A simple life, a simple me

An Ending and A Beginning

2009-10-04T10:53:00.002+08:00

Hi there! In case you visit my blog after a really long absence on my part, let me apologise for not updating first.

If I tell you I am busy with work and stuffs, I am lying to you. If I want to update my blog, I would have done it even though I am busy. Excuses have been a great companion for many of us. So it is time to stop all these proscatinating and just do what you have been wanting to do!

I will stop updating my current blog from now on, and this shall be my last entry if nothing goes wrong. Probably no one reads now anyway.

What will I be doing then?

I have been undergoing a Fitness Training course recently. I shall and hope to be a certified Personal Trainer in time to come. Being part of www.weightlossbuildmuscles.com has taught me a lot of things about fitness and the way of living a healthy life.

Not selling anything here or promoting myself, but you probably can find more infomation about me over there in time to come.

So I guess this marks an end to a stage in my life and also a beginning to another.

To all my friends out there, do keep in contact via Facebook and msn, not forgetting the email and sms and of course, I am always a phone call away.

Lastly, I really hate growing up. How I wish I could return to my child hood days..

All right, enough of crap.

Remeber to speak your thought and walk the talk. Do not try, you either do it or not.

Set your goal on doing something right now! Thanks and goodbye!

Wee Sin.

Butterfly Tales 3 Langkawi 2009

2009-07-07T22:21:00.002+08:00

Hello there.

It has been quite a while. Just came back from my Langkawi trip a couple of weekends ago. Didn't managed to upload the photos here since blogspot has some problems earlier on. And I am too lazy to try. Have uploaded them on my Facebook account anyway.

The trip was very nice. Rented a car for two days and drove around the small island visiting some of the more popular places. These included the Eagle Bay, Seven Wells, Cable car trip up the Sky Walk, Kuah town, Padi field etc. Didn't really spent a lot of time on the beach. But some of the beaches are really nice.

It took us about an hour of plane ride to the island itself. Compared to the other time to Tioman where I had to travel 3 hours on coach and then wait for a few hours to get a ferry ride and then another 2 hours of ferry, this is considered a luxury.

Would really recommend this place for a quick weekend get-away. Spend about 3 or 4 days there would be nice.

I would really like to try the tennis court over there. It is so under utilised!

Lastly, congrats to Federer. You are back to where you belong once again! Cheers!

Tioman Pics Belated

2009-06-21T10:05:00.007+08:00

The Tioman pics are here finally. Enjoy!

The End.

Random Thoughts

2009-06-16T20:42:00.002+08:00

It has been a while since I last blogged.

Am on night shift this week, so you might not find me available during the night time. Anyway, weekend is coming soon, looking forward to it. Half way there.

Nowadays, I am kind of always looking forward to weekends and payday. I guess that is the happiest time of the month for me.

Looking back at my life now as a working adult, it is really different from the days of the school. Weekdays, I am almost brain-dead after a long day from work, with occasional workout/tennis/dinner/salsa to keep me from feeling numb(all the work and stress) and to make me feel like a person living.

Weekends, I try to spend time with Butterfly and tennis has almost become regular sport for me now. Kind of a norm now for badminton players to switch to tennis after years of playing. I think it is nice to try out some new sports and pick up a new passion out of them. Motivates you, giving you a sense of achievement.

I just hope everything turns out smooth this week. See ya folks!

The Other Way

2009-05-24T22:10:00.005+08:00

I wrote the following while doing some self-reflection after dinner at the hill top near my house:

It was the other way round this particular evening. Usually I will jog around the park near my home and watch people sitting on the benches and playing at the playground. This time round I have the urge to go up the hill, pick a comfortable spot and people watch. For once I was on the bench and they were running. You then wonder in life if things should always be the same. Everything must be in order? Sometimes it feels good to make some changes to the routine life one is leading. The sun has just set. It is turning dark soon. It was a refreshing sit. People just zoom past you and you wonder how long more before you are going to see them again after another lap. There are also some who stroll leisurely, taking their time. Different paces in life. What about mine?

The above was type using the office mobile of HTC Touch 3G phone. And to prove this, a picture taken using my mobile phone:

And ended the day with a nice talk with CH about life.

Back to Work

2009-05-18T21:15:00.002+08:00

It is back to normal working hours for me. Last week was hectic due to the night shift. I am glad to go over JB with butterfly over the weekend for a short get away.

Some issues surfaces during our stay over in JB but I am glad it turn out well in the end.

Couples will have differences in one way or another, at any point of time, under any circumstances and whatever big or small the matter is.

But I think handling it well is not easy and takes both party to reciprocate.

Not difficult to guess what picture I am trying to paint here. Important thing is the picture turns out nice. :)

On night shift

2009-05-13T20:12:00.002+08:00

Doing night shift this week and I have two more nights to go.

It might appears that I have MIA, but no worries, I am still around.

Work has been stressful and busy. Made some mistakes, learn from them and hope will grow from there. That's life I suppose.

Setbacks suppose to slow you down, but yet make you stronger.

Will be at JB this weekend, so you know when it when I never reply your sms or call.

Take care all.

Butterfly Tales 2

2009-05-03T21:52:00.003+08:00

Just came back from my tioman trip today. It was a fun trip other than the time wasted on waiting for the ferry to arrive. Will blog about it when I get the pics from Weili.

And some pictures from the Butterfly Tales again. Went to West Coast last weekend, and oh my, it has changed quite a lot.

Gone are the fences which block the view of the sea. It has been ages since I went West Coast. Think the last time was when I am still in NUS with td and gang. Or maybe it was the BIG gang over the Lantern festival?

Here are some pics to show case. Again, taken using HTC TOUCH 3G.

Really, we both agree this is a nice place for couples to hang out.

Go in the evening or late afternoon. See the family have picnic together, people playing frisbees and flying kites. The view of the sea is not bad too. Watch the sunset and enjoy the breeze. Lying down on the concrete slope and looking at the clear blue sky is a must.

This is definitely our new found hang out place!

4/5 stars I would give.

Butterfly Tales

2009-04-13T09:23:00.005+08:00

It is always interesting to talk about butterflies. You know why.

I shall attempt to blog a little bit on Butterfly since my life revolves around her and JB nowadays.

Butterfly loves flowers. This was given to her sometime back.

Half a dozen of white roses. I had to carry it all the way from Yishun to Harbour Front mind you.

The reaction was a bit discouraging.

Even wanted to throw it away.

The picture is a bit blurred. This has definitely got nothing to do with my phone camera.

Finally persuaded her to give me some face and pose a picture for it so that I can feel slightly satisfied.

And yes, I have been to JB more times during the past few months than any other period of my life so far. I think this is going to persist for some time....

Anyway went to a beach in JB:

An amusement park in Danga Bay.

This was before we embark on a pre-singapore-flyer.

And taken while up at the highest point.

Both of us trying to fight the jitters of the height. Again this has nothing to do with my phone camera and I dunnoe why the picture turns out to be this.

Can some Engineer point out to me what is the commonality here? (Like my boss always say: Any common chambers?)

Anyway, this ride up the Ferris Wheel definitely prove one point:
Your balls shrink as you grow older.

Night Shift

2009-04-09T20:05:00.002+08:00

Have been on night shift whole of this week. Two more nights to go. Yes I know it is Good Friday tomorrow. Hopefully it will still be a good for me.

Life is pretty pack for me now. Occasionally having to go over to JB for you know what reason. There is a lot to blog about but I do not have the time yet. Will find one good day to do so.

Meanwhile hope everyone has a good holiday and weekend ahead.

Enjoy!

Wala on A Sat Night

2009-03-29T10:42:00.002+08:00

It's Earth Day yesterday.

Where better to celebrate than at Wala Wala. With school mates cum colleagues, the company is great. Lovely band, great food and drinks.

Kop from aska's blog:

Weekend has come and is ending soon.

So sad.

Random Thoughts

2009-03-20T14:33:00.002+08:00

It is a dark Friday afternoon. About to rain soon.

My off day today, so I am pretty happy and I will be seeing butterfly soon.

Butterfly is someone special to me and I will not tell you who she is even if you beg me. It is a codename. Not that I do not want to reveal her identity, but this is a public blog so I will keep certain things undercover.

At the age of 25++, I think I am still young. But not that young too. This is the time for guys to think about the next lap in Life.

Career, marriage, finance, house, car etc. Not that everything applies to me, but it is the time to start thinking about them. Sometime it is quite scary just thinking. I mean the amount of responsibilities and the impact it will have on your whole life is tremendous. It is like asking Neo to choose between the red or blue pill. (Did I get the colour right? Whatever.)

I am just saying it is a important choice which needs a lot of thinking.

My parents were asking me the other day where I want to buy my own flat. Seriously I am quite happy staying at their house and have no intention to buy a new one yet. Everything is being taken care of here and why would I want to move out?

Of course I get their intention, but really it is still too early.

Everytime I looked at my bank account, I sighed. Why can't it be like my Warbook account? Oh ya, I re-played my old character, hoping to make it to level 50. Set that as my goal.

And I am such an immature brat. Wait till I grow up.

Tata.

Used to it.

2009-03-12T22:39:00.002+08:00

I didn't realise how light it was until I hold it in my hands today.

I think I must have been playing too much tennis. The thicker grip and the heavier racket head has already make me accustomed to that kind of weight and feel.

When I hold my badminton racket today, it just feels weird.

I think it is time to hit to the court. Small one I mean.

A Hot Sunday Afternoon

2009-03-08T16:43:00.002+08:00

The weather is very weird recently. Sometimes it rains heavily in the afternoon, and some other days it is just madness hot, like today.

Coupled by the fact that I played MJ till early in the morning, I practically sleep the whole day. The only consolation is that I am slightly richer after the MJ session.

Jolyn was telling me about enjoyment of life the other day. People worked so hard and saved so much. But do we even enjoy our life? The definition varies across the different walk of life. People talked about work life balance nowadays. 5 work-days is almost a norm now. Work hard play hard.

It is hard to list down what I mean by enjoying life, quantify it, comes up with a certain set of criteria. Just don't torture yourself, do things which you want to do, buy things which you have been aiming for (a long time), go travelling, eat good food etc. Speaking of good food, I think it is time to visit some of the places I haven been wanting to go to.

For me: tennis, gym, salsa, mj (occasionally), meeting up with friends and J probably sums up my leisure life now.

For now.

Marley and Me

2009-03-01T00:23:00.002+08:00

Just saw this movie yesterday. No prize for guessing who I watched with.

Anyway, I feel that the show was kind of sad, although not particularly my type of movies, but it did provoke some thinking on my part, my life as a whole.

It is definitely not easy to own a pet. Taking care of it is already one big challenge. And you might have to deal with its departure as in the movie, the kind of emotional attachment and detachment one has to undergo is just too much to handle.

And then today I went for my friend Edward and Angel's wedding. Really nice to see them finally tying the knot after so many years, since the army days? Wow.. really a very long duration.

Finally I concluded that I am getting into my next stage of life. So fast? Not quite ready to be honest. Taking up these responsibilities isn't an easy task. I still feel so ignorant of so many things. So I tell myself, if I am to move on to the next stage in life, I will be properly prepared before I do so.

Lastly, to the couple: May bliss and happiness stay with you always.

Video of Hope

2009-02-24T22:16:00.001+08:00

From lippy, just to share:

Another Week Gone.

2009-02-21T18:57:00.002+08:00

One week passes by just like that.

