gnatweds

Save the Cheerleader. Save the World.

In this case: Save the collapsing financial institutions of Wall Street and er. *maybe* that will save the world.

The number being bounced around is amazing: US$700 billion to buy up all the bad debt. Say that with me. 7-0-0 B-i-l-l-i-o-n

It's taken about a week for some semblance of an agreement between the Republicans and Democrats to emerge. Unsurprisingly some politicians have been slow on their feet to agree to anything. This being an election year, the ordainary man on the street is likely to vote out any incumbant who appears to want to bail out the financial fat cats. Frankly this sounds mean but hands up, who actually feels sympathy for the banker who used to earn oscene amounts, ahd all the perks, lived the fast life, had the best bonuses (and lets not talk about severance pay). Sure this is a stereotype, but hey, a Lehmann banker - being in one of the big four back then - won't have been too far away from this ideal really.

Think that the bankers reveled in that image a wee bit too much. And now, the aura of invincibility and all-powerfulness has been stripped away, the grumbles from the hoi polloi have become a roar. Marie Antoinette anyone?
But again, does it surprise anyone that the sentiment backlash is so strong?

And of course, many voices including Bono's have waded into the drama.

"It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger," the U2 lead singer told Clinton's fourth annual philanthropic summit in New York. "That's mad, that is mad."

Okay, the good news: $16 billion has been pledged by some rich chaps to help the poor during the time of crisis.

But what really worries me is how the heck is the US gonna actually afford the bill? I mean, this in addition to the two wars they are waging? (PS doncha think its ironic that the Americans are getting mired in the Afghan muck the same way that the Soviets got mired. The Soviets had to retreat after many painful years of learning that the locals had a way of fighting a guerilla way. Oh I also believe the US supplied the Afghans with arms... you'd know them as the Taliban today... back then as well)

It seems like a recipe for economic disaster. How and when will the balance of payments even out again? Such a huge deficit is so hard to understand. I really hope for everyone's sake that I am a really bad economist and everything will be good again.

Okay, waiting for one half of Gnatweds to call. yeah, my other half is at the f1 track! He also appeared in the papers last week (ewr, well, yeah, maybe I DID have something to do with that)they were interviewing pple who were working in the first ever Sg grand prix

Typically Kiasu Singapore has managed to get a whole bunch of consultants to man these fast intervention vehicles. ie they get there when someone crashes and they have to do whatever to keep him alive. How they managed to hoodwink so many doctors to volunteer so much of their time over so many days? I have no idea.

Oh, and yeah. About Facebook. The social phenomena that it is. It was bound to happen sometime. Some old photos of me have surfaced.
Groan.

One friend said: "You are the hope for all geeks in the world."
Another just laughed and said: "Omiiiigggaaaawwwwd".

I am trying to grin, but bah.

It kinda makes me wanna break into my own song:

I love the rainfall
I love the yoga stretch
I love the great white beaches
I love gin tonics while watching sunsets!
Boom di ah da boom di ah dah

At last. An update. Yes, I know this blog has been silent for a looooong time. Apart from the strange Prince Nuada pix there's nothing new.

Have gotten quite a number of sms-es, emails and facebook nudges reminding me. I know. I know.

Been tired. Been busy. Think of every lame excuse you can. Yeah.

Sorry gnatweds readers.

I have not really felt the need to blog recently. Well, more accurately, haven't felt the urge, inclination or inspiration.

But I'll try for a decent post on what has been happening since Dad passed away and I started new job.

I don't miss the newsroom. Not quite yet. But it is very challenging to try to get people to understand what the media is about.

Have been travelling a bit on the job, London twice, Jakarta and Bangkok once each in the fourth plus months since I've joined. Fun and whooaa? Not quite. Travelling for work, especially when you're not quite entitled to business class is REALLY no fun. Travelling for 14 hours to stay in London for 48 and then flying another 13 hours back REALLLY REALLLLLLY isn't fun at all. Jet lagged both ways and then you come back to helluva backlog of work.

