No life

3 weeks into the job, and I'm already taken ill. I have been down with an inflamed throat, high fever (40 degrees), a terrible headache which refuses to go away. Even after going to the doctor, the medication doesn't seem to help. Working 10- 14 hours a day is damn raxing. Working on weekends ain't surprising anymore. I don't even have the time to blog on a frequent basis anymore. So much work, so little time. I don't have a life anymore. Is working really so bad?

Slogging @ Sony

I'm employed at Sony. Sony precision to be exact. Located at Tuas ave 9, it takes me 2.5 hours from home to office. Theorectically speaking, I spend almost a quarter of a day travelling. It's tiring for me and I'm still getting used to it. My body takes the toil from the long hours of travelling.

Monday (19 jun 06) was my first day at work. Basically, I'm attached to the Production Engineering Dept where I get to work on the design of Robokids. Robokids is just a fanciful name for industrial robots. Nothing has been eventful at work and I spent the first 3 days practicing Solidworks CAD software by myself. I didn't even get a chance for an orientation tour. No introduction to the colleagues, hence i had to go around chatting up with the people around me. One thing which i realised about Sony is that the environment is dead quiet. Nobody really speaks in office. As far as I can recall, I heard less than 20 sentences from the engineers around me during office hours. I guess the company culture is as such, everyone stares into the 21 inch LCD Sony monitors doing the Computer Aided Drawings for the robokid parts. As expected, the entire department consists mainly of guys. The only ladies I see around are the 40/50 year old aunties. Just "great".

My boss is extremely enthusiastic in his work, a tad too much for the engineers under him it seems. Although he tries to motivate the engineers to go the extra mile in doing things, it seems that everyone seems so sad at work. Everything looks zombified at work. Although the situation seems quite negative, the people and environment, I guess I can work this to my advantage. Since almosteveryone has the dreaded "I don't want to die at work" aura, it's easier for me to excel. Less competition. So much the better. I think the boss treats me well and teaches me whenver he is free. Let's see how the situation progresses. He has promised to put me under a new division that requires frequent oversesas travelling. I want to make somehting out of this Sony experience.

Although the welfare is terrible (horrendous) as compared to Motorola and the Japanese work culture is "Working overtime 7 days a week is oh so very normal" , I think I should still give in more effort despite the surplus of negative feedback. Attitude is what makes a person stand out. Thing's are not boring, it just haven't got exciting yet. Turbocharging should fix the situation. For things around me to change, I must be the first to change. Things will turn out for the better. Working OT 7 days a week isn't that bad at all.

Right?

Orange Ole!

The Orange army is back with a shout! First blood has been drawn by Arjen Robben over Serbia and Montenegro for yesterday's match. Resistance is futile against the Orange Army of Holland. Forget about messing around with the Orange revolution. Vibrance on the outside, lethal on the inside. Don't bother messing around.

Fun tip: Do you S&M is the only team without a country in the world cup? The country disbanded into 2 countries; Serbia; Montenegro respectively.

World of Friends at Monty's Bar

The World Cup is here at last! After watching Germany and Costa Rica fighting it out with a record opening score of 4-2 to Germany's favour. Many had expected the preceding matches to explode with excitement.

Getting in sync with the world cup, I was down at Monty's bar with a group of friends to catch England vs Paraguay which many expected to be one hell of a match. England, being favourites in this tie were expected to lash out the fury as potential world champions at Paraguay's expense. Prior to the match, Zhijian, Ka Weng, Caveman and myself were down at Cafe Cartel located at Plaza Singpaura for a sumptous dinner. It is always great to meet up with friends, especially after graduation. Most of us discussed with vigour on our "expert analysis" on the match preview. It was not surprising as many of us had "invested" in the match hoping to have some financial returns.

Approximately at 8pm, we headed down to Raffles MRT to meet up with Kok Teong who was already there waiting for us. Boat Quay was a stone's throw away and we headed to my favourite hangout pub aka Monty's Bar. Although there is no happy hour and such, I love that place. This pub has quite a number of native British expats who hang out there to show their support to their home country. Surprisingly, underdog fans can be found there too. There was this time during the Liverpool vs West Ham FA Cup final that KW and myself found ourselves outnumbered by WEST HAM supporters singing GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. Haha. What a surprise. Of course, another reason why Monty's Bar has become my favourite hangout place are the cute waitresses. Special mention has to be given to this attractive gal, Yvonne. Always cheery, sweet and very service orientated. She took orders with an extra smile and specially with politeness. It's rare to find hot chicks with a nice attitude nowdays. Had a short chat with her despite her hectic workload. Realised that she has been working there for quite some time and she's here on a part time basis. I guess the pay must be cool to work in a pub. Fun and always exciting. Just 30 minutes before the match kick off, Kelvyn joined us at the pub where we hung out happily catching up and soaking in the atmosphere.

When the match kicked off, I got to chat up with some British and Indian expats who were there watching the match too. Ain't it great to chat up with people who came from half the world away. Soccer matches isn't just about the andreline rush, it's always about meeting new friends and chilling out with current ones. Interesting events occur once in the while. A beer glass got shatterd while cheering the bottles and glasses. KW suffered minor cuts as a result of the accident from the collision of my Stella Artios beer bottle in the midst of the excitement which drew quite a few surprised faces in the pub. Heh. Sorry bro, never expected the glass to shatter so easily from a slight knock from the bottle. Despite high expectations, the England vs Paraguay match was a drab with the result in England's favour courtesy of an early Paraguay's own goal. Although the match ended 1-0 with all the fellow "investors" losing some financial assests, I will say it's part and parcel of having fun. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. What matters most is still treasuring friends company and sharing bonding sessions. No wonder Carlsberg has this quote on "World of friends" during boozing sessions.

Here are the standings as of 11 June 4:44 PM (GMT +8).

Bring in the goals !!!! Check out the highlights of the Germany vs Costa Rica thriller below. Ole... Ole Ole Ole...

