Loughborough Tidings

Of time and seasons

2009-09-28T00:26:00.003+08:00

12:03
Just 37 seconds off the mark and 3 seconds to the next grade. Secretly hoping that the heart did not beat faster for nothing. Wednesday beckons!

宝贵的一课

2009-09-22T00:02:00.004+08:00

二十一岁的今天，生活就是绕着学业与她之间，对未来也充满着憧憬。四年后，可能是命运的捉弄，绕了一圈还是回到了原点。这旅途中学习了怎么追求心里向往的梦想，也同中领悟到现实的残酷会往往让我们失去了指南针，继续被世界的琐碎的事情残绕着。如今的我也又再一次地掉入这个深渊，如何在这两种心态来取舍到现在还是个未知数。

她的背影还一直在我脑海中浮现。灯光也暗了，枕头也湿了。她心里有着我刻上的伤，我心里藏着对她的关心，隐隐作痛。

“我会尝试放开你的手，让妳尽情地翱翔自由的天空，静静地祈祷，希望妳在那风雨中不会再受到任何的疮伤。谢谢妳教了我如何去爱一个人。”

Propaganda

2009-01-23T01:02:00.006+08:00

Some pictures from London Imperial War Museum (one of my favourites)

Time to shout out!!! ARGH!!! I think i lost myself in this barrage of things. I feel enveloped by the nitty gritties; engulfed in this confusion. I always thought having a balance of things is good: Your health education teacher advocates a balanced diet; your GP tutor wants to have a balanced viewpoint in your essay; I want to be balanced in different aspects of life but each task seems to be slowly eating the flesh and consuming the soul within me. I need a renewed passion ; so much that there is this energy and rigour that drives me. Perhaps the balancing beam does not longer work, putting all my eggs in a basket may reap more in the long run.

In the NEWS: THe British Pound drops to 2.08 against the SIng dollar. maybe its a sign. Peut-etre

Week 10 Sunday

2008-10-19T18:20:00.002+08:00

Clearing all the cobwebs from this cyber space, it's more than 3 months since I am back in this city-state. With shouts of "pu kua pa" every one month reminding me to blog, i thank all these people around me who is embarking on this same arduous path with me, my last academic year in N.U.S.

Having bold plans to blog about every city i visited did not work, nor arranging and admiring the multitude of photos. Memories seem so far away, those carefree times, those days I cooked dinner- ham and cheese omelette, tom yam soup with chicken, brocolli and carrots. Fastforward to this rat race, attending classes and meetingdeadlines, arguing on this, espousing on that, critiquing on this-that. (Not) knowing the difference between time-space and space-time, structuration and structuralist, I ask myself whats the significance of all these.

From shi.le.nahu.ang@iamafeminist.com, to password:Ilovegeogr.grahy, from being ditched by David ha.rvey and Foc.ault having a photo of you in his wallet, none of these most will understand. these are what keep us sane for a while. Admist all these 'mindless' debates about manifesto, visual-centralism, tracing the polit.cal econo.my, I wonder how long these will stay in me and i constantly ask myself and God the purpose of doing this discipline. My heart cries out for the marginalised in society, but more so for the children in the region without the life-chance of making it to school, thinking about when his/her next meal is. My God above too cries out for the the unsaved, the unevangelised. everyone.

Why am i fretting over which destinations I should go for my next trip, wha grades I have for each assignment, where do i store my money to prevent inflation when it's kingdom culture, values and vision that i should embrace. Its tough, i know, having been of the world, engulfed by the bombardment of images and messages. My heart hardens, get so numbed by my surroundings, i think its about to bleed.

"Break my heart for what breaks yours, everything i am for Your Kingdom's cause."

Random(1)

2008-05-27T21:50:00.005+08:00

There just seems to be this void in time (not space) just before the major examinations each time in university. This interstatial period where one feels the lethargy and inertia to start flipping the notes and realising 12/13 weeks of sch has just slipped past, without you knowing.

This is happening to me right now.

One starts the semester often with aspirations to work hard, to make lots of friends, to try new things, but at the end of the semester feeling jaded about school and work. Wondering whether academics will go out of jobs if they ever stop writing journals and articles that put apparently simple ideas and weave them into a 20 page argumentation about issues, noting that half of the 20 pages will be of what other academics have already argued before.

Talk about recyling!

Sadly, this idea of ever becoming yet another sadistic person to torture poor undergraduates did come to my mind. Being at the forefront of research and ever expanding one's academic boundaries sound like a noble thing to do, I seriously do not doubt it. What is essential, in my humble opinion is the kind of social milieu that one is placed in, the supportive networks that is placed around an individual. Think Bruno Latour's Actor Network theory, the human and non-human actants interacting together for the production of knowledge in space and time.

Recent events have home seemed to have caused a paradigm shift. Seeing people around you graduating, the prospect of not reading any more shitty and constipated academic articles seem too appealing! With the capacity to spend empowered by Vitamin M, one goes up a rung in the social hierachy. But then again the sheer amount of responsibilty such as nation building (through our ever efficient tax agency) and everything else... will start to weigh you down and you get trapped in this place for me at least for 4 years.

Random thoughts, random thoughts and more random thoughts...

This happens most frequently after exams, so pardon the barrage of thoughts...

On my way to the library to return books else I be fined 1.50 sing a day per book

Down with capitalism??? (Nah, I dont think the library is profit driven)

UK host Visit

2008-05-23T20:50:00.015+08:00

Here's a quick summary of what happened over the past week or so:

1) Its the second last week of sch here and I was rushing to hand in 2 of my coursework essays. Despite only having to pass these modules, i have to admit there was this academic pride within me, as an effective ambassador of NUS, i shall still maintain my normal (high) std of work. Sadly, i only know a hoot bout farming diversification policies in the Uk, and handed in a sub-par paper which I pray can smoke through.

2) 5 Looming exams coming up from 6th June till 18th June. I am SO STRESSED bout it that I decided to head down to London from the 4th-5th to pick Andrea up and go to Paris from the 13-17th. Talk bout being stressed.

3) thE SEP is coming to an end- be back in Sunny Singapore mid july. Till then, some last destinations include: MAdrid, Barcelona, Nice, Monaco, Cannes, Milan, Venice, Rome, Munich. Notice some repeated destinations...:(:( But since the gf is here, we'll just have to compromise on some places.

4) Last weekend was indeed special where I spent with a British family in the rural countryside near Oxford. Some photos!!!

Well, the pictures sure dont do justice to the house, but the interior of the house is uber gorgeous! Its quintessential English, and the room that Jared and I were given, its like a 5 star Hotel. Every corner of the room is decorated with the owner's impeccable taste. Just look at the teapots on the table. Our hosts are also collectors of portraits and for once we thought we were transported to fairy and lala land.

See what I mean, i was even smiling when I sleep...

Slacking one corner, enjoying the experience!

So actually, the house was converted from a farm, so now besides the physical structure of the house, there is a farm that rears chickens and grows fresh lettuce and asparagus!!!
Its like back in loughborough, as poor students, what we have on the table is what is on sale in the supermarket on that day. So Dinner will be simply, brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...

You've got the idea!

So asparagus was the highlight for one of the dinners! Oh, did I mention, it was freshly harvested from the garden just one hour before, and there were 28 stalks in total. Just boil them and dip in melted butter with some fleur du sol... so heavenly...

So thats the chickens I was talking bout. And our hosts actually have at least one fresh egg a day. I was lucky enough to eat one egg that was laid like just the previous day. So we did eat like pigs, from cornflakes, mueslis, home made bread, fish pie, beef stew, mousaka (some greek dish), saussages, bacon,eggs,white wine, red wine and of course my favourite asparagus!!

Some activities that we did while in the house, scrabble, cooking, some ball game that you need to manuever your way around. The guy in the picture is Ingo, a fellow Host student from Cologne,Germany exchanging in Swansea, Wales. He speaks fluent English, German and French!!! Woah, I've got a lot to learn from him.

So that's a group picture of us over the weekend before we bid farewell.

It' pretty amazing that Mr and Mrs Cochrane (Malcom and Mary) have been hosting students for more than 20 years. I thought its really a great experience for us as short-term students to have a glimpse of English culture, food and values. Reflecting on Singapore, I wonder how many families would be such good hosts to international students in their homes and make them feel so comfortable and taken care of.

The beginning of the end

2008-05-13T21:09:00.001+08:00

Photo taken during sunset in Stockholm, on top of some hill in Skansen, proudly by Panasonic Lumix TZ-3.

Prague- Magical City of Bridges and Spires

2008-04-29T19:32:00.007+08:00

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. The astronomical clock in Prague. Every hour, hordes of tourists will stand in front of the clock and watch the 1 min performance by the clock itself.
This magical city of bridges, cathedrals, gold-tipped towers and church domes, has been mirrored in the surface of the swan-filled Vltava River for more than ten centuries. Undamaged by WWII, Prague's compact medieval centre remains a wonderful mixture of cobbled lanes, walled courtyards, cathedrals and countless church spires all in the shadow of her majestic 9th century castle that looks eastward as the sun sets behind her. Prague is also a modern and vibrant city full of energy, music, cultural art, fine dining and special events catering to the independent traveller's thirst for adventure.

Prague’s history spans over thousands of years. In this long period the city grew from the Vyšehrad Castle to what it is today: the multi cultural capital of the modern European Czech Republic. The Vyšehrad Castle was erected on the right bank of the Vltava, the longest river in the Czech Republic, opposite of the later constructed future Prague Castle., the largest castle in the world. When the Republic was still Bohemia, Prague became the seat of many dukes and kings, and an important merchant settlement. Modern Prague knows several historical bridges that span the broad river. The first one, the Judith Bridge, was built in 1170 by King Vladislav II, but crumbled down in 1342, becoming the foundation for the later built Charles Bridge, probably the most famous bridge of Prague. King Charles IV of the new Luxembourg Dynasty reigned during the 14th century, in which the city flourished. It was Charles who built the New Town with the Saint Vitus Cathedral, the oldest Gothic cathedral in central Europe, and the Charles Bridge in order to connect the two city centers.

Detail on the charles bridge, arguably the most famed and photographed in Prague. Ok, the black and white effects dun seem to show very well.

Prague suffered considerably less damage during World war II than other major cities, and almost all of its historic architecture has remained intact. Now the city is a lively collections of examples of Art Nouveau, Baroque, Renaissance, Gothic, Cubist and Neo-Classical buildings.

The famous Fred and Ginger Building- courtesy of Jared Wong.

Being described as the gateway to Eastern Europe, Prague still retains much of its original charm and glory. But i wont say it would be the same 5 years to come, with the influx of tourists turning it into yet another place catered to the tourist gaze. (Urry, 1990)

importance of a good breakfast

2008-04-29T19:03:00.005+08:00

There are those mornings that you refuse to open your eyes albeit the sun shining into your room and you aint tired anymore. There are those mornings that you realise you are on the wrong side of the bed and refuse to climb out of it knowing whats in store for you for the day. Today was just one of them.

Having the luxury of breakfast prepared by the roomie, I had this sudden craving for the smoothie in the fridge- roomie cant find it, i went to the kitchen myself and realised all was lost

There was a mass murder. Some say a mass rape. Besides the smoothie, the unopened Onken yoghurt, the ham was gone.

A delicious, interesting and high-quality yoghurt in a great big pot. Difficult to imagine what could be better really. The little chunks of strawberries all contibute to the wholesome goodness. The texture - well - is of course wonderful with the colour a slightly pink. It simply forms an integral part of my healthy breakfast. Now, I wonder who the culprit is...

Since the breakfast is the most important meal of the day, without the yoghurt this morning, I decided to just not start on my migration essay that's gonna be due. Even though the roomie is stressing me over his 4-5 hours of maths mugathon, I had enough. The sudden thought of graduating and not doing the 4th year seemed like an option. The idea of earning bucks and squeezing puny students brainjuice out seemed all too good. Thats all because of the spoilt breakfast I had:(

Alright, on a happier note, I am going on trips again!

30th April-4th May- Edinburgh and the isle of Skye
7th May- 10th May- Stockholm and Dinner with Zhanrui @ London

Indescribable

2008-04-29T06:52:00.002+08:00

One of the praise and worship songs that I like! I stand in awe, admiring your creation Lord

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
INCOMPARABLE, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

A lost generation

2008-04-25T03:27:00.001+08:00

my first haircut

2008-04-25T03:05:00.001+08:00

After about 3 mths of trying to grow the hair above the head, one realises that the keratin in these black streaks do not seem to strenghthen them a bit. The result was a messy crop of hair, almost like a bird nest, with the sides almost curling out to resemble that of an old chang kee curry puff!!

OK, thats the hair in front of prague castle!

"Courage is not a man with a gun in his hands, but it's when you know you are licked before and get to go through it no matter what, this is what i called real courage"

After 72 hours continuous and serious contemplation, so one decided to gather all the courage to become a guinea pig. He decided to sacrifice himself for the betterment of humankind!ok, maybe not so serious, but he decided to be part of this noble act to allow his friend to experiment with the hair.

A note about this friend, a "hot babe" wannabe, her interests include dancing, cam whoring, ahem experimenting with new things. Please kindly note that she neither owned a scissors or a comb before embarking on this big and important project. It could mean life and death, it could mean another 3 mths of ridicule and humiliation. But in order to scrimp on 6 pounds to go to a barber, he decided to look for the next best alternative, presenting to you: Hazel Peh

Some photos about the first awesome experience:

Yeah! the customer was a satisfied one, and the hairstylist become accomplished so much that she had pple queuing up making for appointments. Almost In case you Mr Moe decides to sack you one day, Ms Peh, I allow you to use my photos in your hairdressing salon along Orchard Road. Thanks a million Hazel!

Easter break blast!