I have also transformed a wee bit i think over the past few months. Wearing these suits and doing the whole corporate thing. I even wear eye makeup now and gasp... foundation. It's shocking. People who know me in my previous incarnation will know how I never actually wore makeup to work! Now I have sparkly eyes and curled eyelashes and a chignon all the time. Gene calls the sparkly eyeshadow pixie dust/fairy dust and he keeps wondering why this fairy/pixie can't grant him wishes... like a Ferrari 630. But as fun as it sounds, its not that much fun when you're expected to look like this. Been real busy cos the darned company has SOOOOOOOO many arms - property, retail malls, hotels, leasing, industrial etc etc.

Speaking of rides, now I drive Gene's very respectable Volvo (passed mom the Peugeot 307). He rolls his eyes at my parking skills BUT in my defence, it is HUGE and it doesn't have reverse parking sensors (Gene says they look ugly... the little sensor dots) AND i manage to drive it better into the lot than Gene ever did (he used to park with the car sticking a mile out of the lot cos he'd be too conservative backing in).

Driving into the CBD every day is costing an effing fortune. Nowadays I catch myself thinking about what times I can or cannot move through XX or YY or ZZ areas. Freaky.

Oh. Been catching up with people on FB. Amazing lah this FB thing. I have found my old RGPS mates (frankly, its been, what? 20 years since we have seen each other and we manage to get together thanks to that lil tech and social networking miracle) and think I have a secondary school one coming up as well. So if you're reading this and we're still not friends on FB, add me quick!

As a couple:
Well. We've moved back into Gene's parents' place. Out of the four bedrooms in this semi-d, we've taken over three. The attic's now the bedroom, we've converted Gene's old bedroom into a a walk-in closet and there's the study. We're like fungi, sapping off the nutrients of the parent plant. Bully for us right?
But we miss throwing parties a la 2005.
Saving up for a home eventually, but working for a property developer now, I can safely say it ain't gonna go down as far as you think unless some catastrophic crisis hits.

Speaking of which, watch out for new launches soon. Cryptic I know.

Anyway, me and Gene are rediscovering the balance in the relationship. We have realised who is the taitai in the family. Yep, you guessed right. It's Gene. He gets off work in time to go for swims and yoga classes. And he does get that wee bit grumpy cos I work till 8 or 9 pm.

We've been having loads of fun with the Lotus. He's bought it a new present - a nose ring. Er, yes, email him to find out what I mean. It really is a nose ring. And he spent a coupla hundred on it. There's a Lotus club that is quite active and its really hilarious hanging out with them.This Sunday, Gene will help open the new Kallang expressway tunnel, by giving rides to underprividleged kids with SR Nathan in attendance. So schweet hor? It's also an excuse for the petrol heads to gather lah. We've also taken a course up in Sepang learning how to make doughnuts. But embarrassingly, I dun have enough power to yank up the handbrake enough to make a nice turn.

Oh! i lost my iPod Nano and Gene got me a new one. La la! its gooood. The third gen Nano I mean. Oh and of course, looove you G for buying me new toy. Its got such a nice screen!

He really has been such a schweetheart (even if he sounds like a grumpy bear now cos he's caught a coronavirus and is snuffling). We've been hanging out often at Klee on portsdown road - we like the drinks (read v strong and yummy) very much. And recently we found White Rabbit in the Dempsey area. Drinks need a bit of help, but we think it will get there. Nice atmosphere though. Nothing beats a good Tze Char though or a Bak Kut Teh late at night - and we keep reminding ourselves how lucky we are. In Rochester, we wouldn't have gotten anything that late at night save MacD's!!!

He's also getting pretty darned good at Yoga. Ooo gasp of gasps... we've signed up for Tai Chi. Er, don't think we'll get very far, but at least we paid up for the course, which should give us some extra motivation... some... Not quite the same lah as yoga in the middle of town in chi chi studio. We have to go to Bedok early on sat morning and the teacher speaks mandarin almost exclusively. wha piaks.

Alright am pooped. Long day again tommorow. Gotta get a whole bunch of press releases that I have done translated into... RUSSIAN. How the heck am I gonna vet, I have no idea. Will cross the bridge when I come to it.

Okay aidos mi amigos

Till the next update (which u'll prob have to bug me for again)

Nat