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More random updates

2010-09-19T01:42:00.002+08:00

This is sad, this blog is.

More lazy updates:

- Got confirmed at work with a salary adjustment :)
- Bought a Kindle! (will give more details in the next post when it arrives)
- Pretty much thats it... when you work, you pretty much face work, eat, sleep, and game (been occupied with a few games and SC2), anything else is far and between but mostly appreciated, so thanking whomever gets me out of my door to have a chat.

Quick updates

2010-08-03T23:17:00.000+08:00

- Doing pretty decent at work
- Spent alot on clothes online these past 2 weeks :( and :)
- Planned for a trip to Laos in November / pending reservist announcement
- Starcraft 2 :)

Cya next update, keke how lazy of me.

Kaishidongle

2010-06-05T21:53:00.000+08:00

naiisu

2010-05-31T00:10:00.002+08:00

There are officially zero readers here.

That's okay, I'll type on anyway.

Took an extended weekend break (was away since Wednesday) and in this short period as of now, I don't feel like going to work. I mean, everyone would naturally feel this way, but that itch I had in terms of going on a long long break, like those lucky people who get gradtrips and sabbaticals had never came to be.

For almost 2 freaking years. That is quite wtf.

Well, one thing is money, the other thing is no company. Most of the peeps I am closer with are still studying - then they will have their own gradtrip when they graduate and are thus saving up. So, FML.

I am really whining. Cause I really wanted to go on something similar, and especially so when my commitments are at bottom low.

On something less depressing, work has been pretty okay. This new job is shaping up to be pretty good, workloads aside.

Plenty of nice exposures - people are nice, you work with cool agencies, but at a cost (doubt that will happen again, but it was nice while it lasted.) And the money is not fantastic - yet, I assume. But I am predicting, that at the rate I am going, there will be a nice (nice in my own definition, cause its really, really not alot) pool of cash to tap on at the end of the year for me to go somewhere.

That is, if my bloody reservist schedule comes in proper. Which is 3 months in advance = September or Oct (since it is expected to be in Dec)

Sian.

抛物线

2010-05-19T23:10:00.001+08:00

Fail

2010-05-09T12:24:00.003+08:00

You see, my dearies, the reason why communication can consistently fail when you reach the younger audience is because the bulk of the younger generations are getting dumber and dumber. I'm not saying we're smart, but as of now, in comparison, we are passably smart.

Such disheartening news.

Then again, who can we blame when we've set such high expectations for them to understand stuff we think is idiot-proof?

The little comforts

2010-04-30T23:48:00.001+08:00

Its the usual thing at work.
You work hard, you try to please, you overdo some things, you try to clear the neverending pile of work, you do good, you do bad
...and you end up exhausted

Everyone ends up this way, anyway.

You sat on for too long, you're getting old, you slept in the wrong position,
your back hurts,
and you are still exhausted.

Just as you thought you will get some peace and quiet, outside of work, nothing is simple, you get overbearing parents who don't seem to treat you like an adult, you get frustrated at what will seem to be, on hindsight, something you should feel fortunate about. Not as if you have no avenue to vent out all of these, people say that best friends will always lend an ear to each other - but then, they can't always be there; as if they don't have their share of problems, nor would you enjoy listening to their share of problems which will, probably revolve around the things that persist in their lives.

But you talk, you enjoy the company and that alleviates the exhaustion a little. The remaining's satiated by the other pleasures you give yourself.
For some, its the beer, it can be reading a book, it can be going away for a vacation.

For me now, I enjoy locking myself up in my own room with my feel-good shows such as Grey's, Private Practice, Glee and what not. This usually removes the large chunk of frustration from my exhaustion. But there's something about being isolated with no one, absolutely no one, physically around you to bug you* - be it good or bad, it feels relaxing, though not comforting, but being relaxed is all that matters right now.

I need a new avenue - but for now, all these will do.

*I guess I got to clarify this part: if you've missed the "overbearing", here it is.

A new post, yay?

Life 2009 - 2010

2010-01-16T18:15:00.003+08:00

Life has been pretty much chaotic since graduation. I've got a job (or an internship, if you'd prefer), I've been doing pretty well, not that the company is - which is essentially a two way thing since the company depends on people like me to survive.

The main difference between working and school is that you get exposed to the real world experiences, no controlled environment where you can get away with anything. To me that is sort of a good thing - cause its a test of maturity, a test that says that you can live off on your own, that people can depend on you that you can make decisions that truly matter. Money and financial independence is a much appreciated cherry on top, and it does follow.

The change in lifestyle is still pretty much new to me (well not the gaming part, and that's another story) but I am getting used to it. I am so much more busy than I had been in school and so much more responsibility that blogging is slowly becoming a luxury. But I feel that there's a need to document it as I believe that there are more phases in life that is awaiting me and are as important as this one is for me.

The place I'm working at exposes me to quite alot of opportunities and tasks that add volumes to my experience and interest, that I'm thankful for, but at the same time, certain operations and people around the company are not and that's giving me a signal that moving on is not a choice anymore, and it will be a move that I will thank myself for in the future. But this work basically fills up the void of activity here ever since graduation: I've been working and getting used to not being a student anymore. Learning does continue on though, that's for sure.

In terms of relationships, everything's been pretty bland, nothing new, nothing old, nothing that's a breakthrough here. I'm fine, people are fine with me, no complaints.

Nothing of further significance took place. I've not made any resolutions here but I did have some mental notes here and there, and they're still vivid in my head. Resolutions this year feels alittle redundant - other than being a better person, making more money to fulfill my traveling interests, there's nothing much I think I can achieve this year - like they always say, the first year's (in most of anything) always the honeymoon year. No expectations, just do and evaluate next year.

Well yeap. Here's the update for the year. Nothing exciting but its good enough for me.

On the other hand, my ability to blog is a little rusty - gimme a few posts, hopefully it'll be better.

Ah wtf.

2009-12-16T23:33:00.000+08:00

I am not dead, just a little swamped. Will come back again really soon *you know there'll always be a resolutions, end of year emo, new year sort of posts, don't you?*

Will give you guys an update real soon, that is if you still read my blog.

incident.

2009-10-26T23:01:00.002+08:00

I was on my way from the station to the exit, when this guy actually asked me for 4 dollars to go back home. Reasons as to why he ended up with no money, I didn't really ask, what I did ask though, coming from Sales and Marketing, was to break down the 4 dollars and see what else he has to "pitch" to me.

He did break down the components while walking me to the exit - much to his dismay, I apparently had no change and was (as I sorta made him walk with me) unwilling to part with 10 dollars due to the shortage of change - on hindsight, I could have walked back and bought him a ticket for the benefit of the doubt.

Something to think about though, what if I happen to be in the same situation? Well, I did have a few of such, but I took the easy way out and took a cab to either ask my parents to help me out or leave something behind to go up to my flat and grab money. But what if I had been robbed, no phone, nothing? I could have gone and ask for the nearest police post though.

Hm....

Still busy

2009-10-16T21:09:00.001+08:00

Busy

2009-09-13T01:31:00.001+08:00

Will drop a review of another album soon. Been uber busy with my new work. But its not all that bad.

Planning ahead

2009-08-23T15:21:00.002+08:00

Sometimes it is really not about uncertainty in the future, its about showing the commitment to make a choice. Granted some events are more predictable than others, and for that it is understandable that we hesitate. Anything else however, serves to ruin plans, and these "sabotages" aren't supposed to be accounted for under Murphy's law.

I recall the countless times that proposed activities simply die off on their own because people "waited". The time frame's too short I get a "so last minute", the time frame's too long I get a "still so far away". So when should be the correct time?

It is not just that, I have people lamenting to me about how they don't have an aim and am wasting time i.e. searching for a job, and how they feel that they are paying a price higher when they could have gotten it at a lower price.

The answer is simply about choice, yes, there are many things to consider, but it is not impossible to make arrangements for it. Are you THAT certain, that you will have an important event coming up such as *cough* a family dinner *cough* on that week?

Excuses.

Hesitation.

I need people to show spontaneity, but I guess it may be too much to ask for.

NDP 2009

2009-08-09T11:26:00.003+08:00

As a Singaporean, I understand how sometimes people condemn the "system" - its pretty much evident everywhere, my tutor said that "Singaporeans are the opposite of patriotism", people complain for all sorts of reasons - how foreigners are stealing their jobs; hell we even complain about ourselves. For all that's worth, I STILL complain about how the Army is well, you know.

Its interesting to note how the grass always seems to be greener on the other side, then again, I feel that people need to be put in different perspectives to see the picture they are. A chinese saying goes something like how one is not able to know what happiness is despite being in the midst of it (a badly translated, 生在福中不知福).

I can't say I'm the most patriotic nor I feel I am remotely one - but I know, in this place, this very place holds the memories of me being raised as a kid, my school life, my army and this is also the place where my soon to be work life will play out. While I can't say its the best I think I might get, but it hasn't been any worse, and especially when compared to the other pastures I've seen, heard and read about.

While it might not have been fair to compare your lives with those whom are in less developed areas in the world, its quite clear that they most certainly aren't complaining. The happiness index in some ways, seemed better than your conventional economic indices.

Well yeah, its National Day today, but nevertheless, the right song does bring up some feelings for how I feel as part of this place. I emphasise, the right because of late, people are trying too hard to make NDP hip. What is wrong with just a standard formation, why is it that you need to "torture" (haha) those servicemen into standing into shapes of numbers. Why is it that people are trying to hard to make theme songs sound conventional by making references more and more subtle?

Here's a selection of some of the tunes I don't mind listening to, well at least, during these period. Have a happy birthday, Singapore.

Last day of school.

2009-08-07T23:04:00.005+08:00

Today marks the end of my lessons in school.
Today marks the start of preparation towards the exams.
And in a few weeks, the start of work and the end of school life, so to speak, if I do get a desired place in a school that I like.

Lately had been eventful.
Lately some things were lacking, and as such, been missed.
I might, however, be compensated later.

2 years went by pretty smoothly, and successfully.
2 years spent with retards aplenty.
2 years spent with people who aren't half as bad.

I'm hoping that the start of work will mark something even better, such as opportunities.
I'm wishing that the day will come in my work life, where I progress to the next level of my life.
Should it not come, I guess, that'll still be okay, cause I think I still have some spare time on me, not that its alot, not that I'd want to waste it as of now as well.

"I think I might like, the quiet nights... of this empty life.
...and someday I won't have to prove cause somebody will see,
all my worth -
but until then, I'll do just fine on my own."

Suaku

2009-07-03T20:29:00.003+08:00

I never could take a nice sharp night photo before, possibly because of the sucky cams I had or the disability to hold still. So pardon me if I am impressed by this own shot of mine of the scene outside my window.

Michael Jackson

2009-06-27T22:12:00.002+08:00

It just seemed like just an ordinary day until an sms arrived from a friend who's in UCLA. "Michael Jackson (has) just died of cardiac arrest. A lot of news vans and helicopters here". It sounded unbelievable, a quick browse on the internet confirmed it. The King of Pop has fallen, which at first didn't seem much of a big deal due to last heard news about his ecentric behavior - him dangling his kid over the balcony, child molestation cases and debt issues. It then hit hard when you start to think a little back, about his music career, how he has managed to spread his music across the globe.

I recall days where I used to set many tracks of his on my CD-player on loop, who can forget tracks such as "Black or White", "Billie Jean", "Heal The World" (and I'm sure the list will go on and for the older guys I'm sure the Jackson 5's a good listen as well). I possess much of his albums and music videos, I attempted to moonwalk, I did the thriller (as a kid, but I'm sure I can still remember some moves).

While I cannot say that I am a huge fan of his, he, as one of the first few artists I've listened to, opened the world of music to me. Calling his moves art did little justice to his showsmanship. People who cannot appreciate labelled him flamboyant, winced at his crotch grabbing, sulked at his nose job. He had 750 million records sold across the world, 13 Grammies, 13 Number 1 singles. Go figure.

While he is gone, his music will remain and will never be taken away from him. Rest in peace, Michael.

Michael Jackson 1958-2009

the cake..

2009-06-09T13:30:00.001+08:00

Still alive here. Been busy and irritated by a certain organisation, thats all.

Apologies.

Final Fantasy Distant Worlds

2009-05-23T01:35:00.002+08:00

Final Fantasy Distant Worlds is nothing short of AWESOME. Still, if I had to nitpick, was that:

1. The soprano didn't really do a good job at Memoro De La Strono - making it alittle underwhelming, poor pronunciation aside. She really did not pull off the high notes well. I would have gone for a more contemporary feel with a better known singer, or swap a better soprano altogether. She did redeem herself *abit* at the final "Maria and Draco" though.

2. The guest guitarist sorta fell quite abit from my expectation, could have done a better job. Many of the notes were muffled (slightly disappointed at the easier "Dear Friends", but then again, the tunes weren't exactly easy "Vamo' alla Flamenco". Commendable effort.

3. Not that it is a very big issue, but there seem to be preference over FF8 over the rest. I mean FF7 has such a big following as well - I mean I would love to hear a piece or 2 from Advent Children (Cloud Smiles?). And maybe Tifa's Theme, or Ahead On Our Way. OR even the battle themes :( While I still welcome the popular hits like Aerith's Theme or One Winged Angel (OMG Nobuo actually joined in the choir and sang with them), show some love for the underplayed pieces - they're equally nice.

Almost all the pieces were good, with "Opening - Bombing Mission", "Fisherman's Horizon", "Love Grows", "Don't Be Afraid (AWESOME STARTUP)" and the encore "Terra's Theme" easily my favourites of the entire performance.

But the limelight was easily stolen by the great Nobuo Uematsu's presence alone. I mean, meeting him in person, and having him autograph my CDs is mindblowing. I MET A LEGEND, my life is half complete.

Program:
Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali
Final Fantasy X: To Zanarkand
Final Fantasy VIII: Don't Be Afraid
Final Fantasy VII: Aerith's Theme
Final Fantasy I-III: Medley 2002
Final Fantasy V: Dear Friends
Final Fantasy IX: Vamo' alla Flamenco
Final Fantasy XI: Ronfaure
Final Fantasy : Main Theme

Final Fantasy VII: Opening - Bombing Mission
Final Fantasy VIII: Fisherman's Horizon
Final Fantasy XI: Memoro de la Strono
Final Fantasy IV: Theme of Love
Final Fantasy : Swing de Chocobo
Final Fantasy VIII : Love Grows
Final Fantasy VI: Opera "Maria and Draco"

Encore

Final Fantasy VI: Terra's Theme
Final Fantasy VII: One Winged Angel (Apparently, no game related orchestra perfomances are complete without this piece. So its more or less expected.)

Got to stop here. Mind is still shaky from the meeting with an epic figure.

small games...?

2009-05-16T23:12:00.007+08:00

Warning: Content on gaming.

What is most important in a game to you? Is it the story? Is it the gameplay? Or is it the realistic graphic that bring characters and the world to life that attracts you the most?

As computers become more technologically capable, the line between virtual and real becomes blurred, and these can be seen in many games such as Gears of War 2, Fallout 3 and the upcoming Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2.

Take a look at Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII for example:

The problem with these games are the obscenely long wait times to be able to perfect the elements. As a gamer, I would love to have my hands on a Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3 as soon as possible because I might have a change of heart and move on with life if the wait spans 2 decades (exaggeration, though a stipulated time of 2050 for Diablo 3 is highly plausible, hah).

Well, if you are highly reputable e.g. your reputation for well balanced, deep, engrossing gameplay, people might wait. Then again, how many of these developers are there?

On top of that, to come up with these games, would mean that players would need powerful gaming rigs to be able to support your game. This means more money spent on powerful video cards.

There has been a rise of very interesting games lately that are under 1gb in size, in fact some of them are even under 100mb. And these games are clever in the sense that they emphasise gameplay and take on a visual design that does runs well even on a low-end machine. For that matter, if you've played Starcraft, you would notice, that the way the sprites are drawn, they still aren't looking obsolete today (well of course given the 640x480 resolution lock, the pixels make you feel like you're playing glorified Tetris. More importantly, these games can afford to settle at a lower price due to the development costs.

So here's a recommendation of some of these games which really wasted my time away:

Braid

This is probably one of the deepest game I've played, interpreting the literary meaning behind this game felt like my old english literature class. To call it a Mario clone would be an insult. The puzzle elements might be frustrating, but the ending is well worth your time in trying to solve the puzzles in the game. And how many games allow you to rewind time???

World of Goo

The blobs are adorable, and they make squeaks that make you squeal with delight. It pains me to sacrifice some of them to complete my puzzle (though it is also ball-wrenchingly hard to achieve the obsessive compulsive awards... so... yeah).

Audiosurf

This game cleverly makes use of your MP3 collection to form tracks for you to "drive" on. It can be a relaxing ride if you put on a slow music, on the other end, putting on a high tempo song will leave you in spasms on the floor. Still, a nice way to pass time.

Plants VS Zombies

This fell into my favourites and has got to be one of the most unique not to mention cute... oh and yes addictive. This sucks the life out of you like a cigarette. There's zombies. There's plants. There's your tower defense-isque gameplay AND a sweet music video to seal the deal. Play it NOW.

So many games... so little time... *checks his semester timetable and groans*

A review:

2009-05-11T00:27:00.004+08:00

I have always liked Sodagreen, the lead has a really unique voice, more importantly, they write their own music and the lyrics are pretty good. I have been converted to a Yanzi/Michelle Branch level fan - heh.

In any case, this new album is an experimental effort, which will span 4 albums (yeap as the title suggests, will be based on the 4 seasons). I must say they've gone out of their usual zone of music. The spring theme is nicely captured here though some of the music felt alittle too campy. Maybe I'm not too much of a spring person - judging from where they are going, I would look forward to more of autumn and winter.

Much of the lyrics in this album are rather deep and poetic, for a start, the album titles themselves form a poem:

融雪之前,牧神搭上春色的火车
日光在我们之间,
各站停靠;
一千座喷泉 - 交响梦异次元的玫瑰
嬉戏之后, 早点回家

For something experimental, we're still being treated to a few Sodagreen tunes like 交响梦 and 融雪之前. Which are easily my favourite tracks here.

Well, starting off with the first track 融雪之前, the only track that is totally off the beat and tempo of the entire album for a good reason. I would interpret it to be a glimpse of what the "Winter" album would be like. Waking up to spring, making preparations to spring, to hope. Sodagreen's back guys. Oh, and like people always say, its always good to begin with an end in sight. = 4/5

We then have sort of like an interlude here, with a short 1 minute plus humming track, Spring's beginning with 牧神搭上春色的火车.

The title track, 日光　is really gives off that taiwanese tribal sorta vibe, with the flute lining the track. The lyrics here are really worth checking out. On first listen, I felt a little disappointed, but the tune catches on really quick. Like I've mentioned I'm really not a spring person. So this felt alittle too peppy for me, nonetheless, in the right mood, this was a good song. = 3.5/5

A part of the lyrics here (note the neat pattern in the wordplay):
醒在梦境上梦在清晨上
晨在川流上流在船岛下　　

岛在轻浮下浮在狂热下
狂在初雷下雷在白昼上

Sidetracking abit here, I've been really into this "tower defence" (will not do justice to call it that) game called Plants vs Zombies, a really quirky one (cartoonish graphics) but beneath the usual popcap style of bejeweled insaniquarium lies some serious strategy. Soooo do check it out here. (the reviews really don't lie).

Reason why I mentioned that was because the next track 在我们之间　made me feel like one of the sunflowers (in plants vs zombies) bobbing around in the sun sans the zombies. Which meant that they did the theme right, then again, this was alittle too much of sun for me here. A pretty cheery song. = 3/5

As spring is still early, people continue to indulge in lazy days and indulge in day-dreaming. This track wasn't too much sung, it felt more narrative and frenchy (french phrases were used, I think), oh we do get to hear their bassist sing here, heh. I give 各站停靠 scored a 3/5.

一千座喷泉 is yet another upbeat cheery tune, not exactly very into this. 2.5/5

I think they really do make songs about hope pretty well, well it fits in anyway as a new start (spring) brings about new prospects. My favourite song of the album here. The lyrics here are really well written as well:

午后时分睡得很沈嘈杂鸟儿也全都充耳不闻
行板如歌歌里在等等你来和和一篇雨季解渴
雷声铺陈嘹亮地哼大地与河万物屏息这一刻

A true sodagreen tune here: 4.5/5

异次元的玫瑰 felt alittle like 日光　with that traditional taiwanese tone here. Nothing exciting for me again = 3/5
It seems that the songs here feel alittle old fashioned - 嬉戏之后　especially. Feels like an old Karen Mok et cetera 90s bunch inspired tunes. But it felt nice so its a 3.5/5 here.

The last one is a comfy, sweet like a marshmellow tune. Think of the transition from sweet young things to old loving couples and thats what 早点回家 feels like. = 3.5/5

Despite all the awards, they don't seem to appeal to the mainstream, which is good. I think for non-fans, casual, mainstreamers, this album isn't going to sit well with them, then again its still a pretty fresh and unique album, and if you can pry your hands off Jay Chou and S.H.E., they are a good listen.

Overall for mainstream listeners = 3/5
Overall for me = 4/5

Again, like I've said, I'm not too much of a spring and summer person, looking forward to the rest of the albums, still. They haven't done any disappointing Linkin-Park nu-rock-mainstream switch yet. So its still a <3 <3 <3 from me.

So enjoy my favourite tune in the album here:

Hi. I'm New

2009-05-03T20:05:00.000+08:00

The last semester, a new start, a new skin.

Missed again.

2009-04-30T14:09:00.004+08:00

It was just a casual chat up on the usual boring evenings, when you saw through my stubbornness. Don't try to such risks, you said, I've been there done that and it does not feel good, you said. I didn't take your advice in the end, while nothing extraordinary happened over that little stint of mine, I'm quite thankful for the help and your willingness to share. It just seemed that beyond your usually goofy side, there's this side which tells me that you've been through quite some experiences and that did the trick in making me realise the need to be humble. Words do not express my gratitude for being such a friend but still, thank you for what's been done during this short acquaintance.

So yeah, its for you. Life's going on well for us, good and shitty, but you're still missed.

Last Paper

2009-04-23T20:39:00.001+08:00

My exams end tomorrow :)

Sodagreen!

2009-04-13T01:35:00.002+08:00

春．日光

期待着，再回来新加坡陪我歌唱吧~

ANIME

2009-04-09T22:46:00.001+08:00

この思いを消してしまうにはまだ人生長いでしょう？

ZOMG... So... much new anime to watch... must resist naughty hands...

Hectic

2009-04-08T19:15:00.002+08:00

It has been a pretty tiring few months with so much work to do and so much accommodating to be made to people, whom never seem to know what's good for them and the worst of all, are an unappreciative bunch.

A friend told me today and asked when was the last time I've got to get back home and sit down, wondering what to do because there had been nothing to do and not do anything because of that. It had me thinking, sure there were a few days of such, but it was because I simply had needed the break because there were too much to handle.

The submission of my paper for the conference ended the last of the work for this semester and the start of my exam preparation. In 2-3 more weeks, the semester will end. Another week later the new and my last semester will begin.

The effects of fatigue has been showing way before my exams are about to start. My nap turned into a full day of sleep (accidentally) yesterday, and was a little guilty about having my other member tie up the loose ends for my paper. But yeah, not that I'm stressed, but I'm just not that motivated.

I guess that also accounted for the lack of any good posts lately - life has simply been too mundane. Whine about work, whine about group members, whine about not getting enough rest and play. Eat sleep work. Tell you people how uninspired I am.
Been chasing spiders away but it seems to be a futile attempt, cobwebs have been forming on my blog.

Asked a few people to see if they had wanted to go for a breather during my short week break, hope that it will happen.

*abrupt end to post.* poof.

Marley and Me

2009-04-03T20:27:00.003+08:00

A dog has no use for fancy cars, or big homes or designer clothes.
A waterlogged stick will do just fine;
A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor...
clever or dull, smart or dumb -
Give 'em your heart and he'll give you his.

How many people can you say that about?

- "Marley and Me"

Argh. Call me a sucker for these shows - me now wants a dog: but then the emotional attachment *sobs*.

Excuse me while I go fan my tears dry.

Maturity part 2

2009-03-31T19:06:00.004+08:00

...but then we are all grown up, and "Teenage Angst" just doesn't cut it and shouldn't be the way it is anymore.

Some people are mature about it, some people act that way.
We learn to look past the little things, those annoyances, laugh it off and lament it at the same time. Not a joke, or was it meant to be?

These kids bring out the worst in me, seriously.

If I'm the person that you think I am;
Clueless chump you seem to think I am -
so easily led astray,
an errant dog who occasionally escapes and needs a shorter leash then....
Why the fuck would you want me back?
Maybe it's because...

you don't know me at all.

The unofficial video, for some reason the original one didn't show up in the searches.

Maturity part 1.

2009-03-27T21:00:00.003+08:00

Sometimes, you need to lower yourself to a level that some people may understand.

And therefore ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: "Teenage Angst".

For those whom are lazy, here is the extract of the lyrics, well the chorus, cause that is the gist, in very plain english, and what I am trying to bring out here:

Up here I am who I am, and if you don't like it,
then fuck you man
I'm not a thief and a whore,
Please don't follow me around next time I'm shopping in your store.

Up here, I'm making you aware,
...that if you don't like me well I don't care
I'll be exactly who I am and if you got a problem with it,
well its your problem then.

Cranky

2009-03-24T19:54:00.002+08:00

Been particularly cranky the past few weeks - didn't expect to take this roller coaster ride so soon.

The workload has been a little crazy as well, not helping was that there hasn't been a proper channel for me to release the stress. Making it worse was that the people all around have been really, really inconsiderate. Well, long story short, it all adds up to me being really frustrated in the late of the night.

I really need a break - fatigue has been kicking in really early this year, which sucks, cause usually I can hold it all in till the later half of the year. Well, its not the last year for nothing.

Figured if the noose around my neck is looser at the end of this semester, I'll set off on a little trip myself (unless people are interested to join me of course). There's the little treats now and then which is keeping the blurry line between insanity and me clear - little pleasures, the shows and concerts. All things considered, that's still money well spent.

I apologise again, should my posts of the recent weeks been really uninspiring (not that I am that influential) and thus been awfully boring or emo, whichever's worse.

-----

BTW, there's really a drought of games, I do hope something good's gonna come my way and get installed on my comp.

...and UGH! I am really quite sian when people have all the money to go for most of the good concerts out there: Rachael Yamagata, Coldplay. Off my head I can already think of at least 5 good stuff I'll be missing. Damn me and my wallet.

Speaking of wallet, mine's been in a perpetual state of emptiness - like I told a friend of mine - my wallet describes my money status, if I'm rich, you'll see me in my LV (certified real) monogram, hence or otherwise you see me holding my cheapo faded brand logo (does it even have one?) pasar malam kiddy velcro wallet, that stores coins better than my LV. Well now ain't that surprising.

Skye

2009-03-20T22:21:00.003+08:00

Amidst the pile of work and the no-sleep rush to meet assignment deadlines...
Amidst the frustration, fatigue...

Thank you for bringing up the smile in me.

More GA

2009-03-18T22:04:00.001+08:00

Heaven, Hell, Limbo,
No one knows where we're going
...or what's waiting for us when we get there
But the one thing we can say for sure, with absolute certainty -
is that there are moments that take us to another place;
Moments of Heaven on Earth,
and maybe for now...
thats all we need to know.

No prizes for guessing where it came from.

Ugh

2009-03-11T19:56:00.001+08:00

Unmotivated lah. Thats why.

Its the all work and no play makes Hanwei a dull boy + an emo one cause he sees no end in sight.

sigh

2009-03-05T23:22:00.006+08:00

[Caution: Emo content]
Less words can mean more actually.

Are you really happy? On some levels, I feel I am, then again.

Wants.

2009-02-23T01:35:00.004+08:00

I want a new guitar, and I hope people can get me a new guitar because I am poor, cause I also want 7000 bucks in cash so I can:

1. Organise and go for a Grad Trip -
giving you guys (UoN) 3 choices of:
a. Tibet : Mount Everest Base Camp : 2.5-2.8k
b. Harbin : Half Russia, Half China : 2.3-2.5k
c. Taiwan : See a somewhat 75% of her : 2.8-3k

The miserly, and those without the money, please whine elsewhere. Those whom are not interested in these spots need not come - there are other people organising grad trips as well. The idea behind this is simple; I'm organising based heavily on my own interests, and should yours match mine, we can go together - if not, you don't join. I of course welcome edits and suggestions, not being unreasonable here, cause if you are interested and am joining, we work together towards have the best experience for ourselves.

2. And go for my own "self fulfilment" trip, feel free to join should you, too have the budget @ 4k+ to Australia.

Both trips are highly symbolic, and I sure hope they will be possible - and I'm especially inclined towards option A for my grad trip, seeing that being at Mount Everest is something on my list of things to see and do before I die.

So yes, I am hard up for cash, and will do much stuff for money. And yes, all the more you guys should buy me a guitar for my birthday (no cheapskate 100 buck guitars plz, cause I myself am using one). I want an acoustic, of course not asking for a high end Hummingbird, still, no cheapo guitars plz, kthnx.

I actually also want many things, like more time, but it is pretty impossible. I also need to be more focused and get my act together cause I really am not meeting my own expectations towards getting all my school work together; but what to do? 2 week, 4 reports, 3 presentations, 3 tests. Plus my own Journal, plus my community service club.

I also need a gf. But again, pretty impossible.

I will come up with more things I'd want, but these are the ones I'd like to have right now.

-----

Something random here, I'm a closeted Michelle Branch fan, okay, not so. But yeah, its a soft spot here. The Wreckers were good but short lived, but its okay, I can live without Jessica Harp.

Negative comments about Michelle Branch will be mercilessly deleted, so are all the comments about my liking for MB music. See, thats what so good about this blog. I can condemn your fetish for Jay Chou, but you can't talk back.

Money money money

2009-02-16T02:00:00.004+08:00

I have a lack of travel companions, I also lack money. Having an interest such as traveling thus hurts.

Alot.

I mean its ultimately all good, when you have a motive such as "to see the world", hence am much determined to make money to satisfy my need(yes, its a necessary evil, so don't go all saintly and start a debate on choosing whether to do what you love or to work for a whole lotta money).

Well, the money part... we can skip that, nothing much to elaborate about.

Travel companions. It is quite true, from my NS experience, that while some people can be your best buddies, living together i.e. an extended period of contact can prove to be a much different experience altogether. I am looking for people:

1. With little to none obvious pet peeve - from being sadistically particular with issues such as cleanliness for example. Comments about how I accidentally splash water on the bathroom when there is a shower curtain can also push my rage button. Talk about the irony.

2. In view of #1, well if you can hold it in, and compromise, like I can do pretty well, for all that's worth, do hold it in.

A little note here is that you do not speak to me if I am visibly irritated (#2, I repeat is all about compromise). But the chances of me looking visibly irritated, as from people's experiences are few.

3. Who don't compare. This is one of my major annoyances. When you go overseas, do not compare things such as living standards, do not make a fuss when you are not offered the service you'd expect back at home. I mean, what the fuck, you're not in your home country - don't expect everywhere to be the same. When you eventually get pissed because things fall short of your expectation when you are in a 3rd world country (for dramatics sake), you DESERVED to have your experience ruined. But not near me, which is why I rather not have you on my trip.

Be more open-minded for goodness sake, isn't that why you travel? To experience than to get cheesed off from all the comparison?

4. People whom are not afraid of getting lost (which in itself, is an experience I would think), people whom are not afraid of the sun, the sand, the sea, dust, people, rain, bugs. If you worship the air-conditioner, you essentially rule out almost everywhere except your own room. Well maybe Genting Highlands might work out for you, considering all the buildings are linked and you wouldn't need to go outdoors. Just for that, again, dramatically speaking, for a air-condition worshipper, you shouldn't even be travelling. Just stay at home.

5. People whom are open to options, when we lack the funds, we do backpacking. When we are doing a little better on the financial department, we splurge. It pretty much means flexibility. While I don't expect people to enjoy doing everything, there's a plus point here if your flexibility stretches to being able to sit down for some time at a scenic spot watching life go by to the suggestion of doing sky diving at the opportunity to do so. That is a big big bonus here, keke.

6. Can take good pictures, both of me and the places we visit. Not exactly a really strong point here, just something like a cherry on top of a sundae. Another bonus here would be to be able to abandon family for awhile :P i.e. no need to spend a New Year at home lah. Go experience overseas lah.

All that said, if you pass the above criteria, I would love to have you as my travel companion.

P.S. I'm looking at Australia this End of Year, budget around 4k. Speak to me :D

P.P.S. I think I am able to pick one. EOY or grad trip somewhere after I grad - suggest to me somewhere fun for a grad trip and it it clicks with me and is better than my own Aussie proposal, I'll go. :D

P.P.P.S. Either that, or you see fit in one of my alternative proposals and am willing to help me fulfil that trip. :D

P.P.P.P.S. Yes this post is all about me. This blog is all about me. I'm all about me. So why are you at my blog if you do not want to know about me?

Lack of foresight

2009-02-11T21:11:00.002+08:00

Deliberating a team of people to satisfy your objective especially when you are the one in charge, can never be easy.

As usual, considering your personal relations with the people is inevitable. There were a group of people who naturally, and its not just my decision, were mentioned and in the selection list. Not making it any better are that, because they are your friends, you somehow have to mention this idea of starting a club - in hopes of opinion, or support for that matter, and not putting them in would somehow make you rather guilty because you have divulged so much in front of them.

I would therefore like to thank these people for their support, and that I am sorry should people fail to get into the team because of the fact that I should also be fair to the aim of the team and be more objective about it.

I have therefore, together with another friend shortlisted some people after much attempt to balance the factors involved. Capability and the drive to work is more of a factor than personality at first, but after some really disgusting experience with some people, I realised, that I should be looking at more factors than just whether or not you are capable, you can be capable, but if you are lacking in the maturity department, for example, I will simply be asking for it in the long run should I be consistently facing issues.

Again, much as I am heavily offended by the incident - I will let it pass, cause ultimately its not my loss, neither would I want to confront people because I am the one offering the positions and as I have raised clearly in my resolutions never to let such people get the better of me, so yeah, just brush them away and get on with the more meaningful stuff.

Busy

2009-02-08T15:05:00.002+08:00

Busy busy.

Update: Not the skin though, this was prepared way in advance.

I think I'm taking in more than I can chew right now.
On top of 6 group projects, 2 quizzes due almost back to back of one another, I've (also) officially started a school club and am loaded with admin stuff on top of that...

I'm starting a journal. Not a journal journal, but an academic journal, you know the kind which you quote when doing your assignment?

The amount of approvals and acknowledgements I got from tutors and lecturers are astounding and I'm very, very surprised to be seen as someone who is "up to it", to the extent that the tutor's actually interested in working with me and inviting me over to his place for a week to sit down and get the work done.

Now before I get on top of myself, I might just be over-interpreting his gestures. But so far, its all good. I'm excited myself to be given such an opportunity given my past school records - which were pretty much disastrous (can be proven).

I'm also quite pumped at the thought of the possibility of having the journal published.

Then again, the obstacle ahead seems alittle bit too much.

But but but... I might just make it. :D

Ah...

Busy busy!

Meh

2009-02-03T02:18:00.002+08:00

I interrupt... er. Its my blog. I'll up the rest of my Vietnam posts when I feel like it again :P

The details of the trip as in what was done were more or less posted, so no complains plz (its a general consensus, plz has NO vowels).

Anyway (oh shucks, this was supposed to be a damn emo post and that plz totally ruined it for me), back to what I'm supposed to say.

I think I officially have no market value in the dating scene, zilch, nil, nadda. The weight gain from the lack of discipline since I ORD-ed, my history and the disgustingly low level of external/female/male contacts will only mean, I'm destined to lead a monk's life. But I mean, even monks get the love now and then. And that if gay marriages become the norm (I am absolutely not homophobic), its over for me. O-V-E-R. Might as well pack it up now, curl up on my bed and die, drenched in my own tears.

To further prove my point or to save me from myself, I am hereby appealing to people to help me revalue myself. We shall go to a straight bar and split up with me sitting all alone with a drink. You on the other hand, will count how many times I've been approached by strangers for a chat. In times when the market is bad, beggars can't be choosers, so for that matter, we shall go to a gay bar as well and repeat the same move (so NOW you understand why I need company).

At the end of it all, values will be recorded and be processed via the statistics program, and from there I shall pick between a path filled with balloon hearts, candy apples and rainbows, or walk the self destructive path of a loveless wrist cutter.

No applications required, just drop me a message and the time when you are ready to witness my sad, sad life.

*Note to self, be more in the emo mood to make such posts.

Reality Check

2009-01-29T21:09:00.002+08:00

I interrupt the last 2 posts of my Vietnam trip for this seemingly obvious revelation...

That this guy here has been in dreamland for way too long. Normally, this guy has been pretty practical and rational.

Maybe he never really got rid of the fatigue, he was too ambitious and have been pushing himself, not to mention demanding too much out of himself.

All the plans would most probably come into fruition no doubt given his newfound (well comparatively newfound) determination. However none of such plans involved his current situation, which when in perspective is of more importance than what is in the long run.

Not making the fact any less harsh is that this guy here has been reliving his past, recalling the good old days, photoshopping his recent trip pictures and blogging about it, wishing that right now, he is somewhere outside Singapore, tripping.

Even worse, the excuse that he had been sick for almost a week, well he IS still currently ill (well, to be fair, it had been pretty bad too) went stretched to the max, resulting in shirking of responsibilities and priorities. The old reflection surfaces.

Now he stares at the piled up work, calculating how much time he needs to clear them, the level of readiness he needs to get down to work. While he is not doing any actual work the whole time he was thinking about it. But hey, this guy didn't do at all bad his last trimester, so maybe there's still hope.

*Snap*

Check please.

Vietnam Part 6

2009-01-24T00:16:00.009+08:00

>Go back to Day 1 <
>Go back to Day 2 <
>Go back to Day 3&4 <
>Go back to Day 5 <
>Go back to Day 6 <

Day 7: Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta

Again, it could be due to the tour agency, nonetheless, I'm going to say this: if you guys are going for this, go for the 2 day than the single day tour. You'll get to experience a nice, quiet, overnight stay on the delta and "actually be woken up by the calls of a real rooster" *unquote Lonely Planet's Blue List: Best In Asia*, enjoy a lazy day (which we sorta did, for an hour, which was spent playing cards, which on second thought, qualifies as a lazy afternoon) and get to visit the floating markets (morning only).

I've been on the Mekong before in Thailand, the similarity is that the river's yellow, not because its dirty, but its full of silt. The difference is that one's the river, the other's the delta (Geography. Learn it.), but essentially they're all part of one of the longest rivers in the world (12th longest, 7th in Asia). And its one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world, many of the species of fishes found to be endemic to the region, less you really get to fish or see the people fish, you probably wouldn't get to see them.

So well, due to the nature of the one day tour, we didn't really get to see much, but instead got to many tourist traps. Like we got to taste the local snake wine (wasn't very interested - people say it tastes like stale whiskey), tried out the local honey, saw how coconut candy's made: (the pictures speak for themselves, nothing very complex)

What's pretty nice though was this "sampan" ride along the narrow water passages, and more or less the only authentic experience here:

And we're out:

After another short cruise, the trip ends and we're back to HCMC, where we stayed on till the following day (Day 8) where we did some last minute shopping (stockpiling coffee), and made our flight back to Singapore. A pretty good trip I guess.

Stay tuned, I still have 2 more parts to this trip.

Vietnam Part 5

2009-01-10T23:57:00.011+08:00

Apologies for the delay and distractions :P you know, the typical start of the year/school's always filled with alot of random stuff here and there keeping me busy.

On top of that, the Lunar New Year's coming, so I'd better finish the entire trip writeup by then.

If you've been missing out or am interested to find out, you can check the following:
>Go back to Day 1 <
>Go back to Day 2 <
>Go back to Day 3&4 <
>Go back to Day 5 <

And let us continue with...

Day 6: Ho Chi Minh City - The Cu Chi Tunnels

The group settled with the hotel reception for two guided tours to the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta (Day 7), which in retrospect, I felt was alittle too hasty a decision to make. We should have stuck with the reputed Sinh Cafe tours (beware of the imitations around!) than take comfort with the reception staff's arrangements.

Ah, I digress.

The trip to Cu Chi was around 2 hours with a stopover at a handicapped crafts center, which we got to see the handicaps at work, the arts were pretty but the prices were pretty steep - the city market crafts were more competitively priced, as much as the guide claimed that the pieces were of higher quality. At the same time, I had no idea where that money will go if people had purchased from them, long story short, a toilet stop for us.

Half an hour later, we reached the tunnels (entry fee not included in package, we only paid for the guide, the bus ride). We gathered at this shack which was half underground (the village is mostly halfway or fully into the ground due to the constant bombings) for a brief history about how the tunnels came about and its various usages.

The shack and a cross section of the tunnel system:

We're not allowed to wander the place, so its a pity, and for the price paid, we didn't really get to explore much of that place (which I think a better tour agency would have handled better). While we covered the main tunnel, I still think there's much to cover.

I guess you guys would be curious to see how small the entrance to the tunnels are, I didn't really get a good comparison due to time and the crowd. I didn't get to enter from that place anyway, most of the people there couldn't. However, the slimmer of us got to go in and it wasn't easy going in either.

Now you see him...

Now you don't.

Its really hard to imagine, moving around the tunnel system given our size, I mean even for them I don't think its at all comfortable too.

Not for the claustrophobic:

A really intricate system. Worth a read-up on wikipedia :P
Its more of something you should see for yourself cause its really hard to describe without any proper chance to do a comparison shot.

Given the technologically inferior village, they dug this with really basic tools did alot of improvising with their weapons. One of the things which perked my interest are the spike traps laid around the place. Pretty clever, and it would really really suck to fall victim to one.

The fish trap, to make things worse, they coat the sharp ends with poison or feces or of sorts that will probably worsen the wound. If you land into one of this, panic and attempt to pull out your feet quickly...

This is more of a animal trap than for humans, then again, there's no saying that the enemies won't fall into one of this and be in a world of pain.

That's it for day 6.

Well not actually, it ended in the late afternoon and we made a failed trip to Chinatown not knowing they close rather early. So it was quite a fail-move for us :(

Day 7 awaits with a trip to the Mekong Delta.

Keyboard

2009-01-01T22:27:00.004+08:00

I recall a deleted entry (backed up rather), donkey years back, that I told people about how dirty your keyboard can be.

So to make this the first useful entry of the year, I shall now show you how dirty your keyboard can be. Trust me, I clean my keyboard yearly, and if you hadn't done what I did, chances are that, 99% (unless you disinfect your hands, cut your nails, wear a shower cap, wear rubber gloves, cover your keyboard after use, live in a dust free room) of the time it will look like this when you remove the keys:

So here's what you should do:
1. Remove the keys and put them in order (unless you, like me, can memorise the keyboard layout).

2. Prepare a dish of water mixed with dettol, have a small cloth, lots of tissue/toilet paper, cotton buds and a toothbrush.

3. Clean away! Brush out the dirt (a tasty concoction of fingernails, hair, skin flakes, food bits and dust). Dab the small cloth/cotton buds with the dettol mixture and use it on the keyboard. Make sure water doesn't get into the little holes, you might damage the circuit board underneath it.

4. Wipe the keys (or dump them into the dettol water, longer drying time) and then place them back!

5. You now have a clean and fresh keyboard for use for another year (or till your next cleanup)!

Its been scientifically proven that the keyboard is easily the dirtiest object around in the office or in your home, and for the record, its even dirtier than your toilet seat!

So if you're not the sort that changes keyboards often, and have been using the same keyboard since the beginning of time... Its some food for thought.

And no, merely wiping the keyboard surface often doesn't help alot.

Just in case you're curious, this keyboard cost me 168 bucks (together with the wireless mouse) and it comes with a anti-microbe surface (think of your anti-bacteria insoles in your army boots). It therefore deserves my whole 1 and a half hours of "pampering". If you're using some lousy cheapo keyboard for 1 million years, its time to dump it (forget about the bonding already) for a new one.

I think you should see the "after" since you've view the "before"... :P

2009

2009-01-01T18:37:00.000+08:00

The first meaningless post of the year.

Happy 2009.

Resolutions.

2008-12-31T01:46:00.002+08:00

Interrupting my Vietnam Trip writeup for the perhaps mandatory New Year Resolutions post.

6 resolutions made last year, and lets see how many have been achieved:

Green.
To pass my trimesters, well thats a given, then again, scoring became an issue, nonetheless, I did rather okay so no complains here.

Green.
Overseas trip? - Self explainatory, and yeah a pass here.

Green.
Being a better son? - Tough call, my mum says its a pass here.

Orange.
Saving up on the money. Well I saved up and lived comfortably, but the pool is drained right at the end, so yeah I consider it a fail here.

Orange.
Maintain contacts - whoever's been with me are still with me, whomever new I've made are still tough calls to consider them proper friends.

Red.
Weight. Epic fail here.

So I guess a 3 out of 6 seems satisfactory for me, lets now take a look at the new set of resolutions which I have to say are pretty much similar.

Whatever's green on top will automatically be on this year's list to maintain, this would mean,

1. Be a better son
2. Pass Trimesters
3. Overseas trip

To make it more challenging, I'll aim for 2 overseas trip this year.

3. Overseas trip x 2

Here come the new ones.

4. Ignore trolls. Not to engage in these people's conversations. This list includes people who say things for the sake of saying things and/or to incite responses due to irritation. The same people who fall under this list are people who disagree for the sake of disagreeing. Pseudo uniqueness is not unique. Lightening an already lightened atmosphere = redundancy = annoyance.

It will be better for my health. Srsly.

5. That said, I should start to enjoy a little here and there. To not compromise my happiness over the thought of others/priorities.

This can mean attend shows, concerts that I like, alone for all that matters should I be unable to find any like-minded friends (whine about no money, only have tastes in Jay Chou). Its nothing very pathetic, and I should deserve it, company can come second.

Similarly, things that irritate/annoy me can go far far away for all I care. The important thing here is to stay happy. I've had enough upsets both necessary and unnecessary this year.

6. Take the back seat, willingly. Have trust in the people taking control.

Alternatively I can still have my ego stroked should people come to those people sitting at the back for help when things spiral out of control. Taking the lead this way might be way more gratifying. *evil grin*

7. To not be too bothered with people who don't know you well or with no attempt to know you.
On the other end, to pay extra attention to friends and their comments, be less of a retard/jerk.

8. To grab a job without wasting too much time upon the end of studies.

9. Again, to properly manage my finances to have some spare at the end of the year.

So.... yup. Thats it for the year ahead. Nothing contradictory, nothing too impossible.

Vietnam Part 4

2008-12-28T20:40:00.013+08:00

>Go back to Day 1 <
>Go back to Day 2 <
>Go back to Day 3&4 <

Day 5: Ho Chi Minh City - around the city.

Much as I hate to remind myself again, after the worst train ride ever, we got back to where we started off. There are several reasons to why we've decided to set Ho Chi Minh as the final leg of our journey:

1. Relax and cut back on time travelling: 7-8 hours bus ride, 6 hours bus ride and a 10 hour train ride plus another plane ride back to Singapore all at the last point of your journey isn't exactly very nice to have all in the last few days of your trip.

2. Lugging your dirty clothes, souvenirs from HCMC to Dalat and Nha Trang can be more troublesome than you think. You won't need to change cause you don't sweat as much in Dalat nor Nha Trang (given the very breezy, cool weather right now). On the other hand, the Cu Chi and the Mekong + the high traffic (dirt and dust), would naturally mean that it would make more sense to do HCMC last.

So given that everyone hadn't had a good night sleep, we decide to go light and head around the city center attractions: the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum, the Notre Dame Cathedral (no, not the one in Paris), the post office and a short walk around the Ben Thanh Market.

The Reunification Palace feels more genuine than I had thought it would be (given the bombings), cause I had this impression that it would just be yet another museum. Asides from the above ground conference rooms (see no touch), we got underground (I think) through a series of radio rooms and meeting rooms. A read up on the text found in the museum revealed a very rich history on the wars in Vietnam. Well, worth a visit if you do make a trip down to HCMC.

The War Remnants Museum is another place I would recommend for a view into the Vietnam War, perhaps due to its small size and high volume of tourists, makes it feel abit gimmicky. Then again, the very graphic pictures on display reminded me that the war is indeed very real. Didn't get to take alot of good pictures here due to the graphic content, that most of them are simply pictures (and taking a picture of a picture... well you get the idea) and the amount of tourists. We also had quite an amount of Vietnamese kids in there, probably a school excursion.

What you see below is a cell on exhibit called the tiger cages which was used to imprison political prisoners:

"...had to stay in turns near to door so they can breathe", so yeah, not exactly a very good place to be in.

The Notre Dame Cathedral and the Post office are still in operation today. A visit for the architectural design that reflects on the different influences Vietnam had been exposed to throughout history.

The Post Office, Buu Dien sounds a little chinese/dialect to post office (邮电).

The Cathedral:

We retired early due to the stupid train ride so there ends Day 5.

Day 6 would bring us to the Cu Chi Tunnels, so watch out for that.

Vietnam Part 3

2008-12-26T23:04:00.008+08:00

Day 3 and 4: Nha Trang and the horrible, horrible train ride.
>Go back to Day 1 <
>Go back to Day 2 <

Not that I haven't factored the fact that Nha Trang's facing the monsoon season right now, but it is more of a distance coverage thingy (this trip has an intention of hitting at least half of Vietnam), that we decide to give this place a green light.

Lets face it: you have the beaches in Thailand, Philippines and heck even Malaysia - the Vietnamese coasts pale in comparison, well in general for there are always an exceptional few (Phu Cuoc Island's coasts got voted the cleanest or something like that , this year by ABC news). Not making it any better, well yeah I've said it, is the monsoons. You don't see boats nor much people in sight, that meant island hopping's more or less out due to the choppy seas, same goes for the weather not suitable for sun/sand/sea worshippers, kids alike to be wading on the shores and or soaking up the sand.

The breezy weather is still acceptable though, with a few occasion of it getting slightly stronger, sending sand particles at cutting speed towards us.

As such, things to do in Nha Trang became severely limited, we covered a temple, an oceanographic institute that is not very well maintained and strolled the beach.

The temple's has quite some impressive statues and other than the kids and beggers imposing themselves onto you - 10 bucks *roughly* for a set of postcards is in my opinion pretty much the worst buy ever, and sadly paid to prevent the same massive horde to cling onto you for the rest of this particular tour.

I have 2 explainations to why the oceanographic institute is a let down, one of which is the underfunding of marine life conservation/awareness, the other would be that the institute didn't mean to set themselves up as something like that of Underwater World in Singapore or other Marine Parks for that matter (more of like a side-track to their main intention).

Sharks were placed in those what seems closest (to my impressions) to be an open air koi tank, no side views, just views from the top (you can stick your hand in if you'd like), the water's murky, other smaller sized exhibits were lazily placed together. Nothing very impressive, though I got to see a green turtle(s), a bone of a whale up close, and tons of preserved creatures (they claim to have 80,000 of these stuff, which I think is pretty close: massive shelves and shelves of dead marine creatures in jars.)

So to sum up, Nha Trang was pretty much meh (yes, meh is a proper word in the dictionary now). And it was not unexpected, so the backup plan to skip the 2nd night in the hotel for an overnight train back to Ho Chi Minh came into play. This is so given the time taken from Nha Trang back to HCMC being 10++++ hours that it would be good for us to do an overnight so we will have somewhat an extra day to hang around in HCMC. It proved to be a smart move, though the process (the train) was not that smart.

10 hours on a dusty/dirty - (think unknown stains) on a non-reclining (seems that way) seat. Its not like we weren't given a choice, but 3 people simply leaned back on the decision of one, whom decided to scrimp on transportation and picked the seats (soft seat/sleeper) over mattresses (hard sleeper).

Moral of the story: Don't ever scrimp on transportation if you're going for the long haul.

This grueling ride brings us to Saigon, the last city of our trip. Stay tuned.

Vietnam Part 2

2008-12-26T01:59:00.012+08:00

The journey's only just begun...
>Go back to Day 1 <

Day 2 : Dalat
As mentioned, the climate of Dalat's pretty similar to Genting Highlands sans the Casino, so I guess that a closer comparison would be that of the Cameroon Highlands (never been there).

The first thing you would notice about this place is its abundance of flowers, so much so that the ones untended by people are also blooming madly (no pictures here, apologies: they were either too far off in the distance or we're in a moving vehicle)

We figured, given the proximity of each of the attractions on our to see list of Dalat, it would be better to join a day tour, and the hotel was nice enough to grab us one that pretty much covers our itinerary (or maybe there isn't that much to see in Dalat afterall?).

Our first stop would be the Prenn Falls which I must admit, isn't the most impressive that I've seen or know about. Then again, the climate was good, the people were friendly, so that made everyone felt good, we took a short elephant ride and that pretty much covered the first stop.

The Truc Lam Monastery was next, and the serenity atop the elevated highlands made this a perfect spot for meditation, or to simply take a long break staring at the scenery - the skin you're looking at right now came right from this place. And the Truc Lam Monastery allows just that: you can stay with them and they will provide the food and lodging, after your trip with Zen, all that's needed is perhaps your voluntary donation. Then again, I don't think that at this point of my life, whereby I still have much concerns about almost everything that I be willing to completely free myself of all the worldly desires or what have yous.

Well, given a monk/nun in a place like this, you don't get to do much other than meditate. So the next best thing to do (in my opinion, and possibly the case) would be to tend to the flowers.

And like I've said, they do bloom very well in such a temperate climate. The following pictures are the result of my amateurish attempts at taking macro-shots:

The guide later brought us to the Emperor Bao Dai's Summer Palace, which was nothing very particular asides from perhaps the history about the Vietnamese Dynasties.

Then came the defunct railway station. Well not defunct, but it only runs a short distance to another tourist attraction, so yeah. Not very useful.

We stopped over to a few more less interesting tourist traps, like that of a embroidery, arts and crafts workshop - which is part of the day tour. So its more like a filler a.k.a. toilet break for us.

We ended off at this nice park - "Valley of Love", which again, thanks to the flowers around, in overall, made Dalat quite a relaxing place to be.

Not much action, but is quite a good escape from the weather, and the faster paced areas of the main cities. Pretty much a scenic place than anything else.

Next stop: Nha Trang.

Vietnam Part 1

2008-12-24T21:04:00.006+08:00

As with proper research and much enthusiasm from people (though I've pretty much done most of the work with regards to the planning), the trip to Vietnam was pretty much an enjoyable one. So I'm proud to present the first part of the Vietnam trip:

Day 1 : The Budget Terminal and making it to Dalat-
So much for a naming competition when all you get is this lousy name, not that its not deserving of the name, that truely you get monkies when you pay peanuts. Not that I'm particular about how things should be named, but when our countries spends big bucks to rename Marina Bay... Marina Bay, it goes to show our creativity is pretty much well, you know what.

So there we are, arriving at Terminal 1 at an horrible timing of 4.45am on a Monday morning with less than 4 hours of sleep before that because, well, all of us were gaming. Hah.

Had breakfast and took the shuttle to the Budget Terminal to find it nothing more than a differently equipped exhibition hall (think Expo). So we checked in our stuff and went in, in hopes of wasting time checking out whatever's in the departure hall to find out that all the shops were in plain view from where we stood at the passport counter.

So here's the entrance if you richie riches haven't seen it before:

The flight was short, 1 and a half hours later, we're hitting the infamous, motorcyclist infested roads in Ho Chi Minh City:

I tell ya, if you can successfully navigate the roads here, you pretty much are a driver of a certain standard (not to mention praise-worthy for your situation awareness and quick reflexes).

Without much hesitation, the driver took us to the tour agency whereby we would hop onto a bus to Dalat (Itinerary: Dalat > Nha Trang > HCMC). Apparently, the bus left earlier than we've expected and only leaves at 1 timing. So the locals lingering around there saw business opportunity and approached us, telling us to hop onto their bikes and they would bring us to another agency with buses departing soon.

While I must say I'm not that inclined to taking this pretty obvious bait, we went for it anyway cause we wouldn't want to waste more time (we were more aware later in the trip in HCMC) doing random navigation. Plus, riding the bike on the chaotic streets were very much an experience on its own. Not to say that it is ball-grabbingly scary, but I had my fears when I'm behind this tiny bike (given my size) carrying my backpack and another carry-on bag wearing this flimsy helmet with pretty much nothing to hold on to.

So 10 minutes later, I stand like a man before this tour bus which will then take us to Dalat, not after 8-9 hours, that is. I also must say that 4 people is really a nice number to do alot of stuff (cards, left4dead *not of course*).

The air only turned cool (Genting-isque) near the last 3 hours of the ride and the landscape changed dramatically - note the pine trees that thrived and are loaded with pine cones due to the time of the year. It was also distinctively less polluted as we're much higher up (1500+ above sea level).

We've pretty much reached Dalat at night (the 5pm there *6pm in SG*, is pretty much dark already, and we reached at 6+pm), checked in, walked around in search of dinner and lazed the night away.

The hotel we've gotten ourselves here were pretty spacious as you can see, that this is a room for 2 (2 queen sized beds! 2 pillows 2 cushions!). And for less than 20 USD a room, its a steal. (Cam Do Hotel)

Well you can stay tune for day 2 and be guaranteed of it, unlike my promise of a writeup for a lackluster Cambodian holiday. :P

Oh you want a preview of the scenery of Dalat? My blogskin's not enough? ;)

And by the way, the pictures in Dalat you see are taken by me the next morning, too dark to take much of the stuff on the bus anyway the day we reached.

BACK!

2008-12-23T22:25:00.003+08:00

Sorting out some pictures and miscellaneous stuff from the week I'm away from my trip to Vietnam.

Sharing session soon.

EDIT: Apologies for the out of place imeem box. Will try to do something about it.

EDIT2: Oh and yes, the skin's from a picture taken from a place in Vietnam.

cya!

2008-12-14T11:27:00.000+08:00

See ya in a week (or more)!

2nd opinion.

2008-12-09T13:14:00.002+08:00

It may not seem like it, but I'm not always disagreeable to people's opinions. Somehow or rather I wonder if I'm giving off this air of intimidation on top of my often neutral looking expression to sway things my way. But just as some form of clarification, no, I don't disagree just for the sake of disagreeing. I think substantiation's equally important.

I however know very classic cases of people who does that, for reasons I'm not bothered with. And it does gets on people's nerves, cause not everything needs a second opinion. A holiday's just a holiday. A gift is just a gift. Somethings are like that because they are simply, if you'd caught the drift by now, yes because they are simply like that.

I think being anti-agreement is lame, I offer opposite points of views when necessary and when it isn't I specifically put it in a tone that it was meant to be a joke thus not to be taken seriously. Some people don't know how to do just that and ends up irking people. Don't be unique in this way, seriously.

In any case, I'm in the midst of my holidays and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I've a few activities here and there, and I am getting my satisfactory doses of gaming. More importantly, I'm jetting off to another country for my holidays. I believe people who had known me by now know I that enjoy traveling, not to also mention planning for people who enjoys saying "anything lor" to every question asked. When I get back, this time with proper planning, opposed to the lackluster trip to Cambodia, I will have good (not to mention, positive) loads of information to share.

And with that trip coming up, its time for me to start planning for the next :D

random sighting.

2008-11-28T22:28:00.002+08:00

So there I was studying for today's Japanese (intermediate level 3)exam, which I later done and probably passed without much difficulty, at this coffee joint in Forum - Spinelli, good coffee, not too bad cheesecake.

Deciding to take a breather from sinking my head into a pile of jap notes mixed with some random marketing module notes, I decide to check out the source of the 2 kids which have been circling tables and looked behind me to find out that these kids belonged to Allan Wu and Wong Lilin both of whom had been behind me for awhile and (during periods of distraction) had been discussing what was on the news (that Lilin was apparently reading).

No one disturbed them, maybe cause they didn't look recognisable on first look.

They hanged around the place with their kids most probably due to the mall's x'mas for kids show.

Nothing much to take in from this post.
Perhaps, if SG were a paparazzi heaven, they might end up on a perez hilton like blog.

So yah, thats about it.

Those whose exams are over, good for you.
Those who aren't, gl hf ka dd gg no re.

The Calm Before the Storm

2008-11-16T23:07:00.002+08:00

I have been reviewing my year's resolutions, I think without looking, I've failed on at least 2. Upon taking a closer look I think I'm only capable of getting through only 2.
Then again, I think its okay.

My contacts are pretty much intact, the gone are still gone, those around, are still around. I've lost some, gain some - it somewhat balanced out. I think I owed quite alot to a few people around my life lately - you guys got an idea of what I more or less feel about friendships and have been pretty up to it.

I on the other hand, didn't practice what I've preached to you guys. Well I wasn't suppose to have any excuses there so I'm terribly sorry. I've spent my attention on the unworthy and thought that it wouldn't matter much to those I already had with me. Well to you guys it didn't matter, but when I looked back it mattered to me. I was half a jerk and half a retard. Well if that makes you feel better, I'm still there and will be there for you guys, and I too had been played around for this year.

In light of the events which has happened recently, I will only now follow-up when approached and not initiate anything. Whatever study plans I have for people in hopes that we all can improve and get through the upcoming exams together will still be up and running, I however won't follow through with asking and reminding those who simply think that its a given. You people can choose to ignore what has happened, I can also do the same but I will leave it to you guys to see whose loss is it.

The last flare-up I had, was surprisingly, not against one or two individuals but against a whole group of people, then again, they weren't even friends, just students but their behaviour was deplorable. And I had been gauging people's responses to my flare-up: for one, I usually am unable to bring up convincing last minute retorts, and when I do, its full of holes and I will, stutter. Most important of all, I don't even make sense half the time. So thats why I need to cut down on that - or have people who are willing to either back me up or help me in my self evaluation.

But yes, I will say what I want to say when I think I need to say it. One thing I'm proud of lately, which I think I won't be able to achieve back in secondary, JC times, where I think things would have changed significantly for me if I had opened my mouth.
-----

On a lighter note, I'm looking forward to my exams so I can get to the December break whereby I must pack as much activities as I can in that 4 weeks.

*I apologise for being abrupt in my thoughts. I can't seem to be able to get into my groove in blogging lately. But then again, its the emo season, so...

meh

2008-11-04T23:28:00.002+08:00

Been extremely busy.

I think all the repressed anger from the snowball made up of many big and small, nonetheless all irritating events - is beginning to show.

Thats pretty much I have to say right now, amidst the breather I gave myself from the 4 hour per day sleep for the past week just to complete a project. I credit frustration to the high expectations I have for myself.

I think those whom appear needy and or do not have any expectations have the most friends. So I am effectively out of the delinquents' social circle, serving a sole function of providing help when I'm needed cause I don't appear to be needy.

Ironically, I can't seem to shake out of the same label given to me around my house. All the more depressing to have people you love see you as nothing more than your past - I'm not sure if its some explainable syndrome experienced by people everywhere at some specific time of their life but its sure as hell puts you in an irritating spot.

And with that I lose all my readers. See you guys next year when mellow's in and emo's out.

McWisdom 2

2008-10-24T23:45:00.003+08:00

I love the McLesbians.

And here's the McNugget piece of McWisdom for you guys...

The thing about choosing teams in real life, its nothing like it used to be in gym class: being first picked can be terrifying; and being chosen last, isn't the worse thing in the world - so we watched in the sidelines, clinging to our isolation... because we know, as soon as we let go of the bench, someone comes along and changes the game completely.

End of year.

2008-10-23T21:07:00.003+08:00

A few names on my messenger have started counting down to Christmas, some just to the holidays. One particularly said that he's already in a holiday mood.

I can't help but to feel the same, especially so when I feel I haven't a good rest without the feeling of guilt of unfinished work and creeping deadlines. December seems to come fast, not to mention that it'll prolly go fast too, like how 2008 has been going.

I know, its too soon to do an end of year-ish post right now. But its not, and I believe there will be more to come with regards to the end of year.

Back to what I'm actually trying to say, with regards to all those holidayish nicks on my messenger that I too have sinned by not working. I actually managed to complete an rpg (at least 80 over quests) over the past week. That is bad, very bad, considering the fact that I have a shitload of work to clear (as of time of post, if I were to do an alt-tab, I would end up in a MSword window titled 1500essay.doc).

When you let yourself down, you simply go spiralling (WOOO! *cues Keane's song*).

Sorry for that random statement.

To make matters worse, I actually AM looking forward to a whole list of upcoming games which will arrive pretty soon. I intend to complete at least 1 to 2 more before the year ends.

I remember there was one day, when someone told me that I've changed from a gamer to a pseudo mugger and that he was right about his statement that "we won't be the same when we're in uni, so just shut up and enjoy gaming while it lasts". I would beg to differ right now, cause I stand by my statement that gaming is a part of my life, and while I've seriously toned down, I am still a gamer.

That said, I'm going to sin further and blog about my list of 5 games to be played before the year ends.

1. Red Alert 3
Release Date: Oct 28

An old staple. Most people would have heard of the Command and Conquer series.

2. Call of Duty : World at War
Release Date: Nov 11

My soft spot. WW2 FPSes, and to think I'd disliked NS so much.

3. Mirror's Edge
Release Date: Nov 11

Digital parkour. Motion sickness = get pukebag ready.

4. Left 4 Dead
Release Date: Nov 20

Especially depressing should I be unable to find gaming kakis for this possibly awesome zombie shooter. It would be Left 1 Dead, and the other 3 living a life. Just like how Rock Band is never to be cause I have no gaming kakis + music/rhythm enthusiasts. *emotes in a corner*

5. Brothers in Arms
Already out + recent expansion

Something I missed out cause I had other games on hand.

And there we have it. Still very much a gamer.

I'm off again to atone for my sins, to complete the work on hand.

McWisdom.

2008-10-11T02:51:00.003+08:00

Once again I quote from my all time favourite show, that these quotes from now on will be known as McWhiney's McList of McWisdom:

"Bones break, organs burst, flesh tears;
We can sew the flesh, repair the damage, ease the pain -
...but when life breaks down, when we break down:
there's no science, no hard and fast rule,
We just have to feel our way through."

In short, I would say it simply means that the affairs of the heart can't be mended like a wound or be repaired like a machine, that there's no encyclopedia to refer to, to go about solving the problem... (Ok, I should stop the analogy).

It just means that to me, this is completely agreeable. Who hasn't had their share of trying to fix a strained/broken relationship to find out that things don't go the way as they have planned out?

I feel that I have been a little unbearable lately, possibly due to the unnecessary stress I give myself to the targets I intend to achieve. The mismatch of work habits - to an outsider, is something which can be work around with: is turning out to be the last straw that's about to break the camel's back. Not helping is the fact that after all that I've been through, I can't help to feel that it is more of a opportunistic relation, than that of friendship.

People tend to assume too much, I won't say that I MIGHT have been assuming all along (it swings both ways, from assuming too much of the good, to assuming too much of the bad). The difference of our assumptions is that people don't ask me if they've got the assumption correct: you never know if you try and I might surprise you.

A very bad example, is that just because you've never seen someone wearing shades, in board shorts and singlets, never talk about going the sun, the sand and the sea, doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy going to the beach.

A bad assumption, especially when we are friends, worse still if we are closer friends, is pretty disappointing.

The quote comes back in, in that, yes, we WOULD have to feel our way through. Try and ask, you won't die from it, and for all we know, nothing's too serious for your friend to forgive that little annoyance should you introduce him or her something they didn't like. For all we know, the attempts might allow you to know more about each other.

I guess its once again, the time of the year when I start emo-ing till the year ends. I apologise for the possible downward spiral of the readability of this blog for this season.

disappointment

2008-10-08T01:51:00.002+08:00

While most of the time people would tell me to factor in Murphy's Law and I usually do, when it does eventually fail, you inevitably would start the blaming.

The act of usually attributing myself to the failure results in me being in a persisting bad mood, as after all the work that has been put in, you fall short right before the actual fight. Very much wasted I tell ya.

It gets really irritating as when you are blaming yourself for the lackluster achievement, the rest of the world are blatantly taking advantage of this fact and are, quite clearly the ones responsible for landing you where you are now. (For crying out loud btw, people get sick all the time and there are only THAT many times I can forgive as it gets in my way.)

People do very much influence my enthusiasm, which is why I have been avoiding people lately - to find myself back. In fact, I have been trying to do that since the later part of my last trimester. The irony in that, is that I need a social life as well - and that the people I have been tagging along with hasn't been asking how I am doing for me to reciprocate and progress the relationship further.

Part of me thinks that it is time to start exploring alternatives and hang around the correct bunch of people. After all, before I get too involved, I should know from experience, that leopards won't change their spots.

Certain people (and yes that might be you) might be laughing at me while I type this, that I am someone who might never be happy, truth is, I am content with my patches of green. What I am unhappy about is the fact that my patch of green never seem to expand, and that the patch of green I am currently on has been so comfortable, the rest seem to fail in comparison.

Can someone else out of my comfort group guide me to their patch of green?

陈绮贞

2008-10-02T01:28:00.002+08:00

你看过了许多美景你看过了许多美女
你迷失在地图上每一道短暂的光阴
你品尝了夜的巴黎你踏过下雪的北京
你熟记书本里每一句你最爱的真理

却说不出你爱我的原因
却说不出你欣赏我哪一种表情
却说不出在什么场合我曾让你动心
说不出离开的原因

你累计了许多飞行你用心挑选纪念品
你搜集了地图上每一次的风和日丽
你拥抱热情的岛屿你埋葬记忆的土耳其
你流连电影里美丽的不真实的场景

却说不出你爱我的原因
却说不出你欣赏我哪一种表情
却说不出在什么场合我曾让分心
说不出旅行的意义

勉强说出你为我寄出的每一封信 -
都是你离开的原因 :
你离开我,就是旅行的意义

4am

2008-09-27T03:57:00.001+08:00

I should be asleep at this hour.

I swear. Grey's Anatomy made me did it.

...and I'm off to bed.

Results.

2008-09-23T00:18:00.003+08:00

Last tri's results are out. It was not fantastic, neither was it bad. Nonetheless I'm satisfied, considering the fact that those were unnecessary modules in my career path. While yes, it doesn't hurt to know alittle more on the outside, but when it becomes a chore to actually study them in your course of interest, it becomes, well, like I've said, unnecessary.

I feel good this trimester looking at my modules. It has been a tiring year, and I've pretty much survived well. Nonetheless it has taken a toll on my patience on alot of stuff, be it my botched chances to enjoy myself (yes, even that) or on my group members, yes particularly this. Nothing is going according to plan lately, and I live on that to maximise my chance to slack off. If you people keep dragging my work, I can't slack off and that results in a very much pissed persona. It is, I will repeat in our (emphasis: everyone's) best interests when I do plan ahead of my work. I don't care about past work relations, and don't even dare to bring this up in my face about "oh you worked with us, you should know what to expect". For one, I personally don't just want to expect the same of me everytime I work. I expect more, and that is how people improve. If you people can't keep up with my pace (and even try to complain) you jolly well don't work with me the next time around. Whining all the more irritates me, by the way.

Enough ranting.

I actually had managed to plan for an overseas trip/be it 1 long or 2 shorts per year since 2006~ Which is pretty interesting. I mean budget with the rest of the people will always be an issue, and over the course of which I noticed that there are people who really can't be my travel buddies, not that its an issue with me now (hehe, a bitch will always remain a bitch, i apologise).

And I'm quite happy that I've even managed to set a aim to 2009's trip already~ What has yet to be fulfilled though is go off alone. Sure company's always good, but to go alone is an experience itself and one that I've always dreamed of doing. But I guess it will be quite awhile then since I've covered next year too.

Oh oh~ did I mention my Jap's going well? dan dan nihongo ohanaseru youni natte kuru kara, yoku tanoshi~ desu ne :p

Quoteworthy

2008-09-14T01:23:00.003+08:00

"Sleep now to avoid the disappointment of waking up the next morning knowing that you have not had enough sleep."
- Hanwei on 14th September 2008

And I so quoted myself. Although it sounds alittle plagiarised, I don't know, I simply thought about it without any reference. Influence? Maybe some subtle/subliminal ones here and there. But I think if I searched I could have gotten a quote by someone else who would use more meaningful words like by replacing the "sleep" to words like "Live" or "Study" or something more positive.

But meh.

And with that, I'm off to sleep.

Back back back!

2008-09-03T02:41:00.003+08:00

Woots, my american serials are coming back~ will be in full run by 1st October! All in all, that would be Heroes, Desperate Housewives (bite me), Ugly Betty (read previous), Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and...

OMGOMGOMG GREY'S ANATOMY OMGOMGOMG...

Oh and so are Keane's new album, Michelle Branch, Rachael Yamagata and Dido~!!!

Finally some english material to pull me away from what I'm listening now.

Turning back the clock pt2

2008-08-25T00:25:00.002+08:00

Turning back the clock, Part 2:

The week after the 14th was torturous, the regimentation temporarily crippled my thinking - too much of doing nothing and waiting for instructions more or less resulted in me pretty much stoning for the first few days of school. I basically sat through the lecture without absorbing anything, not as if I usually absorb alot anyway. The snowball of undone work and unread notes continued to accumulate as I pretty much slept through my day when I reach home. The snowball's pretty much a distant away anyway so I simply thought that, ah well, might as well do the catching up when its near.

Then again, sometimes, things don't usually go your way as I soon realised that what I've planned, the other people played a factor in my failure to act as I did quite alot of covering of asses at the same time catching up with missed lessons. The end result? A not so happy me. July pretty much slipped by uninterestingly as I've lost all mood to do anything else than to finish what was required of me for my school work.

I was running on very low power - and lost steam right at the very end. Then again, I guess I'm alright with the fact that I'll not do as outstandingly as I did the last trimester. I was so looking forward to the week of holidays to have it my way, and again parental forces have to interfere. I still feel shitty now, but I guess there's no point crying over spilt milk. I did get a few enjoyable trips out here and then during this week which as of now is already over.

So the turning back of the clock ends at part 2.

My first half of this coming trimester seems pretty nicely arranged with Wednesdays acting as my free days. I'm also looking forward to next month where I will finally end my NS obligations for this year.

Which means this coming month will be another busy month, not to mention tiring. Hopefully everything goes well after that and I can look forward to my overseas trip planned this December.

I'll end my post here, and don't expect too much of activity, unless something interesting happens over the next month.

Turning back the clock pt1

2008-08-23T20:38:00.002+08:00

Filling up the gap for June/July so...
series of recollections coming right up~

Turning back the clock, Part 1:

9th June 2008,
Woke up much earlier than I had set my alarm clock to ring, and yet I have a number of SMSes waiting for me... After a flurry of exchanges and telling them how early it was (its 5+ goodness sake), and there I was waiting below my block for a cab. There wasn't a need to call, my friends' are bringing it to me. What greeted me was the disgruntled look of "damn-why-now?", it was all too nostalgic. Not that we haven't met up in ages, we just had dinner over the past week, the fact that all of us are in our No.4s again sparked up conversations we usually don't bring up.

The cab ride felt as if it was going on forever, well maybe cause its heading towards one end of Singapore and its damn out of place - even the driver felt reluctant to bring us there not cause he sympathises with us, its more likely that his return trip back to civilization isn't going to fetch him any customers and is probably going to waste more fuel than he thought ferrying 3 adults with 3 full duffel bags and 3 full field packs.

It felt like a misplaced memory of sorts as the 3 of us dragged our stuff up this path to the gate of Gedong, around us with people some familar some not, nonetheless all annoyed looks. It was familiar and not familiar at the same time then again, its more of the former than latter - just the act alone of moving towards this god-forsakened place is enough to trigger all the repressed memories.

A little more catching up here and there with the rest of the bunch, and not surprisingly we're placed into this holding area of the small space in our living quarters for the coming 1 week. Wait, wait, wait. Oh, and more waiting.

After all the admin stuff, we basically relived the unit days - albeit abit more toned down than usual. I can't really say I was one who was very much enthusiastic during my unit days - however I did manage to pull through the outfield this ICT despite my lack of training and stamina. It was fun for awhile, then the more waiting made me wished it had ended faster, after all we pretty much had enough and aren't getting any younger by the minute.

The dilly-dallying took up 4 days, and on the 5th we're ready to go home, so that we'll be called up again the subsequent morning to another corner of the island. Despite that, it was like an extended social trip, a little warped way of thinking, but yeah, it does feel like this - forcing you to detach yourself from civilisation to meet up with the bunch of people you hanged around with for almost a year and half. A weird way to past time, but again, somehow looking forward to this till its finally over... in maybe about 9-10 years time.

The pros and cons I believe I've covered it not too long back but I guess I bring up one for elaboration. Outfields were pretty much a love hate affair, and in the past for me, it was more hate than love. Now its pretty much mixed - I personally won't get so down and dirty with nature, outside of the NS context, we pretty much stuck with the pathways where most people usually walked on. Hence in its own twisted way, a unique experience. I seriously thought that I would have enjoyed it more if I carried less, then again, sweating it out has its benefits too. Before that I think my sense of balance deteriorated due to the way I walk, now I'm alittle more surefooted and made more attempts to move more in shoes than my usually comfortable slippers.

Maybe I might get to realise more things the next ict. Alittle slow to realise but then again, who actually bothers to think during service time? Even for that week alone, I felt as if some of my braincells suffered and died.

And this turning of the clock covered up the missing period of 9-14 June. Stay tuned for part 2.

version 5

2008-08-19T19:13:00.003+08:00

When you see a new and nicer looking skin...

It simply means, I'm back in business =P

Lemme enjoy my week first (yeap, its my holiday now... and a short short week only).

Meanwhile, enjoy~!

Yeah, yet another big-ass skin, but then again, when you don't feel like doing anything just play the music and close your eyes or stare at the picture =)

SODAGREEN!!

2008-08-03T02:00:00.005+08:00

It has really been a busy period for me. Stopping the snowball isn't easy with shitty people around you (bad, bad teammates).

That's the reason for the hiatus. I won't be back yet.

Its just that I have to blog this down~! HAVE TO, and thats the main reason why I'm here.

Lessons ended and I'm starting my study week. Before that though, I attended 苏打绿's concert, and they were as good as I've expected if not better! You've got a fan here already~ and this one don't usually believe in idol worshipping!

It was quite a wait there, as you know... the people streaming in late. The concert began with a short video clip... then transited into 无与伦比的美丽, which was unexpected as I had thought they would kick start the audience with a fast song - nonetheless the crowd went wild, and it was one of my favourites so no complains there. Following which was Believe In Music, which I have to say was spoilt by the stupid sound system there - but what followed after was gold as the band went ahead and brought us 小宇宙 and 暂时失控 to the crowd's delight. Following which was yet another song which I failed to catch cause it was in their earlier albums.

Then which they slowed the pace down with 左边 and one of my personal favs, a rendition of Teresa Teng's 我只在乎你 - to which his vocals suited it nicely, a very very nice touch actually. It was consec chain of 7 songs, he then decided to stop to have a chat, gotta love his personality.

I have to say, the patch of audience I was in was rather anticlimatic, in fact to the extend that even if I felt like standing up, I would attract stares. (It got better at the end though) I guess, the people next to you can influence the joy of it all.

The band then picked up the pace again with 3 more rock song which I have to say, are okay, I would really prefer their slow ballads though. But they did alot to cater to our/my needs (hehheh) as a re-arranged version of everyone's favourite 小情歌 soon followed. No band, just the violin group and the piano, was pretty much unplugged - which showed off his unique vocals, then came 2 more songs (didn't know one, but the other was 爱人动物).

青峰, the lead singer joked about his english and ours - then again, I think in comparison, is quite decent already. He then sang a few english numbers (ohohohoh and the carpenter's close to you).

Then he went on to do what is best, the slow songs~ and a new favourite of mine - 频率, (forgot the name of the other one)

The fake last song, as he so called it was 相信. He sure knows how to interact with the audience - almost a comedian if not for his vocals.

Screams of encore followed when the stage goes black. He then went ahead and sang my favourite song : 这天. Meaningful, and definitely a day for me to remember.

More interaction with the audience, this time taking requests for songs - and he complied with 红鞋女孩，蓝眼睛，漂浮，迟到千年 and 纪念. Lovely.

The final song 陪我歌唱, which was the title of the concert, ended to date - one of the most enjoyable concert I've been to. And my goodness, a whole 3 hour, with almost 30 songs!

I will most certainly catch their next appearance in Singapore.

And I end this blog with a new-found favourite, 频率。

Sweetest Goodbye

2008-06-18T20:17:00.001+08:00

Enjoy the skin, I go settle my backload of work, then when I'm free, I'll talk again.
Ciao.

ICT 1

2008-06-15T02:35:00.002+08:00

The past week has been pretty interesting and to be fair, before I start the condemning, it was a nice change to the pace of life I'm having. You get to sleep/slack more than your usual school life. There's absolutely nothing to worry about, you just do what is required, and chill around, catch up with all your friends. You get to go out in the woods and get all muddy and dirty...

Oh wait. That wasn't supposed to be good, whoever said ICT wasn't supposed to be tiring ought to have me over and give him one tight slap across the face. The combat load I was carrying almost had me killed, and the bashing across the thick vegetation gave me cuts and bruises here and there though these aren't seriously complaints.

Now THESE are the complaints:
The distance of the camp is obscenely far.
The management of my unit is pretty much by hardcore regulars who love the organisation.
The people whom are retarded, are still retarded.
The pay.
The taxi fare. Because of the obscene distance.
Its a High-Low key - whatever the fuck is that.
I'm taking in second-hand smoke, spewing vulgarities like no one's business.
Brain dies alittle.

Now those I would rather not elaborate, maybe you might want to ask me when you meet me up for a chat or two.

It has been a tiring week, I guess I'll stop here, and talk more about this in the next few posts to come.

jaded.

2008-05-31T01:55:00.003+08:00

I spent the day doing nothing except things I'm forced to do.

I know what you guys are thinking, and trust me, as nicely as you people put it, I'm right. I don't spend all my life (not to mention all the broken friendships) second-guessing people if I am incorrect half the time. So trust me on this when I say I know what you guys are thinking.

The camo pattern, for the uninitiated, yes, the girls and what not, has the most interesting of effects to those who wear it. You either fall in love with it, or you hate it to the core, those in between are far and few. And the past 2 days spent wearing green, despite doing nothing, has me all tired, frustrated and lazy.

I hate to say this, and what I feel is good and bad at the same time, is that I'm used to the pace of my school work. It worked for me last trimester and I am more than willing to keep it up, or even get ahead. Which is what I'm doing. However, circumstances like me in camo dressing forces me to give up the pacing, like a drop from heaven to hell. Not that it is entirely all bad, I would like to re-emphasise again.

For those whom I had ignored totally these days and on purpose, i.e. I reject calls, not respond to smses and msn messages. You have to understand, no one likes change - and when you're happily and most importantly effectively handling your daily life and then all of a sudden plunked into a region where you are forced to slack off (note: 7 hours of doing nothing is to 1 hour of what it seems to be work) and that there is nothing you can do about it cause of the system. I will, inevitably short circuit.

I have work to do, to catch up and to prepare in advance so that I can meet my datelines. And yes, I know you guys are thinking that these are all excuses and that when there's a will there's a way.

This time I'm going to reply with a simple word. Bullshit.

Okay, maybe not. I'll try to be nice and explain.
Your bullshitty remark to me : "aiyah, you know have alot of free time, can always bring in work to do mah".
My response to you would be to tell you to try and sneak all your relevant stuff in, oh wait, for someone as smart as you are, have you heard of the word "consequence"?
While, the bullshitty, brainless person I think you are, and the arrogant, bitchy person you think I am - you can, and I will more or less predict, that you will return that same remark as a retort to me.

But you know what, it doesn't matter to me already.

And that is why I'm not responding. For your own good. And mine.

Slightly better

2008-05-28T13:53:00.003+08:00

My birthdays hardly turn out as I imagined or correct, at least for the past few years.

Had a treat @Ramen Santouka after the most disappointing 1 hour lesson every Wednesday - fantastic, fantastic ramen with meltingly soft pork cheek slices.

And now I'm home, in a corner polishing my army boots for tomorrow's and friday's callup.

Great, just great.

And by the way, thanks for all the sms-es, msn and forum shoutouts. Very very much appreciated.

another wait.

2008-05-23T21:01:00.005+08:00

And my beloved Grey's Anatomy ends its 4th season... what a fantabulous ending it was, with an awesomelicious song to boot.

Objections with how I describe things? Talk to my hand.

Oh, its Bryn Christopher with "The Quest"

...lead the way, lead the way, show me the answers - I need to know;
What I'm gonna live for, what I'm gonna die for, who you're gonna cry for;
I can't answer that.

whine whine

2008-05-20T18:09:00.002+08:00

Hm, I notice it has been awhile since I've blogged, whoops, was alittle caught up with things lately, settling into the new trimester and all. Oh by the way, my results for the last trimester turned out to be more satisfying than I have imagined I would get.

And yes, you are going to hear me whine again. I vividly recall a year back around the same time last year where I whined to everyone and anyone that there will be a drought of shows as all my american series come to an end. ITS THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN, and it sucked.

The first to end off was Desperate Housewives (oh shoot me, whatever, I still watch this show), and the ending had me more excited than I have ever felt about this show a few seasons back. The 5 year skip is indeed an interesting way to push the reset button for a new set of scandalous gossip around Wisteria Lane. I shall not spoil for you guys...

Oh wait, I doubt you pple watch this anyway so... OMG NO MORE MIKE DELFINO JUST AS THEY HAD A NEW BABY? Whoops.

Well, its not exactly that bad considering the new seasons will arrive sooner due to the strikes. But I'll be stuck with:

1. The upcoming National Obligations. What the fuck.
2. Piles of overdue work, backtracking, preparations in advance due to the shitty life schedule.
3. Anime fillers, and the end of these fillers nowhere in sight. Thanks alot to whomever animates Naruto and Bleach.
4. No good games in sight. Starcraft 2? 2050 perhaps.
5. Happy friends enjoying their 3 months break and will be bitching about having to work about my schedule cause I'm still studying away.

This mid year's gonna be so damn great. sooooo damn great.

rain!

2008-05-10T04:33:00.000+08:00

Woah. It finally rained, and a heavy thunderstorm at that.

Cheers and good night. Keke.

Politics

2008-05-09T00:45:00.002+08:00

I had always admired Daw Suu Kyi (Aung San) for her efforts to pull away the military junta from Myanmar and install democracy. It has been years (I was in sec 1 when I first read about her (the book's a prezzie from a friend), till now, it almost seem as if nothing much has changed. Yeah the supporting countries continue to condemn but it seems to me its all NATO (no action talk only) as the reign holds.

Its not as if you guys never hear of the struggles, the monk protests in 2007, for example of the more recent cases.

I had wanted to visit Myanmar but alot of calls just tell me not to go, not because of safety issues but rather more of the political, that I might unknowingly support the junta (through funds from purchases - one of the most corrupt governments around) by means of forced and child labour.

I don't believe in divine retribution, but I sure hope that, however many years its going to take to rebuild the cities destroyed by Cyclone Nargis (not that I think the innocent deserved to die), that we will see democracy rise in the country's weakest moment.

Stop teasing

2008-05-07T17:27:00.002+08:00

I have been cheated again and again, taking a nap thinking that it was going to rain only to wake up in a pool of sweat cause the weather has been just too hot and that the sudden patch of dark weather and dropping temperature which made me decide to sleep (ah but I'll still nap anyway zzz) turns out to be a tease. Misleaded for 3 days straight liao hokays! >:(

In other news(keke), my tutor for marketing has quite a HK slang to her english but its not too bad considering that she had studied in the UK. Its still distinctive enough to go duh, after she introduced herself to be from the HK. She presents herself well enough to make me believe that if I were to be as serious as her, I might actually do well under her guidance.

Some down points: narcissist. Not that I'm not guilty too.
And the interesting part of it all is that she assigns members randomly into groups (poor effort though as she merely grouped in an order of surname. Breaking people out of their comfort zone, giving that NS-style of reason as to "mimic real life of working with people you might not want to work with".
My group seems ok, and imho abit better off (sorry!) considering that there aren't any PRC students around. Not that I'm being racist or what, but these PRC students are a mile off to your typical PRC muggers/spoilers from the local universities.

I think my grouping could hit it off well, and that I was too hasty to assume control of the situation due to random encounters in the past. In any case, let me be self centered abit and promote myself here (keke, why can't I? its my blog afterall). If anyone is worried about letting me take control or me being a tad more overbearing or demanding, fyi, my previous group stints were nothing short of outstanding, e.g. stats (a few marks short of full marks I think, unable to see it on my grades), and for the recent principles of marketing a 14% out of 15%, not to mention a full 10% for participation. (mind you, not the paraphrasing sort).

So, no worries.

Ok, I shall go complain the weather on another avenue.

school begins yet again.

2008-05-05T01:28:00.002+08:00

I reckon I can stay up alittle late over the course of next week, and pretend that I'm still amidst my holidays.

Not enough sleep? There's the afternoons to nap away.

I have the feeling after the next week, there will be a steep, steep climb as I would need to struggle to catch up with the potential pile up. The thought of going back to camp is therefore extremely disturbing not because I have to go through all the shit again (well partly) but that I am unable to adapt my usual lazy-last-minute-preparation-of-work attitude.

It will be a full week gone, just like that, and I shall be extremely calculative and request my attendance/participation not be discounted. Keke.

I think I'll be donating blood this week as a preparation for the countless needles I'll have to endure (thanks to my bloody fat arm) during medic refresher, and pray that some of my oil gets donated in the process, a result of which I will lose 10kg. *haw haw*

And did I mention the weather recently has been extremely unfriendly?
Oh, and also that I almost died alittle inside cause I have been immensely bored and that to add salt to the wounds, my mum just came back from an overseas vacation?

Mweah.

2008-05-03T16:23:00.003+08:00

Had I not been so lethargic, I would have went ahead and create a proper layout with the proper titles for each section.

But you see:
a. I have little interest in the theme in particular.
b. My holidays ends like um... tomorrow?

So I'll just keep it at here =)

And how do you know when your favouritest-est show ever goes off in the right direction?

Something priceless, like this.

A pigeon hole.

2008-04-30T19:20:00.003+08:00

I've hardly been religious, it explains my inability to express faith ever since I told my mum I want to be a free thinker, it doesn't mean I don't respect them less the few annoying "Fanatics" with their constant evangelist manner of speaking to you and with their reminding of me not to cry out god's name in vain.

Today I made my first trip down to Bright Hill Columbaria, the first thing I saw was the very inappropriately placed old folks home, granted, there's peace to be found, the meaning's all good, but shouldn't you place them at a better location? I mean, c'mon, its like staring directly into the grim future ahead that's just next to where you are living.

Sorry, back to the topic. I know some people pay their respects by offering some fruits and sweets and what have yous, I just feel that its weird to be doing this nonetheless I bought a roll of caramel chews (Which I wasn't able to offer in the end). The fact that its weird still crosses my mind, the dead is not going to be able to eat it. I mean the difference between this and offering up to your ancestors and the deities at least after all thats been through, you'll still be able to eat them for good luck or something.

I didn't actually know what to say or do, well you don't have much choice of actions here. So I merely stood there, infront of this little shelf space, without the panels and the photographs, reminiscent of pigeon holes you see around offices and in schools. It wasn't hard to locate Stanley amidst the shelves of urns, they're all numbered, neatly and in an orderly manner.

I just stood there, silently, thinking - half of which about the days spent with him, the days he spent on the hospital bed, that he's going to skip the futures ICTs, the other half on whether if I should start talking (to myself probably), and also how awkward it is for me to stare right into a photograph of a friend, behind of which lies his remains and that this is where I'll most probably be when I die.

Cremated, stored in an urn, tucked away into a locker arranged in a pigeon hole-isque manner, amongst the rest of whom I might not be able to choose to be along side with. But it doesn't matter already, right?

Happy Birthday, its been a full year since you're gone and you're still missed.

old old old

2008-04-28T22:51:00.002+08:00

If lesbians can marry, thats it for me. :(
I'm old old old. And here's a proof of it.
Songs I am currently listen to:

Its in 1991 can? Thats like 17 years ago. Omfg. *panic attack*
I need to get hitched. Right. Stat. Now.

A perfect day.

2008-04-25T19:51:00.002+08:00

You see, it was the half an hour of interruption to my internet connection, do I really realise what a perfect day it has been today.

I woke up having slept slightly more than my required amount of sleep, and continued to lazed for an extended period of time. I know, its the last day of my exams, and hey its a 70% heavy duty paper but you know what? I feel fully prepared, and the paper itself went smoother than any paper I've done. I feel the right amount of confidence and it felt good.

I went back to notice that my internet service went down for awhile, but then I noticed that my episodes of Ugly Betty, and better yet, Grey's Anatomy were ready for watching.
After a long, long wait thanks to the writers' strike I finally get to watch the deliciously wicked medical conditions, the dark and twisty interactions between my favourite characters (I looove all of you). Stuck to my food plan, and now I'm ready to play some games.

In this time of the year, I can ask for nothing more, except maybe alittle more company. Then again, its enough for today, its enough. :)

Halfway through.

2008-04-22T18:46:00.003+08:00

I am halfway through, and I feel that I will be devoid of stuff to when the break comes. I think this is most possibly due to the fact that I can't still get over the idea that my next 2 breaks will only be a week long and that after a trimester's hard work (note. hard work is subjective.), that I deserve to reward myself.

Not any better is that all my company disappears during this break for their exams. Great.
Not that I'm saying the peeps in my course aren't an option, but I doubt the spontaneity (oh wow, I spelt it correctly) if I were to just pop the question.

Plus the lack of funds, then again, not really if I were to go offshore for a day or 2.
-----
Ok, back to the halfway through my exams part (woah, I was deviating?), the papers so far were do-able with the first paper being the biggest disappointment for I had so much preparations only to realise that I spent too much crapping on some of the questions I had none to do the rest - when the paper was over I thought to myself - alright, way to go to screw up on your best paper, now passing's even a problem.

And the other shocker came today in what seems to me as a laughably easy a trash of a test paper. And to add insult, the time allocated for the paper seems like an eternity as opposed to the time I had on Monday. Granted the rest might feel that Monday was easy and managable enough, I'm not denying that. It was my bad on the part of poor time allocation.

And tomorrow's the time where I will sit down, look at the paper and mouth the f word. Making it worse is that I feel this sense of impending doom when after this paper, a few weeks down the road they're going to pay back the favour and double f(inance) me back. And all the time I was wondering about the bitch of a friend who was whining about his accounting course sucking hard like a professional wh**e. Touche.

And if I were to flunk it, you be assured that I'll blame no one but myself and feel free preach to me about karma and laugh at me for now you can finally prove your own silly logic about gloating from the other side of the system *cough* you didn't fail management, did you? *cough*.
-----
Someone made a comment about my mouth being pretty clean, I'll give it to you, yeah, I try to hold back as much as I can, but not the me here. Not here.

Yeah, whine whine b*tch b*tch. Whatever man, whatever.
-----
I diverge, when you censor in text, u cover the U of the f*ck and you cover the o of the wh*re, what's the point of censoring when people can easily figure it out?

I mean there aren't much sensible choice of alternatives for the missing letters right. I mean yeah, I censor only the i in b*tch cause you can have botch, butch and batch, all of which makes sense as a word (not as a sentence, of course but thats not my point). But, feck, fick, fock? I mean even fark didn't make sense as much as they sound similar.

The same goes for wh*re, I mean, whare, whure, whire? Censor it like this whereby people can think of alternatives should their pure minds not come up with the letter o to fill up the wh*re. Wh**e can suggest Whale, Whole, White. Isn't that more sensible?

Now I go back and quote my previous sentence of "...accounting course sucking hard like a professional wh**e."

If it makes you feel better, I'm sure accounts can suck hard like a professional whale. :p

Alright...

2008-04-20T18:05:00.002+08:00

I'm done with 3 of my modules to prepare for exams. And tomorrow begins my first paper which would be Marketing of which I will do a brief read through of my own compiled notes and have an early rest today.

Then as tomorrow ends, I shall do yet another similar run-thru with my ebiz notes to prepare for the Tuesday exam. Following which I shall try and settle the other 50% of my accountings together with going through the exam paper on Tuesday (I can work through the night considering the Wed's exam is in the afternoon.) Then lastly, the Wed evening will be spent compiling my 2 pages of Legal notes, then Thursday evening will be spent browsing briefly through the already completed notes. and Friday will mark the start of my very, very short break which I still have no idea on how to spend it.

Thats all for today, and prolly for the week.

In memory of...

2008-04-19T22:51:00.001+08:00

NOTE: Post was pushed up. There WERE updates.

Guess I'll talk about something to break the monotony of constantly seeing similar posts for the past few days. I'm afraid its not going to be anything light hearted today.
-----

Its going to be a year soon. While, at the same period of time I broke off a set of friendships which had lasted years, the one which I had missed is the slightly-more-than-a-year acquaintance with you. Till today, I'm still disturbed, sad and angry when I've heard about what had happened to you.

Am I supposed to thank you for 10 less days spent worrying about something? Am I supposed to thank you for waking up at the very last moment to acknowledge my presence only to have you slip past me the next day?

I apologise for keeping people's hopes up. I apologise for making such unprofessional comments to your loved ones. I apologise for not sending you off. I apologise for not visiting you over the past period. I planned to wish you a happy birthday and have you acknowledge it, but I guess its going to be a one sided affair from now on.

I thank you for all the advice you've given me - the times you were actually serious given your usual laid back, cheerful personality. I thank you for behaving so much more an adult than I was when all I can come up of for a greeting is giving you a hard slap on your back.

I remembered telling you with regards to the risks but I'm sure you have considered alot more things than I do. I understand, sadly, that circumstances can lead to alot of unexpected, unhappy and unfair consequences. I will be angry if you dying in front of so many people who wants you around awhile longer is because of you giving up, I am however, sure that it will not be the case.

I hope that wherever you are now, its a whole lot better a situation than you were in almost a year ago.

I will try, to donate blood every year. I hope it helps whoever's in your position to live awhile longer.

Its been almost a year, and I'm still not liking the idea of your absence in our ranks for the next 10 years to come.
-----

Sorry for those who were expecting the thing to break the monotony was a more cheerful entry. But well, this period of time just so happens to not be a not so happy period for me :p

Meh

2008-04-19T22:45:00.002+08:00

Total hours: 47 hours since last Saturday (average of 6+ hours a day)

Totally unproductive, like only about 2 hours today.
Ran out of steam. Should really take a break before I collapse and forget everything.

Progress so far has been so-so imho, completed Marketing, Law, and 80% of eBusiness (not to mention the 50% of Accountings nothing to be proud of).
At least, the tests that are coming up first is more or less done.

Sunday will really be the last day for me to wrap up eBusiness and clear the Accountings load. Then in the evening, browse through the Marketing notes.

Note the shuffling of posts. Sorry, had to do this to keep the "more relevant to theme of blog" post at the top.

Break the monotony

2008-04-18T01:11:00.003+08:00

UPDATE on Saturday 10.40PM: Note shuffling of posts.

I have been reporting inconsistent whereabouts, apologies for that.

In any case, tomorrow's location is more or less confirmed. So if anyone wants to join me, drop me an sms or smthing.

UPDATE : Where I'd actually went,
Monday - Great World City
Tuesday - Woodlands Library
Wednesday - Changi Airport
Thursday - Somerset, Starbucks beside Centerpoint (Whatever that name of the building was)
Friday - Building beside Beauty World (Liquids Cafe)

sick

2008-04-17T21:08:00.002+08:00

Gah.

It was an effective 5 hours today (alone outside still always better than alone inside) and another 3 hours later to clock the necessary hours for today *its a must*.
Then on Friday I'll head off to Beauty World at Bukit Timah.

I am making quite some progress, hopefully I'll clear my load by Saturday.

nooooo

2008-04-17T00:43:00.002+08:00

Will be heading down to Forum the Shopping Mall @ Orchard, Thursday. Will be staying till quite late, anyone who's interested feel free to join.

I did little at Airport T2/3 earlier on. Sad.

Total mug hours clocked so far since Saturday (Saturday + Wed being the spoiler days) : 32 hours. Average of 6+hr/day.

Mug mug mug

2008-04-16T00:02:00.003+08:00

Went to Woodlands Library on Tuesday instead. It seems pretty good a session, at least I feel that the people I'm with are more willing to study. I hope I didn't cause too much of a distraction should you feel I talked too much. (I personally didn't, cause when I look at my what I've done when I got back, it was pretty good.)

Will be heading off to Changi Airport later today Wednesday. (what a place). Hopefully won't get chased off *prays for off season*.

And maybe heading off to Beauty World on Thursday.

Now the cynical might feel that the time I spent traveling could be added on to my mug hours, I have nothing to say on this.

The more cynical might believe one might have overstated what he has achieved to show that his plans worked. I have to disagree to quite a large extent - its better than what I have done in the past so far - and that's good enough.

Total mug hours clocked so far since Saturday (Saturday being the spoiler day) : 28 hours. Average of 7hr/day.

Didn't seem good enough. Gotta work harder.

A little something away from all the boring news about me studying : after more time spent with the people, I sorta have an idea who would make better company than the rest. It seems a little clearer now when people start to get comfortable.

My whereabouts for the week ahead.

2008-04-13T11:17:00.002+08:00

I am starting to feel that studying at home is a double edged sword with the upside being the comfort and the lack of disturbances (mom'll leave me alone). But the distractions are bad, if not worse off than (imo) when you have a nice place to sit down and study outside.

So I think I shall start to go out and study for the study break this coming week. Drop me a message if you'd wanna join me for mugging (note. mugging, not anything else). In any case, I'll be announcing my whereabouts for monday and tuesday first, and will perhaps update depending on how much more productive I am.

Monday 14/04 : Most probably at Great World City after 3pm. Before that I'll probably be found at Tiong Bahru Plaza, like I say, drop me a message first.

Tuesday 15/04 : Will be at Beauty World MacDonalds for old time's sake. Aiming for a 10am to 11pm sort of thing.

I am also looking to organise a group mug at Changi Airport. Then again, people didn't seem very interested for reasons I can't be bothered to find out - perhaps they can mug alone at home and effectively at that?

Well I can do the same, but I feel that over-comfort leads to unproductivity - granted I can sustain quite a while mugging at home but once I let loose, the inertia kicking in is so much more greater than anything else.

Like now. I'm blogging. Gotta stop.

Mug mug

2008-04-11T00:42:00.001+08:00

I don't know man. It seems setting myself a mug duration's abit overboard haha. But I guess I got to.

Urgency man. The sense of urgency!

Whine whine bitch bitch

2008-04-09T16:10:00.002+08:00

Given my rather mild and perhaps mostly forgiving nature, I suppose I ought to get this out before I forget about it. Hm... does that mean I intend to remember it?

It was a rather unpleasant afternoon. Both disappointed with the management of my school and several unruly behaviour (not that I am particularly innocent - had my share of exchanges with another staff around.) of my classmates.

I think I shall not hold back this time, but I query the purpose of the flare-up in front of the people.

Or would you like me to reason it out for you? Is it a mere, senseless display of anger or perhaps helplessness? Or, more likely, is it a display of the typical gender stereotype that since you're a male, you're always to display your genitals on as a testament (henceforth should always be the one making the most noise, showing the most temper ala the Alpha male of a pack of Lions) to how much of a man you are? I, would beg to differ.

Cannot reply? That is cause there is NONE. Zilch. Nada.

Go through the proper chain of thought for fucks sake and stop behaving like a brainless american jock. On that note, I don't even think people fall under that category, its a neither here nor there sort of thing, I would like to use the word beng but it doesn't even register for they wouldn't even be studying there in the first place.

There I've said what I wanted to say. I would have mentioned it out loud, in fact I did, but I felt that it has fallen on deaf ears. So I decide that since its my blog, I shall be less subtle about it.

I'm off to settle the issues through the proper channel. Something I've already decided way back but am drowned by the sounds of resonating empty buckets.

Diversion

2008-04-08T16:54:00.002+08:00

*sounds of coins rolling about in a tortoise shell*
Me thinks propects no good, much as I feel that the lessons I'm currently going through (yeap, its a post from a lab in school)is all linked i.e. supply chain, disintermediation yadda yadda yadda, and what have yous in respect to marketing and that I hopefully can pass through them using my bluffing skillz. The reality is that hI know less than 10% of the current syllabus, and me thinks 90% of which comes from common sense. Cheers.

And oh the weather's no good for my plans to take place. Rather, this is in the 4th month where I think I'm giving myself this excuse. It looks like its yet another case of an epic failure on my part, the start-of-year resolutions remember? Something along the line of whereby I said "right stat now" and something about an increasing double digit figure, *crosses fingers on the double digit part*.

As I am typing, its raining cats and dogs (see? I told you its disrupting my plans *rolls eyes*). And I'm still not listening to lesson.

So much for staying focused. Meh.

Un-freaking-believeable

2008-04-07T00:55:00.002+08:00

Um, I apologise for what I'm about to say.

I surf cuteoverload.com

Yeah, you heard me. Then again, pictures and videos of these adorable critters always put a smile on my face. In times of stress, it helps alot to indulge in little guilt pleasures like these.

Ok, with that aside, on a more serious note...
I would like to form a study group to "mug" for the exams, not that I can't do it on my own, but I feel that a little company can break the stress level from the occasional diversions - I will prolly try to prevent overdoing it.
So, UoN peeps whom chance upon this blog and are interested (what are the odds? :D), please drop me a message soon.

I think my stress level spiked to a new level. I think one good reason for that is the fact that I know zilch about a particular subject from not attending lectures. Nasty case of karma I must say. I gotta start corrective action soon before its too late.

Okie dokie, the inertia to do a long post kicks in.

Lesser of 2 evils

2008-04-06T14:41:00.002+08:00

I'm actually concerned about which internet service provider to sign up on. But just as you all know, not much of a choice. Its just a matter of who offers the best freebies, imho, cause both of them are equally bad due to the oligopolistic (or should I say monopoly?) nature of the ISP scene here.

Guess I can afford to wait a month or so and for now should be focusing on my upcoming exams.

Lethargy kicking in again hence the very short entries.

Guitar

2008-04-03T02:13:00.002+08:00

I've dug out my guitar yet again after many months and it seems that I'm again able to finish another song.

Still, not the song I had wished I am able to play with comfort (arrgh, the guitar solo! barring the F chord!)

Ultimately still unable to sing and play. Is there a way to train this?

Happy April Fools

2008-04-01T21:58:00.002+08:00

Darn. I guess you win some you lose some. Asides from the eagle-eyed and the not so gullible (You know all sorts of my bullcrap), I guess it was somewhat a successful prank.

Alright I admit it, its a double edged move. But its altogether touching (in my own sick twisted kind of way) to know pple care *teary eyed look*.

I apologise for the concerns, but its all in the name of fun. Hey you want to prank someone and you're afraid of being politically correct (i.e. scamming), you're afraid of using others as a medium (oh no, so & so has just got into an accident), why not make yourself the center of attraction? And since its a prank, make sure it convinces and works.

The setup:

The result:

I did ruffle some feathers (the flurry of missed calls and msn nudges, again, thanks and sorry!).

Again, April Fools everyone!

goodbye.

2008-04-01T02:02:00.004+08:00

The last entry.

Hopefully the towel make things easier to clean up. Oh don't worry, for those concerned about the mess (more than you people are with me) I will make on the floor, I've have some more towels.

And I shall stop here, but the blood will continue to flow.

So long. And see you on the other side.

EDIT @ 10PM : Happy April Fools, read the next post.

"...to see how much it hurts"