockbottom! 2 count only!
Rock mockingly does the 5 knuckle shuffle only get hit by AA. 2 count. Again...
Cena hits Rock with Rockbottom! Two count. Hehe. As slow as it is, that was actually exciting for a moment...
Cena does people's elbow, stops as Rock stands up. Picks Rock up for AA. Blocked and hits another Rockbottom. 2 count again.
AA countered. Rockbottom countered. AA countered. You go on ahead... I'm going for a bathroom break...
DDT and setting up for rockbottom. Blocked and Rock gets hit with AA and wins it. Finally. Mercifully. It's over. :|
Crowd boos Rock and Cena when Rock shakes Cena's hand.
Cena left the ring for the Rock. Much like Rick left the ring to Austin in Austin's last WM match. Is this his last match??

Dissecting WWE Raw 01-April-2013 edition

2013-04-04T14:06:00.000+08:00

I just watched April 1 edition of Raw. I already know what Bleacher Report said, but I want to see myself and have my own take on it.

Nice opening montage. Look at Heyman go! Didn't know he had it in him. :)) ECW! ECW! ECW!
Great! JBL is in the house with Cole and the King. I can't wait for JBL to rip through Cole in commentary. I think he should be there permanently -- unless of course if he's climbing mountains and stuff for charity.
John Cena promo: Cenacrats? Rockpublicans? Eh. Really? Okay. :| This is my only gripe on this promo. I dunno why they said he's overdoing the tease for a heelturn. I don't see him teasing a turn, much less overdoing it. A few strong words against Rock dies not make heel turn. It's a good promo, Cena selling to the crowd his passion to win over the Rock. Then again, if he does turn, then it's a surprising risky swerve, albeit a pleasant one for Wrestlemania. Many complain that WM28 matches are predictable. Well, this heelturn should be good then.
Orton-Show-Sheamus is next: now this one here, Orton turning heel, is overdoing it. I watched his last segments for a couple of weeks playing the "voice of reason" of the group and... Well... Eeewww... All this hugging, handshaking, cheering, this lovefest from Orton... It looks too rehearsed. Soooo fake. Sooo icky... Soooo turning heel. Orton doesn't do the face very well. Put him out of misery and let him turn heel.
3MB has been the jobber for the stars this WM season. Personally, I prefer just Heath Slater being the jobber for the legends last year, leading up to Raw1000 (Vader, DDP, Lita to name a few). Oh well, at least for them they get televised matches every week.
JBL: (3MB is) what happens when Mean Street Posse went to a karaoke bar.
King: I think 3MB should call themselves 999 Megabytes, coz they haven't had a Gig yet. (Uhh... The inner nerd in me gets it, but really it's a joke that's waaaay too cerebral. Just my opinion. :|)
Orton Lovefest vs 3MB: it's a decent, 3-minute or so match, 3MB really taking it to them. I enjoy Big Show hitting the Spear the best though. Not the best Spear of his life, mind you. Well, 3MB lost as predicted.
SHIELD promo: after the match, SHIELD makes an appearance and cuts a half-decent promo. I dunno. I prefer it when they do their promos backstage with the weird camcorder thingie.
Zeb Colter/Jack Swagger promo: I think I was waiting for a more impactful promo. I'm having my lunch while watching, but I didn't even bother to look up. I had to press rewind to see what I missed... which was not much. They're supposed to be selling Jack as someone who was brainwashed by Colter right? Why not have Jack get that crazed, fanatic look - unkempt hair, wide-open eyes, always loud. Oh well...
Alberto del Rio promo: nothing special. Sorry.
Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler: match of the night. The world's toughest vegan with the crazy beard gets the biggest pops anywhere! One of the best 10 minutes of this show. Haven't seen the tarantula move for a while now. Yes! Sick kick to the side of the head . Yes! Flying goat headbutt misses! Yes! Sleeper! Yes! Reversal to another sleeper! Yes! Jackknife cover reverse to bridge! Oh Yes! Double crossbody! Yes! That's a match! AJ skips around Kane, leaving him open to Big E Langston. Daniel Bryan kicks him for the save. Dolph pins him with a roll up while grabbing the tights. Big E dominates the ring. Even blocking a chokeslam from Kane, overpowering him and hitting his signature move. Nice build for Big E to go head to head with Kane in WM.
JBL: (AJ's) a few cards short of a full deck, like 52 short. Ha!
King: If looks could kill right now, Daniel Bryan will be pushing up daisies.
DC Crowd: AJ's crazy! AJ's crazy!
Cole: She is a wack job.
JBL: No. She had to be more sane to be a wack job.
Cole: She's a brick shy if a load.
JBL: The Kathy Bates of WWE.
JBL: That nutcase may have the next tag team champions.
Shawn Michaels promo: Mr. Wrestlemania makes an appearance and basically declares he wants Trips to win and that he'll be in his corner. I guess that's one way to ensure more people will tune in amd order the PPV. Shawn Michaels comes out. Then Triple H. Then Brock and Heyman heats things up.
Paul Heyman promo: as usual, he's gold on the mic. :)
Paul Heyman: My client, Brock Lesnar, whether you like it or not, is going to beat you into retirement this Sunday at Wrestlemania (huge heat from the crowd).
And I understand how much how that disappoints all of you and that's the point if us being here. You, sir, are going to have to learn to live with all that disappointment. Think about it. Triple H, you're going to disappoint your father-in-law the chairman of the board, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, because you won't be able to fight his battles anymore. You are going to disappoint the board of directors because you're not going to be able to fulfill your duties as chief operating officer anymore. You're going to disappoint your wife... but you're probably used to that anyway (huge ooohs from the crowd)...