FIFA World Cup 06

Thoroughout the course of human history, spanning over multiple centuries, there have been prediction of doomsday or the end of the world whenever a major event occurs. Academics worldwide have observed that scenarios of people filled the "Passioned with obsession syndrome" (PWOS). Weary males (read: Boyfriends) and neglected females (read: Girlfriends) over the widely loved FIFA World Cup has sparked an increase in the number of reported cases of people "infected" with the PWOS.

June 2006, Planet Earth. There have been reports of sightings that certain genres of humans have started to show the above mentioned symptons. Global experts have gathered at an emergency meeting at an undisclosed boardroom to tackle this upcoming pandemonium. Despite there disagreements on many issues, reliable sources have indicated that world leaders have decided that Singapore will be used as a case study to further analyse any discerning trends.

The FIFA World Cup.The Beautiful Game competition that comes once every 4 years. This time round, the mega scale world event will be held in Germany with the footballing elites nations will congregate for the sacred trophy and honour of being the next world champion. Passionate fan groups worldwide have already begun their preparation to worship their footballing gods. There is no doubt the world cup is not just a soccer tournament. It is the competition that binds people from all nations regardless of nationality and race. Political and national differences have been put aside to celebrate the union of the human race. Pride and passion converge, giving people not just pure sportertainment but also a time to bond people with a common dream. Afterall, it's a world of friends to be made during the month of June. Soccer fanatics will indulge in a celebration of world class soccer matches. Not surprisingly, the guys have devoted all their tender loving care (TLC) to their new love in their lives (aka the spanking brand new 42" plasma high definition television set). Never mind the girls, this is what the true breed testorone filled guys really yearn for. Check out the pics before the launch of the world cup with will commence on 10 June 2006 midnight (Singapore time) with Germany playing host to Coasta Rica. The world is waiting for the super sporting spectacle.

This is the game where legends are born.

Ladies need not feel left out. As you can see, some ladies are embracing it as well as the guys. Heidi Klum certainly has no trouble with playing her ball. (Even though it's hand ball)

Still NO? Why you so fussy? For the ladies who cannot seem to fall in love with the World Cup, here are some tips which MAY capture occasional glimpes from the guys while the soccer matches are in progress.

Tip 1: Look fantabulous while bringing the booze


Tip 2: Gather your hot gal friends to watch soccer with the guys

Tip 3: Dress in your guy's favourite team colours

Tip 4: Shock him (temporarily) with your

new hair colour during half time.

If all else fails, the ladies can always fall back on the....

Guys may/ may not notice your absence, so make good use of the time to do your shopping. One item which may catch your fancy during the shopping trip is this sexy little black shoe....

The shoes are not nice meh? No no... they are actually sassy sexy strappy shoes from the latest Charles and Keith collection. Your lady eyes must be playing tricks on you. Heh heh.

What the heck. Let the games begin!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

I'm playing around with flickr, trying to host my pics in high resolution using their service. Let's see if it works out well. You may see an exodus of photos if this fun trial turns out successful. (",)

Graduation

I've graduated from university!! Results were out on 5 July with lots of my friends sending in sms that the examination results were Hurray! At least i managed to salvage a honours degree, which I consider quite an acheivement for someone who only managed to get a hold of tertiary education only during my third year. The convocation ceremony is on 27 July 2006 (Thurs). Do let me know in advance if you are free to attend (or if you are taking leave from work)! We can take photos together! Almost 2 decades of education and this is what I have been waiting for. It feeeeels gooooooooooooooooooood. Heh Heh.

I had a good 3 weeks vacation break and I'm still looking for my dream job. I'm now officially in the Manpower Board statistic of being unemployed! Time to rock on. This is where life really begins. :)

My daughter's wedding

Alas! The day has arrived. My little girl will be finally getting married later this afternoon at 2.30pm. It has been one year since she got attached and the relationship has blossomed into an adventure filled with a mixture of fun, love, distress and sorrow. Last night, we had the rehearsal till 10pm to make sure everything was in order. The room was filled with people laughing, chatting, exchanging experiences. Everybody is elated. The long awaited ceremony will be what we have been waiting for all these time...

I'm not sure what to feel after the ceremony. The joy and sorrow of seeing your daughter leaving you. One side of my soul tells me that this is the moment of blissful union. Yet, the other side of my souls tells that I'm finally going to put her into the good hands of another man. Oh... What irony! Human emotions are indeed a concoction of feelings.

To my dearest daughter, my little FYP (Surface planarization of microstructures for biomedical applications), I'm happy for you. No words will be able to express my happiness after today's presentation at TR6 at 1430 hrs. Prof Yeo Swee Hock will be there to ensure you have been under my good guidance. I have high hopes for you and I know you will not let me down.

You have grown independent for the past 12 months. You have been the best daughter a father could ever have despite your occasional tantrums which led me to late nights down at the laboratory's cleanroom. It's time for you to build a new future with another student. I'm off to sleep now. I want to be at my best for my little girl's wedding. Now, that will be one load off my mind. :)

Another story for another time

This will be my last entry that I'll blog in hostel ending my 4 year stint as a hostelite of NTU. I'll be checking out at 12:00pm and surrendering the keys to the hall office. I'm still packing some of my remaining stuff. Zhijian's stuff is all cleared. Nothing left except for a water bottle which I think he forgot to bring home.

The general elections were out yesterday. Low Thia Kiang of the Worker's Party (WP) retained Hougang and Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Demoratic Alliance (SDA) retained Potong Pasir despite the People's Action Party (PAP) dangling multi million carrots to upgrade the estates in these 2 constituencies. It seems money cannot buy people's loyalty. The opposition fortresses stands out strong and I'm proud of them.

