The Terrace

11th Nov 2010

2010-11-11T00:09:00.004+08:00

Goodness...It's been so long since I updated this blog.

I wonder if anyone will even read this post. But well, this place is simply a little repository for my thoughts and feelings. I realize I find solace by penning my thoughts down.

Once again, I have been doing a lot of thinking. I guess I am too easily affected by the people around me; affected by the things they do, affected by the things they didn't do.

Perhaps I still lack confidence.

There is nothing wrong with me, right?

I am my own person.

Argh...Have to get out of this vicious cycle.

Once again, I'm penning down cryptic stuff. I guess I am just very protective of my feelings.

1st Mar 2010

2010-03-01T00:36:00.002+08:00

Don't know why, but when I read some of my older posts of my blog, I realise I sound so silly/stupid. Maybe I really am still childish.

Maybe the world has turned, time has passed, but I am still here where I've always been.

2 months and 16 days more, and this blog will be 4 years old.

Where did the time go...?

I haven't grown, have I?

Will someone tell me?

6th Dec 2009

2009-12-06T22:32:00.003+08:00

I called my friend a geek today because he loves playing boardgames and starcraft and warcraft.

But let me tell you who's the bigger geek.

Who likes to discuss about the implication of the M Theory?
Who gets excited on the topic of the Copenhagen Interpretation and Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle?
Who loves the debate on the Steady State Theory and the Big Bang Theory and how the latter won because of the discovery of the Cosmic background radiation?
Who would get excited about the implications if one day the God particle - the Higgs Boson was discovered?

Me. Me. Me. Me.

20th Nov 2009

2009-11-20T22:41:00.002+08:00

Was thinking about this on my way home today...
About how that old guy in that Pixar movie, UP, wanted to go away on an adventure with his wife, but kept putting it off till his beloved passed away, and he became a cranky old man...
Actually, it really is quite a romantic thought. Leaving everything behind, and just taking off on an adventure to a far away place. To see the world, to experience the sights, to have the stories to tell...
Unfortunately, it's not in any bit pragmatic. If you aren't rich enough, you probably won't be able to just put everything behind and take off like that.
Are you going to stop working then? Who's going to pay the bills?
We're all debt ridden....
Not to mention its rather expensive to travel, especially for long.

Caught 2012 recently.

Kind of like The Day After Tomorrow on steroids, but its still your typical end of the world movie.

Then there's the issues with the neutrinos. Pardon my lack of knowledge, but,

Firstly, aren't neutrinos supposed to be neutral? They pass through you - and I supposed some are indeed passing through us now - and they would pass through undisturbed. And that's why it's so difficult to detect. So say they indeed have a change of characteristics, and they start heating up the Earth's core as in the movie. But why? I was kind of hoping they would explain why the neutrinos decided to become that way (but they didn't). It's kind of like saying electrons, out of a sudden, decided to become positively charged...It's like saying pi suddenly decided to become a whole number.

Secondly. If neutrinos start to affect the Earth, won't they affect us as well? Heck, we won't have to wait till 2012 to die, when the Earth crumbles and the poles shifts. If they'll heat the Earth up, they'll probably boil us too.

Lastly. Aren't neutrinos found throughout space? If they have the ability to heat up Earth, won't they cost significant changes to the rest of the planets and stars? It won't just be the end of the world. It'll be the end of the universe.

Hmmm.....

Why can't the movie just be about the alignment of our planets, which causes this huge gateway/dimension/portal to open, heralding an onslaught of disasters/The Beast that causes our world to explode?

Why can't the movie be about greenhouse gases and global warming which causes the polar caps to melt and sea levels to rise? I guess then that won't be a movie, that'll be a documentary....

8th Nov 2009

2009-11-08T17:09:00.002+08:00

I want to learn Russian, French, Intermediate/Advance Japanese, the piano and the violin.

How?

Life is too short.
Maybe I need to focus...

7th Nov 2009

2009-11-07T13:27:00.002+08:00

I find it hard to say no directly. Maybe I don't like to disappoint?
In the end, I always find myself going one big round just to reject someone.

24th Oct 2009

2009-10-24T00:06:00.002+08:00

Note to self:

1) The scent of earl grey tea bags makes my cabinet smell heavenly

2) After the 3rd cup using the same tea bag, my cup of earl grey tastes more like chinese tea with a scent of citrus

3) Using a tea bag is more economically sound than 3-in-1 coffee mix because it lasts me the entire day. Plus, tea doesn't make me poop.

4) It is time to build up my mini pantry. First thing first, stock up on several different kinds of tea. Chamomile next, perhaps?

5) Should I next have to ask my manager a question she had told me the answer to before, it is not because I hadn't written down what she told me earlier. It's simply because I forgotten that I had written it down already. Thus, I should remember to write down that I already wrote it down.

6) Stale air stinks

7) I am definitely not a morning person.

8) Rats are able to climb up 25 stories and hide in the fake ceiling

9) To combat the rat infestation, perhaps we could train "Super Defence Cats" to hunt the rats down. Commando cats, if you will.

5th Oct 2009

2009-10-05T19:59:00.002+08:00

Just a random thought.
But what's up with empathy?
It's not enough that one has to occassionally suffer stupid human emotions like saddness and depression inflicted on self by our circumstances, but now we have to feel these same emotions felt by others??

Find post: Empathy, dated October 2008.
I take everything I said back.

Screw empathy.
Empathy spoilt my day.

I just want to be a heartless bastard.

10 minutes

2009-07-30T17:11:00.003+08:00

Here's a very nice video that kind of made me a little emo after watching it...
Its quite long, about 9 mins (and I am saying this sarcastically and then I lament, because based on how fast we're living our lives today, even 3 mins would seem too long.)

So if you have the patience, or are too bored, give it a view, ya?
And try to watch it first without reading the commentaries of yours truly below or the commentaries on youtube. Then try to guess how come this movie is entitled 10 minutes.

And another point to note, for the most part of the video, a long take technique was utilised. A long take - that is, an uninterrupted shot in a film usually lasting several minutes.

During my younger days, you could say I did quite a bit of travelling to different parts of the world.

Thus back in Singapore, I often wondered about the people, about the place, about the activities that were going now over on the other side of the globe.

I would be sitting on the bus in the day, on my way back home, and I'd think about how its night time in San Francisco right now, or how its so cold in Japan at this moment. And I would think about how the streets were different, how the weather was different, how the culture and people were different, and yet, we would be feeling the same amount of time ticking by.

Perhaps that is why this video kind of struck a raw nerve with me.

So the next time you're made to wait an extra 10 minutes for your food to be served or for your train to arrive, and you're starting to get really impatient or irritated...

...think what that 10 minutes would mean to someone else.

Then they came

2009-07-22T23:38:00.004+08:00

“I couldn’t tell the date, or the time, or the year of this current journal entry. I have been kept imprisoned far too long. The days are dragging by too slowly and I have long grown too weak to do anything else. Too weak, to even write anymore…

How long since it began? That day still resounded extremely clearly in my mind, as if it had only occurred just recently…

************************************************************************

No one foresaw it…
No one predicted it…

It happened in the day. The clear skies suddenly turning dark as these huge ships appeared menacingly in the sky.

There wasn’t any warning or time. Quickly, thousands of streamline crafts with wings appeared from these ships. In what seemed like a synchronized attack, they rained down destruction and chaos to the lands below.

There was panic and anarchy. No one knew what was happening. No one knew what to do. There were attempts at defense, but the aliens’ technology seemed far superior.

Cries ringed through the air and the ground soon became covered with the dead. Lone figures could occasionally be seen running and ducking beneath covers, but it was a futile attempt at escape. The crafts eventually found them.

It wasn’t long before the destruction stopped. By then, an eerie silent hung in the air, safe for the humming of the huge ships up above. The crafts circled the skies a few more times, and seemingly pleased with the job they had done, returned to the ships.

Then slowly, the ships began to land. From within poured out huge armored machines and strange figures covered from head to toe in what seemed like an oddly crafted suit.

Immediately, the aliens started working. They were organized and worked efficiently, as if this attacked had long been planned out. There was a delegation of tasks. Some were commanded to start terra-forming the lands and altering the atmosphere so that it would suit them. Some were commanded to scout and explore this new place which they had just taken. Some were commanded to round up the remaining survivors that were lucky – or perhaps, unlucky enough to have survived the onslaught.

I was among the first survivors to be rounded up…

I pleaded and begged them, but I didn’t know what I was imploring them for. My home had already been destroyed and taken. My close ones lost. Everything was gone...

I cried…
I struggled…
I yelled…

The aliens however, couldn’t understand at all – or perhaps they didn’t care. Neither could I understand them, as they grunted and barked orders at each other.

They took me to a strange holding area and threw me into a tiny cell.

Then I was left alone. I pounded upon the walls till my strength left me. Collapsing to the ground, darkness surrounded me.

I do not know how long they held me in the cell. I lost all sense of time and of where I was. Everything became a blur. Occasionally I would hear crying and struggling from the other captives - or perhaps the crying and struggling were my own. Sometimes I felt myself strapped down and could faintly make out a brightly lit object floating above me. Other times I heard drilling and cutting. However, I didn’t care anymore.

I couldn’t care anymore...

Then slowly, the crying and the struggling began to stop. I started to hear less of the drilling and cutting. My sense of time, place and self started returning.

I was shifted to a larger cell. On occasion, I would be strapped down in my new cell and some huge figures would enter and seemingly try to commune with me. Small heads upon their huge bodies, pale white skin and four long limbs protruding from awkward places, the aliens, without their oddly crafted suits looked hideous and disproportioned. I felt this insatiable rage within me. Unable to lash out at my captors for I was chained down, I yelled and demanded an answer and reason for their tyranny. My captors however, continued grunting in their low tones to each other.

This went on for many more times. I soon grew tired of yelling and my rage slowly seemed to quench and fade away. Was I no longer angry at my captors, the ones who had taken everything away from me? Perhaps it was that I had grown numb...

I started paying attention to my captors’ grunts and soon found myself beginning to understand and memorize some of the phonetics that they used. I realized that they were trying to teach me their language…

************************************************************************

How long since these aliens had come to take away my home, I wondered. For the time I was kept here in my new cell, I did not see any of my own kind. Was I the only one left? Why was I kept alive? Was I spared so that these aliens could further observe me? Was I kept alive so that these aliens could try and attempt to understand my race and my home – that which they had destroyed? These of course, were purely conjectures on my part. I was not kept privy to their decisions. As the days grew on, only one thing was certain – all hope had left me.

I was alive, but I was dead.

Since the time I was transferred to my new cell, I began to understand a little more of what the aliens were saying. The aliens seemed keen in teaching me the meanings of their grunts. Along with my understanding of their speeches came my gradual understanding of them.

It seems that these creatures came from a place far from ours, but a place not very unlike ours. After enjoying many years of prosperity and growth, the aliens’ planet suffered from a catastrophe forcing millions of its inhabitants into space. There they wondered through the vast expense of space for decades.

Then, they chanced upon us. For months on end, they observed us, noting our technological capabilities, trying to make sense of our culture, analyzing key strategic points and who were our leaders, and above all else, accessing how suitable our world would be for their growth.

Then they attacked,
And they conquered…

My strength seemed completely sapped. I can no longer write, but I must. My last few dying words…

We had lived but a few thousand years, yet we have come to achieve so much. There was so much of life and space that we didn’t understand, so much potential for us. Often we would also ponder about the existence of alien beings from outer planets, so keen to find them and perhaps make contact with them. Ironic, that our first contact meant our destruction.

This journal, my final words – my only legacy…

My hatred for my captors had long turned to nonchalance, but forgiveness is something I will never ever give them.

These aliens who called themselves humans.

Humans from a distant planet they named Earth…”

– Excerpts from the final journal entry found on the dead body of subject CEX-0021, translated by the Institute of Extraterrestrial Research.

26th June 2009

2009-06-26T16:25:00.002+08:00

From here onwards, I am no longer title-ing my posts, save for the occasional exceptions. This is because my post is sometimes a mish-mash of nonsense and ramblings, and it's hard to associate a single title that would best summarise the anarchy of the thoughts that I have written.

Firstly.
RIP Michael Jackson. For all his wackiness and plastic surgery, let it be said - he was an absolute genius. His songs, his dance, his moves and music - may his legacy live on.

Secondly.
2012.
Day after tomorrow on steroids. I am waiting for this movie.
I can't embed the trailer, but please search for it on youtube.

Thirdly.

Avatar, The Last Airbender - the movie.
By M. Night Shyamalan.
WTF?!?
I have cast zero hopes on this movie.

Lastly.
The Adventures of Tintin, currently in post-production, directed by Steven Spielberg. (source: http://tintinmovie.org/)
omg omg omg omg!!!!
I love the adventures of Tintin.
Wiki it if you have too~
Nice to see that its being made into a movie.
(On a seperate note, I hated The Adventures of Asterix)

Draw with Me

2009-04-29T01:05:00.002+08:00

*Sob*

SPOILERS BELOW!! WATCH FINISH BEFORE READING!!!!!

Though sad, I think the ending where she cuts off her arm is a little....freakish.

A better ending, in my opinion would be like this:

So day after day, the boy and girl continue to draw and write, communicating their thoughts and conversation via the pictures on the glass wall that separates them.

But the wall isn't infinite. And as they drew, the glass wall soon starts to fill up, until one day, only a tiny little space was left where they could still see each other's faces clearly...

So the boy and the girl were left there, separated by the glass wall. They didn't ever draw or write anything on it ever again. But what they had written down, was on the glass wall forever. Their words and pictures on it reminded them of all the conversations and laughter that they once had.

Through the tiny space that remains on the glass wall, they could still see each other's smile....

And they were contended...

Actually, that's how I thought the video will actually end.

Seed of Chucky

2009-04-25T23:27:00.002+08:00

Just caught this on Channel 5.

This dumb show is wrong on so many different levels.

I'd be embarrassed to tell anyone ever again that I've watched it.

Like Chucky said-
"Look around us, this is nuts. And I have a very high tolerance for nuts."

Your Story

2009-04-16T19:06:00.003+08:00

Sometimes I wished I could be read like a book - and I mean it quite literally.

If you were a book, what kind of story would it be?
If your life was told through words, would it be compelling?
An epic saga? A story of simple truths? Cyberpunk? Chick Lit?
Maybe a shounen manga - with you as the protagonist growing increasingly strong, alluding in reality to yourself, winning over the hardships of life?

I would like to think of mine being an epic saga of multi layered symbolisms and meanings - anarchy, moral ambiguity, love, hope, and everything else, all encompassing what is actually a very sincere and simple story about simple truths. My story would of course be in contention for the Pulitzer Prize.

But first it has to have a damn good writer.
And I'd probably have to fight some epic wars.
Alone.
Or save the world from Armageddon.

Of course, it would be unfilmable.

But in all seriousness, what would your story be?

And anyone who is thinking their book to be a biography/memoir...

Please.

Its Chinese New Year!

2009-01-23T21:36:00.003+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!
I don't like Chinese New Year!

What's worse than hearing a loop of Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, is hearing CNY songs.
Its like stabbing your brain with a very very blunt fork.
The lyrics makes no sense.
The tune all seems totally off.
And worse of all. It is SO. DAMN. BLOODY. NOISY.
Try sleeping in a bus with the bus uncle blasting CNY songs on his radio.

Also,
after all these years of not using ICQ
I can still remember my ICQ no. and password. HMM!

That's it.

2008-12-28T23:11:00.000+08:00

My last week of freedom beings at 12 tonight...

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T13:08:00.002+08:00

Woke up this morning feeling cold.
It's like it had been snowing.
It rained the entire day yesterday.
It almost could have been snow...