2008-04-19T07:31:00.007+08:00

7 Countries, 14 Cities, 33 days Mr Goh ,you are the winner of the amazing race Easter 2008! So what makes you think you deserve this award???Simply becos the only thing I have lost this trip was my washing powder!! Thank God for His grace that nothing important was lost, after the lost of the wallet in Bangkok...

so whats the favourite city? My friends call me a 'francophile', who loves everything french. I admit I am biased but I really love Paris! albeit it being too touristy in the end. My french served me well, and met up with a good friend of mine, chilling in the Quick restaurant, reminiscing the old times, it just completes the picture. A disclaimer: my pictures sure wont do justice to the city, neither my descriptions, but better than nothing la...

My first look at the Eiffel tower on top of Sacre Coeur. Was tres excited! The world's most visited monument, more than 10 million visitors a year (Thats more than the whole of singapore for info). More than just a satellite/radio transmission tower initially built for, the tower has evolved to become the symbol of Paris, the image that appears in everyone's mind when you mention the city.

In the heart of Montmartre area where I stayed, great artists such as Picasso and Van Gorh lived here. It dawned on me that i have the artistic genes, despite asking my fren to draw for me my still life during sec 2 and everyone crowding around me during art exam to help me finish my art piece... Ok that was all nonsense or bullshit! But I have to admit my appreciation of the arts have increased multi-fold and at least now i know the difference between crayons and colour pencils (I mean renaissance Vs Impressionists)

Moulin Rouge! translated to "red mill' in english. High class brothel back in the 1900s. Now that it has become the site for cabaret shows. The guide said that it was worth every euro, just that it cost 89 Euros including one drink. The pockets were not feeling that full then so I gave it a miss. :(

Aux Champ elysees, aux champ elysees! the orchard road of Paris with the Arc of Triumph at the junction. Marking Napolean's victory during his reign. Its GIG-normous contrasted to the size of the person its built for. Pretty impressive, well i guess I read so much of it during my french classes, just this sense of awe standing in front of it.

LV and prada bags going at 20 percent discount! OK, seriously I am not kidding! Being a tourist, i do get a 19.6 percent tax rebates on these luxury goods. Send me the dough if you want some bags cos I be going back to paris with the girlfriend in summer...

heh, the luxuries of life, desserts and coffee! The chocolate tart was the best thing i have had in a while! truly lives up to my expectations. So where are the profitteroles and macarons? Sadly, I dint have the chance to try them due to time constraints but I promise I be back.

Lots of pple say the city is overhyped, i do agree to a certain extent. Le Chateau de Versailles and la tour de Eiffel were a bit of a disappointment. Hordes of tourists flooding to these sites that totally spoil the experience. I wonder what will happen when summer comes. BUT the air in Paris is different. THe quintessential French experience. The HAute culture, the cafes along the sidewalks, the language, simply melts together in this single place. PARIS, je t'aime!

London entry

2008-02-28T09:51:00.002+08:00

Before I disappear again this weekend to London (yes again!), I should just blog about London! In the midst of preparing this post, however, blogger seems to be under maintenance and hence there'll be no photos. I'll be in London from 28/02 till 02/03 and will still be contactable through the phone, email or facebook.
Updates on my upcoming easter plan:
15/03/08: Depart London Luton to Milan (10 days in Italy, Easter in Rome!!!)
26/03/08: Depart Pisa to Paris (parlez vous francais?)
30/03/08: Depart Paris to Krakow (Poland)
02/04/08: Depart Krakow to Prague
05/04/08: Prague to Dresden (Germany)
07/04/08: Dresden to Berlin
09/04/08: Berlin to Brussels
12/04/08: Brussels/ Luxembourg to Amsterdam
16/04/08: Amsterdam to East midlands airport at 935am. (I got a class at 11am that day)

Seems too hectic, even to me, but trust that it be a great travelling experience. One of the highlights will definitely Auschwich Concentration camp in Poland, where more than 1.1 million Jews were exterminated during WWII.

Have a great weekend!

Do you feel the mountains tremble?

2008-02-27T21:02:00.007+08:00

This post is going to be about the place that I stay in for the next 4 mths, the university that i have chosen to do my exchange in, and the lovely town that I have learnt to appreciate and embrace this English town called Loughborough:

Loughborough University- panaromic

Loughborough Town- panaromic

So, why the title of this entry?

It was a traumatic experience, as I felt the whole floor shaking, the laptop screen started vibrating, the rumbling of the hard disk on my laptop and the distant fire alarm going off... It does not help when I hear the roomate fretting, volunteering to don his Sweater to head downstairs to check it out. He thought it was an heroic act- BUT all these lasted for the duration of 7 seconds. The air was still again with the furious typing of keyboard. We met for the first time our neighbour from PRC, asking what happened? No one knew, until half an hour later we received news that it was an earthquake measuring 4.7 on a Richter scale.

I think it's one of these rare times when you actually hear news about Loughborough and I heard the singapore media actually interviewed one of the students from the university. Less than 1 percent of the population in Singapore have heard of this place[Loughborough] (Goh, 2008), drawing from a sample size of his group of friends, but to myself, it has already become an intimate and intricate part of my life here during SEP.

It was after much contemplation that I decided to choose Loughborough as my top choice uni for this student exchange. Armed with the advice of a friend that I have been staying in a city all my life, I chose the pictureque and charming and some say (forsaken and ulu-ated) countryside over the hustle and bustle of London city (and sleaze and pollution....)I would say for now that there are no regrets and pictures simply can tell the story more convincingly.(Pictures are copyrighted from carrotcak84 and others):

On the way to library
Campus Buildings
Pretty trees
Nice!
Frost in the morning

The humble Butler Walk where I pass by every morning
Towers- Tallest Landmark of loughborough
Union Elections
Happy dinner for all!

The friendships forged during this trip , the dinners cooked(plus the amt of salt we add), the laughters and the collective memories undoubtedly would last a long time. Not to forget my family, loved ones and friends back at home, I do constantly think of you and wish i were there with all of you, partaking in the food especially. But all, I never ever regretted taking this step of faith to come.

Blessed week ahead

2008-02-19T08:14:00.003+08:00

I really enjoyed the service on Sunday @ Holywell Free Church. THe fellowship was great and we were invited to a Singaporean's house. Walk in the countryside, feeding the horses, listening to the cello, great hospitality!They invited us to lao yu sheng on Thursday! Most importantly, message was relevant that answers certain doubts within me for a long time I am falling in love with this place! I cant imagine the last day that I have to leave Loughborough and coming back next September suddenly seems plausible...

Location: Stonehenge, Salisbury, United Kingdom. Timeline: 4/2/08

Photo series!

2008-02-18T09:56:00.002+08:00

A true geographer's experience- riding camels on the dunes of Sahara desert!
Timeline: 29/1/08 Location: Erg Chebbi, Morocco

Departure on SQ

2008-02-18T09:13:00.005+08:00

I got the chance to take off from Terminal 3! No big deal actually but the packing prior to that was more than what I expected to be.
1 going on SEP
2 women packing
3 in the household
4 luggages in total.
You've got the picture, and my check in luggage was an impressive 34kg! 4kg more than what I was given, so i decided to muster my biggest smile to the lady in the counter:

Ok, i lied, i dint use my smile, but I think it was the above face that allowed me to bring an extra 4kg of baggage in. (I really wonder what the 2 women packed inside)

And *drumrolls*, introducing my room mate and traveling partner for the next 6 mths!

Jared Wong Wei Ming! Ok, for girls who are interested, he's truly a coffee fanatic and can tell you which starbucks in Singapore sells the best coffee. We'll save the rest for other occasions cos i think we'll see him around for quite a bit.

Singapore Airlines- A great way to fly!!
Due to my (intentionao) last minute booking, Mr Moe had no choice but to allow me to get a SQ ticket. My second time on board the national carrier, armed with what I learnt in tourism, i decided to scrutinse the Singapore girl from top to bottom......

This is what I saw, ok, i stole this picture from the internet but then they looked pretty much the same. Bun up hair, red lipsticks, sarong kebaya, red or purple nail polishes? Despite some criticisms from feminists as the national carrier using the exoticness of the Asian female as the marketing icon, I am glad that the company has identified it as a strength for their advertising campaign. Fancy imagining them using the merlion to attract travellers.
Overall ride was exceptionally smooth with the occasional cries of infants, i slept for more than half the journey, and managed to catch Ratatouille on the Krisflyer entertainment!

Updates on London coming up!

Hearts Hearts Hearts

2007-10-25T22:06:00.000+08:00

So this is what I have been up with!

2007-10-14T00:53:00.000+08:00

I miss the feeling of giving 100% to the things I desire. Or have I ever?

2007-10-10T02:03:00.000+08:00

2007-08-01T20:15:00.001+08:00

Sorry Guys

2007-01-21T03:08:00.000+08:00

hey guys decided to end this blog. Perhaps it marks the end of the present me, and the beginning of a new me. Sorry to disappoint my loyal readers... if they still exist. I might just have a new blog in the near future. Ask me bout the address then, in the mean time, anyone intersted to help me get my new blog done up? i think i suck at HTML...then u can know my blog address....

working @ DInosaurs

2006-05-24T03:28:00.000+08:00

Walking with Dinosaurs!

Some updates about my life! I have been working at Singapore Science Centre as a show host, part of the Dinosaurs: A T-rex named Sue and friends exhibition. Basically the job involves bringing visitors through the exhibits. Pays pretty well, a pity I only get to work like 2-3 days in a week. Come find out the longest dinosaur, most ferocious dinosaur and view the world's most complete T-rex! For more info, pls visit Dinosaurs!

I met up with an old group of army friends during Selestine Birhday celebration, many of them I haven really kept in contact with. Somehow, the prideful me dint bring myself to talk to Jon, somehow the words just dint flow. I wont say that I am petty but am still pretty sore about being accused of a fair-weather friend or simply I only look for him when I have some favours to ask from. Had the urge to message him to meet up but somehow I dint, i do not know what stopped me, perhaps its a prideful self, that i refuse to take the first step. Yah, i know it's freaking childish over here but perhaps its time to let bygones be bygones.

I met many others from Faculty of Science during my stint at the Science centre . basically we the showhosts are supposedly the '19 who did well in the interview out of a possible 100+' and that we were vocal and can interact with visitors etc. Indeed, i am indeed rather impressed with some individuals, while I was kind of stuggling with some of the dinosaur names and scientific terms here and there, there was one who was there explaining to a group of us about evolution, fossils, Dna replication etc. Though he was a life-science major, he was really well-read and it was only later I realised from a conversation that he was a yr 2 TSL. Another friend i talked to was a Yr 3 Chem major, I learnt that she actually was doing a second degree in SMU concurrently and she in fact had taken over the biz of her father to run 3 counry clubs in Singapore. Pretty cool!

Ok, thE main point here is that these 2 groups I met recently were so distinctively different that it struck me. Not about the former being less vocal or less rich, but somehow the lifestyles each group led were very unalike. While one group works, bring s home a pay packet, forced by the 'gahment' to save a small amount through CPF, while squanders away the rest on clubbing and pubbing. The topic of discussion can range from which club has the chioest girls or when to go to Malaysia to get more cigarettes? Another group, on the contrary, despite being the same age, are still studying ,thinking of going overseas for exchanges, or those who were fortunate enough to have a family business of fortune to inherit from. The topic of discussion for the latter group is probably about where to go to for the next holiday or which stock is the best to invest in.

i do not know what exactly I am illustrating here, it's definitely not a case of the rich gets richer while the poor gets poorer, but its about the different segments of society and the way the way they lead their day to day lives. Perhaps the big question is whether one's education will shape one life chances in the future, the job you do, the friends you hang around with and the lifestyle you lead. I am not sure whether I make sense here, but its again just a passing thought.

What's up this week;
Wed: To head down to DHS to sign the Relief teacher form, darn it a trip down just fo rmy signature
Thur: Dinosaurs
Fri: Dinosaurs
Sat: Release of Results and BIG day to make my decision. (Had a false alarm that one was able to check his rusults on the science intranet. One senior manged to know his overall cal for this sem, but apparently NUS eas fast enough to remove the link, argh I can't wait)

Life after exams

2006-05-16T22:44:00.000+08:00

Random Thoughts III

It's been about 1.5 weeks after exams, somehow the inertia to blog and change the blog layout is still there.

DHS level 2 camp @ Sarimbun: My intial thought was that I be a camp facilitator, boy i was quite wrong. being a relief teacher during the camp then meant that I do not have to use the dirty toilets over at Sarimbun, sleeping in air-conditioned bunks with pillows and most importantlt Polar puffs for tea brought by the principal himself. Teachers are indeed a privileged lot. Spoke to come teachers about certain issues. Basically 2 thoughts summarized:
1) There is no such thing such as equal opportunity for everyone in the education system. Many a time, there is no perfect allocation of resources and when the school actually has a fund to subsidise deserving students for enrichment activities, . So now who defines who are the deserving students? Meritocracy seems to be the answer and this reminds me of a phrase which Mr Kiw said “ 机会是留给做好充分准备的人。”My trip to US back in 2000 did open my horizons and guess I really benefited from the subsidy back then.
2) Always thought that the integrated programmes at TJ and VJ will somehow be more 'superior' to that offered by DHS and they will prob attract the best brains and cause a brain drain in the school. I even asked myself what choice I will make if all the hype about integrated programmes was during my era. The promise to go to an institution with supposedly less rules, more freedom and better track record for A levels? Or is the friendship bonds, CCA and caring teachers that will keep me in DHS? Though DHS has no track record for A levels, it does have an excellent one for Os, and the teachers actiually reasoned out that these colleges do well because they absorb good students from DHS in the first place.
Well, this education system has become so commercialized that there are advertisements outside 158 busstop depicting a group of Vi pupils lying on a patch of green grass with the caption 'The grass is greener on the other side'. One wonders where VJ gets this advertising budget from, somehow i do not see how the money spent on advertising will have a direct impact or value-add a student currently studying in VJ. This is probably how some ministries spend taxpayers' money?

