Of Macs and metamorphosis

Another day, another dollar, and soon it is time to book out from the Orange. RC and CTZ are having an evening smoko, enjoying the languid sunset while they drag on their cigarettes. A discussion of the day's events brings to light CTZ's frustration in having been stuck with a really archaic version of Apple Mac OS at his cubicle, and the apparent reluctance of IT help to upgrade his Mac for him...




So okay, if you've watched the little video ditty, you would have also noticed MV leaving the Orange, in the last bit of the video. Which brings us to the more existentialist part of this post - a certain paen to good karma and the like, if it could be said.

"ML, come here, have a look at this, can u take a pic of it?", MV called out and beckoned to me from just outside the back gate. My curiousity and papparazzi instincts awakened, I strolled over to investigate. MV pointed out to a bright little orange creature slithering along on the steps leading out from the backgate. Here it was, basking in all its diminutive glory...

A little caterpillar venturing out from the shrubs in search of greener pastures (just like us humans perhaps?)

Having stooped down to take some pics, I grew quite fascinated and transfixed with it, when MV asked me, "Do you think someone will step on it?". That question was like a thunderbolt through my cerebral cortex, and, like Lord Buddha just before he attained Enlightenment, it awakened me to the fact that we must try and get this little fella out of harm's way so that it could live another day and hopefully complete it's metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly (provided that it didn't drown in the Monsoon or end up as a Mynah's snack first). Hey, did you know that in Vietnam, they eat fried worms?

I took a dried leaf, scooped up the caterpillar and placed it gently on some wild lalang growing by the side of the drain, leaving it to its own devices, and hoping that it wouldn't try and crawl across the steps again. But that part of its fate was definitely in its own feelers...

Quite sublime, those few moments they were, hanging out with MV and the caterpillar by the steps, it was like at the playground again, discovering nature for the first time.

If there really was a karmic bank up there beyond the blue yonder, hopefully we made some deposits into our accounts today, through a good deed for one of God's amazing work-in-progress living creations.

When you start hearing noises....

coming from your neighbouring cubicle......

You stand up.......

and take a look......

then you sit down.....

and whip out your weapon.......

*click*.......

and find your neighbour checking out his weapon....


Elf has posted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back to the carrum board

The last time we played carrum was like, last year, before things got hectic with celebrations, Faze and farewells.

Today marked a return to innocence, not really. Today, some of the 7-11 started the countdown to Chinese New Year with shooting some carrum seeds.

Newsflash

Friday Faze Christmas Edition post is up.

The spirit of Christmas is alive and well. Christmas always bring with it merriment and joy. The ugly side of Christmas is seldom ever shown or talked about. But it exists. It would be remiss of us to think that everyone is happy during Christmas. To quote Phoebe Buffay from Friends, "Even though it's Christmas, people die!". The following incident may not be a case of life and death, but it is serious enough to warrant a mention.

In a shocking incident which sickened the hearts of people across the Orange building, MV was the poor victim of a vicious outrage of modesty. Here we see firsthand photos of the incredulous act...

She smiles and looks happy. He has an innocent face...but watch his hand

OMG! He has it in a very compromising position...

And he swoops in for the kill!!!

This was an absolutely disgusting act and we hope and pray that it does not set a precedent for the future. The culprit was incredibly let off scot-free, but if he tries it again...we will be there to catch him.

Perverts, beware!

So long MN...till we meet again

The Orange people came out in full force for the last lunch with MN before she jets off to India. It was an interesting mix of past versus present, with MN meeting her cubicle-successor in CTZ (and warning me to keep him away from her claws, no less).

The orange ladies trudging to the infamous "coffeeshop behind"

ML looks slightly bemused to be the one caught on camera this time

NT's look and outfit reminds one of Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) from Ocean's 12.

MN has that rather priceless look of "What? Really???"

And ES responds with the other priceless look of "Yah, really!!"

The two grinning _______ (insert own choice of word. Preferably derogatory. Monkeys? Perverts?). What were they discussing, I wonder?

MV is so thirsty, she's trying to catch raindrops from the sky. Well, not that I'm any more experienced at catching raindrops from skies, MV, but I think first of all you should be in the open and second of all it should be raining...eh? (kidding, kidding)

ML is caught eyeballing MN with his hand in his......pocket, thankfully. Meanwhile, MN has spotted herself being photographed and if you notice carefully, her left hand is balled into a fist , ready to strike the poor photographer who's only doing his job to take good, spontaneous photos so he can post them here and make stupid, cheesy comments for the benefit of everyone to roll their eyes (and maybe laugh a little).

ES and RB look really natural in this photo. NT tries to protect his chastity while MN and MV are disgusted that more photos are being taken...

Lunch over, the orange people trudge back to their cells, oops I mean cubicles.

As fate would have it, EK had to come to the coffeeshop on this very day and had to sit close to our table, thus giving our dear MN one last, long, lingering look at him (I didn't actually see it but I'm pretty sure she took at least a glance :p ). Other notable (mentionable) incidents include ES being frightened by a cat (Someone has got to tell me why some day) and MV commenting that CTZ was giving her a weird look (maybe he wants to put MV in his Top 5 lah, that's why...haha).

