BEN-TERTAINMENT ExPRESS

The Argument for Nominating Hillary

2008-06-01T02:10:00.000+08:00

After the votes are in from Puerto Rico tomorrow and South Dakota and Montana on Tuesday, neither Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton will be able to make a facts-based case that they represent a significant majority of grass-roots Democrats.

Chances are Sens. Obama and Clinton will virtually split the more than 4,400 delegates – including Florida and Michigan – elected by more than 34 million people over the past five months.

Sen. Clinton has already won the most votes, but there is controversy over including the over 300,000 votes from Michigan, since Sen. Obama was not on the ballot (by his own choice). But if Sen. Clinton wins a substantial victory in Puerto Rico tomorrow – with an expected record turnout exceeding two million voters – she could well end up with more popular votes than Sen. Obama, even if Michigan's primary votes are excluded.

Worst case, she could come out with a 2% deficit in elected pledged delegates. But that gap can be made up, if most of the remaining 200 or so unpledged superdelegates decide to support Sen. Clinton as the strongest candidate against John McCain – or if others committed to Sen. Obama decide to change their minds for the same reason. A number of superdelegates previously committed to Sen. Clinton later announced support for Sen. Obama, so it's certainly possible that, when confronted with growing evidence that Sen. Clinton is stronger than Sen. McCain, they might switch back.

The final argument for Hillary comes down to three points – with points one and two leading to the third.

First, Sen. Clinton is more experienced and qualified to be president than is Sen. Obama. This is not to say Sen. Obama cannot be a good, even great, president. I believe he can. But Sen. Clinton spent eight years in the White House. She was not a traditional first lady. She was involved in policy and debate on virtually every major domestic and foreign policy decision of the Clinton presidency, both "in" and "outside" the room with her husband. She has been a U.S. senator for eight years and has a record of legislative accomplishments, including as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

With no disrespect or criticism intended, Sen. Obama has been an Illinois state senator for eight years and a U.S. senator for just four years. He has, understandably, fewer legislative accomplishments than Sen. Clinton. That's just a fact. Therefore, it is reasonable to argue that Sen. Clinton would be less vulnerable to criticism from Sen. McCain on the "experience" issue.

Second, Sen. Clinton's position on health care gives her an advantage over Sen. McCain. Her proposal for universally mandated health care based primarily on private insurance and individual choices is a stark contrast to Sen. McCain's total reliance on private market insurance, HMOs or emergency rooms for the 45 million or more uninsured. Sen. Obama's position, while laudable in its objective, does not mandate universal care and, arguably, won't challenge Sen. McCain as effectively as will Sen. Clinton's plan.

Despite the fact that Sen. Obama's campaign made the Iraq war a crucial issue in the Iowa caucuses and early primaries, there has never been a significant difference between his position and Sen. Clinton's. Sen. Obama deserves credit for opposing military intervention in Iraq while he was running for the state senate in early 2002.

But in 2004, Sen. Obama said he "did not know" how he would have voted on the war resolution had he been a senator at the time. That summer he told the Chicago Tribune: "There's not much of a difference between my position and George Bush's position at this stage" of the Iraq War. (This is a statement that Sen. Clinton would not have made.) While he served in the Senate, he voted 84 out of 85 times the same as Sen. Clinton on Iraq-war related votes. The only exception is when he supported President Bush's position on the promotion of a general that Sen. Clinton opposed.

Third and finally, there is recent hard data showing that, at least at the present time, Sen. Clinton is a significantly stronger candidate against Sen. McCain among the general electorate (as distinguished from the more liberal Democratic primary and caucus electorate).

According to Gallup's May 12-25 tracking polling of 11,000 registered voters in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., Sen. Clinton is running stronger against Sen. McCain in the 20 states where she can claim popular-vote victory in the primaries and caucuses. In contrast, Sen. Obama runs no better against Sen. McCain than does Sen. Clinton in the 28 states plus D.C. where he has prevailed. "On this basis," Gallup concludes: "Clinton appears to have the stronger chance of capitalizing on her primary strengths in the general election."

The 20 states, Gallup points out, not only encompass more than 60% of the nation's voters, but "represent more than 300 Electoral College votes while Obama's 28 states and the District of Columbia represent only 224 Electoral College votes." Sen. Clinton leads Sen. McCain in these 20 states by seven points (50%-43%), while Sens. Obama and McCain are pretty much tied. But in the 26 states plus D.C. that Sen. Obama carried in the primaries/caucuses, he and Sen. Clinton are both statistically tied with Sen. McCain (Clinton 45%-McCain 47%; Obama 45%-McCain 46%).

Gallup's state-by-state polling in seven key battleground "purple" states also shows Sen. Clinton winning cumulatively in these states by a six-point margin (49%-43%) over Sen. McCain, while Sen. Obama loses to Sen. McCain by three points – a net advantage of 9% for Sen. Clinton. These key seven states – constituting 105 electoral votes – are Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Mexico, Arkansas, Florida and Michigan.

Meanwhile, Sen. Obama holds about an equal advantage over Sen. McCain in six important swing states that he carried in the primaries and caucuses – Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri. But these constitute less than half – 54 – of the electoral votes of the larger states in which Sen. Clinton is leading.

The latest state-by-state battleground polls (published May 21-23) by other respected polling organizations verify Gallup's findings that Sen. Clinton is significantly stronger against Sen. McCain in the key states that a Democrat must win to gain the presidency. According to various poll data within the last 10 days:

- Pennsylvania: Sen. Clinton leads McCain 50%-39%; Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain are effectively tied.

- Ohio: Sen. Clinton leads Sen. McCain 48%-41%, Sen. Obama is down 44%-40%.

- Florida: Sen. Clinton leads Sen. McCain 47%-41%; Sen. McCain leads Sen. Obama 50%-40%. (Sen. Clinton has a net advantage of 16 points!)

- North Carolina: Despite a substantial primary victory, Sen. Obama is down 8% vs. Sen. McCain, (51%-43%), while Sen. Clinton leads by 6% (49%-43%).

- Nevada: Sen. Clinton up 5%, Sen. Obama down 6%.

Even the theory that Sen. Obama can open up significant numbers of "red" states has not been borne out by recent polling. For example: in Virginia, which Sen. Obama won substantially in the Feb. 12 Democratic primary, he is currently down in at least one recent, respected poll by a significant 9% margin – one point greater than the 8% margin Sen. Clinton is behind Sen. McCain.

Finally, one unfortunate argument is making the rounds lately to convince superdelegates to go for Sen. Obama. That is the prediction that if Sen. Obama is not the nominee, African-American and other passionate Obama supporters will conclude that the nomination had been "stolen" and will walk out of the convention or stay at home. On the other side are the many women and others strongly committed to Sen. Clinton promising that if she is denied the nomination, they will refuse to vote for Sen. Obama.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are progressive, pro-civil rights, pro-affirmative action, pro-choice Democrats. Neither Obama supporters nor Clinton supporters who care about the issues, the Supreme Court, and the need to begin withdrawing from Iraq can truly mean they will actively or passively help Sen. McCain get elected. Threats of walkouts or stay-at-homes by good Democrats are not the answer, nor should they be a factor in superdelegate decisions.

But there is one possible scenario that avoids disappointment and frustration by passionate supporters of both candidates, that combines the strengths of one with the strengths of the other, and that virtually guarantees the election of a Democratic president in 2008:

A Clinton-Obama or an Obama-Clinton ticket.

Stay tuned.

by LANNY J. DAVIS
from the WALL STREET JOURNAL.

Mr. Davis, former special counsel to President Clinton in 1996-98, is a longtime friend and supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Asia Beckoning

2008-05-20T11:30:00.002+08:00

I will be leaving New York tomorrow morning at 11.35pm for Bangkok. Thereafter, I will leave Bangkok for Singapore this Saturday evening and attend my cousin's wedding on Sunday the 25 May. This is so exciting for me! Yippie! I can't wait. Asian Invasion!

Melanie C

2008-05-18T10:34:00.002+08:00

This is my favorite Melanie C photo for the year. It's really funny! I wish Melanie would be in New York (in the fall) or Singapore (over the summer) to perform. She's just such a sight performing live. So good!

Ben & Duffy @ Virgin Megastore

2008-05-14T12:42:00.003+08:00

So I went to see Duffy perform at the Apollo last night and she was absolutely fabulous. The best voice I have heard ever. No kidding. And I have seen a lot of singers perform this year. She's really cute, funny and humble as well. Duffy is the kind of person you'd want to have a beer with and sit back and laugh with. She just has this amazing vibe about her. I can't quite place it.
And today, I went to see Duffy do an acoustic set at the Union Square Virgin Megastore and she was, once again, absolutely stunning. I love Duffy. She's my new favorite singer! Whoop. I hope she wins a Grammy next year! She totally deserves it. Really.

Vote Hillary

2008-05-06T12:27:00.003+08:00

"Hillary is uniquely qualified to hit the ground running on her first day in office and begin tackling the challenges we face at home and abroad."
--Phoebe Crane, Democratic Party official, Ind.

"I am supporting Hillary Clinton because she has a passion for improving the lives of all Americans. She will be a president who stands up for people across North Carolina — and this country — every day in the White . I know she will get to work immediately making education and the economy her top priorities for our nation. She is ready to lead our country and has the ability to deliver."
--Michael F. Easley, Governor, N.C.

"Hillary Clinton is a seasoned, experienced leader who will be ready to lead this country on Day 1. She will run the kind of campaign and administration that will appeal to all corners of America, emphasizing national security and middle class economic progress."
--Evan Bayh, Senator, Ind.

"She has been tested and is ready to be the commander in chief on Day 1. I still think the senator will prevail even if it comes down to the convention in August."
--Theodore R. Kulongoski, Governor, Ore.

"Indiana is ready for change, and Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to deliver it."
--Daniel Parker, Democratic Party official, Ind.

"Hillary's impressive record of working across the aisle to get things done is the kind of consensus-building leadership we need to provide quality, affordable health care for every American and move our nation towards energy independence."
--Robert Pastrick, Party official, Ind.

"She's still in the race, isn't she? So I'm still supporting her."
--Belinda Biafore, Democratic Party official, W.Va.

People of Indiana and North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregan, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota - the choice is clear. HRC. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Why vote in someone who doesn't know how the system is run and wants to try to 'change' it?

Though Obama has won 27 states to Hillary's 17, note that its the states that will go Republican in the General Election that have gone in his favor. Will these states go in his favor come November? No. There simply aren't enough Democratic voters in these states for that to happen.
Voting Obama is a sure lose come November.

Be smart. Be wise. Be American. Vote Hillary today.

Mariah Carey GMA 042508

2008-05-05T09:35:00.006+08:00

Ben's current look. This will change before going to Singapore.

2008-04-07T21:28:00.002+08:00

Jean Marie, Ben & Dana on her 21st Birthday. God I feel so old.

