Not enough hits

It suddenly occured to me why this blog is getting minimum hits...
Maybe what I wrote is not bold / sexy / Ah Lian enough.
I had extra hours converted from my old dial-up plan,
And was surfing the net for other peoples' blogs.
I also read some of the entries in the more "popular" ones,
And realise that I am just average, normal, nothing exciting kind of blogger.
Haiz~~... It's official. I am a four-eyed geek, who can't even be a good blogger.

I also found out that people visit my blog, becos they entered search words like,
"ssdc, driving lessons, practical driving tests"...
Okay, not so bad, at least they bother to click the link,
But left soon after, because the page is not what they wanna to read.
Most of the time, the search engine will link to my top page, instead of that particular article in which the search words appeared.
Haiz~~... So much help, the search engines.

So... What do I have to do to get more "attention"?
Post nude pictures of myself?
Write like Ah Lian / Ah Huey?
Start to use four-lettered words in my entries?

NO!!

I shall not do such things...
Why should I do something like that?
It may be a blessing in disguise if lesser people are reading my blog.
Then it will truly be a online diary, open to membership only...

By the way, the beetle at the top left corner of the entry is nothing to do with anything.
I itchy-finger, just wanna upload some pictures only...

Late Nights

Sorry about the lag.
I haven't been blogging a lot lately...
At least not on this site.
Hee... hee...
Like I have so many other blog sites to contribute.

Lately I have also been sleeping late.
My new toy, Ibm-y, (pronouned i-bee, wahahaha!) it has been taking up much of my time.
There is just so many programs to install.
Man, I am going to burst the harddisk!!

Simcity 4, a brand-new game I bought.
A brand new game for a brand new laptop.
Fancy playing games on a laptop!
Well, I have no other machine that fits the minimum requirements.

TV shows. Desperate housewives and CSI.
Aired on Mondays and Tuesdays respectively.
Mmm... Cheeky housewives and handsome forensics...

Work. That's a bomber...
Yeah, work is also making me sleep late too, like tonight.
Went home at around 9pm.
I really hope that it is only for these few weeks.

I want my life back!

Moving on to happier things...
I got a call from my "brother" today.
OMG, I miss him so much, especially his car.
He drives a Mazda 6, you know,
The bright chilli red kind...
It is enough to make my mouth water, now that I got my driving license...
Wish to get my hands behind the wheel...
* Rubbing both palms together.

Owning a car to me is like a dream.
Toto, toto, just let me win once, big big, ok?

Dear Webby,

I don't know what to say.
You are a very good friend, and I know you are depressed.

Lots of people ask me, "Why ain't you married? Got boyfriend already?"
Either I tell them the truth, or I lied.
Normally, lying will stop any further questions.

But most of the time, I wondered,
Yeah hor, why am I still single??
Am I not looking hard enough?
My standards are set too high?
Am I not good enough for anybody?
This morning, it suddenly strike me...
I am afraid.

Subconciously, love, to me, is NOT a pleasant / enjoyable / joyful thing.
Once bitten, twice shy.
I just can't let go of a bitter relationship.
H*ll, it was so long ago, I can't forget it.
I probably never will.

Where art thou find love?
Shakespeare.
Love: What's yours, it's yours. What's not yours, it's no use forcing.
Chinese saying.

I believe, what's mine, will find me someday.
I hope. And will keep on hoping.

So... I am NOT about to give up, so I hope you won't too.
Some things are very hard to forgive and forget,
But once we see new light,
All would be well.

Webby, I sincerely wished for hope, health and happiness to find you, in whatever you do.

Love always,
Fiona

iBet

There is a new game in town.
It is called the iBet.
I read about it in last week's TODAY.
You buy a standard 4-D number, say 1234.
You will win a prize as long as 1234, in any order, appears in the 4-D results draw.
For example, 2341, 3412, 4321, etc.
Of course, due to the additional permutations, the prize money is also reduced.