Paved with good intentions

2006-04-14T23:34:00.000+08:00

The Singaporean Plan

Thanks Alex who sent me this link some time back. It did strike a chord in my heart. Thanks Vijay who lent me the book "Tuesdays with Morrie" though it's still with me after 1.5 yrs. You guys did make a difference and prob will help in my decision whether to switch my major.

NYC: The city that pulsates with the beat! Heard many things about New York from people, perhaps I should really spend some time there to soak in the culture?

To all fellow MOE scholars: This article is a good read, remember why we wanted to be teachers in the first place?

Read this article by Colin Goh and Joycelin Wu: Paved with good intentions)

Random Thoughts II

2006-04-08T18:09:00.000+08:00

Random Thoughts II

It's time I plan for my hols! Nothing seems concrete yet. HK trip with colin? Bangkok trip with Weiming and gang?

Just read Xiaxue's blog (yes, i do read her blog sometimes), and going on a cruise seems fun too, I haven been on Virgo though.

All these cant be financed without money and the only 'legal' job that i can do cos of the bond seems to be relief teaching. It's not that I dun enjoy it but guess it's just being me again wanting to try something different and challenging for myself sincE I will end up teaching 4 years later anyway. AnY jobs to offer?

I did not apply to KR for my next year's accomodation. Got accepted into Kuok. A small part of me wants to stay in KR, it's definitely different being a senior compared to a freshie in year 1, have spent these few days cooping up in my room, maybe I should have given myself another chance to interact with people. I do treasure the occasional talks with Zhan Rui and Glen. Guess transferring to another block is not an option for me.

I was also contemplating switching my majors. i seriously do not care how this bromine molecule will add to alkene, or whether that chlorine attack the alkyl halides from backside or forward. I tried to convince myself to liking the subj, but to no avail, seriously it does not affect me in any bit whether phenol is more acidic than alphatic alcohols. I dun foresee myself working in the lab, all i wanted is that I can become a teacher to relate to my students and to make a difference in their lives. I suddenly realised that being a chem/maths teacher in the future may not serve that purpose. I need to have passion in what I teach, and i DUn really find it the science subjs thaT i am doing. Spoke to a senior in hall and Vijay about it, there's no guarantee that I will enjoy geography. Doing an exposure module GE1101 is not a fair gauge of my interest and ability in the subject. Dint do Geo @ A levels, changing to a new faculty and having to fulfil its requirements and getting MOE's permission to switch my majors are all the things that I will need to go through. SEP plans are to be postponed too i guess. By waiting one more sem to ascertain whether I like geo will be bit too late and I dun wanna spend an extra semester in NUS.

Exploring the option of changing my second teachign subj to Geography like what selina did. Perhaps thats the way to go, it will mean taking disgusting linear algebra for nothing, or perhaps its becos of that that I met her. I need to make up my mind soon, in the mean time its time to head back to Organic Chemistry. "Still trying to deceive myself that organic chem rox!"

Random Thoughts

2006-04-08T17:00:00.000+08:00

Random Thoughts

It's been a tiring week. We have realised that there are fundamental differences between us, its really up to to both of us to iron out the differences and to compromise.

I am weary and tired to hear those empty promises, to the extent that I do not even trust what you say sometimes. I may be anal about things u might say, but isn't trust one of the basic must-haves in a relationshIp? I am sick of having any expectations from ya just to be disapointed in time to come.

I do break my promises i made to myself, but i am certain these did not hurt anyone around me. By not embarking on Project Angel, my excuse is not about the long period of time I gonna spend in Cambodia, it's not about my parents disallowing me to go on such a mission, but it's bout a promise I made to a friend, to be the Logistics IC for an event in NUS. This may not be important to you at all, perhaps helping to build a school for the children in Cambodia is more rewarding than to organise some quiz in NUS, but I am just keeping my word.

Enough said, I am willing to give this another chance, I am aware of my flaws and am willing to work on it. It all depends on ya, if u still insist that I cant give u the personal space and freedom that you need, I shall respect your decision. It might just be better for both of us, like wat you say.

On Being 22

2006-03-06T12:42:00.000+08:00

It's time for the quarterly update i suppose. This year's 22nd birthday was indeed a different one from last year. Well perhaps its the after 21 syndrome, after a big party last year, this year was a series of small scaled meet-ups with different groups of friends. Guess it's part of the growing old stage where presents no longer become important and note my wishlist this year was non-existent.

Sadly, to date, I have not received any presents(not including 2 red packets). At this point, do wanna thank my family for being there for the past 1 year, esp my mum who bore the labour pains to give bith to me 22 years ago. Next is my baby who planned all the birthday meetings with my different friends though the elements of surprise was gone. Next is probably people whom i met, peeps who called me / SMS / MSned me on this special day. Special mention to Andrew who called from Melbourne ,Janice who sent me a Santa claus post card from Finland, Eugene who messaged me from UK. Glad to hear that you guys are still alive and kicking ,having fun.

It's also during this day that I realise how many close friends I have lost contact with. I am rather sure that this friend do remember this day, i do not know whether he choose not to remember or simply he has forgotten about it. It kinda saddens me that this friendship has come to such a stage. Perhaps,it just takes more effort on both sides, or perhaps, in my opinion, it takes more than 1 hand to clap.

Life in school is hectic, manage to scrap through my exams last sem, and i better pull up my socks this sem but certain things are just not within my control. Read yuwei's entry and I also heard about it. Indeed life is not about getting good grades or even trying to please others. It's time i reflect upont this to cherish the people around me and derive joy from the little things in life. These will be captured in snapshots in my memories and these are the things that will last, i suppose.

P.s: Hope to blog more often and pen down my thoughts else they will just disappear into thin air. Thanks all for bearing with me all these times. Love ya guys!

Holidays in NUS

2005-12-22T02:33:00.000+08:00

Dear Weixiong

I regret to inform you that you have not met the deadline of 2nd jan 2006 to meet to apply for SEP in YR2 Sem 2 and hence your application is rejected.

Oh well, this seems so real. I remembered having a talk with Debbie and Jan quite some time ago, they as my seniors (just becos they dun serve NS) tell me to treasure the holidays I have in NUS, do all the things you always wanted to do, travel to exotic countries cos one will prob not have the bones and to say climb mountains or go try out bungee jumping anymore (Until now I haven convinced myself that I have the guts to do it)

And that conversation with them sorta triggered my mind to think of how to utilize my 4 yrs worth of hols in NUS( that is if i made it to honours then). So this is what i came out with (in the midst of exam period...)tentatively.

Dec 05: Nothing much planned intially but then am glad I went for the FeiYue volunteer camp. Was indeed quite an experience handling those youths. Will also be heading to Bangkok in January (presents anyone?)

Jun 06: Will most prob take part in Project Angel(an overseas mission trip). Being able to witness the poverty in the country will make me better appreciate the life I have in Sing. (Also be involved in the National JCs economics quiz)

Dec 06: A one week seminar with MOE. Wish to climb Mt. Kinabalu and go snorkelling/ whitewater rafting

Jun 07: Hopefully back from SEP. Deadline to apply is less than 2 weeks time and I still do not know which country to go to. First choice is Europe cos I have been to the States B4. UK universities are limited while English speaking courses in other Unis in Europe are limited too. A 3 week attachment in schools in July.

Dec07:nothing planned yet.

Jun08: It's being a volunteer at Beijing 08 or Work/Travel USA. Guess the latter seems more likely.

Gosh! That seems a lot to accomplish, but then wat's above will serve as a guide so that I dun waste these golden years away ya. BAck to research for SEP universities, and also pray for results on 23rd Dec.

To Love and to be loved

2005-12-17T01:44:00.000+08:00

To Love and to be loved

It's been a long time since i got emotionally attached to a girl. She is indeed special to me in many ways:

It's been a long time since someone can knock so much sense into me. She made me realise that I was living in my own comfort zone all this while, not daring to venture out to look for greener pasteurs. Always uncomfortable to provide a listening ear for fear that the problem will become my own, that it will become exemplified when I use my heart to listen and empathize. I have not gone through the extremeties of emotions which may have led to the large inertia I have to leave this comfort zone. I think I need to feel more with my heart, see more with my eyes and listen with my ears. Please do no hide or mitigate your feelings anymore.

It's been a long time since someone cooked for me. And I think it's the first time someone cooked specially for me. For a moment, I thought I was the most fortunate man on Earth.

To this special girl in my life: together we shall grow to become better persons through this relationship, shed our bad habits and be a blessing to the people around us, may the Lord be our guide. Thank you for stepping into my life and teaching me how to love again.

Midst of exams

2005-11-21T18:17:00.000+08:00

Midst of Exams

A very rare post, came across this flash animation, it's quite cool.Do visit this link.My MSN nick now is -伟雄-惨遭考试的蹂躏，被杀得偏体鳞伤！Enough said, haven felt so lousy in a long long time.

End of Mid-term Break

2005-09-23T09:18:00.000+08:00

End of Mid-term break

This mid-term break has indeed come timely, finally a chance to slow down the pace of things going on around me, the chance for me to re-evaluate the direction in which I am heading in this point in time, or simply the chance to breathe freely once again. Gone were the days in army that were carefree, just head to camp, hang out and talk crap with close buds, awaiting for 1730 hrs everyday seemed to be some sort of motivation everyday. It is indeed an irony that many of us, as an NSF grumble and complain about the lack of freedom we have then, and now reminiscing about the life we had in army Or perhaps I am the only one?

It's definitely crunch time for many of us in NUS, 4 mid-term tests and an essay of 1500 words due next week. However, despite the 'supposedly hectic' timetable I have drawn out for myself, I managed to squeeze time to catch two movies! Namely Eric Khoo's 'Be With Me' and Jackie Chan's 'The myth'.(Yes, i was at the premiere, all thanks to Eugene). I am not that good with movie reviews but shall just add my personal touch to it since you do not need to visit this site if you want to know what the movies are about.

'Be with me' is quite an arty-farty film I should say, if you have not already known, it's a local production rated M18. The only thing I heard prior to watching is that this movie is that there consist of 3 stories interwoven together and one of them depicts the love of 2 lesbians. That was probably one of the untold reasons why my KR OG(and yes, I went for the outing) decided to watch the show? This show had less than 40 dialogues between all the characters of the story added up. The director was effective in using different techniques from the characters' SMSing, a third person narrating typing away on the old fashioned type writer, to deliver the story. There were occasional yawns from the audience throughout the 1 hr 40 min show but strangely enough, no one from the group fell asleep. It was only after the show which we discussed about that some of them actually shed some light pertaining certain issues that were highlighted in the show. I will give it an overall rating of 6 stars out of 10? If you still do not understand what I am trying to say here, do visit this website

The typical Jackie Chan movie, with his signature showcase of dare-devil stunts and exciting fighting scenes, Jackie will play dual roles - one as 3rd century Qin Dynasty general and a modern archaeologist in "The Myth". The story line seemed pretty logical to me at first but as the story slowly unfolded, the last part was totally absurd as you see Jackie Chan and Korean star Kim Hee-sun performing anti-gravity flying stunts(as if they have qing gong or somthing)among numerous ancient Qin warriors floating in mid-air due to some ancient metorite stone in the vicinity. One thing I must mention is the sheer beauty of Kim Hee-sun. Am not a fan of Korean drama but guess she will be my idol of the month or something. Overall rating: 6.5 stars out of 10, I rememebered Jackie Chan's previous show "New Police Story" appealed to me more

Gosh, I spent about 40 mins typing this entry in the central library instead of trying to complete my essay and tutorials. Anyway, just for laughs, I have decided to upload one of my Taiwan photos below, have a great weekend ahead!

Help! Falling Rocks!

Mugging time

2005-09-14T00:43:00.000+08:00

Mugging time

I realised there really isn't this bit of sports genes in me, acting and singing aint my fortre too. Sometimes I look up in the sky, wondering what I am good at?

It's just one of my crappy mood, once again, I will be alright, perhaps the question of self-worth will keep popping up once in a while. Thanks all for being there. It's time to mug soon...

Friday is my free day

2005-09-10T04:10:00.000+08:00

I shall declare that Friday is my free day! Realised that my "Understanding the Universe" lecture is an utter waste of time, and this has been verified by Waty, my JC classmate and senior in NUS who has kindly offered to give me her notes for this module.

And, so this morning joined Meng, Vin and Gene for KTV @ Suntec City and goSh! Eugene managed to sing quite a number of mandarin songs and he sang pretty well too with his 'Unchained Melody' vocals. We are so gonna miss him when he goes to Imperial on 1st Oct. I feel he's the most steadfast fren among the group, always dependable, just a phonecall away. Always the provides the most logical advice among the six of us. That's goona leave only Nest, me, Meng and Vin in Singapore.

I went for tuition this afternoon at Wo Lui's house. I think I am getting a bit impatient with Jon, hm, to me sometimes he does not seem to pay attention to what i am saying. But from another perspective perhaps, what I am saying he may have heard it upteen times. He seems to have too much tuition outside excluding mine so pple have been nagging at him for the same reasons. He is improving, I can feel it, but then it;s not fast enough. Perhaps my teaching methods aint right, I rem my previous tuition kid's brother I was teaching, he dint seem to improve much too. But hey my sec4 kids did well for their prelims! from 36 pts to 72 pts over 100, thanks to their wonderful tutor!

