Since the 80s, consumers crave for these gadgets. There is something magical about them. Students, working class, celebrities and even housewives gone bananas over them! (Remember the infamous "Tamogotchi Fever", the brickgame phenomenon and now the exorbitant iPAD water-goods prices!) These icons come and go – You see them everywhere – on the MRT, in the cafe, in the schools, in the office and even in the loos. They transform human behaviors. Students vying for coolness in schools,
adults socializing through them and commuters go "zombie-ing". Big brands ballooned overnight. Think Nintendo, Sony, Bandai and now Apple. All of them have 1 thing in common – Thanks to the invention of batteries – Without it, these personal hand-held entertainment devices won’t exist today.

Felicia was in shock and very surprised when she saw me holding a bouquet of white lilies at the door. You can almost see the "big question" mark on her face. I gave her the flowers and a hug. She was petrified and not sure what was going on. Haaa…I bet in her head, she was scanning millions of data for answers. Well, it is neither her birthday nor our wedding anniversary. It was just another "24th" day of the month.

Felicia and I began our fateful journey on 24th Nov 1993. In those days of puppy loves, we have absolutely no idea how long we are going to last. From the very beginning, we were counting and marking our togetherness by months. I have made a promise to myself that I will walk this journey with her as long as we can. On our 1st "Bobojojo" day, I made her a hand-drawn cartoon card. Since then, we have been wishing each other love on every 24th of the month. We were married on our 100th month in Singapore. That day was 24th March 2002.

For the next 99 months, we entered another new phase of our life. Life was very exciting and blissful. I am getting fatter and Felicia is getting prettier. In 2004, Elkan was born and he changed our lives drastically. Felicia and I were also separated for almost 1 year when I moved to work in Shanghai in 2006. By mid 2007, Elkan and her moved and joined me in China. Since then, we have been living abroad – moving from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

This May, I realised our 200th month will take place on 24th July 2010. Over the last 199 months, Felicia has been sending me sweet note (on every 24th day of the month). I want to give her a sweet surprise this time. Finding a right present for Felicia is extremely difficult. Over the years, I have given her the same old boring list of gifts – watches, bags and jewelry. I wanted to plan another "surprise holiday" for her but my workload is extremely heavy this period. Tracy suggested that I cook for her. Well, after my last kitchen disaster in Shanghai, I have told myself not to enter that place again.

Lately, I have seen Felicia playing on her iPhone. Every night, she spends hours surfing FACEBOOK or reading articles / recipes on that little small screen. I have decided to give her an iPAD. Problem is: It is not officially launched in Hong Kong. (The water goods cost 50% more!) Lady Luck was shining on me! Last Monday, Apple announced the launch date of iPAD in Hong Kong on 23rd July! By sheer luck, I managed to get 1 for her yesterday!

When Felicia finally read the message in the card and saw the gift, she smiled at me and whispered. "I was really surprised. I didn’t know you were counting…Dear…I don’t need such expensive gift. I prefer your cooking."

It was a sweet and lovely moment. And then, my expression changed and I gave her that prankster Joe-Look – "Okay… Now, where is my surprise present?" No present, she said and left. And then, Elkan pestered "Huh? You mean today is Mummy’s birthday? No? Then why she has an iPAD gift? What about me leh? Hmmp! Not fair!"

Heee…Life is back to normal again.

In less than 6 hours, the results of the 3rd Singapore Blog Awards will announced at St James Power Station, Singapore. Unfortunately, I can’t be there at the Award Show. It clashes with my hectic Hong Kong schedule. Surely, it will be good to meet some of my favourite finalist bloggers at the event. They are great personalities!

It has been an exciting 6 weeks. This competition has also prompted me to revisit my old blog entries of yesteryear. While browsing through those old entries and photos, many good memories flashed back. It has been a very rewarding journey. Gracious, I have aged so much (and yes, fatter!).

Thanks Joanne for submitting my blog (and I know you submitted at the very last hour). Of course, this one action of yours triggered a massive chain of reactions for many. Overnight, my friends and families found themselves a new daily-ritual – voting. I was very very touched by their efforts to maintain my "little green star" throughout the competition.

I want to express my thanks to these hardcore supporters – My wife, Auntie Amy, Mum & Dad, Chups & Stella, Sister Jovel, Leon and Chester, Danielle, Johnny (Shanghai), Kelvin (Vietnam), Karen Loo, Desmond, Meijie, Tracy, Jimmy, Kalinda, Gareth, Yixi & Family, Juliana and Duuk, Randy, Richard, Scott, Harshad, HongFei & Sherry, Zeph, Alice, Selina, Kitty, Josephine & Natalie (KL), Sarah (Headhunter), Cousin Lita (KL), Yiyi (USA), Echo, Kenneth (Cicada), Hovman, Alicia and Calvin (Shanghai), Cousin Yei and all who have voted.