Who cares? I like the feeling of winning, whether it is $1 or $1,000,000.

So I went over to the 4-D booth and looked around.
The 4-D slips looks the same... I am curious.
So I asked the counter girl how to buy iBet.
She smiled and gave me "new" slips from underneath her counter.

"Here, you gonna use this," she said.

I passed the slip to my dad. I dun have a number to buy anyway.

My dad act blur...

"How har? Mark here izzit? Buy $2 can or not? I want Sat draw you know..." he said to the girl.

Geez, dad was really good at this.
In fact, I always have to consult him how to mark the 4-D slip.
"Sian" girls tactic number one --> act blur.

I too, fell for his trap.
I was explaining how the iBet works and the prize money is reduced, etc.
The girl is actually grinning...
"Your daughter knows..." She laughs.

Muahahaha!!! I feel like 赌后.
Zoe Tay, anyone?

Broadband

I feel victorious.
Heehee...
I setup my broadband access within an hour...
It would have taken less time if I have ready power and telephone points.
And I dun need online help at all.
Wow! Am so proud of myself.

Had some problems at work, but it hasn't dampen my spirits.
My whole afternoon was filled with,
BROADBAND, BROADBAND...
Can't wait for knock-off time, so that I can go home to my babe.
Hee... Happy, happy.

KT is going over to China (Beijing, I think), and offered to get me some box games.
I am a bit skeptical, but what the heck.
Zac was mentioning my birthday is around the corner,
So I asked for Office 2003 for my birthday.
You should have seen his face. Wahahaha!!

Note: This entry is posted with my brand new broadband access.
Wee-hee!!

My new toy

Yup, I have a new toy.
My brand new IBM notebook Model T43.
I have been spending my first weekend with it.
My new love.

Pentium M, 1.7Ghz, 512MB of RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon X300 graphics...
In fact, my babe is so new that it comes practically empty...
No software, no drivers, it does however, come with an up-to-date operating system, infra-red port, internal modem and wireless capabilities.
As compared to my has-been desktop, which runs on Win98 (not even 2nd edition, mind you), Pentium 2, 350Mhz, 128MB, on-board graphics, no IR, no wireless.
My new babe is like a gem, laterally.
It sets me back a full 2.5 grand.
I wished I can wear it around my finger.
Great, the credit card company is going to have a field day.

Anyway. I spent the afternoon setting up my printer, internet connections, emails (I just finished the migration), IR (so that I can backup the contacts in my mobile, hurray!)...
Tot I should take a breather from all this, so I blog for a while.
Take note: This entry is written on my new toy, ok?

Later.
Yup, I still have a few more jewels to install...
And I am going to write a wishlist of all the software / hardware I need for my new babe.
Anyway. I shall lay low for a while...
Dun want to flood my credit cards.

Get Real!

This entry comes after I watched Diana Ser on CNA.
The episode was on getting a driving licence in Singapore.
Here are some of the facts: (as presented in the show)
1. There are no women testers in Singapore.
2. The testers are actually retired police officers.
3. Singapore is one of the countries which it is very difficult to obtain a driving licence.
4. There is no such thing as a quota as to how many testees to pass in a month.

I had a good laugh when Diana took the wheel to try her hand on one of the test routes and the circuit courses.
She forgot to stop before the stop line, make a u-turn when there is no u-turn sign, mount a kerb, rolled backward on the circuit slope...
It kinda reminded me of my own experience.

I was 10 times more nervous for my second test.
My first test went pretty well, until I rammed a car during a right turn.
That was an immediate failure, to which I spent extra $$$ and time for a second test.
So, because of that, it inevitably put pressure on my second test.
I was determined to pass the second time around, as I don't want to spend more $$$.
I kept seeing images of the accident, and the stress of passing the test.
Plus, the car allocated to me for the test wasn't exactly "well-tuned"...

If I were to do it all over again,
--> Wait a minute! I DON'T WANT TO DO IT AGAIN!
Period.