Dinner was at Asia Pacific breweries. Thanks to Andrea's friend who won a lucky draw, a group of four of us, plus the whole big group of peeps from NTU hall 7. Met some familiar faces and Sam loy was one of them. There was free flow of food and of course beer which included Tiger, HeineKen, Erdinger, Barons etc. Played games like INdian poker, a pathetic game of pool which we lost and had to drink as a result. Pretty much uneventful but still a place with nice ambience, great beer?

Back to KR, and my block, prob to celebrate ourselves being the Champions of IBG, decide to have a drinking session so I just brought the vodka which i have brought form home up. I dun dare to drink much cos the beer earlier, but then the rest were drinking away with whiskey, Baileys and others unidentified. I was rather surprised when I realised some of my female seniors actually smoke. Well perhaps they are just social smokers, I rem previously I was also offered a cigarette over at Jensen's birthday party, glad I dint accept it. Just in awe to know so many of the people around me actually smoke.

Help! I got an 1500word history essay due in two weeks time, but guess wat, I am actually looking forward to doing it, though time consuming, i believe it will bring tremendous satisfaction. OK, not making sense already from all that alcohol, got my 2nd French lesson later in the afternoon. Au revoir.

2005-09-02T20:43:00.000+08:00

Yeah, I know my posts have been sparse. Too many things have happened recently and often I thought i have something significant to update, something else has already happened. Thanks for the comments for my previous posts from anonymous, realli appreciate them, will definitely bear that in mind.

Carmen actually messaged me a Happy TEacher's day MMS, which includes one of the my pictures playing the suona in sec 4? Well, it goes something like this: "ohmygod, u lool fat, thanks for all the guidanceand help u've given me.." oh Well, i was not born thin, perhaps the PE and RT training back in Vj helped. Will need to maintain a certain level of fitness for IPPT, which brings me to the point that i ran for road race for KR today. It wasnt a superb run, the central library slope nearly killed me, but then my block won overall champions anyway. One of the guys clocked 7 mins * sec for 2.2km, breaking the KR record. Next was volleyball training for the match today which we won and which i played less than 30 mins, well they had better seniors around to play. But dint realli had the experience to play in a competitive Vball match b4 and the atmosphere was indeed tense.

For hall life, currently has taken part in Frisbee, Vball, road race. Colin/ Yuwei actually commented that they saw me around twice in two weeks which probably qualifies me as a phantom of KR. But oh well, guess that does not bother me anymore. Came to terms that I will only do things that I enjoy doing in hall,wont do dumb/ useless things just to get the points required to stay in hall next yr. Dint make the cut for hall acapella, wont dare to say I have the sports genes to make it for inter hall games next sem, prob will have to join some committees to stay on, shall see how? Besides hall stuff, currently i am a member of the NUSSU Bizcom where we organise, market and get sponsors for NUSSU events. Good chance for me to learn something new like marketing which i dun realli have the chance of doing in NUS. Weining also requested that I be part of the committee for the 2006 inter JC economics quiz, which automatically qualifies me as a Econs Soc member. Yah, I know that Ishould be more involved in hall rather then outside activitiis, but then seems like the projects that KR is doing now more or less involve in KR bash and the hall production.

Enough of coms, I sometimes think to myself that I shud realli try to pick up a sport or smth, to keep fit and learn a new skill. Also considering some volunteering organisations like NVAC or the rotaracts who be heading to Cambodia next year. I believe going on such mission trips will shed a different light on me, making me appreciate the many things i have taken for granted. Tennis, karate or VBall( For IHG) are prob games that I might consider?

Some good news:MOE increased my scholarship allowance according to PSC guidelines! Hm, came at a right time , we'll get more subsidy and Laptop allowance. Hm, and finally announcing that i can use the extra money to pay for my french classes, which is supposedly to start this Sat! Kinda excited and hopefully when i Go for exchange: UK ( Imperial College) or University of California Berkeley, then my French will be put to good use if I were to tour Europe two yrs later.

Work has been piling up recently, Being a chem majorAm still coping ok with my chem modules though lab work absolutely aint my cup of tea, being a chem major but then my Linear Algebra is really killing me, someone even teared during the tutorial when she dint understand a thing. I thought I was in the same plight as her.

Still trying to strike the balance betw my family, social life and hall life. This equilibrium, if not kept in check, will prob bring many regrets and remorses in the future.It really is high time to consider what I realli want from my 4 yrs of undergrad studies here in NUS( ranked 18th in the world)(yeah right?!)
Hope everyone is doing well now, those busy with Exams, coping in hall life, struggling in army, aint coping well studies, remember, i am just a phone call away.

Thoughts from KR

2005-08-06T01:49:00.000+08:00

Thoughts from KR

Finally, my first entry from my own room in campus (Kent Ridge Hall)> I actually moved in on 25th July, the day which orientation started, and finally today marks the final day of Orientation, which is also the annual NUS Rag day where all halls and faculties compete with one another with their completed floats.

I wont dare to say I have been very active in hall, maybe i attended about 50 percent of the activites, also kanna labelled by some of the seniors as buay on, but then I have my own reasons for not attending. Tuition on Wed, matric fair, TSPC ..

Activities that I may/ want/ have to be involved in:

1) Jonathan Lui (Wo Lui's only son) tuition twice a week on wed 8-10 pm, sunday 2-4 pm. He is primary 5 this year and apparently he is quite weak in his foundations for eng/ maths / science. I have this onus to make him improve and at least he is showing some glimpse of light. However, i need to travel to Woodlands which is like damn far from campus, so travelling time needs to be considered.

2) Sec4 n level maths-Once a week, date always not confirmed. I have been wih this group for about 2 mths, Hafiz, Ivan and Khaimun will be taking their N levels this coming Oct so intensive training needs to be given. They are slowly becoming more proficient and I am quite comfortable teaching them.

3) Sec 3 A maths- Every Sunday This is a new kid which Simon gave to me, who stays near Simon (Peiyi's uncle). My first lesson with him will be this Sunday and i guess i may need to polish my maths b4 going to teach him.

4) French Lessons @ Alliance Francaise- Should be signing up for French lessons this coming saturday with Alex and probably Janice? 244 Dollars and every lesson gonna be 3 hrs for 8 weeks, shud be Saturday 9am-12pm.

5) Hall Activities: Still unsure but i am looking at Inspire ( some original song writing society in KR). I dunoe how i can contribute also, and i have no background in composing, and my singing also cannot make it. Hm, hoping to learn the guitar and maybe dizi, brush up on singing? Also looking at Inter block games like Volleyball or Frisbee which I prob can play and represent the block? Well, if i intend to stay in hall for one more yr, guess I prolly have to join other ad-hoc committees..

6) University Level CCAs- Currently looking at NUSSU Biz Com, they are the marketing arm for all NUSSU activities. Role includes to market the various events organized by student club and societies to commerical and external parties, thereby garnering sponsorship for such events. And supposedly by doing that will increase the portfolio of each of our members, to improve upon their networking and business contacts

7) Edu-tours- This has somewhat come to a stand still and guess its time for Daemon, Alex and I to sit down once again to get our priorities right

8_ Acadamic Stuff- Taking 5 Mods this sem, namely Inorganic Chem, Principles Of Modern Chem, Linear Algebra 1, Understanding the Universe and Evolution of a Global City State. Yup I know it doesn;t sound exactly interesting but who asks me to be a Chemistry major. Well, studies are also impt, and my brain is probably very rusty right now, and things like integration by parts sound so alien to me...

I havent really had time for myself to sit down to think about things and my mind seems to be whirling. I guess I have to get my priorities right before sch term starts which happens next week. Well, somehow I know that i am not alone, many people are facing the same kind of dilemma as me, I need enlightenment. It's time to meditate... but not when I be helping out later at 3am for our KR Float... Gosh, wont be sleeping tonight

2005-08-02T20:45:00.000+08:00

Accurate?

Your Birthdate: March 2

Your birth on the 2nd day of the month adds a degree of emotion, sensitivity, and intuition to your life.

The 2 is a very social number allowing you to make friends easily and quickly.

Yet you are apt to have a rather nervous air in the company of a large group.

You have a warmhearted nature and emotional understanding that constantly seeks affection.

You are more prone than most to become depressed and moody, as emotions can turn inward and cause anxiety and mental turmoil.

It can be hard for you to bounce back to reality when depression sets in.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Sorry to disappoint

2005-07-31T00:52:00.000+08:00

Sorry to disappoint

Sorry, I am not posting pictures of my Taiwan trip, nor talking about OBS camp. I am just back from the first week to hall orientation, I got Kent Ridge Hall after a few grueling days of appeal. I have this sudden thought that perhaps it was a wrong decision after all. Sorry Alex, else we may be stayin in the same hall now. Still tryng to come to terms with many things in my life right now, mind is kinda spinning, not been sleeping enough,my mind is spinning with many questions and hopefully I will have answers for them by the end of next week...

Taiwan in less than 24 hrs

2005-07-06T00:53:00.000+08:00

Taiwan in less than 24 hrs

Hey guys, I be in Taiwan in less than 24 hrs time, kinda excited about the whole trip. Be a refreshing break for me b4 my supposedly hectic study life?? Still doing some last min. packing now. Hm, I gonna thank XinJuan for her deuter bag, else I wont have a bag suitable for this trip.

K, this trip was initially conceived back in sec 2, when the six of us (Meng, Geno, Nest, Vin, Drew and Me) decided to visit Drew at his Taiwan hometown when we had the time and money. Fast forward to 7 yrs later, only I will be joining Drew for this Taiwan trip. Nest is not joining us cos he's going Cambodia, Meng got his driving test to pass, Vin has been to taiwan recently, and Geno is not going simply cos the rest is not going. So the pple going include Junlong, Chio, Tze Jin, Kim Seng , Drew and me. Quite a weird combi I shud think.

Hm, I should be visiting some cyber cafe to check mails, etc waiting for the hostel results from NUS. So anyone with last min. requests that they want me to get from Taiwan can prob leave some comments or tag and hopefully I see it, I will try my very best to get what you want. For those who already have requests, you can consider tagging to remind me. I have a poor memory ya (Guess wat! I dun even know my flight number tomorrow). Shall be back on the 13th (which happens to my sis's birthday), take care peeps!

Question of the day:
1) Anyone know which is the chinese pop group that sang 蔡依林's 天空？

To My Dad

2005-06-22T23:30:00.000+08:00

To My Dad

Starting to see the light of things..

It is your birthday today and I have not even spoken to you for the entire day and with 3omins left,i seriously doubt I will have the chance to talk to you on your 50th birthday. It was supposed to be a birthday lunch celebration at Paris Restaurant @ Marina Square but you had to be at a polyclinic for your medical check up. You could have joined us if you woke up early and went for the checkup early.

Now, I could have accompanied you to go to the check up? Never in my 21 yrs of life have I accompanied you for any med check up. I do not remember what was the last present I gave you during father's day, just because your birthday is so near this day on the calendar.

My Dad and I didn't have much to talk about. He was not the kind to ask how your day was as a child, not the kind who played with me or bought me toys. He will just sit in the corner of the living room smoking his Camel, oblivious of the harmful effects of second-hand smoke to the people around him. The kind of father that occasionally brings home the bread, the many yrs of hard work have indeed taken its toil on him exemplified by his balding head and loosening pants.

He will not have another 50 yrs to live and this thought kind of scares me. Perhaps its due time that I change my attitude towards him, not saying I totally disregarded him but to really show my sincerest care and concern. This may sound cliche but I guess action will speak louder than words. To Pa, Happy Fiftieth Birthday!

Contemplating...

2005-06-21T00:14:00.000+08:00

Contemplating

Still contemplating over certain issues for my university. Got to decide by 30th June which essentially means that I have slightly more than 1 week to make the decision. Here goes:

1) Language Preparation Programme for Student Exchange Programme (SEP). Yes! I want to go France for my SEP, i wont dare to say I know many things about the country but there is definitely something about the language and the culture that attracts me. Experience the Parisian's way of life in those cafes, the Eiffel Tower glistening in the distance. Hey, I also be able to visit neighbouring countries, UK to visit Eugene (time to do a who's who page, so that people will know whom I refer to in my rantings), Barcelona, London, Milan, Rome, Vienna, Stockholm, Zurich are all cities that I really want to visit.I even wish Paris will be able to win the Olympic 2012 bid. So if i am to be involved in this programme, i will need to take 4 french modules and I will be able to speak basic French for my exchange.
However, language modules in NUS are heavy and often time-consuming, it's goona take a lot of effort on my part to try to master the lang in a short span of 4 sems. Think how long you have taken to write and speak English fluently. I also cannot allow these modules to pull down my cap score which I will need to maintain at a certain level. Taking French classes outside @ Alliance Francaise is an alternative but of course it will be a financial liability. Sigh, still contemplating... Meanwhile, any khakis?

2) Yet to apply for my Hostel in NUS. Waiting for Alex to see whether he'll be able to switch to NUS in the first place then there will be the possibilty of bunking together. Double room rates will be more affordable, but only thing is that Kent Ridge does not have double rooms and there has been an agreement with Yuwei, Mingfeng, Ah Chio to stay @ Kent Ridge. I wont be able to choose my room mate @ NUS too, unless we pull string which will be possible at Eusoff since my cousin is there and she offered to help. No doubt there will be inconveniences with a roomate around, but both of us should be quite accomodable to each other's habits. So now, the decision lies: Kent Ridge Hall Vs Eusoff Hall?

Will be going to HSA (Health Science Authority) to donate blood along with Calvin tmr. Hey I have been a regular blood donor since JC2 and i hereby urge all people who fit the criteria ( must be at least 16, no illnesses, no unsafe sex blah blah) to go try donting blood. It's a good deed afterall and you get to save three lives as your blood gets separated into three portions. For more info on how you can save lives and be a blood donor, pls visit HSA website.