Other than that, lunch was fun. Ah, the good old days. What would we all give to be able to do this on a regular basis. We'll miss you, MN. So long...you'll always be in our hearts. Stay safe! Till we meet again.

December Top Five

It is the time of the month again (technically, a few days past it). Presented below is the list of MC hot gals for the month of December, as voted for by the Sixpack. This promises to be the most comprehensive list as yet, but is it the most definitive? Arguable. The list is in order, but the real question is, is it in ascending or descending order? YOU decide.

*Quotes do not originate from the Captain and are repeated (almost) verbatim.

CK - She's someone's favourite gal, 4ever and ever!
SW - "Classical beauty that blossoms as the days go by; the short hair adds another dimension to her beauty, more contemporary chic this time"
ES - "I will miss her when she leaves, that is, if...."
JSL - She kept calling someone "Superman" and that really stoked his fire.
ML - "Friendly and approachable. Nice smile" and "I'm beginning to warm to her warrior spirit."
XQ - "Sweet little cherry pie"
FF - "She'll always be the only one, the number one!"
AW - "Cute rabbit"
Yul- "Bodylicious"
EO- Someone's sassy friend who wrote him a poem which he found really sexy.
SNA - "Drivers beware, tight and dangerous curves ahead"
WM - "To W** in M**, which is not possible, i will just have to try to wrap up the title by New Year"
E Low - "Flouncy skirt"
Gen L - "She has the X-factor"
WC - "A gem that is so near, yet appeared so far. Her face really quite cool and cute leh, and her dressing also quite power."
BH - "I respect her; sporty, fun, engaging, plus she drinks like a man, and is engaging too - has qualities that a guy would want in a gf."
JC - "She grows and grows and grows on you. Girls think she's hot too! "
SL - "Saw her in her short short denim skirt again 2 day..."
DPE- "mwahahahaha"

Special mention must go to
E Lian - "sweet sweet smile of a gal, reminds me of a little sparrow, flitting and chirping about."
The Hen - "Always smells fragrant when she walks past. Friendly and cheerful."
MN - "Best boss, ever. She will be sorely missed, both as a friend and as eye candy ;) "

They came, they ate, they acted

NYE pot luck party at MN's place
Good food. Good folks. Good fun.

6.03pm:
The timing is perfect. NT and associate, GK and ML sauntered their way into MN's lovely apartment and made themselves at home with some alco punch concoction of Mirinda and NT's bottle of legendary Finlandia vodka.

MN checks out the latest issue of SS.

6.45pm:
CK arrives. While in the kitchen, MN is briefing ML on something very important...

MN: "No papparazzin later ah!"

6.45pm - 7pm:
We are playing pictionary to warm up and get in the spirit of communicating with visuals and doing away with words. Yeah, like that's going to be an uphill task for editors!

7.00pm:
MV arrives with associate. And they join in.


7.20pm:
ES and associate arrives and the pot luck party begins proper.

Oh what a glorious spread of food -

Chow mein, Indian style from MN
Spicy fried rice and fish cakes from MV
Potato salad from CK
Dumplings, Mirinda and vodka from NT
Chips and Doritos from GK
Roast chicken from ML

And how could we forget ES' famous muffins?

The Host and Hostess with the mostest.

8pm:

After tucking into some really fantastic food, MN heralds with gusto and cheer," Let the games begin!" And so the long nite of Orange editors turn amateur actors starts off with aplomb and excitement and even trepidation... no wonder NT has to have 2 more swigs of his alco fruit punch before starting :D

NT: " Bottoms up, baby!"

We divided ourselves into two teams -

ES, CK, GK, MV, NT and ML on this corner of the ring, and on the other corner, we had MN, MN associate, MV associate, ES associate, NT associate, heck, its MN and associates!

The "Guess the movie" game is simple in idea, but there lies the deception - the delivery of the idea is where it gets tricky and even frustrating, particularly for those who aren't so acting inclined. One team comes up with a movie title and the other team has to send a member up to act it out for their team mates to guess it correctly. Some of the macaroni editors were true film buffs, judging by the movies that they thought of. We had all genres possible - Blockbusters, B-grade, Comedy, Horror, teen flicks, chick flicks, animation, even the odd obscure Indie and Foreign film thrown in for good measure.

But it's all about having fun and not trying to win an Oscar for best performance, so we all just let it rip! From inspiration to perspiration in 60 seconds! Oh what a show of hands, feet, eyeballs, tongues even, the whole wacky game brought out from everyone!

MV: " I'll give them a kiddy movie, nobody watches these but me, haha!"

MN displays her karate chop moves, "Haiyahh!"

MV: "Those hours of practising hand movement in my classical
dance are really coming in handy now!"

CKin really had everyone in stitches over his favourite usage of animal gestures and expression to convey his message across. Here, he shows off his King Kong move!

ES matches her hubby in the drama high stakes, and pulls out all of the stops (and 6 fingers here) to help her team guess the movie correctly.

Even MN and associates were visibly entertained and enthralled.