Jean Marie & Ben

Conversations

2008-03-28T21:19:00.002+08:00

During Management 3325 class, a student pissed the prof off and here's the conversation that transpired after:

Prof: "Go. Go get me a Chamomile and we'll be quits."
(She pronounced Chamomile as CA-MO-MEAL.)
Student (not me): "They don't sell no happy meals at the cafeteria."

O.M.G.

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In Statistics class,

Prof: "I know a Dr. Hong at the xxx hospital near my place."
Me: (rolls my eyes) "My dad's a doctor but it doesn't mean that every Dr. Hong is automatically my dad. He's in Singapore."

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On the subway last week,
Black guy no 1: "Did you read that? Bear Stearns (He pronounced it as BEER) is now going for $2 a pop. Can you fucking believe it?"
Black guy no 2: "Yeah man. We should go get some."

I just roll my eyes at the stupidest conversation for the whole day. Seriously. These people think they can use their spare $50 to buy some BS shares? Wow. They are so deluded. Worst investment ever (as of last week).

2008-03-23T23:25:00.001+08:00

Guys, Ben Koh's Mumma appeared on Philippinoes Idol and this is her rare star studded performance. Enjoy guys! It's dead hilarious. One in a million.

Shitgapore Arts Scene

2008-03-12T21:27:00.002+08:00

Ok, so I was checking up sistic and the arts fest for stuff to attend when I am back in Singapore and I have to say that I am MAJORLY disappointed with how sparse the arts scene is in Singapore. Its really sad. I can safely say that there are more events going on today in New York than all that sistic has from now till end of June. That's seriously how pathetic the scene, or lack thereof, is in Shitgapore. Granted the tickets are cheap - so why arent people supporting the arts scene? This is tentamount to a plain and boring nation of people who only work and watch Fann Wong on Channel 8. I am SO not living in Singapore ever. Can die you know. Die of boredom.

Duffy - Mercy & Breakin My Own Heart

2008-03-12T11:01:00.004+08:00

Guys and gals...

If you all haven't heard of Duffy, go check her out. iTunes is now offering a free download of her current UK No 1 'Mercy' this week. Sorry for those in Singapore. Unless you all find a way to download it for free. Mercy is fantastic!

There is some consolation though. I found out this link where you can download a free Duffy song called 'Breaking My Own Heart'. It's really good. Not as good as Mercy but not bad. Click here http://www.u-download.co.uk/duffy/?artist=duffy or click the title above and when they ask for your Zip, just type in SE1NW3. Its a UK zip code. I tried an American zip code but they wouldn't let me download it. So just by typing in this UK zip, you'd get a Duffy song free.

Her enunciation is bad though. She doesn't pronounce the t in heart so it comes off as 'breaking my own harr' when she sings it. Like one of those aunties in the heartlands of Toa Payoh or something.

Cheerios.

Mas Selamat Kastari

2008-03-10T23:34:00.002+08:00

Ok, so I heard of some JI guy Mas Selamat Kastari who escaped jail right? Anyway, why are the police searching forests? Poor NS men. Aiyoh, can you imagine all those mosquito bites?
Anyway, it's so easy for Mas Selamat Kastari to disguise himself. Just think about this. All he has to do is to wear a tudung and sunglasses and no one will be able to tell him apart from all the other Muslim women who wear tudungs. Like, who the hell would look at Malay women when they are ALL looking out for a Malay man on the run?
Seriously. Right?
OMG. Like, they better find him soon if not, no Hari Raya holiday for everyone in Singapore man. Ok, this is just meant to be funny. But seriously, I think they will cancel Christmas and Hari Raya as dis-incentives for all those Singaporeans who do not look out for a Malay man on the run.

Mis-spelling

2008-03-10T21:12:00.003+08:00

Ok, I just realized that my professors this semester have names that can come off the wrong way.

For example, I have a prof named Waddel. And if you are careless and don't check, you could mis-spell it as Waddle. Which would be completely embarrassing and uncalled for.

Also, another prof (who does not like me) is called Pollack. And if mis-spelt, it could potentially turn out as Bollacks. Another potentially embarrassing situation.

Plus, a third prof is Dr Flowers. And if you type in an E instead or the R, which is right next to each other, it would turn up as De Flowers. OMG.

The 4th one is Prof Pilato, which could be mis-spelt as Pilates.

The 5th one is Lynch. Which could be horrendously mis-spelt as Pinch. Can you imagine writing an email and saying Dr Pinch instead of Dr Lynch? OMG.

And the last one is Fray. Which would be really different from Frey actually, but yet so closely spelt.

Empathize my situation now? Lol. Just joking. No offense with this post please!

2008-03-03T21:49:00.002+08:00

Ok, I am like the lousiest Singaporean ever. I got Singapore's age wrong. I thought she was already 45. Fuck. I think it's just a calculation error. Cause I remember that she was born in 65. Oh well. I just am so withdrawn from S'pore.
But I wanna go home. I miss sliced fish bee hoon soup and char kway teow. Oh boy.

Quote of the Day

2008-02-16T17:29:00.000+08:00

"I am in the solutions business. My opponent is in the promises business," Hillary Clinton said on the campaign trail this week.

Letter to the prof

2008-02-14T00:44:00.003+08:00

OMG. This is what I wrote to my Finance prof - who hasn't taught no shit in class yet. I. Have. Balls.

=============================================

Hi Dr Fl*****,

This is going to sound not so good but I shall be direct and ask: Do
you do any actual teaching of Finance in class? It feels like you have
just been talking about all those newspaper articles you have clipped
and your political views among others and I frankly don't see how it is
really relevant to what we REALLY have to know with regards to this
Intro to Finance class. I look at the Textbook and frankly, it is hard
to cover everything in that text in one semester alone.

I understand that there are many non-finance majors in class who don't
quite give a rat's ass about this class. But I am a Finance major and
if I don't learn anything from this class then I'm kind of pretty
screwed for the future Finance classes. And that is not an option for
me.

More so, I am going to be competitive and as good as those Stern kids
when I graduate and it's not going to happen if I just know what
happens in the newspapers and not what happens in the text as well.

Honestly, I'd really rather get an A- in a class and get useful things
out of it rather than getting an A and not learn anything (which is the
feeling I have right now).

I'm really prepared to spend a Saturday studying Finance if it is
taught in class. That's how much I want to know and value your Finance
expertise.

Please don't water down anything for us. I might be in St John's but it
doesn't mean that I am stupid. (I got into the top schools as well.)

I hope you get my drift with this email. It takes a ton of balls to
write this to be honest.

My Best,
Benjamin//

Melanie C Live in New York

2008-02-10T21:19:00.000+08:00

JM and I went to see Mel C in concert last night. The video above shows you just how hard core her fans are. Seriously. They knew almost every song she sang (like me). Ok, the sound quality of the video does not do Mel justice cause her voice was REALLY fantastic with the acoustics at the Manhattan ballroom. Plus the other spices were there as well.

Let me just say how I got to like Mel C. It wasn't from her Spice Girl days. I liked the Spice Girls but no one really stood out as my favorite. And then one fine day in 2004 or 2005 (I can't remember when exactly), I saw an ad in the papers advertising a free acoustic gig at one of the bigger clubs in Singapore. Somehow, I managed to find Rohai to come along. We really didn't know each other back then I feel. But we went together anyway. And Mel C took the longest time to come onstage. And when she did, the mike didn't work. So she got pissed off and did her vocal warm-ups in front of the crowd - or lack thereof. And that completely blew me away. Her range was fabulous and her voice simply melodic. And so was the rest of the concert. Anyway, that was when I bcame a fan - after hearing her perform live. She's a real trooper - playing at tiny venues and large stadiums.

I really like it that she really works her ass off for people to listen to her music. Success doesn't come to her easily so she savors it more. And in these live shows, you can really feel her soul when she sings. It's amazing.

I really think last night was one of the best nights ever. Cause Mel C was singing live on stage and JM and I were so drunk off our asses and enjoying every moment of the concert. Best best best concert ever.

Oh, and we also spoke to the singer who opened the show - Hayley Sales. She looked like a younger Maggie Q. We kinda felt bad cause we were just standing next to her talking while she was trying to sell her CDs. Lol. It was hilarious. I went to the loo and came back to our spot only to find this young girl selling CDs. And JM told me that she was the singer on stage earlier. And I had to say this so loudly that it was embarrassing. I said, "Oh, she was the one singing on stage?" Alamak. I was standing right next to Hayley Sales when I said that man. Paiseh x 10.

P.S. You know that Melanie is respected in the tour when not only her Spices attended her gig, her backup dancers were also in the audience! It's really nice to see off of them.

Lipstick Jungle

2008-02-09T01:46:00.000+08:00

Ok, NBC has to completely re-name Lipstick Jungle Shitstick Jungle. Seriously. Has anyone seen the pilot last night? It's utter crap. What a huge disappointment and worse still, a huge waste of time watching that.
If NBC came out with Lipstick Jungle to compete with ABC's Cashmere Mafia then I think there is no competition in that. It's clear which one is light years more entertaining then the other.
I think NBC actually has to fire its whole TV show management and writing teams cause the shows they have been putting out of late have just been severely disappointing - with the exception of 30 Rock.
Aiyaiyai. Bionic Woman, Journeyman and even Heroes have been really bad and disappointing. And remember they also canned Studio 60 last year.
They seriously need a makeover.

???Transfer???

2008-02-02T00:29:00.000+08:00

Ok, I am submitting an application to transfer to NYU this coming fall. I don't know if I will actually see through with this but I really want another door open for me. There's just so much bullshit in this school that sometimes I wonder if it is worth it staying for 4 years. Aiyaiyai. Seriously, I take such horrendous classes that I am just going to die of cynicism. I am not learning anything. And they sometimes hire the stupidest people. God. Some profs are so terribly smart and intellectual but the others just simply dont make the cut. How disappointing.

P.S. E is the best medication ever.

Open the Door by Sugababes

2008-01-29T10:41:00.000+08:00

Baby show me
I want you to hold me
never felt this empty before
I can't take it no more

'cause I noticed
we ain't go that closeness
like the way we had it before
baby open the door

baby you ain't got the time (the time)
tell me what is on your mind (your mind)
even when you're here I'm feeling so alone
you used to work me so hard
and now we're rooms apart
tell me you can really see what's going on

I can't wait
tell me before it gets too late
tell me that my heart won't break
I don't wanna let it go

Baby show me
I want you to hold me
never felt this empty before
I can't take it no more

'cause I noticed
we ain't go that closeness
like the way we had it before
baby open the door

lately all the thrill is gone (is gone)
everything I do is wrong (is wrong)
[Open the Door lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]

you keep pouring water on this flames inside
can't we make a life brand new (brand new)
baby trust me and you (and you)
'cause I can't go on like this another night

I can't wait
tell me before it gets too late
tell me that my heart won't break
I don't wanna let it go

Baby show me
I want you to hold me
never felt this empty before
I can't take it no more

'cause I noticed
we ain't go that closeness
like the way we had it before
baby open the door

I could say I hate you now
but you'd see through me easily
I can't take the up and down
take my hand say you'll turn me around

Baby show me
I want you to hold me
never felt this empty before
I can't take it no more

'cause I noticed
we ain't go that closeness
like the way we had it before
baby open the door

God, this song is so good. I love it. The sugababes have always been producing real good music. This song has been playing on my laptop and mp3 player non stop ever since weeks ago. I wish they could perform here in NY too and not just in the UK.