Nothing's changed in this elections despite very credible contests by the opposition. The PAP won 82 out of 84 seats in parliment. Once again, another sweep by one political party which seems to be almost invincible. Yet, it's worth nothing that the PAP's support dropped to 66% of the valid votes down from 71% (if i recall correctly from the 2001 general elections). The opposition support seems to be growing within the ranks of the younger generation of Singaporeans who are more inclined to vote of the opposition to have an alternative voice in parliment. The statistical votes seem to show a projected growth of support of the opposition in future elections.

It's the same old story. The PAP takes control of the parliment in Singapore, the opposition seems to be unable to upstage any upsets. So seriously, the political scene looks set to remain stagnant (yet again) for Singapore. What's new? Still the same old story hor? Another era for the PAP dynasty? How can we be a first world country under a one party stronghold? No doubt, the PAP has done a good job so far, but I still think an alternative voice will prove to be more beneficial for the country's economic and social growth. Just look at Japan and Korea, both these asian countries have higher GDP growth as compared to Singapore despite having opposition parties in parliment. But that's another story for another time. Let's see what will happen 5 years down the road.

Since I did not get a chance to vote, I spent by weekend in good fashion. Chilling out with friends at cafes, dining yummy food, watching blockbuster movies (at Cathay Cineplex which I rate very highly for the super duper uber fantabulous service quality), & coincidentally meeting up with avid freelance photographers and their hot models. More on that in later entries. Heh Heh. :)


Side note-
Exams are over, but I'm still stuck with work. My Final Year Project presentation is round the corner and I have to do my powerpoint slides! Time check- 3:33am, yet another sleepless night bogged with work. Bummer.....

Polling day for general elections

6th May 2006. It's polling day for the general elections where singaporeans choose and vote for their preferred party to be the parliment for the next 5 years. For the past 9 days, political parties have debated actively on many issues. From major issues to matters concerning on how James Gomez from the workers party didn't submit this minority certificate to the electorate office.

People have listened, people have seen the candidates making rallying speeches on plans to make Singapore a better place. Who will win this time round in the "hot spots" GRC/ SMC? Will the PAP prevail or will the opposition put up a strong fight? Today's the day where people will decide.

Having a chance to vote is cool and sacred, only if you get a chance to vote. As of 10 am today, Channelnewsasia have reported that almost 22% of the people have voted.

I'll still be keeping a very close watch on the election results. This is afterall, my home, my Singapore. I'm excited despite not getting a chance to vote since my home falls under the walkover GRC. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to vote the next time round. Till then, I very much remain a virgin voter. :)

First world university my ass!

My dear fellow readers,

By the time you read this entry, a few hundred students would have already been claimed as casualties by the fluid mechanics paper disaster on 3rd May 06: 1200 hours @ Nanyang Technological University examination hall B.

It's ironic how contradicting the opinions are from students from universities worldwide. I recall that slightly less than 4 years ago, people once told me university life was super relaxed and relatively stress free as compared to the 'A' levels. To the super elite uber intelligent people with brains of super computers process capability, they probably say,

"I never touched textbooks/ lecture notes/ tutorials/ research papers all my life and yet I scored all straight distinctions for the exams. So easy!"

Yeah rite..... in my 4 years of university life so far.... I can only think of two words that best describes this.

BULL SHIT !!!

No such thing! As a fellow student, I sympathise with your situation. The administration has always made everything sound so easy. Despite being the incumbent, the university's top heads have failed to comprehend the situation on the ground. Where are the creme la creme when the students need them. I can safely assure you that 8 out of 10 professors suck in teaching despite their "amazing academic track record". So what if they have the best qualifications, it doesn't mean a thing to the students if they cannot relate, speak or teach properly. Go ahead and ask the students down the lecture theatres. Oh... then again, does the top administration go on the ground the relate to you the fellow student? I've never ever seen a top head walking around checking on the state of the student population. Not convinced? Go ahead and sue me for defamatory remarks. I challenge you to do so.

Forget about all that "hoo ha" imagery that the media has painted on television. No where in Singapore do you see students sitting on a big green field staring at the clouds after a hectic day of lessons. Forget about the idea of enjoying a good cup of ice blended mocha every now and then grooving to the background music while chilling out in between lectures. Going out to play and shop whenever you feel like it? If you do lead such a lifestyle, there can only be 3 possibilites.

1. You are not a student from NTU/NUS/SMU.
   
2. You forget that you are even a student.
3. You skip lessons 5X daily, 5 days a week.
   

If you wanna know the extent of madness that goes on in university, think of it this way.

If you thought PSLE was hard,
'O' levels is 5X more difficult,
'A' levels is 10X more difficult than the 'O' levels.
University education is magnified 15x more than the 'A' levels.
Question: How much more difficult is university as compared to PSLE? (15 marks)

University education is ...
5*10*15 = 750x more difficult than your PSLE standard.

Simple right?

But wait... academics in universities never like making things simple. This is how they will pose the simplified hypothetical question to you.

The degree of difficulty can be modelled as the rise in water level in a tank. The water level rises under a steady state for 5 seconds before overflowing from the tank. Assume only frictional pipe loss f , DERIVE an expression of the rise degree of difficulty of university h(x) with respect to time using the following equations. (15 Marks)

Function of PSLE : f(w) = 6wy + 3t
Function of 'O' levels g(u) = tan (4u+7w)/ dt
Function of 'A' levels h(t) = (dy/dt * dt/dz ) 4xu * cos (5wt) + du/dt

Hint: You may find the following formula useful...
[P1/pg + V1^2/pg + z1] = {P2/pg + V2^2/pg + z2+ (fLV^2/2gD)] + K(V^2)/2g + (l/g)dv/dt}
The displacement of overspill is z(t)= (z2 - z1).


Or something like that. WHAT "USEFUL" hints. Which doesnt really make sense to the common man on the street. WTF?! Why must derive? 3/4 of the paper is based on DERIVATION. "Siao leh!" Cannot ask application type of questions found in the tutorials is it? After the professors drill the students with lots of graphs, complex formulae and application questions throughout the entire semester for the module, they examine the unexpecting student on DERIVATION? Curses to you and your freaking overdeveloped brain. Thanks to you my dear professors, many final year students with hopes of graduating in 4 years are now living in morbid fear that graduation may never be a possibility.