It was quite a hectic week for me, given the night shift with so much work to do and so much piling up waiting for me, hardly any space to breathe. Not forgetting the sore throat which accompanied me for the last few days, disabling my capacity to eat well, on top of the fact that I am already eating less during the night shift week.

Do not be alarmed if you see me out of shape next week. I probably need to hit the gym this weekend to recover some mass loss and some tennis action with my colleagues should help too.

Not having much life lately, so there isn't really a lot to update on.

Some friends tagged me on FB about writing 25 random things about myself. Haven really got the time to do it, and sincere apologies here.

1. I sneeze whenever I eat sweets which are cooling like mentos, Halls etc.
2. I am quite a health freak!
3. I like green colour but I hate to wear anything that is green.
4. I like simplicity.
5. After watching Bryan's travelling show, I feel like travelling again.. to those places mentioned.
6. I like to break things down and do them part by part.

Therefore, that's all folks.

7. I might not remember to finish this 25 things, so I usually will warn people about it and keep their hope low.

Cheers, have a nice weekend peeps!

Dinner at Absolute Haven

2009-02-15T16:44:00.005+08:00

Went for dinner at Absolute Haven on Friday night. Click here to read more about the restaurant.

I must first apologise for the pictures taken using my phone camera. They really sucks.

This was the menu they served:

The first dish was...

Didn't really enjoy it. I thought it was unique but not so tasty. After having eaten at Taos, I kind of expected more since this restaurant has a high rating as well.

The second dish was..

The lamb linguine was not a lot but decent enough to keep us happy for a while..

I must comment that the service was quite good, not forgetting the nice ambience of the tiny restaurant. Dishes were served one after another with quite a long interval in between. I guess it was meant for couples to have small talks in between while digesting the food and anticipation of what's next to come.

Next up, the main dish..

The beef was nice, but the sauce that accompanies it was not too much for my liking although it tastes unique as well. Guess I am not so much an adventurous person.

The prawn was a bit cold if I really have to be particular.

Therefore, so far, the food didn't really impress me a lot.

Lastly, the dessert..

This was quite similar to the starter of Taos, but the latter really is much nicer.

At the end of the dinner...

A complimentary rose for the lady.

The pictures taken do not really look so nice, but the food was still all right I promise. It might be because it was a special occasion(busy busy) and hence the drop in standard of the food.

Do try out their usual menu on other days if you are interested.

Overall, a nice, romantic, quiet place to go to for dinner with a budget of less than $50 per pax. It will definitely be cheaper on normal days.

My phone's camera really sucks big time.

Friday the Thirteen

2009-02-14T00:04:00.001+08:00

In Feb 2009,

If there is anyone I want to be...

I want to be.....

Me...

In love with you.

Absolute Haven.

Movies I wanna Watch

2009-02-05T21:39:00.002+08:00

There are many great movies coming up and the following are the ones I wanna see most:

1) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. (Showing)

"I was born under unusual circumstances." And so begins "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards. A man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. We follow his story set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man's life can be - a grand tale of a not-so-ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time.

I just find this plot very interesting and with Brad Pitt in it and so many Oscars nominations to back it up, this is definitely not a movie to be missed.

2)Slumdog Millionaire (12th Feb)

Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating. Jamal proves his innocence by telling the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to each one of the game show's questions. When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out...

This has been advertised by ch so many times that I think I have to watch it..

3) X-Men Origins (30th April)

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" goes back to the time before the X-Men trilogy to tell the story of Wolverine's epically violent and romantic past, including his complex relationship with Victor Creed (who later becomes Sabertooth) and the ominous Weapon X programme. Along the way, he encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends in the X-Men universe.

I am always interested in "Heroes" movies. The past few movies (iron man, dark knight, X-men series, spiderman series etc) have not been a let down so I am going to catch this one too.

4) Angels and Demons (14th May)

Adapted from the novel "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown, the film follows the story of Robert Langdon, a well-known Harvard symbologist investigating a murder victim, branded with the Illuminati ambigram. Following his investigation, he soon discovers that a cult group is on a trail to murder four cardinals and destroy the St. Peter's Basilica during a papal gathering.

I haven been to the St. Peter's Basilica before, so this is going to be a must for me too. Read the story, going to see how the movie fares.

5) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (26th June)

Director Michael Bay is leaking out tons of false information, so chances are nobody will really know what it's going to be until it comes out. However, while nothing is confirmed, both Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg said in interviews that, if they ever made a sequel to "Transformers", they would make a big-screen adaptation of the Unicron Saga, since they feel it's the most logical plot for a sequel as it spans nearly every form of Transfomers media (the original series, the newer cartoon and the comic books). Rumour has it that Megatron will return and that there are two new Transformers - the Decepticon Soundwave and an ancient transformer known as The Fallen (reportedly a disciple of Unicron).

Trailer:

'Transformers 2' Trailer @ Yahoo! Video

Before I end off, I wonder if you have read about the speech given by labour Chief Lim Swee Say on...

Mouse Who Barked

A MOUSE met a cat. The mouse barked like a dog. That scared the cat away.

To great levity in the House on Wednesday, labour chief Lim Swee Say recounted the tale to get across a solemn message: it is important to upgrade one's skills.

In an impromptu speech to rebut criticisms of the Jobs Credit scheme, Mr Lim said: 'We must never hope for a no-pain solution because there's no painless way out of global recession.'

He then told the tale of a kingdom of mice that 'lived very peacefully' until a cat appeared. The mice Parliament convened to discuss how to overcome their new fear.

One mice MP proposed a very simple solution: hang a big bell on the cat's neck so that it can be heard wherever it goes. Another suggested that it be big and heavy 'so that by the time the cat sees us, it will be so heavy, it cannot keep up with us'.

But there was a snag in implementing it. Who will bell the cat?

'There was no volunteer,' said Mr Lim.

The idea failed and the cat continued to move around freely while the mice lived in fear. One day, a mother mouse and her baby were hunting for food when the cat cornered them.

Trapped, the mother did the unexpected: she stared at the cat and barked, sending the feline fleeing.

To laughter from the MPs, Mr Lim said: 'The mother mouse turned and told the baby mouse: 'See, now you understand the importance of upskilling and re-skilling'.'

Wedding Bells 2

2009-01-31T20:55:00.003+08:00

It is the first time I am so close to feeling the everything of a wedding.

I mean it is my brother's wedding right. Although I didn't help much in the organisation, but it did feel close enough to make me realise I am not old any more!

Some family photos..

More family members..

Thought this is quite nice..

Have been showing the wedding videos whenever relatives come and visit my house. So if you are coming, maybe I will show you as well. Haha.

New Year New Resolutions

2009-01-24T14:34:00.002+08:00

I can't believe I am turning 26 this coming year.

Indeed, time definitely wait for no one. Looking back at my whole life, if given a chance to replay all of it again, what changes would I have made?

I am glad I had a wonderful childhood. Stayed at the kampong (current sembawang) until I am primary 1. I would say that was the best part of my life so far, reason being with no responsibilities and worries (maybe the canning part) a child can only enjoy and play. The ironic part is at that time I yearn to grow up faster and become an adult. Now that I have grown up, I long for the time when I was a kid!

Studies wise, I think my best performance time was probably at my secondary level. Not going into that. My university life was quite bad. I think I would want to relive my university again the most. Probably take part in more activities, get a life instead of studying so hard and then the results are like.... However, I think I will still go into engineering. Dun ask me why.

Lowest point of my life is definitely going to be the period where I was in hospital and the recovery part. Seems like only yesterday when it happen but it has already been a year plus! But that made me learn a lot about life. I lost certain things but I gained back some too.

Thinking back, it seems like I have not achieve much until now. That's sad I know.

Therefore, from now on, my goal will be to create an impact in my life. Say YES!

LOL.

Anyway, I am going to make the best out of my life now. No regrets!

Wedding Bells 1

2009-01-17T22:55:00.004+08:00

Ring... ring...
It is not the phone ringing, but the wedding bells.

And whose is it? Not mine definitely. It is my eldest brother's.

I do not have the official pictures yet, so I will leave you guys with some ad-hoc ones.

Went over to my bro's new house to stay for the night before the big day.

In the morning while I was still sleeping....

Some traditional ceremony I suppose.

The dinner was at Orchid Country Club..

Some pictures of my cousin and aunties..

And more....

More pictures to come next time round.

And before I end off, for the very first time here... the mystery gal makes her debut appearance.

MIA

2009-01-15T20:56:00.002+08:00

Hey I know I have MIA for a long time. Sorry for the lack of updates.

My brother is getting married tml, so most likely I will blog a bit on that later on.

What else?

Took up salsa 1B lesson for this month since I will be rather free with the shorter work week. Less pay also la.. sianzzz..

All right few big events coming up.. wedding dinner for my bro, CNY, V day... stay tune!

Happy 2009!

2009-01-04T00:53:00.002+08:00

Happy new year to all.

Was mostly MIA throughout the past week because of my night shift as most would have known. Went for the countdown party at Khatib on the eve before heading to work with my sec sch friends. And then ate burger king at downtown east just after midnight. What a start for 2009.

Anyway, end of night shift for me now and I have just one more day to enjoy before the start of work. Got to make the most out of it.

The goal for 2009 is to stay employed. *Cross finger*

Tao's Restaurant

2008-12-28T10:02:00.005+08:00

Well.. it is xmas and there are bound to be a lot of gathering, food and drinks. Went to the Tao's Restaurant at the Paradiz centre yesterday for its 6 course lunch (19.80++).

As usual, it is the DSI-intern-uni-poly-mix gang.

Read more about the restaurant here.

The 6 course lunch is definitely worth the money. You can to choose other than the starter from a variety of dishes, soups, salads, mains and drinks.

The starter is the same for all.

It consists of a hot mix of egg, ham and cheese served with bread. You won't feel sick of it at the end because the portion is just right to spice you up for what that awaits you ahead.

The salad is next and I choose the Fruit Salad which is a combination of crab meat, prawn, small slices of fruits and honey sauce. If you are going, try the Farm Boy salad which is highly recommended as well.

Next up, the soup. Pumpkin is definitely the healthy choice to go. Simply rich and delicious. Try the mushroom soup if you dun feel like having pumpkin, but either one will not be a wrong choice made.

The drinks (other than the normal tea served right at the start) is a range of ice tea with different tea favours. Ice summer peach is definitely the best. Ice rose apple is great too.

You can even eat the slices of peach in the pot after you have enjoyed the tea.

The main course is up next... lamp cutlet. A unique sauce to go with the lamb. Meat is nice and the taste is unique without the usual lamp's foul smell. I think the baby pork ribs some of them ordered is nicer than mine. Choose between these two and you won't regret.

And just when you think you are really full, the dessert is served next. I can't remember what it is called.. think Burchlee or something. It taste heavenly. Brown sugar on top of egg-tart-soft-jelly-whatever is just too nice a combination. You have to try this!

All right, at the end of the meal we concluded that the price is definitely value for the quality of food and service they gave. $23 bucks for a 6 course meal? No way... only at Tao's.

Heard from lippy the Ju Ju restaurant beside Tao's is just as nice. Seafood hotpot.. same price for a 6 course lunch set. Yummy.

If you are thinking of going for dinner, it costs $10 bucks more but it is a 7 course dinner. $10 bucks for an additional dish. They must be damn confident of their food.

Oh well... eat, sleep and play.... and I hate to say this but... work as well.