I wanna go Home

2008-01-29T00:50:00.000+08:00

Ok, so being far away from home has its negative sides. I really miss freaking nasi lemak and slice fish beehoon soup and mee rubus now. aiyah. Didn't know I was so Malay lor. Anyway, I am at a crossroad right now in life and I dont know what is my next step. So scary. Seriously. There are things that I want to do (but this is in the future). Right now, I simply have no idea what I am going to do this whole semester when I am not in school. Shit. Screwed. Its always when I have no plan in mind when I start to miss home. Aiyah. I hope I get some revelation of my life real soon cause I am starting to get frustrated. Ok, I have to go read some poetry for that silly Lit class now. You know how mundane my life is right now eh?

P.S. I have a feeling my Lit prof has a black fetish. She makes us read all these Lit stuff by black authors and she's white. Hmmm...ebony and ivory. Lol.

Word of the Day: Plebiscite

2008-01-28T05:11:00.000+08:00

Plebiscite
–noun
1. a direct vote of the qualified voters of a state in regard to some important public question.
2. the vote by which the people of a political unit determine autonomy or affiliation with another country.

Literature sucks

2008-01-26T00:22:00.000+08:00

Oh God. I am in a Literature class now. Someone help me. I hate this class. I thought Lit had died 10 yrs ago when I ended Sec 2. Wah Lao. Comeback lor. WTF?!?!?! And she makes us read shitloads of texts every other day. Man. This is tough. Perhaps I should drop this class and take a normal class. Hmmm. BUT... there is a HUGE cutie here. Looks a lot like Jonathan Rhys Meyers. BIG BIG BIG pull factor. Aiyoh. How? So hard to decide. Merde.

Dance War

2008-01-21T01:38:00.000+08:00

Ok, I was so totally not going to watch yet ANOTHER dance show but I did catch Dance War on www.abc.com and OMG - peeps!!!! There is a NEW CHRISTINA AGUILERA on the block! I mean - she is BETTER than any of those silly American Idol winners (besides Kelly C of course). Watch this video below. Her name is Mariel and she appears on the second part of the video. Mariel sang Lady Marmalade and it just completely reminded me of Christina. She is THAT good. Watch for her!

Cars

2008-01-20T07:16:00.001+08:00

This is a really hilarious clip. I showed this to my niece by mistake thinking that it was from the movie Cars. Enjoy!

How to Improve Your Credit Score

2008-01-19T22:57:00.001+08:00

This is a really interesting fact which a lot of people don't know. Take heed guys!

Ben sucks at money

2008-01-18T08:49:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I phoned Banana Republic's credit card department today to ask why there was no available credit when I logged in to check my account. Turns out - I EXCEEDED MY CREDIT LIMIT. Again. Urgh! I am so angry! I just simply cannot keep within my limits. That's something I have learnt. This is the second time I have exceeded the limit. And this time, it was by one dollar! When the lady told me this over the phone, I just burst out laughing. It was hilarious - to exceed my limit by just $1! Oh well, it's not my fault that Banana Republic is having such a BIG clearance now. Oh man... it's REALLY cheap. Anyway, I will try not to spend anymore for now cause I can't anyway. This is irritating though. I hope they don't slap some big charge just cause I exceeded the limit by one pathetic dollar. Urgh!

My week thus far

2008-01-17T06:48:00.000+08:00

Yo! So I have a little spare time between now and 7pm (I'm gonna catch P.S. I Love You with Hillary Swank in it) so I have decided to spend 10 minutes updating my blog. Let's start with celebrity sighting - yet again. Jean Marie, Leslie and I were shopping at Union Square and we were outside the Diesel store when we spotted Dave Anabelle walking past us. He was on his mobile phone telling the other party that he would be in London blah blah... And DA has such a distinct look about him that Jean Marie and I knew straight away that the person we saw was REALLY DA. In case ya peeps don't know, he stars in one of my favorite TV shows 'Brothers & Sisters' as the youngest sibling. There's a photo of him below. What a pleasant surprise.

And in other news, Melanie C is going to do a solo performance in NYC on 9 Feb at the Highline Ballroom! Whoop. Maroon 5 have performed there before. And its a BIG performance space. 1200 seater. I really wonder how Sporty Spice is going to fill that up. Well, Jean Marie and I are going so I really wonder how Melanie C is going to fill up the other 1198 seats. Seriously, I 'm like pretty much her only fan in NY so I have NO IDEA why she picked such a huge concert venue for an acoustic performance! We should just go out for dinner together. Lol. But well, I will be going to see her perform Carolyna and First Day of My Life. Yay!!! I remember watching her perform in Singapore with Rohai and I really enjoyed that night. She's a really good singer so it'll be fun. And that's $33 a ticket so yeah - I'll be having soup for meals for Feb only! Kidding. I'll just cut back on the shopping. Feb is looking to be really fun for me! I hope it won't be that cold - that's my only worry. Winter in NYC is disgusting. That bloody artic wind that blows down from Canada. Urgh!

Ok, time to go now! School starts on the 23 Jan. What a bummer. I was only just starting to relax this winter break. Boo...

Have a gr8 week guys!
Luv, Ben

For Bernanke, a Question of Toughness

2008-01-11T00:30:00.000+08:00

Taken from the New York Times - 10 Jan 08

This is a really interesting article which sets people thinking as to why Ben Bernake still isn't cutting interest rates as much as he could. And personally I don't think cutting interest rates now will help much to prevent an economic contraction. I believe its inevitable. Let's just sit tight and ride this one out asap!
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By LOUIS UCHITELLE
Is the Federal Reserve’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, too nice for the job?

That’s the view of many on Wall Street, who argue that with the stock market falling, unemployment rising and the economy flirting with a recession, Mr. Bernanke should be dealing with the situation more aggressively than he has so far.

Their quarrel is partly with the Fed’s reluctance to cut interest rates even more than it already has. But mostly those on Wall Street object to what they describe as the Fed’s failure to accompany each cut with a tough, blunt statement on the dangers ahead — embracing language that implicitly promises more interest rate cuts, and soon, to right the economy.

They also complain that Mr. Bernanke, a former Princeton University economics professor bent on building consensus among the Fed’s policy makers, appears to be reluctant to strong-arm his colleagues at the Federal Reserve the way his predecessors Alan Greenspan and Paul A. Volcker often did.

“Bernanke should be making stronger statements and then backing them up with decisive easing,” said Jan Hatzius, chief domestic economist for Goldman Sachs, who argues that the short-term benchmark interest rate the Fed controls should be cut to 3 percent by year’s end. The rate is now 4.25 percent, already down a full percentage point since mid-September.

“Personally, I think we should be at 3 percent right now,” said James Glassman, a senior economist at JPMorgan Chase. “You ask anyone on Wall Street, ‘If Bernanke cuts to 1 percent or 2 percent or 3 percent, would that fix the problem?’ Most people would tell you that would certainly start the healing.”

Despite the criticism from Wall Street, which has a vested interest in lower rates, Mr. Bernanke has plenty of defenders, particularly among academic economists, who say he is exceptionally qualified for the task of steering the nation’s monetary policy.

“He has spent his entire career studying financial market disruptions and economic disturbances,” said Mark Gertler, a New York University economist, “and no one has a better understanding of these phenomena than he does.”

The debate over Mr. Bernanke’s performance is occurring against the backdrop of a worsening economy, which is becoming an evermore serious concern of voters in the presidential primary campaigns. That has put even more pressure on the Fed to set aside its worries about inflation and respond to evidence that the collapse of the housing market is spreading to other sectors.

Far more than his predecessor, Mr. Bernanke is trying to move away from top-down policy-making and toward actions and statements that reflect the differing views of the Fed’s 10 current policy makers. He is likely to outline his latest thinking in a speech in Washington scheduled for Thursday. His colleagues at the Fed also speak regularly, and their various voices add to the criticism from Wall Street.

Striving for consensus is laudable, those in the financial markets say, when the economy is robust and what the Fed does is not quite as critical. In good times, the markets can tolerate a Fed that tries in its public statements to reconcile the divergent views of its policy makers. But in a crisis, Mr. Hatzius said, summing up a widely held view on Wall Street, “I would favor the leadership taking charge.”

The statements issued by the Fed’s policy makers after each recent rate cut have stopped short of declaring that the greatest risk to the economy is on the downside. Such phrasing would be a clear signal that inflationary pressures were not a significant concern among the policy makers and that another rate cut was likely, to avoid a recession. So far, the statements have talked only of economic growth slowing or of “increased uncertainty surrounding the outlook for economic growth and inflation.”

“They are too caught up in the nuances of the language they use,” said Mickey D. Levy, chief economist at the Bank of America.

In the central bank’s defense, Donald L. Kohn, the Fed’s vice chairman, addressed a gathering of largely sympathetic economists last week at the annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations in New Orleans.

“We cannot say more than we know,” Mr. Kohn declared, “and we should strive to avoid giving people the impression that we know more than we do.”

Many in his audience were academic economists: colleagues, in effect, of Mr. Bernanke, who became Fed chairman two years ago after serving as a Fed governor and as President Bush’s chief economic adviser. He came to Washington after a distinguished career at Princeton, where he made his reputation as an expert on policy failures in dealing with the Depression of the 1930s.

As a group, his fellow economists favor Mr. Bernanke’s attempts to be more informative about the Fed’s deliberations and to reflect diverging viewpoints in the statements and the rate cuts.

“I think personally that the rate cuts have been just about right,” said John B. Taylor, a Stanford University economist who served as a top Treasury official in the early years of the current Bush administration.

Still, a growing number of academic economists are concerned that the economy will not respond to lower interest rates. They note that the Fed, apart from lowering rates, has also made money available on easy terms to banks and to other lending institutions.

But despite the ever easier terms, lenders and borrowers appear reluctant to act. The Fed’s rate cuts have failed, at least so far, to lift borrowing and spending by as much as such stimulus often has in the past.

“People have more debt than they can afford to pay and they gambled on house prices going up forever,” said Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Columbia University economist and a Nobel laureate. “There is no way that Fed policies can undo these harsh realities. Bernanke needs to say to Congress, ‘We have reached the limits of what responsible monetary policy can do.’ ”

Indeed, no matter what the Fed does, it may not be able to prevent a recession. That is one reason a number of experts, including Mr. Stiglitz, are also calling for fiscal stimulus in the form of tax rebates for low-income families, or extended unemployment insurance or other subsidies to help counter the downward pressures on consumer spending.

“Among economists,” said Peter R. Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office, “a vigorous debate has arisen just over the past few weeks about whether fiscal stimulus would be beneficial and if so what kind.”

On Wall Street, fiscal policy gets minimal attention. That is partly because Congress is often slow to act and because many there believe that the Fed’s rate cuts, by themselves, should be able to revive the economy.