I used to love Christmas. Don't know why it feels less magical this year.
Could it be that I am growing older? That I am therefore becoming more pragmatic? I don't want to lose the wonderment and whimsical nature of a child that make things like this magical...

Ahhh...

Anyway, I recieved a great present on the eve of Christmas. Actually, not exactly great. But...well..I don't have a choice, right? I can't be picky. Beggers can't be choosers. Haha...

So, Merry Christmas everybody.
Hope everyone had a great time and recieved some really nice presents.

And I reckon half the working population in Singapore took leave on Friday.

10 years down.....

2008-12-15T12:25:00.003+08:00

You know,

10 years down the road, I hope they will do a survey on the success of people who graduated in the past 10 years.

And I hope the results of the survey would be along the lines of - "Those who graduated during the recession of '08 and who could only find a job after more than 6 months tend to display traits of being more determined, resilient and having more perseverance. This group of people hence, tend to be much more successful in their jobs and lives, compared to people who have graduated during better times."

Yah.

Hmph!

Speed Racer

2008-12-09T22:03:00.002+08:00

Just watched it.

I don't understand why most reviews said it was boring. I actually found it kind of entertaining. Perhaps because I didn't really watch the whole movie in one sitting...

Okay, so perhaps the story is your usual cliche stuff, but I thought most people should have known this is a movie to just throw your brain off somewhere and just enjoy the spectacular eye candy. Final Fantasy: Advent Children didn't make any sense at all, but everyone enjoyed it for the gravity defying leaps and spectacular actions scenes.

I enjoyed Speed Racer for its technicolour cheesiness. The Wachowski brothers are in my opinion, visionaries more than directors. Speed Racer is like bubblegum pop to me. I know it isn't anything too deep, but I can't help but be affixed by it.

Also, I realise I have a very low tolerance level for people who tend to be inept. I know this sounds really arrogant of me, but ARGH! It is sometimes so exasperating.

Finally, I managed to use the word technicolour! I've always wanted to use that in my sentence after hearing Anthony Bourdain using it to describe food. Haha! Gosh, I am so weird.

Stephen Hawking and the Theory of Everything

2008-12-08T01:07:00.002+08:00

I've always had an interest in the way the universe works. How it was born out of nothing, how colossal entities could explode with such extreme violence, how vast it actually is, how little we understand about it... I like it, because thinking about it stretches the imagination. It is humbling, and it reminds of how tiny and insignificant one is.

So naturally, I like documentaries about how the universe works. But after a few shows, things start to get extremely boring. It is always about the same thing. How our solar system was created. How our moon was probably part of the Earth once. How black holes seemingly disobey laws of physics. How we can travel faster than light through wormholes and whatnot.

Therefore, once in a while a documentary comes up that goes deeper into the subject matter, and I am at once all over it.

So I just came off from watching "Stephen Hawking and the Theory of Everything" (Okay, not just. Probably about 2 hours ago) and it was great.

It gave a little insight to Hawking Radiation, explained how we will probably not be around had the creation of our universe during the big bang been perfect and tried to explain how Superstring theory could reconcile the force of gravity into the other fundamental forces for the Theory of Everything.

It was a good 2 hours. Although I missed the first 30 mins because I was watching the stupid and lame movie, Rob Schneider's "The Animal".

Stephen Hawking rocks.

I delayed taking a dump and supper because of him.

Oh.

Michio Kaku rocks too.

Advertisments

2008-12-03T21:51:00.003+08:00

I learn that if I were a girl and wear glasses, no guy is ever going to notice me at a party, even though I look so much better than most ordinary girls with my glasses on.
I hence need contact lenses. Yes, that's right. Guys will only notice me with contact lenses on.

And did anyone see the latest Coke ad?
It has "no added preservatives or artificial flavors" and made from the "best spices from around the world."
I know that is not technically incorrect. But what? Is coke like the new health drink or new fruit juice now?

Sigh. Things one learn from commercials.

A question

2008-12-02T21:37:00.002+08:00

How the hell do they make the teh-bing in kopitiam tastes so good?!?!

Dreams/Eternity

2008-11-28T21:03:00.003+08:00

Yesterday night I dreamt.

I dreamt I drove a car. Again.
I dreamt about the end of the world. Again.

If anyone asks if I have recurring dreams, I'd say yes.
I always dream about large surreal landscapes.
I always dream about driving.
and I always dream about the end of the world.

It is amazing how realistic things feel in dreams. So I felt the feeling one should feel about the world ending. Thus I woke up, and then I pondered.

I realise things aren't eternal. If you think about it, everyone will die one day. So then, what is the point?

We slave the day away. We work hard, we plow the fields, hoping against hope to sow that little seed. Technology advances, new ideas are conceptualised, old ideas are debunked. Society grows and nations collide - some wanting to eradicated each other, some forming an alliance. Then man grow old and dies. The next generation succeeds in place of the old, and then they die too.

Even so, society is obsessed with eternity. Steady progress is being made in discovering that elusive elixir to longevity. Cryogenics, eugenics, substitution of the human brain for a microchip - these are but some of the ways we think will bestow upon us time here that will never end.

But truly, how long is an eternity? Already the human mind has problems grasping the meaning of an infinite number. A googol, or even a googolplex - One already have problems visualisation the magnitude of that number. But that isn't eternity. No, it doesn't even come close. Since the dawn of the first man - our time here has nary a register in the timeline of the universe. Thus far, our time here can truly be said to be a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of the universe. No, fleeting won't be appropriate. Fleeting would still describe too long a time.

Yet, here we are, dreaming grandiose dreams of infinity, when we cannot yet comprehend the implications of eternity. Science fiction stories tend to take us huge amounts of years into our future. But what then, of billions of years ahead? Is there a story that depicts humanity down the path of a billion years later?

To paraphrase the adage, that there is no limit to the imagination of man. Oh, I beg to differ. Infinity stands against it. Then to paraphrase another adage, whatever has a beginning has to have an end.

Perhaps, it is simply that our minds are not yet evolved to understand this concept of eternity. Already, so many stories have thought up of man evolving into one shared Existence. An Existence without a physical being. An Existence that feels no pain, no love, no hate, no loneliness, no hunger. We would simply possess a collective existential conscious, floating through the eons.

There exists a philosophical school of thought about eternal recurrence, where the universe is thought to have recurred, and will continue to recur in a similar form for an infinite number of times. The symbol of it being the Ouroboros, a snake biting upon its own tail, symbolising the recreation of itself. Then what boggles the mind, and begs the question is, if eternity has always existed, when then, was the beginning?

Ahhh.

However, things that lasts for a little while tend to possess a great amount of beauty. That ephemeral sunset/sunrise. The quick burst of fireworks amidst the dark night sky. That short feeling of being truly happy and touched when someone you love pleasantly surprised you.

And surely, the human life exists - for a lack of an exact descriptive word - for but a fleeting moment. Doesn't it then, possess a great amount of beauty as well? Like that old rock-n-roll saying,

"Let's burn out, rather than fade away."

Even if the end comes tomorrow, your lives have already been beautiful.

Self pre-emption

2008-11-26T00:18:00.003+08:00

Okay. Wow. I wanted to rant about something.

And then I did it again.

I over analyse.

I realise that there might be a small chance of me doing it as well in the future.

So I tried changing the wordings of my rants such that there might be some loopholes in it for me to escape from in the future should I commit the same deed.

Then I realised it was too dangerous, so I completely deleted it off.

Yup.

I just pre-empted myself.

Long names

2008-11-16T15:38:00.002+08:00

So in my previous post I mentioned "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb", a film by Stanley Kubrick was probably my favourite movie title of all time.

I find the context of the title really amusing. How can one not love a title like that? So funny in such an intriguing way. Plus, I love the way the movie title rolls off one's tongue. This is the epitome of a successful movie title, because it actually makes me want to watch it.

Then I found out this is not the longest movie title. That honour would have to be conferred to:
"Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Alien, Flesh Eating, Hellbound, Zombified Living Dead Part 2: In Shocking 2-D"

Wow. In shocking 2D!!!!!! Omigosh.

And just to prove to you that's its a real movie click

Now this title just does not make any sense at all. However, there's something I find laughable at names or titles with an extremely long name. You'd have to wonder whatever that person was on to come up with names like this. Was he trying to be funny? Was he trying to convey his main point through the title. Was he perhaps trying to summarise something?! When a name becomes too long, its like all reasons are completely thrown out the window. It becomes silly and absurd. It stops making sense, and it becomes almost random. And than you laugh, but than forget it. Because, seriously, who would actually remember that "in shocking 2-D!" movie title?

With that said, here are some other long names I've came across.

Longest English word:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
click

Longest place name:
Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit
This, place, surprise surprise, is actually Bangkok
click Scroll down to read the part on "Full Name".

Longest game title (At least, I haven't seen anything longer than this):
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army
click
But then I did a search and I was wrong. Trust the Japanese to come up with a game that has a title like this:
White Princess the second ~ Yappari Itto ni Ittemo Soujyanakutemo OK-na Gotsugou Shugi Gakuen Renai Adventure
or
White Princess the second ~ Love Adventure in the School That Follows the Principle of Convenience, Where It's Okay to Stray From the Path or Stay on the Path
click

Then throughout my searches, I came across this:
http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/
click
which probably has the longest URL address, and it has a list of things which are long.

*Slaps forehead*

Okay. I am done with long names.
Give me my abbreviations.

My Whines

2008-11-16T00:21:00.003+08:00

So I logged into SSDC website to book my practical driving lessons. Upon logging in, I spied this URL at the top of the page while it was loading....

http://www.ssdcl.com.sg/stud_login/.../..

Anyway, my point is "stud_login". SSDC treats their students as studs. I am a stud. Woohoo. I am amused by the simplest of things.

But this still doesn't excuse SSDC for having a very bad server. I can hardly log in to book my lessons. Reminds me of NUS CORS. Maybe there are too many people applying for driving lessons, further strengthening the fact that Singapore is probably too crowded. I waited almost 2 whole hours just to apply for my PDL! A process that took less than 5 mins! Then I realise I waited so long, because a lot of foreigners were applying for license conversion or something. Its like you are having this super creamy cake, and then someone pushes upon you a cup of full cream milk with whipped cream on it for kicks. Bad analogy perhaps, but sigh....it is sometimes hard to find some alone-time here.

Also, will people please stop putting onions into eggs. I realise people love frying omelets with copious amounts of onions. Please stop! Leave my eggs alone! I HATE onions in my delicious eggs!!!!

I also want to say something about examining Wagner's operas, re-reading Shakespeare's Macbeth, and how my favourite movie title of all time is probably "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb". However, I realised I have done so much whining in this post, that I've decided it shall just be about my whines - and thusly, the title.

Bleach

2008-10-31T16:02:00.003+08:00

For anyone still reading the Bleach manga, does anyone find that the fights in it are getting really repetitive and boring?

Every fight goes something like this:

Good Guy: "I taunt you."
Bad Guy: "I taunt you back."
Good Guy: "I taunt you again."
Bad Guy: "What's your name? Names are important."
Good Guy: "I don't give my name easily."
Swords are cross.
Bad Guy: "You say you are from (insert division number and seat)? So weak!"
Good Guy: "You are ugly."
Bad Guy: "I am pretty. You are uglier. You dress like a flower."
Good Guy: "Flowers are pretty. You have no taste."
Swords are cross.
Good guy almost lose. Then he suddenly unleashes some hidden power.
Bad Guy: "What the?!"
Good Guy: "I can only unleash this power when no one is looking. It makes no sense. But I rather die than let anyone see my power." or "I was just tricking you. Haha. You think I weak? You dumb."
Bad Guy: "..."
Good Guy: "What's your name? I'd like to know your name before I kill you, even though it is not important at all, because you were just introduced 2 pages before fighting me, and you have no characterisation or future development. Perhaps I will give you my name instead, so that you will know who's going to kill you. Har. Har."
Good Guy than kills Bad Guy.

*Repeat for every single battle*

Than, just as the good guys are winning, main bad guy comes out and says:
"You are ALL like ANTS! It's so hard to control myself from stepping too hard on ANTS! And you all have been TRICKED ONCE AGAIN! Because while you were busy fighting with characters just introduced 2 pages ago, I secretly did this and that to win! It is a twist in the boring story! har har!"

More insults are hurled than swords are crossed.
Taunts are usually about how each other look.
Names are VERY important when fighting someone you want to kill.
Fights goes on for 40 chapters. Than one chapter of "story development".
And then fights for another 40 chapters.

What happen Tite Kubo? Are you just making the story up as you go along?

Empathy

2008-10-22T01:22:00.003+08:00

To quote Shakespeare,
"for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Sometimes I think I am gifted with the power of empathy.

I realise I like understanding how someone feels, how someone thinks, why someone does the thing he/she does, why someone is the way he/she is....and at times, I realised I am able to do all of the above fairly well...

However, being empathetic sometimes is scary. What happens when you are able to perceive from both sides of the line? The perpetrator of malevolence might see it as a necessary evil, while the good would deem it as asinine, uncalled for or selfish. Understanding the perspective of both sides, it sometimes becomes hard to find a firm footing either way. The world greys out. But even then, there are many shades of grey.

What which you once cannot stand, you might start to find it accepting....
It is scary.

Perhaps that is why I love my morale dilemmas in stories.

Anyway, today, while I was practising a little on my piano, I sneezed.
Which led me to wonder...

What happen if, during a performance of a fast piano piece, say, flight of the bumblebee? And in front of a large audience.... Heck, he won't even need to be playing a fast piece. So then, what happens if the pianist suddenly have this need to sneeze?

Hmmm......

In the case of an atomic bomb explosion...

2008-10-20T23:44:00.002+08:00

...duck and cover.

That's right.

Duck and cover.

So I was watching Dirty Jobs on Discovery Channel just now, and I suddenly realised how cool the Russian language is.

Yes, it was rather random.

In all the hundreds of different ways of saying goodbye in the different languages, I've always had one favourite, and it was in Russian - "Da Svindanya".

I now have a new favourite language. And the good part is, my name is actually Russian. Woooo~

Wanderers

2008-10-15T23:53:00.003+08:00

He might be that ostentatious millionaire,
or that unkempt beggar.
Perhaps that beautiful socialite walking by you,
or that lonesome hermit sitting before you.
Maybe a brilliant physicist,
or a delinquent dropout.
Even a mother of two,
or a swinging bachelor.

But we are all merely wanderers.
Wanderers, each with our own goals, dreams and ambitions,
hidden deeply within our hearts,
grasping tightly unto it.

Passing each other,
wandering on on our way..........

Would you even know...?

Where's the identity?!

2008-10-12T19:51:00.002+08:00

All it takes is a wasabi fillet-o-fish for MacDonald's to start sprouting "Arigato!", "Irrashaimase!" and "Konbanwa!" (At least the one at Khatib does it).

Okay, maybe asking where it's identity is isn't really appropriate, seeing as to how MacDonald's have penetrated and seeded itself so deeply in almost every culture and society.

But still...good grief.

erm..

2008-10-08T22:19:00.002+08:00

My blog is not emo!!!!!!!!!!!

Talk is Cheap

2008-10-08T17:47:00.002+08:00

I don't like to make promises except the very important ones, because it is already so difficult holding true to my own words...

Words, are words. But once spoken, it is thrown out there.

Too cheap, they are sometimes far too cheap.
Uttered without considerations.
Uttered just for the sake of uttering.

I used to think if one didn't care, then one won't even say "take care", "all the best" or "good luck".
Then I realise its all being taken granted for.

Don't say it if you don't mean it.
Don't say it if you mean it only half heartedly.
Say it only if you truly mean it.

It isn't easy.

