whatever

2007-05-03T17:39:00.000+08:00

sorry. took a short trip to the future. back to reality now.
dont we all just love studying.

goodbye waves and driveways

2007-04-28T11:38:00.000+08:00

alas. it is finished! I'm done with the bloody exams.
No more going to school at 6am and returning at 4am.
No more games of pool.
No more studying!!!

feels fantastic. time to break a leg, loose a tooth.

505

2007-03-11T22:17:00.000+08:00

" I sought the Lord and He answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles."

David; Psalm 34:4-6

Turning and returning to some secret place in time.

2007-02-20T01:04:00.000+08:00

Rain, rain, rain on my mind
I've got a secret life
Wipe, wipe, wipe it away
Nothing can make me dry

Fight all the while
Fight 'til I think I'm free
Feel rains we never see
Beautiful secret lives

It can make you face all your fears
It can make you face all your fears

Oh, smile, smile in a day
Fear takes its place at night
Oh, oh, I'm pretty in the rain
I love your secret life

It can make you face all your fears
It can make you face all your fears.

I could leave you well enough alone
Believe and you'll be overcome and gone
By grace away
Better off than if I stayed
I could leave you well enough alone
Believe and you'll be overcome and gone
By grace away
Better off than if I stayed

I could leave you walk away
We'll save it for another day
Through all the wars I've come to know
It's punches pulled, not towels thrown in

And when you've found something to die for
They'll be knocking on your heart's door
When they come knocking on your heart's door
Choose the one who loves you more

zoobs

2007-02-18T02:07:00.000+08:00

michelle has a nice story to tell.

http://notre-mailbox.blogspot.com/2007_02_15_archive.html

oh. im not very sure how to use this new blogger thing. so you have to copy and paste the address youself.

i was never good with computers.

now i'm stuck in a memo and i can't get out of it. you too?

2007-02-06T23:04:00.000+08:00

sunday afternoon saw me at havelock road trying to get home. decided to save some dough, save the environment. so bus it was.
strange bustop... even stranger buses. decided on a triple-digit one that brought me closest to my home. and so i waited.
5min. not my lucky day.
10min. should be coming soon.
15 min. this bus is rather infrequent.
20min. maybe the bus got stuck in heavy traffic.
25min. getting a bit impatient.
30min. nc16 words in my head.
35min. m18 words in my head.
40min. is God playing a trick on me.
45min. went to check the bus info display for frequency/other info.

mon to sat --- 10-15min.
sun, eve of public holiday, public holiday --- N/A.

N/A... what in the world does that mean.
N/A... Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.. why??
N/A..... hmm.. N-maybe-the-stupid-bus-doesnt-operate-on-sundays-A..

46min. "uncle, tanah merah please."

In other happier news, i'm going to be spending chinese new year with my cat!!! Family will be going to Ipoh for a week for the whole CNY holidays.. No.. wait.. my mum booked my cat into a hotel..
So I guess i'll have reunion dinner with either StarWorld or ESPN. Or with AXN? choices choices choices.
i wonder how.

Time to catch up on my dvd stockpile.

Wah Lao. No Ang Pao.

i like black pepper chicken Pao.

Kao.

i hate research.

2007-01-22T22:57:00.000+08:00

well. I've shaved. Blame Man Utd's poor defence on Sunday. Blame Henry's head. Blame Van Der Sar getting injured thus leading to 4 minutes of extra time without which Man Utd won't have lost. Blame the scruffle between two Man Utd players and two Arsenal players, in which both Man Utd players ended up on their backs. Blame Fergie for not playing Park. Blame him for not playing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Blame Giggs fot not being able to finish well. Blame Larsson for geting offside. Blame ronaldo for getting offside. Blame Henry's splendid runs along the flanks. Blame Ronaldo for not running even faster. Blame the weather. Blame the Stadium. Blame the fans.

Amongst the ranks of Mikael Silvestre, Henrik Larsson, Rio Ferdinand and err.. va va voom-Thierry Henry.

the first game lost at home

2007-01-21T00:43:00.000+08:00

if arsenal wins man utd at Ashburton Grove tomorrow, I'll shave my head next year
I don't care if they have a perfect home record.

2007-01-17T00:09:00.000+08:00

But I keep running right back around for more,
Cause I'm in love with my doubt.

tan li en

2007-01-07T22:47:00.000+08:00

had a banging fantastic holiday.
Joanna's got it all!
go to her site.

love you joanna!

my ass not for kiss.

2006-12-24T04:05:00.000+08:00

2006-12-24T03:22:00.000+08:00

2006-12-24T03:07:00.000+08:00

oooooh. i love you wigan! 2-2 on chelsea. and from behind!
oh wait. BLOODY !@#!@#!@#!@# chelsea just scored as i was typing that. on the 90th min!
!@#!@#!@#!#!@#!@
and there i was typing my victory message.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

what a screwed up post.

cloudburst

2006-12-19T13:50:00.000+08:00

at first thought, the rain somehow lent the season a rather melancholic feel. but as i looked up from the book i was reading, i began to realise that the rain brought a kind of calmness that you don't expect from a thunderstorm. somehow the torrents of rain made me feel like i was the last person on earth. that there wasn't anyone around that might hurt me. made me feel like i had not a care in the world.

The weather took a respite, but later on, in the car at half past three in the morning on the way home, the clouds burst once more, this time with greater affliction. with the flurry of downpour falling in sheets on the windscreen; not being able to see more than 5 feet; with scattered reflections off bodies of water on the road; while the sturdy branches of the tree sway unsteadily, fighting against the relentless and lamenting wind; the tires skidding not less than 5 times, making me lose control, momentarily, of my car; passing a wrecked car at the side of the highway - all these brought a bit of fear, and yet brought a bit of tranquility. fear and tranquility do not go together, but yet at that moment they seem to coexist almost as if it was natural.

the rain brought danger but it seemed to wash away other fears at the same time. like taking a shower. we all take showers when we feel dirty. the torrent brought vulnerability but made me feel invulnerable. it covered the place with gloom, but yet it comforted me. the skies seemed to be grieving, but in a way it was a relief.

If you listened carefully enough, you could almost hear a requiem in the background, as if the rain was playing a death song. but then you could just as well have imagined a happier tune. not an euphorically enraptured joyous tune, but a gentle gratified tune enough to make you feel comfortable, ample to make you feel cozy... maybe even made you feel love. what kind of wicked fool feels love alone in a thunderstorm. well i did. perhaps you will too if you took a pause to look around you and let your mind wander.

Somehow thunderstorms make us all feel alone. make us think more. make us feel more. i think this as the most apt way to begin christmas.

(on a completely different note, here's a video of i wish it would rain down i thought i would share with u guys. love the song. love you guys. its by phil collins featuring Eric Clapton.)

You are my sunshine, making me happy when skies are grey.

2006-12-17T00:41:00.000+08:00

spent the saturday afternoon at michelle's house playing mahjong and got a !@#!@#!@# parking ticket. $30.00. well, i guess when you have a habit of not using carpark coupons, you're bound to get caught one day. still... argh.

watching love actually cozied up at Jon's house was fantastic. love actually has got to be the loveliest movie ever. and it was probably the first movie i've watched in the holidays in the company of actual people.
have been watching dvds at home and going to the cinemas alone alot.

watched after this our exile last night. rather ok. not as fantastic as i expected it to be. but the father and son roles were well played. aaron kwok's performance deserved the golden horse award, and so did the son (don't know his name). But best film? i'm not that sure man...

anyway, for past and future holiday updates, go to joanna's blog, cause she's the 3 bachelors' only female friend, and naturally always the one with the camera. (so that means lots of photos)

2006-12-14T00:42:00.000+08:00

Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like a banana.

Mozi Gong Lue

2006-12-06T02:07:00.000+08:00

Seems that i've been watching an insane amount of movies this week.

Watched a battle of wits on sunday night (Sorry kt, not that i dint want to jio you, but i just felt like watching it alone.) and Happy Feet last night. Prefer the former. Andy Lau is more handsome than Mumble.

i hate contract law. and why must torts be over when i just started liking it.

counting blue cars

2006-12-02T23:37:00.000+08:00

1 more paper to go.
caught a couple of movies this week. Bond at the theatres and Superman Returns and Click in my room.
I chose Superman and Click thinking they would be really 'fun' movies to watch amid the draining studying mood, but what do you know, both turned out to be sentimental and emotion-filled movies with heart-tugging machinations. liked 'em both.

Oh, thanks for 'Samfest' or whatever you wish to call it. I do not like beer, so no more brewerkz next year(Don't worry ZengXi, i still love you).

Been listening to Acceptance as of late. Really a good band. go check them out. Love their contribution to the Stealth (the movie) soundtrack - 'Different'.

'Bug eyes' by Dredge (also from Stealth soundtrack) is worth a listen too.

Was listening to 'Soldier' by the Hillsongs band United Live on repeat in Cheryl's room the night before torts exam. Haha. Cheryl said we were going to war. How appropriate. Well, the battle might have been well fought, but the war isn't over. At least not for 5 days.

4 days to study for contract. a subject i've not studied ever. gonna need a miracle. =D

tomorrow's sunday. must. not. study. got to get rid of my vapidity.

what studying means to me

2006-11-20T18:01:00.000+08:00

Sleeping on the couch in the student lounge, sleeping on the floor in the student lounge, booze in the library, sleeping on the floor in the library, gays in the library.

studying brings out the best in all of us:

but alas! we have salsa to liven things up.
Too bad only 1 yr4 girl and 1 phd student dared to take a photo with us.

Justin's missing in the photo. he wanted to mug. idiot.

for the horde.

2006-11-02T11:54:00.000+08:00

A ghost in a world of disbelieve
like a lost dragonfly
you do not know what you seek
yet you try so hard
where will you end up?

dont count sheep.

2006-10-14T18:06:00.000+08:00

I've found the fastest way to fall asleep.

Step 1. Pick up a law textbook. (Any subject)
Step 2. Attempt to read it.
Step 3. Soon, you will find th ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Vegetarians are eating up the rainforests.

2006-10-07T02:17:00.000+08:00

Last night

2006-10-05T11:43:00.000+08:00

Last night, a motorcyclist pointed the finger at me.

My first.

Last night, i used the horn. (different motorcyclist)

My first too.

2006-09-25T23:50:00.000+08:00

mid sem break.

it is monday today.

it was sunday yesterday.

2006-09-09T15:44:00.000+08:00

Some entertainment for bored/stressed/dead souls.

OK GO

And.

I'm sick again.

I seldom get sick.

Must be hall.

TA-DA.

2006-09-02T23:12:00.000+08:00

I've just submitted my closed memo. 51min before the dateline. This has to be a record. I'm usually not that last minute. It wasn't because I was procastinating. I re-did it a million times. I changed my arguments a trillion times. I swapped sides a gazillion more.

I had a B- for my case summary. That is a sucky grade. I thought i deserved better. But my teacher gave me the wrong format. She then marked me down for that same wrong format. That kinda pissed me off.

I have not bought some of my textbooks. The prices are stopping me. I keep borrowing textbooks. I dint have one for my closed memo today. I had to ask people on msn how to cite cases properly. I was being irritating. I am sorry.

I am happy now. I've no more assignments. I have alot of catching up though. I've not read a single torts case. I've not read a single contract case. I've not touched a torts textbook. I've not touched a contract textbook. I spend all my time on Legal Analysis, Writing and Research. I need to prioritise.

I hate big words. I hate judges who do not know how to use commas. I hate judges who think a paragraph should have only one sentence. I hate long sentences.

I like short sentences.

bah

2006-08-20T14:13:00.000+08:00

Rag is over.
School has started.
Hai Ling is in hospital.
I'm down with a cold and a sore throat.

First week of school has been a busy busy one.
And I do not feel like updating.

my cat is cuter than yours.

2006-08-06T22:12:00.000+08:00

My cat is cuter than yours.

2 Cor 4:7-9

2006-07-27T02:31:00.000+08:00

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

This is a promise I want to believe in.

I'm learning.

I hope.

Beauty without expression is boring.

2006-07-18T22:01:00.000+08:00

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.

RWE

Hunger Pang

2006-07-16T19:59:00.000+08:00

Been having lots of long days and late nights the past week. Rag rehearsals and the funfair at NUS High were pretty tiring affairs, but fun nevertheless. Especially the funfair. Became a buddy at the last minute, and found myself attached to 3 lovely boys from the MINDS Towner School. It took alot of energy, more than I anticipated, just to prevent them from running in 3 different directions. It was a fun-filled day though. Was spent, but totally enjoyed myself.

I think I am about to grow fat. After the triathlon, it seems like I'm piling up suppers after suppers, sinful ice cream after ice cream. Here's my list of conquests for the week - Supper at Simpang Bedok on Mon, supper at Blk85 BakChorMee on Wed, supper at Geylang BeefKwayTeow on Fri, Häagen-Dazs on Sat afternoon, supper at Glutton's Bay on Sat night, and then more ice cream at Ben & Jerry's later in the night at The Cathay. This list excludes my ice cream eating sessions at home. Think my 6pack is going to disappear soon. Can't really be bothered to gym nowadays.

Anyways..... Here's some entertainment for all you guys out there.
Click here to re-live the world cup experience.

Run Forrest, run!

2006-07-14T00:48:00.000+08:00

Call me a scrooge, a penny pincher, or a cheapskate, but I don't think I will be forking out $15.50 for the triathlon photos available online at sportsphotox.com. These are the ones that I managed to rip for free. =D Enjoy, don't puke.

selfless redress

2006-07-12T00:39:00.000+08:00

from the recluse of the sylvan
suffice a congenial, defiant heart.
his eyes take in an inanition
empty, corrupted spirits that roam
the earth once filled with charity
every heart holds a secret weapon
the question is,
will it yield
to the onslaught;
the world
that is filled with unlove.
From ends to ends
he finds no chivalry,
no complaisance.
if this world
had to learn one thing,
love
it has to be.
to be non-partial:
it could be the hardest thing
man could ever learn.
a conciliatory mind,
he yearns.
where others see death,
he pictures birth.
one of innocence
that many had lost ab ovo.
rekindle your fervent desire;
love in our unkind world.
a deep desire,
not of sycophants,
but of guileless hearts.
wish to vivify,
with love.
scoff at braggadocio,
it deserves misprize.
welcome with your open hands
benignant, gracious,
and favourable hearts.

his heart does not bleed,
but silent cries, it excretes.
the deepest, darkest and most selfless sorrow known to men.
When will love be at hand?

Gangster Showdown

2006-07-08T13:11:00.000+08:00

Well, since I have quite some time before people start coming over for the alumni bbq at my place, I thought I shall write about law camp, as requested by some of you guys. So Qi Jing, Priscilla, and all you other kay pohs, this post is for you.

Hmmm.. I've nothing much to say actually. Law camp was on the whole, rather fun. On hindsight, it seemed almost like a dramatic bravura. I've not been many orientations before, so I can't really compare the camp with my previous experiences, but what I must say is that Law camp was rather different. In a good way. I was just telling Priscilla the other day, I kinda "felt that law camp was basically paying money to get lied to.. to get bullied.. to get deceived.. to get pranked on, and to get laughed at." Haha. I bet it must have been pretty fun for the councillors and ogls, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying myself on the receiving end. (Okay, that sounded a bit wrong, but ya..)

It helped that I had fun group mates, and very ON ogls. One of my ogls was pretty sweet. As some of my friends might already know, I can't take eggs or milk. So when one of the dinners had (argh) mayonnaise in it, my ogl offered to go out to buy me dinner. I was really touched by that small but meaningful gesture. Our world would be a better place with people as nice as that around. So, thanks Denise! Okay, this might have no link a all, but I found it amusing when Denise introduced us the game 2 truths and a lie on the first day, because that was the game I played with my Compassvale Sec students on the first day I met them as well.

The camp had alot of unique activities, which upped the fun factor alot. The pool games were, for a lack of a better word, gratifying. It reminded me of my childhood salad days. Night Court and Jungle Trek were other highlights that I enjoyed.

I did not really enjoy the SP thing as much as I enjoyed the other activities though. It was quite awkward because there were 2 guys to a girl. It was fun, nonetheless. At this point of time, I must say a big big sorry to my SP if I wasn't a good conversationalist. At the last SP session before formal dinner, I was mostly talking to King Man and Wai Mun, with my blindfolds off half of the time. ( Yes, Pris, that's how I knew you pulled my hair - I peeked.) Haha, anyway thanks to the lovely couple who made my SP sessions less boring. (Uh, I'm not saying my SP was boring, on the contrary, I found her very pleasant to chat with)

All in all, I guess law camp was a memorable one. Our og, for a reason I'm totally clueless about, somehow managed to win the "Most ON Og" award. What a way to end the camp. So there. Thank You Mingguan, Denise, Dawn, Camini, Navin, Jon and Carrie Chong! Sorry if I missed out anyone.

French Kiss Off - The Juliana Theory

2006-07-08T11:11:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow marks the 5-month death anniversary for The Juliana Theory. It is amazing how an excellent band with great vision and even greater music could end up in the pits. If you read their story, you would have found out that a record label plays a major role in a band's story. A label has the unbelievable task of marketing the whole band. No matter how good the band sounds, it is up to the label to get people to know that the band actually plays well. Somehow I found it so unfair that they were riddled with such unfortunate circumstances. Perhaps, God has better plans for them elsewhere. But meanwhile, we'll have memories of a great band that once graced our hearts. They will be truly missed.

Brett Detar
Chad Alan
Joshua Fiedler
Joshua Kosker
Josh Walters

Triathlon Results

2006-07-06T15:31:00.000+08:00

The triathlon results are out.

1.5km Swim : 33min 37sec
40km Cycle: 1h 50min 7sec
10km Run: 1h 27sec

Total Time: 3H 24min 10sec

Din't expect my swim to be that slow, but I guess I had the cycle leg in the back of my mind, and was subconsciously conserving some energy. The cycle was as expected. Sixth slowest in my age group. I hate mountain bikes now. The run was a bit slower than i anticipated, coming in just over an hour. Probably tired out after the cycle.

Well, all in all, I would like to think I did pretty okay, considering my limited preparations and lack of proper equipment. Yay.

one thousand two hundred and sixty six cookies

2006-07-05T22:11:00.000+08:00

Cookie baking session was fun. I was rather worried I wouldn't be able to control the secondary school kids, cause it would have been my first time bringing them out of school on my own. Weirdly, outside their school uniform, they seem to have much more energy and many more funny ideas. I went into the whole thing without sleep for 26 hours as I stayed over at my friend's chalet the night before for her 21st birthday party, which was right after my triathlon. The majong session that night was really fun, but that's a whole different matter, and I hate to digress from the exciting session in my kitchen.

One of my students cut her finger not 5 minutes into the preparation. I was very worried cause it was bleeding rather badly, and she cut herself on the finger at 2 places. It turned out alright in the end. I've got fantastic handiplas-placing skills. My mum was rather pissed that the students scratched her non-stick pan, and slammed her thousand-dollar oven door, but that was pretty much about it. The students were rather enthusiastic and proved to be rather helpful. Couldn't get all the cookies baked on that day, so my mum and I continued with the rest of the dough the next day. Tiring affair, but I guess its pretty fine cause it is for a good cause. Once again, if you do not already know, I'm selling cookies to raise money for the Touch Center for Independent Living. So If you're interested in getting any, do let me know. I would like to add at this point of time, that the cookies are not only edible, but they're gratifyingly mouthwatering divine.

Right. So really, the purpose of this post is to appreciate my group of students for being so enthusiastic and contributive. A big thank you. Sorry to keep you guys so late on Youth Day. Hope you people had a fun time at Orchard later on.

Thanks Ophelia, Cheryl, Shi Ying, Angel and Zhen Hao.

Meanwhile, if you have time, do check ninemillion.org out.

I swam, I cycled, and I ran.

2006-07-03T16:29:00.000+08:00

The triathlon was amazing. Like all the races I've taken part in, it was altogether exhilarating. The triathlon though, is by far the most fun race I've ever taken part in, simply because it encompasses three different disciplines where everyone has to compete in. Sadly, I did not really manage to clock as any trainings as I would have liked, due to my road trip in the United States, my church camp, as well as law camp, which took place right before the actual race, but nevertheless, I think I deserve a pat on the back for a race well done. If no one is going to congratulate me, I'm going to congratulate myself.

Some of my friends found it perculiar that I would sign up for such a race on my own accord and going into it head-on, alone. Well, all I can say, is that it was a remarkable experience, throughout the few training sessions and during the actual race itself. Pushing one's body to the limits without worry is a truly unique experience, and one that I wish to encounter before I become too old. I wouldn't say I'm a good triathlete, but hey, at least I can proudly tell myself I had put in my best, and I enjoyed myself earnestly.

My swim was pretty good. Even though I managed less swim sessions before this race than my previous biathlons, I managed improve a little on my usual pace. Amazing! Well, at least according to the unoffical timing from my humble Casio G-Shock. I was in the top quarter of my age group after the swim leg. I drank quite alot of sea water though. There were numerous occasions where I would be opening my mouth to suck in badly needed oxygen, but a huge wave of salty sea water would come gushing in instead. I threw up thrice in the ocean, but that was about it. Albeit the choppy waters, I think I finished well.

Cycling was a killer though. This was the part where many of the guys managed to overtake me. It was rather depressing. This is probably due to the lack of cycling experience on my part, and the very unfortunate case of me competing on a mountain bike. So while other competitors were zooming past with their sleek and lighting-quick road bikes, I was sluggish at the wheels on my mountain. Argh. Cycling was also the most painful experience in the race. Not in the legs, but between them. I should have gone for padded tights. A great lesson for me, being the cheapskate that I am. ouch ouch ouch. It was amazing I was still able to walk straight without a limp after the race on sunday. The run was pretty good. Except for the numerous cramps I had in my thighs, and for the fact that I was already pretty exhausted and drained from the cycle leg (no thanks to my humble mountain bike), I think I managed well. I was able to keep pace and I slowly overtook a few competitors along the way. The last 2km sprint to the finish line was really fun. Ha! It's pretty hard to describe in words what I felt then, but I really did feel great, knowing that it was the last leg of the race that I deservingly had to completion.

All in all, I think the triathlon was a phenomenal smash! Would I ever take part again? Well, it all boils down to my discipline. The next time I race, it wouldn't just be a matter of completing a tri, but it would be a matter of timing.

Oh! Out of sheer coincidence, I met a year 3 senior from Law just before the race. I enjoyed chatting with him, and he was an encouragement during the race itself. Thanks Kee Min (I think that's how you spell it).

I've not had sleep for the past 35 hours since waking up for my triathlon. Unbelievable right?!! Me... not sleeping for 35 hours! Haha pretty amazing stuff, considering that it's me we're talking about. But I attended a fabulous birthday party at my friend's mega-mega-mega huge rented bungalow, and I baked cookies today at my house to raise funds for the Touch Center for Independent Living, so it's okay! I'll share about these to another time. Oh, I promise to share about law camp too - for those that have been asking.

New Milestone

2006-06-30T23:20:00.000+08:00

Today, I reached a brand new milestone in my life. I fell asleep whilst standing on the MRT.

the pink kiwi

2006-06-30T10:43:00.000+08:00

the pink kiwi likes to play with rambutans and hula-hoops.

2003 YN107

2006-06-23T23:19:00.000+08:00

I never knew Earth had a "second" moon. And for 7 years already! Did you? I found out about it here. It's about to leave us though. Basically the poor asteroid was caught, temporarily, in Earth's gravity field as it was passing through. It revolves around earth once a year in a cockscrew like motion, slowly moving further and further away from the Earth's center, thus gaining speed and enough energy to break away from our gravity field.

Bye 2003 YN107...

Hello Asimov...

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is working on drafting new robo-laws! The first law of robotics was set forth in 1940 by writer Isaac Asimov, and it states:

A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Funky. By the way, if Issac Asimov sounds familiar to you, thats because the movie I, Robot, was adapted from the works of Issac Asimov, more specifically from the book of the same title, which is, essentially, a collection of short robot stories.

Got this info off LiveScience.com. The article's here.

Embarking on a quest for a new skill.

2006-06-21T20:05:00.000+08:00

I've been wanting to pick up a new skill recently. And I decided that it would be image-editing. I had been using Ulead PhotoImpact in high school, but now, I've no darn idea why, I've somehow lost all technical skills in operating it. I think it was learning how fun it was to be outdoors. Heck, to think I was in computer club then. Head of Department of Multimedia. Ha. What a joke. Learning the ropes was tough, since apparently no one was using it, and I was limited to the time-tested strategy of trial-and-error. Well, with the patience of a 15-year-old, you could do wonders. 3D Studio Max was also pretty fun to play with then. Creating movies out of nothing was exciting and stimulating; it felt rather groovy.

Well, I wanted to get my hands on PhotoImpact 11, but I did some searches, and I came to the conclusion that you would either have to be very rich to get an original copy or very, very lucky to get a, erm, "unoriginal" copy. Since I count myself to be neither rich nor lucky, I think I'll go find myself a Photoshop.

Thus begins my quest for image-editing clout. Only time will tell if I will succeed. Meanwhile, all hail the mighty Microsoft Paint. (I cut out the header image at the top of the page in paint. It was a hassle getting the right dimensions. You need extremely precise and dextrous hands. Either that, or a lot of time. Haha. Guess which one i relied on.)

Oh, do visit my club's website. It's not complete yet, but do let me know your comments. I'm still trying to amend some of the bad english on the site, courtesy of Justin Sng.

kodaks, pinups, mugs and snaps

2006-06-19T15:10:00.000+08:00

Some people have been complaining that this site is all words and no pictures, and it can be quite a bore sometimes. That makes two of us. So. I've decided to put up more pictures. They are pretty random though, cause I am not one who puts in effort to arrange and group my photos in any practical or purposeful order.

This was taken just outside the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. If you can't make out the whole passage, it reads: "They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore." These words were first spoken by Isaiah, and it can be found in Chapter 2, Verse 4 of the Book of Isaiah in the bible.
I found it really meaningful, and I sincerely hope that this will come to pass in the future. I urge you countries; lay down your arms.

Behind my friend and I, you can see the Rocky Mountains. It stretches all the way from British Columbia, Cananda down to New Mexico of the United States. This scenic view was taken in Colorado, where the tallest peak is located. Oh, and if you were wondering about the Harvard sweater, it belongs a friend of mine. He graduated a few years ago.

This was taken moments before a snowball landed perfectly, almost artistically, on my friend's face. His glasses flew off.

The fight lasted all the way down to the bottom of the range. This was taken just beside Bear Lake. I, unfortunately, missed this attack.

I had time to make a snow angel in the midst of battle. Speaks alot for my opponent.

This is Times Square.

This is Times Square with 2 Singaporean tourists.

Actually I don't really consider myself a tourist. When you think of a tourist, a certain image comes to mind, and I doubt i am any of that. I'm more of an explorer. Or maybe if you'd still want to call me a tourist, I'd be a tourist that's up to mischief and shenanigans. hahaha.

Some friendly NYPD policemen and a policewoman. The trick to getting away with being a a tourist that's up to mischief and shenanigans is to befriend the authorities first! Make friends with them. It might save your little butt later on.

My friend and I getting comfortable in the limousine. It was a dream come true. Riding in a limo, that is, not getting comfortable with my friend. They have tons of alcohol inside, apparently free, and a small tv. Lots of secret compartments to explore. Our chauffeur scolded us for playing with the sunroof.

Finally, this is our chauffeur and I. His name is Pablo. I think he is quite handsome.

Posting photos is tideous and frustrating. Now I know why I seldom have pictures up. I've got lots more, so maybe I'll post them up when I feel like getting tideous and frustrated.

threadless sianess

2006-06-18T21:38:00.000+08:00

Pretty zoned out now cause I just came back from 2 back to back camps. Both camps were pretty fun, but they really tired me out.
Found out that I missed out on the $10 threadless sale while I was away from home. What kind of luck is that?! It started on the second day of my camp and ended 3 days ago.

Anyway, here are a few designs from threadless which are pretty good. Some of them are the new designs. Oh, and they've got a few reprints released last week.

A hypothetical

2006-06-16T01:49:00.000+08:00

I just woke up from a 10 hour afternoon nap, a result from reaching home from a hall camp with 5 hours of sleep for the whole of 4 days and 3 nights (2 on the first, 3 on the second, none on the last night). If that's what hall life is all about, I do not think I'm cut out for that. Haha. But the camp was pretty fun, i guess. Not so fun, if you have another camp the very next day though. I think I will go sleep some more, lest I collapse during my church's tribe camp.

Anyway.

Here's a hypothetical. There's a final 'LIFE' test before you die. A and B sits for this test. A achieves 75/100, but this is only 70% of his potential. B achieves 60/100, but he has done his best and has gotten the best results he could have attained. Now, the question is, who would you rather be?

Would you have chosen the better score, knowing that you have not accomplished what God had intended for you but at least you did more in your life than the alternate choice, or would you have chosen the latter, feeling proud that you've done the best you could, even though it meant that you were born with less potential? In other words, which matter more to you, results or attaining potential?

Now, consider this. Would you be happy to run a race against a handicapped person? Do you consider it fair, for a person with two legs to compete with someone who has only one? And considering that the race had indeed taken place, and the abled person came in first, would he have been proud of his accomplishment? Would you reward him? Would the crowd favour this victor? If you were in a Job interview that you really want with a another person who receieved the exact same education (and i mean EXACT) as you and he got the job just because God was more generous with him in regards to IQ, would you have felt bitter?

In this manner, do you not think the world rewards those who are born with superior intelligence, superior agility, finer physique, exceptional natural talent, and punishes those who were born without? What do you feel about that?

John 15:5

2006-06-12T10:15:00.000+08:00

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

John 15:5 (NIV)

HTML is UNCOOL

2006-06-11T03:33:00.000+08:00

Well, i got bored, so i decided to change the template. Had to do a little editting to the original, and it was really tedious. I hate html. I'm pretty much a "noob" when it comes to editting those source codes. And what in the world is CSS? I had to open whatever that is to change the width of my entry column. It was too narrow. Did I mention that i hate html? Took me a very long time to figure out where the width code was found, and then an even longer time to figure out how to edit it properly without messing up the other codes. I hate html. Sorry, did I cite that earlier? I abhor html.

And after all those arduous and tiresome editting, my tagboard could not be displayed properly in Internet Explorer. I figured I couldn't get 99% of the world population to change their minds and switch to firefox in 1 day, so the simplest way out would be getting another tagboard. No way was I going back to notepad and start figuring out what went wrong with those doggoned irksome html crap.

Wait, why am I getting frustrated over this? It has to be the World Cup. Its causing me late nights, and late nights get me cranky and choleric.

Anyway Germany, Ecuador and England have 3 points in their pockets, and one of my favourite teams, Argentina, is on their way to achieving their first 3 points at this very moment (Currently 2 up against Côte d'Ivoire). England has nothing to be proud of though. Just their luck, having a Paraguay player head the ball into his own net 5 minutes into play. Crouch posed no threat throughout the entire game. If not for the own goal, it would have been a miserable goaless draw. Bring on Rooney!
Can't wait for Group F to start their games. Brazil and Japan! I'm also watching out for Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo in their squad. They should dominate Group D, and I'm hoping to catch some fancy footwork.

Alright, I've got to go to sleep now. Or I'll be asleep during sermon tomorrow, and we do not want that, do we?

FACT of the day

2006-06-10T14:25:00.000+08:00

Did you know that pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is supposedly the longest word in the dictionary? (Do not bother counting; It's 45 letters)

It is said that this word was made up by someone(who???) just to contend for the longest word in the dictionary.

Here's a quote from wiktionary.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis as "a factitious word alleged to mean 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust' but occurring chiefly as an instance of a very long word."

This word was invented purely as a contender for the longest word in the English language and has 45 letters. The word is not in official medical usage, and textbooks refer to this disease as pneumonoconiosis, pneumoconiosis or silicosis.

Who said nerds do not have a sense of humour?

Also, check this out. Its a promotional video for a fictitious company, and it's really funny.

go RED!

2006-06-09T00:31:00.000+08:00

i want a red macbook pro! I heard Bono from U2 got one from Steve Jobs personally, and rumours are travelling around that Apple might be in collaboration with (RED) (Bono's charity for AIDs victims) to produce red ipods. There are already red Amex cards, red gap tees,red armani sunglasses and red chuck taylor allstar shoes! Hmm.. I thought U2 already had their special edition ipod with the red wheel. Oh.. and I think the Flash intro to (RED)'s website is really cool!!

I think a lime green macbook would look nice too. Haha. For that, I've to go over to colorwarepc and pay a bomb.

Singaporean Idol

2006-06-08T00:41:00.000+08:00

Singapore Idol does not seem to attract very good singers. If the standards of the top 28 of the thousand over contestants are anything to go by, then I think Singapore has very few talents. That, or the good singers are just not stepping out, which is what I believe and hope is the case.

This girl Millie kinda ruined one of my favourite songs of all time - Colours of the Wind, from the movie Pocahontas. But I don't really blame her - Its a tough song, and it was ambitious of her to try to match up to Vanessa Williams.

And oh!! Dick called this contestant a cauliflower, and the female judge next to him 'corrected' him, saying it wasn't a flower, but a vegetable. Well, she's wrong. Cauliflowers are flowers! Obviously its a vegetable, but I think perhaps not many people know that its a flower. The brocolli is a flower too, and from the same horticultural variety as the uglier looking cauliflower.

Also, have you wondered why they call it Singapore Idol, when the direct adaptation would have been Singaporean Idol?

Some photos from my trip to US

2006-06-04T00:15:00.000+08:00

A cloudy sky

A strong-willed tree confronts a Red Mesa, Monument Valley, Utah

Dusk creeping over The three Buttes, Monument Valley, Utah

Sunset in Arizona

Longs Peak on Rocky Mountains in Colorado

The Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York

The Empire State Building, Manhattan, New York

E Pluribus Unum

2006-05-29T12:55:00.000+08:00

US was awesome.

The 7 day Road Trip was exhilarating. Vegas was alluring, Hollywood facinating, and Denver felt very much like Singapore. Nevana, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah rocked cause they were filled with nothing but rocks. Great Canyon had the best landscape, with monument valley a very close second (Monument Valley has nice, good-looking rocks). Colorado was way cool (Literally). The Rocky Mountains still had snow on them and i made my first snow angels ever.

The other 7 days were spent on the other side of the coast, in New York, Maryland, and of course Washington D.C., which i found out isn't really a state, nor do i think it belongs to any (Correct me if im wrong, but i do not study US Geography). Its called the District of Columbia instead.

Well, I've discovered quite a number of things during the trip, and I thought I might share them with you.

number one - NEW York is my favourite City/State.

New York is by far my favourite City/State and 5th Avenue my favourite Avenue, and Times Square my favourite Square. The skyscrappers, central park, the museums, the library, the statues, the monuments, the people. They were all captivating and glorious.
Downtown New York is like a Shopping Heaven. I've never seen more people shopping anywhere else in the world.
And guess what? I've found out where all the good looking girls have gone to. New York. Yes, they have all flocked to New York. The Best looking indians, chinese, koreans, japanese, ang mohs have all gone to new york. i dont know why, but they are all there.

number two - THE best shopping experience during the trip goes to Abercrombie and Fitch.

The Abercrombie And Fitch flagship store on 5th Avenue has 5 Stories. A basement, the ground level, and 2 more floors. They have a topless male model at the entrance of the store, standing there looking pretty like all the models you see on A&F ads - possibly to attract the women (Okay, and men too). What a great way to start the shopping experience. At this point, I have to mention that every single one of their store representatives (i.e. shop attendants) are like model material. All of them are darn good looking. Its the A&F marketing ploy. But its working i guess. Heck, even the girls shopping there are good looking, and I'm talking about the taiwanese from taiwan, the koreans from korea, the japanesee from japan, the locals, and the southerners with their southern accent. The place was packed with good looking attendants and good looking customers, its a surprise my friend's nose did not bleed (His nose bleeds very often, once a week?). The layout and ambience made shopping there a pleasure. haha. So i bought a polo tee, a vintage destroyed tee, and a pair of jeans. Thats like $150USD at one shop.

number three - NEW York's Metro stinks.

Literally. As you enter the station, an efflux of foul odour greets you. The underground ventilation sysyem is almost non-existant, and there is litter strewn everywhere. The floor are botched with black tiny bumps, age-old signs of chewing gum stuck on the tiles. Rats call the tracks their home, although there are posters warning of rat poison on the tracks. Occasionally, you can find one or two homeless people lying on the platforms on a pile of cardboard boxes. Usually, they do not have cardboard boxes at all. They appear lifeless and dead. Maybe they are, but the stench would have been masked by the ever present odour from the station. From my observance, the people who use the metros are mostly hispanics or blacks. There are a few whites, but definitely not telling of the population race ratio in the States.
What this represents, i leave it to you, the reader, to decide.

number four - LIBERTY Enlightening The World, otherwise known as the Statue of Liberty, was originally bronze.

The statue was the brainchild of sculptor Auguste Bartholdi and engineer Gustave Eiffel (who designed the Eiffel tower). It was made of copper sheets, and was originally the colour of copper (a shiny bronze). Full oxidation made it turn green. It turned from red-bronze to a dark brown, then black, (partial oxidation) and then finally the green it is today.

number five - WASHINGTON D.C has fine architecture, and my guide spoke a thousand languages.

Washington D.C. is rich with design and there are pioneering conceptions hidden everywhere. To the uninitiated, one could have possibly overlook the works of well known prolific artists. The Washington Capitol, one of the most important buildings in Washington, was a joy to tour. The guide was affable and knowledgable. His profound knowledge of the history of the Capitol was expected, but what astounded me was his ability to speak so many different languages. He spoke Greek, French, Russian, Chinese, Malay, Tamil, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Spanish, Hawaiian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, well... you get my drift. He conversed in Chinese with me, and I heard him speak Greek, Dutch, Russian, French and Spanish. In fact, when he greeted me, and found out I was from Singapore, he asked for my preference of Chinese, Malay or Tamil. Im certainly impressed.
The Washington Monument had Masonry influence to its design, as did with many of the other buildings in Washington. The Library of Congress and the Supreme Court were magnificent to look at.

number six - COLD stone creamery is awesome, and ben and jerry's over there have fabulous ice-cream blends and ice-cream/coffee blends.

cold stone creamery is rather unique. They let you invent the ultimate indulgence. The customer gets to choose among the vast selections any candy/ fruit/ topping/ chocolate bar to add to their original flavour - all these, blended on the spot on the store's frozen granite stone. Right in front of you! (I had chocolate ice cream mixed with twix's caramel cookie bars, reese's peanut butter cups and fresh strawberries)
Plus ben and jerry's in the states have fabulous ice-cream blends and ice-cream/coffee blends. Tummy-filling goodness. Oh, and the coffee they use at the outlet i went to was starbucks brewed.

number seven - I DID not manage to see Zhang Ziyi in Hollywood.

But I managed to catch the premiere of High School Musical (By Disney) along with the teen stars (I'm not familiar with any of them) walking down the red carpet next to a faux set, and loads and loads of fans. That was the most exciting thing that happened in Hollywood for me.

I took plenty of photos, but I do not know where to go about loading them up online. I thought of flickr which everyone's using, but they have a limit of 20mb a week. Imagestation, which I used for my prom photos, is totally crap now after they changed a few stuff. Now, I can't get back my originals that I posted to Imagestation without becoming a premium member ($20USD a Year), and i lost all the soft copies I had in my old computer.
Anyone has any ideas?

By the way, E Pluribus Unum, the title of this post is the motto carried by the Eagle on the US Great Seal. It was the first motto of the United States Of America. Translated from Latin, it means "Out of many, one", referring to the integration of the 13 original independent colonies into one united country. Thats a bit of US history for you.

Channel 5 shows pirated VCD

2006-05-12T19:30:00.000+08:00

Right.. I was watching Channel 5 and they were showing RAT RACE.
It was apparently in widescreen format, and the smart people at Mediacorp just simply enlarged it to make the height fit the tv screen. In other words, the sides of the film got cut off, with the film's actual parimeters outside the viewing area of television. I thought that only happened when you purchase PIRATED VCDs??!!!
Talk about bringing TV to a whole new level.
It is kinda irritating when they are showing 2 people talking on screen, and all i see are half of each one's faces, and the space between.

Well, consolation was brought about by the 'live' performance of All Star, one of my all time favourite songs, at the end of the show by Smash Mouth.

I think this episode really caused me to reconsider the standard of our current media.

Surfin' USA

2006-05-12T16:43:00.000+08:00

Everybody's gone surfin', surfin' USA.
Somehow, when i think of going to the states, this classic by the Beach Boys comes to mind. Dont ask me why.
Well, I'm off tomorrow at 9am.
I've yet to pack my bags though. I don't really know what to bring.
Have got some preparations settled.
The freshman package from NUS came rather timely, else I wouldn't have been able to fill up the forms in time after i come back from the states.
Uh...
Singtel doesn't allow anyone under 21 to apply for Auto-roam or Pay-as-you-roam service, which is rather frustrating cause the phone line is under my name.
The only possible solution that I've thought of so far is to go down to the hello shop and get the line transferred to my dad, and then activate auto roam. or maybe get a new line altogether. What the. so much hassle just to go overseas. I don't think i will be getting any auto-roam activated. Guess I have to learn how to use the pay-phones over there.

Alright. Sayonara.

HMMM. GUESS what? Called up Singtel and found out that i could get a guarantor (i.e. my parents) to activate the roaming service for me, but they have to go down to the store personally.

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. - Mark Twain

2006-05-03T22:46:00.000+08:00

i have decided to compile a list of the books i've read in the past 3 years just to give myself a visual progress of how much(or how little) i've accomplished. So here goes.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Who hasn't read that?) by Dan Brown
2. Angels And Demons by Dan Brown
3. Deception Point by Dan Brown
4. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (Basically all the books by Dan Brown)
5. Deprivers by Steven-Elliot Altman
6. The Client by John Grisham
7. Bleachers by John Grisham
8. The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
9. The Firm by John Grisham
10. Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less by Jeffery Archer
11. Timeline by Michael Crichton
12. Prey by Michael Crichton
13. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (One of the best books i've read)
14. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
15. Kafka On The Shore by Murakami Haruki (One of the weirdest books i've read)
16. The Color of Law by Mark Gimenez
17. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
18. Tribulation Force by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
19. Nicolae by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
20. The Doomsday Conspiracy by Sidney Sheldon
21. Memoirs Of A Geisha by Arthur Golden
22. The Divide by Nicholas Evans
23. The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy
24. Man And Boy by Tony Parsons
25. Man And Wife by Tony Parsons
26. 88 from the Guinness "Write a Bestseller" Contest 2003
27. And The Angels Were Silent by Max Lucado (NF)
28. The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
29. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (NF)
30. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch ALbom

I cannot remember some of the titles of the books that i've read, but i guess if i can't remember their titles, they aren't worth mentioning at all. 30 books isn't alot for a period of 3 years, considering i had plenty of free time on hand during this period. books are expensive and when you're a patriotic NSF, you don't really have much financial capabilities to fill your stomach proper, much less buy books.

These are the books i plan to read, but have not gotten to buying them just yet. If you happen to own any of them, and are willing to lend them to me, please let me know. If you've any good books to recommend, please tell me. I love a good read anytime.

1. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt (NF)
2. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (NF)
3. Triumph of the Sun by Wilbur Smith
4. Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson
5. The rest of the Left Behind Series.

Uh.. NF stands for Non-Fiction.

Snails and Slugs

2006-04-29T14:46:00.000+08:00

I recently came across a rather interesting project done by a group of students from the FASS,NUS for their GE3224 Module on Cultural Landscapes. It can be found here. For the sake of your perceptivity and appreciation, please read it before continuing.

The project was entitled "The Law faculty as a landscape of exclusion". Their purpose was to , I quote, "strive to uncover the processes behind Law students’ sense of superiority over Arts students and examine the multifaceted processes that simultaneously operate in physical and social manners in the space of the Law faculty that has resulted in it being a place of “non-belonging” for Arts students" and "show that the law faculty, besides being a canvas upon which the law students exert their power through elitism and notions of a normative landscape, also serves to perpetuate the divide between Law and Arts students and thus, strengthening its position as a landscape of exclusion".

Their project could have possibly stemmed from the supposed transgression of Arts students onto the Law faculty's turf, which the Law students fiercely guard. This is evident by citing the SNAILS Act right from the beginning as a reference in that of the supposed elitism of Law students. This reference, however, has no validation. The group of students mistakenly took the SNAILS Act as a sign of "elitism present among the law students", and furthermore inferred on the notion that Law students had a "sense of superiority over Arts students" in their introduction, thus birthing a critical flaw in their study, right from the very start. This surmise was of no evidential study and baseless by nature.

The invasion of SNAILS into Law turf indeed brought about "antagonistic relationships", and it is that very reason that the SNAILS act was drafted(Its true. it exists. check out Appendix A of the report. Its worth the read") - not because of the supposed elitism or superiority of Law students. Upholding the right to the privilege one's own property cannot be considered elitism of any sort. Furthermore, something worthy to take note of is that SNAILS does not refer to Art students in particular when the issue they are addressing is the narrower aspect of the percieved superiority over Arts students.

I believe that the students from FASS, in the course of their project, made a noteworthy error by actually misincorporating the human nature of territorial pride and faculty privileges into their study on the Law Faculty being a landscape of exclusion, and although it did not create a substantial fallacy in their methodology and conclusion, it did create a misconception and strayed away, possibly unintentionally, from their original goal in studying the link between the landscape and that of supposed superiority of law students over art students.

But one has to give credit where it deserves. I applaud the students for a thorough and avant-garde study. I enjoyed reading it.

Note: My writing do not represent that of the Law faculty or any other faculty for that matter.

Also, for the people who did not have time to read the project, the lazy and the uninitiated, SNAILS stand for "Students Not Actually In Law School" and SLUGS stand for "Snobbish Law Undergraduate Students", of which i am neither.

War?

2006-04-23T20:20:00.000+08:00

saw this off tomorrow.sg and it brought a smile to my face. i do not foresee any war between Singapore and Malaysia in the near future, considering our mutual reliance on each other. the good relations shared by our current foreign ministers is just a small sign of our on-going and healthy relationship with our larger-sized neighbour, and this should not be taken for granted. There are plenty of funny videos out there, but this video takes the cake for effort put in. i am really impressed. their take on singaporeans is rather amusing. Hilarious, i tell you.

By the power of Truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe

2006-04-21T00:05:00.000+08:00

"If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world."
Mercedes Lackey

regret is insight one day too late, and its one of the most terrible feelings in the world. somehow, while others can be neutralised by eventual events, regret is like the patina of an antique; it just doesnt rub off as easily. the feeling is almost ineffable.

my life is filled with a bunch of regrets. one of the biggest regrets in my life was not taking my studies seriously. i did not really perform well in high school and jc and with all the energy and feelings i can muster internally, i am unable to change anything. other tiny regrets dot my life, but no matter how tiny it is, it doesnt make too much of a difference - you cannot undo what you have already done.

thank God he's a benignant one. i've set upon myself a personal vendetta of sorts. although a paragon being is nonexistent (besides God himself) and will never be, i can always live with less regrets. lets just hope my virtuous vindicta doesnt go west before i make my mark in this world.

The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain,
for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the
virtuous

charity!

2006-03-27T16:06:00.000+08:00

i did my share of charity last week!

i gave a poor man, who was so short of money that he has to resort to criminal acts to get by, close to $500.

my friend thinks it was very charitable of me.

my mum thinks it was an irresponsible act on my part.

What's YOUR Password?

2006-03-09T21:52:00.000+08:00

"Hey, you changed your password? What's your new password?"

"Erm... its ord010606."

" .... er... okay..."

"Remember... It is O R D 0 1 0 6 0 6"

"okay.. got it"

"I think you'd better repeat it for me, in case you get it wrong.... what's my password?"

"eh... ord010606??"

"ya... Repeat it one more time...."

"ORD 1st of june 2006, HAPPY?? " (Stomps off)

HAHAHA...
Just an excerpt of a conversation that went on in my office between my understudy and I.

Few words can be used to describe the happiness that instantly envelops me everytime I'm reminded that I am about to complete an unforgettable journey in my life. Unforgettable. Certainly not the best of times, but definitely unforgettable.

As it dawns upon me that I wouldn't have to go back to work any longer in about two weeks time, it kinded of caused me to reflect on the past 2 years i spent serving national service. Even before being drafted into the army approximately two years ago, I was secretly hoping/praying for a "slack" vocation in the army. Apparently, I wasn't very good at keeping secrets, because it wasn't too soon before my mum and friends started hoping/praying that I would be posted into the toughest vocation where I could learn the art of not "slacking". Well, maybe I hoped more and prayed harder, or maybe God was just feeling kind, but I somehow got the most-well-paid-slack-stay-out job anyone in the army could find. If you know me well enough, you would know that I was posted to the Basic Military Training Center(BMTC), Manpower Branch as a Finance Specialist after I graduated from SISPEC (School of Infantry Specialist). Now, this was nothing unusual, except for the fact that I was a fully trained, combat-fit 3rd Sergeant. In other words, I was paid an extra $150 for being physically fit and combat trained, but I was given an office job. To put it in comparison, my colleagues in the office are paid $350-450, while i was being paid $750.

So while most of the my ex-classmates and friends are out there sweating their pants off in the sun in the midst of their training, I am usually in my cozy armchair in the office reading the Life! comics and catching up on the news, all these in air-conditioned comfort. Plus, I get to go home everyday!

Life was good for me in the office. I soon became known as the boss' God-Son, due to his uncanny liking towards me. No doubt, along with my job came loads of stress from my direct boss, the School Sergeant Major (SSM), School 2I/C, and CO (Commanding Officer), but I was used to stress, and handled it well. If I completed my task fast enough, I had plenty of time to do my own readings, head to the pool, or go for a run. Since I was in-charge of budgeting and finance, the Company Sergeant Majors (CSM) and Company Officer Commandings (OC) were all pretty nice to me.

Of course there were times where my bosses were totally unreasonable, where they displayed their stupidity, and times where they made me question the capabilities and mental capacity of the people running the SAF, but it was a mere frustration (I shall reveal more of these next time). Much of the time spent in the office was a joy, and the friends I made really made it a whole lot more fun.

I was also the guy to go to if the Manpower Officer (MPO, my direct boss) or School 2I/C needed help to prepare an important document or draft an email. ( Trust me, they really need help. My MPO spells ants as "ents", and my 2I/C has the grammar capabilities of a 5 month old Giant Panda [According to Animal Planet, they are the stupidest animals in the world. Its a fact.] )
It was not long before I became the School 2I/C's favourite guy too. (Now you know why.)

Throughout the 2 years in the army, I only did guard duty four times - twice during my training in Sispec, one regimental duty, and one more as a cover for my friend who signed 14 extras. Sergeants island-wide are probably cursing me as they read this... (haha.)

All in all, I am really glad with what my army life have turned out to be, but I am even more glad that it is coming to an end. No matter how "slack" my time in the army had been, I would give anything in the world for my ORD.

In my next post, I will write on what I've gained and learnt during my time serving National Service.

=D

2006-01-24T16:40:00.000+08:00

OH MY GOSH! You HAVE to watch this. Its mind-blowing hilarious

the smallville philosophy

2006-01-10T15:02:00.000+08:00

the reason why i like smallville so much stems from its duality, which is present in every single episode, be it about relationships and deceit, or responsiblities and loyalty, lies and friendship. Underlying all the action sequences and social misadventures lie a deeper, and darker implication in clark's life, the most obvious being his "destiny".

The kents found Clark lying in their field during a meteor shower and adopted him as their own. He has been living with the Kents ever since. His special abilities proved to complicate matters for the family, but the situation really turns complex when clark finds out that he isnt human at all, and meets his real father, Jor-el. Clark's earth father, jonathan kent, asks clark to ignore and avoid Jor-el. Jor-el speaks of destiny, and his plans for his future on Earth, to continue the legacy of the kryptonians. Clark is torn between his "human side" that speaks of love, and his "duty" to his father and race.

Imagine there was a catastrophe, and you were one of the last few survivors on Earth. You land on a foreign planet with only the clothes on your back. Some aliens found you and took you in, tending to your every need. The worst thing they did to you was not providing you a stufffed toy to go to bed with. You find out later that you were actually sent there on a mission and your responsibility is to take over the planet; Earth is depending on you for their survival, but that is only to the demise of the population on the foreign planet. Now, what would you do?

the night before 2006

2006-01-05T19:32:00.000+08:00

my blood boils just by watching this video. it might seem weird how something that doesnt affect me in any direct manner would cause me to feel so strongly, but after watching the video for yourself, i can confidently suggest that you will feel the same way i did.

i can neither fanthom why the people in the video act like they do nor imagine what i would have done (to them) if any of the people in the video had sprayed me the way they did to passer-bys in the video.

the culprit probably would have needed a restraining order.

one word. Urgh.

Dragostea Din Tei

2005-12-25T02:24:00.000+08:00

Vrei sa pleci dar nu ma,
nu ma iei,
Nu ma, nu ma iei,
nu ma, nu ma, nu ma iei.
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei,
Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.

You've got to see this.

romeo and juliet

2005-12-16T18:35:00.000+08:00

For any relationship to be successful, the object of any such relationship has to be God and him alone. Anything less than that would result in failure. A relationship isnt just about celebrating the love you have for your partner, but it is a celebration of God's love together. Many people get it wrong when they dive into a relationship, thinking that it is a distraction that we have to fight, but in fact, in going into a relationship, its focus should be serving God together, and engaging in greater wholesome worship as partners.
A relationship does not serve to hinder, but its a stepping stone to engaging in greater worship. It does not hamper, but seeks to compliment the other partner involved in servanthood to God.

2005-12-03T11:52:00.000+08:00

Tears of Compunction; unexplained,
find their way to the earth.
The wind unfazed and unmoved,
continues its Magical Dance.
The leaves, from treetops, are removed
floating with the breeze in a trance.
A tiny hare stops and stares
just a moment or so;
It is not like it cares.
The soil, blessed with guilty tears,
a darker shade of red it transforms.
Consuming all fears,
all sorts of forms.

I am Chinese.

2005-11-15T22:18:00.000+08:00

Watch THIS. One of the few reasons why I'm proud to be Chinese.

an admonition of voracity

2005-11-14T19:11:00.000+08:00

a hermit in the hinterlands
evokes no fury
but an encumbrance he remains

in solitude he finds solace
hordes only foment vapidity
where pugnacious spirts infest
perhaps nonage should strive

a panacea for failures we never shall have
but remember even ceasar could not stop a thirsty man
a caveat to those who belittle the lumpen
the ones you should fear
are they who hath nothing to lose

10 + 5.2 + 12 = 27.2

2005-10-28T21:36:00.000+08:00

5.2 km on wed and 12 km today.

wanted to do 10 on wed, but i had the most terrible pain ever, just beside my stomach. did the 5.2km on the track, which meant 13 rounds. I swear never to run long distances on the track again. It destroys you. uneventful run, except a dog came at me all of a sudden, snarling teeth and growling like a dog(ha.ha). Can safely say it was the most panicking thing that happened to me for weeks. immediately frozed, stood still, and glared at the dog. Seemed to have helped as the dog just grazed me with his lips. He lost interest immediately after.

took half a day off to complete 12km at east coast park today. notice how i used the word complete and not run. Saying i ran 12km would be lying cause i walked quite a bit.. maybe about 700m in total?? I hate stitches.

Anyway. 27.2km covered in total this week, which is still way off from the 42km ive to run in 1 day on 04 dec.
to put it bluntly,
i. am. in. deep. s.h.i.t.

ahhhhhh

2005-10-26T20:46:00.000+08:00

Veni, vidi, vici.

2005-10-23T22:19:00.000+08:00

Bought a new book. - The Times, Original Su Doku Puzzles, Vol 3.

Its categorised into different sections. Easy, Mild, Difficult, Fiendish.

Completed the easy section which had 4 puzzles and 1 from the mild section.. Here are the results..

Puzzle /Timing

EASY
One / 7min 20sec
Two / 7min 33sec
Three / 6min 07sec
Four / 5min 05sec
MILD
Five / 18min 00sec <---- WHAT THE ??? Probably took 18 min cause Narash was disturbing me by talking to me while i was completing it, bugging me to leave McDonald's and find a locker. Gee... Had to talk to him and do it at the same time.. But to be honest with myself, I do not think my timing would have been very much shorter if we did not have our conversation. Mild isn't really that mild after all. Wonder what would Fiendish be like.. wahaha. 10km was good today.. Actually ran around 9km according to Narash who used his amazing mental/psyhic skills to determine the distance. Did it in 40min. Not bad lah considering at my pace would have done 10km in 45min.. Not a bad start. Tian yu is amazingly fast though.. Dint know arty farty guys could run.. wahaha..

the week of yore

2005-10-23T09:17:00.000+08:00

Ok. My marathon is in 42 days time... Lets see what I've chalked up so far.

3 x 2.4km runs at 11.30, 11.15 and 10.45 timings [min.sec].
1 x 550m swim.
5 x 100m walk to the mrt station (mon-fri going to work).

Okay.. thats rather pathetic..

My colleague ran 25km last weekend. He's probably running 30km this week, and all i can manage are 2.4km runs?!!! I seem even more pathetic now.

Wanted to run to church yesterday, but my parents always go for the night service so I don't have anyone to carry my extra clothing and toiletries to bathe. Wanted to run with a backpack initially, but the last time i did that with my mini deuter, I had abrasions.. So I decided to swim instead. i lasted all of 550m. Not a bad start lah.. Considering I've not swam for ages.

Ah... 3 girls were using the pool earlier on, and they don't even stay in my condo. The nerve.. (Ya lah.. im selfish) They can always head to the public swimming pool.... But then, I'll never step into one of those, so I'm not entitled to say that.. Well, they can always go to the beach..

Some discoveries of the week.

Finally spotted the owner of the White BM 5 series in front of my house. It belongs to some long, bronze, wavy hair guy always decked in office attire. I couldn't get to see his face.. But one thing's for sure.. He's either an ah beng, or a Japanese expatriate. There are so many japanese in my condo.. Such a pity the really pretty jap girl moved back to Japan. Now all the jap girls here are in primary school. Right.... just kidding, im not into japanese girls or anything.

Oh.. And there's a new BM Z4 in my condo... WAh.. and its driven by a young lady... Waha. Wonder if she's single and available..

The new Peugeot 406 in my condo belongs to an indian guy with a chinese wife, with 2 kids. Its a really fantastic family sedan...

My jc schoolmate in the adjacent block drives a blue toyota vios. Not sure if its hers or her dad's. But considering her dad's rich enough to send his daughter for plastic surgery, im guessing its hers. Its just too bad i don't know her too well. I think ive got to start chatting her up if i want to get lifts in the future.

Right now though, its off to bedok reservior for some kickass wakeboarding action....

i think this is funny.

2005-08-25T23:54:00.000+08:00

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

something i came across

2005-08-25T23:26:00.000+08:00

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Out upon your guarded lips! Sew them up with packthread, do. Else if you would be a man speak what you think to-day in words as hard as cannon balls, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. Ah, then, exclaim the aged ladies, you shall be sure to be misunderstood! Misunderstood! It is a right fool's word. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.

Ralph Waldo Emerson. (1803–1882)

i cant concur more. He took my sentiments right out of my head. I feel strongly for misunderstood prodigies.

freedom has always just been beyond the horizon

2005-08-25T12:48:00.000+08:00

9 more months to freedom!!!!!

millionare me

2005-07-22T20:58:00.000+08:00

From Statistics Singapore, the average monthly salary in 2005 Q1 is S$3,592 (inclusive of bonus but exclusive of employer's CPF contributions), up from S$3,329 in 2004 and S$3,213 in 2003, so there is an overall increase in income, and since the increase is greater than inflation there is also an increase in the standards of living. Using these figures, it is possible for an average person to be a millionaire as long as he does not spend too much. Let's say an average monthly salary of S$3,592 (in few years' time when you graduate as say an engineer your starting pay could be around $2,500, and after some years the salary could reach S$3,500 or higher depending on performance bonus). 20% of these goes into CPF savings, which is $718, employers contribute a further 13% which is $467, and let's say you spent 90% away, so you manage to save only 10% in your bank account which is $359, then you have a total savings of $1,544 per month. With bank and CPF interest of about 2.5% p.a. and wage inflation adjustment of about 3.5%, so total 6% p.a. or 0.5% per month, then after 25 years (300 months), when you will reach end of forties, your savings will be (using formula for sum of geometric series):

= $1,076,877

This is based on average monthly salary and a consistent effort to save. I am going to be a millionare, thank you.

spending money

2005-07-02T15:02:00.000+08:00

i just bought a bloody abercrombie and fitch polo tee for around SGD$85. shit. i dont know what i was thinking. i dont even know if the size fits, cause its from the store in Sans Francisco.

something you could try if you're bored

2005-07-02T15:00:00.000+08:00

http://crux.baker.edu/cdavis09/roses.html

try this game. i got it on my first try!

water boys

2005-05-25T21:17:00.000+08:00

i bought new 30 bucks goggles. gone shall be the days that ive to strain my neck to keep my head above the chlorinated water that would otherwise turn my eyes into a bloody shade of red.
synchronised swim team, here i come.

2005-05-18T21:40:00.000+08:00

dang. season iv of smallville has come to an end. the boredom of life is back to haunt me.

untitled

2005-05-05T22:23:00.000+08:00

I open my eyes
I try to see but I'm,
blinded by the white light
I can't remember how
I can't remember why
I'm lying here tonight
And I can't stand the pain
And I can't make it go away
No I can't stand the pain
How could this happen to me?
I've made my mistakes
Got nowhere to run
The night goes on as I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just want to scream
How could this happen to me?
Everybody's screaming
I try to make a sound
but no one hears me
I'm slippin' off the edge
I'm hangin' by a thread
I want to start this over again
So I try to hold
Onto a time when
Nothing mattered
And I can't explain what happened
And I can't erase the things that I've done
No I can't...
How could this happen to me?
I've made my mistakes
Got nowhere to run
The night goes on as I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just want to scream
How could this happen to me?
I've made my mistakes
Got nowhere to run
The night goes on as I'm fading away...
I'm sick of this life
I just want to scream
How could this happen to me?

closing song for smallville's episode 13.

pariah

2005-05-04T22:51:00.000+08:00

smallville's season 4 episode 12 has got to be the most tear-jerking, sad episode ever. one would simply not understand without watching it. i cannot even begin to imagine how devastated clark would have felt.

sigh.

YAY!

2005-04-29T02:29:00.000+08:00

It's time for An-i-man-i-acs
And we're zany to the max
So just sit back and relax
You'll laugh till you collapse
We're An-i-man-i-acs

Come join the Warner brothers
And the Warner sister Dot
Just for fun we run around the Warner movie lot
They lock us in the tower whenever we get caught
But we break loose...
And then vamoose...
And now you know the plot

We're An-i-man-i-acs
Dot is cute and Yakko yaks
Wakko packs away the snacks
While Bill Clinton plays the sax
We're An-i-man-i-acs

Meet Pinky and the brain
Who want to rule the universe
Goodfeathers flock together,
Slappy wacks 'em with her purse
Buttons chases Mindy
While Rita sings a verse
The writers flipped
We have no script
Why bother to rehearse

We're An-i-man-i-acs
We have play for play contracts
We're zany to the max
There's baloney in our slacks
We're An-i-man-ee
Totally and zany
Here's the shows namey
An-i-man-i-acs
Those are the facts!

my fiscal atrophy

2005-04-28T19:00:00.000+08:00

i just received my semi-annual (whatever that means) statement from aia regarding the status of my investment portfolio with them. apparently, my investments took an inordinate decline this month. the aia acorns of asia fund dropped 8 cents a unit, and my aia regional fixed income fund dropped 7 cents a unit which all translate into my first substantial loss in 6 months.
i think.
actually, to be truly honest, i do not really understand half of what the statement is trying to tell me. appearing as such, from the summary on the first page, my portfolio's value as of 08 april 2005 seems to be $555.45, while the total premiums ive invested, which includes the adminstration and supplementary charges, totals up to be $600. this means ive actually loss $44.55!

so much so about becoming the next warren buffet.

2005-04-26T23:11:00.000+08:00

hellow!!!!!!!

the internal struggle of the spotless mind

2005-04-23T23:22:00.000+08:00

to be liberated
is to die once more
to perish
is to sacrifice
to relinquish
is to fight
to battle
is to strive
to contend
is an internal struggle of the spotless mind.

quintessence of sentience

2005-04-20T20:01:00.000+08:00

my divine solitude
i embrace thee
in desperate times
you lift me up
you set me down.
sung like a melody
floating in its pieces,
amidst the gushing november rain,
a darker shade i become.
with grainy perception
the world i challenge
what is to become;
pray tell.
the future breeds uncertainty
but history never lies,
yet mistakes are to be repeated
chronicles have divulged.
know thine enemy:
less coup de grace,
spare no clemency.
take no thought of the morrow,
yet with discretion i caution.
this thine lesson.

an exemplar: the mercedes mclaren

2005-04-19T22:50:00.000+08:00

sublimity in its entireness

all societies on the verge of death are masculine

2005-04-17T19:39:00.000+08:00

"all societies on the verge of death are masculine. a society can survive with only one man; no society will survive a shortage of women."
-germaine greer (b.1939)

patriarchy exists in almost every corner of the world as we know it today; the only places where it ceases to exist are the inhabitated ones. throughout time and history, kingdoms have risen and fall, lands were won and lost, leadership changed hands and countless revolutions have taken place, but patriarchy continues without reason to plague our communities. women rights groups have fought and pressured, but to no avail. these organisations continue to exist and they undoubtedly play a vital role in our societies, but what uninmaginable visions they once had have somehow succumbed to more realistic and forseeable ones.

you see, patriarchy wasnt created. just like how evolution* has choosen its path, patriarchy was moulded right from the start into the communities of human race. the only difference is that although evolution is a continuing process, patriarchy was more or less a completed formula 6000 years ago, the time when adam was first created. it is an answer. an answer to the natural characteristics and individuality of both men and women.

men are naturally stronger physically. they are also probably generally emotionally stronger, though some might argue otherwise. it was thus so, in the early days, that men inherently took the role of the provider. they hunted for food and defended their territories. it was only customarily that they were the head of their families. the contentions here are not exhaustive by any means, but you should have caught my drift.

after all thats been mentioned, it is to my utmost believe, that women are still equal in more ways than one. does all this make the woman any lesser than a man? no. it is this very question, that women rights organisations, i believe, have seeked to establish. equal rights for both? definitely. it is this that women associations are fighting for, and they have my sincere support.

to sum it all up, i am all for patriarchy**. which eventually comes to mean that we cannot afford any more gays in our society. if males continue to pair up with males, there will be bound to be altercations and disunion; a body simply cant afford to have two heads. on the other side of the turf, all the straight women will be left with no heads, and they will probably be in a depression for the rest of their lives (not including the few that would actually be rejoicing) due to the lack of men.

on the issue of whether patriarchy is still a necessary practice in today's modern society where the men need not hunt nor fight for survival, i will leave for discussion at a later point in time.

*the author does not necessarily believe in evolution, but is simply using it for illustration purposes.

**the author is not, in any way, a sexist, so please kindly delete the hate mail that you have already started to compose.

for more information, you might find the book, the creation of patriarchy by gerda lerner, very beneficial and interesting.

the world needs anger. the world often continues to allow evil because it isn't angry enough.

2005-04-15T21:45:00.000+08:00

painted guilty by blinded eyes that scan only the surface
cursed by corrupt minds that seek not the truth
condemned by wagging tounges that conceive aspersion
punished by callous hands that cover nothing but their own tush

a senseless dolor blankets the body
what void there was a moment before,
now saturated with acidity;
it cant be helped.

The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil because it isn't angry enough.
- Bede Jarrett

"Trade Deficit Surged to Record $61 Billion in February" - New York Times

2005-04-14T23:38:00.000+08:00

this may be old news to some, but i cant help but wonder how mr. bush, together with the dept of commerce is going to respond to this gargantuan task of turning the deficit around. it is not a secret that the country of liberation's account is running in the red, and with fierce competition from the chinese, it would indeed be a daunting task ahead for the bush team. although much of the increase in gap can be attributed to the rising oil prices of late, the recent abolition of global quotas on textiles isnt actually easing the situation (way to go, china).
the bush adminstration has argued that this (the trade gap) represented a strong consumer demand within the country. i guess the right question would be whose goods are they going for. as of now, the u.s. lacks the competitve edge. if this persists, the u.s. dollar will continue its decline, and unemployment will be on the rise. ah, such a hulking responsibility.

"he who desires, but acts not, breeds pestilence."

2005-04-14T23:16:00.000+08:00

well, william blake has managed to ruin my day. not that i should blame him, in actual fact, it serves as a timely reminder once again of my endless resolutions and dreams that have fluttered past me like a dancing butterfly, endlessly teasing me. it seems to me, that i've managed somehow to skim pass time and space without even considering clinging on to something. its like falling thru the foresst canopy, but not making an effort to reach out for the branches in an effort to break your fall – you're bound for doom. im living too much for the present. enjoying life way too much. taking a step at a time is not in question any longer. ah.. well, i guess things have got to change. sometime soon. my dear fu. i believe that we're in the same plight. the only difference is, im not feeling a tinge of guilt.

now, who would you choose?

2005-04-13T20:12:00.000+08:00

amy, played by gigi lai, from the ch8 7pm show, fate twisters, is cunning, but she is smart, hardworking, determined, as well as the prettiest woman alive.

chang xi, played by ada choi, from the same serial, is rather stupid, but she means well, and she's the sweetest woman alive.

now, the question is, who would you choose?

numero uno - the incipient post

2005-04-13T00:20:00.000+08:00

dear reader,

this is my inaugural entry; and hopefully greater things will come out of this. it should be known, that i am a man of fat fingers; it is to the knowledge of all who know me that i am one truly lazy ass. i had to mention that, just in case you happen to be one of my many gay admirers and decided to bookmark this page and wonder why this particular guy isn't updating his site. which brings me to my next point - if you bookmark this page, you are gay. if you're of the other sex, you like me. please proceed to email me your name and number, and i will call you back.

on a more serious note, my week has been pretty much riddled with accounts of failed declarations of love. two to be exact. one of them, the much publicised story of the undergrad in nus openly avowing of his desire for the girl to "take his hand", you readers should be familiar with. the other concerns a particular unfortunate colleague of mine. the two accounts were uncanningly similar, but had one slight difference. the former to me, was more of a flight of fancy, while the latter, a more sincere proposal. well, thanks to the seemingly unfair world out there, both proposals only welcomed uninvited backlashes and mindless accusations. in both events, there were victims on both flanks, but of course, we all know the greatest pain had in both cases, been inflicted on the male species. my condolences to both martyrs.

this brings me to my final point for today's inagural post. we need revenge; we have to punish them for what they did. let us all join hands and
...
....
.....
......
turn gay.

that will teach 'em.