Paul Heyman: You should have walked away like Shawn Michaels walked away when he got beat at Wrestlemania but now, I assure you, you won't be able to walk away. When Brock Lesnar is done with you, you're going to crawl away with your tail between your legs, a beaten, battered, emasculated retiree that has disappointed the entire WWE Universe because you were never man enough to beat Brock Lesnar. The very same Brock Lesnar who after all these years has forced the Cerebral Assassin to commit professional suicide.

The sound guys missed their cue. They played Brock's theme like 5 seconds after Paul's promo.

Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs Zack Ryder (The Miz in commentary): Zack Ryder has been in a downward spiral the last few months, losing match after match. This time at least in this 4 minute match, he gave Wade a run for his money. Or at least that's what I tell myself. Zack gets the upperhand early on before getting derailed by Wade. Wade then had a verbal confrontation with the Miz, giving Zack the chance to control the match. Shortly though, Wade regains momentum and hits Zack with the Bullhammer.
This build up to the Miz-Barret IC match has done as much as it can to build the WM pre-show. Not that anyone appears to be interested in it anyway. IC title match? In a pre-show? Oh well...
Team Brickie-Santino Marella backstage segment: it's supposed to be an April Fools "I fooled you" segment. I dunno. Came off as weird. Awkward? But hey, let's go to the worked shoot match next...
Santino Marella vs Mark Henry: Mark Henry's eclipse entrance is awesome! (Camera still focused onthe lights or the ring, working it's way back to the ramp then boom! Lights out... Mark Henry's massive frame blocks out the light. Hehe) Santino makes the most if this 1 minute squash match to sell how unstoppable Mark Henry is while still being a little humorous. A little. Success for him on that one, I think. World's strongest slam wins Henry the match. Ryback makes his way to the ring, while Goldberg chants ring out through the arena. No contact clause.
Mark Henry to Ryback: Nobody wants to get their hands on you like I do. And I know you want to put yours on me. But tonight is not the night. There's only thing that's going to happen tonight. And that's smile... (Is it me or does this sound like a line from some sleazy flick?)
Ryback: I didn't touch you. (To Santino) Are you okay? (Then picks up Santino, then throws him over the top rope to Mark Henry. Hilarious.)