Proposal Daisakusen

2008-12-26T00:32:00.002+08:00

Merry Xmas to all!

Was watching this Japanese drama Proposal Daisakusen for the past few days. It is one of the few Japanese drama which I think is nice and has meaning in it. The concept is interesting, the acting were great, development of the characters were done nicely, tinge of humour now and then, and very touching I must admit.

You can catch it here. If you want the better quality version, you can get it from me. The songs from this drama are great too, catch it here online. The ending theme song Ashita Hareru Kana is especially touching and lovely. Fits the show totally.

A short description:

Yamashita Tomohisa and Nagasawa Masami play a young man and woman who have been friends since elementary school. Yamashita's character, Iwase Ken, is obstinate and unskilled in love, but he fell long ago for the lively and cheerful woman, Yoshida Rei, played by Nagasawa. But Rei is about to get married to another man. While Ken and other friends from high-school attend the wedding ceremony, a fairy appears and sends Ken back in time, giving him a second chance to win the girl he loves.

I dun think I will give the review here since most of you will be uninterested and totally ignore this post.

Just wanna share a great show with you guys. This show is for those who wanna to have some new insight towards relationship, those who just want to have a good cry over a touching show, people who thought love has abandon you, something to touch your heart...

I saw just one episode and I am captivated by it. It is only 11 episodes long, so do watch it when you are free.

Christmas is after all, all about sharing love to the people around you.

Thanks for those who send me the xmas messages. If I never return your message, it just mean that I am making up for it here.

First Xmas Party

2008-12-23T20:44:00.007+08:00

It is the first xmas party for me at Angie's bf house... and a mask party it is! Enjoy the pics.

Guess who's who..

And the organisers...

An Ending and A New Beginning

2008-12-16T18:22:00.002+08:00

Just came back from Malacca. It was definitely much better than the last time I went. It is a bit unfair to compare though. The last time I went was to A'Famosa while this time round, it was the city main - Jonker Walk.

And with the TV show Little Nyonya airing, it was quite a good timing to visit Malacca.

Can't seem to find a lot of Peranakan food over there, other than the laska. Tried the rice ball and chicken rice. Rice ball was disappointing. The chendol was nice, with the brown sugar on top... yum yum.

This trip probably marks an ending and yet a new beginning.
I did learn something out of the words you said.

Anyway, Xmas is coming and hope everyone enjoy this special day!

If You Dun Get A Bonus This Year

2008-12-11T20:42:00.003+08:00

If You Dun Get A Bonus This Year...

Howl At The Moon

2008-12-07T10:48:00.002+08:00

Yet another great place to chill out.

The new pub near centre point at orchard, Howl at the Moon.

The band was fantastic. Check out their website at here.

It is one of the best I have seen so far. All the members knew how to play piano, electric guitar and quite a few other instruments. The best thing is they are really funny.

And if you are the birthday gal, you are in for a treat. They will ask you to go up the stage and perform a special for you. It was entertaining.

The cover was $20 which includes a drink. It is definitely worth it.

There wasn't a lot of people yesterday night, which probably means that it is still new. But I am sure words will spread and before long it will get crowded.

So, do drop in and take a look. You will enjoy it.

I am Lost

2008-11-28T23:33:00.002+08:00

Lost.. really I think I am lost.

I can't seem to find the direction I am going. Be it at work or my personal life.

The economic turn down, the Thailand uprising, the Mumbai's terrorists' attacks.. what's up with this world man..

Workwise... I can't seem to find the eagerness I had when I first started off. The flame just died. I am managing it well though. I wonder how the rest of them feel. Rising star is probably still shining bright. Good for her. Haha..

Lovewise.. I don't really want to comment here..

I should probably seek refuge at my grandmother's house. I find peace there whenever I go over. Here I come...

Anna and the King

2008-11-16T12:53:00.006+08:00

This blog is about Alice. The name has been changed to protect the innocent. Beware...

I wonder if you have seen the movie Anna and the King? No, it is not related to Alice. Like I say, it is just a movie's name. The movie was terrible, Alice fell asleep during the movie or was it due to the chalet before hand?

Many years back, Alice and xiao xin were classmates back in their secondary school. Like I say, names have been changed to protect innocent parties. Their secondary school was definitely not in Yishun like mine and definitely not YTSS. It is just a story, fiction, you know.. not true.. make up one. Get the idea?

Alice wasn't that bright a student back then, but she was hardworking. Xiao xin was also not very smart but slightly better than Alice. (Please dun complain first, that's how the story goes ma...) He was also very hardworking fyi.

Alice and xx sat beside each other during class but the people around him including Alice always bully him. A poor chap.. but nice at heart.. he forgave them all. Even helping them out when they have problems in their work.

Back then, there wasn't any hanphones and pagars were not so common yet. Most communication was still done through house phones. A far cry from now right? When is the last time your house phone rang and it is for you?

Alice often called xx after school to ask him for advice. Not about how one should lead life blah blah, they were so young then and knew nothing about these. It was mostly about school work. I wonder why xx always help her since she keep ganging up with others in class to bully him. Guess he was too kind hearted. She called so often until xx' mum knew from the phone's ringing tune that it was her. Kidding.. there is caller ID back then. Xx is thinking of getting consulation fees from Alice now that the economy is so bad and a pay cut might happen anytime soon. Alice... prepare to receive the lawyer's letter.

Somehow... I dunnoe why.. both of them ended up working in the same restaurant after their O level. It was tough, you have to wake up really early and xx was constantly being scolded for doing the wrong things. I guess the knowledge in text books can't be applied easily in real world. Alice was doing quite all right, other than the spilling of water over a customer. I wonder if she has gotten over the shock yet. But I guess she learned a lot from the experience and became stronger in character.

Ok, so they did become closer.. no prize for guessing what happen to them after that. All xx said to me was that a christmas card was involved.. that's the start. The ending involves a certain bus interchange. And he remembers the exact location and what happened back then. Xx is thinking of sueing her for the emotional pain caused and the phobia inflicted in him with regards to future usage of the interchange located somewhere north of Singapore. Nope, it is definitely not the Yishun one, although it is pretty near my place. It is a story my goodness.

Ok, so that part was boring for you guys, so I am going to fast foward a little bit. Few years pass by and everyone started working and lifestyle changed.

It is all about beer and chill out..

And 5-10..

Where the loser have to drink..

Staring...

Birthdays...

And getting married... nope, he is not the groom.. looks like the waiter from the restaurant...

Well, time flies... xx's first love is getting married but the groom is not him.. he only has one word to say....

Heng!

Lol, just for laugh folks. Names and locations have been cleverly changed and it takes a sage to figure them out. So no worries..

Before I end off, they say I look like Jay Chou with the specs.

Please... don't make Jay puke. He still has a great future ahead of him...

Night Shift Counting down

2008-11-12T18:30:00.002+08:00

Two more nights to end of my night shift.

Haven been updating as you now why la... the sudden change in biological clock needs time to adjust and I am just too tired to blog.

Anyway, still surviving. I still need to blog about Alice's wedding.

But for now, have some friends who are not feeling well and many busy with work and exam. So good luck here and take good care of your health! Will be back soon.

Congrats!

2008-11-07T09:21:00.002+08:00

Well, the girl has finally found her right man.

Congrats Alice on your completion of the wedding dinner, and still managed to join us at wine bar after that.

It must be really tiring, but it is all for a happy occasion. Really happy for you. Enjoy yourself in the wonderland of yours and may you "zao sheng gui zi".

I can't believe you pour the well wishes(in terms of wine) back to my glass! The "zao sheng gui zi" better not be in it because it was out of friendship I drank for you! And if I kana, it is really going to be your fault!

Anyway, will wait for the photos.

Last but not least, happy birthday cheng hao! Although I have said it many times but then.... may all your wishes come true, that includes career and gals!

Stress

2008-11-02T21:01:00.002+08:00

It is Nov already.

Stress stress stress.

Starting to feel the heat from my work. Oh well.. shall not talk about it.

Just celebrated ch's bdae this afternoon with the FF gang at bishan by having a simple lunch. Hope he likes the zen we bought for him.

The next big thing is probably going to be Alice's traditional wedding on Thursday's night.

I am still thinking whether to blog about her. A special entry and lots of juicy news perhaps?

I can see her stun face in my mind. Haha.

Into The Wild 3

2008-10-26T09:58:00.003+08:00

Been getting lazy in updating my blog lately. Let me show a couple of pictures first before I proceed. Think I will not upload any more Into The Wild pics anymore.

It is a long weekend this week, but still time flies when you are enjoying yourself.

Seriously, I don't know if I should continue blogging. Maybe it is time for other things?

Into The Wild 2

2008-10-20T22:28:00.004+08:00

More nice pics...

Some of them I really have no time to photoshop, so I am just going to leave all of them as original as they can be..

Birthday Week

2008-10-16T20:39:00.004+08:00

It is my birthday week this week.

So I am kind of busier than usual, and my work is the same as well. This means that I am super busy.

Last Sat, went Wala Wala with my FF gang and tpl and yy. They have the pictures so I am just going to post a few I kop from their blogs.

Thanks for the cake peeps.

Bl's specs and she keep asking me to wear it.

That's bl's cap as well.

The babes.

Monday was dinner with my JC buddies. No pics though, but we had a great time chilling out at Pan Pacific's lobby pub.

Tuesday was with darryl and wei sern. Dave and joyce last min could not make it.

Wednesday was with td, pin, sue ann and her sis, lisa and marie. It is quite hard to meet some of them so glad that we had the chance. It is pin's birthday today. Happy birthday though I know you don't read my blog.

The reason why I mention all of you is not to show off or what but rather, I wanna thank all who make an effort to meet up, not just for me but it is always nice to see one another once a while.

And of course those who message me and FB me the well wishes. I just wanna say a very big thank you to all.

Love you peeps, but you all know who I love most now. Oh well...

Into The Wild 1

2008-10-11T12:20:00.005+08:00

It is here! Part 1 of Into The Wild:

The first part of Punggol which we went to features a old looking sofa which you have seen in the last post, and a field of lalang for us to explore our imagination.

Note the focus in each of the photo. Some are blurred on purpose to create the effect.

Not easy to capture this shot, I think it took clement several tries.

There you go, the camera man.

The second part of the shoot was at a metal bridge which spans across a little river. We were quite wary at first if the car was able to cross the bridge. After seeing a few cars and a motorbike crossing it, we did the same after taking a few pictures at the location.

Look how worn down the bridge is. But it is really a vintage one. Cool!

We went further down to explore and yet another field of lalang.

A series of zy running and jumping into the air with his guitar.

Before I leave, let me imprint some marks on the ground.

All right, till next post then. Hope you liked the pictures!

Into The Wild Prelude

2008-10-06T20:18:00.004+08:00

I wonder if you remember my post The Other Side Of Me posted last year. It depicted a first project between me, clement and zhiyang where we went to explore the Malayan Railways and Kampong Glam, and along the process, took many fantastic pictures.

This year, we are back again: Into the Wild.

Location: Punggol outskirt
Tools: Nikon DSLR (I forgot which model! My Bad.), guitar, green apple, soccer ball and Lancer for transportation.
Time: Sunday 3rd Oct 4 pm onwards.
People: Me and Zy (Models), Clement (camera crew).

For a start I am just going to tease you with a few shots I think are worth the time for you to read on.

All right, there will be more to come. Stay tune to the full story of Into the wild, brought to you by three guys, a ball, a green apple and a guitar.

