I just began my afternoon shift, and am already fatigued. Interestingly, the crowd in the waiting area wasn't fully reflected in the queue system, which is kinda short. Spotted a few NS boys on the list, but thank goodness they're not seeing me. I'm NOT in the mood. :(

Crabby, you say? I suppose so. Not having a day off during weekends and public holidays sucks, and I've been doing this since November, when we first got word that our MO batch was only 60% of its usual cohort. Sure, we have night shifts sometimes, which gives us an entire free day before and after, but I'd like to have the whole 24 hours to myself, you know? I'm always so tired out after the call that I spend the whole day in bed. All my weekends get burnt this way, which is a shame. I really hope KKH Children's A&E will be an improvement.

I caught "World Idol" on cable last night, which was fun. :) 11 contestants from America, Europe, Australia and South Africa battled it out, but sadly, only 4 actually showed real talent ( in my opinion at least ). They were: Kurt Nilsen from Norway ( he won, by the way ), Kelly Clarkson from the US ( runner-up ), Ryan Malcolm from Canada, and Will Young from Great Britain.

Young has a rather high-pitched nasal voice, but his choice of song ( "Light My Fire" ) was spot-on. He already had 2 #1 albums by the time he competed on WI, and his experience showed. Relaxed and decked out in a cool outfit, his voice unwavering as he hit the high notes -- little wonder that even Simon Cowell said "Well done".
Malcolm, on the other hand, has that Buddy Holly thing going on. Like Clay pre-makeover, he favours thick, dark-rimmed spectacle frames and slicked back ( or slicked up, rather ) hair. Skinny to the point of appearing malnourished, his voice was anything but weak, and he gave a sterling performance of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".
I've never really liked Clarkson, probably because a local reporter described her as a diva with bad manners and an even worse temper. Then, whenever she sang on TV, she always looked like she was deliberately trying to drown everyone out. But the "American Idol" audience voted for her for a reason, and for the first time, I could understand why. She has a voice, no doubt about that, but despite being judged by a panel of rather nasty people ( yep, they chose lots of bad guys for this one ), that bright, sweet, almost sincere smile never left her face, and she was unfailingly polite and respectful throughout. Lucky for her, Simon was behind her all the way, and called her "a superstar". Interesting new perspective. I kinda like her now. :)
Now we come to Nilsen. First of all, have you seen his picture? The computer I'm using doesn't allow me to add links -- yes, another ancient machine down here -- so I'll see if I can do that another time. In a nutshell, as one frank fellow said, Nilsen "has the voice of an angel, but looks like a Hobbit". I actually think he looks more like a cute troll, but there's no denying his unbelievable vocals. His song choice? None other than U2's "Beautiful Day", one of the most difficult pieces to master, and dangerously vulnerable to comparisons and criticism if placed in the wrong hands. But the minute Kurt opened his mouth, I knew why he won this competition. He sounds exactly like Bono, and sings with such consuming passion I was mesmerized. It's almost mind-boggling to see this buck-toothed, round-bodied guy belting out the well-loved anthem with such aplomb. And considering the fact that Norway is the smallest nation participating, Nilsen's crown is nothing short of miraculous.
I turned to my mom and said, "Hmm, Singapore Idol doesn't seem that stupid after all. If Norway can produce a huge talent like Kurt, maybe our tiny nation can too." All we need is one. ONE person with a good voice, a dynamic personality, and just enough charisma to keep people riveted. Can you imagine a Singaporean competing with the likes of Ruben Studdard in the next World Idol? Whoa! :D

Now I'd like to ask for your opinions regarding a small dilemma I'm facing. Can't name names here, so let's call them X and Y.

X and Y will be getting married soon. X is nice, and we've known each other for 5 years now. We also previously worked together, and X left a good impression on me. Y, however, is a few years younger, and I only got to know this person a few months ago, again through work. But unlike X, Y is very unpopular. Reasons given include terrible work habits, sparse knowledge of even the most basic things, and worst of all, the inability to accept criticism and a stubborn refusal to change for the better. I've been hearing all sorts of unflattering comments from my fellow colleagues, whose accounts suggest that Y is also spoiled, bad-tempered ( some leaned more towards "nasty" actually ) and even a little condescending.

My problem: I am very concerned about X marrying Y, because I don't think X knows any of the things I just mentioned. In all likelihood, X believes Y is an angel who can do no wrong, but everyone else thinks otherwise.

So should I or shouldn't I tell X about Y? The repercussions are serious, of course -- X may get mad at me and our friendship may be jeopardized; X may tell Y, then Y will hate me too; friends of theirs may also get wind of it, then label me as "the busybody who tried to break this happy couple up", etc.
Or... X may listen to what I have to say, and think twice about Y.

Being disliked isn't the main issue for me. What concerns me the most is possibly being solely responsible for causing a breakup. Or in this case, making X call off the wedding altogether. Will I be able to live with the guilt, even if I feel Y isn't right for X?

I guess my inclination towards this course of action ( ie. telling X about Y ) stems from my own prior experience. I thought my ex was the greatest ( he arrogantly told me as much! ), and only found out about "the opposite side of the coin" much later. Seems everyone had been keeping mum because they didn't want to cause any friction, or yes, a breakup. But it made a very big difference to me, 'cos frankly speaking, if I'd known he was such a jerk to his colleagues ( even his friends ), I definitely would've been concerned. Sure, I put him on a pedestal when I was a med student, but once I hit housemanship and got to work with senior doctors who remain my role models to this day, I stopped ooh-ing and aah-ing whenever my ex told me he did something spectacular at work that day. I learned to value hard work and team effort, and always swore when anyone got the short end of the stick. So yeah, if I'd known my ex was famous for slouching off, I wouldn't be happy.

Some of you may ask: But is someone's work ethic a direct reflection of his/her character?
My answer: Yes. In fact, I think the best way to get to know a person is by working with him/her. And not just for a short period. Noooo, the longer the contact, the better. Add some stress and you'll see that person's true colours emerge. It's extremely easy to act nice and perky once you leave the office, but if someone can't handle problems at work without screwing others over, imagine how this person will cope with marriage, in-laws and kids.

But... that's me. Which is why I need to start a poll here. Hope you can leave your comments and tell me what you would do in my situation, and why. Any views will be greatly appreciated.
( P.S. Yes, I did ask my mother about it. She replied, "Tell X." then said, "Wait, what if X doesn't care? What if Y finds out and tells everyone you tried to break them up? What if etc, etc, etc." Which explains why I freaked out. :P )

Hmm, a rather depressing end to my post. Sorry about that. I shall now sign off and read the issue of Movieline sitting on my desk. Too tired to read textbooks today. :D