CM Punk interview: not his best promo, but still better than most. (I think he gives his best promos while on stage or in the ring. )
CM Punk: I think the better question is "Do I give a damn if I'm disrespecting the memory if Paul Bearer?" You see, what I'm trying to do is get in the Undertaker's head. Because I'm trying to win. And the only legacy or memory or career I care about is my own. And I'm fixing to do something that nobody else has been able to do at Wrestlemania and that's beat the Undertaker's streak. And Undertaker right now is more concerned with Paul Bearer's streak of waking up every single morning and the fact that that's now over... And that's a bad omen for the Undertaker and his streak. And the stark difference between myself and every other opponent of the Undertaker's at Wrestlemania is I will do whatever it takes to win. And the Undertaker's coming for my soul. He's coming to break my bones, scar my face and the only thing I'm concerned about is beating him. So if he loses his temper and gets disqualified, I win. If he takes his eyes of the prize for just one single second, maybe I'll tap him out. Maybe he'll find himself on the floor for just a second too long. Either way, he still loses! I will do whatever I have to do. I will walk on graves, I will spit in faces, I will do whatever it takes to beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. And I promise you, at the end of this year's Wrestlemania, everytime somebody thinks about the grandest stage of them all, everytime somebody thinks of Wrestlemania, they're gonna think of CM Punk.

Zeb Colter vs Alberto del Rio: Zeb quickly gets disqualified after hitting ADR with Ricardo's crutch. Zeb and Jack quickly dispatch ADR ripping through his back with the broken crutches. Reminds me of the old school hardcore matches back in the day. I just think the segment was just a tad bit too short. ADR had the chance to sell the welts on his back to the crowd but was quickly cutoff by the John Cena promo recap and the Rock Up Next announcement.
I thought the commentary was great on this one as well. I love JBL ripping through Cole on this one:
JBL: Oh yeah, you love Freedom of Speech until somebody uses it!

Cole: Somebody get that crutch away from him.
JBL: You weren't yelling that when Alberto del Rio had a crutch last week. BE CONSISTENT!

Cole: You want to be a part of Jack Swagger's so-called America if he wins the World Championship on Sunday?
JBL: No, I don't. But I grant them the right to be part of whatever America they want to be part of.

JBL: You media types love freedom of speech until it's actually used!

Cole: Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger have been spewing this mindless propaganda...
JBL: Propaganda? Would you stop with the World War II, Cold War references! It's not propaganda, it's freedom of speech!
Cole: It's garbage is what it is.
JBL: And you have the right to say that Michael, just like they have the right to say what they say!

That verbal tirade between Cole and JBL was what I was waiting for. And one of the more successful parts of this entire segment.

The Rock promo: maybe it's just me but I think the Rock's promo was a bit... strange? He wants to be president? And his usual schtick is really grating. (Finally, the Rock has cone back to blah blah blah...) Gets old everytime he dies that. For me at least, I think the promo would have been better if he just went straight to the point and addressed John Cena. None of that decade-old catchphrase, and the president Rock bit.

Chris Jericho vs Antonio Cesaro: was the Rock a tough act to follow? Not really. Especially if it's the calibre of Y2J. They had a great long match, long enough to warrant a commercial break - about 10 minutes more or less. Early during the match, Fandango makes his grand entrance. He started scoring Jericho's moves, giving mostly 2s, clearly not impressed. Since them, Antonio has taken control of the match showcasing his unorthodox skills and... yodelling?? Favorite spot was Cesaro's gut-wrench suplex counter to the walls of jericho. Eventually though, Jericho scores the submission victory with the Walls. Cesaro did look good despite the loss. Quickly, Fandango hits the ring and lays Jericho to waste. Funny how the DC crowd keeps chanting "you can't wrestle!" Hehe.

Surprisingly, at least for me, the commentary was entertaining here as well. Not as fierce during the last match, but it was fun nonetheless.

JBL: You once took ballroom dancing, Michael...
Cole: Yes, I did.
King: Ha! Michael "3Left Feet" Cole!
Cole: I did! My wife and I did a chacha. We actually won an award back in New Jersey...
JBL: I was joking, Michael, I was joking. I was hoping you didn't do that.

King: The only reason you were never on Dancing with Stars... not because you can't dance, because you're not a star.

JBL: Jericho was the only WWE Superstar to be in Dancing with the Stars to not date George Clooney.

Cole: There's still a match going on guys.
King: Oh wait, there is?