Next Stage of Life

2008-09-30T23:55:00.002+08:00

It was a normal working day, and as usual, I took bus 39 from Yishun to my work place at Pasir Ris. The driver was a very old uncle and seems quite blur. One look at him and I almost feel sorry for him because he has to work even at this age. I hope he is working just to pass time.

He took the wrong route as a matter of fact. Was about to exit from SLE to TPE when, I don't know what he is thinking, he paused the bus for a while and continued on CTE! That is obviously the wrong route. He panicked and continued driving until some kind soul on board gave him the directions to return back to the original route. By then, the damage has been inflicted. 20 minutes longer than the usual duration.

I am not blaming the driver. I feel sorry for him in fact. He is so going to get it from his superiors I am sure. Let's just hope it turn out well for him.

In life, you take the wrong path once a while too. More importantly, you have to get back to the original journey you are suppose to undergo.

It is always nice to think of someone you missed so dearly when you are alone. A lot of us do that I am sure. I do that too.

But I am sure it will be nicer if that person you missed is thinking of you as well.

I am not saying telepathy here. I meant: if you know the person will almost certainly miss you too.

Anyway, it will be a great feeling I am sure. It is a nice feeling.

A lot of times, in our life, we might have taken the wrong bus, took a big round to heaven-knows-where, miss our stops etc. However, this is actually part of the journey for you to get to where you wanted.

I have missed my buses before, took the wrong ones, went a big loop and got back to my starting point few times. But who knows what the next bus will bring? Or rather where this bus will take me to?

It is raining heavily now. Last time, it used to be so emo staring out looking at the droplets of water falling continuously and splashing on the ground. Now, it seems better. I wonder why?

The time has come for me to move on to the next stage of life.

Am I ready? I think not yet.

F1 Weekend

2008-09-28T22:29:00.004+08:00

This weekend is a historic one for Singapore. You know why. At the end of it, these are the standings of the drivers. It is quite an exciting race and I managed to stay with the race for most of the time.

Final positions after 61-lap race:

1 F Alonso (Renault)

2 N Rosberg (Williams)

3 L Hamilton (McLaren)

4 T Glock (Toyota)

5 S Vettel (Toro Rosso)

6 N Heidfeld (BMW Sauber)

7 D Coulthard (Red Bull)

Lippy gave me a link to a fantastic video of F1 which you might be interested.

This weekend was also a fun one with some of my nus-turn-colleagues. We went to Brewerkz to chill followed by Mac to calm our nerves after the drinks.

It was the usual talk about work, money, life, men and women. Do not have any photos to upload so too bad.

I am still waiting to buy a new phone, hopefully one with good camera for obvious reason.

Samsung i8510 and Omnia are my choices, though I am contemplating if I should wait for SE's X1 due in Nov. Decisions...

3 months into work and life still goes on...

Mamma Mia!

2008-09-21T22:18:00.002+08:00

It was a busy weekend for me. I hope it was just as exciting for you.

Just saw the movie Mamma Mia. It was really nice, so please go and watch it.

Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast as an independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island. Donna (Streep) is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the daughter she's raised alone. On a quest to find her father to walk her down the aisle, Sophie brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Based on the smash hit musical seen by over 30 million people worldwide with a gross to date of US$2 billion. It is set to songs by popular '70s group ABBA.

I loved the songs, think I will go and buy their sound track.

A little bit of advertising:

My friend looking for students who want tuition on JC Econs.

Another looking for tutor for JC Maths and Physics, at YCK area.

If you have the above lobangs, do let me know.

Alice's Bdae!

2008-09-19T22:38:00.002+08:00

It is Alice's bdae today. We had a early celebration on mon and these are the pictures from hy's camera:

I look so sleepy here..

The 3 members of the FF gang..

This char bo dunnoe from where, and try to kiss our bdae gal.. scary!!

And of course Andy who was invited because of a sudden supper session not too long ago, where he came to know alice. Good job bro for the transport! Alice says thanks for the cake.

For a split moment, alice became the gal behind my back..

The gals...

Again.. think I am slightly more awake here.

The cake!

You have to try to spot the difference from the earlier one. An imposer for the bdae gal..

The real one gets surrounded again..

And I don't have the group photo. Where is it??

Oh well, nvm. Just enjoy the pics.

Love Unlimited

2008-09-18T22:24:00.006+08:00

Nothing much to update. Just wanna share a video introduced to me from tong dee:

New Skin

2008-09-13T16:49:00.003+08:00

I am getting too lazy to blog. I don't know why. Maybe it is the working life.

Still, I manage to do a bit of work by changing the blog skin. Some new changes huh.

Do let me know if there are any mis-alignment or what-so-ever.

Sometimes I really don't understand myself. I am confused.

What do I want? Maybe this is what life is all about: making decisions.

As you grow older, decisions you make become correspondingly more critical. The impact will be felt, even if you don't like it.

Gone are the days where you can just ignore everything and everything might still come into place perfectly.

Arrival of the moments when every action and words might affect your whole life.

Responsibilities? Commitment?

I find myself no longer able to keep promises I made to myself. Where have the discipline gone to?

I am still optimistic though. Just don't write me off - yet.

4E4 BBQ

2008-09-06T10:35:00.002+08:00

Went for my secondary school BBQ yesterday night. This is the group photo I took.

Seriously, when I left the pit yesterday night, I wasn't feeling really good. Yes, it was fun. What I meant was they like to mix all kind of beer, hard liquor and vodka together. I really regret bringing the vodka there.

This morning, I had a hangover.

The night was terrible, keep turning here and there. And I dreamed of work!

What a way to start the weekend.

Working Life

2008-08-31T23:18:00.002+08:00

I know I am getting lazy in updating my blog. Now I finally understand why, in the past, some of my friends who were working takes so long to write an new entry. It is because of laziness. This is also a very convenient excuse.

You see, when people work, they tend to be lazier during their leisure time. I do not know how true this is for you, but it certainly describes me, totally.

Out of the seven days in a week, 5 days are spent on working. I might have occasional dinner with friends after work some of the weekdays, but it is super draining and I would not recommend doing it frequently. That's why I enjoyed the dinners at Yishun with the FF gang since it is so convenient.

So that leaves me with just Friday night, Sat and Sun. And frankly speaking, to enjoy yourself all out for 3 days is suicidal. If I stayed out late on Friday or Sat night, the next day will be a super lethargic one, at least for the morning part. So I will need half a day to recover myself. Time is slipping fast as you can see. Quality time is not that much after all. I have got to manage it well.

Throw in my self indulgence sports like tennis, running, swimming, gym etc, and another half day will be gone.

And meeting up with different cliques of friends is almost a must every weekends. I just have to rotate the meeting times every few week. And with more cliques of friends, you get busier.

Seriously, I am glad to be single now. At least I have more time for myself and friends. I have seen friends who are in a relationship and meeting up with them is getting harder. I am not blaming them, just feeling helpless about it.

It is the same for me. Even if I do go out on dates, the weekend seems especially short. I have to turn down the usual gathering and meet up sessions with life time pals and friends.

I specially took 15 minutes off just to write this entry before I sleep.

Laziness is inborn. When you work harder, it grows inside you. When finally one fine day, it out-grown your own capacity to keep it in check, you will become like me: sitting in front of the computer with a tummy, blogging about how life is so short and quality time is so hard to find.

Get a hold of yourself. Welcome to the working world.

A Stressful Day At Work

2008-08-25T21:36:00.003+08:00

Almost a week since I last blogged. Nothing much to write about actually. And I had no nice photos. Maybe this one:

Jinjia's birthday sometime ago. I have more photos, but I don't think it is appropriate for me to post them here since I dunnoe a lot of her friends.

Anyway, today I had a very stressful day at work. You might not understand what I am going to say next. It goes something like this:

The AE is sick or something. Someone has to handle and carry the deck phone. Me, being the most junior was given the chance to perform this task. I am scheduled to do this in OCT only fyi. But this time round it is an ad hoc situation. Was quite lost seriously. I even have to answer calls during my lunch. I wonder how they manage this. Impressive. However, I really learned a lot from this experience. Seems like they find this very effective and decided to prolong it! OMG!

I hope I can survive the week.

5 Years From Now

2008-08-20T22:01:00.003+08:00

Seriously, I think posting pictures of babes will attract a lot of comments. But then, I dun have a lot of pretty friends to begin with. Most of those babes you see in the earlier post are not my direct friends. But then again they kind of become my friend after that night. Still... I don't take pictures with them so often so... you got to bear with the pictures I post. Lol.

Enough of that. For those who still do not know I am taking salsa classes, now you do. Think hy is trying to gather enough people to join. Here is the link. It is quite fun I must say. Will go for more lessons and social nights once I am good enough.

Was talking to ch about what we will become in 5 years time. I actually hoped to have a flat of my own. I can then have small parties every now and then in my house. Invite friends over for mj, drinks, poker, soccer watching and even salsa! Nice...

Time to change phone....

Trixie's Birthday @Dragonfly.

2008-08-17T21:57:00.007+08:00

Its Trixie's birthday celebration at Dragonfly yesterday night. Happy birthday gal!

Lots of her friends turned up and some of whom I do not know. The following are pictures taken using hy's camera that night.

I actually have some reservation posting these pictures. Too many babes and hunks were there. This might cause some serious nose bleeding to some of my readers! Warning! Grab some tissue papers before continuing....

There you go. I hope you survived the ordeal.

No explanation on those pictures. Just enjoy them ok?

Botan Restaurant

2008-08-10T23:42:00.007+08:00

Went to Botan restaurant @Far East Square for dinner with my internship friends yesterday night. Recommended by Lippy and so we went to have a look. The food was nice and the service not bad too. You can read more about the restaurant here.

The service is good. Once we arrived, we were treated with warm towels to clean our hands and face. The drinks were served first while we take our time to look at the menus. Recommendations by the staffs all turn out to be fantastic.

A warm sake to start the ball rolling.

The sets are huge. We ordered 3 sets and some other dishes to share among ourselves. 5 of us in all. A total damage of 122 bucks, but well spent I must say.

Next we went to esplanade to have dessert at Haagen Dazs.

What a filling night!

Commencement 2008 Pics

2008-08-08T23:48:00.003+08:00

Just wanna share with you the photos the camera crews took for me during my Commencement. I paid them to do so fyi!

Wala Wala

2008-08-01T23:41:00.006+08:00

Wala Wala on the 25th July. Yes, that's last week. Got the photos late but decided to upload it anyway.

The Famous Five was caught in action yet again, this time minus one though. So four of us went to chill out at Holland V Wala Wala and tried their Fish and Chips, rumored to be excellent by trixie. Indeed, it was quite good. The band was so so only on that night I feel.

We didn't have a table when we arrived at around 930 pm. Therefore, we settle at one corner and order some drinks to keep us happy while waiting for people to leave their tables.

A jug of beer plus pineapple juice to start off with.

I must really cut down on drinking beer. My belly is very... beer-ery?

This is an example of a fake two-toothed vampire.

Needless to say, this is a fake one-toothed vampire.

This probably is a fake vampire with his teeth grown at the wrong position. I suggest a visit to the dentist.

There you go, the legendary Fish and Chips.

Hmm.. this is a picture of evil people trying to dig my vampire tooth away? Or were they nice people trying to help me dig my nose? Oh my, I can do that myself. Thanks guys.

Not only is it a night of fake vampires, it is also a night of witches. Help!

I am red! See, I can change colour easily.