However, I offer the following tips/advice for would-be learning drivers:
1. If you can afford it, enrol in a driving school. They are more systematic and follows a strict syllabus.
2. Try not to fix instructors. Some instructors are better in explaining certain manoeuvres than others.
3. Try not to go for lessons 7 days a week. Allow yourself breaks and time to reflect on your mistakes. According to the show, 3 to 4 time a week is ideal. For me, I booked lessons twice a week in the beginning, and subsequently increase to 3 times a week.
4. Try to remember (by heart) the tips that the instructors throw at you. For example, certain stretches of roads may require you to stay in the middle lane, as the left or right lanes are only for turning left and right respectively. These are lifesavers which will help you pass with flying colours.
5. Try to book for revision lessons at least 2 weeks before the test. It will help you refresh the little things you may have missed, like checking blind spots, etc.
6. Most useless piece of advice: Try not to be nervous during the test. One instructor told me, if you are nervous, your normal driving standard will be reduced to half.

Good luck!

Photocard driving licence

Yup, received it today.
Actually it came by registered mail yesterday, but nobody’s home.
So Daddy picked it up from the post office for me.

Hurray, hurray!
My very own driving licence, with MY name and photo on it.
And I did it myself, (really big boost for my ego).
Well, and with lots of encouragement from friends and colleagues.

So happy!

Thank you, Ivy!

Look what she got for me.
I like! I like!!
Oh, thank you, thank you so much.

This is my first beetle cabrio model…
In fact, all beetle cars I like.
Can’t afford the real thing, so go for models.

My Beetle car models

Here are some more beetle models…
(By the way, none of them are gifts.)

Thank you, Gwen!

Gwen got me a 2D beetle mobile phone accessory.
I love it too. Here is the pix:

Thank you, Gwen!

Double happiness

Happiness one:
Dad showed me a picture of an iPod.
'What is this?' he asked.
I told him it was an MP3 player.

'It is not one of your poke-poke things?' he asked, referring to my PDA.
I explained to him that the iPod is a pure music player only...
Nothing like my PDA. Besides, a PDA will not cost only $129!
He thought of buying it for me as my birthday present.

'Oh, then I dun want the iPod, I really want a new laptop to replace the computer!' I cried.
And proceed to 'promote' the laptop model I have been eyeing.

'Can you sponsor me some percentage?' I asked.

'Ok, half,'

Hurray! Dad is going to pay for half of my new laptop.

Happiness two:
We went for testing at STS.
The place was so big that the nearest toilet is some distance away from the test lab.

High tide.
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
Cat kept bugging me to drive them to the toilet, now that I already have the license...
I kept saying no.
In the end, Harry drove, but only halfway...
He decided to get down the van and leave me to take over.
Both of them kept egging me on...
(Cat would make a very good reverse sensor. Hahaha!)

Alrite, I gamely took over.
I dun know how I managed, but I did get them to the toilet and back safe and sound, the van included.
I heave a sigh of relief when I finally parked the van.

Had my first drive as a qualified driver today,
In a medium-capacity van.
And my first passengers are Harry and Cat.

Age of innocence

I was waiting for the bus.
This precocious little boy, think about 4/5 years old,
Was also waiting for the bus with his mother.

‘What’s that sound?’ he asked,
In perfect English, peering curiously at the direction of a waiting taxi with its diesel engine purring away noisily.

Well, Mum said something, end of question.

Then he went running around the bus stop…

‘Ma, I can see the moon! Over here!’ He cried, pointing at the sky.

Mum said, ‘Where?’

‘Here,’ came the reply.

I remember the last time I was ‘this’ excited about the moon.

‘Pa, how come I can see the moon, when the sun has already come out?’ I asked.

‘Aiyoh! Don’t ask so much, eat your breakfast,’

.........

On the bus, the boy can actually recite the sequence of the MRT stations…

‘Braddell, Bishan, Ang Mo Kio…’

And I dun even bother to find out which station comes after Yishun…