Assuming that some student will send an email to the administration complaining about the many matters which are considered "trivial" to the top heads, they will probably detract the student that he/she did not have his papers (lecture notes) in place, and say the student is a liar and a person who lack of integrity. How dare they accuse the top heads of the administration of such atrocities. The administration is FIRST WORLD ok? Our professors are also FIRST WORLD ok?

To to first world, we must have first world professors who will produce first world students. Nothing but NATO (No Action, Talk Only). Even all those evaluation forms are darn useless. The same old dogs still come biting you semester after semester. Who says life in university is wonderful? A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? I don't think so. Stop dangling the carrot with advertisements like.... "I can clinch a deal anywhere, I can address the world and what not...". Nothing but hot air and bullshit. Academic theories rarely apply in real life. First class university education? I don't think so!

Exams are ending soon

My last university paper will be on 3rd May 2006, where I will contest and conquer the final boss code named "M463: Fluid Mechanics". Hopefully, I will graduate and convocate this semester. Till then, no new blog entries until the end of my papers.

With the GE round the corner, let's see what events will unfold. Till then, stay tuned. I'll blog again after 3rd May 06.

Political Apathy in Singapore??

With the General Elections coming up, many Singaporeans are eager for a chance to vote. In order to create a greater awareness of political issues amongst the younger generation in Singapore, Channelnewsasia broadcasted a talkshow called "Why my vote matters- a dialogue with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew". I had to watch it online via google video as I rarely watch television (about 10 hours of TV a year). You can watch it and recap the major issues that were brought up below.

(FAST Broadband connection recommended to watch the streaming video)

After the show was broadcasted last week, there is now a major stir that the younger generation of Singaporeans do not show adequate respect to the Minister Mentor (MM Lee). The dialogue session was harsh and direct with normally shunned questions being brought up directly to MM Lee. The "panel" of 10 Singaporeans, below the age of 30 brought up almost every single issue that was brought up by the opposition parties with regards to the upcoming elections and Group Representative Constituency (GRC). Questions like the People's Action Party (PAP) were depriving the opposition of a level playing ground. Controversial topics like the PAP being arrogant and power crazy were brought face up to MM Lee himself. Of course, the big question of whether the PM Lee Hsien Loong was backed by MM Lee in parliament. Questions like the PAP being seemed as intimidating were also hung up. Unfazed by the barrage of direct and blunt questions, MM Lee remained sharp and gave back authoritative and candid replies. No stone was left uncovered and statements with the lack of evidence were shot back firmly.

After the broadcast, public opinion was hugely divided. One school of thought consisting predominatly of the elder generation (1st and 2nd generation) of Singaporeans claimed that the younger generation showed a lack of respect for the man behind Singapore's remarkable progress in nation building. The other school of thought, consisting of the 3rd generation of younger Singaporeans rebutted back claiming that the questions were not provocative but was meant to voice out the opinion of people and to bring up issues which were normally considered taboo.

I agree that it took courage to bring up senstive issues face on with a man of MM Lee's stature. Afterall, MM Lee has tasted more salt than what most younger singaporeans have encoutered. Thumbs up to those who brought up taboo topics, this is how society operates. The truth is never sweet tasting, and most of the time, it's sensitive to mention anything openly. I believe that this is a sign that people believe strongly in democracy. People should always have the right to say and bring up constructive criticism. This is the only way for us to strive forward. If Singapore is to maintain her worldclass standards in many aspects, locals should be more broadminded and critical on national issues. Kudos to those who braved the mental fear to voice the public's opinion.

It's ironic that despite the objective of the dialogue session was to provoke a sense of political awareness, people are complaining that the younger generation who is "politically ignorant" are being too hard on in criticising the government. I see these behavoirs as a sign of different cultural upbringing. The english educated generation is more direct and open, while the chinese educated generation believe more on moral and social values. Either way, both parties win despite their differences on opinions and thoughts. Singaporeans are now talking about politics in their daily lives. The public apathy on national issues and politics have suddenly been given an upheaval. People are now better aware on the issues like the importance of elections, government and the political systems of Singapore.

For more information, read up on news articles on this recent issue. Here's the side of the story from the people who were involved in this dialogue. Channelnewsasia will be broadcasting another episode on the aftermath of the dialogue session.

Here's what to expect from channelnewsasia

That Dialogue
Was I Rude Or...?
A discussion on "Why My Vote Matters - A Dialogue with the Minister Mentor" created a stir after the programme went on air. One camp applauds the young Singaporeans for daring to brave MM Lee. The other found their manners wanting. Hear their takes on the issue. Thu, Apr 20 @ 2030 SST.

I'll catch the upcoming episode (online) if possible [even though I'm in the midst of my exams]. A good debate stimulates my inner burning desire all the time. Let the sandstorm begin and stir up some dust! Who says there is political apathy amongst the younger generation of Singaporeans?

********
(Updated 8:45 pm)

On a lighter note... Check out what Mr Brown has for his latest podcast. Simply hilarious!!! Here's a spoof , tastefully done via Star Wars style.

Better Man(R) : So you wanna contest me in the
upcoming jedi election eh? Feel my lightsaber!!!

Browncast: Jedi elections special (Click to listen)

Editor's note-
*In yoda speak*
Mr Brown and Mr Miyagi - Funny... you people are. 2 thumbs up! Like podcasts... I do. Heh Heh.

Exam grades spoof

Report card day spoof. "What?! You got a B+ ?!"





*Sobs* Don't scold me.... *Sobs* I promise to score all 'A's the next time round...

Nervy jitters

Just came back from Eugene's hall for revision. It's ironic that the more we revise, the more worried we become. Starting to have the tingling nervy jitters for my first paper (M481) tomorrow. I hope the paper will be managable. This prescribed elective seems a little too taxing for my liking. No chances for any mistakes this semester. Everything must be cleared at all cost.