Two lesbians trying to kiss each other.

Two gays trying to kiss each other as well? What's up with the people over there?

Enjoying my cocktail.

That red thingy is probably the tail of some mouse or whatever this vampire is trying to gobble.

Curse of the night on our wrists and four cup noodles to end the day.

A quote to share with you guys:

You sow a thought, you reap an action. Reap an action, you sow a habit. Sow a habit, you reap a character. Sow a character, you reap your destiny.

Free Loader No More!

2008-07-28T21:28:00.002+08:00

The following piece of information, please read it and forget about it.

I finally received my first pay!

And I have proudly contributed to the household income for the very first time. Finally joining my brothers in giving my mum some token of appreciation, now I am no longer a free loader. This is something good, but as I have said, just read and forget k?

For the first time, my dad actually drop some hint for me to get a gf soon. You know, it goes something like: your eldest brother is getting married soon, then followed by your second brother, then it will be your turn, so please do something about it.

I am trying dad, but nice and SUITABLE gals don't just fall from the sky. I emphasize on the second adjective because I think there are a lot of nice gals around me but not many are suitable. Or maybe it is just because I don't dare to try.

Well a lot of my friends tell me: Just Do It, Nothing Is Impossible, you got to find Your Right Partner, Think Different, Reach Out and Touch Someone, You Have Come a Long Way Baby, and you have to be Always Moving Forward.

I get the point, let's just leave it to fate.

Was having lunch with my seniors today. Most of them are married with kids and naturally they will talk about marriage, commitment, raising a family etc. Hence, I get quite a good insight to how my life could be in the future. They were surprised when I told them I am still single.

They go like: Isn't there tons of gals in NUS? You seems like a very active person, should know a lot of gals right? Should find one while studying la, once you start work very hard to find.

I am not going to address those questions here. One thing I did discover is that we liked mambo songs! They liked their generation's songs and I liked oldies. Just nice.

Anyway, I think friends are more important now. Like a mind test I did with my colleagues, I placed friends in front of almost everything.

Aren't you glad that you have me as your friend?

Interesting Things

2008-07-23T21:55:00.007+08:00

These pictures came a bit late, rather I only uploaded them now. An outing to Sentosa last Friday with my fellow colleagues - The SMP Ocean 13. So just enjoy the photos.

The babes...

The hunks.. those not wearing shirt. I am wearing one FYI.

Just what are these people trying to do?

So embarrassing...

Either the weather is too hot....

... or I am too hot. The paparazzi just can't stop snapping me. I was just relaxing myself reading a book and they have to take a picture of me doing that. Where is all the privacy?

Ended the day with a few drinks at Cafe Del Mar.

Some interesting things I have discovered so far...

On the first day of work back to my department, I actually found out that Adrian, my fellow departmental colleague was born on the same day and month as me! This is so coincidental. We were under the same prof for our FYP, are in the same SMP scheme, same department and now same birthday. Interesting?

Imagine what you can do with a Samsung 32 inch LCD TV. You could invite your friend over for a soccer match? Watch a golf competition and laugh at the players when they can't find the ball, when obviously with the LCD TV, the ball is just there. Yes, just at the corner. Why can't they find it?

Now imagine again you have yet another Samsung 40 inch LCD TV in the house. What will you do?

You have to be very careful when you are using the remote control. The signals just bounce all over the place and you might end up switching on the wrong TV!

Ok, I don't understand why I have two such TVs in my house.

My toe nail is taking a very long time to heal. I hated it.

Things I Do When I am Travelling

2008-07-20T01:18:00.003+08:00

What are the things you like to do when you are travelling? I mean within Singapore, travelling from one place to another.

Last time, when I am still studying, there are three things I will always do. Sleep, read notes, listen to mp3 or a mixture of two. Yes, I know reading notes is just such a nerdy thing to do. Well, I have my image as an engineer to keep up with you know.

Someone once remarked: When you are at your deathbed, you will wish that you have not spend so much time on work.

Now that I am not studying, reading notes can be strike off the list.

Sleeping is still the top choice. It used to be called daydreaming but I thought that would really make me a real loser so I have decided to change it to mediate. Hmm ok, so now, mediating is my top choice.

Listening to mp3 is also a must. Sometimes I do mediation and mp3 together. Seems ironic right? But that is actually a higher level of mediation. Mp3s are meant to distract me, and forces my mind to concentrate amidst the noise.

I like to play Sudoku too. I can usually solve a normal puzzle during the to and fro trip. Difficult level I have not succeed yet, other than on paper, and using 100% concentration.

Recently, I found myself another past-time-thing-I-can-do-on-the-bus-or-train. The Rubik Cube!

This seems to be everywhere I go. I keep seeing it. Dunnoe why. I used to have one, and I can solve up to a maximum of 4 sides on my own without any algorithms. That was when I am quite young. I kinda of break it one fine day.

Anyway, I got myself one after seeing how aska keep bringing it out of her bag and showing off her skills. I got it for less than 6 bucks. Quite cheap.

It took me about an hour to solve it the first time. I used the online algorithm of course.

The pictures were taken in order. (I am not so bo liao to bluff you).

It will probably takes me a few days to memorise and solve it without referring to any algorithms.

Lets see how fast I can go.

Into The Wild

2008-07-18T23:22:00.002+08:00

I wonder if anyone has watched the movie Into The Wild or read the book. A fantastic show recommended to me by tanzy. You can catch it here if you like.

Into the Wild (1996) by Jon Krakauer is a bestselling non-fiction book about the adventures of Christopher McCandless.

Chris McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia, and died at age 24 in a wilderness area of the state of Alaska. After graduating in 1990 from Emory University, McCandless ceased communicating with his family, gave away his savings of $24,000 to OXFAM and began traveling, later abandoning his car and burning all the money in his wallet.

In April 1992, Jim Gallien gave McCandless a ride to the Stampede Trail in Alaska. There McCandless headed down the snow-covered trail to begin an odyssey with only ten pounds of rice, a .22 caliber rifle, a camera, several boxes of rifle rounds, some camping gear, and a small selection of literature—including a field guide to the region's edible plants, Tana'ina Plantlore. He took no compass. He died sometime in August, and his decomposed body was found in early September by moose hunters.

McCandless survived for approximately 112 days in the Alaskan wilderness, foraging for edible roots and berries, shooting an assortment of game—including a moose—and keeping a journal. Although he planned to hike to the coast, the boggy terrain of summer proved too difficult and he decided instead to camp in a derelict bus. In July, he tried to leave, only to find the route blocked by high water. Toward the end of July, after apparently remaining healthy for more than three months, McCandless wrote a journal entry reporting extreme weakness and blaming it on "potato seeds". As Krakauer explains, McCandless had been eating the roots of Hedysarum alpinum, a historically edible plant commonly known as wild potato (also "Eskimo potato"), which are sweet and nourishing in the spring but later become too tough to eat. When this happened, McCandless may have attempted to eat the seeds instead. Krakauer theorizes that the seeds contained a poisonous alkaloid, possibly swainsonine (the toxic chemical in locoweed) or something similar. In addition to neurological symptoms such as weakness and loss of coordination, the poison causes starvation by blocking nutrient metabolism in the body.

You can google more if you are interested. But the show is simply great! A bit extreme though, and I don't think anyone, at least for me, would try to repeat what he has done. Nonetheless, it gives an insight to how one can just cut himself off from this intoxicated world and wander into the wild. Unbelievable.

Do what you feel like doing. Isn't that a bit hard in the context of the society now?

Failure

2008-07-17T14:53:00.002+08:00

Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson. I have realised that failure, whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind, is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of psychic rewards. Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is.
Y.K.

Claustrophobia

2008-07-16T22:43:00.003+08:00

I am feeling claustrophobic. Not literally but I am feeling the sense of being confined to within my own world. The feeling is akin to losing all your friends, family, hope and belief which ultimately leads to an empty shell. And as I struggle to break out of the enclosure, it just leads me to another dimension which sees no light. I panicked, unsure of how long this is going to last. I hated the thought of not being in control, and especially, being blinded to what lies ahead of you. Maybe I have lost the confidence to break free, to love, to embrace and to believe? I am after all, all alone in my little world.

Commencement 2008

2008-07-12T18:10:00.005+08:00

It is the annual Commencement once again. And this year, I am one of the main lead. Let's take a look at some of the pictures taken using my camera.

Adrian, zichao and me.

Me and xiaolu.

Julius and me.

Me and Nelson.

Me and Kelvin.

Me and weiya.

Baolei and me.

Yanjun, me and yaliang.

Desmond and me.

Lin lee and me.

Guan hong and me.

Dave and me.

With Darryl and co.

Darryl and me.

I realised how tan I was after looking at the pictures.

As usual, Commencement is boring. I didn't even touched the food.

Took photos with a few of my friends. I am happy that all are doing well now. I will probably miss Lin Lee when she leaves for MIT. And then Steven when he leaves for Japan. I think the picture with Steven is in his camera. Got to get it from him.

What can I say now? Hmm.. no more student meals from now on I guess...

Long Service Award

2008-07-09T21:58:00.004+08:00

Today I received a call from my army camp saying that I need to collect my long service award. It is awarded to NS men who has served at least 4 years of reverist. I had only served 3 but I guess they were expecting me to go back for the last one which I did not. Anyway, the poor NSF has been arrowed to give out those medals not yet being collected, at the expense of his own time.

He wanted to meet me in Sembawang mrt since he knew from my profile that I lived near Yishun. I didn't want to make life difficult for him by asking him to come Yishun instead. So i agreed, at once. Yes, I am such a considerate person.

My mum called me later that day to say that we are going out for dinner. I have a urge to ask her if my bro is in Sembawang too. His new flat is there and there is a tiny chance that he is there to oversee the renovation. (To get a free ride fyi). I thought again and concluded that the chance is too small and I better just take a train down to Sembawang. Yes, I am being considerate again.

When I reached Sembawang, the NSF asked which Ang I am because he is meeting another Ang too. I told him my name and got my medal. Take a look.

Kind of a farewell present for me? How timely can it get. I needed some motivation right now.

I left for home and when I was about to reach my house, my mum called me and said: Did you just collected some medal from Sembawang? Your bro just did too!

Yes, I know which Ang the NSF is meeting now.

I guess that's life.

Off on a Monday

2008-07-07T17:55:00.002+08:00

Finally I get to rest after starting work last Tuesday. Today and tomorrow. I feel so tired today when I woke up. Went to my brother's new house in Sembawang early in the morning. Came back home and had lunch. Initially, I wanted to go gym after resting. But I fell asleep! No discipline.

Anyway, I have a lot of movies I wanted to see: Wanted, 21, Hancock, Red Cliff etc. Should be watching Red Cliff with ch and gang. Anyone wanna see the other movies do let me know yea.

Work has made me a healthier person, as pal aska had mentioned. I sleep early and wake up early. When I have time, I exercise. When I am on off, I play harder. That's life I suppose.

Argh, I got a weekly report I need to write. First homework of the career?

Anyway, I am going out for dinner. Ciao!

Open Communication

2008-07-03T20:29:00.005+08:00

It has been a few days into my first job. I wonder if it can be called boring. Basically, normal orientation stuffs and lots of lectures. I am trying to keep myself awake, especially those lectures after lunch! When the real work start, I think that's when the real boredom comes into play. All right, maybe I will be enthusiastic for the initial stage. I hope I will have the passion to continue burning the fire.

Please people, no names.

