Circle of Life

Now that everything has settled back to some form of normalcy, I feel that I can blog about it without having to worry about overwhelming emotions. My Grandma passed away on the 13th of this month. Well, as some of you might have known, she was not in good health anyway and I have since been mentally prepared for such a day to arrive.

The interesting thing is, no matter how I prepared myself for it, reality can really hit you hard. I guess for a person like me who have spend a good 1/3 of my life with my grandma, living with her, sleeping beside her and such bonds are hard to ignore, especially when one end of the bond had come to pass.

Life is always contradicting isn’t it, when she was ill, I really hope that she could just pass on as soon as possible to end her suffering (luckily, she wasn’t suffering a lot, but we are suffering to see her like that), yet, when she really did move on, I wasn’t happy, it feels more like a huge chunk of me is gone for good.

Well, there are always memories but I try not to think about them, cos that will make me unhappy again. I guess the KL trip was a good escape, even though I think shopping is a very stressful and tiring event ( I HATE shopping…so there)…

Anyway, Life always comes with death, which is something all of us cannot escape from. We have to face it sooner or later in life.

Thanks piggy.

I need protein

Help. I need meat! Drooling over lamb chops and nice juicy meat~

GIC is an impressive place

Yesh, GIC is an impressive place. The reception area is totally cool and the receptionist is top notch... this was what happened...

Receptionist(million dollar smile):"Sir may I Know your name please"
Me(What the hell? First time hear receptionist speaks perfect English those you hear in telephone recordings, only live): *awe struck*
Receptionist(still with million dollar smile):*waits patiently for my reply*
Me:Er.. *still awe struck*

Yeah, that's how impressive the Company is. Learned Later that she was headhunted. Which company on earth headhunts receptionist?!?

Elections confirm plus gurantee chop IS coming!

Elections lai liao lo... you can feel it in the air, you can hear it in the winds.. ok...actually no la, you can actually read about it from the Media... and in case you dunno, here are some of the points why I think the elections is coming

1) Aljunade(forgot how to spell, cos I dun live there) got upgrading program
2) ECPark got $160 million upgrade
3) Yesterday Ch8 evening news report dunno got what housing upgrades in places EXCEPT opposition party(more about this later)
4) Got lots of subtle good news coming in(dunno how true or false IMHO) eg. rising employment, rising GDP, blah blah blah, but I dunno why my stocks fall fall fall
5)Government definately need to have election soon la...if not sure got people will gossip one. GOssip about what? Not telling. Or rather cannot tell...heh heh

Anyway, back to point number 3... yesterday while watching the chinese news( yes i know... i dun really watch chinese news) they announced something something upgrade except the opposition and the news commentor actually said(In CHINESE) "With this news, people are asking if this means a sign that elections is coming"...then hor... Minister Mah Bow Tan was onscreen and he replied (in ENGLISH)"I was expecting this question...(talk talk)... and I can assure you that this upgrading is not just for this elections but EVERY elections...(talk talk)..."

WAIT A MINUTE.... what did he exactly mean by "not just for this elections but every elections?" and what is WITH that SMIRK? that HKL smirk?? Is this guy telling us that "Hey Singapore~ we do this upgrading project to win your vote and we gonna use this upgrading thingy again and again for every elections to win your vote" I mean, picture that with a hKL smirk and you feel like whacking this guy...

Awww....come on..Singaporeans are not KIDS...you DON'T dangle sweets in front of us and expect us to come to you and you have just insulted us Singaporeans by saying that we are sooo DUMB that you can use this sweets every elections and we will still vote for you... come on... don't treat us like kids....

In other countries, political elections is more about hearing what the elect is going to do to help improve the country, what policies, how to improve the economy blah blah...and here in Singapore, the politicians go "HDB upgrades!! HDB Upgrades...Huh? you voted for the opposition...no upgrades for you!"...

Dying sadly, dying softly

This turtle was found dying after a shark attacked it.... i feel like that turtle now...

Singapore: The Island of Death??

The Australian, one of Australia's newspaper publisher wrote an article condemning Singapore's decision to hang one of their fellow Australians. Actually, "condemning" is a mild word to use already, considering phrases like "To Hell with Harry Lee's Line of Asian Values". On an interesting side note, why is it MM Lee's Line of Asian Values and not Singapore's line of Asian Values?



Source:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/
0,5744,17319489%255E12272,00.html

Anyway, back to the main topic, I have no qualms nor comments on either side of the camp regarding this issue as each have their own valid points. All I'm wondering is that if Singapore insist on going things her way, I wonder how that would affect our position, both economically and socially.... then again, i'm sure it will just be another passing phase, just like the michael fay incident.

And Yes, I'm sure Singapore is going on with the execution unless something not short of a miracle happens.

I just did something bad....

This afternoon my mum came into my room with an interesting piece of card board. It is a cockroach trap. a cardboard like house with sticky "floor mats". She placed one under my bed and said it will help catch cockroach and lizards...

Lizards...gosh, my heart stopped... I had the chance to meet a cute and handsome looking lizard every night and the thot of it getting stuck on that thing struck a cord in my heart.

So... just now, I removed the pellet of chemical meant to attract them and proceed to place the card board above the floor. I mean, I can't tell my mum that i don't want the trap cos I'm feeling attached to a lizard right??

I'm so glad i'm living in Singapore

Ensure PAP remains the party of choice to be in Government: Lim Boon Heng
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : The Chairman of the People's Action Party, Mr Lim Boon Heng, has called on its members to ensure that PAP remains the party of choice to be in Government.

He said the PAP would soon be called again to win the mandate of the people, and all members must be ready to enter into the contest.

Mr Lim was speaking at the Presentation of Party Awards at Kallang Theatre on Saturday.

The next general election has to be held by June 2007.

At the award ceremony, Mr Lim also commended several staunch PAP members.

One of them was former Political Secretary for Home Affairs Ministry and MP for Hong Kah GRC, the late Harun Ghani, who had worked tirelessly to tackle drug problems in Singapore.

Mr Lim said: "Our Party has had dedicated Members of Parliament who have worked hard on the ground, keeping in touch with the concerns of the people, reflecting their views both in Parliament and outside Parliament, and solving their problems.

"Our MPs are a crucial link between the people and the Ministers. Their feedback ensures that Government correctly feels the pulse of the nation and devise the right policies."

Mr Lim also cited two other factors that have kept the PAP in government for 45 years.

He said the Party was founded by able people who have built a system of leadership succession.

And Party members have supported the MPs and worked with grassroots organisations to identify and solve issues of concern to Singaporeans. - CNA/de
===================================================

We, as Singaporeans should vote wisely. It's our Country after all.

My car condition after 1.4 years....

Every time you will see nice and flashy cars, not those convertable types but those polish unitl machiam mirror type, then you would envy them, "wah... so shiny, how I wish I can do until shiny-shiny for my car", but actually, in this cruel world, having a shiny car comes with a price, either the owner is damn rich and pays like 400-600 bucks for professional grooming, OR, he is a DIY frantic and polish until you can see his arms muscles like Rambo...

And it's tough maintaing the car in tip top condition, i'll let my car show u why...after being on the road for just 1.4 years...


My front bumper, with a stone chip, proberbly as a soveniour from the AYE-TUAS expressway


I've no idea where the scatches came from....sianz...


Never drive when you are like still awake at 5am in the morning. Got this when i introduce my bumper to a hyundai Getz right front bumper...

so... if you do see a nicely polished car that seems just fresh out from the showroom, give the driver a thumbs up for his hard work or deep pocket, or you could throw eggs at his car in envy. I know what I would do. *heh heh*

Interesting Article from Phillipines

SINGAPORE - Singapore's government urged drivers to apologize for "errors of judgment" on the road and wave to fellow motorists, in its latest behavior modification campaign rolled out Thursday.