会有那么一天

2005-06-17T00:46:00.000+08:00

会有那么一天

一九四三世界大战阿嬷年轻的时候
爷爷爱他那么多他们感情很深但是爷爷
身负重任就在离乡的那夜给了阿嬷一个吻
轻声说到我要离去别再哭泣不要伤心
请你相信我要等待我的爱陪你永不离开
因为会有那么一天我们牵着手在草原
听鸟儿歌唱的声音听我说声我爱你
夕阳西下鸟儿回家阿嬷躺在病床上
呼吸有一点散漫眼神却很温柔看着爷爷
湿透的眼握着他粗糙的手阿嬷的泪水开始流轻声说道

Farms visiting in Singapore

2005-06-14T00:00:00.000+08:00

Farm Visiting

Oh ya! Thats wat the three of us ( Me, Alex and Daemon) did on a Saturday morning. We set off from Bukit Panjang interchange and our first destination was Hay Dairies farm. This is the only goats' farm we have in Singapore and is located at Lim Chu Kang (very ulu part of Northwestern Singapore). Went through the guided tour, saw first hand the milking of the goats but too bad we dint have the hands-on experience. Dun think dirty, i mean it'll be interesting to milk a goat ya?

Milking of Goats

That's what i call a goatee

Next interesting stop was at a frog's farm, but that was after about 1.5 hours of walking under the scorching heat. When we wanted to pop by a farm, there were dogs guarding it, and they even chased us until we are like at least 50 metres away from the farm! We were in fact quite loss in that area until we see this frog farm in the distance. It happens to be the largest frog leg suppiler in Singapore and we really see plenty of tadpoles and frogs there, of course with their distinctive croaks.
What was interesting is that they actually have like separate portions for the mating frogs so i managed to take this picture.

Three frogs trying to mate...

Ok, just some of the highlights of the farm visits.Yup, got pretty interested in agriculture in Singapore after my teaching stint. Interesting fact is that agriculture in Singapore takes up less than 1 percent of GDP, and that the land used for agriculture may eventually have to give way to commercial and industrial activities which are believed to be more viable, more beneficial to Singapore's economy. So you may ask, what the heck are three guys visiting all these farms on a Saturday? Well, a business plan is conceived and slowly brewing...

Well-Deserved Break!

2005-06-08T00:24:00.000+08:00

Well-Deserved Break!

Still kinda enjoying my break till now. Days when I do not have to set my alarm clocks at unheavenly time of 0530hrs to be punctual for work. When was the last time I had such a break? I remembered back in 2002, I only had exactly one month of hols after my last A level paper. Enlisted on 271202 and I actually served 4yrs of NS (2002-2005). Ha! After that it was At IE Singapore and then relief teaching. I guess this will be a well-deserved break to rest my body and soul. This period of time will be a great opportunity for me to meet up with friends I lost contact with, reflect on my 21st yrs of life or just simply laze around, watching the world pass by. This can be a luxury too!

However, somehow , my finances seem to be rather tight, obviously for the reason that I am unemployed now and probably saving up for my trip to Taiwan. Yes! The dates have been confirmed 6/7-13/7 and am rather excited to actually sit down with the rest to plan the itinery. So, I am actually still on a lookout for temp jobs( those one week assignments or few days road shows kind) to tide over this mini crisis I have. Quite a paradox over here.

Oh ya, and i do appreciate people to leave their footprints behind after they have read, be it in the tagbox or comments, so that I know that you are reading this. Somehow i feel more motovated to write more entries? K , that's all for now, people who are also leading the same kind of life as me can drop me a message or call to meet up. I am free...

2005-06-04T03:06:00.000+08:00

Something that makes me smile!

Relief Teaching Stint

2005-06-04T00:55:00.000+08:00

Relief Teaching

Three weeks of relief teaching- An overall great learning experience! On the first day, filled with trepidation and excitement as I stepped into the grounds of Dunman, I was greeted with the familiar scene- students donned in white tops with the distinctive metal buttons with blue bottoms. Being the traditional Chinese Medium Sch- they spoke the pledge in Mandarin- which I hardly can remember! Some highlights:

Most humiliating thing that happened- I stepped into the wrong classroom for my first lesson! Well, its not my fault as there was a switch in classrooms betw 1E and 2E since there was a student who sprained his leg. Well I was quite embarassed by the whole situation that I dint really looked at the expressions of the people.

Most helpful teachers- Well many of them qualify, includes Ms Tang, Ms Pear and Mrs Bok. Without them and their valuable resources, I will not be able to deliver my Geo lessons seamlessly. Consider what the sec 3 Geo Elective students actually go very much into detail on human topics like agriculture( I really thought they could be farmers next time, seriously). Special mention to Ms Ling, again who got me this relief teaching job.

Most 'Helpful' Friends- Ernest and Calvin who popped by my geo lesson, standing outside the classroom, distracting and signalling me to give the students a smoking break~ as if they are in the army.

Most quotable quotes from former teachers-
MR Kiw ," 喔，长得一表人才"
Mrs Shu, " You finished NS? Doesn't seem like..."

Other relief teachers-
Senny who came for one day and concluding that teaching is definitely for her.
Tsz Shan who came for two days teaching bicultural studies

Greatest Fear- Stepping into my English class, and delivering a lesson on punctuation that lasted two periods. According to the lesson plan, i was supposed ot teach "The effective use of commas in essay writing" and "Use of punctuation marks to enhance writing". For a moment, I thought I was wasting their time but i was quite proud that I found a good example on importance of punctuation:

A panda walks into a café, sits down, and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, draws a gun, and shoots the waiter. As the panda stands up and heads towards the exit, the manager shouts, "Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter, and you didn't even pay for your sandwich!"

The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. "Hey, man, I'm a PANDA!" the panda shouts back. "Look it up!"

The manager turns to the relevant entry and reads:

Panda: A tree-dwelling bear-like mammal of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white coloring. Eats, shoots and leaves.

Greatest Motivation- This came on the third day of my teaching when students from three different classes actually commented that I taught better than the previous teacher. Being inexperienced and untrained, this was definitely the greatest motivation and force that decide whether I take up the teaching scholarship.

During my three weeks stint, I had many opportunities to talk to the teachers there. In fact, I learnt that Dunman will be moving to the old RJC campus in end 2006 and the Tanjong Rhu campus will be torn down for rebuilding. More facilities will be required to cater for the Intergrated Programme (DHP), meaning there will be students taking the A levels. Well this explains the photo of 正心园 which I have taken, for remembrance sake. Ok the point is that the school may not have enough funds for the new campus, since MOE will not be paying 100% of the reconstruction costs, the school will need to raise funds and being an ex-student, I was conveniently handed a donation card. So now I hereby appeal to all ex-Dunmanians, kindly approach me if you are interested to make any donations. Of course, non-Dunmanians are welcome to donate too

And if there isn't a valid enough reason, here's another one. With the emergence of the various integrated programmes, eg from NJC, VJC and TJC, to put it simply, Dunman is facing a brain drain. Many of the outstanding secondary 2 students are choosing to leave Dunman, for the perceived greener pasteurs. Well of course, it's their choice to leave but quote 'we have nurtured and trained these students and now they are choosing to leave the sch'. This brain drain will have an adverse long term impact as the O levels results of the school will be affected, the worst case scenario being Dunman High becoming a sub-standard school with mediocre results. The donations from this drive will enable the sch to build better facilities and hopefully attract and retain students to compete with say the Raffles and Hwa Chong Family schools. I know that and many of you out that know that we are no way inferior to them, and to be the best that we can be (sounds so much like ACS school motto)

Well, you may think this whole education system is becoming so commercialised. Yes, indeed. We have schools advertising right outside the 158 and 30 bustop, inviting students to join the integrated programmes(IP). We even have Tv Mobile advertisements ,running for 1 min, advertising the IPs and on their open houses. One may wonder where all these schools actually get the money to run the advertisements. you mean they actually have budgets for marketing and publicity? Think of the opportunity costs when these schools pour hefty amounts on these ads. Shouldn't all these money be spent on developing better programmes and activities that benefit the students directly? They are in fact doing injustice to tax payers. Also, this money does not seem well spent since it does not go inline with the mission of the Education service which" Mould the future of the nation, by moulding the people who will determine the future of the nation"

2005-06-04T00:43:00.000+08:00

View taken from ZhengXin Yuan

A nEw Look!

2005-06-01T02:06:00.000+08:00

A nEw Look!

Hey, I'm finally back with a new design. 5 week since i last updated any entry, to those loyal readers (as if i have), this wait is definitely worthwhile. I hereby promise that from now the entries will be more frequent since i am like unemployed after my stint at DHS and IE Singapore. I haven't enabled my comments though and also some alignment problems with my tag box. Somehow i need to look for another source of income, preferably those 1week/ 2 weeks asignments. Any jobs, anyone? Stay tuned for more updates!

2005-06-01T01:51:00.000+08:00

Ernest's 21st Birthday..2H reunited

I am a quitter

2005-04-23T14:32:00.000+08:00

I Quit!

Went for small arms platoon dinner @ TAste of Thailand at Sembawang Shopping Centre. Was late along with Lionel and Selest. Dinner was Pineapple rice, prawns and a few bits of Kang Kung. Enough said, who asked you to be late in the first place? Haven't seen the guys for quite a while. The feeling was still great despite some unfamiliar faces, but there was just something missing, as though you do not really belong to this family anymore. Only managed to catch up with some of them, like Yuan Cheng to see how they are doing.

Three more days to D-day and I would say this day is being over-rated. Or is cos I have been clearing my leave for the past two mths? It was indeed a growing and maturing experience for me, by meeting people from all walks of life and also providing a glimpse of the working life that lies ahead of me. Perhaps I was one of the more fortunate ones, being highly myopic did not allow me to be fully deployable and my NS life turned out to be as though i was doing a 8-5 job. Throughout these 2+ yrs, I was constantly seeking some kind of motivation else I thought i will be a walking zombie in camp, just existing instead of living.

Back in JC. i yearned to know how to play a guitar and bought one without giving a second thought. After a few weeks of meddling with the strings, i lost interest and it ended up in the corner of my room, collecting dust.I quit. 3 yrs down the road, the guitar aint there anymore, I really wonder where it is now...? (hinting someone who borrowed to return, you knoe who you r)

I also have attempted network marketing, something which promised big bucks with hard work. True enough, I realised I did not have what it takes , and I guessed there were other issues which prevented me from continuing. I quit.

Seeking to find another source of motivation in my life, ACCA was next. I thought having a background in accounting will give me an edge over the others and I signed up for it. Without attempting even one paper, I quit, giving excuses to myself that accounting aint for me and that I did not have time to prepare for the paper. I quit.

Asked to become Unit Anniversary's secretary and i thought to myself why not since it's gonna be my last assignment. Yes, I guess i did not stick to it in the end, I could have,but somehow there was this miscommunication/ lack of communication betw the vice-chair and me and of course they have this more capable secretary helping him. I thought to myself "the Earth will not stop spinning without u anyway"

The most present one must be GTS 05( Global Trader Summit)on the 26th and 27th May. Somehow I was supposed to coordinate the registrations for this event but this relief teaching offer came and i grabbed it. In their eyes, I am just a temp staff and the new things I can learn from this job are diminishing. I quit once again.

Perhaps this is a character flaw of mine or perhaps it's just external factors that somehow influence me to quit these several occasion occasions. Anyone care to enlighten?

Good News!

2005-04-09T13:52:00.000+08:00

GoOd nEws!

Time has elapsed and I am back with this entry. So many significant events have occurred during this period of time. I am aware that there are people out there who are concerned or 'kaypoh' with wat's happening to my life, or visit this site once in a while for bed-time reading, sorry to disappoint sometimes cos this is not going to be written to satifsy public wants.

Yesterday was quite a day for me. After half a day of work, went to K box with Chio, Boy, Ming feng and Jiwei. Quite an enjoyable karaoke session i say then off to Toa Payoh Safra where we had a game of tennis. Last time i played tennis was like back in VJ, so took some time to actually be able to hit *proper strokes. (* proper as in they dun fly up high and over the fence?) Next was a meal at LJS when boy chio and I were reminiscing about the times we played in chuida. Then came the thought of performing again in the ensemble,so how about a chuida concert? We'll gather all interested personnel, practise and we can relive the days performing on stage. Yeah, then came all the admin problems that we'll prob face to organise a concert like that: venue, instruments and shicheng which I should not attempt to elaborate here.Standing in Mr TTK's shoes, it'll defintely be a disappointment to see a group of us wanting to play for Dunman and not shicheng. I suppose more details will be out later when our nominated ( by three of us) chairman comes back from HK... Ha Ha!
Next was watching the movie "The Pacifier" which I think Vin Diesel did a good job playing the role of the nanny with the Plummers.

Good News! Ms Ling called again and offered me to relief teaching at Dunman for three weeks b4 June holidays which I gladly accepted. Relief teaching, besides paying well, gives me a golden opportunity to experience teaching in front of a class. Of course, I don't deny that there is this inherent fear that my legs will just go soft or I will go dumb in front of a class but this is a chance i will not let it slip by. By the way, I am supposed to teach Sec 3 Geography, a subject which I did not do at A levels. I am glad that she trust me with the job and I sincerely hope that I can live up to her standards and expectations.