13 hours & 15 mins to go. The clock is ticking.

Muggerisation

For the past 2 weeks, I realise that mugging for the exams has turned my life upside down. I'm officially infected with "muggerisation". Here's why.

10.30 am: Wake
10.45 am: In a state of daze
11.00 am: Read notes
11.30 am: Brunch
12.30 pm: Study
6.30 pm : Dinner
7.30 pm : Study
11.45 pm: Night snack
12.00 am: Study
3.35 am : Zzz

2 days and counting. Honeydew day approaches. Ain't you envious of my "nerdificious" life? *zzz* Let's over and done with the papers. I wanna graudate!!!

When +ve becomes -ve

I was speaking to my ex over the phone a few days back and there were somethings which left me pondering. During the midst of the conversation, she told me that during our recent 3.5 years of courtship, I tended to think highly of myself and probed her whenever she was troubled. She told me those were 2 weaknesses which I really should attempt to change.

Hmm.. which brings me to question the very fundamentals on how I was brought up. My parents always taught me to set standards for myself and to be confident in my actions. I was also encouraged to open up and ask whether in doubt. These traits seem to be positive at a young age but they seem to become negative as people grow up. Strange isn't it?

Confidence breeds success doesn't it? If I don't think highly of myself, I will not have what it takes to drive myself forward. I know that over confidence is dangerous, but cockiness only comes with great self belief doesn't it? If I don't elude any form of confidence, then I'm definitely not meant for greater things in life. Achieving greater things in life also means building for a better future. No? Hmm.... So what's wrong with me?

"Ask whenever you're in doubt", my teachers used to tell me during primary school. If you are unsure of how someone is feeling, then ask him/her. No point guessing right? Surely I cannot be expected to guess someone's thoughts all the time? Asking seems to be the logical way for me. Guessing games ain't my cup of tea. I prefer to get the facts and opinions and lay them out to discuss. I really cannot comprehend secretive people. (There is nothing wrong in being secretive though). But if there is nothing bad, then what's there to hide? Just let it out and let people close to you share your woes. Why keep worries to just to yourself? Whenever people ask, it's a sign of love, care and concern. If you didn't mean anything to me, why would I even ask what's troubling you? Hmm... So what's wrong with me?

So exactly, what's right and what's wrong? That will probably be a question which I may not have an answer to. Then again, maybe I'm just not able to see things outside my perspective.

Do guys and gals really think at different frequencies? Maybe that's why some people say that "Men are from mars & Women are from Venus."

Side note- It's a warm and humid night as I blog this entry. My 1st paper is 4 days away... Exams sux. :/

Stressed out?

People get stressed out over many reasons. Work, school, personal life, family and financial problems. Feeling upset and falling into depression? Destress the Super Mario way!

Click on the picture to watch.
Jumping helps you destress!

*Groan* 5 days to my first paper (affectionately known as the Honeydew day) *I can will be ready to kill the exam papers!*

Day Break

Dawn signals the end of night and the beginning of day. The break-in sunshine brings in hope, tranquility and warmth to our daily lives. Sometimes, one really has to learn appreciate the simplicity that nature has to offer.

It's politically correct to say that tranquil moments never last. We live in a world of chaos. Enjoy your inner peace while you can. Soon, it'll be time to yield your weaponry and fight for your worldly possessions and gains; both tangible or intangible.

The examinations are nearing coming in 6 days. Battle royale is about to commence...

The Da Burger Code

If you have read "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, you'll probably find this following text extract and this infamous drawing familiar.

"The Vitruvian Man," Langdon gasped. Saunière had created a life-sized replica of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous sketch.

Considered the most anatomically correct drawing of its day, Da Vinci's The Vitruvian Man had become a modern-day icon of culture, appearing on posters, mouse pads, and T-shirts around the world. The celebrated sketch consisted of a perfect circle in which was inscribed a nude male... his arms and legs outstretched in a naked spread eagle.

Da Vinci. Langdon felt a shiver of amazement. The clarity of Saunière's intentions could not be denied. In his final moments of life, the curator had stripped off his clothing and arranged his body in a clear image of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.

Leonardo da Vinci had a well documented history of including hidden cryptographic codes in his drawings. "de Cryptographie" often spend countless time in solving the cryptic puzzles. I saw this drawing when I was down at Orchard Road. Introducing, "The Da Burger Code".

Messieur da Vinci seemed to have a love for burgers during his time. Do you have what it takes to decrytify the meaning of this drawing?

Small bear biscuits

This is something which i MUST bring to the attention of all "Meiji" fans! I'm sure many of you have seen this familiar packaging in assorted flavours that looks like this?

How about this? Check out these "Hello Panda" biscuits (affectionally known as small bear biscuits) which were packaged in CUPS. I found them at Prime supermarket. Heh. "La pi xiao xing" will be crazy over these "xiao xiong bing gan".

Heh Heh. I like small bear biscuits. They are the coolest biscuits in town. :)

The beginning of the end

The time is 0423 a.m as I blog this. My roomie, Zhijian is asleep and there are pesky light-loving insects hovering above my table lamp.

It's official! I've attended my last lecture in university. The lecturer, Prof "Spot" was mumbling about turbomachinery and something about the radial flow turbine which I believe is not examinable for the paper. 4 years of lectures and tutorials in the university is more than sufficient for me. 8 gruelling semesters, countless tutors and lecturers. But I must say I have utmost respect for 2 special professors who had the most impact on me. They were there to help and pull me up whenever there were pitfalls. Prof Yeo Song Huat and Prof David Lee Butler. They are the best 2 teachers I ever had for my entire course of formal education. Despite having some torrid times in school (failing certain killer modules which I had to repeat), I will have to say that university life has got to be the most formative period for me. I feel that it has been most enriching, fun, shaping me towards independence. 4 years of staying in NTU's halls of residence have brought me wonderful memories. Looking back, I've been studying for the past 18 years. That's almost 2 decades of education to get me ready to contribute to society.