And a very very very big thank for those who "starred" in my blogs. Without you, there will be no stories (no plot / no scripts / no drama). Whether I win or not, this is for all of you. Yes, we are the authors of our lives – and you – my friends and families – are my biggest and brightest stars.

p/s: The results were finally out at 6pm. Sorry folks, no "cup" for me but I am very happy to know that Ming Wei took home the title. Her blog is lovely and touching. Hope to see her in Hong Kong soon.

Ask a Japanese, Korean, Indian, Malay or Arab his/her name, you probably get a name that sounds like his/her nationality. Ask a Chinese that, you certainly need to ask thrice for his name. Thrice? Yes.

Cos’ when you first ask a Chinese for his/her name, there is a good chance you will not get a Chinese name. Most likely, get an English, Hebrew, Greek, Japanese, Spanish or non-Chinese name. That is when you ask a 2nd time – "I see…what’s your real Chinese name". And his/her answer shall be quickly followed by your 3rd question – "Huh? Again? I didn’t get it…"

I can’t generalise this for all Chinese. But look around you – more than half of your Chinese friends use names that aren’t Chinese. Friends of my generation are naming their kids with fanciful names. It is pretty easy for me to single out those friends who are using their Chinese names (like Hock, Yei, Ming).

Surely, we do have Chinese names. And it is not that the Chinese despise their own names. Nor most of us are turning holy to adopt those "Christian names". There is a lame but valid reason to explain why we are adopting these names – they are much easier for our audience to remember. At the very least, we save them from mispronouncing our names at important events – like at a graduation, wedding ceremony, lucky draw event. It will be dreadfully embarrassing when you hear names like "Gan Lee Nah". or "Lim Lao Bei". In Singapore, we Chinese have "Dialect names in English" that even mainland Chinese won’t be able to decode. The other races can never pronounce our names right. It just doesn’t sound "Chinese" enough.

The mainland Chinese are certainly much bolder and more creative in adopting non-Chinese names for themselves. For the past 4 years here, I have interviewed "Envy", "Bang", "Ashes", "Hue", "Kinky" and yes "Dracula"! (I always remember this chap!) Not to mention I was served by an unfriendly hotel staff by the name of "Humor" last week in China.

I am a big fan of Jay Chou since 2000. Most of the time, I don’t know
what he was singing. At least, I still can make up what these fans were
singing. (Jay, you do have a big market in the west. Got to watch your mumblings. Set good example for Mandarin singers.)

                         

Just 36 hours ago, my wife caught me putting a silly remark on my facebook wall (when I was supposed to be busy at work). Within the next few minutes, her comments on my wall sparked off a couple of reactions from my other "friends" (who were supposed to be busy at work as well). Of course, I wasn’t amused by their little muse.

Facebook has invaded our lives at an alarming speed. It drastically changes the way Fate works, diminishing small worlds
between friends of friends. Friends are now being "tagged", categorised (single, married or in complicated relationship) and "numbered". Meaningless repetitive "Happy Birthday" messaging appearing on your
birthday. It is on its way to annihilate postcards, birthday cards and love-notes. In an era of bird flu, SARS and swine-flu, it is probably safer to give hugs, winks and pokes online. It is the beginning of the Matrix. Now operating in 2 senses (sight and hear) and very soon in all senses (touch, taste and smell). Already, Facebook has reigned itself as the world’s biggest, fastest and loudest social
networking mobile appliance.

Numb to many, this little black hole is sucking more and more of our own personal time away from the real "human-contact" with our loved ones. Not to mentioned that it is the becoming one of the biggest corporate threats, costing an estimated loss of 233 million productive hours of human life every month (in monetary term, that is about a daily loss £130m according to a BBC news report). Spending 2 hours a day on some morally wrong Facebook gaming (stealing craps on farm-games) is equivalent to a loss of 30 precious days of your life in a year. Imagine what you can do with this spare time.

There can be little secrets on Facebook. In fact, it is becoming a FaecesBook. It is the place where you find many shameless self-gratifications. And worst of all, endless public broadcast of the many pathetic whining. Attention-seekers. Low-esteem individuals who generate a bunch of "add oil to fire" accomplices to glorify/emphasis their whines. Overnight, some of my adult friends become little babies, whining cowardly in the cyberspace, leaving coded remarks that only a handful will understand.

Facebook can be a dangerous media. It is no wonder why Big Brother China banned it. Ugly or inconvenient mug-shots of yourself that you wish to un-tag. The last thing that you want to see is someone tagging you as the man in front of the tank on a sensitive day like June 4th. A careless remarks published (by one of your foes) unchecked on your wall may cause the loss of your credibility and reputation. I have already witnessed a couple of "mass destruction of character" terrorist act here. It can be from an ex psychopathic boyfriend or a bitter colleague who just want to deface you. The more friends one have, the more vulnerable one is. High life, high risk.

Don’t get me wrong. I do love the marvelous convenience of Facebook. I don’t have any personal grudges against Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg. It is an excellent friend-finder, photo album and birthday reminder. Use it wisely to connect yourself with your friends. And not disconnect yourself from the real world. Always be careful who may be on the other side of the screen. It can be your boss, your client or a stalker tracking your every digital move. Exterminating you next. MLM Marketeers, Loanshark Debt Collectors, Police can now easily track
down friends of friends here. They know your circle. And they can see your digital tracks – what you
do online 24/7. Well, you have been warned.