Good News to share with everyone:
1) I am planning to go to Taiwan in July this year hosted by Andrew. $300 on air tix and accomodation provided for! What more can i expect? Just hoping that some of us can change our minds to go there instead of staying in Singapore.
2) My understudy Seb got into NUS! yeAh he called just now and he was so glad. It is really hard for a dip holder in Sing to make it into local U. They always are so biased towards JC students.
3) I will get my last NS pay today, meaning my ORD date is in sight and that also means a lost of income (OMG!)
4) I went to the canon training course last week and finally got more proficient in using my powershot A95.K, i know I am not good with this kind of thing...
5) Got a new tuition kid who happens to be WO Lui's son. Expectations are high so I better make sure he performs.
6) A new blog design is supposed to be up so stay tuned. ( I have this habit of promising things so that I will get my hands started to do it)

A major Revamp

2005-03-27T16:37:00.000+08:00

a mAjOr rEvAmP?

Yes! I know this page needs a revamp. Goodness gracious, my wish list and my countdown timer are still around...These days, cant be bothered to do many things ,my room and table are still in a mess! By saying that this page needs a revamp, guess i will have no choice but to spend some time here.

I havent have the time to explore my camera too. I mean the canon powershot A95 has so many functions and being the not so IT-savy person, I am like wasting this $600 camera. Going for the free Canon camera training this coming Sat,hope after that, I'll be able to put it into good use.

In the mean time, hope to see a new template for my site soon...

wHo mOveD mY cHeEsE?

2005-03-20T21:46:00.000+08:00

wHo mOveD mY cHeEsE?

Newton's law of inertia states that " The larger the mass of the object, the larger the reluctance for the object to change its state of motion or rest." I guess this applies to me too. Dr Spencer Johnson's "Who Moved My Cheese" was awakening call for me when I read it like 4 years ago. I've been living in my comfort zone for too long that i no longer have to courage to venture out into the unknown. My resistance to changes has cost me dearly.

I always thought I ought to make a magic marble for myself- a claymarble that is. A marble that I seek comfort in. It did not dawn on me that the magic is only in the making of the marble and when you throw the claymarble into a pond, there will just be a tiny splash, a few ripples and it's gone...

Setting Goals in my life

2005-03-13T00:44:00.000+08:00

sImPle tAsKs

It's more than 1 week after my birthday and of course i cant live in that moment forever. For those who know,I will be rather busy the coming 2 mths till end of May. Will also be looking forward to the Taiwan Trip in July. He has promised to host us, hope that I have enough spare cash to enjoy myself then b4 school term starts.

Certain things that I need to do in this span of 2 weeks (starting from the easiest)
1) Send the warranty card for my new camera and handphone(It's long overdue)
2) Settle both my dental and medical FFI on 14/3/05( cos I cant spare another day to go down camp)
3) Help vin get his Mizuno shoes from E-mart, in the same time use up the emart credits
4) Stop being a bugger and clear up your camp locker for the convenience of others.
5) COnfirm attendance for my fren's birthday party on 19/3 for my classmates. His Gf has been bugging me and I am supposed to coordinate it.
6) Take a decent photo of myself and send the OAM forms to NUS for matriculation purposes.
7) Try to salvage a friendship. Honestly I do not know where to start, just that I have stopped being a celestial being? OK, that's not the point.

6 Simple tasks and I am not gettng off my butt to do anything yet. The 7th one is a bit hard though. It takes more than 1 hand to clap

2005-03-12T12:35:00.000+08:00

More Pics of the birthday party

2005-03-08T02:10:00.000+08:00

My family: Pa, Mi, Jie and Me

Being 21

2005-03-08T00:22:00.001+08:00

bEiNg 21

Gosh, I seem to have some problems posting more than one picture on this blog, am using Hello now, not sure whether that is the cause of the problem. Till this problem is solved, guess I cant really publish more than 1 pic online. Am using Hello cos am too impatient to upload pictures onto an online server.

The Chalet was great! Hope all of you who attended it had fun. Now, I will like to take this opportunity to show my most sincere gratitude to all who made this chalet possible ( meaning all who attended) and of course for the generous Ang Pows and presents I have received. Many many thanks to

1) Ma who sponsored the chalet and food which amounted to around $800 (she demanded a share of the Ang Pows after that)
2) Pa who fried the chicken wings and squids( for fear that there wasn;t enough food for like 60plus pple)
3) Jie and Benson who got me the Canon Powershot A95( It's ex but you will also get to use it ma)
4) all my relatives and others who gave Ang Pows( you helped my Mum recoup some of the costs)
5) Vijay (the food IC not the present IC...What happened to my present IC?) who coordinated about 30 plus people from camp to share for my Nokia 6260( Loved that phone, Samsung Sucks, still exploring the functions)
6) Sebastian yang( my understudy) who got me a Jay Chou 无与伦比 live VCD (though I got the live CD le)
7) Peiyi, Yuwei, Joel, Desmond, Mel C, Zhiren for getting the crumpler Laptop bAg( though I haven't gotten my laptop yet, sorry for burning a hole in your pocket)
8) 01S48( Stef, Eng Meng, Kenvia, Lex, Kevin, Jason, Chun Li, Jac) Thanks for the Crumpler vouchers, the camera bag for my A95 and the 2 watermelons( Yup I realised the significance of the fruits after my hangover)
9) Tsz Shan for the fossil watch and bible( Promise I will go read it..)
10) Sebastian, Ivan and Haojie for the Levis T-shirt and book( Been long since we met up, great to be still in contact)
11) Yanhan for coming (though the gang of Adel, HuiShi(thank for the message) and Cheryl aint in SG plus u got test the next day, nice shirt too!)
12) Yubin ( my cousin) for the Davidoff fragrance
13) Vin, Na, Gene, Ming for sponsoring the alcohol (though it is atill not enough, special mention to Gene who brought Gin which my camp mates finished the next day)
14) Andrew for calling from Australia on that night( Sorry dint get to talk long cos I had to entertain people)
15) SSG Koh, MSG Lee, Cpt Darren and CPt DOn to come despite their bust scehdules
16) Debbie who gave me my first present when she came back from Hk some time back
17) Senny who offered to fry some bee hoon when i told her I may not have enough food
18) Tammy, June and XiuHua Jie( Ma's ex colleagues) for sponsoring the 3Kg MAngo Cake from JAck's Place)
19) Quincy for bringing the Absolute Mandarin on the 2nd night which was emptied coincidenatlly by my camp mates on the 2nd night
20) Colin for taking his video cam down ( I haven seen what you have filmed)
21) Neil for the shirt( U came though u have exams the next day!!
22) Miaorong for the small cute thing( Sorry if i only invited u last min, we've known each other for 16 years)
23) Grace for attending the party( Did you have a share in the bible? OOps)
24) Alex for offering his friend's membership card for me to rent the place at a lower price
25) Weiqi for being my first guest at the chalet who gave me a Parker pen
Such a long list, I had better not left out anyone here, sorry to all those who felt left out cos I really had not much time with all the pple there. I was a bit high on alcohol(or izzit drunk), was speaking louder than normal that night. It was the first time I puked after drinking that night too.

The intial hassle of organising the chalet, was definitely worth it as that was the day that all my relatives and friends from different stages of life all come together to celebrate the occasion. Friends that have accompanied me through my darkest moments and my brightest days. Thank you for being there all these while.

Being 21 marks the first step into adulthood, marks the end of my army life and into University life. Yup, it's just another day on the calendar you may think, having a chalet may seem so commercialised, well I guess it still made this day one of the most memorable in my life! Your presence definitely made a difference!

pRePaRaTiOnS fOr tHe bIg dAy

2005-03-07T13:28:00.000+08:00

pRePaRaTiOnS fOr tHe bIg dAy

Some of you may have already known, I was comtemplating between going overseas for a holiday or organising a party for my twenty-first birthday. Hong Kong or Taiwan was my preferred destinations, sadly, there weren't people available for a getaway in the first week of March. Moreover, I only informed them like one week b4, hence I settled with the idea of having a chalet.

Location wise, I was quite keen on booking Aranda COuntry Club for being spacious and its location. I wanted my guests to enjoy themselves and feel comfortable. The only drawback was the pricing of the chalet, it definitely ain't cheap for booking a suite on weekends where supposedly most people will be able to attend.
Secondly, it was the guest list, this party was for my close friends and acquaintances from different stages from my life to attend. Family and relatives cannot be neglected. Out came a guest list of almost 70 people. Oh my Gosh!
I did a lot of research on catering and buffet menus, spending almost one whole day calling these caterers, asking them to e mail me their menus and details, only to come across this small line on the Aranda web site" No outside caterers are allowed". That leaves me no choice but to cater for 50 people at a whooping $12 per head!

Friends like Senny, Calvin, Sebastian, Gene, Nest offered to help at the chalet and Two of my closest camp mates volunteered their services (or did I assign them?) as Present IC to coordinate efforts to get a present and a food IC to source for food caterers. Three of my mum's ex colleagues also offered to sponsor the cake. Everything seemed to be in full steam in preparation for the big day...

2005-03-06T01:56:00.000+08:00

My Twenty-first Birthday Cake, nice huh?

rAy cHaRlEs

2005-02-27T00:58:00.000+08:00

rAy cHaRLeS

Ray is the never-before-told, musical biographical drama of American legend Ray Charles. Featuring a remarkable performance from Jamie Foxx in the central role, Ray follows the inspiring story of a one-of-a-kind genius.

Born in a poor town in Georgia, Ray Charles went blind at the age of seven shortly after witnessing his younger brother's accidental death. Inspired by a fiercely independent mother who insisted he make his own way in the world, Charles found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered incorporating gospel, country, jazz and orchestral influences into his inimitable style. As he revolutionized the way people appreciated music, he simultaneously fought segregation in the very clubs that launched him and championed artists' rights within the corporate music business. Ray provides an unflinching portrait of Charles' musical genius as he overcomes drug addiction while transforming into one of this country's most beloved performer. (Quote from Universal Pictures)

There is the blackness and the blindness. There was the extreme poverty; there was the segregated South into which he was born. I like films/ books whose themes revolve around racial discrimnation, for eg "To Kill A Mocking Bird", "Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry etc. Ray Charles has an admirable character, besides being hooked on drugs during his later years which was the unglamourous part, he fought for the rights for the coloured in the state of Geogia by refusing to perform in front of a segregated audience.

Been a long time since I watched a really good movie. There is great music throughout the show as the audience are brought on the journey of the success of his remarkable career despite being him being coloured and blind in 1950 America. The director also captured the essence of the english spoken by the blacks whom always use double negatives in their speech. For eg" you aint not going to no white man's house". From my studies of E lit, this is quite typical of what coloured people at that period in the Southern States. Hence, I rate this film 8.5 out of a 10 and I recommend to all who have not watched this film.

Do visit the official site of Ray Charles

tHe sMeLL oF fReEdOm

2005-02-25T00:40:00.000+08:00

tHe sMeLL oF fReEdOm

Indeed, this smell is more sanguine than one can imagine. The feeling is just like a caged dove being released, spreading and soaring its wings into the sky. It was not long when the dove realised that unlike in a cage, no one will feed it any food, it has to source for food itself, all on its own.

This leads to a new problem, i prolly need a job for this break till July. The situation aint that simple as you think. I am holding a Green IC/ not a pink one, meaning I cant get a government job or a job with CPF till the magical date on the right hand corner of your screen. So pple with any suitable job openings, pls inform me ya, and you shall be greatly rewarded...yeah right

Will be busy these few days to organise for my 21st birthday: Chalet needs to be booked, food to be catered, cake to be ordered, etc. Any sponsors for alcohol/beer on that day? Hm after serious consideration, i think i should update my birthday wishlist, and just in case i get the 2 Fossil watches or 2 new wallets, kindly inform me so that I can book the lot for you..harhar (BHB)

sUgArCaNe

2005-02-22T22:33:00.000+08:00

sUgArCaNe

Today probably marks the last official day I will be in camp b4 i enter into my next phase of life. Thinking about it, I have been in the company for like 1yr 9 mths. I wont dare to say I contributed a lot to the coy, needless to say for SA platoon. Well at least that's what my PC and PWO thought too. Why should I deserve any ORD off in the first place?

I told many people in camp this" Every NSF is just like a passing cloud" Not many regulars/ officers will remember your contributions after 6 mths you ord just like the clock in the workshop today. Its battery was probably weak then i asked Sebastian " Who will rememeber what this clock looks like if a new clock replaced it after it had served the company for 3 years?" He nodded.

And here I am, in my last few days of my work " like a sugar cane that has been through the sugercane machine for so many times, squeezing the last bit of juice out of me" And I have to emphasise the last bit of juice in the sugercane juice probably wont taste as sweet as a freshly squeezed one.

Enough of ramblings and grumbles. Definitely gonna miss the dudes out there in the coy and other people like Neil, Angelo, Yaohui, Mark and Wee Cher. Thanks for being around, your day will come sooner than you expect.

Dint exactly know my status was upgraded to the status of a celestial being?Just wanna let all commoners out there know that being in the mortal world, one can only imagine the existence of heaven and celestial beings. These things probably only exist in the commoner's mind. Something that is just a facade, blurring his vision at all angles. These celestial beings did not consume any elixir of life nor they can do without their close friends. They are in fact just commoners themselves. Is there a need for the commoner to build a wall around himself, segregating himself from the so called 'celestial beings' when he can choose to demolish the wall and share the space with fellow commoners? I am sure all the commoners will be much happier...

cNy nOrM

2005-02-09T10:42:00.000+08:00

cNy nOrM

Can't really recall the last CNY that there wasn't some sort of disagreement/ quarrel between my dad with the rest in the family. It never fails to spoil my mood for CNY, or perhaps I have just grown out of it.

AngPows, chinese near year goodies and reunion dinner. Chinese New Year is definitely a time for reunion. For myself, I have to take this opportunity to get-together with all my cousins. Due to our individual hectic schedules, few of us take the effort to go visit our grandparents. Being me again, I will recall the good old childhood days playing in the void deck with all of them.