Counting down, it's 10 days to my first paper of my FINAL examination. I can't wait to get over it even though I have not been revising as hard as I should. To be truthful, I'm quite sick of studying. 18 years of formal education is indeed a long time. Jer replied to one of my emails and in it, she wrote "Study hard and you will do well". I'm happy and I really feel very much more motivated to press on for my final lap. Simple words of encouragement that pushes me on. It's a nice to know that she still cares. Sometimes, words have a different impact when said by people close (or used to be close) to you.

Not forgetting those who love me (or used to love me), to those who encourage me, to those who who bother to make cards to cheer me up, to those who provided great company, to those who were in my external event committee/sub committe, to those who slogged with me as a business manager to secure sponsorships, to those who provided endless fun during freshmen orientation camps, to those who nudged me awake during boring lessons, to those who studied together in the tutorial rooms/study benches/ study rooms/ canteens, to those who gave me wake up calls for my morning lessons and morning papers, my tertiary life would have been monotonous if not for all of you.

Zhijian and I discuss about life after university now and then. The future ain't gonna be a bed of roses, but I still do look forward to it. Career, Girlfriends, Flings, Family, Friends & Finances.... whatever... What does the future hold for a 24 year old undergraduate? It's going to be a new path in life where I finally get a chance to decide on what I really want to do. The first thing I'll do after graduation is to personally thank all those who have encouraged me to bravely move on. I am what I am today because of all of you.

Alright. Time check. 0520 am on a Friday morning as I close this entry. I'm suppose to help Linda with CMP polishing at the clean room @ 12pm, meet Prof David Butler @ 3pm to submit my FYP report and study for my upcoming papers later today. Meantime, I'll open MS Word and start finalising my report. It's time for me to hit the books. I don't think I'll sleep today. :)


Side note-
Fatality count of light loving insects since I started this entry: 6

Cat-Lee

Post entry update! (6th April 06)

I was reading Kenny Sia's blog yesterday when I saw him posting these pictures. I can't help myself but to update this entry. What a coincidence. Those vandals are funny. Horse Lee! Haha.




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(Original Entry)
Meet my new friend, Cat-Lee. Proudly named after my superstar idol Kelly. She pops into my hostel room once in a while. :)

This is one cool cat. I think she's my lucky charm.

Mac rules. Windows suxs.

Click here to zoom in

A total fresh new look! I simply love the gorgeous iMac interface!

Johnny says- This is an enhancement. NOT cosmestic makeover!

Next up. I'll revamp my life. I deserve better. Really.

The promise

I thought we had an agreement.
I thought we promised to notify each other.
I trusted you enough to inform me.
Yet I had to ask before you told me so.
No excuses are needed.
The promise has been broken.

Is there still a mutual trust between friends?
Friends respect each other.
Friends abide to promises.
Friends share their joys and sorrows.
Don't they?

The prime evils of my life

Does this make sense to you?

Yeah... you'll probably be saying, "HUH" ? (Else... stay away from me).
This is one of the prime evils which has been giving me endless headaches.

Introducing the prime evils in order of atrocity.

FYP Project
M463 Test
M464 Project
M460 Project
M481 Assignment
M458 Test
CS814- Assignment and Presentation

Yucks. I really wished I had time to edit and upload the tons of photos which I've taken over the past few weeks. I'll be back once I clear everything. The final exams are due in 3.5 weeks! Will my sanity still be intact by then?

As I quote from Blinkymummy - "I am is sian" =_= Heh Heh.

**I saw her face... in a crowded place....and I don't know what to do....** - James Blunt

Ballet soccer

With less than 100 days to the World Cup 2006 and counting down, let's get a feel of some fever. Referees can also have fun in the beautiful game. Samba soccer rocks but how about something for a change? Ballet soccer anyone?

This is one referee that should really feature in the upcoming World Cup in Germany.

Stranded in Nerdy Noob Paradise

I know I have not been blogging for quite some time & here's the reason why.

I'm stranded on a hypothetical island affectionally known as the "Nerdy Noob Paradise" I'm stuck with tons of workload for this month. Waves of tutorials, assignments, projects and tests hit me hard and fast. Multiple deadlines are due soon! Been too busy to even get some decent sleep, but then again... most final year students are stressed out and show signs of weirdness due to the intense workload. My life revolves around nothing but books, journals and articles. Darn... I seriously need to get a life.

I'll promise that I will come up with short entries over the next day or so. Stay tuned.

Pissing in public

I saw a kid pissing in the middle of a crowded coffee shop during dinner (at the NTU extension). This kid stood on a chair and sprayed his yellow piss into the plastic bag which his mum was holding. And yes... the boy was half naked and his shorts were at his ankles revealing his willy in full glory. (-.-")

So much for Singapore being a civic minded society. Where is the decency and respect for the surrounding customers? Surely the parents knew that this was inappropriate? Besides, the toilet was only less than 20 steps away. Ugly Singaporeans. I am totally grossed out.

NYP Tammy scandal

I'm certain the name "Tammy" needs no introduction to the country of "Sillypore". Her name is on almost everyone's lips nowdays. After that scandalous NYP affair, even the Straits Times newspaper got excited and wrote an article on it. Poor Tammy, a victim of technology. I'm sure everyone knows the entire scandal by now but in a nutshell, there is this girl called Tammy from Nanyang Polytechnic who had her hand phone stolen by some jealous fellow cheerleader. Whatever the reason, she was unlucky enough to have her sexual exploits exposed via her state of the art video camera phone. The person who stole the phone even went to the extent of publishing her personal details and mass mailed it to the entire staff and student population of NYP. As if this is not enough, the video is now generously available on the net. To further hype the attention, rumour has it that the videos were released part by part.