My Playlist

2008-10-06T01:12:00.004+08:00

So SOMEBODY just complained about the music that is playing on my blog recently. That SOMEBODY then told me to take it off. Apparently, the world revolves around that SOMEBODY.

Heh.

Anyway, I kinda actually find music that plays on blogs a little irritating too. So why have I included it then?

For one, the music one listens to offers a little insight to their character, their likes and their dislikes. Secondly, and more importantly, I like to share music that I like with others. I could have included this playlist, but then scripted it to not play automatically. But nope. I want people to listen to the songs that I like, and hopefully get them to like these songs as well. Hur hur hur.

With that being said, the songs on my playlist are probably not going to be the newest songs. More of the rather obscured ones (actually not really), that I think most of my friends won't have listen to or know of before. What is the point of introducing a nice popular song to everyone, when sooner or later everyone will hear of it. And hence, I find myself starting to like indie music or any music that is away from the mainstream. There is something cool about discovering wonderful music/songs that almost no one knows about.

Anyway, the songs in the playlist right now are songs that kind of melt me - at least to a certain extend. Who needs chocolates? Easy listening best suited for the quiet night.
1) Tizzy Bac - You'll see. By a Taiwanese indie group. Most of their songs are kinda like electronica. But I really like this version, the live version because of the superb piano accompaniment. She reminds me why I am learning the piano. Really gotta thank the person who introduced this song to me. My fave at the moment. That's why its at the top.
2) Olivia Ong - Fall in love - Koini Ochite. By a Singaporean singer! Just discovered her recently. Very nice, sultry voice I must add. Interestingly, she started off in some Japanese pop group. Nice melody.
3) Olivia Ong - It's Real. See (2).
4) Jay Chou - Secret. From the movie, Secret. I am currently learning to play this on the piano. But this version is crazy fast. Totally entangles the fingers of my right hand. But a very fun piece to play.
5) Ayumi Hamasaki - Heaven. I don't like the original version. Much prefer this quiet version. Sounds more sincere. Also shows how a simple song can sound beautiful.
6) The Corrs - Runaway. Violin, Violin, Violin. (Or Viola?). Plus its kinda celtic. I like celtic.
7) Shimokawa Mikuni - Hajimari. I love the melody. And sweet voice.
8) Taro Hakase - To Love You More. Actually a song sang by Celine Dion. I realise how sappy it sounds. But heck. It's the violin! (or viola? How to tell the difference on how they sound???)

So why have I introduced my entire playlist? Because I am bored.

And to that SOMEBODY, the stop/pause button is immediately to the right of the newest blog entry. Very easy and convenient to turn it off. =)

Nerd

2008-10-03T01:34:00.002+08:00

Recently, I've been realising how much of a nerd I am becoming. No wait. I think I might have been a closeted nerd all along. Actually, I hate being called a nerd...

Anyway, let's count the ways:

1) I plowed through every chapter of the web comic, xkcd in like 2 days.
2) I just finished watching the first season of the The Big Bang Theory in about 3 days.
3) I love the Mythbusters, and I wish Adam Savage is my science teacher.
4) I love having discussions pertaining to cosmology and modern physics.

In other non-related news, I realised I have been asked alot lately about the kind of girl that I like.

In a realistic scenario, nothing else matters - being able to click is the most important thing. Truly. But everyone - and I do not know why - always give me the "yeah right!" look.

But if I were to discuss my ideal one and if I were allowed to be fussy. Well, I have thought about it. And to keep things short, I realised that she would probably need multiple personalities.

That sounds like a psychopath.

Then again, each of us portray a different self to the different situations we face each day. A self-deprecating person to his friends might suddenly exude confidence and responsibility were he to come under charge of something important. A quiet, unassuming mother might turn aggressive and powerful were her child to come into danger.

Perhaps I just need someone adaptable.

Or it's simply being fussy...

今夜月の見える丘に (cello & piano version)

2008-10-01T16:17:00.003+08:00

Konya tsuki no mieru oka ni, for those who don't know how to pronounce it.

I have a friend, whom whenever we talk over the phone, and when she hears a song that she loves on the radio, would say to me that the song is making her melt.

Well, I have a piece of music that makes me melt too.

And that is its title.

It is actually from the J-drama, Beautiful Life - if anyone can actually remember. A song by B'z. The song itself is okay, but I much prefer this cello & piano version.

I love the piano, and I love the violin/viola/cello. So a combination of a piano and cello is auto-win for me.

I've actually forgotten entirely about it until recently when I chatted with someone. That sparked of the search for it, and yup, I finally found it again.

The soft tinkle of the piano keys and the wailing of the cello strings....

Sigh.......

*Melts into a puddle of goo*

haaaaar??? whaaaaaa?

2008-09-29T12:31:00.003+08:00

So here I am, sitting before my computer at 12.27pm minding my own business when I suddenly heard a flutter of wings.

Turning to my right, I immediately caught sight of a bird swooping by my window, before doing a turn and flying straight into my room!

Except.

It crashed into my window. Quite hard. And then fell down below.

..........

I am in a state of complete bewilderment right now. So much so I had to blog this.

The Melancholy of Me

2008-09-25T14:34:00.003+08:00

You kinda know that you are mellowing out when you wake up and the first music that plays in your head is Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 - repeatedly.

Mellowing out? Or Melancholy?

The Melancholy of Me.

The 15th day of the 9th month, 25 years later.

2008-09-17T00:12:00.004+08:00

When I was 2
I had vague memories of the wonderful charsiew rice bought from the coffee shop downstairs...

When I was 3
I had vague memories of crying myself to sleep, because my mother was at the hospital, with my little brother...

When I was 6
I had my first memories of seeing a rainbow. It was upon the playground at the kindergarten I was at. I was fascinated. No one else was...

When I was 7
I thought every December school holiday lasted a full year. I asked my mom. She said it did...

When I was 8
I couldn't believe my brother would be starting kindergarten already...

When I was 10
I was crazily in love with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mighty Max and Captain Planet...

When I was 11
I made my first best friend, which we grew apart from as the years went on...

When I was 12
I made my second best friend, and we are still close friends to this day...

When I was 15
I began to have a greater sense of being. And more importantly, I began to know this group of friends, to which whom are still my closest buddies to this day...

When I was 16
I had my first crush...

When I was 18
I told my friend that I would probably live till 60, and that I am about a third of my way through life...

When I was 21
I hated school...

When I was 22
I knew this group of friends, that made school more interesting again...

When I was 23
I realise the old house which I used to stay in was no longer around...

Now, that I am 25
I feel as if life has only just begun...

I know I may appear aloof and nonchalant sometimes, but those are times I don't really know how to express myself adequately,

so anyway,

thanks to everyone who celebrated the day with me,
and thanks to everyone who remembered.

Cheers.

A Clearer Picture

2008-09-02T00:47:00.003+08:00

All along I have been wandering around aimlessly, without any goals.
And I lamented that fact.

But these days of transition between school to working life has given me much free time to think.

Perhaps it is boredom that causes such thoughts to manifest itself, but I am slowly getting a clear picture of what I want to achieve, of what I want to do.

I am starting to have goals, or rather, starting to set goals and targets for myself. Of course, these are just starting to manifest, and I have to say that these thoughts are still rather vague at the moment. But then, its this feeling of knowing it that I have never felt before. I am starting to try things that I've never really gotten fully into before.

Then there are the tangible goals, and the intangible ones.
And of course, some goals could only be embarked upon once I start to earn my keep.

At least I have a sense of myself slowly changing - hopefully maturing.
A clearer picture of myself and what I want.

Hopefully it'll stay with me.
I don't want to always remain that little wet behind the ears kid who could only look on the backs of others who've gotten ahead.

Then of course, there's saying it and doing it...

WALL-E

2008-08-30T00:58:00.002+08:00

The simple notion of holding hands...
Saving the day doesn't seem that very important anymore.

So endearing and touching..
Almost shed a tear.
Hah.

Saying more just won't do any justice to the film.

The Sun and the Moon

2008-08-29T00:36:00.003+08:00

For many years, the Sun and the Moon have been together. When the Sun was not around, the Moon would come out and helped provide light. And when the Moon went away, the Sun would come back out. They shared the same sky and both the Sun and the Moon were so ever close.

They both knew each other very well. The Sun knew all the little idiosyncrasies of the Moon, and the Moon knew the Sun’s as well. Perhaps that is why, one day, the Sun and the Moon had had about enough with each other, and started to quarrel and pointed out the imperfections of the other.

Said the Sun to the Moon, “You are never there on certain nights, and the sky will be so dark with only the stars lighting the way for travelers. Where, then, could you have gone to, when the lands below so needed your light!”

Said the Moon to the Sun, “You are always shining so brightly, perhaps too brightly at times. The thirsty travelers struggling and trudging through the dessert, and yet you still beat on them mercilessly with your rays!”

So the Sun accused the Moon of never shining brightly enough, and the Moon proclaimed that the Sun was always too harsh.

Finally, acknowledging that they both could never be at the same position in the sky at the same time, the Sun and the Moon decided to go their own ways.

The Moon then tried to befriend the Stars.

“You are always in the sky together with me,” The Moon told the Stars. “unlike the Sun, which is never around when I am out. We could shine together so brightly.”

Then the Stars and the Moon became friends and they both shone their light. However, whenever the Moon shone so ever slightly brighter, the Stars in the sky could not be seen.

“You are too bright,” Said the Stars in unison. “You illuminate the sky so greatly that the light we give of seem diminutive compared to you.”

Seeing how the Moon would outshine them, the Stars refused the friendship of the Moon.

The Sun, on the other hand, tried to befriend the Clouds.

“You are always in the sky together with me,” The Sun told the Clouds. “unlike the Moon, which is never around when I am out. Stay with me while I shine in the sky.”

Then the Clouds and the Sun became friends. However, sometimes the Clouds would all gather beneath the Sun, and they would completely block out the Sun’s light from ever reaching the grounds.

“There are simply too many of you,” the Sun said to the Clouds. “my rays are completely obstructed and none from below could receive my light.”

Seeing how the Clouds could sometimes turn the bright day sky so terrifying and dark, the Sun decided that friendship could not be found with them.

So the Moon and the Sun were alone once again.

It was then, one day, close to night, that they both coincidentally came across a shepherd tending to his herd upon the Great Plains.

Sensing the slight animosity between the Sun and the Moon, the shepherd questioned their problem.

The Sun and the Moon then started to tell the shepherd of the other’s imperfections, and of how the other was always not around.

Shaking his head so ever slightly, the shepherd looked up to the Sun, and then to the Moon. Slowly but surely, he began to speak.

“Why, we would all surely be unable to do without the both of your lights; so different, yet so alike.” The shepherd began. "How would the plants live without the Sun’s beams, be it so harsh, or the corals spawn without the full Moon, even though so dim? How then, would the farmer tend to his fields without the Sun’s benevolence, or the animals hunt without the Moon’s guidance? You say one is always away and you cannot be together, but aren’t the both of you now sharing the same part of the sky, albeit a brief moment?”

The Sun and the Moon thought about the shepherd’s words in silent for a little while. The sky began to grow a darker tint of orange, and the shepherd’s herd returned, pleased with their day’s foraging.

“Would it not be queer then,” continued the shepherd. “should the Sun one day befriended the sea birds, or the Moon befriended the land mammals? What would that come to achieve then? Certainly not as much as you both together.”

There was a long pause between the three of them. The imperfections the Sun and the Moon saw in each other were so great before. But yet now, its importance seemed diminished. So unimportant before the words of the shepherd – so unimportant compared to what they both had been doing together all along.

Turning towards his herd, the shepherd slowly walked away. However, before he did, he looked up to the Sun and the Moon once again.

“There will certainly be imperfections, but what truly matters then, is that the both of you are perfect for each other. And isn’t that so?”

Perfect for each other…

Soon the sky grew dark, and the night came over the land. The shepherd returned to his humble hut, while his herd settled down for the night. The Sun disappeared over the horizon, and the Moon now hung alone in the sky.

Though they didn’t say a word to each other that day, the shepherd’s words struck a chord in both of them.

Then when the next day came, the Moon went away, and the Sun came back out again, like it always did…

The Sun and the Moon never did quarrel again and they now both reside steadfastly over the lands. The Moon would still disappear on certain nights, and the Sun beat down ever as harshly. But these were no longer important. They both knew that they complemented each other, and that the cycle of life could continue because they were together.

And whenever the Moon and the Sun shared the same part of the sky during the brief periods of dusk and dawn, the sky always looked so much more beautiful and perfect. The subtle play of the colours on the lands and in the sky, simply because the both of them are there.

And perhaps that best epitomizes the reason for the Sun and the Moon, of being perfect for each other.

The Angel and the Shooting Star

2008-08-21T02:40:00.003+08:00

It was upon that dull evening sky when the angel first saw the shooting star streaking across towards the beach.

Enthralled by its brilliant light and how it had lit up the entire sky, the angel decided she had to see for herself how a shooting star looks like.

How pretty a shooting star must be! How brightly its light must shine! With that thought in mind, she made her way towards the beach.

On the sandy shores of the beach, she first came across a little yellow starfish that was resting itself among the warm sand.

“Excused me,” enquired the angel. “Would you perchance be the shooting star that was flying above just moments ago?”

“Why, no.” came the reply. “I am just a simple yellow starfish, resting amongst the sand here whilst admiring the purple hue of the darkening sky. Won’t you join me?”

Disappointed, the angel shook her head and asked, “Would you happen to know where that shooting star flew to?”

Gesturing with all five of its little arms, the yellow starfish pointed off a little into the distance. With a tiny nod and a polite smile, the angel started off on her way. How eager she was to see this shooting star. How beautiful it would be.

Soon the angel saw a little light coming off from a pier by the beach.

It must be the light of that shooting star, thought the angel, and she made her way excitedly towards it.

Upon the pier, she came across an old man holding up a brightly lit lamp.

“Excused me,” started the angel. “Would what you are carrying perchance be the shooting star that was flying above just moments ago?”

“Goodness no.” said the old man. “This is simply a little lamp I had lit to attract the squids to the pier. How nice it would be to have some squid for supper tonight. Would you like to join me? They taste marvelous.”

Upset, the angel declined and asked, “Would you happen to know where that shooting star flew to?”

Holding up a little finger, the old man gestured off a little into the distance. With a slight bow and a quiet thank you, the angel started off on her way again.

However, the angel walked on and on. She walked till the sky grew dark and the moon came out to shine its light onto the waters beneath. She walked till she was breathless and her feet were tired. She walked till the animals were all fast asleep and the night grew still and quiet.

She walked till she came across a little black rock half embed in the sands, giving off a curious whiff of smoke.

Dejected, the angel looked down at the little black rock and spoke to herself, “You cannot be that shooting star, can you? The shooting star was so brilliant and bright, and you are but so dull and dark.”

Sighing and feeling so very tired from her long walk, the angel sat down beside the rock. Losing all hopes of finding her star, she began looking off into the distant sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of another shooting star.

This time, the angel thought to herself, were she to see another shooting star, she would be sure to find it.

Definitely.

Then with that little thought in mind, the angel began to wait,

and she waited,

and waited still...

It's a cycle

2008-07-23T01:06:00.002+08:00

It's an endless vicious cycle.
All these petty little tricks.
Nonchalant is thy veil, but what is beneath is in an upheaval.
Woe to him who have once again fallen.
All the past promises made and broken.
It is an inconceivable contradiction, an oxymoron.
It is an inconvenient turn of events, an unexpected twist.
Nevertheless, it is still simply trickery.
Perhaps a wrongly placed perspective.
But pass the crucible, it boils to just cowardice.

