Happy birthday to myself! I'm saying this because most people don't have a clue today is, my, urm, birthday. happy 19th.

so i went out with jerm to this mexican restaurant of which i've forgotten the name to have burritos, tacos, wings, and margaritas. it was good, especially the drink, nice and limey and potent. now how often do you get strong cocktail drinks? most of the time it's so diluted it tastes exactly of 7up, or syrup, etc., especially if you go to restaurants which serve drinks but are mainly known for food, such as hard rock cafe. you'll never get proper drinks there. most of the time i order beer, because, well, you can't cheat with beer.

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i guess working at ubi headquarters has indeed confirmed something people tend to say about singapore. there are the cosmopolitians, and the heartlanders. although somewhat cliched, such a division holds much water. i am not saying one is better than the other, they're just different. Civil Defence is flooded with the heartlander sort. Most speak chinese, play pool, listen to stefanie sun and jay chou, and think the chioest person in the world is joanne peh, or something of that kind. because my department is more heartlandish, i guess i'd also need to adjust. but please, no ah-beng attitudes or act-cools. i really can't tolerate it, man. but what i like about them is this warm and fuzzy friendliness about them. it's rather simple, open, and nice. but somehow i don't know, i'd like to think there's more to life than that.

but you already know what cosmopolitians are like. they speak english, for one thing.

and if you think singapore is one homogenous nation, try living in tampines, and then moving to clementi. whole lot of difference. tampines is so suburban, almost a cluster-town. everything is self-contained. so new. buses travel around like they're in simcity. flats are themed. back here in clementi everyone is waiting to go to orchard to have some fun.

and btw, macpherson is downright ugly. there are factories next to sleazy hotel-81 styled hotels and little residences popping up here and there. LTA should be sued. the whole place reeks of malaysian haphazard-towns where little trucks run up and down amidst rickshaws and bicycles. absolutely disgraceful. if it's old and full of charm, that's wonderful--penang is like that, or maybe even central chinatown. this one isn't old and yet its fugly. ridiculous.

what i can't stand.
1. ah lians with dyed hair.
2. girls with dyed hair.
3. anyone with dyed hair

seriously it's not the occassional highlight, its those brown-coloured dyes that make you look like japs. so unoriginal. please, come on, have some taste.