For me, I have little to worry about my digital footprints. There is little chance that any mamasan/enemy/spammer is going to leave me any kisses or hugs here. Well, just checked – there are over 500 "Joe Chuas" out here on Facebook.

LOST has kept me captivated since
September 2004. The
genesis of LOST took place even before I became a father. It accompanied me
during my company days in Caffeine Design @ Katong, my exciting years
in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Finally, after 121 episodes and 6 years later, LOST drew its curtain on
23rd May 2010. Over the years, I have developed deep feelings and affections for the
characters. It is going to be difficult to say goodbye to this show. I am going to miss the cast and their stories. Especially the lives of
Kate, John, Sawyer, Benjamin, Desmond, Hugo, Sayid and Jack. For 6 years, I have been waiting for the day to watch its final episode. Just like Jake in the show, I am very desperate to seek the answers to all the "whys and whats". What is the purpose of the island and its inhabitants? Is there really "a reason for everything?" Or are we just simply lost between our own fate and the choices we made? Is there life after life?

Feeling lost? This is one show you either hate or love. The ending was touching, emotional and enlightening. Well scripted and paced, the show ended beautifully. While I am trying to overcome my loss and emptiness, Jake’s words to John strike a deep chord in my heart "It is time that you let go".

Here is my favorite track (from Season 2) and a line from Desmond "See you in another life, mate". Time to make our own kind of music. Enjoy.

       

After blogging for more than 4 years, it is very strange for me to see my blog amongst the top 10 finalists vying for the "Best Individual Blog" award. It is even stranger for me to receive so much lovely attention from my friends and strangers. I am not used to have so much "concentrated attention" at a go. The last
time I had such attention is when I addressed the 500-crowd at my
wedding dinner. Perhaps strange isn’t the right word to use. It is just very very very strange. (Thanks to Joanne who nominated me on the last day of the nomination.)

Certainly, all my friends, colleagues and families are excited about my nomination. They are rallying their colleagues, students, clients and even facebook friends to vote for this stranger who named his blog "WAHBIANG". Suddenly, my blog hit rate jumped 500%! And I received many "new MSN friend"
requests. Not to mentioned all those lovely and sweet encouragement from old and new friends.

Unfortunately, these lovely voters also made me the unofficial "Web Master" or "Help Desk" for the SBA Website. 50% of my friends and families do not know to vote and a couple of my friends helped me in the "trouble-shooting". Thanks to Tracy, she created this little 5-Step Guide to assist my friends and well-wishers. (I was rather lazy to create a "voting guide" – in fact, many of the finalists have done excellent guide on their blog – I was thinking of putting the links here. But not so nice, right?)

I have also received many "Golden Tips" from my friends. And not forgetting some of the notable "Complaints":

1) Write more about Elkan and take more photos! He is so cute! My friends and I read your blog becos’ of him!
2) You need to stop writing about your visitors. Write something that "spells Individualism"!
3) You got to lose weight since you are now getting more visitors to your site!
4) Typo, typo, typo – Please check your spelling…grammar
5) Good job on the blog but am sure will win if you post more DG girls! 😛
6) Siow liao! You cannot blog anything about PAP or the government! Later kena from them!
7) Na bei! You are not entering Star Search! Why only 1 vote per day?
8) Aiyooo….. You are already in HK oredi! Why bother to win their first prize to HK?
9) So mafan! Took me 5 minutes to figure out…
10) Shit! I voted for the wrong guy! Paiseh!

Guess my "wahbiang clan" (back in Singapore) suffered the most – for the next 30 days, they find themselves clicking on my yellow banner for no earthly purpose – but just to ensure I still have my little green star. I may be the only one who wish for a slightly different first prize. I wish for a ticket back to Singapore (from HK) instead. 

No matter what, it is a good feeling. No, I won’t change the way I write. I have pretty bad memory and I may not remember those little best moments in my daily lives. The best reward for blogging is recording and reading these beautiful
memories. I wrote this blog for my friends. For my family. And most importantly, for my son. 

Beautiful, isn’t it? This is just 1 volcano eruption and it impacted half the world. Imagine the Mayan was right about 21st Dec 2012, we are talking about hundreds of hot spots across the globe. Could this be another weekly sign? Since Jan this year, we are experiencing big significant earthquakes every 2-3 weeks – Haiti 7.0 (12th Jan), Papua New Guinea 6.2 (1st Feb), Chile 8.8 (27th Feb), Turkey 6.1 (8th Mar), Japan 6.5 (14th Mar), California 4.4 (16th Mar), Mexico 7.2 (4th Apr), Sumatra 7.8 (6th Apr), Spain 6.8 (11th Apr) and now Qinghai 6.9 (13th Apr).

Scary isn’t it? Of course, there are many way to survive 2012. You can have "Faith" or simply spend 10,000 euros on your life-pod which some doomsayers are now building on the high mountains of Turkey and Spain.