The hype is not so much on the closer to life "Made in Sillypore" ponography video that is available. People will always be curious for sleazy and unorthodox news. Afterall, it is not everyday that sex scandals are revealed in our own sunny island "Sillypore". Some people in "Sillypore" do silly stuff, really silly stuff. There is no doubt that the person who released the video was all out to make Tammy a household name. In fact, Tammy may just be the next star after the infamous Anabelle Chong. Technorati even reported that the topic "Tammy NYP" was the top search topic for the week in "Sillypore". I heard many people talking and laughing that Tammy's home made video puts Paris Hilton's sex video to shame. Sure... this may be interesting to talk about and for a good laugh but has anyone thought of the consequences?

Tammy is already a victim for a vicious attack. Her time is in a total mess and she has to live a life of a refugee. I will say that her plight is worse that the victims of the 911 attack, 2004 tsunami, Bali bombings and the latest phillipine landslide. Has anyone spared a thought for this poor girl? Many of you can argue that she shouldn't had let her boyfriend film their sexual escapades. Some of you can also argue that a 17 year old polytechnic student should not even be having sex in the first place. The rest can even argue that she should be punished and expelled!? Let us get the facts straight, why is all the attention on poor tammy and not her boyfriend? We can only guess. People all around the world have sex, so what's the big deal? Why should a victim get further abused? It's like sentencing a victim of a robbery to jail because he/she was robbed. Does this even make sense?

I openly condemmed the person who released the videos. This is too extreme a revenge for anyone. This is living hell. What is the cause for this act of revenge? Fear? Anger? Hate? Tammy ain't no celebrity or a prominent figure in the media and yet, all the spotlight is suddenly on her in a notorious manner. Let's be clear about one thing.

Fear leads to Anger,
Anger leads to Hate &
Hate leads to SUFFERING.

A beautiful life, a bright future has been shattered. I have NO IDEA how tammy is going to pick up her life again. She can avoid her friends, breakup with the boyfriend and other stuff to get away, but can she face her parents and relatives? Is it ever possible for her not to be scorned by her elders in a conservative asian society? Nobody deserves to be a "tammified" and be on the receiving end for such a matter. Revenge only begets revenge. Somethings in life simply cannot be repaired. Shattered souls remain shattered like broken glass, never to be beautiful again.

Just give the poor girl some privacy.

The art of Star Wars (Sneak Peak)

Feel my lightsaber you will !!!

Stay tuned...

Love me, Kelly (2)

Kelly Mania!

As promised earlier, here are some pictures of kelly's album which I bought last week. After days of continuous listening, I'm still can't get enough! I LIKE! Here are the tracks in her debut album labelled Love Me, Kelly. (Change your font encoding to unicode if you can't see the chinese words.)

Love Me Again

爱, 无力
答案
计时炸弹
有些爱
非爱不可
那一秒说的话
魔力
美丽笨女人
关于爱情 (Feat. 洪俊扬)

爱, 无力 has definitely got to be my all time favourite. The lyrics are just so true, so real.

In case some of you readers have yet to see her latest MV, click here to directly watch a preview. The MV is a preview version, so there are some lip sync issues but hey, it's as close as you can get. Please stop telling me that her blue "raincoat" looks ugly. It's a funky nice dress for goodness sake. Love Singapore's very own superstar & want to know more? Check out Kelly fan club by clicking on the kelly fan club website image below.

Speaking of which, did I mention that I got a poster of Kelly upon purchase of the CD? I'm elated that I've got the mega sized poster of her. Haha. Now I have a hot chick looking down at me every morning when I wake up.

Looks like I will not have problems waking up early.

In order for me to stay motivated and awake, I even placed the CD casing on my desk space! Did you know that Kelly is my friend's (Michelle) friend? So cool right? What a small world!

Grooving in the beat as Kelly sings.

Oh! Did you buy this week's issue of I-weekly? Kelly's the cover girl. I specially bought the issue with the plastic wrapping. Haha.

100% Kelly and no less

Meantime, please stop asking me to rip the tracks into mp3 so that I can send them to you. Go get her album (either the normal or limited edition versions) if you have yet to do so. Go get an exclusive copy of i-weekly too! Your eyes and ears will thank you for it. :) GO KELLY!

Side tracking, in case, you are wondering about all that Star Wars stuff which I have all over my desk space, that's because I visited "The Art of Star Wars" exhibition at the science centre a few days back. More on that in another entry.

Love me, Kelly (1)

I bought Kelly's debut album, "Love me, Kelly" the day before (wednesday) and I've got an exclusive mega sized poster!!! I've put the poster up on my hostel room. Woo Hoo! I've been listening to it over and over again and loving every tune to it. SHE ROCKS! Even the newspapers gave her debut album a 4 out of 5 stars rating. Really great stuff. To those who have not bought her album yet, get her album asap! You will not regret it, fantastic tracks. Go Kelly! Always my superstar.

More on this later. I'll upload some pictures soon. :) Meantime, Ed has informed me via msn that Kelly is the cover girl for this week's issue of "I-weekly". I'll definitely rush to get my copy the first thing in the morning. Her music video is also available for preview here. (Wait for kelly's picture to appear in the flash and click on it). The full MV will be out on channel U on 19 Feb 06 at 8.45 pm. Do remember to catch it!

There she goes

Jer told me that she'll be off to Hong Kong tomorrow on a holiday with her friend (that police kid/ guy who is giving/gave her the supplementary credit card as mentioned in my previous entry.) Hmm... a holiday for two? I'm surprised on how fast things progressing. She told me that she bought tickets there two weeks ago. Oh well, she explained to me the whole rationale that she wants to get used to travelling abroad and other personal reasons on how she ended up flying off with just this guy. I get this melanchonic feeling, but on the other hand, I'm also worried about her safety. Remember the song "Leaving on a jet plane" by Chantel Kreviazuk? I have the exact sentiments. I'll give her the benefit of doubt in any case. Either way, I'm in no position to interfere. She lives her life and I'll happily live mine. She'll be flying out of Singapore again after this Hong Kong trip. Apparently, her company will be sending her for a business trip in March. Ah... I hope she enjoys herself there. Afterall, she really wanted to go yo HK for a long long time. Have an enjoyable trip Jer. Remember the promise you gave to me. Bon voyage and take care!!!