雄：恭贺大家心想事成，万事如意，在鸡年里做番冲刺，梦想成真！

倒带

2005-02-08T01:07:00.000+08:00

倒带

我受过了等待妳所谓的安排　
說的未来到底多久才来
总是要来不及才知道我可爱
我想依赖而你却都不在

应该開心的地带妳给的全是空白
一个人假日發呆找不到人陪我看海　
我在幸福的門外却一直都進不来
你累積給的伤害我是真的很難释怀

終於看開爱回不来而你总是太晚明白　
最後才把话說開哭著求我留下来
終於看開爱回不来我们面前太多阻礙　
你的手却放不開　宁愿没出息求我别離開　

你总是要我乖慢慢计划将来
我的眼泪却一直掉下来
過去怎麼交代你该給的信赖　
被你親手缓缓推入悬崖

从我脸上的蒼白看到记忆慢下来
過去甜蜜在倒带只是感覺已经不在　
而我对你的期待被你一次次摔坏
已经碎成太多块要怎麼拼凑跟重来

作詞：方文山　作曲：周杰伦

雄：只觉得这首歌很好听，歌词并没有代表之自己的内心情感

Reminiscence

2005-02-03T15:23:00.000+08:00

rEmInIsCeNcE

It was a great feeling as i stepped into the premises of the school along Tanjong Rhu Road. The drinks stall auntie recognised me immediately as i drank the longan drink in the canteen. Everything still looked very familiar, the green tables and benches, students clad in white tops with metal buttons, the girls with their long blue skirts covering up to their knee caps...

Saw Ms Ling at the foyer, she was my Peer Support teacher-in-charge and she called me recently to relief teach at DHS, too bad I was still in service. Senny came shortly after and Ms Ling brought us into the staff room where we saw: Ms Tang/ MS Pear/ Mrs Shu/ Mr Lian/ Mrs George/ Mrs Vora/ Mrs Ho/Ms Yee/ Mrs Grace Bok/ ¬family of teachers. Heh, trying to list all whom i saw.

Whilst Senny was talking to 连汉川老师，i went to look for Mr kiw, yes! The discipline master who made Dunman famous for the some of the strictest school rules we have (For eg, school bags and straps of watches cannot only be of blue, black, grey or metallic/ length of skirts for girls need to cover the kneecaps). I spoke to him as he walked to his class for lessons. On our way, you can really see some of the students try ways and means not to cross our paths. For those who do, they never fail to greet him as they bow(鞠躬). Well, i haven realy seen people who are that courteous or respectful in a long long time.

I went to 上音 today! (It's a CO school for those who may not know). Wilford wanted to learn the 二胡 so we arranged to go down today. Unfortunately 丁老师 was not around so we dint stay there for long, was just talking to 王老师 about my life in NS. She came up with a conclusion though with her signature 高调 voice '男生嘛，都应该去服役，看看伟雄变得高大俊俏多了！' Oops, the usual Buay2 hiao2 bai4 me...

Not much thoughts, just like to pen down what i did today. A riddle to all Dunmanians 猜一位德明老师：长江黄河一同流。Answers anyone?

Life Choices

2005-02-02T23:11:00.001+08:00

lIfE cHoIcEs

Was reflecting back on certain decisions which i made in life, these are choices which I made they have definitely have a certain impact on my life and have the shaped the "Xiong" you know. What if

1) I made the decision to go to RI instead of DHS. I believe the secondary school u go to is like a scupltor who eventually shapes the whole character of a person. Of course, it was my parent's will for me to go DHS since young and since it's nearer to where i stayed, DHS was the natural choice. Being a traditional chinese medium school, with its strong emphasis on chinese literature and culture

2) Most of you may not know this, during the ECA sports selection, i was handpicked to join basketball. Had some tyco shots during the trials and they shortlisted m name to join. I only went for one training...

3) i took up japanese as a third lang in Secondary one. Too lazy to travel to Bishan after school hours, only to realise i have to travel from Bukit Panjang to Tanjong Rhu from sec 2 onwards.

4) did not choose Geo and E lit which i dint regret though I thought i was the C Lit kind. My Chinese standard has been stagnant since then.

5) Gone to NJ instead of VJ?

6) i choose to be a techinican and not the coy clerk. Will my repairing skills be superb?

7) Choose to be COPA when the opportunity came

8) Choose to go to S1 branch when she approach me. (For 7,8 I felt that bring born and bred in armament, I cant leave the company for possibly greener pasteurs?)

9) I choose to wait for Vijay and not board the bus alone this morning?

Well, no point brooding over the past, since these decisions have already been made. Sometimes I feel that I always like to live in the past. Just some food for thought i guess. SO now, time for me to look at the things i need to do for now till March:

1) Send out my letters of recommendation and cover letters for relief teaching to schools near my house.
2) Settle Unit anniversary stuff
3) Enjoy Chinese New year, get some hong Baos/ win some money
4) Do my unit clearance
5) Spend time in camp
5) Plan for my 21st birthday party
6) Find a part time job which pays well

Inferiority Complex

2005-01-21T21:13:00.000+08:00

iNfeRiOrItY cOmPleX

I think I am developing the above syndrome. it's probably due to certain events that have occurred to me these few days. Dun think I will care to elaborate much.
1) Quote "This kind of creative thing, Xiong cannot do one" Once again, guess have to re-emphasise that a company clerk, you only get tasks like "typing a document, interpretation of data etc" I was never tasked to take up higher-order tasks, which probably require more brain juices, these are reserved for those who are perceived to be more creative and flexible, maybe I am indeed less capable
2) OC wanted to appoint him as vice-chair, I am not jealous or envious; deep down inside I was just doubting my capabilities. Maybe I am indeed inferior.
3) WO Lui gave me an hourly rate of $2.60 to work in the workshop while there are people's hourly wage can be up to $8. Maybe I am indeed useless in the workshop.
4) Quote " Xiong drives like a girl". probably too defensive. Had a rather close shave in Yuwei's carpark, the car was like super close to the van. Maybe I indeed do not have the judgement for parking or driving.
5) Quote" IPPT keeps you fit, anyway u are unfit". I try to really put in my effort during life- runs, there aint much improvement. Probably no faster than when I was in DHS or VJC. Cant seem to coordinate my breathing along with my running pace, maybe I am indeed unfit.

I remembered I told myself in secondary one that I do not want to compete with people around me in terms of studies, sports or whatsoever. I just could not take it when there are people kept asking how much i got for this examination or test. I wanted to compete with myself and thus i set goals for myself to achieve. Seven years down the road, I realised I set goals quite easily attainable for myself. 12mins flat for my 2.4 timing and I am probably satisfied. I am not pushing myself to the limits. Been living in this comfort zone for too long, I begin to lose sight of my peers. I am oblivious to the surroundings, my peers are surging forward in this race, leaving me far far behind, living in my own world.

tHe afTeRmaTh

2005-01-19T23:59:00.000+08:00

tHe aftErMaTh

I need to find a source of motivation for myself, half a year ago, it was to get a license. Until now, i have not found myself one yet. I am hoping to indulge myself in some work, some real work after I stepped down. Been helping around in the workshop but its not something which i realli can derive satifaction from. Luckily, Shiyao got me to be involved in the planning of the unit anniversary, hopefully this will keep me occupied till i start clearing my leave.

I realised I can be quie mean when i don't like someone. To quote Andrew:‘恨一个人是很辛苦的’. I am glad I am not prejudiced against him anymore. I was being unsympathetic and insensitive, prob even going to the extent of bad-mouthing the person. Though he still gets on my nerves at times, I shall no longer be that 小器雄 that I am sometimes being labelled as.

My finances aint in good shape.. I do not know where I spent my money every month. My mum accused me of not saving any money during my NS days, but she is only partially right. I am putting aside $100 for my AIA insurance/ investment plan since 2003, just that these money is not liquid, hopefully its earning a hefty interest for me. People, pls stop me if u think I am splurging on things i shant spend money on. You can help too, by clicking on the google ads on the right. So far, I have earned US$7.96...

Question of the day:
1) How many 21st birthday parties do you think you will attend this year?

First Entry "Reloaded"

2005-01-10T20:17:00.000+08:00

mY fIrSt eNtry 'Reloaded'

The content of this entry should be in my first entry, glad that I can finally pen this down. 'I passed my driving test!!!' though with 14 points, yup i still passed. Luck was probably on my side, was still having the jitters during warm up. Really heaved a sigh of relief. Wanna thank all for the good luck messages from Steph, Jon, Vijay, my sis, Wilford, msg tan... I dint waste the luck. Well i must say, this must be one of the happiest event that happened in my life since i enlisted ya!

What's with the ads? Guys, a few of you have asked about the ads on my blog. Well, they are Google AdSense ads, and, peiyi was the one who recommended me to sign up. Basically, all you have to do is create an account with Google, then put the code onto your blog that serves the ads. Then, when your visitors click on one of the ads, you get paid. It's really that simple. So, that's what the ads are all about. No big deal ... they don't make the page take any longer to download and they don't distract from my blog. Let me know if they get on your nerves. People have asked me whether this is a hoax or for real, hm i wont know until i get paid, so in the mean time probably u guys out there can try clicking on the ads ya?

The Race

2005-01-09T13:31:00.000+08:00

Competitive Streak

I never thought that I had the competitive streak in me. I was not upset nor jealous when I knew about the truth on Thursday. I literally felt the immense pressure that was on me. I wanted to find some corner of the room and be in solitude...I went home. I thought I hid my emotions well...I always thought I did, till Lionel sent me this message "Xiong seems quite upset after knowing the truth". I really pray to have the same result on Monday.

Happie New Year 2005

2005-01-01T01:01:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year 2005

Finally it's my year,the year that I become Operationally Ready. You may be wondering wat I am doing at home at this time on 31st December. I am not in Zouk, Sentosa, Orchard Road or Esplanade. No fireworks, just alone in front of this small monitor, in a 5-Rm HDB flat. Counting Down? I seemed to have grown out of it, dun think I see the point of standing with a big crowd, counting down the last 20 seconds before the start of a brand new year. Such precious moments should be spent with your dear ones, or at least alone reflecting on the previous year and make some resolutions for the coming year.

2004 had had its ups and downs, I lost my dearest aunt back in January. It had been a long time since I had shed my tears. Her departure was so sudden. The feeling was immense like a piece of flesh cut out from your body and the pain was indeed excruciating. Her image remains forever etched in my mind.

The offer of a teaching scholarship came in March and I accepted it. Partly due to interest to teach and influence people's lives and to lighten the financial burden for my Mum who got retrenched earlier in March. Close friends who knoe me well were concerned with my decision, the desire to teach was never strong in me but they never knew it became stronger when i see my tuition kid do well. This decision may probably affect my entire life and deep down inside in the bottom of my heart, i pray that i wont regret this.

I've finally stepped down as the company clerk in September after one year of service.It was an enriching experience, working with demanding superiors, unreasonable and incompetent people and orientating the new guys. Guess nothing wears me out as much as the constant need of putting on different masks when facing different people. Yes, I am a hypocrite and I don't deny it. Aren't You?

The one person I have let down most this year is probably her. It is a queer relationship that we are having now. There are things which seemed to be unsettled and I being a bastard (Vijay calls me this) am not doing much either. Don't think on the wrong tracks, it's not some drama serial that the guy got some girl pregnant or watsoever. I have to admit that I am selfish and that I need a lot of breathing space for myself. It aint easy to be the special someone in my life. The problem is with me, really.

I remembered noe of my new year resolutions for 2004 was to pass my driving but sadly i failed to accomplish that. Oh ya, my driving test is coming and stay tuned for the latest updates. 2005 got to be an exciting year ahead and I will be going back to my studying days. I am sure i need some oiling for my rusty brains. On a lighter note, here are some of my humble new year resolutions:

1) Pass my driving test!
2) Learn some photoshop, dreamweaver, HTML, flash and the list goes on
3) Enjoy my remaining mths in camp, 2 mths to be exact, with close dudes in camp
4) Get a relief teaching post at my alma mater or any other schools available
5) Be less hypocritcal?
6) A better person?

Quotes of the day:
1) "People around you are suffering because of the tsunami and you are talking about what you want for 21st birthday?"
2) "Mother Nature is punishing mankind for all the damage we had done to her, it's something called retribution"

Updates

2004-12-19T01:36:00.000+08:00

Updates

Been quite a while since I update till Deb said this has nearly become non-existent. Just came back from guanyue (管乐）barbecue, it was very heart-warming for me to so many pple there. Seniors as old as 32 yrs old with a PHD teaching in NUS and juniors who are sec 2 next yr. Although there were only 4 of us from the same batch, its stil nice to be there though i wont dare to say the food is fantastic and it happens to be 丁老师 48th birthday. I chatted with some of the seniors who are busy with 狮城 prac, they asked me to pick up my instrument again and i prob used army as a convenient excuse. Honestly, i felt its realli quite a pity for me to give up something i have learnt for 4 yrs and playing for six yrs. Memories of playing in the 吹打 ensemble and the orchestra start flowing back...

Managed to catch the last train back home thanks to Desmond who lompang me to Kallang on his Honda Accord. COme on, someone one yr your junior has a license le and when are you getting yours? It was a long journey home and like to show my gratitude to Steph who called to talk. BEen accused of not mentioning her name in my previous entries..... She is someone whom i can click very well since JC days, there was always no fixed topic in our agenda, and we dun have problems talking for hours on the line (unless i say i need to Zzzz which always seem the case..) This friendship is at a very different level guess I will treasure this friendhsip cos as mentioned in her blog, a friendship between realli requires the 缘 factor which i truly agree.

