Return of the Santa

LOL! It been 2 months since I last updated my blog! Long time no read about me hor. Miss me? Hahaha........Anyway, I've been very busy these 2 months. Got quite a few research projects to complete. All must write about 3,000 words. Sigh.....Write like siao lor........Although I'm a self-proclaimed "bull-shit expert", but 3,000 words leh. Don't play don't play. I practically have to "diarrhoea-ed" my way through.

Fortunately, all my deadlines are over for this semester liao lor. Now just waiting for the exam to start, then can holiday liao. So while waiting for my exam to start I'm now "torturing" my tuition kids for their coming SA2 and PSLE lor. Hope all my tuition kids can swee swee pass, especially my P6 kid. Now then I know why every year my P6's ex-colleagues always so stressed prior to PSLE. Wah piang! Can die man! Beginning to have a white hair plantation on my head liao lor. Stress ah!

Talking about stress, few days back there was an incident that really stress me lor. Last Monday was the deadline for my tax project. It's a group research project that require us to analyse the benefits in tax given by our Singapore government to attract investors and new enterprises lor. So I split the project into 3 parts and delegated each part to each of my 3 group members. Due to the fact that 1 of the part required us to do research on Singapore's treaties with its allied countries (56 countries) on tax, the research can be quite extensive lor. So I assigned YC and myself to do that part lah, CA to do the part that affect new local companies and TS to do the part that affect the current local companies and individuals lor. So actually, TS have the easiest part lor because this project is for our subject "Singapore Taxation" hence all his resources can be found in our lecture notes, textbooks and the Income Tax Act (the book of tax's law printed by the S'pore government). i.e. Just "make reference with skill" from our notes and textbooks can liao. Easy piecey man. But guess what! The one that gave me and YC a heart-attack was our "beloved" TS. It was a series of events that accumulated into a "silent eruption" on Monday night. Now YC is giving that TS the invisible cold treatment. It all started on last Sunday afternoon when the group met at Temasek Poly (TP) for our meeting. Prior to the meeting, YC and I objected to TS's suggestion to have the meeting in TP because it's Sunday so TP is definitely closed wan lor, use backside also know. But nooooo.....our "beloved" TS insisted that it will definitely be open wan lor. So since TS, a TP-graduate, insisted that TP will be open on Sunday, we fixed TP as our meeting place lor. But just on the safe side, I told TS that we'll go to his house if TP is closed lor. So don't know is it I smart or someone is not smart, I received this call from TS half an hour before our meet-up time.

TS: "Erm.....Nick. I'm at TP liao. We have a problem."
Me: "What's the problem?" (I have a funny feeling I'm going to like this.)
TS: "The security guard in TP don't allow me to go in." (Why am I not surprised?)
Me: "Ok, I'll come pick you guys then we proceed to your house."

Then when I reached the outside of TP, TS said this when he got into my car.

TS: "Sorry guys! I didn't know TP will be closed on Sunday. Sorry again for another thing. I haven't written a thing for my part of our project."
Me: "........" (Idiot! Tomorrow's the deadline, now then tell me you haven't written a thing??!!! If I'm not driving, I'll reach over and slap you left, right, centre!)
Me: "Never mind. We help you when we reached your house." (What else can I say?)

So when we reached TS's house, we set up our notebooks and bring out our resources. When we looked at TS's resources, we realised why he couldn't write a thing for his part. Instead of using the lecture notes, textbook and the Income Tax Act, our "beloved" TS was using the 2008's budget speech by PM Lee Hsien Loong. The speech's only cover 1% of the Income Tax Act lor. And even when it cover, it's just on a few new benefits that PM Lee is giving for this year to promote investment lah, which means that in the long-run, we still have to refer to the Income Tax Act lah. Which also means that our "beloved" TS is on the wrong track liao. So being kind-hearted, we told him he's using the wrong resources, he should be using the Income Tax Act as the resource. But noooo........ TS insist that he's on the right track and he's using the right resource. Erm.....hello.....if you are on the right track and you can't write a thing, the reasons are because???? Sigh.........Piang eh! Smart is good but Act Smart is no good! I hate "kei kiang" people. And when I explain to him why the reason why the 2008's budget speech can only be used as a supporting resource, not the main resource, he still can't get it lor. He kept insisting that he was using the right resource when we, the other 3 members, said he was using the wrong one. In the end I just give up lor. If he want to do it wrongly and still think he's correct, what can I say man, even though I buay song.