Finally, I have started my next stage in life. Yea, I am so looking forward to pursuing it.

No more pondering...

Going after my STAR..

I will be working this weekend. Yes, when I am working WEEKEND, some others will be working WEEKDAY. But I am totally fine with it because I am having Monday and Tuesday off. Think I will go for the $6 bucks MOVIE. Hmm, maybe will go for the HALF PRICE Gelare on Tuesday? Or maybe I will go shopping on the less crowded weekdays? So many activities waiting for me. Anyone wants to change with me? Rah...

I am already planning how to spend my first paycheck. If you are reading this, I am sad to inform you that you have no part in it. Just too bad.

After CPF, money to my parents, money for insurance, transportation, daily spendings and my targeted saving for a month, I think I will have a tiny bit of money left. Will buy something for myself. Maybe a belt? Levis? Then I can show off in the office. Haha, no I won't do that. I must practice humbility, adding to the already large volume within me!

Bintan Trip 2008 Part 2

2008-06-30T19:02:00.007+08:00

Photos from anna's camera. More flesh this time round I feel. Enjoy...

\

Bintan Trip 2008

2008-06-29T22:04:00.004+08:00

Hi all, I am back from my Bintan trip. Went for 2D1N at Nirwana Garden Resort with ch, trixie, anna and hy. See their blog if you want to read more. I am just going to showcase some photos here.

All the photos are from hy's camera.

All the people are single and avaliable except anna who is married.

All the photos serve to advertise for whoever is in them to potential opposite gender friends of mine.

All the people you see are straight (as in they only like opposite gender people (I am assuming (at least true for me))).

Total damage: $250

!!!

Last Week to my Freedom!

2008-06-27T22:39:00.002+08:00

This is my last week of freedom before I start work.

Went Underwater World today. Yes, don't laugh. The one in Sentosa. I have become a tourist today, all thanks to aska. Please send me the photos if you are able to view this.

I just received a letter from NTUC income insurance about my claim for the flight delay. Seems like I might not be able to get the claim in the end. Roar. Omg, why am I roaring?

Will be in Bintan for the weekend. Just a short get away with my secondary friends. Don't miss me too much yea?

Europe - Florence

2008-06-25T23:31:00.004+08:00

Florence is a beautiful and amazing city. Favourite city for my europe trip.

A little note on Florence...

Florence was very much the epicentre of the Italian Renaissance and remains one of the world's top attractions for lovers of art--as such, it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Located in the heart of Tuscany, a stunning province of hills and mountains, the Renaissance capital of the world, with famous sons like Leonardo, Dante, Machiavelli and Michelangelo, is a sight not to be missed. The world-famous Duomo with the Brunelleschi cupola and the marble clad baptistry are simply stupendous, but not all the monuments are like this. The streets of the historic town centre are often narrow and dark, the palaces robust and intimidating. But have a look at the squares - wonderful Mediterranean places where you will like spending hours sitting down, having a coffee and just watching people passing by.

However, Florence is a city of incomparable pleasure concerning churches, monasteries, museums, galleries and palaces. Among the things you can't afford to miss are the Uffizi Galleries, one of the best art museums in the world, the Duomo, the Santo Spirito church and the Ponte Vecchio. To get a great overview of the city, you have plenty of choices: climb the "Cupolone" of the Duomo or the Giotto Tower, head for Piazzale Michelangelo in Oltrarno (other side of river Arno) or farther up to the church of San Miniato.

Ponte Vecchio the oldest and most famous bridge over the Arno; the only Florentine bridge to survive WW2. The Ponte Vecchio (literally "old bridge") is lined with shops, traditionally mostly jewellers since the days of the Medici. Vasari's elevated walkway crosses the Arno over the Ponte Vecchio, connecting the Uffizi to the old Medici palace.

Giotto's Tower - adjacent to the Duomo, you can climb the tower for a magnificent 360-degree view of the Duomo, Florence, and the surrounding area.€6 entrance fee, and requires some tenacity to climb 414 steps.

Baptistery famous for the Paradise door and beautiful interior.

Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo square) plaza on a hilltop with a great view of the city (go there by bus) or climb the stairs and paths from the Lungarno della Zecca.

Accademia. More sculpture, highlights are Michelangelo's David and the unfinished Slaves. The David was recently cleaned in a controversial project.

Florence is simply a city of arts. It is too profound for me though. But the naked David looks great. There are two sides to this sculpture. From one angle, David looks manly and concentrated. From the other angle, he looks boyish. This is true! I verified that.

A little note on the tiny penis. Sculptors in the past believed that a big gun looks awful, hence, the size.

Europe - Pisa

2008-06-23T22:40:00.006+08:00

Best tower award goes to... Leaning tower of Pisa!

What else. The first thought which comes into my mind when I first saw the tower was: OMG, it is beautiful.

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. The city is known worldwide for its famous bell tower.

The best thing about Pisa is that all the famous attractions are concentrated at one location. So this make it easy for us. We just need to see the tower, the Duomo and the Baptistry and we are more or less done with Pisa.

While the Leaning Tower is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza dei Miracoli or "Square of Miracles", to the north of the old town center. The Piazza dei Miracoli also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Camposanto (the monumental cemetery).

Isn't the tower beautiful?

The Baptistry:

Entrance to the Duomo:

It is amazing how an architectural error can lead to the creation of Pisa's most famous icon: Leaning tower. And it earn them quite a big sum of money I suppose.

I will let you guys enjoy the photos.

Three pictures of all the main attractions in Pisa. Thanks to the special effect of my camera.

Views from the top of the tower is nice:

Actually I think the tower is not so high. But it is still quite scary up there! My balls have definitely shrunk as I grow older.

You know why the leaning tower doesn't fall? You will know in a while.

Lots of visitors are helping to push the tower. No wonder it won't fall.

I like the grass field at Pisa too. Best grass field to lie down award I must give.

I have to sleep early and wake up early now. Starting work next week. Sianz.

Europe - Siena

2008-06-23T11:24:00.005+08:00

Siena is probably my third favourite city of all times, after Pai (Thailand) and Florence (Italy). Sapa (Vietnam) will have to take the fourth spot.

A bit of background knowledge...

Siena's cathedral, the Duomo, begun in the twelfth century, is one of the great examples of Italian romanesque architecture. Its main façade was completed in 1380. It is unusual for a Christian cathedral in that its axis runs north-south. This is because it was originally intended to be the largest cathedral in existence, with a north-south transept and an east-west aisle, as is usual. After the completion of the transept and the building of the east wall (which still exists and may be climbed by the public via an internal staircase) the money ran out and the rest of the cathedral was abandoned.

Inside is the famous Gothic octagonal pulpit by Nicola Pisano (1266–1268) supported on lions, and the labyrinth inlaid in the flooring, traversed by penitents on their knees. Within the Sacristy are some perfectly preserved renaissance frescos by Ghirlandaio, and beneath the Duomo in the baptistry is the marvelous baptismal font with bas-reliefs by Donatello, Ghiberti, Jacopo della Quercia and other 15th century sculptors. The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo contains Duccio's famous Maestà (1308–1311) and various other works by Sienese masters. More Sienese paintings are to be found in the Pinacoteca.

Best Piazza (square) award goes to Piazza Del Campo.

The shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, the town square, which houses the Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia, is another architectural treasure, and is famous for hosting the Palio horse race. The Palazzo Pubblico, itself a great work of architecture, houses yet another important art museum. Included within the museum is Ambrogio Lorenzetti's series of frescos on the good government and the results of good and bad government and also some of the finest frescoes of Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti.

I simply loved this square. It has a slight slope with the above building at the end of it. A very relaxing place to just sit down and picnic. A strong competitor to this square would be the one in Lucca, which unfortunately, I will not be covering since I am only there for a few hours. But I got the postcard for that. It's aerial view is fantastic with the buildings around it.

Look at the people! I am not kidding about the picnic story.

The view from a high rise place in Siena. Seriously, I have climbed so many castles, towers, Duomos etc, that I have forgotten which is which.

The reason why I liked Siena so much is because the food there is great. FYI, we are in the Tuscany area now. It is famous for the food. Florence is in this area too. I will blog about it soon. One of the things I will miss is the food and wine over there. Yum yum.

More pictures can actually be found on my facebook. As I have said, only selective pictures will be posted here. A little bit more on facebook. And for the whole album, only those who asked me out will get to see.

Next entry will be on Pisa. Leaning tower of Pisa!

Europe 2008 - Venice

2008-06-22T15:23:00.003+08:00

Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venezsia) is a city in northern Italy, the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,251 (census estimate January 1, 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light". It is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

It was freaking hot when we were there. Hardly any clouds in the sky. A first taste of summer I reckon?

Who is that pretty boy wearing shades in the photo? On the poster I mean.

Surrounded by waters, the main form of transport around Venice is by boat. You can walk too. Juat that it might be a bit far for certain places.

Venice is definitely a beautiful city. The most expensive city in Italy too. Cost us quite a bit.

The night view of Venice is especially beautiful.

I think it is a good place for honeymoon if you have the money. Spend at least a week there to enjoy the city throughly.

I love Sex!

2008-06-21T12:59:00.002+08:00

I love Sex.

I mean the movie Sex and the city.

Taking a break now from the entries of Europe before you guys get bored. I have one more week before I start work and hopefully by then I can complete all the cities which I want to cover.

Back to the movie, I watched it with weeli last night. It turn out to be better than expected.

I think people who liked the drama series will appreciate it a lot.
Gals who have never seen the series will like it too.
Guys who accompany their gfs to see the movie will be touched a little bit I supposed.
Guys like me who see the movie with another guy (I am not gg to call myself a loser here because I think it is perfectly fine) will probably sigh. How come the gals can lead such an exciting/sexciting life and money doesn't seem to be a major concern to them?

Weeli has some thoughts about himself after seeing it. I am not going to elaborate here for him but for myself, the show kind of reminds one not to live life with regrets and make the full use out of it when you have the most precious thing in the world, which is slipping a little bit by bit away from you, something call Time.

On a lighter note, I didn't know life is about colouring. Time to get a drawing board.

Europe 2008 - Verona

2008-06-20T16:53:00.016+08:00

Next stop, Vernoa. Home to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Verona is a city and provincial capital in Veneto, Northern Italy. The ancient town of verona and the center of the modern era are in a loop of the Adige River near Lake Garda. Because of this position, the areas saw regular floodings until 1956, when the Mori-Torbole tunnel was constructed, providing 500 cubic meters of discharge from the Adige river to Lake Garda when there was danger of flooding. The tunnel reduced the risk of flooding from once every seventy years to once every two centuries. Geographic history of Verona is plains and small mountain areas.

There is a river in Verona too. But I think the one in Frankfurt is still the best.

I am posing on the bridge. The coke and the pizza(in my stomach) is the cheap lunch we got ourselves. Think it is about 5 euros for the set. That's 10 SGD. But a normal dinner will usually cost me 10 odd euros!

The sun is strong. I can barely open my eyes. Wait, or has this been the case all these while. Oh cheeses and crackers, I cannot believe this.

I forgot if this is in a castle or museum. Just what are you doing pam! You are going to wake all of them up!

This was taken at their arena, some sort of a mini colosseum. I guess they are preparing for some opera or play.

This is Juliet's house. It is amazing how they can just convert a house and claim that it is Juliet's house, collecting money from the many visitors who will pay just to get some luck (you will know later).

This is the luck I am talking about. It was rumored that whoever touches Juliet's boobs will have an extra-ordinary luck in their love life. Let's just see what pam got herself into.