“Monetary policy,” said Lawrence H. Meyers, vice chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers and a former Fed governor, “has been challenged but not neutralized.”

And then there is self-interest. Wall Street traders and investment bankers are counting on drastic rate cuts to help make stock prices rise, says Albert M. Wojnilower, a consultant to Craig Drill Capital, a hedge fund. Rising stock prices, in turn, help lift year-end bonuses, which were relatively small this past year.

“It is easier for people on Wall Street,” Mr. Wojnilower said, “to cloak their personal desires in a national concern.”

I Wanna Have Your Babies

2008-01-10T15:04:00.001+08:00

OMG. Brit's babies look SOOOO cute!!! Superbly pinchable cheeks!

New Hampshire primary coming right up!

2008-01-07T16:15:00.000+08:00

I'm just wondering if anyone in Singapore is up to date with the New Hampshire debates here in the States. Anyway, I feel really bad for Hillary cause Hussein (yes, that's his middle name) Obama and Edwards really ganged up against her. I still feel that Hillary is going to win the Democratic ticket to the presidential elections. If anything, I would like to see Hillary become president because she has Bill by her side. I don't think a lot of Americans factor in the fact that the new president isn't just going to be the no 1 man in USA, he is also the no 1 man in the world. And frankly, I do not see Hussein Obama or Edwards being able to fill those huge shoes. Surely, Hillary might not be able to fill up those shoes either but boy has she got Bill by her side and everyone knows that America was really very much well liked during his tenure as president. Bill is her weapon and I don't know why she isn't using Bill as much as she should be.
Honestly, Obama is simply lacking in experience when it comes to the global stage. Come on. He just graduated from school when Clinton was president! Sure he sounds appealing on paper but Obama reminds me of a leather bag. He could look really nice on the outside but how well the bag is able to hold up is a completely different matter. And I do not think it is well worth the risk to elect him this time around. Maybe in 15 years or so but just not now.
I'm not a maniac fan of Clinton but I do feel that she is the least of all evils. You know what I mean? When you weigh everything out, her portfolio really is better than all other Democrat nominees combined (maybe except Richardson's).
And can someone tell Edwards to stop positioning himself as a person who would fight for the middle class? Its tiring and obvious that he won't win from that stand point. I feel really disappointed in him cause he looks so good but sounds really bad.
And Ron Paul can go fly a kite. Urgh! He irritates me. He makes the silliest statements that make him seem imbecilic. Its discouraging to know that he is a doctor. Man...how can someone so smart make such silly comments?

2008-01-03T16:30:00.000+08:00

Here's a toast to the fabulous 2008!!!!

Robber Hoods on sale

2008-01-03T16:25:00.000+08:00

OMG!!! Reynard, Del & I went into K-mart at Astor Place a couple of days back and we saw that K-mart was cleverly appealing to all customers in the society by selling robber hoods! Lol. The 3 of us could not stop laughing when we saw that. Who the hell would wanna wear those hoods out onto the streets and worse - into a bank? WTF?!?!?!

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T15:45:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year everyone!!! Have a great 2008! I'm sure 2008 will be a great one.

Much love,
Benjamin//

Concerts for 2008

2007-12-23T13:34:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I am definitely going for 3 concerts so far for 08. The first is of course, for the Spice Girls on 10 Feb. Then I'll be going for James Blunt (once again) on the 29 Feb and then for Pink Martini on 9 March or so. Yippie! I'm thinking of going for Sia's concert too. Hmmm... any other suggestions?

Top Score for CIS

2007-12-18T09:46:00.000+08:00

Whoop. I got the highest score in class for my computers class. It sounds simple but its not. It's working with Excel, Access and Powerpoint; on top of teaching us some stuff about Vista. Anyway, its a financially oriented computer class so they teach us stuff on Microsoft Office that deals with stocks and shares. Ok, so I've kinda forgotten a lot of it now but here's what the professor sent me in an email. Whoop!

"Hey,

I just post your grade. You earn an A (solid A) for your CIS 1332
course. Your final exam grade was the highest one in the class.

It was pleasure to have you in my class.

Vakil"

Cool eh? to get an A, one'd have to get a 94 at least. Wah lau right? It's even harder than an A* lah!

He made us memorize the directions as to how to get what we wanted. For instance, if we wanted to Print, he would be like... How does one print a financial statement and then, you'd have to say that you went to the File Menu and clicked Print, then go on to Properties to format your work and then click ok. So I gave a superbly easy example, and he teaches us the really complicated stuff. So I'm glad I was able to remember all the formats and functions - especially of excel. And to get the highest in class is just the cherry on the Sundae! Heh. I'm from Singapore - don't mess about with me.

I am just elated! ;) 3 A's and counting this semester...

Fireworks

2007-12-06T01:21:00.000+08:00

OMG. I just found out today that there's gonna be a huge fireworks display later on today in school to celebrate the last day of classes. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... Like apparently it's been going on every year but I simply had no idea. So crazy right? And like as part of Christmas celebrations, there will be horse carriages drawn by real horses all around campus later on ferrying students from one building to another. OMG. How cool is that?
I love it that St John's has such a huge budget for such celebrations. I'm sure NU-stingy-S will never be as generous. In fact, they're so stingy that they have to cramp one million students into a lecture hall with one professor. No wonder they dropped in rankings. And btw, global rankings don't quite mean anything cause how can one accurately gauge between schools of different systems? No more showing off for NUS. Muahahahaha

Desperate Housewives

2007-12-04T12:46:00.000+08:00

OMG. Did anyone see the latest episode of Desperate Housewives? It was SOOOO good. I can't wait to catch the next episode to see what happens. Did Lynette loose her whole family?

The Stupidest American Idol contestant

2007-12-02T11:59:00.000+08:00

after the illiterate Fantasia, that is...

2007-11-28T03:56:00.000+08:00

I forgot to add that I am at work now and I just saw an email that the other intern sent out. He spelt Wednesday as Wensday.
God. I'm dying of laughter.

Thanksgiving Break

2007-11-28T03:46:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I haven't blogged in like 10 days cause Hauling was here in NYC to visit. It was really enjoyable. In retrospect, however, I should have just brought her to like 3 stores instead of 30. It would have been more enjoyable. She spent like US$1000 on shopping. Can you believe it? Well, it's actually not so much - considering an Armani suit is like US$799 for example. Relatively speaking, that is.

Anyway, I spent a lot too but I shall not reveal the amount in case my parents read this. I'm in debt, let's put it this way. Might have to sell a kidney to pay back or something. That extent. Lol. I bought 4 Ted Baker dress shirts, 3 Ted Baker dress pants, 3 business leather shoes (gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous), a Penguin cardigan, an Emmanuel Ungaro rain jacket, an American Eagle coat, a Calvin Klein collection series blazer, Zegna fragrance among others. So poor right now.
But seriously good buys. I'll prolly have to work off my debt during the holidays.

It was a good Thanksgiving season this year and I'll be in full exam mode starting this evening when I start doing my legals briefs for my law class. Then it's on to Extra Credit assignments for Law class (once again), followed by Economics homework, then Accounting over the weekend. Oh god. I'm gonna be like the Titanic and sink under all these work! The Ben-tanic. Boo... Ok, that just sounded like Botanic. lol.

Well, I'm off to do some work now. Ciao bellos!

Spice Girls Performances

2007-11-18T00:03:00.000+08:00

STOP and watch these 2 amazing Spice Girls videos right now! I'm so glad I'm going to watch their concert in Feb 08! Whoop.

Spice Girls @ Victoria's Secret

2007-11-17T00:42:00.000+08:00

OMG.

Stefanie Sun guest appearance

2007-11-13T03:44:00.000+08:00

Stefanie Sun made a special guest appearance in my law class last Friday. Let me elaborate. There's this stupid chinese girl who comes to class and doesn't turn off her cell phone. And it always rings in class and on Friday, it was one of Stefanie Sun's hits. And that idiot didn't turn off her phone and didn't know where she put her phone. So Stefanie kept on singing (through the ring tone) while the stupid girl kept on looking for her phone. And it got louder and loudr by the second and the angmoh kias started to get irritated with Stefanie. And the law prof started to compete with Stefanie for the student's attention. It was so funny.
OMG. Stefanie just disrupts classes here. Wonder if she pays guests visits in NUS too.
I hope that stupid chinese girl starts to turn off her phone from now on. Irritating.

Tesco's Ad

2007-11-11T11:45:00.000+08:00

OMG. This is SOOOO funny. Especially Mel B and Victoria's part. This is so classic.

Voodoo by Spice Girls

2007-11-08T05:36:00.000+08:00

This is the next single from the Spice Girls, called Voodoo. Its so much better than their current hit Headlines. I really like this song and they have cast a voodoo spell on me with this. Pretty sure it'll be a hit when it comes out. Whoop. Voodoo will top the headlines! All pun intended.

Benjamin's Current State of Mind.

2007-11-07T08:36:00.001+08:00

I I die, this must be my obituary photo.

Update

2007-11-07T01:16:00.000+08:00

Hi guys,

I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I'd just drop in to say Hello! I've been extremely busy these days in New York. I feel like 24 hours is simply not enough for me to finish all that I have to do work-wise and I barely have time to relax and stuff. Like I'm reading texts while having lunch and dinner - it's that bad. This hasn't happened in Singapore before so it's challenging. Like school work and other stuff are so overwhelming this semester.

Anyway, there's only 1 month left (thereabouts) and I have thanksgiving to look forward to. I will definitely not be doing any work at all come thanksgiving. Hauling will be visiting me in New York and I want to be the best host ever since she is my very first guest! Well, the first guest staying with me, that is. Daniel, Michel, Will and Jon have all visited me before but they have stayed in their own hotels. But Hauling will be staying with me so yippie! I just hope that pesty and irritating roommate of mine is not there for as long as possible.

He is so gross. He farts as and when he likes. And he doesn't like it when I spray air freshener after he farts. Can you blame me? He is a total cesspool. His farts stink and he once actually described his process of shitting to me. How gross and disgusting is that? It's just gross.

And he keep on using my toiletries. Damn it. Do I look like a fucking 7-11 or a mama-shop? God! They sell toiletries in New York too! It's been 2 and a half months. Go get your own shit. And he leaves traces all over my toiletries too. Yuck. Like he doesn't cap the toothpaste after and there is toothpaste all over the rim of the cap. Yuck. And shampoo is just dripping off the sides of the bottle. Gross. And he uses bar soap and we use common toilets. How gross is that? Yuck. Like they might be third world in Trinadad but leave all that thrid world-ness behind when you come to a freaking first world country. Yeeww...
Plus he doesn't put the toiletries back in the same place after using them. That is just plain rude. I spent 15 min once looking for where he put my shampoo. How silly is that?

I'm glad he doesn't touch my tweezers, shavers and the other personal toiletries. Wait. I'm not sure if he leaves them alone actually. But I'd sure hope so.

Anyway, I'm gonna watch a Broadway show on Thursday and Wintuk on Saturday! Yippie! Can't wait. My first break in a while!