Funkadactyls vs Bella Twins: the ladies will have their match while the guys are on ring side playing cheerleaders.

It's actually a surprisingly great match. I think this is originally just on this card just as a 5 minute filler, but the divas brought it all in the ring. The rear-view, hurricanrana, enziguiri, split leg drop (?)

JBL: The round mounds of get down.

Cole: The problem is since the Bellas returned to WWE, they rubbed everybody the wrong way.
King: They can rub me any way.

JBL: Tons of Funk sponsored by Sea World.

JBL: They're like the Natural Disasters plugged into an ipod.

King: We are in Washington DC, and the Bellas are here and the Funkadactyls... Pretty good bet that Bill Clinton is somewhere around too, right.

King: I swear that's how they look like at the dinner table when they're asking for seconds. (On Tons of Funk pounding both fists on the ring apron.)
JBL: We want cake! We want cake!

JBL: They look like large, rythmic tomatoes.

Cole: Obviously the Bellas love facial hair. The beard on Damien and the live-stache on Cody Rhodes. Maybe I should bring the goatee back.
JBL: How about a ski mask?

Rundown of a typical day of a 12hour shift employee

2013-04-03T22:00:00.000+08:00

Saw a post in this format and I found it interesting. So I'm doing it here as well. Here's what a typical day for me looks like:

5:45 iphone alarm went off. Already wide awake. Had a good night sleep even if it's quite hot. Aircon's busted again.
Did not just snooze, but turned off the 5:45 and 6:15 alarms. Like I said already wide awake. Might wake up the wife and kid unnecessarily.
Reminds me of an earlier episode of Elementary, in which Holmes psychoanalyzes Watson having two alarms as a sign that waking up to work is something that she "needs" to do rather than what she "wants" to do. Or something...
I'm not like that though. I really like my job now. 12 hour work shift, 2 days on 2 days off, follow the sun model. Just need the alarms just in case.
It happened before. I woke up to the alarm then I snoozed/turned it off. I thought to myself just gonna lie down for a minute more. Then when I woke up, 30 minutes has gone by. Missed the bus that day. I said to myself. Not. Again. :)
It's the typical morning ritual. Bath. Brush. Suit up.
Finished earlier than usual. Can't find the damn phone though. Took me a while to navigate through the dark room.
Still too warm. Two fans didn't compensate for the missing aircon like the previous night. Difference is the position of the second stand fan. Moved the fan closer to the other edge of the bed. Had to use an extension cord though. The EuropAce power cord is too short, it might trip someone.
Struggled a bit with fan's remote control. First time using it. I had to turn off the lighting, or the kid might wake up.
6:35. Still a bit early. Thought I'd grab something from the fridge. Lookie here... Milk coffee... Forgot about that... I'm taking it with me to the office. I always liked coffee. Milk coffee is great too. Pokka's is one of the better ones out there I think.
That reminds me... Note to self: bring home yoghurt drinks and apple juice from office. It's cheaper there.
Room is still warm, but much better now. Wish I could just fix the aircon right away.
Already tried cleaning the portable aircon the last few days. Still the same E4 error. Everytime I clean it though with the cleaner and/or anti mold/mildew solution, there are more and more slime being drained out.
That portable aircon is alive. Didn't realize there is a whole "ecosystem" in there. Eeewww...
Either (a) I get an aircon specialist to clean it (b) sell it to Cash Converter and buy a new one.
I remember we went to Toa Payoh last night for dinner at BigBang Bulgogi restaurant at ERA Centre. After dinner, we checked out Cash Converters which is a buy and sell store. Right away I thought of the different "garage sale items" I could sell here. That extra toddler's bike, a museum-piece TV (probably as old as I am), that weird-looking lamp...
Not sure if I saved any flyers from the mail that specializes on aircon cleaning and repair. A few years back I know there's a few, but I threw them all away. Thought of them as trash in the mailbox. :| Ugh... What a mistake...Note to self: always keep flyers of services ready. If not, our ceiling fan would still be broken.
If you want the number of the electrician who fixes ceiling fans, let me know :)
I could have fixed the fan myself, if I had the right parts. I tried to find obline and in DIY stores here. No luck. I noticed that the DIY stores here are more on basic carpentry, masonry, gardening, basic lighting, plumbing. Nothing much for spare electric/electronic parts.
I miss Raon. Especially Alexan. Electronic parts paradise.
It's 6:45? Better get going. Laptop check. ID check. Wallet check. Phone check. Wedding ring check. Keys check. Milk coffee check. Kiss wife check. Kiss kid (achim!) check.
Great, it's 6:55 at bus stop. I started writing all of these down before I forget.
It's only 7:05 when the company shuttle service arrives. 5 minutes too early. Oh well. I guess the others will just have to ride a cab to work then.
It's 7:29, started getting motion sickness. I better stop blogging for now and take a breather.
7:45 in the office. Motion sickness gone. Yipee!
Used Dettol on my workstation as usual. I'm on a shared workstation, so I'm making sure I'm safe before putting on that headset. Might seem like a germnophobe to some. But hey, they have dedicated work stations so they can't understand what I'm going through. Besides, this is my Dettol, so I choose where and when to use it.
Not to mention, there's a real concern here. There are bits of biscuits all over the place... and worse :| What a pigsty! Blasted previous user. How very considerate. Hygiene if a typical...
Another dose of Dettol on the desk and the chair should do the trick. And some alcohol for my hands for good measure.
Handover time. The previous shift looks busier than usual. I'm pretty sure the US guys are beat up. Better get some coffee first.
I've closed 14 tickets last workshift. A little less than what I wanted. It's one of the weaker weeks. But with today's handover, we're expecting more tickets which means more chances to close even more tickets. Need to keep up with our SLA (Service Level Agreement)
Did you know that the most common problems are Layer 8 problems? PEBKAC? Hehe. Inside joke. All IT Support guys everywhere know this. :)
Been in this line of work for the last 10 years; I'm officially 10 years on 03/03/13; started working back in 03/03/03.. Curious numbers, eh?
Damn tax season. I almost forgot about that. And I can't remember my SingPass. Ended up requesting for a new password. Ugh. One week to get it done. Typical...
Breakfast time. I had the kway teow (whatever the spelling is). It's a hearty meal. Cheap too at 60 cents. You can't get that price anywhere else! Lot's of things to do, though, so I gorged it down within 10 minutes.
Went to pantry to get another hot coffee with milk. (I'm saving the cold milk coffee for the afternoon.) Shortly enough, nature called. Hahahaha. Effective as always. :))
Still knee-deep in tickets, network outages, and Layer 8 issues. If it's like this now, can't wait when EMEA goes online later.
You'd think I don't like Layer 8 issues, but that's not the case. I like Layer 8 issues.. Well, most of them, because they are the easy ones that can be closed easily, as long as you know what you're doing. And most of the time, I do! :) Just be sure to write and/or say the right words so you don't piss them off. It's a better experience for everyone. And it's better for the team's (and my own) SLA scores.