Digressing a bit for the benefits of the readers who are "astronauts visiting outer space right now" (i.e. lost about what I'm saying), let me use a simple example to explain. You are studying for your p5 Math SA2, you are told by your Math teacher that the topics tested will be from pages 10 - 54 of your math textbook. So if you're "normal", you will be studying pages 10 - 54 of your p5 Math textbook lor. But TS think he's very "normal" when he used the pages 10- 54 of a P6 Math textbook of another school to study. Erm......something's not correct, isn't it? Well, TS insist he's correct leh. Apparently, the different school part and the different level part didn't run across his mind. Wah piang eh! I really must thank my lucky stars I never kena such "act-normal" kids when I was in MOE. Abnormal kids, yes I kena before. Act-normal kids, nope never leh. Arigato Gozaimasu Lucky Stars! (Kissing my box of Lucky Stars cereal)

Ok, back to my boring topic, TS insist on using the PM Lee's speech as the main resource. So I suggested and showed it to him where to find the relevant parts in the Income Tax Act, extract them and elaborate how they will, in general, make people want to set up companies in Singapore. Simple correct? Nope, not for TS, he can't figure out how to elaborate in general. Then, CA suggested to TS to elaborate based on finance, shipping and oil industries lor. Sigh.....I know CA is trying to help TS but in actual fact, from my viewpoint, CA has actually made things more difficult for TS lor. Based on CA's suggestions, TS will need to elaborate in very specific details lor. Elaborate in general, TS already can't do liao, you still ask him to elaborate in specific. It's like asking a P1 LSP kid to write a 100 words P3 compo, instead of just asking her to write a 10 sentence compo. That LSP kid bao die give you see wan lor. When I told CA, her suggestion may be "a bit too difficult" for TS to do, TS said CA's suggestion give him a better structure to do. Sigh........basic summary also can't do liao, still want to do thesis. Wah lau eh! I really give up lor. So in a way, this "resource" and "last-minute" incident left quite a sour note in YC's and my mind lor.

As YC and I both did our part prior to our meet-up, so after consolidating his part and my part, YC and I were very free lor. We suggested to TS, and CA also volunteered us to TS, to help him write his part lor. But TS insist that he can cope. He said he will be able to sent us his part via email by 9pm that day. It was around 4pm on Sunday when he said that. YC told him to sent us by 6am on Monday can liao, while I told him to sent to us by 12 noon Monday. TS vouched that he will complete his part by 9pm that Sunday and sent it to us. Since he claimed he don't need our help and can finished his part by sunday, we all left TS's house at around 5pm lor.

Then just when I thought I can lean back and relax, I received a call from CA on Monday at around 11.55am telling me that TS hasn't sent his part to us yet and he's uncontactable. Wah lau eh! I tried calling him but that "Eeee-diot" had either switch off his mobile or his mobile's battery was flat at such coincidental circumstance. Garbra zebra sia! CA, YC and I all panicked as we have to submit our report by 7pm that day, but due to the short time frame and our own work commitments, there is no way any of us can do his part for him before 7pm wan lor. YC gave him a call every 15 mins from 2+pm. The 3 of us were even contemplating whether or not I should charge down to his house, knocked on his door like a loan shark demanding our report. But I have tuition that day leh, when I finished, it will be around 4+pm liao. Then finally at 4.30pm, YC finally managed to got hold of him on his mobile and TS claimed he had sent his part to us. So based on YC's calculation, TS must had sent between 4pm - 4.30pm lor, because the mobilephone's turn-off message was heard during the call at 4pm.

Eeeee-diot make us so stressed and panicky! TS's "sin" shall not be forgiven until he's given a President's pardon. YC was so mad with TS that, that day YC never talk to TS again. Sigh......why? Why like that? LOL. I was also mad at TS lor, so that day when he asked me questions, I either never answer him or I give him an answer that did not answer his question. I don't think he realise that yet. These are 2 "profound" skills I mastered against Eeee-diots when I was in MOE. The trick is to do it in such way that the eeee-diot didn't realised you havn't answer his/her questions.

Anyway, feeling better liao lor. The next day after that Monday, I met up with ILS to cry father cry mother lor. Spent like 3 hours plus giving cry father cry mother therapy sessions to each other. Quite fun lor. Really trained each other's cry father cray mother skill sia. LOL