Peace out.
Leave-my-toiletries-alone Ben

Cirque du Soleil's Wintuk

2007-10-28T07:48:00.000+08:00

I am so excited cause I am going to see Cirque du Soleil's new show Wintuk on 10 November at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square! Whoop! I never got the chance to catch Cirque du Soleil in Singapore (due to their stupidly sky-high prices) so I am very very glad to be catching this all new production in about 2 weeks! Man... Cirque du Soleil is like the Roberto Cavalli of circuses so it'll be such an exciting show for me. I'm just so going to be a kid again! I remember how excited I used to get whenever my parents brought me to the circus. Oh, such nice memories.

So glad I'm given these chances to re-live my childhood with Wintuk and of course, the Spice Girls! Muahahaha! So blessed.

Also, Kylie is back with a new single 2 Hearts. I think it's not bad. Check it out. Very retro but classy too.

And I've got the pink eye so I'm staying home Friday and Saturday nights. Boo. I'm determined to go out on Sunday night though! Lol.

Spice Girls Tickets Bought!

2007-10-26T04:41:00.000+08:00

OMG! OMFG! OOMFFG!
I just bought my very own Spice Girls concert tickets!!! Yippie! They're for the 11 Feb 2008 at 7.30pm at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
I SO CANNOT WAIT to sing 2 become 1 along with them. Lol. Seriously. I am mad happy about this! Put such a cherry on my Thursday!
and I bought the cheapest nosebleed tickets and they cost US$90 can? WTF?!?!?! They better be damn freaking good.

Pink Martini concert is NEXT UP!

Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)

2007-10-24T03:48:00.000+08:00

Listen to the new single of the Spice Girls in its entirety here. Headlines! So B-rated but you know that its going to go to no 1 cause its sang by the Spice Girls. Go listen! I really like Mel C's part in the song. She's got the hard to sing parts again. And honestly, where the hell is Victoria Beckham on the song? I could barely recognize her voice (and it was only by a process of eliminating that I concluded which part she sang. Hahaha)...

Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)

2007-10-22T12:01:00.000+08:00

http://www.amazon.com/Headlines-Friendship-Never-Radio-Version/dp/B000XNIM86/ref=sr_1_1/105-0650536-4424452?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1192990292&sr=1-1

Click on the above link to listen to an exclusive preview clip of the Spice Girl's latest single Headlines. Ok, that's such a weird name for a single but I guess they can call it Headlice and it'll still go right up to no 1 at this point in time. Ha.

Honestly, I can't wait to get this track off iTunes or something. Cause what point is there in buying their greatest hits? I have their songs already and I just have to buy Headlines and Voodoo (their next single) off the net. Yeah, I don't pirate. Well, at least not outrightly. Shame on ya Betty. Lol.

Right, let's go listen to the Headlines now shall we?

Naima Mora

2007-10-18T22:41:00.000+08:00

OMG! OOOMG!
Ok, so everyone remembers Naima Mora from America's Next Top Model right? She was the winner of cycle 4 of ANTM.
Anyway, I met her yesterday at a bar in New York! Can you freaking believe it? My friend Jean Marie and I were sitting next to her and her boyfriend/hook up (who looks gorgeous btw - rough hot leather tattoo biker dude type of guy) at the bar!
Whoop! And let me just say that Naima looks ABSOLUTELY Asian! Asian invasion! And she is SOOOO skinny and slim. And when I first saw her and gave this sort of flicker of recognition, she actually smiled. =)
Seriously. I couldn't believe that I saw her there cause its a bar that JM and I hang out a lot in. Hmmm.
I feel like an E list celeb already! Ahhh...

And did I mention that Jay Manuel (one of the guys from ANTM) was also at the Aida Opera that I was at?
What's with ANTM man? They're all around. And I'm all around. Lol.

2007-10-15T02:35:00.000+08:00

I just spoke to a student in the lift and he transferred from Cornell to St John's. WTF?!?!?! This is so crazy. It's like the other student I spoke to last time who got into Stanford but chose St John's over that. Huh

More Photos

2007-10-14T22:50:00.000+08:00

Spirit Cruise and Luncheon onboard

2007-10-14T03:50:00.000+08:00

I just realized that I haven't got any photos on my blog for the longest period ever! So voila! Enjoy laughing at me man. I look real fug in these pictures. Don't know why. Maybe I'd better schedule an appointment with Woffles Wu sometime soon. Went on a cruise this afternoon with a yummy yummy luncheon onboard too. It was freakin amazing! Plus the great weather and the superb rate of only US$10 (St John's subsidized US$26 that's why) made it such a fabulous time!

Chelsea, Arely and Ben soak in the sunshine and spectacular views of the Liberty.

Verrazzano Narrows Bridge which connects Brooklyn to Staten Island.

Chelsea, Danielle and Ben at a lunch cruise!

Statue of Liberty - which fyi, does not belong to New york. It belongs to New Jersey!!!! Muahahahaha. Betcha didn't know this one.

View of the Financial District of Manhattan. I live real close to this!!!

Empire State Building

Claire Danes on Broadway

2007-10-13T00:55:00.000+08:00

Ok, so...I am going to catch Claire Danes on Broadway in the show Pygmalion. Yeah. I wonder what the hell that is but I will know in about 2 weeks when I watch her act live. Betty.......jealous?!?!?!? Come to New York lah! Maybe we'll watch Julia Roberts or Spice Girls or Alec Su!!! Hahahahaha. I know he's performed in Atlantic City before! Lol.

And I CANNOT WAIT to get my hands on those spice girls tickets to relive my childhood '2 become 1' and 'goodbye' days!!!

Maroon 5 in concert

2007-10-12T02:14:00.000+08:00

So, I am so totally crazy over Adam Levine now. He is such a good singer and Maroon 5 totally deserved the grammys they were awarded!
And guess who was the guest star at the Maroon 5 concert? Fucking KANYE WEST!!!! OMG. OMFG! I was so totally surprised by that - so was the sold out audience of Madison Square Garden! And I had really decent seats too!
Really love Maroon 5 now. Can't believe that I am actually seeing them perform live right now cause that never crossed my mind. I remember how I used to listen to This Love and She Will Be Loved back in VJC and singing to the choruses of those songs. Ha! What a distant memory and distant past. And one that I will never return to. For New York is gonna be my future and my destiny! More Maroon 5 concerts to come - provided they don't disband.
Oh my Adam!!!!!! My name is Eve - from now on.
This is the life baby!

No Homosexuals in the country

2007-10-12T02:00:00.001+08:00

So I was reading the New York Times today and once again, they mentioned the Iraqi premier's ridiculous remarks he made at Colombia U with regards to there being no homosexuals in Iran. It was so hilarious cause I thought about how Singapore was just like Iran in that sense. Having a Penal code Section 377A brandishing gays as criminals seems to be in the exact same light as proclaiming there are no gays in the country - with the exception of those who are criminalized.
This is really such an anomaly for an atheist government. Normally, governments are under the influence of a particular religion and therefore, proclaim homosexuality as a sin or a crime (Read: Third world Arab and African countries who have religious governments. Let's not name names shall we?). Now, doesn't it seem weird that an atheist government would ban homosexuality as well?
In addition, they shouldn't claim that the general populace of Singapore are against homosexuals. Like, unless they have done a blanketed anonymous survey that involved all 4.5 million citizens of the island, they should absolutely not say such ludicrous statements such as that. It is wrong and silly to base such statements on sample portions of the population - for we all know how biased and wrong that can be.
It seems like there seriously is no future in Singapore for gays and lesbians and bisexuals alike if the government continues to be so backward in their thinking. I am seriously considering changing citizenship to one that acts for freedom as much as it proclaims it. After all, I will feel much free-er then.
Should I write into the New York Times about this matter? Hmmm... maybe it's time New Yorkers learn about the plight of gays in that sunny island in Singapore. And have a laugh over 377A.

Brothers and Sisters

2007-10-09T14:42:00.000+08:00

Ok, if you guys have not caught this show yet, you have to see it. It's great. Don't catch the lousy MediaShit TCS version cause they freaking censor the best parts of the show. Whenever I catch Bros and Sis, I feel so American. Lol. Its great! I love it! The second season is much better than the first season - so far. Wow!

Open Letter to the Singapore Government

2007-10-09T01:36:00.000+08:00

So, I heard that Fridae is having an open letter to the government to repeal penal code 377A that criminalizes homosexual behavior. So, I added my name to the petition and this is the letter that I wrote to them. If you would like to put your name down too (common, have some god damn balls), go to this website
http://www.repeal377a.com/letter/
and sign your name. Iwish that they could have included a section for NRIC too since Singapore likes to clamp down on freedom with such a thing as NRIC. Lol.
Anyway, this is my letter and I hope you enjoy reading it!
Have some balls, sign it.
=================================================
Singapore will never truely be my homeland if it continues to have laws that persecute me. How can I feel safe and secure if one day I might end up in jail because I did something so intrinsically human like to give my lover a blow job? I have been living in New York now and Singapore pales in great comparison! So glad my tax dollars aren't going to feed such an authoritarian government (that restricts the basic fundamental laws of human rights and calims that it is a free society) in that first world island with leaders of third world mentality. Way to go Singapore!
PAP, if you are scared that the mainstream voters will no longer vote for you just because you repeal 377A, you ARE WRONG. They will vote for you anyway since you have no real credible opposition as of today. But I know where my vote is going if you do not repeal it. And let me just say that there are a whole lot of queer votes out there in Sunny Singapore. If you've got the balls, you would have done something about this a long time ago.

I hereby pray and hope and wish that all of the government's offspring be gay and proud of it!

Aida

2007-10-06T01:35:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I was at the Metropolitan Opera (Grand grand grandeur) last night completely underdressed and going to see Aida. Aida was fantastic! Like the best show I have ever seen really. And I have seen many many shows.
Anyway, my point was...guess who else was there watching Aida? Jay Manuel from America's Next Top Model! Lol. Honey, I've seen an E list celeb now. Lol.

Maroon 5

2007-10-04T00:27:00.000+08:00

OMG! I just purchased to watch Maroon 5 at Madison Square Garden next week! Whoop! Ms slate...JEALOUS?!?!?! I'm so gonna be a groupie now. Lol.

2007-09-27T03:32:00.000+08:00

someone was caught on campus with a rifle. and now the r a billion cops around and a gazillion helicopters flying overhead.
and everyone is stuck in the buildings. and the cops r doing a building by building search cause he has accomplices. this is so fucked up.
i just wanna get out of here but everyone is not allowed out of the classrooms and buldings. fuck.
will update later.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=74000

UN General Assembly in NY

2007-09-25T23:43:00.000+08:00

Ok, so the UN is gonna hold their General Assembly in NY starting today and it has pretty much been the talk of the town. Like I work near where the UN is headquartered in NY and let me just say that traffic is IMPOSSIBLE around here. They have pretty much cordoned off the roads that lead to the UN and the hotels where the delegates are staying - which is like the many blocks around where I work (at 50th St and 3rd Ave). So everyone takes the subway this week and it is jammed packed! Boo.
Also, I was pretty disappointed at not being able to go to Colombia to hear Iran's premier speak. Like I was trying to get tickets to go but they only opened it to Colombians. Darn. Like they get current hot people man. Cause St John's got Madeleine Albright to speak at our campus a couple months back but they didn't get the Iranian premier to speak at our school. Oh well, slim pickings eh? Aiyai.