We went to Romeo's house too. But it was closed.

So sad, I would love to touch him(I hope it is not down there!), if there is any statue of him, and if it will bring luck too.

Next we went to some tower to see the view of the whole town.

Me acting cool again. Actually I was thinking...

..about what pose I should make.

A night view of the photo. We didn't know the bus services end so early. We have to walk 30 minutes back to our hostel in the end.

Next entry will be on Venice!

Europe 2008 - Marburg

2008-06-19T21:47:00.011+08:00

The second day after touching down, we went to a nearby town call Marburg. It is north of Frankfurt and was recommended to us as a quiet and peaceful university town.

The scenery was nice. From far we could see a castle on top of the hill and we set foot towards it. The climb was all right for me but I am not so sure about pam. Anyway, little did we know that this is just a prelude to the many more castles and hills we will be climbing later on.

I will not be uploading all the photos but only those which I think are nice. So if you want to see the whole album, you have got to ask me for it. I am more than willing to share with you, though you might not appreciate all of them. In fact, me either. I am such a noob.

The buildings along the way up to the castle. It is a small town, really peaceful.

Some of the pictures are not well taken. Like what dr chan says, I am a bad photographer. I will improve myself I promise!

Side track a bit, the usual gang plus yy and tpl had a dinner at Delifrance to celebrate hy's birthday. We bought her a set of bikini. Please wear it next weekend for the bintan trip. Happy birthday!

And with yy and tpl, you will expect lots of pictures. So please go view their blogs if you would like to see. I cannot bear to put the chio bus' pictures on mine. Call me selfish, self-centred or narrow-minded or whatever. I don't care!

Europe 2008 - Frankfurt

2008-06-18T00:55:00.009+08:00

I know it is kind of late now, 1 am. Since I am having a little bit of jet lag now, I shall attempt to write a short entry on our first stop Frankfurt, Germany.

There is really nothing much in Frankfurt except for us to transit to Milan the following night. However, I liked the weather when I first stepped foot outside of the train.

It was sunny, yet cold when the wind blew.

We took the map of Frankfurt city and went around exploring this small city eagerly, like children going around the chocolate factory looking for their favourite favours.

I definitely liked the river in Frankfurt: River Main. It deserves the Best River Award. I will be awarding titles as I blog about the city which I have been to.

What I liked about River Main is the fact that you can walk really close to the river or even lie down on the grass near it, enjoying a cup of Applewein.

How you wished you could just slack the whole day off and people watch there.

The weather was just excellent. If only Singapore can be like this.

Nothing interesting to add on. The following day, we went to a nearby town called Marburg. Stay tune!

Europe 2008 - Introduction

2008-06-16T23:02:00.004+08:00

Hi all, I am back from Europe after 3 weeks of fun, food and wine. The damages are probably a big hole in the pocket, dry skin, sore feet from all the walking, and according to pam: high blood pressure and liver failure.

3 weeks of updates I must have missed. Lots of catching up to do.

The next few posts will most likely be about this Europe trip. I am crossing my fingers that it will not bore you to death. There won't be much writing though as I find wordy travel logs very tiring to read, unless of course it is interesting, which I doubt my own capability to achieve that.

Pictures(selectively) will be uploaded in batches definitely. The first week's pictures you will probably see very little of me in them, as I am most of the time taking photos for pam. Since there were only two of us initially, if you see pictures of pam in the pictures, you will know where I am(behind the camera of course!).

Oh ya, if you do not know who pam is, do not worry. She has not been mentioned here before until now. A friend of mine in NUS who wishes to tour Europe before working and who, like me, pang-seng-ed by friends, and ultimately a common module taken together at the last semester brought us through an unforgettable journey across Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

And no she is not my girlfriend. Full stop.

I need some time to organise my photos. Hence, I will blog more another day. Ciao!

At Florence

2008-06-04T04:14:00.002+08:00

Hi all, I know most people will not come here during this period because I am away in Europe. Currently, I am in Florence, Italy. A very beautiful city which I have been waiting to visit. Will update the photos once I am back. The food here are really nice. Wine too. As cheap as water. I wonder if I have the money to last.

Anyway, I am enjoying myself here. Some stuffs over in Singapore though which I need to settle once I am back.

I am so outdated with the Sg news. Friends please update your blogs for me to read!

Flight Delayed!

2008-05-22T21:58:00.002+08:00

Lol, I am still in Singapore now.

My flight got delayed till 550 am (from 1120pm). Now I just have to wait.

Some good news though. Man U won the Champion's League. What a dramatic penalty shoot out.

I passed both my M5 and M9 tests. I am quite lucky to pass the M9 retest, considering I only slept 3 hours before that.

Anyway, not a very good choice to talk about work in your blog. Who knows who is listening? Let's all be more careful.

Europe Itinerary

2008-05-21T10:58:00.003+08:00

My rough itinerary for Europe:

May 22nd: Singapore

May 23rd: Frankfurt

May 24th - 25th : Milan

May 26th: Verona

May 27th - 28th: Venice

May 29th - 30th: Siena

May 31st: Pisa

June 1st - 3rd: Florence

June 4th - 7th: Rome

June 8th - 11th: Lucerne

June 12th - 15th: Munich

June 16th: Singapore

The above is just for reference and in case anything happens, you know where I will be.

Busy times ahead

2008-05-18T01:31:00.003+08:00

I failed my M9 test. I am so ashamed of myself. But well, I didn't really study for it so it is kind of not surprising. I thought I could scrap through. Nvm, I still need to study for another test and the re-test.

Planning for my europe trip is about done. I mean the major things are more or less ok already. I just calculated that I have spent about 3.5k for the air tickets, accommodation and train tickets. There are still a few more to book, so I am guessing it will be 4k in total for the above mentioned expenses.

I think I have to increase my budget to 5.5k instead so that I have about 700 euro to spend over there. Hopefully it is enough.

All right, time to sleep.

Employed!

2008-05-13T00:24:00.003+08:00

I just signed the formal agreement with my company S*S*M*C today.

No running away now. Starting work on 1 July.

Played tennis this evening though. So tired. Think I will try to play more to improve my skills. So next time anyone wanna play please ask me along.

Anyway, my bro signed me up for the Pru dunnoe-what-programme, think it is a few tests for you to get a license to sell their products. He is paying for me so I am just going to take the tests and hopefully pass them. I got one this friday and next wednesday before I fly!

Now you know how busy I am. And I got to do the planning for the europe trip too. And my poker. Argh.. difficult to make a choice between the allocation of time.

I also need to collect my laptop tml and go for a check up for my company this week.

Champion's League Final is coming up soon too. I am sure there will be poker and soccer.

I need more time!

Ups and Downs

2008-05-10T00:31:00.005+08:00

Finally I am putting an end to my Uni life. Considered a graduate?

Some good and bad news for the past week.

I sent my laptop for repair last Wednesday. They called twice to tell me that they needed to change the mother board and might need a quotation for it. Asking me to pay when it is under warranty? I am of course damn pissed. I told the service personnel to ask the engineer to call me and talk to me. He says ok but the call never came. It has been a week already and I am craving for my core 2 Duo!

Today I called them up again and asked how is it going. I am already prepared to give them a one time good one. Fortunately, he told me that the mother board has been changed and will be available for collection on Monday. Hopefully it is FOC. If not I am going to kick a big fuss out of it.

I got my appointment for my job already. Thin Film Process Engineer. Starting work on 1 July. Looking forward to it.

Another good news come from my Heavenly Math Project. This is what my lecturer emailed us:

However, I wanted to show some appreciation for the people who put in some extra effort. For the HW, I assume that the people who worked hard (and didn't just borrow photos!) know that they would get a good mark, but for the projects it is different. There is always the question about whether I like the project or not. Fortunately for you, I did like your projects and I'm giving 10/10 to your six groups.

You may think that since the project only counts 10%, it will not help much, but the way I grade the project, is that I give people 1 if I don't like their project, 4 if they do a good project, 7 if they do a very good project, and 10 if they do an excellent project. I’m only giving 10 to 6 projects and 7 to 8 groups, so you’re getting 6 more points than almost everybody.

Quite happy about it. Haha.

Went for dinner with weili, tpl and yy. Below are the pics taken by the two siao chao bo. Anyway I got to link tpl before she does something to my mother.

Went to see the movie What happens in Vegas? A very nice show. You should go and see it.

For more pics, please view their blogs. I am tired.

Good night!

2008-05-06T23:05:00.003+08:00

Hi all, nope my exam is not over yet. 2 more days to go.

Anyway, this entry is a advertisement for my brother. He is in Prudential as most of you would have known by now. Those interested in working in this field, please let me know yea? I know this is hard. Who would think: I want to be a financial advisor when I graduated. Therefore, I am not going to go asking around. This is just to inform you if you are interested and at least let you know that I have the link.

Most people would have found a job by now. Those who are still searching, all the best and hope to hear good news from you soon.

With the end of student life, we set to embark on another new stage in our life. More responsibilities, more money, more expenditure, more politics...

Haiz, this is life. Back to the topic, this is suppose to be an advert for my brother. So do plan your finances carefully, especially once you start work. You know who to look for when you have too much money in your account!

A lot of people say I am rich. I think they meant in jokingly. Really, I am not. I am a very poor student. And who says engineers earn a lot.

When I was young, Engineering was a very respctable profession. People will go like: wow, your bf is a engineer. Mine is a lawyer, and yours? A doctor!

I wasn't really into law or medicine at that time and engineering was almost in the same league back then. (I am not so sure about it now). So, there you go. I am right here, waiting to graduate with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Good or bad, you can deduce yourself. I will tell you in a few years time.

I don't keep a lot of money in my accounts. I believe they will rot in the banks. The inflation will shrink the money until one fine day when you take them out and realise: The amount has increased, but I can't afford my favourite laska now. It used to be 50 cents, now it costs $2!

Please invest your spare cash somewhere for a better return.

Time to plan. Don't you think so?

Hot!

2008-05-01T23:50:00.002+08:00

It has been rather hot these few days. Do you feel the heat?

Not blogging much due to my laptop crash. I think I can only get it back next week. Haiz, luckily not much harm has been done.

This is a tough period for most, please hang in there.

I bruised my index finger yesterday when I played pool. How unlucky. And those people who laughed at me, how heartless can you all be. Still ask me to organise the trip. Please go read your email and reply me.

Crashed!

2008-04-30T10:12:00.002+08:00

Laptop crashed! Seems like a lot of people are having problems with their laptop lately. Anyway, just had two important papers and I am unofficially done with my Uni studies. I still have one paper though but that is not very important and I don't really need it to graduate. So you will see me slacking for the next few days before I start studying again. Lol. For those still struggling, hang in there. It will be over soon!

X1

2008-04-26T20:15:00.001+08:00

If this phone is as good as it has claimed, I am going to make it my first phone when I start work.

Final Presentation

2008-04-22T20:47:00.002+08:00

Just had my final presentation for my entire university life today. Didn't went as bad as we thought. We were all very nervous about this presentation because we heard the lecturers are really mean. However, they were quite nice today and I think everything went well. So 3 more papers to go before I can really call it the end of my student life in NUS.

I am so tired yet happy and I think I am going to reward myself tonight by slacking till I sleep. Lol.

Pain

2008-04-18T23:07:00.002+08:00

I was woken up by my mum this morning when she told me she is going out to see the doctor with my dad regarding her back pain which has been bothering her for days. I nodded my head sleepily and got out of my bed.