"If you do make an error of judgment on the road, a simple apologetic wave on your part will go a long way to defuse the situation and avoid confrontation," said Ho Peng Kee, the country's senior minister of state for law.

"Singapore roads need not be stressful if we all drive with consideration, with care, with courtesy in mind," he said.

Ho said the Singapore Road Wave would be incorporated into the annual road courtesy campaign.

Around half a million leaflets with road safety messages will be distributed as part of the promotion, he said. And there's road courtesy for children too.

"A story book entitled James and the Big Red Car, which highlights the importance of child seats, will be re-launched to incorporate road courtesy messages at the back of the book," Ho said.

Singapore, a tiny, wealthy city-state, is well known for its campaigns to modify behavior. Among its efforts have been campaigns to teach Singaporeans to speak English properly, to show people how to be more romantic, and to flush public toilets.

Critics have denounced the numerous promotions of morality as Orwellian and condescending toward citizens. AP/The Manila Times
===================================================

Hahahahaha..... I love the sentence in bold. Obviously taking a swipe at us. Beware people! Our behaviour is being modified! Mwhahahaha.....

Glum.

The whole world seems to be on a roll. I'm not. Every single day of my life I felt down. people pass me by. people talked to me. But no one knew. Knew of my misery. My Pain. My Sadness. My path before me. Each step I took. I wish it was better. Better than the step after me. Alias. No. Its always the same. Same old misery. Nothing more.

I want out. OUT!




But i can't.

I can't get out.

Can't.

NUS got new ATM machine out LT27

New member to NUS, an ATM machine outside LT27, finally leh...so hand itchy went to queue to draw money from the new machine...

very long queue...sianz...nvm...still queue, then those people in front of me kept drawing $50 bucks... farnie leh... students so rich one time draw $50 bucks heart not pain meh....then my turn to draw, wah...button so nice to press, got 'NEW' feel to it... *press* *press*... shit! ATM new machine got no more 10 dollars notes, no wonder every one draw 50 dollars.... @#$%^&^ draw lor...no choice..if not no need to eat my favourite vegetarian food liaoz...then while drawing, Cuiying also came and draw...

CY: Jarvis!
Binks: Yo!
CY: Damn sianz I'm going SGH!
Binks: for wat?
CY *points to a Cole box*: collect tissues samples lor....and taking MRT with it leh..
Binks: Wah... don't leave that box unattended or your face will be in the news liaoz ha ha

She must have guarded the box very jealously cos until now, newspaper also never report buona vista got bomb attack by terrorist... *heh heh*

Am I missing something?

Taken off CNA website:

Singapore's electricity price the same despite sharp oil price hike
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia


From Answers.Com


Competition in the electricity market and measures to enhance efficiency and reliability have paid off in Singapore's electricity industry.

One positive result is that the price of electricity has remained the same as that about five years ago.

This is according to the Energy Market Authority's (EMA) latest annual report.

The price of electricity and the amount chalked up are a closely-watched expense item in Singapore households.

The EMA report says that competition in the electricity market has led the price of electricity to fall by about 10%, had oil prices stayed the same.

Even so, with oil prices up by three times, the price of electricity is still about the same as that five years ago - due to greater efficiency.

The EMA also reports that it has learnt from the lessons of last year's major power outage on 29 June which had caused disruption to both homes and industries.

The EMA chairman said the incident was a reminder of the need to maintain a robust electricity system in Singapore.

In that incident, a disruption in the gas supply from West Natuna caused a two-hour power failure.

Conoco Phillips , which operates the gas receiving facility, has implemented 80 percent of the measures it identified to prevent another such incident.

Most gas generating companies have also since ensured that they can switch to a second source of gas if the first fails.

In the last five years, Singapore has become more reliant on natural gas.

It has replaced fuel oil to become the main source, generating 70 percent of total electricity. - CNA/ir

=================================================================

In my opinion, this article is pure eye candy to me.

Firstly, the first bold sentence said that electricity prices remain the SAME as of 5 years ago. Is it really THE SAME? i thought they had just raise electricity by a few cents a few weeks back? Give me figures and not quantitative crap and I'll believe.

However, the real shit is the following point:
The article claims that they have been more reliant on natural oil over the past 5 years. According to NaturalGas.org, the Department of Energy states that natural gas costs less than 30 percent of the cost of electricity, per Btu (British thermal unit). if Natural Gas is cheaper than oil and they have been using it over the last 5 years, not baring the recent increase in oil prices, then how come our electricity bill doesn't get any lower? WHERE have the cost savings gone to?

In summary, this article can only mean one thing. And it's not hard to guess what that is.

Wake up and Smell the roses....

Source

Warwick lecturers vote against Singapore campus
By John Burton in Singapore
Published: October 14 2005 11:57 | Last updated: October 14 2005 11:57

Senior lecturers at Warwick University in the UK have voted against setting up a branch campus in Singapore due to worries about limits on academic freedom, dealing a possible setback to the city-state's ambitions to become a regional hub for higher education.


Singapore requires international educational institutions operating in the city-state to agree not to conduct activities seen as interference in domestic affairs.

The lopsided 27-13 “no” vote by Warwick's senate this week is believed to be the first time a foreign university has rejected the conditions set by Singapore. Although the vote is non-binding, it is likely to put pressure on the university council to abandon the Singapore plan when it makes a final decision on October 18.

Warwick and Australia's University of New South Wales are the only two foreign universities selected by Singapore's Economic Development Board to set up a full-scale campus.

The city-state has succeeded in attracting smaller schools operated by several top institutions, including Insead and the University of Chicago Graduate Business School, in an effort to triple the number of university students to 150,000 in the next decade.

The Warwick vote came as the outgoing US ambassador to Singapore warned in a farewell speech that Singapore's limits on expression might cause the government to “pay an increasing price for not allowing full participation of its citizens”.

Faculty and students at Warwick have questioned the costs of the nearly £300m ($525m) project and the university's ability to attract quality students and staff to the Singapore campus. But much of the criticism has focused on limits on academic freedom and civil liberties, including curbs on gay rights and high execution rates for criminals.

Warwick recently sent a letter to EDB asking that its students in Singapore be exempt from strict laws limiting freedom of assembly, speech and the press, and the removal of bans on homosexuality and certain religious practices on campus.

It also sought guarantees that staff and students would not be punished by the Singapore government for making academic-related comments that might be seen “as being outside the boundaries of political debate”. EDB said it would not comment.

The demand that the Singapore campus enjoy the same degree of academic freedom as in the UK came in response to an advisory report by Thio Li-ann, a law professor at the National University of Singapore, which said freedom of “speech is permissible as long as it does not threaten real political change or to alter the status quo”.

She warned that “the government will intervene if academic reports cast a negative light on their policies” but said the presence of Warwick in Singapore could “serve as an impetus for continued liberalisation”.

===========================================
I. Do. Not. Need. To. Say. More.

My RSS Feed is up!

Yesh..student syndrome is in effect...suppose to do some work but instead, i added an RSS feed into my blogspot(but hey! it's for my 4251 sake you know?). Anyway, for those using FF/Mozilla, all you need to do is to click on the orange icon at the bottom right corner whenever you are at my page.

I'm Tired le....

I'm now listening to "Colors of the Wind" by Vanessa Williams. I do not know why, but everytime when I listen to this song, I feel kinda relaxed... and I feel that I should...

I'm so tired, I try my best every semester including this semester but things seems to go wrong at each turn, I struggled every tutorial, every assignment to get some positive signs that can encourge me on for the next 6 months or so....nothing...I tried to motivate myself, telling myself that the next tutorial will be better, the next day will be better...nothing...

The saying goes, one cannot stop the tide... Even though my heart is willing, I can't do it alone... I tried every turn, every corner, but I just don't have the strength anymore...i'm so tired....I need a miracle...

VoIP in NOC

Source: Cisco manual on web (I think)

Ok, today, we had a newcomer to NOC, 8 Cisco VoIP phones and my initial impression was that it's just a normal telephone with a LCD screen BUT I was not entirely correct...I guess in this age and time, one shouldn't underestimate the power of the internet...

The phone comes with many functions, of which 4 I am very impressed with...

1) It has an online phone directory for the whole of NUS, all you have to do is to search...no more going into exchange mail and do searching...

2) not impressed yet? How about, it comes with a government directory with it too? (I think the government is going VoIP too...)

3) still not impressed, how about, it comes WITH a S'PORE Company directory??? (bye bye yellow pages)... all you need is a little imagination and very soon we can search for any singporeans on the streets using the phone...why not?...

4) Still not impressed? (then you are really a Pain in the ASS)The phone...comes with... a function to view....WORLD NEWS... yesh, you can view global news, singapore news, business news, you name it, they got it...updated news somemore... I kid you not... another useful invention to be skiving at work while looking dead busy with the phone....

AND can someone tell me WHY it's not the choice OVER PODCAST?!? (pun intended)

The end of the world....

Image taken off NASA website.

I've mulled over the things that I would want to write in my blog and now given a chance, I've decided to write about the earth...

Yesh, the earth...you see, the earth is a very complex and delicate system. Why do I say that? Simply because the earth is the only planet in our solar system that is able to support human life. And the very fact that we are unique in this solar system tells us that our development cannot be naturally replicated else where. The earth is who she is because she happens to have the right conditions...

Yet, these "right conditions" are being altered by us... let me explain with an example. Earth, venus and mars are thought to be similar to each other, yet they are as different as a cat is to a dog to a donkey. Venus is damn bloody warm and mars is damn bloody cold and earth is at the right temperature...

The reason to all this is greenhouse warming...greenhouse warming is the retention of heat by water vapor and CO2. Without greenhouse warming, earth will be 50K cooler and you can have polar bears to rule the entire earth. Luckily for us, the temperature is condusive and human beings flourish...

CO2 is king here. Mars and venus were unable to support human life because of CO2. Venus has too much of it and mars have too little of it in the atmosphere. Venus, with it's runaway greenhouse effects (think global warming on a screwed up scale), pushes it's temperature to a high of 700K (ard 400 deg. Cel.) and mars is the opposite, freezing it's ass until all the CO2 and water froze and the planet literally freezes...

This shows us how changes to our environment can alter the living environment...
although earth will never end up as hot as venus or as cold as mars, our environment is indeed changing due to greenhouse gases...

The recent 'firsts' of a series of hurricane devastating the coast of US is a stark reminder of the changing weather, a probable sign that we are looking at a global warming which indicate that more of such "extreme" weather is here to stay if we do not do anything to curb the rising CO2 levels....



image by Robert Simmon, taken off NASA website

The koyoto protocol is one such pace by world leaders to reduce CO2 level but as my impression goes, some countries are unable to achieve their reduction targets ( I know Britain is one of them)...

If left uncheck, I wonder how would life will be for our children's children....

Me as a southpark character!

Wanted to post this up since last night but too lazy to even log into blogspot...anyway here is it, yeah, the gun and the blood stain shirts seem oddly at ends with my character...but well...it looks kinda cool anyway...so...

Cold and Hungry

it's cold in the office and i'm very hungry...waiting for the interviews to end...

Project Blue Pawn

I finally understand the true potential of being in top management. You can play your lesser beings like pawn on the chess board and tonight, one such move was beautifully and craftly executed... all I have to say, poor guy...A true blue hero... sigh~

Thought bubble of the day

Something I saw today reminded me of a past failure that I do not want to remeber.

I wonder...

I was at my desk reading my Astronomoy textbook during the evening, stuffing information about telescopes into my churning mind when suddenly a cold wind blew into the room from my window...

That wind caressed around my face, forcing me to pause what I was doing and look out of the window. The smell of the wind mysteriously infused images of a wide open prairie like the one below....


Image from oklahoma.sierraclub.org


together with the chirping crickets(there really was crickets chirping), it gave me a feeling of serenity as the darkness slowly dissolves the remaining light of day, not a menacing kind, but a gentle cocooning of a tranquil night and a general sense of well being...


it makes me wonder, in our busy every day life in Singapore, how one does not seem to have the time to appreciate what nature have to offer... and which most of us in busy little singapore, could have forgotten about the beauty of mother nature....

I dunno what this means....

Can anyone tell me...what the heck does my name suppose to mean??

Interesting Read

Taken off CNA's Forum, from a poster with nick "aussie" replying to the topic on

"Will it make sense to employ a jobless grad who specialise in another field even if he willing to accept low pay?"

SGporeans' livelihood are in danger under inexperienced, incapable 2nd grade management.
The effects of all these latest policies will be detrimental to the well-being of the vast majority of SGporeans. A small island state with a population of just over 4M, SG has over 800,000 foreign workers. Whilst not having the brains to manage, SG try to make it to the books in every international ranking, never mind be it through the front or back door, often mindlessly. Being the freest economy is one. Free entry to all except in the area of politics which is still tightly regulated by light-eared incapable men who pays and blindly approve policies made by foreign consultants to the detriment of SGporeans.

As in any business, you do not want to satisfy all demands. Any smart business knows that it is foolish to produce to meet 100% of the demand. They always produce the 50%, work the OT, increase the production a little if the demand increases..and don't satisfy all 100% demand.
Smarter countries like NZ and most other countries protect themselves this way. Both young and older workers are employed and the country achieve a good standard of living.

How many fund managers is needed to manage $1M? How about $100M or $1B? The answer is just one. But to build up your own capability in the industry, you will need the many enterprising boutique funds to give the breadth, competition and innovation. SG, as usual, leap-frogged this important step for short-term gains. This is detrimental to future generations.
There is a difference to managing funds and marketing funds. 2nd grade SG management is undermining the future livelihood and survival of the citizenry. Be very careful, SGporeans. Be careful that your hard-earned funds will be forced to be marketed for investments that ultimately benefit not yourselves but foreign fund managers. Your money will be controlled by foreigners while you, your friends, your relatives are forced by policies that serve to wipe yourselves out of retirement. And is there a difference to investing CPF money and cash? They tell you to increase returns, you have to invest your cash. I didn't want to put this up but the situation is so bleak for SGporeans, I need to voice this. There is absolutely no difference what money you use. They are all money. Since the fund managers are not performing, it is better for you to manage your own money. The future for SGporeans is in very extreme grave danger. You MUST change the system and the people managing it. Given the calibre of the policies so far, I doubt SG management is capable of anything truly 1st grade. You will find whole departments swarmed by their "brothers." Like it or not, this is a culture thing, finally.

Soon SG will be transformed into MISS. Yes, SGporeans will MISS out under 2nd grade management which strives to preserve her hold onto power. Little wonder so many of you SGporeans are having difficulty getting employed. 2nd grade management has swarmed the Mini-Indian State of Singapore with alternative lower-cost labour in all sectors. They have sold you out. They are selling your livelihood, your future and your childrens'. They are selling, no, they are giving away the strategic growth due to SG's geographic location to foreigners. If you really understand the history, you will realise the truth. As an example, many factories was built at SG's cost to house foreign companies just to create employment. Now, many are vacant. Whilst the MNCs moved elsewhere, SG forced its own entrepreneurs to buy them. On the other hand, SG did nothing to help its entrepreneurs, in fact stifle them, whilst it was a mini-China then. Now, China set up show-rooms in many countries to make herself the world's production house helping her entrepreneurs, SG's management did the opposite. SG actually stifle her citizenry. As it is, SG wants to perpetuate her policy of maintaining the losses of her GLCs overseas through the blood and sweat of her citizenry and all foreigners working in SG through their CPF contributions and taxes. Why would any smart businessman sustain years and years of losses? Isn't it foolish? Inexperience is seeing its toll. Such suffering inflicted on the citizenry is unnecessary and foolhardy. It doesn't speak much for such 2nd grade management. It is better to let the really entrepreneurial citizenry the freedom to grow. GLCs should really be disbanded. If they can't perform after a very accomodating 2 to a maximum of 5 years, you know it is quite obvious their business model is wrong and hence, should be disbanded. Suzhou Industrial Park, STIC are just some off-the-cuff examples. Please stop throwing good money down the drain. It is unbelievable but true. SG lost nearly 50% of her investments in Japan. Actually, when SG invested her funds there at the height of the Japanese economy some years earlier, I was wondering how and who could be the capable "scholars" coming up with such ideas? His stupidity is beyond belief...and to imagine, managing $M and $B, it is unthinkable the salaries they command. Truly 2nd grade. A change is in order and necessary. A MUST indeed.

Disclaimer : View's entirely the author, not mine, though I am inclined to AGREE to what he/she have to say.

DSTA Fact finding!

Today was an interesting day, barring the lecutre in the morning... met up with Wei hao and Dr Pan in his office before heading off to DSTA at Depot Road. Dr Pan drives an Altis! Ah well...who wouldn't in his age. Just found the interior to be...well...lacking. For those of you wondering what an altis is, just look at your car park, i'm sure out of 10 cars you see, 9 will be altises.


image source from www.toyotasingapore.com.sg


Anyway, armed with a digital voice recorder from samsung, 128mb, with 50+ hrs of recording time, this little silver baby cost an unbelievable $356. mmm, must be the packaging.....



Upon arriving at DSTA, there was a system that even recognized Dr Pan car and let him in, and a VIP lot was reserved for him with his car no displayed. So VIP leh~ but arriving in style doesn't mean anything cos we were unglamiously stuck at the security counter cos we can't find the office number to dial to get an escort for us to go up...

Our contact person was a team of IT engineers from ... well.... the IT department of dsta. They were a bunch of friendly people and the entire meeting took close to 2 hours at least...from which, much was learned about DSTA operations although security was high on their mind...many things, though trival, was like off the records or strictly confidential...but the people there made us all feel welcome...i dun mind working there next time...heh heh... anyway as a soveniour, we got this stylish book



Quite an interesting day leh....

Wet day...

A glooming day it is today....rained forever....but my spirits wasn't dampened with the rain...in fact, after going to the botanical gardens and listening to the Centennial symphony played...it was quite...magical....considering the foggy and surreal environment of the park...so tranquil....sigh~

YET, it was piggy that made my day only in the afternoon, with the both of us trying out a new car polish that saw the morning and a good part of the afternoon gone...hope piggy doesn't have a sore arm or sth... keke... but I guess...it's still best left to the professionals for car glooming!

Busy week ahead...sigh...

Tell us something we don't know can?

Today, right on the cover page, the caption in bold red says "President Nathan poised to serve 2nd Term" .... YAWNZ...for something that is so obvious, you need to waste the front page?!? I think you could use the space better for things like where got the cheapest petrol or the best char kway teow or sth....frankly, with the rules that the PEC sets, I wonder who can ever get in lo...i think even if ex US President Bill Clinton wants to apply for a cert, not to mentioned the current one, i think both also will be under qualified...

I can't help it...AGAIN...

Disclaimer: The following article and picture are taken from Yahoo.sg... credit should be given to them, not me. link:http://sg.news.yahoo.com/050811/1/3u60l.html

My comments in bold...really just my humble comments dun sue me plz...can't even afford peanut shells now...

Riot police break up demonstration of four people in Singapopre



Riot police broke up a rare demonstration by four people demanding greater transparency and accountability in Singapore's state-managed pension fund and other government-linked agencies.
>> Of Coz rare demonstration la! That's why must send entire Riot police down mah...cos they rarely got chance to do live riot exercises leh.. must be an opportunist like the police u know?
A dozen anti-riot police wearing helmets and knee-high protective gear and carrying shields and batons formed a phalanx outside the offices of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) as a commanding officer approached the demonstrators.
>> Two things. Either they have too much manpower in the police force OR they scared they cannot handle 2 guys and 2 girls holding placards...guys..the phrase "show of force" has been brought to a whole new level...
"You are committing an offence of public nuisance. If you don't disperse you will be arrested," the officer told the protesters as business people and employees watched in the central business district.

The four protesters, among them an office administrator and the sister of an opposition leader, Chee Soon Juan, voluntarily dispersed. They denied being part of any political group.
>> Chee Soon Juan sister...no wonder got so much police la...heck lo...if chee soon juan himself appear, i think the entire police force will be there in an instant..sigh..this guy...dunno to laugh or feel proud of him...(no pun intended, seriously)
Police later asked them to hand over their protest materials -- T-shirts and placards -- as part of an investigation to determine whether they had violated any laws.
>> Sure have violate laws one la...the placards confirm never go though censorship board wat!
The two men and two women assembled at lunchtime outside the CPF building in the business district. They said they did not need a permit and staged their protest for about an hour.
>> these people obviously never hear of speaker's corner. You think your grandfather house arhz? any how and any where stage protest...Do not need permit still kenna busload of police?
Under the law, any public protest of at least five people without a police permit is deemed illegal. The protest took place as Singapore was in the midst of official celebrations of its 40th anniversary of independence.
>> Sure decrease to 4 liaoz...die..like that hor...a family of 4 how arhz....still can go kai kai notz??
The protesters hoisted placards calling for greater openness in how the government handles public funds used for retirement pensions, overseas investments and the building of subsidized high-rise apartments.

A police officer said they had received a telephone call from a "member of the public" about the protest, prompting them to send in the riot police.
>> HARZ! see? Member of the public is in quotes lo... Singaporeans the most bo chup in the world, this kind of thingy you think they will even bother to call meh?? I think they more busy trying to see how they can get 4D then call the police. Must be CPF ppl call one lo...
Monica Kumar, 45, one of the protesters, said they had been insipired by public outrage that followed revelations last month that the chief executive of Singapore's biggest charity, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), was being paid 350,000 US dollars annually.

The scandal sparked an online petition signed by more than 40,000 people and forced the NKF chief executive, T.T. Durai, and the entire board to resign.

"In reality, the NKF is reflective of the entire system in Singapore where public matters are run in a non-transparent and non-accountable manner," the protesters said in a statement.
>> this is scary..what if it's true? I mean, after all, our PM earns more than double the US president lo. US$1,100,000 vs US$200,000 (source: Asian Wall Street Journal July 10 2000) i neber anyhow come out with figures horz...
The statement called on the Housing Development Board and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) to open their books for public scrutiny.

GIC manages more than 100 billion US dollars in funds and invests globally.

"We call on the government to make Singapore more transparent and accountable, starting with the state organisations mentioned above," the protesters said.

I can't resist a dig at LTA when I see one

Reported on Channel News Asia Website:

SINGAPORE: After more than a week in operation, the Electronic Road Pricing along the northbound Central Expressway have improved traffic flow.

This was the conclusion supported by figures released by the Land Transport Authority to Channel NewsAsia.

It was on 1st August that motorists began paying ERP charges on the CTE going north.

Motorists travelling on the CTE on weekdays from 6pm to 8pm have to pay between 50 cents and a dollar.

This move by the LTA was to smooth out traffic flow during the evening peak hours.

And it seems to be working.

In the first five days alone, the speeds of vehicles were recorded at between 58 and 65 kilometres per hour, compared to an average speed of below 40 kph before the evening ERP was introduced.

LTA says this is within the limits of the optimal speed range for expressways.

Naturally, the drop in vehicle traffic meant other motorists were taking alternative routes to avoid paying the ERP.

So Thomson, Upper Thomson, Marymount, Serangoon and Upper Serangoon Roads have been experiencing slightly heavier traffic flows.

But the LTA says the conditions on these alternative roadways remain manageable.

The average speed on these carriageways is generally above 20 kilometres per hour, which is above the optimal speed range for arterial roads.

LTA adds that towards the end of the first week, some of the traffic flow on these roads even dipped a little as some motorists went back on the CTE. - CNA
--------------------------------------------------------
Noticed the sentences highlighted in bold? First, they say the ERP ease traffic flow, then at the last statement, they say that the traffic flow dipped even with ERP, which means, ERP STILL DOES not prove it is responsible for improving traffic flow yet. So don't say that it works lo...singaporean's not silly u know?

Come on la...even secondary school kids who do physics experiements knows the importance of taking a range of values over a period of time to average the results and to eliminate any fluke results,especially so for ERP which affects a larger number of people, hence more time is required to monitor the traffic. So instead of happily announcing that ERP works, do monitor the road situation for another few months before publishing your findings la...LTA do have smart people working there right?

ALSO, LTA says that the optimal speed for expressways is >50km/h and for smaller road is > 20km/h, so that means if you want to go home faster to eat with your family, pay LTA to enjoy eating with your family, if not, just crawl at 20km/h and eat your cold dinner alone.... so PRO family leh...see LTA so smart.... family is precious, that's why must pay to enjoy eating dinner with family.

Discount Hoax! Mwahahaha (it's not me)

The person who started the sms on 40% petrol discounts during national day ought to be thanked. He/She made us realise how Silly singaporeans can be, monkey see, monkey do leh.... I've personally seen long queues outside petrol stations during the 4pm-8pm time frame...

on forums, it had come to my attention that some dissatisfied drivers actually created a scene at the petrol stations...but really...wake up la these people, it's their fault lo...again..monkey see monkey do, never check the facts, some of these cars queueing includes BMWs and Mercs...why? own too big cars cannot pay for expensive petrol liaoz right?

BUT, in light of the current petrol situation, (every announcement regarding petrol prices is always an increase, never a decrease), i can personally understand how some of these drivers are feeling. All the biting of the bullet of ever increasing expenses must have caused desperation to believe something as unbelievable as a 40% discount in light of crude oil hitting an all time high of USD$64/ barrel.

The GARment ought to do something...every single one of us sillporeans know it's possible to do something to cushion the prices...or risk having sillyporeans do silly things like queuing for imaginary discounts...

My 2 cents worth.

PIGGY>> Oink oink eating broad beans and feeding turtle with a broad bean and lots of shells. Thinking back, why my stupid turtle is not that stupid enough to have queue for the petrol as well. however, my stupid turtle got so excited and panic for a moment when he saw the long queue. He was so stupid that he called his friend to verify about the 40% discount. Haiz, want to own a car to fetch piggy ard and have to worry about the petrol price. orh, so sweet! (Disclaimer: It belongs to piggy and piggy view alone as I do not agree on some of the things she said.)

Wah cannot like that OnE....

Another increase in petrol prices...might as well dun drive la like that, petrol is close to 2 dollars a litre liaoz leh....that translate to roughly 70 bucks for 35 litres...70 bucks leh!! last time( not too long ago) was only ard 40 bucks only lo...daylight robbery really...

my wireless network is up and running...connected an Aztech ADSL modem to a Netgear wireless router... freedom..can now msn while in toilet liaoz mwahahhaa..... =p will take a pic of the router when i have the time...

Singaporean are patrotic...only if they live by the main road

Did you all notice that for some mysterious reason that elude me, those flats facing main roads seems to have patrotic singaporeans because every single one of them hang out their flag...while those that are tuck deep inside the estate only have a miserable few dangling out the flag...

Logical conclusion: Gahmen must have placed patrotic people to stay in flats near the main road just like they have % allocated for chinese, muslims and tamil per block so that we have pretty flats clothed in red to look at and the gahmen can proclaim "see Singaporeans very patrotic!"

Frustrating week...

WARNING: Rantings ahead...read at your own...er...perils

Yep, it has been quite a frustrating week. Piggy have been doing so much overtime that I dun think i can remember as clearly as last time the number of pimples she had on her face already and this has caused a terrible sense of frustration in me (not that i bothered to count anyway =) ).

Telephone conversations will not help allivate the situation! It makes things worse cos 3 general situations arises from it.
One. She is already half-asleep on the phone
Two. One of us will snap under the mysterious influence of frustrations of not understanding each other babbles
Three. I have no idea what to do

I think working life can take a toll on one's relationship and that is exactly what is happening to us now...I'm positive that we are not the only one to be in such a situation...i'm pretty sure there are others like us....but each have to find their own unique way to adapt to the new situation as every one of these relationship is special...

I guess the only way is to wait patiently for the weekends to come...things are always better in the weekends...or whats' left of it as school term is starting soon...

Matriculation Fair & more....

This whole week was dead busy due to NOC deploying a booth at SRC to increase their exposure to the freshmeats..ops..i mean freshman...

I have never, talked so much in one day until now,
never, lost my voice from talking until now
never, know what it is like to stand for 4 hrs straight until now

BUT, on a positive side,

I have learnt that,

NUS have a NPCC unit ... I must have been sleeping all these years in NUS...,

SOC seems to have the least amount of freshmeats, sorry, freshMAN among all the faculties,

there are all types of people that make up NUS freshmeats ARG! freshMAN!! I mean, got smart ones, dumb ones, cocky ones and the classical blur like sotong ones,

there are many types of people who are interested in NOC programs, the anything-also-sign-up types, the blur-blur-kenna-conned-till sign up types, the i-sign-you-get-out-of-my-face type, the potential businessman-of-the-year-look type

Cooking day II

Ok..did a little research on cooking stir fry beef with celery...

so got me self some sliced beef, some sticks of celery and cornstarch...



With it, i started frying the celery with a little bit of olive oil...then i threw in the beef, having marinated it with a bit of seasame oil and corn starch. After frying them together, i poured in a little bit of cornstarch solution and continue to fry them till the solution thicken and the beef cooked. Like this:



Initial Verdict:
Frankly, I have absolutely no idea how a good stir fried beef with celery is suppose to taste like. However, I kinda hated the celery because it still seemed a little raw to me and it's taste too strong that it overwhelms the flavour of the beef, which was too mild...other then that, i guess i didn't spit it out means it's a success =)

Tapestry

USS Enterprise D



Did I tell anyone that I am a Star Trek Fan? Esp the old TNG(The Next Generation) series. One of the reasons why I like the TNG series was because the shows always have a hidden moral agenda to it, abeit though provoking at times. In the case of the episode I watched yesterday, the story line was about regrets in life and the story goes as such...

The captain of the Enterprise was injured during an away mission and was in a near death situation as he was rushed to the ship's sick bay. While receiving treatment, he died and in his afterlife, he was greeted by Q, a powerful being that can do anything. Q told him that he have died and he is giving him a second chance to right what he regretted during his entire life.

A 2nd shot at life, in Q words. And so Captain Picard did just that, righting the regrets of his youth, changing the cocky young fellow he once was as a cadet just out of the Academy. Yet, after all these changes, he found himself as a lowly officer in life, no longer in the captain's chair, nor having a shot at command. He was just another officer in starfleet, doing mudane lab work.

Having realise that by changing the person he once regretted he was in his youth to a person not wanting to take risk, he was lack of passion and focus in life, drifting from job to job, not seizing the opportunity to make it big, to get noticed.

But the story ended, naturally with a happy ending as he was allowed to go back in time again to set things "right".

And so...the moral of the story portrayed in the show, according to what I feel, is that,

"We should not regret what we did in the past, because who we are in the past is a projection of who we are going to be in the future. We should just look ahead and be the best that we can be."

Piggy Day

Achkz...Piggy was complaining that I don't write about her in my blog...and of all times to complain she have to do it during the Tv Premiere of Minority Report...so...sigh...This post shall be dedicated to her then...(but even if she doesn't bug..i will too...) today was quite a crappy day spent together...before going out we had a crap session over the phone on where to go...and later we went to East Coast park for a run...Again! I was feeling crappy so decided to do a "crap-a-jog" event but end up getting stomped on my piggy...


After which, decided to go Marine Parade to shop and i've decided to crap again n piggy stomp on me again...mmm but at the end of the day all is well...except for my right waist...kenna injured somehow....tsk tsk
But anyway, I shall risk my reputation and dignity to say the following:

I LOVE YOU PIGGY! and have a happy Birthday~

*Disclaimer...if u ppl reading this find it hard to understand, it's okay...it's not meant for you ppl to understand anyway... =p

NKF Fiasco

I guess the topic on everybody's mind now is regarding the recent lawsuit involving SPH and NKF over an article written about NKF. As all of you know, NKF dropped the suit a day after it started as it has , in my opinion, opened a can of worms that they can't seem to seal shut now...

Right from the start, especially my close friends, know that i'm a strong avocate against NKF, not for their spending but for the very activity that got them fat reserves - Fund Raising. Call me a convservationist but I really detest their way of raising funds, donations are meant to be from the heart, and given willingly, not dangle carrots like condos and cars so that people will donate...come on..it's charity not a national lottery... and equally bad is their plan to ask kids to help with their fundraising with prizes to be won for every XXX amt raised...what kind of message are we driving into our kids here? Charity is not about getting rewards..it's about contributing wholeheartly and willinging to do good...not to aim for that MP3 player if I can hit the quota...

But having said all that, I really have to get credit to NKF for their contributions to society, especially to those kidney patients and now, the cancer patients...Also, I have to get credit to their Management for such a bold and radical strategy to raise funds. I understand that NKF started out as a poor organization, making tough decisions on who to save when resources are low, and because of this, they decide to make it a point not to be finacially strapped and vola, you have a revolutionary charitable organization in place(which similar org needs to pay GST one?) with millions of dollars of reserves...

Unfortunately, I guess the board lost their main purpose which is to save lives after seeing so much money at hand that perhaps they got greedy? Which ever the reason, the patients under NKF care should not be the ones to suffer for their mistakes...I just hope someone will take over the helm and make their accounts more transparent, transfer a higher weightage of their income to saving lifes and gaining back public confidence...don't let the innocent ones suffer...

Sugei Buloh

Okay...i'm gonna cut a long story short by posting my BEST pic I took during this outfield trip...ready?


Reflections

Yar, that's my best shot..I've another nice one but too lazy to post it...no idea why but seems that I've not been able to produce good pics lately, lost that "feeling"... *shrugz*
All well..time to zzzz.....

Things of great value in the Office...

Here are the various things that I can't live without in the Office during our iNOC project, in order of importance....

1. Our Board of Requirements

As you can see, this whiteboard is covered with words and diagram and little schematics on what should and should not be included in the system that we are building...sigh...I always wonder how the heck we managed to get used to the entire gook of words....

2. Our Trusty NOC Server, Database Diagram, powered speakers

The robust server that I used to write almost thousands and thousands LOC for the system, together with the A3 size database diagram, they are an immesurable tool for my ease of coding...of course, the speaker comes in handy when I wanna hear songs during those hours of coding...

3. Notice Board Behind my cubicle

This notice board serves as a doodle board during peaceful times and now as a dartboard during coding time...A dartboard for all the bugz and logical flaws discovered along the way to completion....

4. The food that littered along NOC office

If you notice carefully, there are actually 2 spots where we will placed all our food supplies in times of dire need. There is an orange box nearest to me containig Julie's Peanut Butter cookies, thanks to Daniel...and erm...a confession...I've eaten like 4 packets of it liaoz... heh heh...to the far end, there is a huge stockpile of Food, biscuits, potato chips, sweets, you name it, we have it. Suitable for munching during stressful periods...last but not least, at the extreme far end of the room, there is a fridge, contains hundreds of mini choco bars and a slice of Jianhui's Birthday cake...

Last but not least....



Yupz, this is a picture taken during Jianhui's surprise party held where else but our very own NOC office...that's Kok keong on the left, followed by me, out Bday Boy and Sereen...

Good working place, good collegues and most of all, wonderfully nice friends around me...next time when I work, I wish I have such friends around me, at least work will be fun...

A little stroll in the park...

Hee Hee...today was quite an exciting evening...decided to trek thru Macritchie....in the late evening...heh heh.... by the time we almost reach back to the main area, it had gotten pretty dark and to make things worse, we trotted to an area where we saw a tombstone placed facing the reservior....quite a nice view for a final resting place but at that point in time, I was like "shit...encounter such things in the looming darkness...." and piggy wasn't helping much either by yelping occassionally about how I should not have stopped for so long just looking at some ridiculous tortises whom seem to be pampered by humans as they swam towards us with their mouth wide open...

Anyway, we gotten out of that place quite in one piece with much thanks to my trusty little torch. This is no ordinary torch, it's constructed with 5 LED bulbs that glowed a nice cool bluish-white in the dark, something similar to this...



LED Torch



Okay, and so... we got out of that place in the glowing darkness...it's pretty fun but I guess it would not have been scary if you do not have a yelping piggy beside you or if you go in a larger group...ke ke...piggy gonna hammer my head when she sees this...

Low low .... lowest?

Okay, this week must be the worst week of this semester....depressed like mad and I've still got more to be upset about....in pointers...

1) General depression (i've no friggin idea why but I am...)
2) Feeling damn lousy about this piece of land (many reasons to it...)
3) FYP readings are a total drag...
4) ASP.NET coding is driving me up the wall....

and as if all these are not enough, I have a multiple hit combo today...
5) Got a rejection letter from iDA ( surprising thing is, they use conquerer paper..pretty cool ain't it? now u know where all the money went)
6) Got a rejection letter from RSAF (masked by saying that all vacancies are filled..)
7) Some Bugger scratched my car. A long 3 cm scratch on my front right fender...
8)Petrol discount hit a high of 20++% at 6PM and i have just pumped this morning at 14%
9) Do not anyhow post the truth on your blog, forum etc etc or you might just be at the receiving end of a lawyer's letter(it's not me, no worries). What the hell happened to freedom of speech? Or is every single company in Singapore trigger happy? Defend your company and stop hiding behind the law...utter disappointing...

I'm on a roll man....rolling down the dumps that is.....I hope things turn around or I will never get out of this shit... or this shitty place....I need to get out of this place... throw you guys a song

Angel by Sarah McLachlan

Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There's always one reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Oh beautiful release
Memory seeps from my veins
Let me be empty
And weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

In the arms of an angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there

So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
And the storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lie
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make no difference
Escaping one last time
It's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh
This glorious sadness that brings me to my knees

In the arms of an angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here

Sigh....

Is it me or is it me? I am a far cry from who I use to be in the past, aka 4 years ago... I have become more outspoken and best of all, crappy... and I do love living in an environment whereby I can meet loads of people everyday...in person..it makes for a more personal experience...well but I guess for now I'm just wondering why no one writes comments on my blog....why? why? why? hee hee...ah well...super depressed today suddenly...dunno why also...sigh..maybe triggered by the fact that i'm still stuck in this piece of land that makes me feel upset....

Cooking Day!

Yepz..it's been a long time since I've cooked and today I've decided to clean out my fridge but cooking whatever I can find in it. And so, out came a pack of veggie, bottle of oyster sauce, pork, butter, onion....

And so, decided to cook the pork first...wat did i do with it? well, firstly I melted the butter, wait till it's sizzling hot then i added in the chop onions(in rings) and fried it till it is cooked, adding brown sugar to sweeten the broth. lastly, I throw in the pork and stir fry it...smells heavenly...when it's almost done, I added lemon pepper to it...gosh the aroma...*swoon*...anyway here's a pic of it...nothing much to look at, but my mum commented it was delicious...and if a LADY can comment that it is nice, it is quite a feat for me, considering my cooking skills is comparable to naught...




Meaty dish...drool~~



The veggie was next...frying vegetables is the easiest dish to do to make you look like a competent cook. first, you just heat the oil and throw in the veggie, oh, add in the garlic and fry it a while before adding the veggie, unless you are like me who detest garlic to the core you can skip this step. next, when the veggie is almost cooked, just add in oyster sauce, let it simmer for a while more and vola~ a dish that looks complicated(which chinese dish isn't) but by nature easy to handle...unfortunately, girls are the opposite....anyway...here's a pic....




yummy veggie...

Fee Hike??

Days ago, I managed to convince myself that Singapore is indeed a better place to live in compared to other countries, and after all, it is my birthplace and as the saying goes, nothing better than home. Yet days later, doubts have began to cloud my mind once again with the approval from PTC regarding the fee hikes in transportation.

What was the reason cited for fee hikes?
:: Improving Economy (really?)
:: Last hike was years ago (so?)
:: Increasing fuel cost(then why the profit?)
:: Increasing labour cost(so must milk more cash from other poor workers without rise in pay?)

Why are Singaporeans against fee hikes?
:: Singaporeans will always complain whenver there are fee hikes (who isn't?)
:: Profit made by the transport "companies" are in excess of millions
:: The economy is not as rosy as the press would like to portray
:: Too close to the extension of ERP increase
:: Most average Singaporean's are not having much pay increase( despite the call by the govt. to increase pay, interesting timing)

::Fallout::
The PTC, to me, is not really an independent council and even if it is, it must have been pretty much obvilous to them to use data from 1997 as a basis to increase fees. I think they need more coffee. General response from the public have been null, zipped, silence. Why? Typical Singaporean, just bite the bullet and move on. I hope no one is smart enough to capitalise on this weakness(or are there?) General public setiments must be "The govt is just there to milk more money, the rest of what they say are a farce" I can't help but TOTALLY agree and the govt. must do more to convience us otherwise, or, like the rest, I shall remain totally skeptical irregardless what someone might say. Gosh, it does make me mad typing all these out, better relax more before I contribute to the healthcare industry in more ways than one...

A post to keep things going...

mmm, it's been a long time since i've updated my blog. (A habitual laziness of mine, apart
from the usual excuse of having limited time everyday). Have another bout of tiring week ahead,
juggling both my work and HYP, or to some, FYP.

Well, managed to write a page or 2 in aspx form in preparation for our system coding which
is slated to be due in end July. Things are going slower than I would like but at least it
is moving...I just hope that we can finish what we planned by August...

Chartered is moving up and up! it has gone up to 1.27, half way to it's high of 1.4...will keep a lookout,
for those interested, there is chartered's stock performance...




I found a whitepaper while doing on my read up for my hyp, and it's 150 pages of it...in CHINESE...heck, I need a thousand years to read through all the chinese characters and another million years to understand all the strokes in the paper...well, at least I know the paper is about company merger, cos that's the only
word in English ...=p

Lost in Transition

I think i'm lost somewhere in the wildness...wish I can pick up my senes of direction soon...i'm so lost, miserable and terribly upset...what should I do next...no matter what I do, i'm sure to get feedback...positive or otherwise...=(

Thoughts on Singapore II

Yesh...another thoughts about Singapore to balance off my views. There are still good points about Singapore that make this place wonderful

:: Safe, clean environment
:: Pollution free environment ( I just came back from other countries to feel the difference)
:: Stable political/legal structure
:: Plenty of new shiny cars to ogle at
:: All basic needs are met, if not even more
:: Will add more if I think of any

Thoughts on Singapore

Is Singapore such a "tough" country to live in? Some of my own pointers and thoughts...

:: High standards of living, high expenses, high petrol prices

:: Singaporeans ARE migrating away from home

:: "restricted" feel living in singapore (those who have stayed long enough overseas will understand)

:: Ultra importance placed on academic qualifications

:: will add more if i think of any

I ran out of titles to use....

This week has been nothing short of slacking...and slack I did....suppose to resolve a problem on a NOC laptop but i didn't do much to it....ah well...i have monday to do it then.....

Saturday I was at Goodwood park hotel as my mum wanted to buy durian puffs...and as I waited for her at the carpark...I saw a car with NUS staff label coming into the car park...and I think I know who she is... but anyway, as I watched, she was busy honking at a lady who was walking in her path and as she drove past, she turned back and gave a angry gesture(no..nothing crude, just expression of anger =p)...yet while she was distracted, a car crossed her path, which she nearly banged into...makes me wonder why she have to turn back to make that angry gesture...it's such a dangerous thing to do if your vehicle is still moving...I think she is at fault to....

Sunday was a day where I am glad I am out driving...it was raining heavily as I drove up to his place...I love driving in the rain as it requires much more concentration, especially when it is raining heavily...unfortunately decided not to push my luck any further as my tires aqua panned quite a few times when I was travelling over puddles of water...I guess I have to agree with the rest when they say that Aspec DB is a CMI tyre in the wet...

Played half life 2 at max place...totally cool game...i predict it will win as much awards as it's presequel, half life... watched as much Top gear episodes at his place...totally cool....there was this episode where a bobsleght challenged an rally EVO down an icy laden path...totally exciting...unfortunately for me, the evo lost by a mere 3 seconds....or the episode whereby they pitted the new Ferrari 612 to a Boeing 737 in a race from England to swissland ...guess who won? the Ferrari...so did the Aston Martin DB9 in the challenge against a train from England to somewhere in Italy...totally awesome...

Going to Thailand in a few days....totally looking forward to it...because there will be endless time for shopping, shopping and MORE shopping....remind me to buy a PSP and bringing it along for the trip...hope it has powerful batteries.....

For those of you leaving Middle Earth (you know who I'm refering to...)

It has been three years since the beginning of our journey and in this 3 years...like many others, are filled with ups and downs. We had our fair share of fun and laughter, happiness and sadness... but like all good things, there will always be an end...

And I guess the time has come for the parting of ways, where each of us hobbits will go our seperate ways, to carry on with our own life. There are so many other things out there waiting for us to learn, to feel, to experience and to enjoy...

Inevitably, my time with you all on your journey is almost over, and perhaps our future path might cross with each other once again, yet should it not occur, there are always the memories of the past, which I hope will be useful in times of need to serve as a form of motivation on the darkest of the days ahead...

Hope fades
Into the world of night.
Through shadows falling,
Out of memory and time.

Don't say
We have come now to the end.
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again.

With this, I bid you all success on your endevours ahead...

Reflections....

Every time I hear "Into the west", it never fails to induce a strong emotional feeling in me. The beginning of the end perhaps. I feel extremely connected to this song in more ways than one...
Firstly, it's because this song is linked to the emotionally strong cinematic ending of LOTR...the movie really make you feel that you have travelled with them...feel their struggle, their pain, despair and anguish. And among such times, hope and courage stirs...
Secondly, this song reminds me ....i can't continue...tired....zzzzzz

Into The West

Into the West - Annie lennox

Lay Down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You have come to journey's end

Sleep now
Dream-of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across a distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away.

Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping

What can you see?
On the horizon.
Why do the white gulls call?

Across the sea
A pale moon rises.
The ships have come
To carry you home.

And all will turn to silver glass.
A light on the water
All souls pass.

Hope fades
Into the world of night.
Through shadows falling,
Out of memory and time.

Don't say
We have come now to the end.
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again.

And you'll be here in my arms
Just sleeping.

What can you see?
On the horizon.
Why do the white gulls call?

Across the sea
A pale moon rises.
The ships have come
To carry you home.

And all will turn to silver glass.
A light on the water
Grey ships pass
Into the west.

Yawn....

I'm a dead duck....just discovered that exams is 15 days away and i have to cover 3 modules....i feel a strong sense of doom....D^3 man....Dead, Doom, Done for....sigh....15 is going some where at least...bugs are resolved...efficieny ironed out...just got to cross my fingers and hope all things goes well .....so much is at stake here....

Perhaps if i don't aim for the moon, I do not have to stress myself so much...yet I can't help it, perhaps it's just me...I always wanted the moon anyway....if possible, I don't mind aiming for the universe...why not? such a nice fat challenge, that's what life is all about isn't it? challenging oneself...I guess that's why people choose to do extreme sports...for that challege and thrill seeking...i just do it in a different form...that's all....

However, if you would take the analogy of sports being a challege, then one bad thing about me is that once I take a fall, i would hate the sport for eons to come...so pray hard that I don't fall hard...i can't stand the feeling of losing....I want to win and I want to achieve what I set out to achieve, irregardless the cost nor effort required...mmm too extreme...ah well....too lazy to edit.....

good nite...another tiring night ahead....

I wonder....

It's close to 4am in the morning now, all is quiet and cool, i'm half dead, barely being kept alive by my wmp churning out songs after songs in my collection, blasted out via my wireless headphones....yet....

This week have been short of disasterous, I don't seem to be sleeping before 3am in the morning, my mood is bordering in the region of pensive and bo chup, take your pick... yet i've manage to scrap thru this week with barely a twinge of emotion....perhaps i've attained education nirvana...the pinnicle of your education "career" where eveything is viewed as just temporary, including studying..... the only constant in this state is the word "sleep".....

Somehow, i managed to look thru the photos i took almost a year ago when i was in India and Adelaide, n kk was commenting that i look different, that i look more ... haggard now...well, a HELL LOT of things happened during the past few months...so much that i dont think i've fully recovered from my experiences...ah well....

Anyway, i promised i post pic...so here are some nice pics i took...even though some are a few months old.....

Theme: Sunsets

A long post....to make up for all the lost times....

Today, woke up with a few agendas on my head and writing this blog is the last and final one for the day...and I'm glad i did... There are so many things in life that i would like to blog about but I just write what comes along in my mind....

Star Trek....where no men have gone before....
A Bitter sweet experience with ST:Enterprise...I hate it as much as I love the series. I hate it because the series is does not bear any resemblance to the old ST series...there is too much action, too much romantic scenes...something that you will not find in the old ST series....and missing are the subtle yet meaninful messages about life that is conveyed which makes star trek my most favourite TV series...I love Enterprise because, well, it's the only star trek universe that is still alive...until today when I heard of the news where Enterprise is going to be axed...how sad...no more xindi, no more delphic expanse....

Relationships....the most problemtic yet fun of all human experiences...
Being in a relationship makes you truely aware of 2 things...that you are not free...totally, that is, no matter how the other party convinced you otherwise(guys perspective... i'm sure there are other guys out there who share my views) and secondly, you learn a hell lot about yourself, all the bad things that is....a rich and rewarding experience...especially if you are with the right kind of partner....

Of Light Sabres and photons...
Back to the topic of sci-fi..me and malcom was discussing about the star war's famed light sabre...we were wondering quite a number of things...namely

• will u kill yourself accidently if u switch on the light sabre facing you?
• if light is weightless, how can u control something that is so light?
• how can they control the photons into a tight and narrow beam?
• And since they can have a beam of light, why not shoot out a beam of light? A ray gun!
• We deduced that since light sabre are light, they will just pass through each other and the battle will be over before it even begin

In Burger King with max...
In the evening, was at TB Burger King with max, then it occured to us that 6 years ago, we were at the same place talking about some other things....and we were like..."wow" time flies....


DAMN.... who in the right frame of mind will actually go read thru all these crap stuff about my life?...that's it, i'm not writing anymore.....but before I go...here is something for someone..i hope you see it.....

"Life is not all about relationships...it's about living your life to the fullest, even if it means doing it alone...but you will never be alone, cos there will always be friends who will be there to accompany you thru such times....take heart my friend...will see u in better times...."

Moo-Moo

I discovered quite a number of minor irritance with the car...they are as follows:

• A rust spot on my right rear door
• 2 stone dents, on bonnet, on right flank
• my rear left bumber seems to drop a cm lower

However, all is not that bad...considering that i've achieved 500 km on approx 34 liters of petrol...that works out to be.... 14.5 km/l .... kewl for my fat moo-moo

Do not mention Numa-Numa

It started off as a harmless link from nicky...i clicked on the link and was introduced to a very...well..."cute" video of a guy lip sync-ing of the song Dragostea Din Tea by O Zone...curiousity became an obsession to find out more about this guy and this clip of his....2 hrs later...i had enough...it's hovering on the point of absurd...for those who wish to get bombarded by crap...can go to newground.com to "immerse" yourselves.... but don't say i didn't warn u... =p

It's been a while...

It's been a long while since I've updated my blog...i'm really dead busy...yes indeed, varsity do stress out their students...I feel like a zombie....no life at all...give us students a break!! especially SOC students! We don't get that much a pay premium when we go out to work next time but why are we comparatively overburdened now?

I haven't wash the car for 2 weeks already, it really looks dirty...luckily it is a dark color if not...it will turn to a dark color already =).... sigh...must make it a point to wash it soon...when I have the time...but when do I ever have the time?...sigh.....

This Sat is NUS open house! Will be helping out for NOC...quite excited....

Sigh...really wanted to post out pictures here but do not have the time again! haha....it looks dead boring without pictures.....gosh...i better go back to study again...got to wake up early tomorrow n it's already 1am....sigh....

"Where is the Break?"

I wonder...

Here is an interesting experiment on group dynamics for you people to try out next time when you are on an outing with a group of friends, given certain conditions.
1. A control group of no larger than 4(excluding yourself)
2. A group of only one girl excluding yourself

Do obeserve the interaction within the group. Chances are, given that the group is in a form of a conversation, most of the guys will direct their questions or answers at the female. I have withness this interesting phenomenal for quite a few times and i've just been reminded of it again today, hence this post.

Also, when you are making such obersavations or doing such experiments, make sure that your gf is not around or there will be a high possiblity (P>0.8) that she might get jealous. This "natural" phenomenon can be computed based on the following formula:

if ( gender == "female")
System.out.println("you are screwed ="+")");

hee hee.....

Tired....again!

I need rest. badly. If I don't get one soon, I'll jump off a cliff to get the rest I need.

Define a Term Break....

Need I say more? I'm still in school....

Tranquility

Woke up to an early start...well...10am...quite early for me already...anyway...went to CCK Columbarium...it was fairly peaceful and quiet a place....I don't know why..but I experience a sense of peace and tranquility....just the wind, sun and birds chirping away on a sunday morning...to put it in flowery words, a lost idyllic paradise located at the wrong places(after all, it's a cemetery)...yearn to go back there again somehow...(in the day that is)

Still in Office!!!

Arrg....i'm still in office, doing some work...lame sai kang actually....no overtime pay some more...n i'm hungry n sleepy..luckily next week got term break...no test yet so can enjoy a little bit....hai..today had a bad start...missed my 15 meeting n was almost late for 15 lab cos the SOC carpark is irritatingly full today...must be the career fair...can't they park at SRC?...mmmwas wondering what kind of pics i can put on my blog...mmm maybe pics of my trusty little moo moo...mmm not that trustly lar...have a bit of minor irritance ...but other than that...i'm okie...keke

Feeling trapped

i feel trapped....how does one balance time and piority between friends and girlfriend? Suddenly I found myself in a situation whereby I have to help one of my better friends during NS and meeting my gf....I can't have the best of both worlds so I have to sacrifice my friends....yet knowing myself, I do treasure my friends and will meet up with them when the situation arises...sigh.....What would you do.......?

My Blog is finally Up

phew...spend the past 3 days trying to get my blog to the style that I want...now that it is finally done, I have to redirect friends from my old blog....

My very first Posting

This is my very first posting. Hope it will be better in the coming days....