Changi Terminal 3

2007-09-19T06:31:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I used my dad's Krisflyer air miles to redeem my free ticket for SIN - NYC (Newark direct) for next year on 24 August 2008. Crazy to buy so early right? Lol. Anyway, the crazier thing is, on the e-ticket for SQ, they put down that the flight departs from Singapore Changi T3!!! Yah. Like T3 is so gonna be ready by then lor. Plus, I found out from my dad that my brother (who is in Brunei now for NS training) sat in a plane that used the runway for T3!!! Hahahaha. Like Singapore is damn kiasu lah. Haven't open yet and already they are testing the runway and using NS men as guinea pigs. Pathetic. I will not stop laughing if T3 suddenly collapses before its due to open.

Anyway, my flight SQ 22 departs on 24 August 2008 from T3 at 10.50am - if anyone wants an excuse to visit the new terminal. Lol. Ciao!

Glorious by Natalie Imbruglia

2007-09-18T01:45:00.000+08:00

I love this new song by Natalie Imbruglia. Ok, it's been out for about a month already in the UK (charted for like 2 weeks in the Top 40) but I still like it! It's so happy and a so been-there-done-that kind of song. Listen to it! It's so feel good. I'm amazed by Natalie Imbruglia's star power in UK. Like you don't really hear much of her in the news and her last album was out in 2005 but she still managed at #5 debut showing for the The Singles Collection 1997 - 2007 this week in the UK (after Kanye, half a dollar, KT Tunstall & Amy Winehouse). Whoop! She is one rich lady. Love her.

Walking down to Frith street,
Dawn is creeping up on me.
Some girls tears in a taxi,
Five o clock shadows drinking coffee.

So this is what it feels like.
This is how it feels now I’m finally smiling on the inside.
This is what it looks like.
This is how it looks from the outside staring in.

And it’s glorious just to laugh like us
And the world we turns it'll never stop.
Cos I’ve nothing to hide, we’ve got nothing lose, oh yeah.

And it’s glorious yeah it’s all I see on a day like this you know
it 's meant to be.
Yeah I’ve got nothing to find I’ve got nothing to lose, but you
And it’s glorious

Drinking wine back at my house
Remember someone said your name.
I somehow lost the conversation
I’d fallen a million miles away

So this is what it feels like.
This is how it feels when you’re finally walking on the inside.
This is what it looks like.
This is how it looks from the outside staring in.

Keep wanting a little, a little more. Keep walking, keep walking
Keep getting a little, a little more. Keep running, Keep running.

2007-09-17T23:31:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I have a stupid crush right now. I hate it. I seldom have crushes but he's too cute. Like there's this guy called James Gomez (I know. How can he have the same freaking name as that Worker's Party's James Gomez who looks so fug?!?!?!) who has 2 classes with me - accounting and computers. And he is SOOO hot! Like he looks like a splitting image of Jonathan Rhys Meyers and has these sizzling melting grey eyes of his. And when he looks in my direction, I simply melt into a puddle of lard. Oh boy... so so hot! Like I am so gonna die type of hotness. Kill me right now!!!

Mid-week Ben

2007-09-12T23:26:00.001+08:00

So, I am in my CIS 1332 class right now and it is a Computers class that I have to take as part of my core set of classes. So before I took this class, I thought they were going to teach us C++ and Javascript and all these complicated stuff. Turns out, St John's is so SLOOOOOOOWWW. This computers class teaches Microsoft Office! OMG! OMFG! Excel, Word, Access and Power-freakin-point! Like, who the hell doesn't know how to use these applications at this age and time and can still be in college? Riduculous! Really. They have to start revamping their whole program if they ever wanna be anywhere near the ball park range of NYU. This is such a silly course. It's a good thing the professor is really nice. He reminds me a little of Borat because of his accent and the way he speaks. Otherwise, he is really nice. He's from Iran too! Oooh boy. Should I ask him if Iran REALLY has nuclear weapons? I think I'll get an F in Microsoft Office if I really ask him that! Lol. Ok, gotta take notes now. Toodles!

About You Now by Sugababes

2007-09-10T05:12:00.000+08:00

The Sugababes have a new single out later this month and here it is! It's really really good. I love the feel and vibe of this song and it feels like a pop version of Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone'. I think it's going to make a HUGE splash in the UK music scene. And its just been going on in my head for a long time now! Listen to it.

Million-dollar earners exceed 2,000 for first time

2007-09-08T00:24:00.000+08:00

THE ranks of a special breed of millionaire in Singapore has grown to record levels thanks to a buoyant economy and strong stock market.
These millionaires are not your average millionaire - they earn a million bucks in just one year.

The latest figures from the taxman say the number of these million-dollar earners crossed the 2,000 mark for the first time in 2005.

There are now 2,121 of them, with 383 millionaires having joined the exclusive club in 2005.

That is an even bigger jump than the 368 new faces earning the magic seven-digit figure who joined the club during the heady days of 2000 when the stock market was caught up in a dot.com frenzy.

Most of the millionaires are residents here, meaning that they stay in Singapore for at least 183 days a year. Only 31 are non-residents.

All in, they paid $682 million in taxes, or 14.5 per cent of all personal tax collected for income earned in calendar year of 2005 - the 'year of assessment' 2006.

This made them the single largest group of tax-payers for personal income tax.

Data from the taxman also shows that takings of personal income tax, as at March 31, this year, rose to $4.7 billion. This is tax revenue from assessed on income earned in from calender year 2005 and paid the next year.

This was up from $4.33 billion the year before. But given the strong economy, this is not surprising.
==================================================================================

This article is from the Government Times. Oops, I mean the Straits Times.
Now this is ONE exclusive club that I want to join! I'm giving myself 15 years to reach this level! Whoop!

Who Knew by Pink

2007-09-07T11:33:00.000+08:00

I love the lyrics of this song! It's great! I'm surprised that Pink chose to sing this song. Hmmm... Its just so me right now. I really miss R - especially cause I'm here in NY and it gets really rough and lonely out here at times. Especially when work starts to stifle me and college is so slow and idle. Urgh! I really want to be with R so much but we just argue/fight whenever we're together. It's so hard for me. UUURRRGGGHHH.

You took my hand
You showed me how
You promised me you'd be around
Uh huh
That's right
I took your words
And I believed
In everything
You said to me
Yeah huh
That's right

If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them up
Cause they're all wrong
I know better
Cause you said forever
And ever
Who knew

Remember when we were such fools
And so convinced and just too cool
Oh no
No no
I wish I could touch you again
I wish I could still call you friend
I'd give anything

When someone said count your blessings now
For they're long gone
I guess I just didn't know how
I was all wrong
They knew better
Still you said forever
And ever
Who knew

Yeah yeah
I'll keep you locked in my head
Until we meet again
Until we
Until we meet again
And I won't forget you my friend
What happened

If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out
Cause they're all wrong and
That last kiss
I'll cherish
Until we meet again
And time makes
It harder
I wish I could remember
But I keep
Your memory
You visit me in my sleep
My darling
Who knew

Me so bored in Me-taphysics

2007-09-06T01:36:00.000+08:00

OMG. I am in metaphysics class now and it is SOOOOOOOOOOOO MF boring. I hate metaphysics. I hate asking the question 'who am I'? These people have nothing better to do in life. They are so god damn free man. I, on the other hand, have to juggle school, internship, a very assholic dean, a roommate who is talking on the phone at 7am i nthe morning and disturbing my sleep all while trying to have fun and have a life. Damn.

I guess the only perk of this metaphysics class is that I sit right by the window and St John's is so far out in Queens that I have a fantastic view of the whole of Manhattan length-wise. I see the Empire State Building and the Chrysler and that's where I work. Nearby. This is such an amazing view! And I want it to be all mine! I want this so badly man.

On a lighter note, I will be watching a new Broadway musical 'Spring Awakening' this coming Tuesday. Yippie! I missed 'The Lion King' last week but I shall be catching that again later on in the semester. Broadway here I come!!!!! Muak.

China Wine

2007-09-04T12:38:00.000+08:00

OMG. OMFG. My roommate has China Wine (by Sun Ho) on his laptop. And I didn't even tell him about the song. He knew it even before I mentioned it to him. Imagine my stunned face when I heard him play it from his computer man. He said he heard it on BET and that they were playing it a lot on that... OMFG.

Quote of the Day

2007-09-03T08:44:00.001+08:00

"A careful study of economics usually reveals that the best time to buy anything is last year."

--Dr 440. My Economics professor.

My first week of work and class

2007-09-02T08:19:00.000+08:00

Hi guys,

Sorry it's been a while since I posted here on Blogger. I have been EXTREMELY busy this whole week. My internship at VW started on Tuesday and boy... it's tough. It's a REAL job and not like the internships where you just go and make coffee or tea for your boss and colleagues. And turns out I will not get paid after all. Cause I found out that as an international student, I am not allowed to earn any $$$ off campus and this internship is considered a form of wages. So I had to get VW to convert my status from a paid to an unpaid internship. Darn. I would have been earning so much if it were a paid internship man. It's ok. I need this on my resume right now so I shall suck it up and go through with this. The hours are LOOONG and I haven't really made any friends there but I guess I'm just starting to get a feel of that place. Hmmm... there's so much money in advertising and media space rental but it's a tough line and the competition is tremendous.

And college has started as well. It's not all rosy as I have 5 hours of class straight and the 4th class is a REALLY boring Metaphysics class. OMG. I have been to classes on 2 days and on both occasions, I was trying really hard to stay awake in that Metaphysics class. And I'm really not exactly pleased with that class cause the professor wants us to buy this textbook that's called 'The Journey of Metaphysics' and it's US$96 and we can't get it anywhere except for the bloody school bookstore. It's a total monopoly. And the only reason I say that is because he was the one who wrote that book and he's charging so much for it. And I can't get an older edition or a cheap used one off the internet. Sucks to the core man.

I've been trying to save on textbooks by either buying an older edition (if the permission was granted) or by borrowing from friends or printing the textbook from the internet. I'm so cheap in this sense cause I did a rough calculation and all the books this semester would have cost me about US$1000 if I bought every single one of them. Yeah. Can you believe how outrageous they dare to price their books? Anyway, I've spent a total of US$65 so far for books for 4 classes and I'm still trying to find a way to wriggle out of buying that silly metaphysics book. Yuck. What a terrible subject.

And you know... I have a professor from Korea and one from Iran. Luckily there are none from Iraq if not, can form the axis of evil already! Muahahahaha!