I am not sure if it is due to my sleeping posture the night before, I actually felt a bit of pain in my lower right back. When my mum is back I asked her where her pain was and it turned out to be the exact same spot as mine. What a coincidence! Anyway, I took her antibiotics to relieve some of the pain. Bending myself for the day was a painful stunt. I even used the Salonpas pads before I left home. Hmmm, somehow I didn't find it very helpful.

Anyway, I didn't realise I had my last lecture of my entire Uni life yesterday night. Cool huh?

One more presentation and 3 papers to go.

Is this going to be the end of my student life?

Hope all's well ends well.

Mr Wang

2008-04-15T21:22:00.003+08:00

I chance upon this blog by Mr Wang.

It is hilarious.

He talks about the articles from The Straits Times mainly and just read the way he counter the government. It is quite an enjoyment to read his blog, especially if you have similar views on the PAP like his. (Just think of how ch got banned from STOMP by posting something about his own clan). Btw, ch you are from the Lee family too right.

Enjoy.

Mad Mad Mad

2008-04-14T21:27:00.004+08:00

Mad Mad Mad

I feel like blogging today. I know this is kind of rare because you seldom get to see a Monday post from me. Anyway, I am not mad or angry or anything. The title being because I want to talk about lots of tiny, little, trivial matters.. and I just borrow this slang from one of my friend.

Haha, so let me warn you first before you carry on reading. Sorry if you get bored half way through and cannot find the link among the paragraphs. I just write whatever it comes. Isn't that what an online diary is suppose to be?

First on the list, I am changing my hairstyle. I used to wear a centre parting when I was in my primary to JC years. Don't laugh. Yes I know it is damn ugly la. I cannot understand why I keep that hairstyle for so many years. Of course, next came army style. Won't talk much about it. Just remember 1 by 1, 2 by 1, 4 by 3 etc. Then I changed to something short and funky, courtesy of Terrence, my hairstylist. Think most of you should know if you have read one of my earlier post about him.

Anyway, all things started to change after that. Friends started saying: You look damn good la, Nice haircut, Yandao blah blah.

I am like, Hello? I am always that g*** looking ok!

Just because of a change of hairstyle, you guys suddenly realised that you have a gem among your many friends. Come on, you guys are working too hard in the post office (quote from trixie).

Never mind, I forgive you all, my dear friends. I am sure there will be people who appreciate me.

Back to the topic, I am in a transition now so I am similar to an unpolished gem.

I am going to change to a side parting!

Not as long as the above but a bit shorter now. Think some of you saw me today. Super unglamorous la. Pardon me for a few weeks please. Save your hurtful comments. I know. Sob sob.

Next, I have been thinking when I should close this blog.

I used to find writing diary a bothersome thing to do. Online blogging just makes it easier and more convenient. Like two years ago, I didn't even want to start one if not for Dawn who initiated it for me. I still keep that blog here. Just that I never update it anymore. I am just wondering if I should stop blogging once I start work. Who knows? We shall see.

Blogs are good way to keep yourself updated with friends, especially those who you will hardly get to meet up. But then again, those who you hardly get to see, you will not read their blogs that often as well. Nonetheless, at least there is a way for you to update yourself. So I am still going to carry on this at least for now.

I am guilty of deserting some of my friends' blog. I admit it. But in life, you make choices right. So I am thankful for those who still read my boring little sinful blog.

It is not sinful anyway. I keep my blog clean and sinless. Lol, but then again, I tend not to write about too personal stuffs because I am mindful that this is a public blog. Everyone can read it. I do not want to offend anyone or being to critical about them. See hy's blog you know liao.

Anyway, my eldest brother should be moving out in half a year's time or so. By right, I should be happy because it will mean more space in the house. But by left, this is not the case. We have 3 bedrooms. One is master room. One bedroom and one is study room. If he moves out, I am not going to get a room to myself because the study room is filled with tables designed according to the floor plan. It CANNOT be dismantled that easily. The easiest thing to do is to keep it the way it is. That translates to me just getting more clothes' space in the wardrobe. And I won't be able to drive the car anymore. And more importantly, I think my parents will be even more bored when there is one less person in the house.

I really wanna spend more time at home. I think and I will do just that.

A typical person spends about a quarter of his or her life studying. The next half working to make the ends meet. And the last quarter enjoying the fruits of the labour. Is that the life you want?

Certainly not me!

I know what I want in life, but I am not ambitious.
I want to feel the people around me, yet it is not easy to do so.
I hope to know my friends better, but it takes time and effort from both sides.
I want to communicate more with my family, but just think of when is the last time I really had a good talk with them?

It seems to me that the world has become colder. Or is it the people who resides in it?

I just became a Shark. Not a loan-shark, but in poker. Congrats. I made it.

When was the last time you feel down and someone message you to cheer up and look on the bright side of things? Haha, where got so zhun you might say.

How about this: If you are not feeling too happy about things the way they are now or you are feeling down with regards to something, troubled by certain matters etc.

Share them with someone, talk to them about it. It will feel better.

Share the problem, halves it.
Share the joy, doubles it.

Good night!

Yishun Stars Outing

2008-04-12T21:56:00.004+08:00

Hi all, I am still here. I usually blog on Friday or Sat, so I hope this entry is not too late. Went for the Yishun Stars outing at Health Promotion Board this morning. Had a great time with the kids. Took quite a lot of photos but I can't seem to upload them here. You can view them at my Facebook then.

It is the end the programme. Definitely going to miss them. If there is a chance and I have the time, I will definitely go back again.

Oh well, exams are coming and yet my engine seems to be laggy. Need to start adding oil soon.

I have some thoughts about certain things, but I am not going to share them here because I am feeling vague about it too. Maybe when I have a more concrete idea of it? And yes, it is something good, so don't worry too much if you are thinking it is that. It is not.

Marie's Birthday

2008-04-10T00:35:00.007+08:00

It is Marie's birthday. We met up for a simple dinner. I will just post some pictures here. Very lazy to write more. Tired!

Junadi - More Pics

2008-04-06T00:53:00.014+08:00

All right, I will let the pictures do the talking. Ch, can you concentrate on the kids?

Junaidi

2008-04-05T01:13:00.004+08:00

Went for my usual voluntary work. This is one of my favourite pics for the night. Will upload more.

Me, Junaidi and Tsun Ting.

They actually have a blog and a website. Check them out.

Fyp Thesis

2008-04-03T20:36:00.002+08:00

Well, finally I have submitted my Fyp thesis draft to my examiner. This means that I will be slightly better off for now. Just for these few days. There will be a presentation every week from now till the last week of the month where I will have my exams.

Can't believe it is coming to an end.

A lot of my friends are cursing and swearing over the Fyp. It sure takes up some of the time. I am sure that you can see that my blogging frequency is dropping. Too tired to think of anything to write.

My parents and my brother, number 1 according to trixie's lingo, were away in Japan for the past few days. I am home alone with number 2. Today is the last day for home alone. Kind of not use having no one in the house when I am back home. But well, they are coming back.

Looking forward to welcoming them.

Junaidi

2008-03-28T22:27:00.004+08:00

I apologise for the lack for updating these days. And my last post is kind of cut and paste from a mail I received. But that was touching, just want to spread the act of kindness around.

Thanks to all who asked how I am after reading my previous previous entry of being down. Well, I am fine really. What is this compared to my legendary experience last year? Seriously, you have underestimated me if you think I am going to be low in spirits for a long time. I have long learn to take things as it was, as it is and as it will be.

All right let's talk about something more light hearted. I am doing some voluntary work every Friday night as most of you would have known by now. So I am going to introduce you my kid, Junaidi.

The above is a bookmark his fellow friend in the programme made for him. They are suppose to make one for each other and the theme for that week is Friends.

This is me and him. Actually, he has one more teacher which is my friend. She is the one whom I asked to introduce me into the programme. I do not have her photo for now. Will post if I manage to get hold of it.

Junaidi is a very polite boy. He has some difficulty in his reading but has since improved after so many weeks of classes at the Student Service Centre. I am proud of him.

It feels good to go and help out. While I have no obligation in going, because I am not even in the club which organises it, you find a lot of like-minded people who just want to reach out for the kids and do something for them. I almost always forget my worries when I am there, looking at the innocent children, one ponders why can't adults be the same?

The happiest time in my life might just be my childhood for all you know.

Innocence and ignorance. They are gifts from God aren't they?

Well, I think this is a good way to cast away your worries. Find some young kids and play with them or observe them the next time you are down or feeling sad. I think you will find peace within them.

p.s An advice for Alice, "make" one soon!

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

2008-03-27T22:22:00.002+08:00

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, 'I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.'

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him.. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, 'And think of me.'

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan ..

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: 'You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.'

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard....

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, 'Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.'

There is an old saying 'What goes around comes around.' Today I sent you this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on. Let this light shine.

Don't delete it, don't return it.. Simply, pass this on to a friend

Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

~GOD BLESS!~

Weighted Down

2008-03-23T22:43:00.002+08:00

Weighted Down.

I am feeling kind of down lately. It is mostly due to work. Weighing me down. I can't even seem to enjoy myself when I go out. There is always this load on the shoulder and you pretty much feel the weight even when you are relaxing yourself.

Anyway, I am quite impressed by the word press having a password for entries you want to keep it a secret. Hence, being an electrical engineering, I decided to explore it and implement it in my blog. The password is my birthday for those who know me. You got to enter it in my tagbox, press enter for it to appear and then refresh your page. The following line should then appear to be a readable sentence.

$$$$%$@@##@@$$^&&*(()*^^%%&&**(((()))**^&&&***((((

Easter

2008-03-20T22:49:00.004+08:00

I wonder if you know what Easter is.

I will share with you some of the things I have learned in my class. FYI, Easter is this Sunday.

The rule of thumb is that Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full Moon on or after the day of the March equinox. It will fall between March 22 and April 25.

If you want an exact computation, here is it.

The actual rule is that Easter Sunday in year y falls on day d in month m where d and m are computed as follows (all remainders from division are dropped).

A brief history behind Easter Bunnies which I thought is interesting:

When the spring season heads its way towards us, the first thought that strikes our mind is undoubtedly Easter festivity. And when the talk is about Easter, it is definitely incomplete without the mention of Easter bunny and Easter eggs. Most of us are ignorant about the origin of Easter bunny. Easter bunny is a symbol associated with fertility and the reason behind is that, it has a very quick speed of reproduction.

There are many legends associated with the history of Easter bunny. Some legends suggest that this grand festival Easter got its name from the Anglo- Saxon goddess called Eostre, who was always seen along with her pet bunny rabbit. It's astonishing to know that, it was this very bunny of Goddess that had laid the first colored eggs. Easter bunny has become famous for starting the tradition of Easter egg hiding. Thus, the kids' favorite game of Easter egg hunt can be attributed to Easter bunnies.

Today, Easter bunny occupies the most dominant position amongst all symbols of Easter. In the contemporary times, Easter bunnies are found sailing smoothly virtually everywhere. The gift galleries are stocked with cute bunny rabbit stuff toys. Not only are they adorning homes, but have become the source of flourishing business for confectionary shops too. Chocolate bunny rabbit cookies and cakes sell like real hot cakes during the Easter spring season. This symbol of Pagan times, Easter bunny, symbolizes new life.

p.s Do you know that a bunny can get pregnant after it is pregnant? No joke, according to my Professor. Amazing.