And here I rant in incomprehensible pompous fashion.
But the thoughts are twisted and contorted, lost in a labyrinth of uncertainty.
But solace is found in these few words.
Perhaps it is time to remember to forget.
And then forget to ever remember again.......

Hmmm

2008-07-08T02:05:00.003+08:00

Okay okay, so I've been back from Japan since a long time ago and I haven't updated this blog...But that's because I have been busy.
Busy and lazy.
But more on lazy.

Anyway, I took this little quiz because I was bored(http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx), which I think is surprisingly true...

Your view on yourself:
You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you meet that person.

The seriousness of your love:
You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

Your views on education
Education is less important than the real world out there, away from the classroom. Deep inside you want to start working, earning money and living on your own.

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:
You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

I hate to believe in the accuracies of such quizzes/personality tests. But I think it as a coincidence that it kind of ring true to what I think I am.
At least, for the most part of it.

End of Exams, Away to Japan

2008-05-10T01:34:00.002+08:00

Exams finally ended a few days back. And I can't even remember which day it was! Hmm...30th Apr..okay, that's a Wednesday.

The last paper was similar to the earlier one - as in that it is just as bad. So that's it for school life for me. The only thing left will be my upcoming commencement. And then "hello, working world".

Caught Ironman after my final paper, and I found it very enjoyable. Robert Downey Jr. brought that needed charisma to Tony Stark. The pace of the movie was just nice, not like some of the other comic superhero first movies, like Spiderman 1 and Xmen 1 where I got bored at some parts. Looking forward to Ironman 2, like how I am looking forward to Batman: The Dark Knight. And I especially enjoyed the bonus ending scene for Ironman. But I think the significance of it will be lost to those who don't know much of the Marvel Universe. And Samuel L. Jackson is Nick Fury. Somehow, I think after Snakes on a Plane, Samuel L. Jackson has became an icon à la Chuck Norris - although not quite yet.

Anyway, I am off to Japan tomorrow. I think I will be missing Singapore a little when I am away. I bet all my friends would have found a job by the time I return.

Finally, my blog will be 2 years old come 16th May. How time flies.

Can't Start

2008-05-01T16:02:00.004+08:00

Had my first paper yesterday. Was very bad. Had to do 4 questions. The first 2 were rather easy. But that was a decoy. The next 2 questions killed. Plus I realised I had a bit of mental block yesterday - had trouble fishing out the right equations to use.

One more paper to go. 5 days to study. Have been trying to start for the last hour. Poured myself a cup of coke, wanting to drink it and study at the same time, but the drink is almost finished now. For the last hour I had been staring at my computer screen, staring out the window and realising that the weather today is super good, listening to children playing downstairs and listening to that mysterious lady shouting at God-knows-who again.

Then I thought of Socrates, Descartes and Aristotle and then reaffirmed that most philosophers are simply insecure about themselves and their lives.

And my mind shifted to the mysteries of the Universe. Of blackholes, multiverse and dark matter. And I remained intrigued and if I were clever and better at maths and not living in Singapore, I might have became a cosmologist.

Finally, my thoughts settled on Greek mythology and it is as scandalous as ever, but ever so interesting.

Yes. My mind wandered and gallop around everywhere today but the most pressing matter at hand - ML 4112 : Imaging Techniques.

And now I am blogging and listening to my music.

And I've just finished my Coke.

Chivalry

2008-04-27T00:51:00.002+08:00

Chivalry is dead, as they say. Or rather, as the girls say. But I agree. Why? Because the greatest evidence is that when a guy is chivalrous to a lady, it will be assumed by his friends that he has taken an interest in her. He can't be gentlemanly and generous just because he wants to be - there must be a reason for his gallant act!

Chivalry in guys is a myth. We are chivalrous for a reason. The only time chivalry manifest itself is when a guy is courting a girl.

And this apparently, sums up how most people feel about chivalry in Singaporean guys.

If you cannot detect it, I am being sarcastic.

Anyway, just came home from Mayday's concert.

You can see nothing from this photo. Because camera phones aren't meant to zoom in.

It was tiring. Was standing for the most part of the 3 hour concert. But it was pretty fun.

Have to wake up early tomorrow to cut hair. Or rather, I hope I can wake up early to cut hair tomorrow.

First paper on Wednesday. So much left to understand...I hate exams, and I'm glad this will be the last time. But yet, I don't really want school to end.

I am a bundle of contradictions..

Package tour or free and easy?

2008-04-25T13:08:00.002+08:00

Ask anyone which is better and they will probably say something along the lines of:
Package it hectic, but you don't have to do any planning yourself.
Free and easy is flexible, but it might be quite troublesome to plan.

But what everyone neglect to mention, is that in the midst of planning a free and easy tour yourself, you actually get to learn much more of the country, then if you were going on a package tour.

Forbidden Kingdom

2008-04-23T01:31:00.004+08:00

Caught Forbidden Kingdom on Monday. I didn't know the Jade Emperor or Sun Wu Kong can speak in English. It would seem normal, that in ancient China, for one Chinese to meet another, that the first language they would speak to each other in is English. Though they did throw in a few sentences of Chinese every now and then, damage has been done.

This reminded me of the time when I caught Around the World in 80 days - by Jackie Chan again. The characters in the movie arrived in a small village in China, the hometown of the character played by Jackie Chan. And lo and behold! They found a note that Jackie had written to his mother...and it was in English.

There is always this discussion about how globalisation is eroding away our cultural roots. I say, just watch one of Jackie Chan's movies. Just watch Forbidden Kingdom for the answer.

The entire dialogue of the movie was super cheesy. Especially when Jackie Chan was teaching that American boy kungfu.

The only draw of the movie, was probably to see Jackie and Jet Li fight. If only the main dialogue was in Chinese, then perhaps I would give this movie some chance.

On another topic, I was having ice-cream along the river at Clarke quay earlier just now, in the evening. The weather was cool, the lights were pretty. And beside me was a mother and her 2 children. And there was a little whimsical chatter going on about them. The combination of the scenery, the weather and the soft chatter... It is at times like this, that I feel that all is well with the world.

Free Coffee

2008-04-19T21:26:00.002+08:00

I got this in my NUS mail yesterday. It's from my lecturer.

An excerpt of the email reads:
"At the same time, please come to see me, if you have any questions. As a bonus, I will offer coffee (or alternative drink) for the first three students who will come to see me first. So, please try your best to win a cup of coffee from me!"

And another from him today, when he uploaded the tutorial answers:
"As I emailed you earlier, please come to see me if you have any questions/queries. DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING A GOOD COFFEE FROM ME."

Haha! So it's now a contest. I find this so funny and amusing.

Closer to the end

2008-04-18T20:04:00.003+08:00

Finally handed up my thesis. The last FYP presentation was last Tuesday. Everything has ended. At last, a little weight is off my shoulders.

My FYP had its fair share of problems.

1) Electrochemical experiment setup sort of spoilt (delayed for several weeks)
2) No crucibles, had to order (took about 6 weeks to arrive)
3) No sodium tetraborate decahydrate, also had to order (1 week delay)
4) RBS broke down (for 3 weeks)
5) XPS down (and it was down until I've decided not to use it anymore)
6) Physics workshop cutting machine spoilt (2 weeks delay)

I've spent more time waiting then actually doing my experiments. Also, most of the time my "mentor" didn't really care much, and my prof. wasn't really around either. But in retrospect, I've learnt alot on my own. And the overall experience was not too bad at all.

What's left now, is a small project and my finals. Last lesson was on Wednesday. And it wasn't until I returned home, that I realise it will probably be the last school lesson I'll ever be taking in my life...

Bye bye my school life...I will miss you.

"More birds, more luck"

2008-04-11T19:35:00.002+08:00

Finally found the time to update my blog.

Actually, no...no time is just an excuse. Was just kind of lazy.

One says that if birds flew into your home, it'll bring good luck. So what happens if one decides to build a nest right in a little corner of your room?

Came home from school one day to find my dad complaining that a bird flew in and wanted to make a nest...

The remnants of the bird's nest...

Well, I live on the highest floor, and right outside my window is actually a little shelter. So birds love to land on the air con unit, or on the ledges by the wall. Or they would come and take up shelter during rain...

Actually, I don't mind. Nice to have them for company. I wouldnt mind them starting a family in a nest right in my room either. I'll be like that disney adapation of snow white, with birds for friends. Hah.

But then they would defecate. Their nests would attract insects. And they are mynahs - not exactly robins or the prettier kinds of birds.

Insects love me, now birds love me. I am just waiting for a puppy to stroll through my house gates now...

Monday Blues

2008-03-24T01:14:00.003+08:00

It's strange how I am feeling the Monday blues.
It's supposed to be a 1 day week this semester, but I've been going to school so much more.
Really treasuring my weekends.
But even then, I'm bogged down by thesis writing.

Went to Mervyn's ROM at Sembawang Park 2 weekends ago.
It was a really nice place to have his solemnization, except that it was terribly windy, and there were too many campers and anglers around.

The only "group photo" we took. Not everyone was in it, heck even the bride and groom wasn't in it (That photo is still pending I suppose). But oh well, the photo with the most of us in it - except for the guy on the far right. Wahaha

Caught Vantage Point and Horton over this weekend.
Both very short movies.

Vantage Point started out very promising.
The anarchy which resulted from the assassination of the president and the ensuring terrorist bombing, following the excitement from the secret service agents trying to apprehend the perpetrators...all these from the first 20 minutes of the movie...
I was kept at the edge of my seat.
But then they had to decide to tell the story from the perspectives of more than 5 different people, and so the movie-goer had to sit through the same bombings and assassination scenes for a total of about 6 times (if I remember correctly).

Granted, the perspective from each character revealed the twists and turns of the movie, and I feel, was actually overall quite interesting to watch. However, knowing that the events in the movie never really take off, and that I was stuck in a sort of a limbo really kind of took its toll. Moreover, because the movie switches to the different stories of each character, I felt the the characters couldn't really grow onto me. Each had a side story - the secret service agent with the traumatised past, the guy who helped the terrorists because his brother was kidnapped, the video cam guy with his family problems - all these just didn't seem very important in the end, and most of these stories didn't seem to serve any purpose at all.
Besides, it had quite a lame ending.

Horton, on the other hand, I enjoyed immensely.
Was very funny and really interesting.
Although all my friends did said that it was more of a movie for children.
Well, I guess I am a little child at heart then.

Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2008-03-19T22:33:00.002+08:00

Just watched it.
Very Tim burton-y
Was okay at the beginning, until the killings started.
Then all I can say is,
The blood must be free.

Now I am a little disturbed.
Hah.

Crack!

2008-03-18T15:08:00.003+08:00

So something broke into two.
You'd ask what happened.
The normal man in the streets will probably tell you that it broke because it could not support the load it was carrying.
And if you would ask him for further analysis of the failure,
the normal man will probably still say that it broke because it could not support the load it was carrying - go get a tougher material.

But if you ask a material scientist.
He'd ask,
"Did that material exhibit elastic or elastic-plastic behaviour?"
"Depending on its behaviour, the material probably failed because G>Gc, K>Kc or J>Jc"
"What was the mode of failure? KI, KII or KIII?"
And if you would ask him for a further analysis of the failure, the material scientist will ask,
"Have you an idea of the geometry or the configuration of the flaw present in the material?"
And he will proceed to carry out a plethora of calculations, considering the rp, rys, SSY or CTOD, etc etc of the material."
And at the end of the day, he will probably say he will have to bring that failed material back to the lab for some mechanical testing and further analysis.

Good grief.

But that's just us.
To us material scientists, life's too simple.
We love making simple things complicated, and already complicated ideas more complex.
A crack is not just a crack.
It will be simply blasphemous to think of a crack as just a crack.
Noooo. It is so much more.
We'd see a crack, and proceed to write up hundreds of journals on it, come up with thousands of complex equations, and then hope to change the way the world sees a crack.

And then funnily, someone by the name of Daniel will come along, and tell us to "Think simple".

Stop interjecting Japanese words into your conversations, onegaishimasu.

2008-03-14T00:53:00.005+08:00

Met up with some friends today to shop for clothes.
Anyway, tried out the Waraku Pasta restaurant at Marina square.

Firstly, I'd like to say that I think the pasta at Shokudou @ city link tastes much better. Although Waraku has a wider selection.
Secondly, and I was quite irritated by this, all the waiters were mixing Japanese into their sentences.

It was the usual irrashaimase when we came in. But then, when we told them we were looking for a table for 3, that guy said to another waiter, table for 3, ONEGAISHIMASU.
And this went on.
"Table no. 12, onegaishimasu"
"Your order? Onegaishimasu"
"(English sentence), onegaishimasu"
They even attached the -san suffix when the waiters were addressing each other.
Sigh...all these pseudo Japanese wannabe people...
And they weren't even playing Japanese music in the restaurant.
Why can't they speak fully in English? What is their purpose for adding these Japanese words in?
If you want to speak Japanese, at least try to do it as a whole sentence. Just interjecting Japanese words anyhow-ly, as and when you like...well, I think its just an insult to both the English and the Japanese language.

Damn Scammer

2008-03-12T01:01:00.002+08:00

Yes.
I almost got scammed.

So here's what happened.
I was in lab one fine day, using the SEM when I received a "withheld" number on my mobile.
Over the other line was a lady who claimed some shit about her company running a market survey or whatever nonsense, and my handphone number was apparently chosen randomly to attend an event.

Usually when I receive such calls asking me to attend some random event, my first reaction would be to ignore that person, and forget entirely about going anywhere. Which I did.
So she went on talking, and I just kept hmm-ing in reply.
"So you will be there?"
"Hm."
"Okay. See you there."
"Hm."

So Sunday came about, which was supposedly the day of the event.
I was writing my thesis when I received a call from, I think, from the same person.
She asked if I was at the event, I said no.
She said that I actually won a prize in their lucky draw.
Now, usually I can't be bothered about this because if a prize is involved like that, there is usually some gimmick or a catch behind it.
Hence, I ignored.
Oh, forgot to mention she was speaking in Mandarin. Had that PRC tone too.
My Mandarin basically sucked, so it made ignoring her easier.
She mumbled, I hm'ed again.

Then came this morning, I was on my way to lab. (If you hadn't noticed, my life has been taken over already by my FYP)
On my way to lab, I recieved the same call, from I think, the same person again.
So she said I had won a prize money of...what? 10K? Didn't catch it, I was still in a state of ignoring her.

And then she started talking, alot.
Trying to convince me about the prize money, about their company, about how they got my number.
I wanted to just hang up, but on the other hand, a part of me just wanted to listen on.
"What if this is true?" I wondered.
So I started listening.
And then she said she needed my particulars.

AND WAH LAU.
HER ENGLISH CANNOT MAKE IT
SHE NEEDED MY NAME
TOLD ME TO SPELL OVER THE PHONE
MY NAME = IVAN
SHE KEPT SAYING, I-B-A-N? I-P-A-N? I-V-A-M?
4 LETTERS.
WHAT HAPPENED IF I HAD A LONGER NAME LIKE ALEXANDER? OR CHRISTOPHER?
VOMIT BLOOD.

So I said, in exasperation, why not I email my particulars to you.
To which she replied that I can't, because we should not submit our information so openly over the internet like that, that her company prefers that I tell her over the phone, yadda, yadda, yadda...
At this time, something smelt fishy (Which could be my lab - see post below).

Anyway, she asked for my bank account number, which I had with me at that time. But then, I was being suspicious, so I told her I don't have it.
So she ask for me to find it out, and she'll get back to me.
She also gave me her office phone, as well as her company's website (www.hdfhk.com)...
Told me to check it out, still trying to convince me that she was the real deal, that the names of the winners will be on the morning chinese papers next Monday...