And I simply do not get those Muslim women who wear tudungs to school. Like, they go to St John's - which is a Catholic school. And they wear parade themselves in their headscarves all over campus. Isn't it so weird? Like why the hell did they choose to go to a Catholic school if their very own belief system clashed with the religious values of the university? I'm always so puzzled by that. Maybe I should approach one of the tudungs and ask them why on earth did they choose to attend a Catholic school and somemore, wear a tudung when they go to school. Weird isn't it? Like who the hell would wear a huge giant cross to a mosque?!?!?!?!

In other news, I am staying in a fabulous and fantastic locale right in downtown Manhattan. There's the 1,2,3,A,C,E,R,W trains at my disposal - all within a couple of blocks! It's so amazing! Like Chelsea is just a few stops away and so is E.Vil(lage). I love that! And my roommate is pretty cool. No blasting of loud reggae music yet and not a messy or noisy person so far. Things are going fine in the dorms I guess. There are a few REALLY hot looking ones around and it's such eye candy! Yummy!!!!! I have to get to know them soon. I've just been so busy trying to settle down while working and studying.

And tomorrow, I'll be going into the Statue of Liberty and going to the top. It's not open to the public. But somehow St John's managed to get a tour of her for us. So I'm going! Yippie!

Ok, going off now. Will update real soon once again!
Many kisses
Ben//

Shoes!!!

2007-08-25T06:37:00.000+08:00

OMG! I just bought a pair of business shoes from Bostonian. It's amazing. Leather leather everywhere. The sole is made from leather too! I love leather! PETA hates Ben now I assume... I have such a leather fetish!

Van Wagner, Van Wagner!!!!

2007-08-24T12:15:00.000+08:00

So, I got a call today from the lady I was talking to at Van Wagner and she told me that I got the internship! This is especially great news since I really wanted an internship real badly and I thought I had screwed up the face to face interview with her yesterday. Oh well, I guess I'm really lucky and blessed to be this fortunate in life so far. I only applied to 3 postings and I got one of the 3. Hurray! The job's 20 hours weekly and pays US$10 per hour. So that's not bad at all! At least it was better than what they gave us in the army and at North Border.

I was so sullen all of yesterday and today cause I thought that I had botched up the interview and that I was going to have to tweedle my thumbs for 2 days a week when school reopened. Not anymore! I am just SOOOOOOO happy now!

For those who do not know about Van Wagner, check out their corporate website:

http://www.vanwagner.com/newyork.htm

It's such a rags to riches story man. Like the boss Mr. Richard Schaps used to drive a cab in New York and now, he owns VW - which has an annual revenue of US$200 million! Now that's a real inspiration! I wanna be like that too!

Anyway, this will be my schedule this coming semester. I feel so adult like now cause my schedule is so tight and long.

Monday - 10.10 am - 5.45pm: Lectures @ St John's
Tuesday - 8.30 am - 6.30pm: Internship @ Van Wagner
Wednesday - 10.10 am - 5.45pm: Lectures @ St John's
Thursday - 8.30 am - 6.30pm: Internship @ Van Wagner
Friday - 10.10 am - 3.25pm: Lectures @ St John's

So my plate is full and I am happy! The world is a great place. Lol. Actually, let me change that to New York.

And did anyone hear about the fire that happened in midtown New York at about 4.30pm yesterday? It looked like a terror attack and I was just 2 blocks from the scene (going shopping after the interview). It was really scary and I just walked away from there. Smoke just filled up the whole avenue and it was billowing up into the sky. Check this new article out if you haven't heard of it. Apparently the fire started from a restaurant called the Raffles Cafe! How ironic!

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5594385

Hugo Hugo Here I go

2007-08-23T02:03:00.000+08:00

OMG. OMFG. I just bought a pair of Hugo Boss casual shoes (Orange label) for US$20. F-me hard pls! It's a half size smaller than my usual but hey... Ben's always comprimizing anyway. Did I spell that correctly? Whoop! I heart shopping in New york!

Interview tomorrow

2007-08-22T12:04:00.000+08:00

I've got an interview tomorrow with Van Wagner. They're the 4th biggest advertising firm in the States. I am so hyped up about that! I sent out 3 resumes and out of that, one replied. So that's really good. And I guessed I passed the phone interview and computer interview last week so I'm now on to the face to face interview tomorrow. I really want this internship very badly so I'm going to try to not screw up at all. And I hope it is a paying internship. Anyway, I went out to buy a tie (DKNY for only US$13!!! Whoop!) and belt (Calvin Klein for only US$15!!! Another whoop!) today for that. I'll have to buy black business shoes tomorrow as well. I'm desperate Ben right now. I MUST score tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Motto for this year

2007-08-19T21:46:00.000+08:00

I was just thinking about how I want to live my life this year and all that and I realize that I do want to keep things as real as possible this year. The last 2 school semesters were all about discovery - further self discovery and discovering new places and cultures et al. And now that I have been so blessed to be able to see so much and feel so deeply, I think I just want to keep things as real as they come this year. So there will be no more pretending to be who I am not and there will be no more trying to be someone who's dreamed up from my figments of imagination. I want to try to be me completely. No more dwelling in past glory or hate but living in today and staying true to myself. After all, there's beauty in the ugly!

New Phone Plan

2007-08-19T12:22:00.000+08:00

So, my current mobile phone plan with (Shi)T-Mobile ends on the 25th and I have decided to switch over to Sprint cause most people I know are using it. And it's such a great plan that I got. Whoop! Plus I managed to get a Motorola Q for free too. And guys, since I am gonna have UNLIMITED text messaging and I found out the website where you all can send me sms-es through the net, you can all feel free to spam me whenever you all want. This is such an improvement over (Shi)T-Mobile's pay 0.10 cents per sms sent or received thingy. This is the website to send me messages:

http://messaging.sprintpcs.com/textmessaging/compose;JSESSIONID_JFS=GHHd19Q2J5U
haft72SQLzbZalV4T0ZPfnuMxYRaS2iE3sjCGYjQO!1541795621!182801588!7060!7002

But I only start my Sprint plan on the 26 August so y'all can only send me messages then! The phone number is the same as my current one.

And here's a peak at the perks of this plan I am getting - all for US$30 a month! Muahahahaha!

Unlimited Sprint Data Plan (Web/Email etc)
Unlimited Sprint Mobile to Mobile
Unlimited Sprint Picture Mail (MMS)
Unlimited Roaming
Unlimited text messages
Unlimited Nights & Weekends (beginning at 7pm)
Nationwide Long Distance Free
Voice Mail
Caller ID
Call Waiting
Numeric Paging
Three-Way Calling
Ready Link

Don't you just love Sprint? For all American viewers, this is a special offer not available in stores. If you would like the same offer, kindly contact me. Plus you will receive $25 from Sprint for that.

Ben hearts shopping in America

2007-08-19T05:17:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I found out from my cousin Lucy yesterday that Mexx was closing all its American stores very soon. And to "celebrate" that, they are having a storewide 70% discount! Yaoza!!!! I just went major shopping at Mexx today. Like I bought US$330 worth of stuff and only paid 30% (about $105) for it! Isn't Mexx lovely? I like the fact that stores can have such steep discounts here in the US of A. Like Singapore only has the pathetic 10 - 30% (50 if you are lucky) discount type of clothes. WTF?!?!?!?!

And you know the best part of paying $105 for all these stuff? Citibank is gonna give me $100 for opening a new account with them so technically, if I applied this $100 to shopping at Mexx, it would have meant that I have only spent $5 altogether - for the 21 items that I bought! Muahahahahaha! I heart shopping in America! I heart living in New York!!!!!!

Uptown, Uptown!

2007-08-17T19:40:00.000+08:00

So, it's Friday morning in NY and I am going to Brighton Beach today! It's a beach in Brooklyn near the Russian neighborhood there. So hopefully there will be many sights to take in, if you get the drift. :P I hope that will be fun.

Anyway, I was thinking about Manhattan in general and realized that I really don't go uptown a lot. Maybe this might change soon cause I've already been uptown twice this week (once to Central Park for some sunshine and the second yesterday for dinner) and will be going there this Tuesday again. There's this fantastic Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side. I can't remember the name but my friend Jean Marie and me spent 20 minutes looking for it in May when we went there. This particular restaurant serves unlimied FREE white wine when you dine in. And prices are like $10- $15 a dish. So that makes a very cheap alcohol included meal for a poor student like me. Plus the Chinese food there isn't half bad. The only thing is that they try to rush you so that you will drink less - which is really futile when it concerns alcohol crazed college students like me and my friends Julian and JM. We're so adamant about bankrupting that restaurant with our free wine antics!

Anyway, back to my uptown story. I've never really thought much about going uptown in the past cause I always felt intimidated by it. You know, you can literally smell the dollars on the streets here. There's this whole bourgeois air and feel once you hit Columbus circle/59 St/Central Park South. And somehow I feel like I don't fit into that yet. Hopefully I will someday.

Ok, if you don't know it yet, uptown consists of the Upper East and West Sides. And normally these are the 'very money addresses' of New York. Let me give an example. My cousin's friend has to pay US$1500 monthly for her doorman. She lives on the UWS. Motherf*ckin crazy can? Plus, tt's like the average age of anyone you find on the street here is higher than that of those you will find downtown. Its as though you have to come of a certain age and stature before being eligible to live uptown. And if you see any college students living uptown, they are most likely the Ivy-leaguers with trust funds and wealthy parents - the antithesis of moi. Completely unlike yours truly. Right now I just feel like uptown is so unreal for a struggling student like me. Like its so out of my league. I saw the building where Madonna stays on Tuesday and it's one helluva place. And then I think of what I'll ever be able to afford and have to force myself to think about something else before I get sad.

All right. Enough ranting about uptown. Dwontown's still the best. Honey, why else would Sarah Jessica Parker, Scarlett Johanssen, Robert de Niro, Leonardo and Benjamin de Caprio choose to stay here? :P Except it really wasn't a choice in my case...Love it all the same tho.

Peace.

Facility, facility

2007-08-17T01:55:00.000+08:00

I received a letter from St Johns today. It's hilarious. Here goes...

Dear Benjamin,

Welcome to the Manhattan campus! We are delighted that you decided to live here with us at our wonderful facility...

Ok great. They just made it sound like I'm crazy or drunk or drugged and need to check into a rehab center. Oh well, let's just hope that this "facility" will be like a hotel!

In other news, NY weather is so amazing in August. It's hot but not humid and I really like it. Everyone has to try NYC in summer someday.

Central Park

2007-08-15T22:18:00.000+08:00

So... I headed down to Central Park yesterday to get some sunshine and some greenery. Ok, Central Park is uptown Manhattan and I am normally downtown - for most of the time anyway. So I felt like a complete stranger in a foreign land. It was really cool though. Like 26 deg centigrade and it was not humid at all. And you won't believe the number of people who were sun bathing in their trunks and bikinis! It seems so weird though. To go to a park and strip to your swimmies and just lie on the grass. Oh well. And who would have thought to put a beach volleyball court right in the middle of Central Park? Ha.
I'm gonna go get my nails done today! Yippie! And hopefully I will get that internship very soon! I spoke to the lady at Van Wagner and everything seemed fine. But I'm not counting any eggs before they hatch.
Toodles!

