Sensation Seeking

Candle: Remember what I spoke to you about sensation seeking the other time?

From www.bbc.co.uk:

Sensation seeking is a personality trait expressed in behaviour as a tendency to seek varied, novel, complex and intense sensations and experiences and to take physical risks for the sake of having such experiences.

These experiences could take the form of extreme adventure activities such as skydiving, snowboarding and mountain climbing. But the trait can also express itself in high drug, alcohol or tobacco use.

Men generally score higher than women on the total score and on all the subscales except Experience Seeking. Sensation Seeking Scale scores increase during childhood, peak in the late teens or early twenties, and thereafter decrease steadily with age.

People with similar scores on the Sensation Seeking Scale also tend to be more romantically compatible with each other.

Divorced males score higher than single and married males, and divorced and single females score higher than married females.

And well, my sensation seeking score is:

Thrill and adventure seeking - you score 2 out of 10
This consists of items expressing desires to engage in sports or activities involving some physical danger or risk such as mountain climbing, parachute jumping, scuba diving, speeding in a car, etc.
=> the only one i'll consider doing is speeding in a car. Make that a real fast car down a long, empty highway. Oh yeah...
The rest, I'd have to say, ARE YOU FLIPPIN" NUTS?? Well, scuba diving is relatively safer, but still damn ex... sorry Quet... :p

Experience seeking - you score 6 out of 10
This descibes the desire to seek new experiences through the mind and senses by living in a nonconforming life style with unconventional friends, and through travel.
=> This I can agree with. It's fun to make new, interesting friends, and to travel to new places.

Disinhibition - you score 6 out of 10
This describes the need to disinhibit behaviour in the social sphere by drinking, partying and seeking variety in sexual partners.
=> drinking, partying, yeah I have tendencies. Seeking varieties in sexual partners.....er i'm not so sure...

Boredom susceptibility - you score 2 out of 10
This indicates an aversion for repetitive experience of any kind, routine work, or even dull or predictable people. Other items indicate a restless reaction when things are unchanging.
=> so basically, I'm a dull, boring person who doesn't mind other dull, boring persons. This is so sad...

Your total sensation seeking score is 16 out of 40

So the idea of the sensation-seeking principle is that people who have the same sensation-seeking level tend to be more compatible. Which makes sense in a way, cos imagine a highly adventurous guy, who likes to wakeboard, scuba dive, and all other extreme sports, getting attached to a homebody girl, who likes to potter around the house, water her plants and cook.

Er...............

Love is in the Stars

Interestingly, the horoscope I received in my email today:

Feeling frisky? Well, if you're not now, you will be soon. This month is about to be filled with love like you've never seen.
=> Oh really? How come I never noticed?

Libra is the sign of love and relationships, and we've got four planets -- an unusually large number -- making their presence known in the sign this month: the Sun, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter.
=> blah blah blah... technical horoscope stuff...

Technically, you started feeling the effects on September 14th when the Moon moved into Libra, but things really get going a week later on the 22nd.
=> hey that's today! Nothing happened though... cheaters! liars!

The Sun goes into Libra on the 22nd, which on its own isn't unusual, but you'll start to notice some loving feelings creeping into your life -- you'll find you're even more charming, approachable and likable than usual.
=> Oh, I didn't think it was possible to get any more charming, approachable and likable than I already was... *once again, ducks the rotten tomatoes thrown at her*

Then on the 24th, Lady Luck (in the form of Jupiter) will take up residence in your love life, and she'll stay there for roughly a year.
=> i hope she doesn't create a mess while she's there.

As if that's not enough, Mars, the planet of action, will become a powerful force on the 26th, helping you take romantic matters into your own hands.
=> so basically, i get tired of waiting? oh oh...

Finally, Mercury, the ruler of communication, smiles down on you, allowing you to converse effortlessly with whomever you desire.
=> oh that's good.... haha...

Thanks to all this planetary action, you're charming, lucky in love, making romance happen and communicating beautifully with your lover. If you play your cards right, you could make these next four weeks some of the best of your life. Mars will certainly do what it can to make sure you don't just sit back and wait for love to happen, and here at Astrology.com, we're prepared to do the same!
=> well they certainly know how to make a customer feel welcome don't they?

So where's all the loving happening then? *Looks around*

In other news....

Begging Teen?

Read this article first for the background info:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/top/story/0,4136,73441,00.html?

Now for my comments/rants:

Eh PLEASE LAH. You're young, you're healthy, what the heck is holding u back from getting a job? You're just plain lazy lah...

You have no ambition, you have no goals, and you expect your parents and family to support you for the rest of your life?

Even if you get a job as a toilet cleaner, it's a job, you earn your own money and you can feed yourself. There's no shame in that whatsoever.

The crux of it is that you just can't be bothered. And that's so damn sad.

How can some people do this? Just be totally bochup about the world around them? Even a slacker like me believes in the importance of at least basic self-sufficiency, and can realise that my parents won't always be around to support me. Even though I only teach tuition, I still earn my own money.

But this guy... he can't be bothered to earn his own cash, and he wants to be dependent on people his whole life. He won't even consider the possibility that one day, his parents will die. He'll have to beg for real. He might lose his house.

Not only that, but he's picky, to boot. He has to work within walking distance, and he thinks transport is a waste of money, notwithstanding the fact that thousands of Singaporeans travel to work each morning, and that transport costs take up a minimal portion of your income, even as a toilet cleaner.

Some people... you just can't understand them. I'd really wanna poke this guy deep and probe him for exactly WHY he wants to go begging.

And people think Singaporeans are thoughtless people who won't contribute to charity? Look at this guy. You feel like donating to him meh? He's my age and he has at least secondary school education. I definitely won't feel like giving him money lor...

Gods I don't believe some people...... *rendered speechless*

The noise is killing me.... There are some repair works going on at my block right now, and 2 Indian workers are right now hanging outside my front balcony, drilling something..... oh god the noise......

Haven't done one of these in a while so here goes:

Summary of Strategists

Quiet, easy-going and intellectually curious => Quite true

Use logical, objective thinking to find original solutions to problems => Not so sure abt this, but hey, if you say so...

Think of themselves as bright, logical and individualistic => I'm smart and I know it.... haha... *ducks the tomatoes thrown*

May be impractical, forgetting practical issues, such as paying bills or doing the shopping => Oh definitely......

More about Strategists
Strategists are quiet people who like to get to the heart of tough problems on their own and come up with innovative solutions.
=> I'd agree with this one. It's easier generally to think up your own solution than to haggle between 8 different opinions. Remember how those looooong project discussions in NUSSUX?

They analyse situations with a sceptical eye and develop ways of measuring everything, including themselves.
=> That's why I'm addicted to these tests. Hahaha...


Strategists are the group most likely to say they are unhappy in their job, according to a UK survey.
=> Gods, THIS is sad...

Strategists are generally easy-going. => Yup, I'm one of the most sui pian people you'll ever meet.

They are intellectually curious and enjoy abstract ideas. => Oh sure, we debate about all kind of philosophical issues, like why doth yonder construction workers make such racket?

Sometimes they like thinking of a solution to a problem more than taking practical steps to solve it. => We leave the hard work to others

In situations where they can't use their talents, are unappreciated, or not taken seriously, Strategists may become negatively critical or sarcastic.
=> Strange, I thought this applied to just about everybody.

Under extreme stress, Strategists could be prone to inappropriate, tearful or angry outbursts.
=> How could you say that about me???? BWAAAH!!!! MEANIE!

Strategists may be insensitive to the emotional needs of others or how their behaviour impacts the people around them.
=>Frankly my dears, I don't give a kuso.

Strategist Careers
Strategists are often drawn to technical or scientific careers, where specialist knowledge is required.
=> Sorry dears, anything science-y or tech-y is soooooo out for me....

They also seem to enjoy jobs that involve long-term planning, abstract thinking or design.
=> Well this could be ok...

Wanna try it out?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/whatamilike/index.shtml

More Holiday Rants Again

I've also been doing some online research for hostels in Thailand, and I've actually come up with some figures so insanely cheap, I wonder if I'm doing it right.

What it boils down to is that with the budget airlines, and online hostel booking, I can go to Bangkok and Chiangmai for 7 days for about SGD300-400? Is that right? I feel like something's wrong somewhere, but my figures are all including airport tax and other extras, so it's essentially the final figure for the trip.

But is it possible to go there that cheaply?? When I told some people that my budget for the trip was about SGD500 I got laughed at, because everybody told me that no way I could go 2 cities for that little amount.

The only drawback is that my figures for the accomo are listed in AUD, but that isn't that far off from SGD either.... so.... what's wrong here? I don't wanna go all the way there and find out about some hidden surcharge that I din see in Singapore....

Meanwhile, Dragonfly is also psychoing me to go Krabi with him, 'cos so far it's only him and 2 frens going so it's a way to even out the nos at least. I'm in 2 minds about this. On one hand, the beaches of Krabi are legendary and it'll be cool to get some sand and surf... *remembering Redang wistfully*

On the other hand.... airfare costs will take a rocket ride into the sky if I attempt to go with him, and then to Bangkok and Chiangmai. Owch. We're talking airfare to Krabi from Spore, then from Krabi to Bangkok, and then to Chiangmai, and then back to Singapore. :(

Oh god I'm so tempted to screw it all, and go by myself already.......

This is another of those days where I feel I'm a walking disaster again...

Tried to make chicken curry today this time, thinking the directions on the back looked easy enough. Liar! Liars all of them!

First disaster came while I was frying the paste in the pan. The oil may have been quite hot, because the minute I squeezed the paste out, [yes, it was an instant paste. I'm not quite ready to make it from scratch yet. :P] SPLATTER! SPLATTER! SPIT! This fountain of oil came spraying out of the pot, and I only managed to snatch my hands away just in time. [oh no, not another burn..] Then, to my utter dismay, it went on to spit hot oil all over my stove, my sink, clean pots, clean plates......

And to think the only thing going through my mind was: My god, mummy's gonna kill me............

The 2nd disaster came with the potatoes. [Why? Why? Is it because I love to eat you guys too much?] Lesson learned: Potatoes take a waaaaay longer time to cook than chicken meat. So if you put the 2 together at the same time, by the time your chicken has been overcooked umpteen times, your potatoes will STILL remain half raw.

Argh. Kuso bloody hell.

3rd disaster came with the coconut milk. OK, I SWEAR I read the instructions right, which called for 2 cups of coconut milk. But when I poured in the milk, it turned out to be an insanely high amount of milk! The should've-been orange curry turned a snowy white mixture, paler than laksa! Oh, WATASHI NO KAMI DESU!!!!!

Well, obviously it was a pretty disgusting mix, so I searched around in the kitchen and found a pack of curry powder mother had bought long time ago. Arigato, kami! I poured a liberal amount of powder into the mixture, and finally got it to look somewhat a curry-ish orange.

The only thing is that the curry had the consistency of a carbonara sauce. It's THAT bloody thick. And the potatoes were still undercooked. *peng on the floor*

So...... apparently I came up with a recipe for a curry sauce in my efforts to make a curry, because it tastes all right with bread, but on its own, it's bloody thick, like milkshake. :p

*Sigh* Ah well.......... back to the drawing board............ and maybe I should make that literal in my case......

Introducing the Doncare Cat...

For lack of a better name...

I don't know how, but in the last 4 hours I managed to
- Read the newspapers
- Do the laundry

As an aside, I swear my dad's booby-trapping the house. He had this bamboo pole innocently lying on those hook thingys we use to hang clothes in the back balcony, so I innocently took it down.

How was I to know, it was actually holding up a buncha other bamboo poles, and so the moment I took down the pole, the rest of them came crashing down onto my head. 5 of them, read 'em and weep.

I think I had just enough time to cover my head and scream as they tumbled down onto me. No bumps, bruises, thank god, but a slightly shaken me, and once again, a buncha curses at my dad, for putting those things in such a dangerous position, where idiots like me could bring them avalanching onto themselves.

I swear, I have no idea what he's thinking sometimes.

- Heat up and eat lunch.
- Blog. ( Read entry below on yet another culinary disaster )
- Do up the Funny Farm website.
- Do the Doncare Cat range.

I don't know where I suddenly got the energy for all this. Just 2 days ago, I was languishing in a state of atrophy, [is there such a word? Did I use it right?] and suddenly, I was afire again. Hm.

Anyway, yah, before I forget, check it out:

http://boredslacker.tripod.com/doncare.htm

New Website!

Finally launching... The Funny Farm website..... after much blood, sweat, tears and much more cursing and swearing...

I KNOW the website is simple, I KNOW not all the graphics are there, and I KNOW it could look better. Gimme time pple... I'll improve. =p

But for now, at least they're on a proper website, instead of just dumped into my photobucket album. =) =) =)

Another thing: I signed up with Cafepress.com for the designs on the site, so actually, you guys can buy merchandise over the Net with the designs. WARNING THOUGH: PRICES ON CAFEPRESS ARE ALL IN USD. Which means that any price there will be DOUBLED IN SGD. This warning is only on my blog, so take note pple! If you really want shirts or postcards with the designs, please email me instead of ordering through there...

But if you wanna order some of the stuff through there, hey, I don't mind either... :P

The addy is:

http://boredslacker.tripod.com/funnyfarm.html

Another Culinary Disaster saved by Grandmother

At this time, I should be out shopping with Quet, but since it's raining, and neither of us wanna get wet, we're both still comfortably at home. :p

So today I had another lame-brained, whydidithinkofthat, idea to cook something for lunch, instead of going out. For one, my finances were getting tighter, and cooking will allow me to eat more stuff at home. For two, I need more practice in cooking something other than pasta. For three, I felt adventurous.

My idea was for a potato-mince stew, recipe drawn up from watching Grandmother cook years, years ago. I was pretty sure I knew the rough technique to go about doing it.

[I realise that my cooking techniques are all very JamieOlivermeetsSurrealChef. I come up with recipes by vaguely thinking, "Oh, that should work..." and the way I add seasoning and stuff is by throwing in an amount that looks ok to me. Forget the measuring cups and spoons.]

Firstly, prep the ingredients. Slice and dice the onions, slice the potatoes, and soak the mince in a buncha soy sauce. So far so good, and it was even fun pounding the sauce into the raw mince. Sorta like working with play dough.

Secondly, fry the potatoes, and THIS is where the trouble started. To fry food properly, you have to get the oil to be HOT, and when I poured in the 2nd batch of potatoes, some of them must've still been quite wet, cos this DOLLOP of oil just jumped right out of the pot and onto my hand.

ARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!! PAIN!! TONG!! TIAH!!! ITAI!! SAKIIIIIT!!!!! ARGH! ARGH! ARGH!

Somewhere within 2 1/2 seconds I managed to curse at the pain, shift my burnt hand to the sink, switch on the tap and allow the cool, cool ( aaaaahhhh...... ) water to flow onto the burn.

Something I did must've worked because thank goodness, no huge bubbles formed, and although it hurt like crazy after that, it was still a hurt I could bear with. *nurses her burn*

Anyway, thank goodness the rest of the mince and onions went into the pot without much trouble. :p In fact, it was a strange thing because as the soy-sauce soaked mince went into the pot, an aroma rose up that was strangely familiar.

It was the aroma of my grandmother's cooking once again, my favourite dish that she used to cook for me every week. So familiar, and so comfortably nostalgic was the smell, I could almost imagine my grandmother resurrected in my kitchen, standing over me, watching me cook. For that one instance, the dead became alive, to mingle with the living, and I knew my cooking was on track.

The mince now sits in a pot in my fridge and is lunch enough for the next 2 days. It's a little salty, so next time I'll add a bit of sugar to it or something to take away the saltiness. Meanwhile, it's nice to know that I wasn't the total disaster in the kitchen I always thought I was. :)

And I'm sure Grandmother would approve.

Gangstas in da house... The Gangsta Range...





And my favourite...



How is it that when pple give me suggestions for perfectly innocent animals, I can always twist their suggestions into something else? Must be a gift with me...

Then again... what does that say for my tuition skills? ......

b4 i forget...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRYSTAL!!!

Will have something ready for you...... sorry nearly forgot.....:P sumimasen.... but will have something for you when u come back to singapore....

FUnny Farm again

Everyone likes dolphins. Why dolphins? But once again, here's my own twisted take on the animal...



Plus I'm realising that I really like to design stuff like this. It thrills me to no end to see my pix end up on something real, like a Tshirt, or a piece of paper, and it thrills me more to see how much my friends like those pix.

But logistics and marketing issues frankly put me off. Hmmmmmm......

Tuition Tales

I know I should be doing something constructive with my time online, but I developed a headache during accounts tuition with Juls ( Gee, what a coincidence ) and now I don't feel like doing anything at all.

So... Excerpts from tuition:

B's late arrival ( My student ) meant that when Juls came at 12, she was able to have tuition with him at the same time. Something I'm not sure should be repeated again.

"Right, Juls, what goes onto a profit and loss statement?"

"Er, expenses?"

"Ok, what else?"

"Assets?"

"Go on."

"Liabilities?"

"Anymore?"

"Drawings?"

"Anything else?"

"Nope."

"Sure?"

"Yup."

*WHACK* "WHAT BLOODY RUBBISH!! SINCE WHEN DO ASSETS AND LIABILITIES GO INTO PROFIT AND LOSS??"

"OW! OW! OW!" As I pinched him repeatedly on the arm, B starts to laugh, and I glare sideways at her. She lowers her head quickly and suddenly becomes very engrossed in her work.

Later on,
"Right, B! Since Juls is doing profit and loss, you may as well revise your profit and loss at the same time as he does!"

"WHAT? But I forgot my format alreadY!"

"Well, then this is a good time to start revising, right?"

"ARGH! Juls! Lend me your notes! Quick!" and she starts pulling at his laptop screen, where he has his notes on display.

*GLARE*

"Er...... Sorry, but if I do, she'll pinch me again."

Plus the abundance of food. Since B didn't eat breakfast before coming, she bought up a pack of Bugles. And when she found out I still had chocolate biscuits in the fridge, "I want! I want!"

"Finish your questions first!"

Grumble grumble...

Then Juls came, and one of the first thing he said was, "Hey, I'm hungry, you got any more biscuits in the fridge?"

"YAY! BISCUITS!"

And there go half the pack of dark choc Tim Tams.... *Sob* Plus her pack of Bugles, and all the ice I had. Next lesson it's Juls' turn to buy the snacks.....