Almost forgot to call POLAR as well. Just ordered 3 5-gallon bottles to be delivered by this Friday. Right now, we're down to just one bottle. If the delivery guy doesn't mess up (like he does 1 in 10 times), we should be smooth sailing on the weekend.
Can't believe I still have time to check our Philippine stocks. Well, this is the future. So I make time for it. Hehe :) With Fitch increasing the investment rating of the Philippines, all eyes are on the stocks.. Which ones to buy, which ones to sell.
I'm actually more of a longterm investor, instead of speculative trader. I just don't have the time to study and do the market research. Maybe in the near -- very near -- future, I'll have, but not now. Well, I guess I'll just have to go longterm and buy some blue chippers.
Huh? Lunchtime already? Damn time flies fast. Better get going and avoid the crowd and long queues...
Made it! Had a lighter lunch than usual. Plain old fried chicken and steamed rice. Plus a dash of soy sauce with green chili vinegar. Hehe. Spice things up a bit. Finished this in under 30 minutes. :) Freshen up a bit then it's back to work.
Hey! My OC (Office Communicator) status says I'm busy! And now you're calling me?! This better be important...
It's not important :| Figures...
Hmmm... 212 unread emails... I hadn't noticed it before. Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm quite sure I haven't read something important yet.
Unimportant emails tagged as important *DEL*. Sort by Subject *DEL*. Sort by Sender *DEL*. And now we're down to... 160 emails? Well, it's a start...
Just finished updating all of my tickets. Finally. Took a bit longer than I wanted, but quality over quantity. Trying my best to run a tight ship here, to make sure I avoid screw ups.
And this is the part I love about the job: I learn new things. Let's see... Open MS OneNote. Open Notebook, expand Section, new Page. Copy and Paste to the new page. Next time I get the same problem, I'll do a search and voila!
I find it that it's always better to email troubleshooting steps with screenshots of what you want them to do. Especially those templated steps. Copying the templated steps from OneNote to MS Outlook is flawless -- no formatting issues as far as I've experienced. Not the same with EverNote though. Which is why I use OneNote for office stuff.
Simply put: MS OneNote for MS Office stuff. For anything else (especially those I need online) EverNote.
Been chatting with the missus over YM for most of the day, although sparingly. Like a few messages now, then a few more after an hour, then a few more after a couple more hours. It's one if those busy days for both me and her. It's nice to keep in touch in the middle of the turmoil.
2:39PM it's almost time. Taking a breather before the proverbial storm hits.
Time to stretch a bit. I'm not the most flexible person on earth, so stretching is something I try to do as much as I can whenever I have the chance. It also takes my eyes away from the screen for a moment.
It's only now that I realized that it's Wednesday. Didn't notice that the internet radio was on. Weird. And RX was playing the "classics". (That's their thing on Wednesdays.) Feel old now that the songs I grew up with are now classics. Hehe :)
A colleague gave me a copy of the latest episode of WWE Raw (2013-04-01 Edition). It's the go-home show before Wrestlemania this weekend. I'm already up to speed on what has happened. Thanks Bleacher Report. Still, I want to watch it. CM Punk desecrating the late Paul Bearer's ashes and puring it on himself and Undertaker? Spine-chilling I think. Can't wait to watch it... probably on my next day off in a couple of days. *sigh*
Can you feel it? It's 3:30 PM. EMEA is up. Here we go....
Not too bad so far. I'm a bit hungry so I went to the canteen. Still not touching the milk coffee I brought with me. Saving that for later in the evening when there's fewer choices available.
Reminds me of a particular episode of a show a long time ago. Can't even remember the name. He's a survivalist guy wandering in the desert. Caught a snake and ate it. He said he had brought some food, but prefers eating the snake. Eat what you find, before you eat what you have. Made sense to me. So I'm applying it to my milk coffee here. :)
Somebody swung the floodgates opened. Tickets are now pouring in by the buttload. Well, at least they're not calling in... Yet.
It's 4:40PM. Everybody else in the office is leaving and calling it a day. It's always like that everyday. 4:40 and everybody is standing up and scrambling outside. The shuttle buses are ready to take them home. At exactly 4:55PM, the buses start to leave.
I hadn't touched my phone for a few hours now to blog. I've been that busy.
It's 6:30. I finally drank my milk coffee. No time to go to the canteen for dinner. It's just coffee and this biskut that our boss bought from Penang, Malaysia. It's nice and filling. :) And that's my riceless dinner. :)
One hour to go. I'm preparing the handover notes. Still too early but I don't want to rush. There are tickets that are going to be handed over anyway, so I might as well set our remarks for those. Then just add other tickets within the next hour as they come.
I remember one of my teachers said to us: do things quickly, rather than do things in a rush... No epiphany here. I just remembered, that's it. :)
That last one hour whizzed by fast. The handover was slow though. We had a lot of things to discuss with our US counterparts. Still, the job's done for the day.
Sometimes, I just walk over to the bus stop a few blocks away to catch the bus. Sometimes -- like right now -- I call and book a cab. Taking teh bus and the train takes about 45 minutes not including the waiting time. The bus interval here is about 15 to 20 minutes. By taxi, it's only 20 minutes. It's almost 10 times more expensive though, but it's the time that you buy and save.
Home at last. Son's playing. The missus just arrived as well. And I finish up my blog post here. :)

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