Now, while I was on my way home, she called again, asking me for my bank account number.
I thought, wow, she sure is efficient, which rang another alarm bell.
Because I've worked before, and I know, (and this is because working people all love to procrastinate and generally have no efficiency) usually when they say they will get back to you, they will do so the next day, or even later.
Anyway, I told her I was still outside. I wanted to look at the website first.

So I came home, and checked the website, seems okay at first glance.
But then, I realised some pages were missing or couldn't load.
And when I tried to register...
It actually accepted my login and password as:
Login name : qwert
Password: 123456
ZZzzz.......
I wanted to laugh. But I needed further evidence.

Then I realised the Internet is my best friend.
So I googled hdfhk.
And sure enough, I got this:
http://richmond.ca/safety/police/news/releases/1207-phonescam.htm

Case closed.

Like my friend said, no such thing as a free lunch.

She'll call me up again tomorrow, I guess, to get my bank account number.
I am contemplating if I should play around.

This smells like love

2008-03-07T22:42:00.002+08:00

On the contrary.

Every visit to my lab is an assault on my olfactory senses.

At first it was the smell of stale machine oil. It was bad.
Then it went away, and I was happy.
But that happiness is short lived. 2 days later I opened the door to my lab.
And what greeted me was a smell worse than stale machine oil.
Now my lab smells of dead fish.
Really. What the hell.

It smells so wrong.

Anyway, my friend's ROM is next Saturday. He suggested for us to wear light colours. So now I have no clothes to wear. Been spending a lot this semester actually. Got these urges nowadays to go buy clothes. Don't know why...

Anyway, on the topic of love,
I've always wonder why some people who get together can actually start planning for their future so quickly. One week since they get together, and they would be talking about marriage, opening a joint account, etc...

I mean, you just got together...why can people be so certain they are the one for each other?

Granted, I am a little pessimistic about love, however, that doesn't mean I don't believe in it. But I just don't understand how can people talk about the future so quickly and surely...

Anyway, they did this research on love. They got this group of people who are already attached and showed them a photo of an attractive person.

What the researchers found out was:
When this group of people start to have sexually inclined thoughts, more often they would be thinking about that attractive person in the picture.
However, when they were told to think about romantic thoughts, this group of people tend to think more about their other half, than that person in the picture.

Anyway, the gist is - it is the thought of romance, rather than lust, that keeps 2 people together.

So I've got a theory. Maybe that is the reason why many people are inclined to stray if they are together with someone for too long. For one, it's probably because the relationship becomes dull and is taken for granted. The other contributing factor, I guess, is that as 2 people stay together for too long, they lose the spark and the romance in their relationship, and this causes them to become unfaithful and uncommitted to their other half.

Its always important to keep that spark and romance in your relationship. At least, that is how I feel.

So go do something romantic for your other half ya. Surprise him or her every now and then. Don't take some things for granted. It isn't always easy for two people to come together, so treasure it well.

Okay. I'm turning into Dr. Phil.

Silence

2008-02-18T21:19:00.003+08:00

Haven't been updating much recently.
Don't really know what to say.
Nothing much has been happening.
Realised alot of things are often said and not done.
Realised alot of time is spent wasted by prolonging decisions.
Not much time left.
More courage is needed.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2008-02-06T14:40:00.000+08:00

Yah. Like the title says it, happy Chinese New Year!
Although there really isn't anything to be happy about.
I don't really like chinese new year.

Anyway, had my "10th reunion dinner" with my pri/sec school friends last weekend.
Was great, really want to thank Zhangkai for all the effort he put in. Really impressed.
And of course thanks to everyone else who had helped.
Had steamboat, and as usual, too much food (too much balls).
Won myself a bottle of absolut vodka for our lucky draw. Not too bad.
It was a nice gathering.

Have any one heard of the movie Good Will Hunting?
1997 show I think.
Anyway, a brief synopsis goes as such:
This delinquent, Will (Matt Damon) is actually a super genius with Maths. But he is rebellious, so steps in his therapist, Sean (Robin Williams), who attempts to help him.
....
okay...I don't do synopsis well.
Well, I started watching this show last night at around 1am. Wanted to watch about half of it then go to bed because I had school early this morning. But I ended up watching the whole 2 hour movie in one sitting.
I think the movie will be boring to many, because there are long stretches of conversation, but I found myself enjoying it quite abit. Some of the conversation between Will and Sean really makes quite a bit of sense.
Good Will Hunting. Try to watch it if you have a chance~ it's nice. Hah.

Some ramblings

2008-01-19T22:04:00.000+08:00

Rambling number 1:

This my favourite view from my room. Actually, its the only view I have from my room. (and no, I am no peeping tom). I only like this view at night though, because all the lights are on. It gives me a warm kind of feeling, seeing all those lights, and knowing that each of those lights is someone living there. A little story for each of those lights.

Rambling number 2:
I love traveling. And I kind of dislike shopping too much when I am travelling. What I love to do, is to find a quiet little coffee shop somewhere along the street, blend in with the people, and just observe everyone and the city. To see how everyone goes about their lives, to learn something, to know that this world is much bigger than the little protective shell I am living in. To me, travelling is about the experience I guess.

Rambling number 3:
Recently heard from somewhere that Virgos are not really good at expressing themselves. I find that quite true to myself. Especially when I blog sometimes. Words just evade me, and I can't find the right way to explain how I feel about somethings. So well, I shaldn't try to hard. It is not reading about me, that will make one know me better right? That is why I hate it when primary/secondary/JC teachers would ask me to write an essay about myself.

Okay. That's the end of my random ramblings. School has started. 2 modules only.
So begins the final chapter to the 1st part of my life's trilogy.

If I Had A Superpower

2007-12-31T03:56:00.000+08:00

If I had a superpower, I won't want to leap buildings in a single bound, or stop bullets with my eye. I'd like to possess the power of perpective and empathy.

Do you know why when you listen to the problems of others, you usually would feel down too, or suddenly at a lost? Because you're feeling the weight of the burden - you've managed to help carry a little of the load off your friend.

Anyway, Happy New Year everyone. Cheers.
Cheers, but don't get too drunk.

The Post Christmas/Pre New Year Post

2007-12-26T02:55:00.000+08:00

Post Christmas

Christmas has come and gone again. I love Christmas, for those that didn't know...

Anyway, had been quite busy the last 3 days. Went to Zhangkai's house for steamboat on the 22nd. There really wasn't any special occassion, more like an ordinary dinner and to have some discussion on our upcoming "reunion dinner". But I simply love the soup base for the steamboat that night. Very delicious. After dinner, we pop in a DVD of a super duper old show and started to watch it. Tao Tai Lang was what it was called I think. For those who don't know, its about the Peach boy from Japanese folklore. And because its such an old show, it had some really cheesy graphics and scenes. How much the movies have changed over the years.

On the 23rd, I went over to Felix's house for a Christmas party with my Material Science friends. Had turky, log cake, strudle, sausages and all that. Dinner was not bad, at least it is more fitting for the christmas occassion. And the turkey was simply fabulous. I have said I disliked turkey before, because it was so dry and hard. But the turkey we had was on an entirely different level. It tasted even better than chicken.

And we did some gift exchange after dinner. I recieved a towel.

Finally, on the 24th, I went over to Chris' house for a gathering with my closest friends. Reached at around 2.30pm and started to help prepare the food. Skewer the chicken and mushrooms, dice the garlic, shell the prawns, etc. Here I have to say that I don't like leeks and bell peppers. Anyway, there was only me and Kok Leng helping Chris out, and actually, I think too many people in the kitchen actually slows things down. Especially if the kitchen is small, it becomes very messy when too many people are involved with the preparation.

Anyway, I love Chris' dogs - Chino (sp?) and Dexter.

A picture of Chino as he tried to climb onto me. Unfortunately he is camera shy, and doesn't want to look into my camera. Haha. I kinda like Chino. For while Dexter is full of energy and always playing, Chino is more the calm and obedient one. Kinda like me? Wahaha!

There, the food for our BBQ.

The view from Chris' "roof top garden" was beautiful as well

After the sun set, the moon that came up was really big and round. Too bad my camera didn't really capture the beauty of it.

All in all, it was a fun BBQ. We chatted after eating, had a little countdown celeberation. Then we chatted somemore, and played abit of mahjong. Reached home at 6 in the morning.

Some of us that night. Not all. No group photo again. Haha. Its not our habit of doing that.

Pre New Year

The new year will be here in a couple of days. Hmm. How should I summarise this whole year?

Firstly, it has gone by very quickly. They say as you grow older, time will seem to fly by faster. There is some truth in that...
The year started out quite well, and it has been relatively kind towards me for the most part of it. But it would seem that the year is actually ending on a rather down side for me. There is just this certain thing I can't come to terms with. And exam results are coming out tomorrow. I won't do well. But strangely, I don't find myself caring? Heck, I don't even know what time it is coming out yet...

Okay, shall not turn this post too angsty.

My resolution for this year was not to procrastinate and to put on more weight. I'd say I have been on the ball for the most part. And have tried to procrastinate lesser, so in a way, well....I think I achieved that first resolution. About putting on weight...Hmmm....I think I need some help here. I wonder if there is reverse-liposuction? Haha.

As for my resolution this year, well. It's a secret.

Anyway, let's hope things are good for this new year.

To all that know me, and especially to my close friends,
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Let it be a very happy year for all of you (I really mean it).
And thanks for having me as a friend.

His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass

2007-12-07T00:08:00.000+08:00

Before I talk about the movie, I want to say that exams are finally over!
GOOD RIDDANCE.

No rest for the weary though, FYP begins on Monday.

My 6th post on this blog back in the May of 2006 was titled His Dark Materials. I have waited for almost a year and a half, and I finally managed to catch the first part of the trilogy, The Golden Compass today.

There will be spoilers in here, for those who have not seen the movie, as well as spoilers for those who have not read the book.

Firstly, how can one squeeze so much material into a 2 hours movie? And as mentioned in the post of 29th May 2006, I had expected the movie would not be able to explain and portray well the relationship between a person and his/her daemon. The books went to great lengths to do this, how a human and a daemon can never travel too far apart, how it is a taboo for a human to touch another's daemon, and the companionship, trust and love a human and daemon share. The movie tried, however, but it was lacking. I don't blame the movie though, it is hard to put into picture the subtleties that can be explained by words. Who says a picture paints a thousand words right? And this relationship plays much important roles in the 2nd and 3rd books, like the betrayal of Lyra and the contact of Will and Pantalaimon.

Secondly, alot of material from the book is missing and a good example of this is the discussion of Lyra's betrayal. The book was very dark. But the movie was so family orientated. There was a scene where Mrs Coulter promised a child she would send the letters that he wrote to his parents, and thereafter she got the trust of the boy, she burnt the letters away. Then there was Billy Costa in the hut. He was hugging a dead fish in the book, treating it as his daemon. The book managed to portray the lost of his spirit, the emptiness of his soul after he lost his daemon. In the movie, he just looked like a zombie.

Thirdly, as mentioned, a 2 hours movie was probably too short. Serafina Pekkala and Lee Scoresby were not well characterised. Lyra's discovery of Mrs Coulter's involvement with the "Magisterium" and Gobblers seemed too contrived and too quick. One moment she was enthralled by Coulter, and next she says she hates her. Many things happened too quickly and without much reason. After Lyra deceived (Iofur) Ragnar into fighting Iorek, Lyra suddenly cries and starts to regret her decision. We didn't get to see the bond she had forged with Iorek in the movie. We are just told suddenly of this bond she has with him. Characters will also suddenly seem to know things. Even the "plot twist" they created in the movie seemed so forced and unbelievable. In the book, Lyra actually know about her parents very early on, and was told by the gyptians. The main "plot twist" actually comes at the end of the book.

Which brings me to my fourth point. They removed the last 3 chapters of the book. The movie wasn't dark enough. It was too "kids-friendly". Whatever Lyra did, she succeeded. There were no points of happiness, nor were there any of saddness. Perhaps if the last 3 chapters were thrown in. And Roger would die, and Lord Asriel did not seem that good of a person as he opened the gate to another world, then it might have made the story more "mature". It might give the story a bit more heart. "So Lyra and her daemon turned away from the world they were born in, and looked toward the sun, and walked into the sky." I think this ending would look so much nicer than the generic riding off into the sunset ending in the movie.

I have more to say, but I think I gone on long enough on my opinions of the film. I love the book, and hence, even after all the bad things I had mentioned, I find it hard to say that this movie is bad. I would love to say that it is quite enjoyable, maybe. Just a bit. I guess.

Book 2 is the shortest, so maybe they'll be able to go more into depth with the characters and the world. But then book 3 is the longest, and a thousand and one things are going on altogether at once. So, well, I'll will wait and see. That is, if they are really going to make the rest of the series.

Oh well. Read the books.

Okay. I shall shut up now.

I don't speak Greek.

2007-12-04T20:53:00.000+08:00

Today's Theory and Modeling of Materials' Properties exam reminded me of a line I've seen on Angel's pouch.

"I'm dead. I'm like so dead can."

It also justified what I said about studying too much being of no use.

There goes my CAP.

I don't care about my last paper on Thursday anymore.

Hmpfz.

Holy Heart Failure!

2007-12-04T00:20:00.000+08:00

Batman and Batman Returns were both good movies. However, they were too dark for my liking.

Than we had Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, the 2 atrocities that should be forgotten.

And we have Batman Begins, and by far, my favourite Batman film yet. Can't wait for its sequel and Batman's showdown with the Joker.

Anyway, did you know Batman can be very corny too?

Used to catch every episode of this TV series when I was young. Whenever Batman or Robin punched someone, they would have the "THWACK!" or "WHACK!" words on, and I think they were the first TV series that did that.

And whenever the show would end on a cliffhanger, it would say something like,

"Stay tune for the next episode, same place, same time, same channel!!!" something like that.
Haha! Very funny.

Anyway, Materials Characterisation exams was very very bad.
"Think easy." he said.
"Don't worry." he said.

"THWACK!"

The Elephant in the Jumbo Jet

2007-11-29T02:07:00.000+08:00

I like how that sounds. The Elephant in the Jumbo Jet.

If I ever am going to write a children book, that will be the title.
And his best friend will be a snake. So it could be a snake on a plane.

And they would both go on adventures together, flying around in a jumbo jet - The elephant and the snake.
And they would meet a cowboy who loves to bake.
And have ham with his cat by the lake.
Or perhaps green eggs which Dr Seuss would make.

If you haven't guess, this post will be about random stuff. Because I am so bored with studying.

So anyway, in IVLE, the aims of ML4223 is about "advance materials...for lasers and optoelectronics applications...devices for energy conversion...materials for high temperature and high-pressure applications, nanotubes, nanowires and their applications..."

Apparently, much of the syllabus have changed, and they should rename ML4223 Current Topics On ADVANCED MATERIALS to ML4223 Current Topics On MAGNETIC MATERIALS in IVLE.
Then again, in retrospect, it is lucky he decides to just focus on magnetic materials, or we will be in a whole other world of confusion.

And I would love to call this brain food. Because it looks like it.

But no. Its just tuna + mayo + lime/lemon + pepper + shredded chicken. It fills my stomach, and helps me concentrate.
And its 2 packets of coffee + 1 packet of milo + alot of ice in that thermo-cup. It helps me stay awake. And I would like to call that brain drink, because caffeine really helps memory work.

And lastly, a rainbow. This photo doesn't do it any justice at all. It was beautiful, especially with the wonderful evening sun behind the picture.

It's back to study again.
Sigh.

And I am still haven't found my answers yet...
Oh well...

Japanese Ad

2007-11-27T04:33:00.000+08:00

Okay, I know I just posted an entry a while ago.