MV's associate shows off his slick Bollywood dance moves, while MN is in a daze, getting flashbacks of the time when she enjoyed the 'Salaam Namaste' farewell dance by a select few Orange people. (See the Sp(mdg) post for details)

MV is very pleased with his performance, apparently. "Ah, I've taught him well!"

GK does his best impersonation of Julius Caesar, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!"

His team mates love every moment of it! Even though they don't get it.

MN: " You have been served, can you guys dig it?"

CK steps up to the plate, but it's a tough one, and she's stumped for a moment... even NT has assumed his favourite squatting posture to show his dispair!

But she digs deep and dishes out some fancy Coyote Ugly moves to inspire her team.

NT's associate keeps her team spellbound with her Oscar worthy acting

MN associate plays it cool and shows off his Saturday Night Fever moves.

NN arrives late from the Orange, but joins ES team soon enough. Even sooner still, she is up on centre stage displaying her best Macarena magic and cuts a Venus like figure ala Botticelli.

CKin: " Hmm, if I strike this pose long enough, they''ll think that I'm actually acting."

NT is stumped for ideas, but still does his best Ah Meng impression,
which amuses ES very much.

10.30pm:

Only 90 minutes to go before midnight...

NN: "Phew, whoever said acting was easy?"

NN takes a breather and chills out with MN's pet dog. Smart move. The other Orange people follow suit and slowly make their exit from MN's place by 11.30pm to other places to meet and greet other faces.
" And...cut. That's a wrap!"

Goodbye 2oo6, Hello 2007!

The orange career path

It looks like crazy bosses, authors and manuscripts have rendered the orange people devoid of memory. They have forgotten that FP is no longer an inhabitant of the orange building, and hence her administrator duties have not been taken away. FP is delirious with joy to learn this.

FP also believes that if she keeps posting on the orange, eventually the few people who do remember that she has left will also forget it, and no one will be able to take away her rights even though her cubicle and her mac and her half-opened carton of orange drinks have been snatched away by the newly installed MRT station in the orange.

In consultation with the Captain, FP has come up with the career path for orange contributors.

After you join the orange as a contributor, you are expected to take your responsibilities seriously and churn out posts with amazing regularity, failing which you may be demoted. Here's how your career could look like!

0-5 posts - Contributor
5-10 posts - Project Contributor
11-15 posts - Assistant Senior Contributor
16-20 posts - Senior Contributor
21-25 posts - Assistant Managing Contributor
26-30 posts - Managing Contributor
>30 posts - Ze boss

Special note for BB and the likes - If you've been sitting on your ass as a contributor without actually contributing anything, you will be demoted before being kicked out, and will have to wear a tie to show it.

So what is your designation?

6 degrees of sepeRAYtion

CTZ, who hails from Myanmar and was the MC at RC's wedding, becomes the latest editor to join the Orange. And he naturally becomes the newest member of the 6pk, who are now 7.

Apparently, CTZ has been assigned to the Supplementary Materials section, where he has the fortunate honour of being the lone thorn among 7 beautiful roses. This is like Charlie's Angels twice over! Must be that lucky number se7en thingy!

The 6pkrs hosted an inaugural lunch for CTZ at the rear end kopitiam, and he now joins the knights of the Orange table for all future discussions and discourses about Camelot's state of affairs (about how to rescue the many fair maidens from the malicious dragon, mainly). :)

Arise CTZ, and defend our honour.

It's only his first day, but CTZ wastes no time in making himself comfy in MN's throne, and joining the 6pk chatting fray.

CTZ: " RC, I'm quite nervous going past this point of no return..."
RC: " 'Meng kia' lah Bro, one for all and all for fun!"

RC: "Remember, tea break is at 10am and 4pm officially, but smoke break anytime also can."

CTZ: "What have I gotten myself into with these dudes?"

Shifting sands with building hands

The only constant in life is change, French philosopher François de la Rochefoucauld once said. The surrounds of the Orange is also a neverending work in progress, with all the construction work for the new MRT circle station going on. Normal travel routes to work have been diverted and the long stretches of zinc fencing and garish 'this is not a safety barrier' blockades have produced a somewhat hodgypodgy Great Wall of Orange, to keep the barbaric hordes of humanity out of the Orange Kingdom. Or is it to fence in the inhabitants of the Orange instead? ;)

What is it like in the Orange with all this construction going on? Well, the deep bore machinery that penetrates the crusty earth causes from time to time, tiny tremors to vibrate our cubicles as though an earthquake, measuring 3 on the Richter Scale, has just occured... The rythmic clanging and banging of the piledrivers, sound like bells being rung by ascetic monks in a remote monastery in Tibet somewhere...

Talk about ambience.

How long will the station take to be completed? How will it change the landscape? Will the neighbourhood become more vibrant with shops, services? Will New Industrial Road take on a more urban feel ala Shenton Way? Will it ease congestion on the roads or not make a difference?

Irregardless, I am grateful for the migrant workers that have come here from distant shores, to help create this modern and efficient country that we live in with their sweat and strength - Like their predesessors before them who created monumental marvels like the Pyramids of Giza, The Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu and The Acropolis.

We too, will have our testaments of civilisation and progress.

Man and machine working in harmony...

to build, to create...

... a better tomorrow.