Speaking of which, I want to go to Japan in the near future. I've always dreamed about experiencing and visiting the land of the rising sun. Someday, I'm spread my wings out and fly around high above the clouds... ...

*Sniff sniff* Need a MC?

It's drizzling as I write up this entry. There have been showers that go and off for the past 2 weeks or so. What's it with the weather? Someone should write a complain to the Ministry of Rain to complain about the inconsistent spells of mini showers. Not surprisingly, many people have/had been suffering from the *sniff-sniff-ha-chew* syndrome (including myself).

As I pop in another miracle pill that helps to alleviate my cold like symptons (aka the vitamic C pill), I thought back on how my fellow national service friends used to fake illness just to avoid the 5km morning in the wee hours of the morning. Afterwhich, they will run over to the medical centre after practicing their *I'm too weak to do anything* facial expressions in front of the mirror.

Here are some of the common practices which were successfully implemented. Introducing....

" How to get Chao Keng in front of the MO"
for dummies "

• Buy one tube of toothpaste (super fresh and minty type), squeeze out all the contents and eat them up. Sure to get stomach upset and fever overnight.

Effectiveness- 2 days MC, 1 week light duty

• Steal a jumbo sized box of Kong Guan buscuits from the mess. Crush them, and mix them container with drain water. Finish them quickly before you get caught by your sergeant. CONFIRM get "lau sai" (diahorrea).

Effectiveness- 1 day MC, 3 days light duty.

• Go to the medical office, when it is almost your turn to see the doctor, hurry run to the toilet and take some water+ soap and rub it into your beloved eye. Rub your eye until it become swollen, then cry in front of the doctor saying got bee sting your eye.

Effectiveness- 1 week MC plus a chance to chat up with
the nurses at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

PS- The last time I heard, none of the following tricks work anymore ever since the cleaner complained about constantly refilling the hand soap in the toilets and having to clean up metal Kong Guan biscuit containers found near the drains.

Collective events!

Finally! I am able to squeeze out some time to blog again.

As my hectic schedule eases its way through, I am beginning to gain back some of my sanity. All the late night reports and research has taken some toil on my body. I've been down with a slight runny nose since yesterday. Being a little paranoid from what I see from the news I was beginning to suspect the possibility of contacting bird flu. :/ After all, I did had chicken rice for lunch a few days back and the chicken looked kind of bloody. Despite that good old glorious bloody mess, I ignorantly wolved the plate of chicken rice in a record time.


Hmm... A little too late to regret? Edwina commented that it was probably due to the lack of sleep. I guess she's right, I do feel a little better after some intensive sleep and some cold medicine.

I was down at parklane with KW last Saturday evening when I bumped into something quite unexpected! As I was walking towards peace centre, I saw an entire army of black people! They were cheering, screaming, shouting and punching their fists in the air. Taken aback, I turned my head 90 degrees and saw police cars with the blinkers flashing on. I looked back and I saw roads being cordened off. Before I could blink my eyes, more Indians flooded the vicinity and were walking all over the main roads causing slight traffic congestion. I was stunned! A revolt? A mutiny? Mass protest and demostration from the Indian community? Isn't Singapore suppose to be a harmonious place right where people from all walks of life fuse together as one? Hmm.... But wait! There are burly looking Indian men who were carrying Kavadi(s) pierced onto themselves.


"It's Thaipusam!!!" KW shouted at over the surrounding noise. Cool... A festival celebrated by Indians all over the world. There were hundreds of devotees carrying offerings to their Hindu gods and there were some who pushed their devotion to the test by piecing themselves with Kavadi's into their flesh as a large offering to the Hindu god, Lord Subramaniam. I must say that their pain threshold is very high! That Kavadi looks heavy and it's pierced into this flesh without any visible wounds. Amazing! I'm just bewilded on why there is no blood flowing out the piercings. Wanting to test out whether it was painful to have all those piercings, I told KW to offer his arm as I pierced my fingernail into his flesh. *Ouch!* Not surprisingly, he brushed me off saying I was crazy. Ha.I seriously wanted to stand beside one of the Kavadi carriers and take a photo but decided not to. Afterall, this is something very sacred to the Hindus. There were many people whom I believed to be family and friends of the Kavadi carriers who were shouting and cheering to give the Kavadi people encouragement and support. Some even had drums as they hit a rhythm to motivate the people around.


Of course, not every Hindu devotee celebrated with extremities, some of them carried offerings on their heads decorated with flowers and religious ornaments. Many of them were walking barefoot as a test of their resilience. If i recall correctly, the devotees started off from a major Indian temple at tank road (near little India) and walked 3km to the next major temple.

I also noticed female Kavadi carriers. The ladies were carrying smaller version(s) of Kavadis but they still looked heavy. One middle aged woman was on the verge of tears as she hobbled in pain. Such is the power of faith and devotion. I can't help but to have a deep sense of respect for the devotees.

It was definitely an eye opening experience. I'm glad to be in Singapore. The fusion of different races and religions does really spice up the life and exposes different people to the cultures of other races.

Before I forget, today is V-day! Yep. It also coincidentally happens to be Kai Shun's (my younger bro) 16th birthday. Incidentally, Siew Lan's birthday also falls on the same day too! We're gonna have a belated celebration for her tomorrow. It must be fun to have your birthday falling on valentine's day. Some much love around. The entire campus is flooded with V-day booths, performances and love food. Flowers are going all around!! Wispie even distributed chocolates wrapped in pink papers to her friends. Way cool!


To everyone out there reading this. Happy V-day to you irregardless whether you are single or attached. Have you told someone you loved them yet? Look around you and you'll realise that actually, love is all around.