Went to Jensen's 26th birthday party at Jupiter @ Duxton Road. That place is realli quite ulu and i took like 15-20mins to locate the place. Most of the HA guys were there and there was plenty of drinks: Vodka with orange juice, ribena, sprite. Ended up playing cards and singing karaoke plus drinking, kind of enjoyed myself till some one said i was drunk. Of course I said i wasn't but then i realised i was like talking very loudly. This "semi-drunk' feeling is rather shiok, its a state of mind which you still have control of your mind, with your body feeling warm, you let go of your emotions and i took the chance to thank darren for being the ever efficient HA clerk and good luck for his future endeavours during his term since it was also his ORD date that day. He was really of great help during my 1 yr term as coy clerk. Saw Ah Kong (the toolstore guy) too as he having his hols now and he studying in Curtin. Dint change much i shall say, friendly and generous. You know, If i have the money prob will go round Australia: Cheryl and Andrew in Melbourne, Siyu in Sydney, Kenneth + Ah Kong + Stelvin in Perth. So many pple to bring me around. Wei E is going Cornell, Peiyi may be going Manchester, Deb is going HK. I want to be take part in an Exchange too!

I dislike and hate people who don't trust me. Someone asked me for directions and when he finally reached the place after much difficulty, he accused me of givin him the "wrong directions" . He might as well not ask me and trust his own navigation skills instead. Jon accused me of aggravating the situation. Well guess I was trying too hard to help, again i stress its very tiring to be the patty between the two buns.

Quote of the day:
1) Some problems in life have a natural mechanism in which they will solve by themselves. Poking your nose into it may not be the best solution.
2) A moon in an overseas sky will always seem rounder.

真挚

2004-12-05T23:47:00.000+08:00

真挚

一个人在夜深人静的时候，我总会开始胡思乱想：人与人的关系环绕着一个‘缘’字，往往在天时地利，机缘巧合之下，才能结为朋友。朋友对于一个人来说，扮演着举足轻重的角色。他陪伴你走过人生最深的低谷，陪伴你走过生活中最灿烂的快乐时光。

一段真挚的友情，何必为了一件小事而大动干戈，大伤和气？周遭的人都以大费唇舌地冲当和事老，希望能化干戈为玉帛，但你们却坚持自己的立场，不想踏出第一步跟对方说话。夹在你们中间真的很累，希望你们能促膝谈心面对面地解决这个所谓的小误会。

A car for 21st birthday

2004-11-30T23:58:00.000+08:00

A car for 21st birthday

It was my Mum's 50th birthday on 27th. Phew she has lived for half a century, thankz mum for all the love and care you have showered me over these 20 yrs. I will try to be a 乖孩子（if i have not already been). Mum has worked for 32 yrs for the same company till she was retrenched early this year. Without her sheer grit and determination these 32 yrs to support the family, my family will prob not live in the house we stay in now, I will not be able splurge on good food and branded stuff as i occasionally do presently. Not to mention driving lessons and Jay's concert.Thanks Mum!

Jay's concert on the 27th was superb! I managed to get last min tickets @ $50 through yahoo auctions. My personal preference is 搁浅(oops not very sure wat the meaning is) its not realli the 主打，but he sang it realli well that night. There was this interlude where he played the piano with one of the members of 南拳妈妈, they were good too, excellent coordination skills etc. Sometimes i will envy pple who can play the piano, i mean its realli nice to be able to play a tune or two. Too bad i wasn't sent for piano classes when i was young?

It was also Xingda's 21st birthday on the 27th at chinablack which me and Vijay dint go. He needed to send Quincy home and I was prob too tired that night, dint join them at Chinablack. Sorry for not keeping the promise that I will be there, glad that the guys enjoyed themselves, dancing through the night. And i shall be 21 next year too, 3 mths away, so wat will i do to celebrate this special day?? i dunoe myself, a chalet so that i can invite everyone i know, barbeque, chionging or just a simple dinner with my close pals? Well, if you wanna ask what is the top of my birthday wish list, guess it has to be a car which i can call my own. (day-dreaming again...)

Supposed to meet up with Cheryl and Huishi since they are back from Aussie. Got some catching up to do with them, Cheryl was not feeling well, she went home without meeting Adel. Everyone still looked the same. i thought Huishi looked slimmer but i thought it was not worth mentioning. Had a good chat with Adel and Huishi at Gelare @ PS and Macs, updates on wats happening in our lives,laughing over the dumb stuff we did back in Dunman. Glad that the affinty between us is still there, prob have a christmas party in Cheryl house soon for a 2H get-together?

Quotes of the day:
1) Do not indulge in waffles and ice-cream @ Gelare just because it's a Tuesday.
2) Do not ask for a car when you don't even have a license (note that i did not say"Do not ask for a car when you cant drive")

tHougHtS

2004-11-24T01:01:00.000+08:00

Thoughts

Just some events that happened recently..

20th NOV: FIrst time at ChinaBlack, it was calvin's burfdae. Four of us got him a Fossil Watch, each paid $25. Every yr we have a tradition to get present for the birthdae boy and in turn the birthday boy will give us a treat. Think its the first time drank so much, hard liquor and beer together. Dun think i am drunk though, danced when the songs were good though realised something amiss, 65 percent of pple there were males. big big disappointment, reached home at 5 am on the trustworthy night rider.

22th NOV: My sis jio me to get my mum's birthday present. She is 50 this yr, present ought to be special, got her a diamond bracelet @ $500+. Hope she likes it, it burnt a hole in my pocket....

Thoughts: Days in camp seem to be longer after the air con broke down, apparently due to a rat biting the circuit board( it died due to electrocution). yeah i know some of u may think working in office is slack and stuff, well for me i get lots lots of arrows from diff pple, worst thing is that i dun get appreciated.
Looking at the countdown timer, i still have 152 days left. You may think that i am obsessed with this three letters ORD, indeed i am. I think SAF is sucking the life out of me: the feeling of being trapped, , so badly that i am suffocating. The dreadful feeling of going to camp, facing all the regimentation. the office politics within the company.

Read a fren's blog about him very busy with work. I left a message asking him how he was coping. His reply meant something like that he had left me as a fren is his "long distant memory". Those were his exact words, kind of sad to read something like that. i do not understand how noe can actually disregard someones friendship when one moved into another phase of his life. What i say is very ambiguous i think,but not in mood to write too much.

Quote of the Day:
1) Don't try to say you cant work in non-Air Con environment.

tHe uGly gAnG

2004-11-15T13:11:00.000+08:00

tHe uGlY gAnG

I realised that someone who does not know me will not know me much better after reading this page, so this entry will be the first in a series to blabber about myself and the pple around me...
Being in the committee of the orchestra, i had this opportunity to make this great bunch of friends. Our first meeting together ended at like 10pm and we dint even come to a conclusion. We spent some of the Monday assemblies hiding in the Music Practice Room, for fear that Mr Kiw will just pop by somehow. Weekday afternoons were spent in the LT, playing different instruments: tree trying hard to play some notes on the flute, bear and boy on the piano under mongoloid's guidance... one by one i intro you the "ugly gang".(wondering how we get the name, cos of you TREE!)

Debbie aka ThamTham
No doubt the chief of the gang, she was always our dedicated chairperson, always focused and serious during our meetings. She never fails to command the respect of the committee and the rest of the orchestra. Thanks for always heading the organising committee for the chalet, the ugly gang realli bonded together during the chalet. Oh ya, something to mentino, she is a cleanliness freak, the one who will keep our chalet in spick span condition. Music wise, she plays the flute and plays many impt portions in the pieces we played for the SYF( which we became overall champions..)

Han Shuo aka laonuren aka HorseShit
Being the eldest person in our group, we give her the second nick, despite her age, she behaves the same way like everyone of us, if not more childish...(Oops, i am so goona get killed when you read this). She heads the erhu ensemble in DHS and is the shouxi of VJCCO ,and you have to admit she is good with her erhu， playing "The Ripe grapes" on it is one great feat! Hm, have to keep your promise that you be hosting us at Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Really glad that your are coming back this Dec.

Yuwei aka SaNoSuKe_9 aka boy
Percussion Section Leader- Standing at 1.6+m above sea level,a responsible and musically inclined individual, he plays the role of spicing up things a little. We never fail to gossip all his latest juicy piece of news about his crushes and who is he after. One thing i must mention, this boy is hell lots of fun, remembered the time when we pon practice to go ESCAPE theme park along with Tree and Horseshit, we got ourselves all wet with "butterflies in Peiyi's stomach".However, this guy has already shed his image of the "boy" and has matured into a dashing young man. Oh ya, his mum makes realli good food, girls who wanna learn cooking, u know who to learn from.

Peiyi aka tree
Trying hard to rememeber how you got this nick, i think i must have been the culprit.This nick is gonna stay with ya for as long as you live... She plays the Pipa ， so we sometimes call her the pipajing. She screams and shrieks for the slightest of reasons, but well as long as there is this guy who loves her for some reasons( which i have been trying hard to know why), guess there is no big deal. An aspiring young engineer who posseses the thirst for new knowledge, coupled with her determination and faith, one wont be surprised she will be a successful careerwoman 10 yrs down the road. One word of advice though: If u wanna learn cooking, can learn from yuwei's mum.

Cheryl
Hm, dint realli have a nick for ya. The sleeping beauty back in then in our chalet, we cant deprive this girl of her beauty sleep in our chalets, by 10pm, it wont be suprising to see her in a corner of the room, dozing off.Personally, I have known her for like 8 yrs since Sec1. With her ability to relate to others and empathising people's problems, she is able to have many close acquaintances. I could still vividly remember the letter she wrote to me before she went to Melbourne, it was just very heart-warming to read that again. The CNY gathering and the steamboat dinner which you organised in your house was great, looking forward to you being back in Singapore, hopefully HS is back so that the ugly gang will reunite once again

Colin aka Ah Chio aka RainDragon
Armed with his floppy hair and dashing good looks(which he claims he look like Leonardo Di Caprio), he never fails to attract members of the opposite sex. However, over the years, he seemed only to have eyes for that special one. A dynamic and fun-loving person, there was always something missing in the clique without him around. Though not in the committee, he gave comments and opinions and often offer an insightful view of how certain activities organised by the committee could be carried out. After obtaining his driving license, he makes it a point to send all the people in his car home, right to the doorstep, thats wat i call a gentleman!

XiongXiong aka the Bear
Hey ya thats me! I was the Quarter Master back then, not that certain that i did a great job, but working with this group of wonderful of pple was a highlight for my days in Dunman.I can never bring myself to forget the experiences we shared during chuguo, the joy and the laughter when we organised kangle, the perspiration and even the tears( abit exaggerating) when we won the SYF （pverall champions）. Thank you you guys out there who have left footprints and walked this journey with me, it has been an enriching and fulfilling one.

Quote of the day:
1) Cherish your friends around you at this moment. Things change, people change and memories are the ones that remained etched in your mind forever.

singapore idol

2004-11-12T10:40:00.000+08:00

sInGaPoRe iDoL?

Once again, I have to than Peiyi and Jon for helpime finetune ng the layout of this bloggie of mine. Well, you cant blame me, i am a greenhorn in HTML coding, dint pay attention back in sec 2, was always chatting on MIRC behind the teacher's back. Once again, my greatest gratitude to dearest tree and JonJon.

Was watching the episode last night-somehow the much awaited episode-Asian Pop but i think it was a disappointment.I realised that the standard for this competition aint very high(i know i am not in a position to say smth like that) I personally support Sylvester and think Olinda is good but this question suddenly appeared in my head..."Can the winner of this competition represent Singapore on the International Stage?" Pardon me for saying this, "they may just be a disgrace to Singapore". Any comments, anyone? Well perhaps one of the judges, Florence Lian made some sense when she said that Sylvester prob can make it in the Chinese music industry, after fellow Singaporeans like Stef Sun, JJ have made it big in Taiwan.

Well, again, in a competition like this,like many other things in life, i guess it is the process that is most important that the result. The learning experience is often valuable where one acquires new skills and make new acquaintances, just like being in the Army,being in the Uni etc. Something that happens today will become your memory tomorrow, cherish every moment spent with your loved ones, your friends, your family before they become memories...

Quote of the Day:
1) "If you yourself can't sing, do not comment that others sing like crows"

2004-11-09T17:26:00.000+08:00

mY fIrSt eNtRy

Hey guys, the long awaited first entry is here and firstly I need to gave total credit to Jon who got me started with this blog. I guess many of you guys out there have found blogging a chore or for watever reasons stopped blogging, well for me i take is an opportunity to learn HTML and prob let my frens out there know more about me.

The weather seemed all bright and sunny as I was making my way to BBDC for my driving test... "Warm-up was okay, circuit no problem, just need to keep a safe following distance" was wat my instructor told me and there was this premonition b4 i finished the warm-up, a single of rain-drop fell on my windscreen...

The tester was one of those old man from TP department, bulging belly and stuff, but looked rather harmless.

Circuit courses dun seem to trouble me as much as b4 as i eased through it, making minmal mistakes b4 my road test began. As the clouds up there got heavier, sky got greyer, rain drops started pouring down. I wont describe it as a downpour but you can say its like a "heavy drizzle". Then came this green taxi (belongs to a new company , dun know the name though) who stopped by the road in front of me to pick up a passenger. Somehow, the person dint board the cab, the worst thing is that the cab just dint move on and i was behind. Momentarily, I thought that the cab was moving off so i just stopped there; it dint dawn on me that it was prob on call or smth. By the time I realise that, I was already too close to the cab for me to change lane and things start screwing up from there.

Guess all of you will have known the outcome of my first driving test, one most irritating thing is that i have to deposit close to $300 dollars to book the next test date which will be in Jan 05. Sigh.
Going off for Seow Ping Jie's farewell dinner which cost me $25 at Turf City, hope it does not disappoint.

Quotes of the day:
1) " If money is an issue for you to learn driving, go look for a private instructor"
2) "Do not try to blame the rain if your driving sucks"