But I had to do another one, 'cause I stumbled upon this funny thing from Nicholas' blog. Lifted up my spirits a little. Hah.

Sorry, Nicholas for leeching so much stuff of your blog. =)

Dragon sensei reminds me so much of one particular prof of ours. HMmmm....

What's My Major

2007-11-27T04:01:00.000+08:00

You scored as Biology/Chemistry/Geology

You should strongly consider majoring (or minoring) in Biology, Chemistry, Geology, or related majors (e.g., Biochemistry, Environmental Science, Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife, Genetics, Marine Biology, Zoology).

It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories (below). You may score high in a category you didnt think you would--it is possible that a great major for you is something you once dismissed as not for you. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it.

Consider adding a minor or double majoring to make yourself standout and to combine your interests. Please post your results in your myspace/blog/journal.

Biology/Chemistry/Geology

94%

Visual&PerformingArts

81%

Psychology/Sociology

75%

History/Anthropology/LiberalArts

69%

French/Spanish/OtherLanguage

69%

HR/BusinessManagement

63%

English/Journalism/Comm

63%

Education/Counseling

63%

Nursing/AthleticTraining/Health

56%

Physics/Engineering/Computer

56%

Accounting/Finance/Marketing

56%

Religion/Theology

50%

PoliticalScience/Philosophy

31%

Mathematics/Statistics

Saw this on Nicholas blog, and decided to try it out.
I realise Physics/Engineering/Computing is placed at number 10.

What the hell?!?

Okay, I actually tried this quiz 3 times, (Because doing the same quiz 3 times is much more fun than studying) and each time my results varied quite abit.

Well, the first time I did it, Physics/Engineering/Computing was placed at number 2 I think? But that's beside the point I am trying to make here. Out of all the times I did this quiz, I realised Psychology/Sociology have always been in the top 3 spots.

Hmmm...suddenly, studying phychology or sociology seems kind of cool to me. And I've never really consider that until I took this quiz...

Seeing its my final year anyway, why should I care anyway? But it's nice to wonder. Then maybe I won't be struggling so much with my studies now.

Study week has been torturous. Can't really get anything in. Can't concentrate. Losing alot of motivation. Thinking too much.

Thinking too much...

"I should think less." is what I've been saying alot recently. But thinking makes me what I am? I know I tend to read abit too much beyond a person's action, or into some things that happen...

But there's so many things I don't understand. And life is so gray and contradictory that answers just don't come easily. And even if the answers come, it is often so complicated.

Sigh. I wondering what's happening lately.

Maybe it is just the stupid upcoming exams. I'm having a premonition that I probably fall much lower than my goal for this sem.

But really, I don't think I care very much already.

Shit. I think I'm having a case of mid-life crisis or something.

At age 24. Bah.

My Project

2007-10-30T00:17:00.000+08:00

Okay.
Very long never post.
But I can't help myself now, because there's something I want to tell everyone.

Its about a project I did during my year 2, 2nd semester.

During then, I took a GEK module entitled GEK 1002: Introduction to Japanese Studies, with Nicholas and Wilson.

And as with all GEK modules, we had to do a term paper. Basically, we are to produce an academic paper dealing with some aspect of Japanese history, language, or contemporary society.

So me, Nicholas and Wilson decide, "Oh! Let's do something on Japanese food!"

Now, we had to hand in a first draft. This first draft had to contain an abstract of our project, and we had to produce some references that we were researching from as well.

What better place to find references on a GEK module than the NUS Central Library right?

But to our horror, there weren't many texts on Japanese food at the Central Library. And what's worse, when we re-read out project guidelines, we somehow missed out this line:

"Based on past experience there are certain topics you might want to avoid: castles, tourism, festivals, ninja, or Japanese food."

OMG!

And there wasn't much time to change it either, because the deadline was approaching (Never do last minute work!!) So we had to no choice but to stick to our topic on Japanese food. Afterall, we had this mentality to S/U this module anyway.

So since there wasn't much texts at the Central Library, we decided to head down to the National Library. Somehow, we managed to find enough references. And I remembered the 3 of us decide to head down to sakae for its buffer after that. Hah.

Anyway, when we got the draft back, we got a C+. "Okay", we said in unison. "We shall S/U this module."

And we did.

But somehow, along the course of writing the actual paper, we put alot of thought into it. And well, more importantly, during that time, I had something to prove to myself...

Anyways, so after doing surveys, spending afternoons at the central library and uni hall discussing and turning it into a paper somehow about "The Globalisation and its effects on the fusion and localisation of Japanese food in the Singapore context", we handed it up to our tutor.

Oh, and I remember I had hell when I was trying to compile everything and squeezing all our infomation in, because it was practically bursting the word limit.

When the paper was marked, Nicholas and I went over to collect it. And I clearly recall both of us sort of screaming when we saw we got an A- for our paper. Of course we invited a few stares.

Hah. A-. "A very interesting read" or something along that line, was the comment of our tutor.

Okay, maybe A- is nothing much to some. But to me, it meant that I had proven something to myself. And for that, I felt damn proud and good about this project, even though I already S/U'ed it.

Well, that is until recently, when NUS revised their policy, and we were able to see our grades and retract our S/U.

Okay, the grade for this module, overall, isn't exactly in the A range, but seeing that I could still retract my S/U and my CAP would go up, I could only say,

And what this whole lengthy post is about:

That this is my proudest project in NUS.

HA!

Autumn

2007-09-26T17:30:00.000+08:00

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times...
You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings
Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

So true.
I love autumn.
Unfortunately no change in colours, climate or moods here in tiny Singapore.

It has been freaking sunny these few days.
So hot!
What's wrong!
Was walking under the sun beside Uni Hall yesterday and I looked across to the SRC field.
Death Valley immediately came to mind.

Not that I mind a tan...but not when it burns....

And its Wednesday! So many things not done!
AHhh!!

*pushes panic button*

Beyond the Sea

2007-09-23T01:41:00.000+08:00

Loving this song.

First heard it in a game. Thought nothing much about it initially. Then I re-watched Finding Nemo yesterday, and realised that this was the song they played during the credits.

That's when I fell in love with it.

It's an old song. This is a version done by Kevin Spacey.

Oh, and about Finding Nemo...I think it's my favourite Pixar film.

Dory absolutely rocks.

15th day of September

2007-09-20T23:27:00.000+08:00

24 years already...

Met up with friends last Friday. Went to watch Ratatouille at Plaza Singapura, then proceeded to have dinner at fish and co.

Its dangerous to go to fish and co. on your birthday...

Anyway, Ratatouille was nice. As expected from Pixar. Felt that the middle was rather boring though. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable. I think by now everyone has heard enough good reviews about it, so I'm not going to say more.

Presents I got that day. It's supposed to be a set of items that I have to wear and take a photo of myself, and let everyone see.

But no. I am not going to do that.

Anyway, the items are:
T-shirt
Pillow
Handphone pouch
Tea cup
Cushion
pyjamas (o.O)

To my friends who celebrated with me that day. Sorry if I looked too bored or tired. It's just the way I look.
I'd need plastic surgery to change my look into a naturally happy and excited one.
Thanks anyway, appreciated it all.

Then went over to Zk's house on Saturday.
Had mooncakes.
Tried champange and baileys mooncake for the first time.
A little too early for mooncake though.
Oh well.
Moon wasn't even out - it was just a tiny crescent.

Anyway, mid-term break is here again.
Need to catch up.
Prof Marumaru's notes are giving me a big headache.
Prof Bear has to ponder upon my final year project.
Prof ZYW's module is too mathematical for a science student.

ARGH.

FYP/The Lost Room

2007-09-09T02:52:00.000+08:00

Had a very busy week.
Busy with 4 tutorials and my first FYP presentation.

Anyway, I realise I am very bad at explaining things.
Seems like I keep going in roundabouts, repeating myself. Just can't find the right words to explain something clearly.

Oh well, at least its over. 2 more presentations to go...

I've recently been watching this little 3 part mini-series called The Lost Room
Has a very interesting story line.
It's about this guy who manages to get a hold of a key.
When used on any door, the key will transport the man into a motel room, and from within the room, he could go any place he wanted to.
This motel room, however, is cut off from reality.
It seems that this room use to exist. However, after some "events" that had happened years before, it is now cut off from this universe. Something like that.
Anyway, his daughter had entered the room, and she disappeared within it.
So this guy is on this quest to bring back his daughter.
And in order to do so, he has to find back the objects that were originally within the room.

Hahh. Love these kinds of stories. Something different. Something that would leave you imagining and guessing.

Finally, I'd like to say,
I like the sky after it rains.
Looks so clear....
Hmmmmm.

School Life

2007-08-28T01:20:00.000+08:00

3 years ago, back in year 1, semester 1.
One early morning I was taking bus 95 to school. As usual, the bus was caught in the slight jam that happens before the turning into NUS.
Anyway, there I was, my mind practically switched off, when I heard someone mentioned material science.
It wasn't difficult to deduce that that someone was majoring in material science. Hah. Same as me, I thought. My senior.
Then there she was, complaining to her friend, about how tough the modules were. And I don't know if I remembered wrongly, but I thought she mentioned Xue Jun Min too. So she said the modules were difficult, she didn't really understand, etc etc...

I was staying at Prince George then. And days before, we sort of have this meet the professors event or something at Prince George. It was then that I had a little conversation with this professor which went like this:

He: "So what u majoring in?"
Me: "Erm..Material Science."
He: "Oh. Thats a difficult course."
Me: "Huh. Okay."

So there. Difficult major. But oh well, I sort of just went into everything head first, eyes blindfolded, hands tied behind my back.

Then in the blink of an eye. Here I am. My final, 4th year.

Can't believe I survived everything.

Modules this sem seems really tough. I hate it when things become abstract. And there seems to be so much maths. Sometimes I wish I was taking some arts modules, at least I think I would have lesser difficulty understanding things. It takes a great effort to understand the things I am reading, and to make sense out of all the equations and maths. I even thought I was abit dyslexic once.

Then I would wish that NUS actually needed lecturers to go through some English oral examination which they have to pass before they're being allowed to teach. Then I won't also have to try to understand their English in midst of all the other complex and abstract things which I am trying to take in as well.

But oh well. After all's being said, this is afterall, my last year in NUS. So really have to appreciate this little last chapter of school life. It's been tough. But I am glad though. Glad of the freedom school life brings.

And more importantly. I am not suffering alone. Hah. At least I have company - friends who would look at journals like it was written in hieroglyphics. Or look at lecturers like they were speaking Greek.

Sore Throat

2007-08-12T19:56:00.000+08:00

School's reopening and I've got a sore throat.

This could only mean one thing.

I am allegic to school.

End of Work/BBQ

2007-08-12T02:21:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I've updated. Work has ended about 2 weeks ago. School is starting. Holidays are over in the blink of an eye. Sigh. Time doesn't stop. 4 core modules this semester. And I'd be busy with FYP. Hope the FYP experience will be a good one. Not like my useless IA project.

Anyway, I'm glad work is over already. It was one very monotonous, boring and tedious one month. And my work environment isn't exactly very good.

Presenting to you, my work place. My desk. Or rather, just my chair. My desk was my lap. Or the floor.

The room was terribly crammed. And to think it was made even crammer with new boxes I had to packed before I left. There was only one single path from my chair to the door. And I couldn't even make a full 180° turn. I remembered when I first knew I had to work in the room, I thought to myself that fortunately, I wasn't claustrophobic. The room was also quite dusty.

So, that's how I spent my entire day at work. Sitting on that chair. Oh, and if you were wondering, the chair is actually broken. I feel that I was being paid to stone, stare into space and sleep more than to work. Or perhaps I was too efficient in sorting the mails. I definitely spent more time dazing and sleeping than actually sorting mails.

So what have I learnt from this work experience?

Firstly, I've learnt to squeeze 2kg amount of stuff into a bag meant to hold 1kg of items. Secondly, I think I've really built up on my patience. I could sit on that chair and stone for half the day. Thirdly, I've learnt to actually fall asleep while sitting in that tiny corner of the room - I've become quite a contortionist. Lastly, NEVER EVER EVER ask the bank to hold mails for you. Don't be lazy! If it's yours, you jolly well keep the mails yourself, and not make some poor soul have to sort, file and pack mails in a tiny dusty room.

I said I enjoy this job better than my IA in my previous post. Come to think of it, maybe I was too quick to judge. Hah. This job is quite terrible too.

Anyway, had BBQ with my pri/secondary friends. We didn't take any group photos (Why didn't we??! WhY?!) And this is about the best "group photo" I can find. Its the photo which has the most of "us" in it.

Cups with our names on it. Haha.

We had our BBQ somewhere very near my house (5 mins walk). Started at around 7, and BBQ'ed all the way till 12+. Talked alot about the past - primary school, secondary school and JC days. Reminiscing makes one feel old. Reminiscing has this bittersweet taste to it. Sweet because such memories are so dear. It reminds you of your past innocence and reminds you how much you've grown. Bitter, because it does just that. You come to the realisation that such times are long gone. So far from reach now...makes one wish that he should have treasured the days of the past more.

Okay, tomorrow is Sunday.
The very last day of this 3 months long vacation.
Time to go back to school.

But I want more holday, damn it!!!!!!!!
I don't want to go back to school!!!!!!!!

Life's Coincidences

2007-07-24T00:04:00.000+08:00

I had this tutor back when I was in secondary 3 and 4 who taught me E and A maths.

By keying in 1 + 1 = into our calculators, we used to compete with each other to see who could press the = sign the most number of times within a minute.

Then I forgot how he found out, but he would also tease me about this girl that my friends teased me about during my sec school days. He would then remove the sleeve from my eraser and write the name of that girl on my eraser. So childish.

Then there was once when he was studying, giving tuition and holding another part time job. He would be super tired and keep dozing off as he gave me tuition. Then he said that he would teach with half his eyes closed. So he could sleep and teach at the same time.

Tuition with him wasn't that boring, because he did all sort of silly things. Fun times. And he wasn't a bad tutor at all. At least I improved on my maths, which was abysmal pre-secondary 3.

So he stopped teaching after I finished my A-levels. And I would at times wonder where he was. Or how was he.

But life is strange. It brings you through its ups and downs. Overturns and backflips. And sometimes it brings you one whole circle back to where you originally were.

Found out recently that that tutor has signed on as a regular with the SCDF. And it so happened that he was in the same platoon with my brother. He even fetched my bro home once. But he didn't immediately recalled who my bro was - or rather could not be sure off - apparently because we had shifted house. It wasn't until he saw my mum at my bro's (as well as his) passing out parade that he could comfirmed it was really us.

Let's see. About 9 years already? Hah. My brother can't even recognise him.

It's really a very nice feeling to see someone whom you've lost contact for such a long time. Very nice to know how they are doing now, what they're up to, are they doing fine, etc.

Wondering now about some of the other friends I've lost contact over the years.
Hmmmmm......

Anyway, I have to stop taking photos of the sky. It's an addiction.

Fork, Spoon and Chopsticks

2007-07-17T21:48:00.000+08:00

From the time I have been staying at Prince George Residences in NUS to working in Raffles now, I have noticed something. It's that Westerners, upon mastering the use of chopsticks, tend to use chopsticks to eat everything.

They could be having a plate of fried rice. Or a plate of chicken rice. And they'd be using chopsticks.

I can't really understand this, as firstly, we Chinese use the spoon and fork for our plate of fried rice. Unless if it was served in a bowl. But that's another thing. Secondly, how do you grab your grains of rice properly with your chopsticks?

Anyway, I was having lunch today when I noticed 2 Westerners next to my table dining on zha cai fan using chopsticks. They seemed to be doing fine at first, then halfway through, they gave up, and went to grab a fork and spoon from the stall. Haha. And throughout his meal, one of them kept going back to using his chopstick to eat his er..pork ribs or something. But because it had bones in it, he had to revert back to his fork. Wahaha~~

But kudos to them though. At least they were using their chopsticks in the orthodox way. Unlike me. (I cross the sticks).

Then one of their wallet fell from their back pocket and they didn't notice. So this honest Singaporean came along and told him about it. Then I heard one of them say,
"In Singapore, nobody will steal your wallet. Amazing."

I almost LOL'ed.

Oh, had steamboat at Kok's house with a few friends on Sunday.

The soup was rather salty though. Too many cubes of chicken stock I guess. Went through 3 cans of ice lemon tea.

Wheeee~~

Die Hard 4.0

2007-07-14T04:44:00.000+08:00

Just came back from supper. Stomach feeling rather weird.
So thought I'd rest awhile first before going to bed.
Since there's nothing much to do at this ungodly hour, think maybe I'll update my blog a little.

Met up with Jennifer for lunch today.
Brought me to eat beef noodles. Hah, I now have a new place to go for lunch.
Its a nice feeling to meet up with old friends very now and then.

Then because Kok managed to get his hands on a car tonight, we decided to catch Die Hard 4.0. With 5 other friends (Zr, Fab, Nix, Wil and Jeff). After the show, we went to Kok's house for durian. Played a few games of bridge.
I've actually played bridge a couple of times already, but I always seem to forget how to play...need to play a few rounds before I remember everything again.
Didn't play for long though, Wil and Jeff needed to go home because they had to get up early the next day.
Then apart from both of them and Nix, the rest of us headed for supper.

Had supper at some place along the Thompson area. Don't know what the place was called. They had quite a wide selection of food to choose from. But the food we ordered didn't taste very good. They also had this drink...Cappuccino with coke.
Weird combination.
Goodness.
Don't ever try it.
Tasted so weird.
That also explains why my tummy is feeling weird now.

Okay, the main thing I want to comment in this post, is about Die Hard 4.0.
I've only watched Die Hard with a Vengence, and found it nice.
Hence, I actually went into this movie with very high expectations, and I wasn't disappointed at all.
Bruce Willis as John McClane is as badass as ever.
Took down a helicopter, went one on one with a F-35. And bashed up Maggie Q.
Enjoyed the movie immensely.
I bet he can take on Megatron single-handedly.

"So you have any plans?"
"Yeah. Find Lucy. Kill everybody else."

Haha.

Cravings Satisfied

2007-07-10T00:06:00.000+08:00

Congrates to ZR on his commencement. He said the photos we took that night was bad.
Blame it on the 8pm commencement. Haha.

Anyway, had been having tiny cravings for crab and durains lately.
And I had both those craving satisfied at ZK's birthday.
Bought durian cake from Emicakes for him. Quite yummy.
Then had chilli crab for dinner too.

Thanks ZK for the treat~

Then today, I came back home to a house that smelt of durians.
And sure enough, I am eating them now.
Hoho!!!

Finally, I would like to say, why do I always hear people at work say things like
"Don't need to OT lah. The work can never finish one."
I mean, if it can be finished, won't that mean you will be out of a job then?
Weird.

Go forth. And rock this world off its socks.

2007-07-07T00:54:00.000+08:00

Many of my friends graduating...
Going to be quite a lonely 4th year. Will miss all of them.
Attended the material science commencement on Thursday, and attended Zhenrong's one on Friday.

Having the commencement at 8pm is really quite stupid. How is anyone going to celebrate after that? Go pub or clubbing? In their graduation gowns? Quite dark to take outdoor photos too.
Lucky the Material Science commencement was at 10am. Took lots of photos. Managed to went out to eat and catch a movie with everyone also.

Anyway, congratulations to everyone. So many years of study, all culminating in that Single.Piece.of.Paper.

I am kind of tired of saying cliche things like
"Good luck for your future endeavors." or
"All the best for everything."
Instead,
GO FORTH AND ROCK THIS WORLD PEOPLE!!!! YEAH!!!!!

heh.

Kind of dreading my upcoming commencement in a year's time. Afraid to start that new chapter in life...
Afraid to take the first step into the cruel world....
But I guess time waits for no one yah?
Can't be studying my entire life.
Can't stay in this tiny little comfort zone forever.
Things that are inevitable, we should face it with everything we've got.

By the way,
Happy Birthday Zhangkai~~

Stop calling me BOY!

2007-07-05T00:38:00.000+08:00

Forgot to mention in my previous post.
I always thought it was, "Transformers, robots in disguise."
Didn't realise it was actually, "Transformers, more than meets the eye."

Anyway...I was complaining to my friend previously that I think I am still a boy...as in...like a young, innocent, ignorant kid. Don't feel like I am really matured yet.....
Then recently, alot of people are calling me boy!
What the hell?!
At work, my neighbour...

"Morning boy."
"Boy, come."
"Don't teach my boy bad things ah."
"Boy, come help me do this."

I look very boy meh?
I VERY BOY MEH?

SIGH...

Work, transformers and food

2007-07-02T21:48:00.000+08:00

Started work already...

Stucked in a tiny room (very very very tiny room) filing mails the entire day.

Quite boring actually. But at least I enjoy this job better than my IA.

You don't get paper cuts when you file mail. But you get mail cuts. And file cuts. Was filing a mail into a file today when I was sliced at the flesh beneath my fingernails by a file.

Twice.

At the same spot. My poor index finger.

Ouch.

It's an irritating kind of pain.

Typing hurts.

Anyway, first time working in the central business district.

Its really interesting in the morning when you squeeze on the train with everyone. Raffles MRT can be very packed. Then you see everyone brisk walking towards their office. Everyone looks very listless, dull and zombie-like.

Its like we all became robots.

On the topic of MRT, how do you know when to give up a sit to someone who needs it more? Sometimes, a pregnant woman may not actually be pregnant, just fat. And some of the old people actually look very fit and healthy still. If I was old and still healthy, and if a youngster were to offer his seat to me, I'd think I'll feel rather insulted. Then you have the old ladies, who go and dye their hair black, or red, or hazelnut brown, or something, then you can't really tell how old they actually are. And if they are aunties, I don't really like to offer seats to them, because they are so kiasu the moment they get on the train, ramming through everyone to get to an unoccupied seat...

Or am I thinking too much? Hmm

Lunch is also very packed. No seats everywhere, have to share tables with total strangers.

But its interesting sometimes, listening on to their conversations.

I eat alone, but I guess that is not such a bad thing. Can find places easily and can walk around the shopping centers after my meal. Lots of freedom.

Caught transformers last Saturday with a few of my friends. it was OKAY.

But it WAS NOT TOO GREAT.

Let me explain why.

Firstly, I understand the need of injecting some humor into movies. It makes it enjoyable. But some of the jokes in the show were so lame. I felt it actually took away some of the seriousness of the film. It dumbed down the epic-ness of the movie.

Secondly, story wasn't the focus of the movie. The whole movie was mainly action. Granted, this is an action blockbuster, but still, it would be a lot more enjoyable it had a better story script.

But that aside, the movie was still enjoyable to a certain degree. Some of the CGI was really cool. Loved especially how Starscream transformed in and out of the fighter jet while taking on the army fighter jets.

Ate alot of good and expensive food recently. Luckly I am already working.

Ate this at Sakae a while back. Forgot what its called. Sabuza soba or something. Anyway, to Nicholas and Christopher...You see that quill egg on that..."plastercine"? How do I go about eating that? Do I pour the yolk over the soba? I did that, but it doesn't seem right. There's ice under the soba, and the yolk becomes too diluted. Moreover, once you dip the noodles into the sauce, the yolk coating is washed off.
So how?

Do I just drink it straight?

Shared this fondue at Haagen Das with my friends on the day we caught Transformers. Its an ice cream fondue. Nothing special. But it sure looks nice. As most desserts tend to be with their nice presentation.

My 2 other friends had this. Chocolate journey I think. Now that I think of it, its probably called chocolate journey because you have to first start with that hot belgium chocolate drink (or the right most ice cream), and once you are done with it, you move on to the next flavour ice cream and so on. A journey through the different flavours of chocolate ice cream.

This is the rib eye steak with MUSHROOM sauce that I ate at New York New York. This is the before picture.

Rib eye steak with MUSHROOM sauce (After).

I cleared everything! The steak was done just the way I like. Medium rare, with abit of blood oozoing out as I slice into the tender meat. The MUSHROOM sauce was, well, what can I say. Its MUSHROOM! So it was superb. The wedges were very good too. What surprised me was that I actually finished the salad. Some of my friends would know I don't really like veggies. Especially the raw ones. But the salad was surprisingly tasty. Proof in the picture that I cleared my plate. For $19.90, it was well worth every penny. Or cent.

Very yummy.

Oh. And I realised I have a habit of leaving my cutlery at this 4 or 5 O'clock position everytime I finish my meal. I think it has something to do with this vague memory of hearing something when I was young, that by placing the cutlery in this manner, it is an indication that you are done with your meal.

Solitaire

2007-06-24T05:13:00.001+08:00

Nothing much, just want to say I finally completed solitaire in less than 60 seconds. Hiak hiak hiak.

Okay. I am too bored...

Falala~

2007-06-22T00:48:00.001+08:00

I can't think of any title for this post. So whatever.

Okay, got my computer fixed up, and installed most of the needed programs. Running okay so far, but seems to have some problems with the internet connection at times. Still have to clear out my old harddisk. 77GB of junk.

But I am procrastinating again. My new year's resolutions are going down the drain.

That includes gaining weight. Having lunches at really weird timings. Definitely not healthy. But I think starting work will put my diet back on track. And my sleeping time. Must resolve to try to start sleeping as early as I can now, or I am going to be the walking dead when work begins.

And about work, I realised that I have to wear long sleeves shirt! Omigosh! 'Coz I only have like 2 long sleeves shirts! Have to go shopping again! =(

Anyway, there's something I wanted to comment about a long time already. And its about the Anglerfish.

This picture that you see here - as well as all the anglerfishes that you usually see on TV which looks like this - are actually female.

So where are the males?

Well, here they are, and they are much much tinier than the females. And according to wikipedia, they have no digestive system, and thus are unable to feed independently. So what do they do?

With their olfactory senses, the male would locate the female. When he does so, he bites onto her, excretes an enzyme which fuses the male and the female together down to the blood vessel level. In this way, it ensuers that a mate is always available for the female. Of course, as with how the praying mantis would eat its mate, or how a type of baby spiders would feast on their mum, these all ensures the survival and evolution of that particular species.

But really, a male whose purpose is nothing other than to mate? It fuses with the female, becomes a parasitic lump and its life just ends there? Makes you wonder what happened during the course of evolution. Maybe if we guys, decide now to just kick back, be couch potatoes, and let out girlfriends/wives do all the work. Somewhere down the line of evolution, we might turn out just like that. *Gasp*

I therefore, hereby coin this new phase.

"You are as useless as a male anglerfish!"

Girls, please use it on your useless boyfriends.

Changes

2007-06-18T01:05:00.000+08:00

Okay, I asked for changes, and suddenly there are so many.

Firstly, I found myself a part time job at Amex, starting on the 27th of June till the 31st of July. Mixed feelings about this actually. On one hand, I wished I could just laze around more at home, but on the other, I am actually quite looking forward to it. The new environment, new people who would hopefully be new friends and a new experience.

Secondly, my computer graphics card broke down recently. Actually, it was already spoling, and I had wanted to change my computer for quite awhile. But didn't do so as money was a problem, and I hate having to open up the CPU, fix things in and install windows and all the other essential programs. May my CPU never break down ever again. Please.

Thirdly, I finally got some form of comfirmation that my FYP will be starting mid July. And it's a damn balloting. Why this also need to ballot!? What if I get a project I have totally no interest in (e.g. semiconductors)?!? Sigh. Only 16 people in my faculty left. Going to be a super boring 4th year.

Forthly, we recently changed the SCV digital set-top box. Still getting use to flipping the channels. No HD yet though =(.

Lastly, I realised my mum just changed my bed sheets recently. Hah.

Been feeling quite weird lately. Don't know why. Maybe I've gone too long without doing anything. Hope changes continue to happen.
But make it good changes only.

Black on white

2007-06-13T20:49:00.000+08:00

I am not simply contented to just listen; I want to be able to play it out.
The sense of satisfaction when the fingers hit the right key.
Each beat is matched as the left synchronizes with the right and the treble harmonizes with the bass.

Satisfaction, contentment.
One hardly possesses such wonderment at the fingertips.
There lasts a fleeting sense of procurement.
And then it fades out beautifully and softly...

This world is huge and wonderful,
And I want it all.
But for now,
its rhapsody is within grasp.
And that, is met with much gratification.

UK Fun Fair

2007-06-11T00:28:00.001+08:00

Went with Kok Leng earlier in the evening to the UK fun fair across the road from my flat. We had recieved a leaflet earlier in our post, and there were coupons for a free goodie bag, ice cream, balloons, and most importantly, 4 tokens which indicated that it could be exchanged for free rides. Or at least, that's how we interpreted it.

Okay, so maybe things don't come so cheap, we thought. Maybe its not one free ride per token. The ferris wheel needed 3 tokens, so maybe we had to exchange 3 free tokens for it. But no. In fact, here's how it works. For example, the ferris wheel needed 3 token (1 token costs $2.50) However, we could only use a free token to exchange for one token. That is, we still needed to pay another $5 for the ride on the wheel. Seeing that ALL the rides needed at least 2 tokens, that means we weren't going to be getting onto any rides for free.

What the...In the end, we didn't try any of the rides.

It was also a sort of "special occassion" today at the fun fair, as some MP was invited down as well. So there's the free gooodie bags and ice cream. The goodie bag had a handbook on prevention of Aides mosquitoes *roll eyes*. They gave us those cap thingies to cover up the er..thingies that u use to hang your bamboo from (My vocabulary be damned!). There's also this display at the fun fair on how to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes. *Roll eyes again*

And to conclude the night, there was a lucky draw. And it's needless to say. Me and Kok walked home empty handed.

Wonder what's the view like from the top of the wheel? It was spinning quite fast though. Going to be difficult to take a picture up there anyway...Handphone camera shuttle speed too slow! Or it's spinning too fast.
The difference between the night and day. Love the colours of the rides.

The front of my house faces the fair, so we are directly exposed to the noise. Then the vibration and the bass of the music reverberates of the flat behind my house, so we have surround-fun-fair-sound. Then you can hear the whoosh whoosh sounds of some of the rides.

Remembered the first time I went to this UK fun fair was with my mum and aunt, back when I was still very small. Remembered I couldn't sleep that night after sitting some of the rides. But its not like I abstain from all the rides. Been on a fair share of rides at Disneyland and the theme parks in Australia, and they were alot worse than these here. Its just that I am very picky about what I sit on. Hah.

Nothing has change...

2007-06-08T01:55:00.000+08:00

People come and go.
Things change.
Yet, sometimes I feel that nothing has changed for me at all.
Nothing is different with me 15 years ago.
Everything is still as it is.
I feel like everyone has gone on ahead and have left me behind.
My friend asked about the goals that I have in life some time back.
I told her that I have my goals, that I knew what I wanted.
But actually, when I really carefully think about it now,
I really do not know what I want.
Looking 10 years ahead, I can still picture myself.
Doing the same thing, being my same self.
And it scares me.

But enough with my mumblings...
Went to Pariss for buffet the other day to celeberate Xiaoting's birthday.
Not worth it. The food was quite lousy. I think its the case with all these kinds of buffets. I'd rather go to someplace abit cheaper like Sakura for their buffet.

Happy birthday, Xiaoting!

Good luck with your job hunting!Fun Fair will be open this Saturday. Look at all the rides.

Okay, its tiny compared to the rides at Disneyland, etc.

Not really excited about the rides actually.

But I'm looking forward to the change in the scenery.

Wonder how bright and colourful it'll look at night...

Carnival

2007-06-01T22:53:00.000+08:00

Carnival coming to near my house~
Anyone wants to go?
Seeing that this is just opposite my block, the coming nights are going to be bright and noisy.....

Yawn

2007-05-31T22:03:00.000+08:00

Title describes how I am feeling nowadays during the holidays.

A part of me really wants to go out and find a part time job.

But the other half of me really wants to just laze around.

However, cash is running low now, I may be left with no choice soon. Hah.

Everyday at home is the same routine, watch TV, practise abit on the piano, play games, surf the net, and try to finish up 1 litre of tears and some anime.

Anyway, just got back my exam results a few days back and I am going to be doing honours. Also, I would like to add that I now really really really dislike Liu Xiang Yang.

A bit of update on what I have been doing during my holidays so far:

Not too long after it started, Kelvin invited a few of us to have some sushi. Was actually really craving for sashimi then, and was quite glad that he took us to this little establishment located at the International building.

Actually, it was a sushi buffet. All I had was this small portion of sashimi to quell my cravings.

But the sashimi was heavenly. And so were the sushi. Actually, for $33, I expect the sushi to be better than good. Still, I wished the chef would go easy on the wasabi. Actually, I wished that he didn't have to use any wasabi at all. I love my sushi wasabi-less and soy-sauce-less. This picture below were the first 2 sushi that was prepared for us.

The shop was actually very small. And the buffet isn't like those at sakae where you have the converyor belt bringing sushi to you. Instead, we sat at this long counter area, and the chef would prepare the sushi for us based on the fishes he had.

Was very disappointed with myself that day, as I quickly became quite full. Didn't even try the puffer fish!

To Kok Leng: This is what puffer fish looks like. Not that $10 atrocious piece of thing we ate at Tiong Bahru.

In retrospect, I think what got me full was this:

Forgot what this is called, but its basically rice and sashimi and yam. This dish tasted too slimy for my liking and I was practically forcing it down. However, my friends seemed to think that it was not bad...

Anyway, it was an interesting dining experience. There were still lots of weird sounding sushi in the menu that I haven't try. Hah, maybe next time.

Also managed to catch Pirates of the Caribbean 3 with some friends I hadn't seen in a long time. Before I talk about the movie, I have to mentioned that we dined at Coffee Club, and once again, I managed to taste my beloved MUSHROOM CREPE! And I think their mud pie is abit overrated. Maybe only girls like them.

Okay.

Pirates 3 story was totally incoherent. It was too confusing for its own good, and I do not know why the heck they even want to throw in the story about Calypso at all since it didn't do anything to the plot. But then again, I don't watch Pirates for its story. I enjoy it because of the ride it takes the viewers through. And Jack Sparrow. Hence, I found myself enjoying the movie quite abit.

Finally,

A picture of the sky:

Something cute:

Actually, I think this picture looks more scary than cute. Like some nightmare...

And somewhere in Singapore:

I feel this picture looks like its taken from some other country. At least, if you try to ignore the HDB flats in the background. Taken this pic from Chomp Chomp at Serangoon Gardens. Thic picture looks very blur if you are going to enlarge it, because it was taken with digital zoom.

Happy Birthday Blog!!!

2007-05-16T18:25:00.000+08:00

Hah.

Its been one year since. How time flies...

Chalet and backlog

2007-05-07T16:58:00.000+08:00

Life has reverted almost back to normal. Have been slacking quite a bit lately.
Actually, slack is quite an understatment. Body already almost fusing with my bed, and eyes are becoming one with my TV and computer screen. Quite a few pictures in this post, as I want to clear some backlog that I have.

Anyway, had chalet a few days back. Booked Aranda at downtown east. Check out the picture of the rooms down below. Huge living room, 2 bedrooms, 2 toilets and a kitchen. Lots of sleeping places to go about.

The guys' bedroom

The girls' bedroom

The large living room

Didn't have any BBQ this time, which I found was actually better. BBQ are always a chore to prepare and clean up. Then there's always too much food that no one else wants to eat. Moreover, I never seem to get full at BBQs.

Played lots of silly games, although it was quite fun. Overall, the chalet was very enjoyable. Slept a total of..let's see...5 hours over the entire stay? So I was really shagged at the end of it.

Then Kok Leng and Jeff asked me to watched spiderman 3 with them on the day we checked out. Hah. It was like an out of body experience. Anyway, spiderman 3 was okay. I found the action scenes nice, with the camera rotating up and down, round and round. The problem with this movie was that it tried to squeeze too many materials into 140mins. You have the green goblin arc to finish, then you have to introduce sandman. Then there's spidey's alter ego as well as venom to include. So some parts of the story really felt lacking to me, and some of the problems seemed to be resolved too simply. Not to say spiderman 3 isn't nice, but I just didn't enjoy the story that much.

The Backlog

Here are basically some things that had happened, or somethings that I just need to say, and photos that I've taken but had no time to say or post.

Had 2 cheat-sheets to prepare for this semester's exams. Honestly, I really dislike preparing cheat-sheet. But I dislike memorising even more. So there, my 2 cheat-sheets, one for ML3105 and the other for GEK 2506. I thought I wrote alot for these cheat sheets. But I thought wrong. It's amazing how my friends could squeeze so much infomation onto an A4 size paper.

ML3105 cheat sheet. Does the equations and graphs scare you?

GEK2506 cheat sheet. Which was useless.

One of my favourite places to study and hang out in Uni.

A few friends' also had their birthday. But don't have any of their birthday photos! Except one..so,

Happy Birthday, Shufen~!

This photo I took one day, when I was in my room, doing, er...something. Can't remember. My windows are actually tinted blue, and when the sunlight shined through, it created these lovely patterns on my ceilings. So to those interior designers or artists, maybe this could give you some ideas or inspiration~~~

Went for a hair cut sometime before the study break. Took bus 54, and was kind of surprised to see the interior of the bus turning out to be like that. Realised it was some music mobile thingy, pubilicity by Nokia? Anyway, looks cool eh, the interior of the bus looked like a lounge or something.

So there's music playing in the bus. But the music apparently jerks alot as the bus is moving and it turned out to be very irritating. And there weren't enough seats, especially when the school students got on the bus. So, really, I wonder who thought up this concept. So many flaws.

I love the sky. And I don't like it that I can't see it from my bedroom. However, the front of my house presents a wonderful view of the sky and clouds. This picture is taken just as I was coming home from school, with the sun setting behind Junction 8. I love to think that this sunset was made just for me. Why?

Because my name was etched into the sky by the clouds. Hur Hur Hur.

Its over....

2007-04-30T23:59:00.000+08:00

Been almost 2 months since my last post.

Exams are finally over. Lots to talk about, and a few pictures to upload here. But my brother is home, and that = slow internet speeds. Plus, I am feeling quite tired and not very talkative now.

Exams had been hectic. Stayed at home since study break begun about 2 weeks ago and stared at books every single day. Think I actually felt abit burnt out at the end. There were a few nights where I simply couldn't memorise or understand the stuff I was reading. Quite frustrating. Today's final paper - or should I say yesterday, since now is past midnight - was chui. Gone. Byebye. 200 MCQs, and I had to make a guess for about half of it. How the hell was I to know that the exam was going to test SUCH details. Oh well...there goes my goal....and life hits back at me again. Dammit.

Actually feel kind of empty right now. Just came home, and when I realise I didn't need to study, I suddenly found myself lost as to what to do. But I guess my normal life should resume tomorrow. Hah.

Went out to Orchard after papers today. Ate at Fei Chui La Mian Xiao Long Bao, which I actually think is not very spectacular. At all. After that sat at coffee club express, but was too full to order my beloved MUSHROOM crepe. Ordered the Ice Tiramisu Coffee, which tasted horrible, because it was not at all cold, when it should be. And no, it wasn't hot. Room temperature coffee = fail.

Didn't want to go home after that, so me and a few friends pop over to PS to catch Sunshine. Okay, everyone said it wasn't nice, the story was confusing and that it was exaggerating. But I actually enjoyed it quite abit. Hah. So Cillian Murphy was in this. He was that psycho in Red Eye, and I found it really amusing that he's the protagonist in this film. Anyway, I think this movie is rated PG, and I wondered why the hell was that, because it is actually quite gruesome at some points.

Reprieve!!

2007-03-02T00:05:00.000+08:00

The assault of the 4 tests within 3 days are finally over!!!
Super shagged.

Watched Rocky Balboa after the test today.
Thought it was quite nice. But was probably abit too draggy at certain parts of the movie. It could also be abit more inspiring at certain points. But it had a nice build up, and the ending match was quite exciting. Actually, please remind me to watch this show again if I've become old and lost the zest in life.

First thing I did when I got home was to sleep. Knocked out for 3 whole hours.
Blame the nice weather.

Anyway, bought Toto for this year's draw. Shared among friends and we have a total of 60 different number combinations.
60 combinations out of 5864443200 permutations.
Hmmm.

Angry

2007-02-26T02:37:00.000+08:00

I am very angry.

Because blogspot is screwing up my alignment and making my post messy.

Because there are 4 mid term tests this week, and I can't remember anything that I studied.

Because I spent everyday since term break began doing lab report, tutorials, etc.

Because NUS stole 2 days of holidays from me.

Because I didn't play enough mahjong.

I demand a refund of my Chinese New Year.

Anyway, thanks to Felix for having us at his house on Thursday. Had quite a nice steamboat lunch.

Term Break Is Here!!! And Happy Chinese New Year!!

2007-02-17T22:35:00.000+08:00

Been a very very long time since I've updated my blog.

Time passes very fast, half my school sem has just about gone by. Being extremely busy with school work. Realised that I actually love studying. Not the exams and tests, but just the process of finding out new things, and just learning. Haha!

Anyway, at least term break is here at last! But NUS has to screw things up by placing term break in the week of Chinese New Year, effectively negating the 2 holidays we are supposed to have. Moreover, I have 4 term tests the week I return to school. What the hell.

And they wonder why Singaporeans are so stressed.

Have had lots of outings and meeting up with friends since my last post. Here are some of them.

At Tan Po Po, located in the basement of Liang Court. Everyone was raving about the ramen, but I thought it didn't taste that fantastic. Maybe it had something to do with the copious amount of bean sprout in my Ramen. Loved that huge plate of sashimi in the picture.

Met up with friends from ARC. Missed them lots. Ate at Changing Appetite. Food there sucks. Maybe I ordered something wrong. Anyway, I enjoyed this meet up with them, had a really good chat with everyone after dinner at starbucks.

Also had this gathering with my pri/sec sch friends. Had a wonderful steamboat and catered buffet. Won a mahjong set and a can of abalone that night. Oh, and a very very big thanks to Zhangkai for organising the dinner (Also to those who helped out one way or another). I think this was the best pri/sec school reunion dinner that I had yet.

A Material Science gathering. Had catered food. A formal gathering, this was, because it was actually organised by the school. By the way, the person in blue on the right is actually one of our prof, Dr Daniel Chua. Haha, all of us chatted alot with him that day.

Apart from this, a few of us (Angel, Felix, Kelvin, Zhiwei and Shufen) also went all the way to tampines to try out "Family International Buffet". It's concept is actually the same as Sakura. The food wasn't too bad. But it wasn't anything to write home about either. Another thing that stood out was its selection of tea. That means after eating, you could just sit back, relax, chat and drink tea. I also found out on that day, that blackcurrent tea sucks.

This was the first round of food I had that day. Looks delicious. Would also like to say, that ever since I tried the oysters aboard a small cruise back in Sydney, no other oysters back in Singapore could ever match its taste.

Finally, a few of us had a chinese new year celeberation at "xian de lai" steamboat restaurant in bugis yesterday. Still pending photos from Xiaoting. Haha. Had lots of fun, laughed lots. Also enjoyed the dinner immensely.

Lastly, not to forget, I met up with my IA friends too. Had Breeks @ Marina Square. Kind of missed them. Too bad Wengsoon and Viknesh didn't turn up.

Happy Birthday to Gigi!!~

Lots of friend's birthdays are in February.

Apart from Gigi,

Happy birthday to Fabian, Pi Kuang, Andrea and Celene!!!

Erm, did I missed anybody?

Time at now is 11.26pm. Chinese New Year fast approaching! So,

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone!

Hope everyone just get lots of Ang Pao!

Good luck, best wishes, be healthy, be happy, be wealthy and just about every other Chinese New Year good wishes I shall bestow upon you!

First Week of School

2007-01-13T13:42:00.000+08:00

School started. Kind of glad to be in school again. I am saying this now before the project deadlines and exams start coming in.

Been spending quite a bit of money recently. So let's count the ways.

Serenade Chris and friend to death on Saturday. Serenade Zhiwei and Shufen to death (once more, literally) on Tuesday again. But the cost of the KTV this time was cheaper, because it was on a weekday.

Then went out shopping for new year clothes on Thursday with Chris. Bought 2 shirts and 2 pairs of pants/jeans. Went to TCC with Chris too. I think TCC has a very nice variety of coffee. Wasn't hungry, so didn't try the food. Just ordered a

Honey Latte

The presentation is wonderful right? There's even 2 cookies for you. One thing I have to gripe here, is that the sony ericsson camera have a problem with focusing on nearby objects. Anyway, this is a honey latte. So you can see that THICK layer of honey at the bottom? In fact, it was a bit too much honey. TOO SWEET! URGH. Never order a honey latte at TCC, unless you have a very sweet tooth. Instead, perhaps try a roasted hazelnut latte, as Chris had ordered. because he stirred it and destroyed the nice layers, I didn't take any pictures of it. Anyway, I took a sip of his, and it wasn't too sweet and was actually quite aromatic.

Did more shopping after that, and got drenched by the heavy rain and the water filled potholes in orchard road. Met up with Nicholas and Kokleng at night to have dinner. Thursday was one day after Nicholas' birthday, and one day before Kokleng's birthday, so,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THEM BOTH~~!!!

At Ajitei, we ordered..er..can't remember.

Lazy to take a picture of everyone's food.

My cutlet was quite stale, and the sauce that came with it was quite salty. Not good. Nicholas' unagi tasted quite good on the other hand. Didn't try Chris' or Kok's. The asparagus chicken skewer (or whatever you called it) also tasted nice.

After dinner, we did dessert.

Red Bean Paste

Some Dessert

The red bean paste was not bad. But the dessert set in the second picture wasn't too fantastic. In fact, for it looking so different, it tasted very common. Not good. Especially when it costs about $8+. All in all, food wasn't very good at Ajitei. Its located in the basement, right next to the supermarket (cold storage?).

The last drain to my wallet came, when I broke my frameless spectacles. Was waiting for the train at City Hall on the way to school. Decided to take off my spectacles, and give it a little clean on my shirt. So I was rubbing rubbing rubbing, and than it broke.

No more frameless spectacles for me. Anyway, been thinking of getting a new spectacles. So I guess this is the sign for me to get a new one.

Went to get a new spectacles fitted on the same day (a half-frame one). Thanks to Xiaoting for choosing a very nice one. Thanks to Angel, Zhiwei and everyone who was there to give their opinions. Haha. Always have problems getting a nice spectacles because it is hard to choose something when you are as blind as a bat.

The spectacles was ready for collection the next day. Thankfully. Because it was hard to move about when I can hardly see anything.

Going to Liang court later for dinner. More money about to be spent. Fortunately Chinese New Year's approaching. Perhaps I can recoup my losses then.