Ben's back in New York

2007-08-14T19:18:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone!

Guess what? I'm back in New York! Yes, I arrived about 24 hours ago at JFK and now am suffering from jet lag. Otherwise, everything is going well! I am feeling great and ready to begin a new life in New York! (Last year was just foreplay.)

And I've finally got my first credit card! Yippie! And even though the credit limit is only 1% of the credit limit of my previous card, I am very very happy with it - cause it's under my name and I actually have full responsibility and control over it. Here's to hoping that I can manage my finances even better this time around.

Ok, I'm going to catch up on Ugly Betty right now. Take care you all and keep checking back! I promise to update regularly.

Hugs and Love,
Benjamin//

In Commeration of my 1 year Post NS

2007-06-08T01:12:00.000+08:00

So, I have been out of the army for a year already (since 31 May), and to commemorate this very special occasion, I have put together a very special song just for all the boys who have gone through thick and thin with me (Sandeep, JC, George, Tango Mango go Bango, De Rui, Jason, Syenling, Tze Hee, Fu, Monkeyhatestechnology, Imran, Kenneth, Jared, Stony Joe, Raj, Lam, Yong Ren aka Computer, etc). My apologies to those who do not understand the special military lingo and the Singaporean (hidden) jokes. But it is extremely truthful. Enjoy!

Sing this song to the tune of Amy Winehouse's Rehab.

They tried to make me go to NS
I said no, no, no.
Yes I been bad, but when I come back
You wont know, know, know.

I ain’t got the time
And if the MM thinks im fine
He’s tried to make me go to Tekong
I wont go, go, go.

I’d rather be at home with Mum
I ain’t got 2 free years
Cos there’s nothing, nothing they can teach me
That I can’t learn, from books and internet

Didn’t get a tan at home
But I know it will come in P. Tekong

They’re tryin to make me go to Combat
I said no, no, no
Yes I been bad, but when I come back
You wont know, know, know.

I aint got the time,
And if the MM thinks im fine,
He’s tried to make me go to Medics,
I wont go, go, go.

Sergeant said, why you think you here?
I said, I got no idea
Im gonna, im gonna loose sanity
So I always keep a Bible near

Said, I just think you’re depressed
Free me, yeah baby
And the rest

They’re tryin to make me go to arti (short for artillery)
I said no, no, no
Yes I been bad, but when I come back
You wont know, know, know

I don’t ever wanna shoot again
I just, ooo, I just need a break
Im not gonna spend 10 days
In the jungles at field camp dying

It’s not just freedom
It’s just til these tears have dried

They’re tryin to make me go to Signals
I said no, no, no
Yes I been bad, but when I come back,
You wont know, know, know

I aint got the time,
And if the MM thinks im fine
He’s trying to make me go to SISPEC
I wont go, go, go.

Bulgaria's Next Top Models

2007-05-31T12:01:00.000+08:00

OMG. This is so fucking hilarious. I'm serious.
And in other news, I've decided to go back to New York much earlier than anticipated.
I thought that going overseas and then returning will help me have new perspectives and experiences to handle my mother but that is to no avail. Being around all that negative energy is really bad for me and I have to just distance myself from all this crap.
So quickly meet up with me! My no is the same as before.

Ben has a BIG Ego

2007-05-23T12:45:00.000+08:00

create your own visited countries map

Carolyna by Melanie C

2007-05-20T13:46:00.000+08:00

This is Melanie C's new single Carolyna. It is really good. I mean it. I really hope song does well in UK and Europe especially. It would be a waste if it didn't. It's been on my player non-stop. And she looks amazingly good in this video. She does the bangs really well!

I leave NY this Thursday and return to SIN on Friday night. Can't wait!

Ben Discovers Africa

2007-05-17T10:56:00.000+08:00

So, Ben is back in New York now and will be back in Singapore late Saturday night. And Ben has decided to do a minor in Africana studies! And Ben will be doing it next semester in Cameroon in Africa. Yes, Ben is going to Discover the World: Africa in the fall! Well, Ben has applied but hasn't yet received confirmation but is all for this program. Ben waits with baited breath!

Le Pericots/Heaven en France

2007-05-13T06:26:00.000+08:00

Ben on Mistral. Guy on vélo.

Sign Ben up for the Olympics!!!

Chantal et Benjamin

Mistral and Ben

Me, my big fat tummy and François!!!!!

Ben scales Mount Versuvius

2007-05-11T18:36:00.000+08:00

Absolute bragging rights have been secured by Danielle and Ben for scaling Versuvius.

Ben is happy in Napoli.

Ben-tertains himself by going to Mount Versuvius.

On Top of the World!!!!
Who needs Edmund Hillary to scale Everest when Ben can do Versuvius in one breath?

Ben and Danielle at the crater of Versuvius. There was steam coming out from the caldera still... Amazzzzzing!

Ben at Pompeii ruins. Mount Versuvius is in the background.

Ben in Prague

2007-05-10T18:23:00.000+08:00

So, Ben was in Prague in Czech Republic at the end of April and early May. Here are the photos. Sorry for the long delay in posting. Ben has been very busy and lazy - to say the least.
I hope Ben's baldness is not too shocking!!!
Ben is now in the French countryside enjoying life!

Ben at the National Museum in Prague. For direct contrast - between the Wooly Mammoth and Baldie Ben.

Prague. Kill Me Softly with her views...

Ben-tertainment at his best.

Ben with view of Old Town in Prague. Taken from the Prague Castle - Ben's Holiday Home.

Ben in front of the Powder Tower... Who's the whitest of them all? :P

Pretty view of Charles Bridge and the Prague castle - with an even prettier Ben.

In front of the Frank Gehry (of Guggenheim Bilbao's fame) building in Prague. Absolutely gorgeous and stunning!

Roma

2007-04-26T22:26:00.000+08:00

Hello one and all,

I'm posting now after a period of absence. A lot of things have happened in Rome and it has not all been pleasant. Anyway, I am now living in my own apartment on the top floor of a building near the Vatican City. From my huge patio, I have a view of the dome of St Peter's Cathedral of the Vatican. Also, I can see the walls of the Vatican from my balcony. It's great. I was sunbathing on the parapet of the balcony yesterday. Its been good weather here in Roma and I like it. The sun's really hot and blazing and I was getting frequent headaches from the heat... so I shaved my hair off! Yes. I now look like a recruit - once again. However, this time I was the one who wanted it and I feel great with this bald head of mine. I kinda look like a turtle though... Damn. My name will be Raphael then.

Well, I am trying to get to Prague tomorrow. No ticket yet but will try to get it online later. I need to breathe and going out of Rome this weekend will REALLY help. I was accused (groundless accusations, btw) of being a Cho-like (think Virginia Tech) threat to another student. Man! I am most ready to sue the pants off the 2 people who made such groundless accusations! Oh. My. God. Trust me, I will bring on the best lawyers in Rome and New York (I have friends here in the industry) if this thing persists and sue for damage to self reputation and immense personal distress. (Think MM Lee) URGH!!!!! As one of the most peaceful and loving Singaporeans around, I cannot believe that I was subject to such an incendiary accusation. Darn.

Peace out.

Sperlonga Beach in Lazio Province, Italy

2007-04-15T04:55:00.000+08:00

Hey...you never know what shit you get!

Its actually pretty muddy below all that sand. I know... we dug deep down! Reminded me of those army trenches during BMT. Only musy easier here.

Love those nips!

Captain Somalia

Frustration sets in

2007-04-13T05:59:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I am in Rome now and its about midnight and I am sitting on my bed typing this post because I am extremely frustrated with Rome. It seems like everything is getting at me at the same time and is causing this huge vexation.

Firstly, the god-damn subway closes at 9 freaking pm. Those who live in Manhattan will know what it is like to live in a BIG city without a subway system at night. Rome is not a brightly lit city and is very dark. Many streets do not have street names and the city is huge. Like HUGE. It is 100% guaranteed that one will get lost at night. To top it off, the bus network is totally sucky and not reliable at all and shuts off at midnight. To get to anywhere from where I am is total hell. Granted, I am living in an expensive neighborhood that is kinda out of the way... but still, I am in central Rome. It is such a nightmare to travel in Roma.

Secondly, I am living in an apartment complex that is pathetic. Apparently, 2 other American Universities dump their students here too. And I think St John's students are really tame compared to these students. They are from John Cabot University and Temple University. Those from Temple are especially horrible. I mean...white trash kinda horrible. They make so much god-damn noise at night and its hard to get to sleep cause of all that noise. they are so inconsiderate. And they never smile or say hello in the doorway. It's extremely rude not to do so. They talk so loudly in their obnoxious American voices that its so easy to smoke them out on the bus or around the neighborhood. Simply white trash. The other day, I brought a guy home and those idiots upstairs were blaring music at top volume from their apartment while we were making out that it was SO distracting. I was so embarrassed by that. Fucking morons. I don't even know where god-damn Temple is in America. But from the likes of these students, it does seem like they are from the deep south. At least, their mentality seems to be that.

Thirdly, the guys in Italy are really getting on my nerves. I have met quite a few guys here and the last 3 have been terrible. I don't mean bad in bed but bad in mentality. They ask for blow jobs and then refuse to give them. And the reason is because 'they are top' and so they don't give blow jobs. What the fuck is that? If you are getting head, you better give head in return. There's no one way street in sex please. I'm so vexed by this. The next time I bed someone, I am stating all my conditions and terms up-front. If they don't comply, then it's not going to happen. I want to get good head if I give great head. Plain and simple. How difficult is that? And what is with Italian guys (over 25) still living with their parents and not being able to host because of that? Fucked up. Seriously. Get your own god-damn apartment before you start having sex. I just hope my roommate is not sick of me bringing guys home. I haven't met an Italian guy (over 25) able to host who lives in central Rome. This is pathetic.

Rome is starting to get on my nerves. I think I am going to complete my future assignments soon and then take the remainder of the time to travel. I'm sure there are other places in Italy that are nicer and more calming for my soul. Plus I really wanna see Pisa, Milan, Firenze and Venice again.

Ciao.

Ben in Tivoli

2007-04-11T07:02:00.000+08:00

Willy Wonka, Hug-zilla Flor and Supermodel Ben.

The most beautiful view when one needs quiet and peace.

Ben amidst his rays of light!

Desire Jadeh and Ben
(Doesn't Desire look like a black version of Barney? I aboslutely think so. Absolutely desirable. :P)

Ben and Wilfred a-marching!

I am so frustrated

2007-04-11T06:55:00.000+08:00

URGHHH...
I was speaking to this guy back in New York on MSN and I thought we were going along quite well. And I actually thought that perhaps we could date when I got back to New York in the fall.
So I read his blog today (and I rarely read blogs cause I am always doing something else) and he's already attached.
I'm so pissed off. I love being independent and having my own fun but I so do not wanna be left on the shelf. Why is everyone pairing off?
This was a guy around my age who I thought might be interesting and worth a go. How stupid of me.
UUUURRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH