Finally got around to writing a blog!
I have been reading the last few entries. It's definitely good to hear what some of us are up too. I saw the graduation photos of Ivan and company. Everyone looked really good. But I am trying to frantically find the post why Ivan and Tsu Tsen will be in Japan. Pretty hard to do anything with a dial up connection while praying it doesn't get disconnected.
I agree with Jared. I can't believe how fast time has passed. My sister birthday passed a few days ago. I had to calculate more than once to make sure she is really 31 while writing her card! Just seemed like yesterday that I was playing 'house' with her. I have been listening to a lot of band music of late. Hmm...band was all I ever did in ACJC. Can't really remember my time in the classroom. Memories in the dust bandroom are more vivid.
For some of you guys who thought that I have dropped off from the face of the earth. Well, I haven't. Still doing my second degree in Architecture in Australia. I am in 4th year and have another year to go. Really can't wait to be done. Ben came over to Newcastle to see me wear a gown and a silly hat for my first degree in April. I am not sure how to upload pictures to show Ben and me in Newcastle.
I have been missing food at home a lot lately. Bought longans in a can which tasted like lychees!For a moment, I was wondering whether my taste buds had been Aussified that I couldn't tell the difference.
Anyway, I am quite curious about the Singapore Idol and how good they are. Over here, it's difficult to not watch Australian Idol because other tv shows at that slot can be really really lame. Must admit that some of them are really good.. There are, of course, William Hung-wannabes.
Well, it's been good to hear from everyone!
Friday, 27 August 2004
Thursday, 26 August 2004
Singapore Idolizes...
The Idol franchise has got me hooked - I actually watched the entire first round.
New Paper: S'pore Idol: Best local comedy?
New Paper: S'pore Idol: Best local comedy?
Wednesday, 25 August 2004
Mooncake Party @ Moonbeam Palace?
  |
Was just telling Shush that we've gotta have a REAL party before the 2 boys fly off to sushi land. How about a mooncake party @ moonbeam palace?? |
Tuesday, 24 August 2004
Monday, 23 August 2004
Wednesday, 18 August 2004
Ohayo Gozaimasu!
Yay! We are going Japan! (That's T3 and me!)
(Erm, pending clearence for me)
Ah...i can taste the ramen, sushi, sashimi and maggi mee.
Noo! I gotta learn to cook fast! Where do i start?? *panic*
Anyone knows a good easy meal?
Fried egg with steam toufu?
Steam egg with fried toufu?
Boiled egg with boiled toufu?
Yep! i just got a call from the HR manager this morning, she said,
"Hi, you hear my voice now, do you know what it means?".
(Man...she MUST toy with my feelings.)
"I hope i am going lah", i replied.
"Yes! Happy? now you have to wait for........"
HR personnels...gotta love them though. =P
Being "tortured" by the HR Manager...-50 Cents.
Eating maggi mee ... -$60. (must gofor hair fall control)
Being able to go Japan for 1.5 years
with one of your best friend...Priceless.
Oyasumi!
(Erm, pending clearence for me)
Ah...i can taste the ramen, sushi, sashimi and maggi mee.
Noo! I gotta learn to cook fast! Where do i start?? *panic*
Anyone knows a good easy meal?
Fried egg with steam toufu?
Steam egg with fried toufu?
Boiled egg with boiled toufu?
Yep! i just got a call from the HR manager this morning, she said,
"Hi, you hear my voice now, do you know what it means?".
(Man...she MUST toy with my feelings.)
"I hope i am going lah", i replied.
"Yes! Happy? now you have to wait for........"
HR personnels...gotta love them though. =P
Being "tortured" by the HR Manager...-50 Cents.
Eating maggi mee ... -$60. (must go
Being able to go Japan for 1.5 years
with one of your best friend...Priceless.
Oyasumi!
Tuesday, 17 August 2004
Back Aches and More
Just submitted my first assignment for UNSW (COMP 3511 HCI Assignment 1)..
Sighs, not a really good start really, gotta make some device that triggers an audio message of "DO NOT PROCASTINATE !!" everytime I enter my room or something.
My back really really aches now due to the fact that I've been sitting on the floor for 6 hours now using a milk crate as a table....
The boxes from Brissie came this morning, so I've got all my stuff now...well except for the stuff that I had to leave behind because they were too big, like the ironing board, my set of knives (think 20+?), 2 plates that have endured my cooking the last 5 months. One of my boxes...well the plastic tupperware big crate thing is broken...so gotta call the office tomorrow and complain about it. Would have done that today but I've actually got no phone installed yet, but the phone line's been up since 5pm! Whoopee....people can call me but I won't know nor can I answer?
Oh but nobody knows the number yet, well except the housemate and another person...not that my housemate wants to call me...
It's been pouring around here the last few days, and just a few hours ago a storm was brewing and I heard a clap of thunder. Jumped right outta my skin since there rarely is thunder back in Brissie!
Because it was raining, I caught a bus to school for the International Office focus group thing that I signed up for. The bus driver asked me a totally weird question "What's wrong with the other bus?". Apparently he saw me heading for the first bus, then turned and boarded his bus that was parked behind instead.
Geez, after taking buses in Singapore for so long, it's definately apparent that if the first bus is swarming with school children trying to board it, of course the bus parked behind has a higher chance of moving off first and reaching your destination ealier PLUS it's less crowded. DUH!! Veteren public transport user here....
"I didn't say there was anything wrong with it did I?" was my reply. So that shut him up, and he just issued me my ticket...What an ass.....the last thing I'd have thought was for the bus driver to question my motives on why I boarded the bus, go terrorise somebody else yeah?
The focus group was boring...considering I had so much to say about the pathetic services the current website provides, all I got was some sandwicthes, wraps, an orange juice and a free movie ticket.
Me new Address....
Unit 14
17-21 Villiers Street
Kensington
NSW 2033
Australia
Home: +61 (02)9662-1101 (Eh no phone attached yet)
Mobile: +61 413136940 (SMS me please!)
/me reaches for the pain killers....
Over the Air: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Rachmaninov
Sighs, not a really good start really, gotta make some device that triggers an audio message of "DO NOT PROCASTINATE !!" everytime I enter my room or something.
My back really really aches now due to the fact that I've been sitting on the floor for 6 hours now using a milk crate as a table....
The boxes from Brissie came this morning, so I've got all my stuff now...well except for the stuff that I had to leave behind because they were too big, like the ironing board, my set of knives (think 20+?), 2 plates that have endured my cooking the last 5 months. One of my boxes...well the plastic tupperware big crate thing is broken...so gotta call the office tomorrow and complain about it. Would have done that today but I've actually got no phone installed yet, but the phone line's been up since 5pm! Whoopee....people can call me but I won't know nor can I answer?
Oh but nobody knows the number yet, well except the housemate and another person...not that my housemate wants to call me...
It's been pouring around here the last few days, and just a few hours ago a storm was brewing and I heard a clap of thunder. Jumped right outta my skin since there rarely is thunder back in Brissie!
Because it was raining, I caught a bus to school for the International Office focus group thing that I signed up for. The bus driver asked me a totally weird question "What's wrong with the other bus?". Apparently he saw me heading for the first bus, then turned and boarded his bus that was parked behind instead.
Geez, after taking buses in Singapore for so long, it's definately apparent that if the first bus is swarming with school children trying to board it, of course the bus parked behind has a higher chance of moving off first and reaching your destination ealier PLUS it's less crowded. DUH!! Veteren public transport user here....
"I didn't say there was anything wrong with it did I?" was my reply. So that shut him up, and he just issued me my ticket...What an ass.....the last thing I'd have thought was for the bus driver to question my motives on why I boarded the bus, go terrorise somebody else yeah?
The focus group was boring...considering I had so much to say about the pathetic services the current website provides, all I got was some sandwicthes, wraps, an orange juice and a free movie ticket.
Me new Address....
Unit 14
17-21 Villiers Street
Kensington
NSW 2033
Australia
Home: +61 (02)9662-1101 (Eh no phone attached yet)
Mobile: +61 413136940 (SMS me please!)
/me reaches for the pain killers....
Over the Air: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Rachmaninov
Progressive Society & Porn
It's official: Net porn good for you.
A while ago, some writer, well-known for his liberal ideas, wrote that porn as a characteristic of a society reflects how progressive it is.
Gee...
A while ago, some writer, well-known for his liberal ideas, wrote that porn as a characteristic of a society reflects how progressive it is.
Gee...
Monday, 16 August 2004
192.168... d0_0b
Woopeedee!
Today, my maxonline 3000 subscription came! It was a promotion that was quite hard to resist really. "Double the bandwidth (upload and download) for an additional 9 bucks to your current subscription! Plus, u get a free modem, free broadband wireless-b router and wireless usb adaptor!" At least that was what was advertised!
The small print is that u are bonded for 2 years and backing out will cost u 400 bucks.
Anyway, I spent the better part of the day configuring the router and testing out the bandwidth increments. And found that the increase in download is only about just 100 K/sec more... at max. So, it's not really a double the download bandwidth. The upload is however, doubled, to 30 K/sec.
The perks of a wireless network didn't kick in (Now I noe how Ivan has been enjoying himself!) until today, as I experimented by connecting up to 2 laptops plus my primary desktop all to one network! The feeling of being connected to a near limitless source of knowledge (read: THE Internet) just gives one a real high, where coupled with a search engine and other search tools, literally gives u anything you want to know at your fingertips. On the scary side, it also shows the sheer dependency we peeps in this technological age have on the internet. Without which, I think, we'll be stopped dead cold in our tracks in our hunt for answers.
Surfing on 1 connection with 3 computers at the same time (Mom, sis and me) took a bit of toll on the bandwidth available, but it was still very bearable. Well, at least until I hogged all the bandwidth with my bit torrent download/upload. Yes, I know there are proggies out there to limit ur upload bandwidth in torrent... but I just wanted to do it for the sake of testing things out.
Hmm... next thing to try out is the local networking! Hmm... do I hear "LAN Party!!!"... Yeah? Hhaha!! We'll see.
And here's a random pic of the day (from Doom 3 of course) to spice up this post a little.
Sleep.
*Lifehouse - Storm*
-Calvin-
Today, my maxonline 3000 subscription came! It was a promotion that was quite hard to resist really. "Double the bandwidth (upload and download) for an additional 9 bucks to your current subscription! Plus, u get a free modem, free broadband wireless-b router and wireless usb adaptor!" At least that was what was advertised!
The small print is that u are bonded for 2 years and backing out will cost u 400 bucks.
Anyway, I spent the better part of the day configuring the router and testing out the bandwidth increments. And found that the increase in download is only about just 100 K/sec more... at max. So, it's not really a double the download bandwidth. The upload is however, doubled, to 30 K/sec.
The perks of a wireless network didn't kick in (Now I noe how Ivan has been enjoying himself!) until today, as I experimented by connecting up to 2 laptops plus my primary desktop all to one network! The feeling of being connected to a near limitless source of knowledge (read: THE Internet) just gives one a real high, where coupled with a search engine and other search tools, literally gives u anything you want to know at your fingertips. On the scary side, it also shows the sheer dependency we peeps in this technological age have on the internet. Without which, I think, we'll be stopped dead cold in our tracks in our hunt for answers.
Surfing on 1 connection with 3 computers at the same time (Mom, sis and me) took a bit of toll on the bandwidth available, but it was still very bearable. Well, at least until I hogged all the bandwidth with my bit torrent download/upload. Yes, I know there are proggies out there to limit ur upload bandwidth in torrent... but I just wanted to do it for the sake of testing things out.
Hmm... next thing to try out is the local networking! Hmm... do I hear "LAN Party!!!"... Yeah? Hhaha!! We'll see.
And here's a random pic of the day (from Doom 3 of course) to spice up this post a little.
"Another '56k dial-up' user found dead today on Mars."
Sleep.
*Lifehouse - Storm*
-Calvin-
New local show on the NS experience
New TV show on Channel 5 tomorrow night.
The Army Experience - From Boys To Men (Chinese Subtitles)
MediaCorp Artistes Chew Chor Meng, Tay Ping Hui and Terence Cao had gone through the same rite of passage as all Singapore young boys to become men.
Theyve had their fair share of Army experience. And it is this experience that has also helped them perform with authenticity some of the roles theyve had to act in. For example when they had to act as Commandos in the series The Reunion.
Its an accepted fact in Singapore, since 1967, fathers and sons share this common army experience that marks the transition from boys to man.
Its also an accepted fact - the army can be no bed of roses. Training has to be tough and yet safe. Without being pushed, ordinary boys will never realize the full potential of their own strengths and abilities. The army allows boys to push themselves beyond their limits and excel; coming out not just physically stronger, but also more mature, confident and responsible.
The training system of Mission, Demand, Support gives every soldier regardless of rank or vocation, ample training and opportunities to grow because every soldier has an important role to play. And in most cases, the soldier himself realize this. Just because hes made a driver doesnt mean he should take it easy and that his role is not important . Actor Mark Lee tells us why.
Inevitably, there would be servicemen who would find having to serve the army a total waste of time. Its very common for some soldiers to keng during their national service meaning not putting in effort to learn and contribute.
Ultimately, much rests on the inherent attitude of the individual soldier. Whether hes willing to make the most of his time. And when he does, often, he would find that his Army Experience will come in useful in life.
The Army Experience - From Boys To Men (Chinese Subtitles)
MediaCorp Artistes Chew Chor Meng, Tay Ping Hui and Terence Cao had gone through the same rite of passage as all Singapore young boys to become men.
Theyve had their fair share of Army experience. And it is this experience that has also helped them perform with authenticity some of the roles theyve had to act in. For example when they had to act as Commandos in the series The Reunion.
Its an accepted fact in Singapore, since 1967, fathers and sons share this common army experience that marks the transition from boys to man.
Its also an accepted fact - the army can be no bed of roses. Training has to be tough and yet safe. Without being pushed, ordinary boys will never realize the full potential of their own strengths and abilities. The army allows boys to push themselves beyond their limits and excel; coming out not just physically stronger, but also more mature, confident and responsible.
The training system of Mission, Demand, Support gives every soldier regardless of rank or vocation, ample training and opportunities to grow because every soldier has an important role to play. And in most cases, the soldier himself realize this. Just because hes made a driver doesnt mean he should take it easy and that his role is not important . Actor Mark Lee tells us why.
Inevitably, there would be servicemen who would find having to serve the army a total waste of time. Its very common for some soldiers to keng during their national service meaning not putting in effort to learn and contribute.
Ultimately, much rests on the inherent attitude of the individual soldier. Whether hes willing to make the most of his time. And when he does, often, he would find that his Army Experience will come in useful in life.
Sunday, 15 August 2004
Rocket Science? It's Simply Magical
Only 10min long yet it's indescribable...
The streams of concentrated light silently streaking through the air, only to be followed by a sudden series of booms.
Of all the different types, my favourite is still the shower of stardust, wistfully falling back to earth.
"Nice" doesn't even begin to describe it.
It's simply magical.
Friday, 13 August 2004
My First InterviewS
Ah..it was 9.35am this morning on a great FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH....scary. I woke up to a call from the company asking me to go for my interview. Cool! i was trying very hard to sound joyful and awake, while the inside of me wanted to continue my wonderful dream..=P Hey, why did anyone make dreams so forgettable?!
Well. 10.30am. I was having problems with my tie. Finding my shoes (Dad took them!!!). 1050am, i look like i am going for my grad shoot again...hehe....are we doing it AGAIN?
Getting there was no cheap task...i had to pay the taxi driver a painful $9 to escape the 1 hr journey to the company. =P
The first: Seemed very nice. Showed me the reports by those in Japan. (I have hope?) 10 min into the interview. She gave me a lecture on "why you should tell me if you are not interested"...i mean..i am here for an interview! of course i am interested!! not in her of course. it was awesome. For 30 min or so i was listening and listening to her. She sure has lots of pent up fustration. It came to a point that my smile was wearing off. I can't hold a smile for 30 mins without having a chance to talk!
"You have gone to Japan and S.Korea, so what are the difference between these two cultures?". Aiyoh...mati liaoz. i didn't really thought about that ever in my life. *Grenade!* and a great cloud of smoke appears.
"Now, Do you know who is our new PM?". She looked as though she was saying "you young people, i bet you didn't know! Tell me lah if you know? muahaha". "uh. PM Lee?" was my reply. I watched the hand over just yesterday! "So what wishes do you have for him?". Woah..this gotta be the newest HR question in the century. I tried to be as politically correct as i could. 1 hour of drilling and usual HR qns later, its over. She's nice. No technical stuff asked. COol!
The second: 2 men. One nice guy, and one looking quite serious. "Please ask me about 'CMOS'. I've just studied it 4 hours ago." i thought. "Now, you mentioned you studied CMOS, draw it for me" they said. Thank God. I drew it and they looked somewhat puzzled at each other. "Now what's this for?", pointing to a part of my drawing. "It's for XYZ then ABC so that EFG can BBC". They thought for a full 10 silent seconds and said: "Okay, please proceed to the next room". This Can't be Friday13? (They are nice too)
The third: 1 man. A soft-spoken man with a thick beard. The worst combi, cuz it means i can't even lip read him. He's Tamil. I had to keep asking him to repeat himself. He's tough. The technical questions kept coming at me. "Do you know what's X? Draw it out for me please. How come there is this Y here? What about this portion Z? Explain to me how X works." Then, he asked, "how come you have a bunch of Cs and Ds grade in your 2nd year?"...yikes. Then, i thought of ACSWO. hehe...it saved me big time. (we were busy preparing for the concert remember? =P) (he's nice too..heck...everyone there was nice.)
So there. My first 3 interviews of my life in a day called F13. It ain't that bad a day after all!
Trivia: As a took 61 home from kallang (1 hour ++ journey no less) , i caught a glimpse of an old golden Euphonium in a television box in a 3 wheeled bicycle next to a wet market weighing machine next to a recycling point. I wonder what are they gonna do with it. Sell it as metal? or was it an instrument used to supplement someone's income. hmm.
Over the air: Hooberstank - the Reason
Comments: If you are my interviewers, who, by "strike the toto" kinda chance, landed on this page, Peace? =P
Well. 10.30am. I was having problems with my tie. Finding my shoes (Dad took them!!!). 1050am, i look like i am going for my grad shoot again...hehe....are we doing it AGAIN?
Getting there was no cheap task...i had to pay the taxi driver a painful $9 to escape the 1 hr journey to the company. =P
The first: Seemed very nice. Showed me the reports by those in Japan. (I have hope?) 10 min into the interview. She gave me a lecture on "why you should tell me if you are not interested"...i mean..i am here for an interview! of course i am interested!! not in her of course. it was awesome. For 30 min or so i was listening and listening to her. She sure has lots of pent up fustration. It came to a point that my smile was wearing off. I can't hold a smile for 30 mins without having a chance to talk!
"You have gone to Japan and S.Korea, so what are the difference between these two cultures?". Aiyoh...mati liaoz. i didn't really thought about that ever in my life. *Grenade!* and a great cloud of smoke appears.
"Now, Do you know who is our new PM?". She looked as though she was saying "you young people, i bet you didn't know! Tell me lah if you know? muahaha". "uh. PM Lee?" was my reply. I watched the hand over just yesterday! "So what wishes do you have for him?". Woah..this gotta be the newest HR question in the century. I tried to be as politically correct as i could. 1 hour of drilling and usual HR qns later, its over. She's nice. No technical stuff asked. COol!
The second: 2 men. One nice guy, and one looking quite serious. "Please ask me about 'CMOS'. I've just studied it 4 hours ago." i thought. "Now, you mentioned you studied CMOS, draw it for me" they said. Thank God. I drew it and they looked somewhat puzzled at each other. "Now what's this for?", pointing to a part of my drawing. "It's for XYZ then ABC so that EFG can BBC". They thought for a full 10 silent seconds and said: "Okay, please proceed to the next room". This Can't be Friday13? (They are nice too)
The third: 1 man. A soft-spoken man with a thick beard. The worst combi, cuz it means i can't even lip read him. He's Tamil. I had to keep asking him to repeat himself. He's tough. The technical questions kept coming at me. "Do you know what's X? Draw it out for me please. How come there is this Y here? What about this portion Z? Explain to me how X works." Then, he asked, "how come you have a bunch of Cs and Ds grade in your 2nd year?"...yikes. Then, i thought of ACSWO. hehe...it saved me big time. (we were busy preparing for the concert remember? =P) (he's nice too..heck...everyone there was nice.)
So there. My first 3 interviews of my life in a day called F13. It ain't that bad a day after all!
Trivia: As a took 61 home from kallang (1 hour ++ journey no less) , i caught a glimpse of an old golden Euphonium in a television box in a 3 wheeled bicycle next to a wet market weighing machine next to a recycling point. I wonder what are they gonna do with it. Sell it as metal? or was it an instrument used to supplement someone's income. hmm.
Over the air: Hooberstank - the Reason
Comments: If you are my interviewers, who, by "strike the toto" kinda chance, landed on this page, Peace? =P
Googlemania
I first discovered Google when my lecturer used it during lecture to conduct an Internet search. Somehow the name just hung around in my mind for a while.
Today Google never ceases to amuse me on special occasions. It's also my daily companion for internet searches.
Dunno how many of you bother to check out Google's website, but there's this: Inside Google.
Life without Google just wouldn't be the same.
Drums and Stuff *per rum per pum pum*
Interesting thing that's I've come to noticed is that the CSE, that's Computer Science and Engineering to you, faculty has named all the computer labs after musical instrumens except for labs 'Moog" which is a synth and "Leaf" which I take to be music terminology meaning 'page'.
Appropiately I'm now @ drum09 and the keyboard seems to be appropiately well worn out...must be all the drumming.
Anyways waiting for the computer graphics lecture to start and meanwhile, still trying to settle school administrative stuff as well as look for furniture or more importantly, bedding, for the new place. Signing of the lease takes place at 5pm, and before that gotta go make out a cheque for AU$1890 which translates to 5 weeks of rent and a $15 application fee surcharge. Geeez that's alotta money!
Lunch was quite satisfying and one thing I like about Sydney is the level of customer service (read freebies) that Chinese restaurants give here. Once you've sat down, even for one miserly person like me, that place on your table one teapot of very lovely Chinese tea and a nice bowl of soup as entrees to start you off.
I ordered 'Seafood Fried Noodle' and it turned out to be 'Seafood San Mee' for those Singaporean enuff to know what's that. Gotta be the most that I've ever spent for 'San Mee' ; A whoooping $11.80! Oh well, seafood here in Australia IS pricey after all, but still I had expected it to be under $10. Anyways, quite the best $11.80 I've spent so far for a meal. Big portions, scallops, prawns, fish, squid and nice soggy/fried noodles! Ahhhhh.......gotta get myself some Chinese tea too man, how's that for knowing my roots!
HCI lab yesterday was migty interesting and it's also far more intrigueing and ingenius now that I've realised that since there is only ONE HCI lab with 20 PowerMac G4s and 323 students enrolled in the course it now makes sense that labs are every fortnight just so that everyone in the course gets a chance to use the HCI lab. Now using the lab is important, because one of the assignments is to do a heuristic evaluation of the MacOS. Did I mention that this course is fun fun fun? I'm soooo a Mac convert now....well even more so after using the MacOS.
*sings* All I want for christmas is a PowerBookG5...Oh while you're at it Santa, I want a Ipod G4 too!
Over@Drum: Anglofied Cheenah Speaks
Appropiately I'm now @ drum09 and the keyboard seems to be appropiately well worn out...must be all the drumming.
Anyways waiting for the computer graphics lecture to start and meanwhile, still trying to settle school administrative stuff as well as look for furniture or more importantly, bedding, for the new place. Signing of the lease takes place at 5pm, and before that gotta go make out a cheque for AU$1890 which translates to 5 weeks of rent and a $15 application fee surcharge. Geeez that's alotta money!
Lunch was quite satisfying and one thing I like about Sydney is the level of customer service (read freebies) that Chinese restaurants give here. Once you've sat down, even for one miserly person like me, that place on your table one teapot of very lovely Chinese tea and a nice bowl of soup as entrees to start you off.
I ordered 'Seafood Fried Noodle' and it turned out to be 'Seafood San Mee' for those Singaporean enuff to know what's that. Gotta be the most that I've ever spent for 'San Mee' ; A whoooping $11.80! Oh well, seafood here in Australia IS pricey after all, but still I had expected it to be under $10. Anyways, quite the best $11.80 I've spent so far for a meal. Big portions, scallops, prawns, fish, squid and nice soggy/fried noodles! Ahhhhh.......gotta get myself some Chinese tea too man, how's that for knowing my roots!
HCI lab yesterday was migty interesting and it's also far more intrigueing and ingenius now that I've realised that since there is only ONE HCI lab with 20 PowerMac G4s and 323 students enrolled in the course it now makes sense that labs are every fortnight just so that everyone in the course gets a chance to use the HCI lab. Now using the lab is important, because one of the assignments is to do a heuristic evaluation of the MacOS. Did I mention that this course is fun fun fun? I'm soooo a Mac convert now....well even more so after using the MacOS.
*sings* All I want for christmas is a PowerBookG5...Oh while you're at it Santa, I want a Ipod G4 too!
Over@Drum: Anglofied Cheenah Speaks
Thursday, 12 August 2004
Yumm Yumm!
Just watched the swearing in of the PM and ministers.
It felt good. Hope it stays this way for a long long time.
Mrs Crafield (spell check anyone?) was invited too i guess.
Anyway...there's supper tonight!
think of the flat, round, CRISPY, delicious and tasty (i don't use the thesauraus!) prata...the fish/chicken/mutton curry...the Milo Peng...
or would you rather have the DINOSAUR?
people overseas...eat your hearts out!
ah...i hope there is retribution for this! =P
Yep... This is an invitation to all hungry souls.
come join us or let us join up with you people?
Er...call Jeffrey okay? he is usually the "mastermind".
the skinny-but-always-hungry supper monster.
he's ever so willing to drive you back home.
ONCE he gets a car. =P
Over the TV: in 15min time "The Apprentice".
Over the Air: *silence*
It felt good. Hope it stays this way for a long long time.
Mrs Crafield (spell check anyone?) was invited too i guess.
Anyway...there's supper tonight!
think of the flat, round, CRISPY, delicious and tasty (i don't use the thesauraus!) prata...the fish/chicken/mutton curry...the Milo Peng...
or would you rather have the DINOSAUR?
people overseas...eat your hearts out!
ah...i hope there is retribution for this! =P
Yep... This is an invitation to all hungry souls.
come join us or let us join up with you people?
Er...call Jeffrey okay? he is usually the "mastermind".
the skinny-but-always-hungry supper monster.
he's ever so willing to drive you back home.
ONCE he gets a car. =P
Over the TV: in 15min time "The Apprentice".
Over the Air: *silence*
RSS
I wonder if anybody uses our site feed?
http://acswo.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Sighs, waiting for the property agent to reply about our application, I don't want to be homeless no more!
The day got off to a good start though, because the nice lady at the faculty office called me up to tell me that the Computer Graphics course that I was looking to enrol it had some space that were just freed up and asked if I still wanted to enrol! Wow, talk about nice!!
The day if off to a good start yay! Just gotta wait for the other call now
Over the Air: The noise and bustle of Anzac Parade
http://acswo.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Sighs, waiting for the property agent to reply about our application,
The day got off to a good start though, because the nice lady at the faculty office called me up to tell me that the Computer Graphics course that I was looking to enrol it had some space that were just freed up and asked if I still wanted to enrol! Wow, talk about nice!!
The day if off to a good start yay! Just gotta wait for the other call now
Over the Air: The noise and bustle of Anzac Parade
Tuesday, 10 August 2004
Doom and Gloom!
Just gotta say one thing... Doom 3 is boring! Yeah, you heard right, the game is essentially the same old 'monster spawn out from nowhere to scare the beejeebus out of you' game! After a while, you really just get numb to it, especially when you are already used to judging how much damage your marine can take! However, it's graphically astounding! Even on my crap GeForce3 Ti200. I have to play at 640x480 with minimal details and without anti-aliasing (Remove jagged edges) and anisotropic filtering (Maintain texture fidelity on walls and floors a distance from you). Btw, bump mapping rocks!
"Bloggerbot pisses me off! Aarrrgh!"
Man... this bloggerbot thing with Hello and Picasa is confusing! Is there a way to compose the blog without having to post the image first? It would be best if I could get an image host, then I wouldn't need to use this bloggerbot thing. Arrgh!
Bloggerbot veterans, please advice! Thanx!
*The Reason - Hoobastank*
-Calvin-
The BAD ID card phenomenon
Well even though how cliched NDP is, after reading your blog, just wanna watch it...just for kicks yer know. Kinda like affirmation that Singapore's still there and an independently co-owned nation?
Oh well, no public holiday for me!! But it's UNION Week!!!
Hmmm, what's a charity sleepover eh?
Anyway, was house hunting the whole of yesterday, followed by a 6-9pm lecture.
Here's what the future housemate and I applied for!!
Help us pray that we get it please!
No school today, but still gotta go settle enrolment stuff and more house hunting!
Damn uni ID card came out bad...well the picture was nice but the girl seemed to have overcorrected the brightness and contrasts and so it looks just weirdly digitally over-exposed.
Makes you wonder that with all ID cards, whether even if you've taken a great picture, they're required by their profession to screw it up for you anyways just so that some kinda "standard" is mainatained...Grrrrr!!!!
Bah, the Software Architecture lecture was horrible....the guy couldn't teach for nuts! Who the hell uses word to lecture anymore anyway eh? And it was a seminar kinda thing, so there were lotsa boring questions being asked....gonna drop it for eCommerce Systems Implementation, because I skipped out of the boring lecture during the break for the eCommerce one, and it was much more organized and I felt more comfortable being in a situation where the lecture doesn't keep getting interrupted by questions and gives answers like "Errm...ehhh.... *throws a smoke granade*.....sheesh!
PS. ACPS rocks! ACJS sucks!
Over the Air: Ballade No 2 in F Major - Chopin
National Day: A Joyous Celebration
Give some credit to the ice-shooting-air-conditioner that decided to churn out disturbing bits of rusted metal today, for without it giving up, i would have been in my refreshing after-celebration slumber at this unearthly time of the day. 5am. Maybe i shall hurry on to my qigong practice. Whoooooo....Seeeeeeeee....Whooooooo....Seeeeeeeee.....
For all prospective property hunters, pay attention to this fengshui master wannabe. A bedroom with a window facing anywhere near 30 degrees to the West, would be a frying pan in the afternoon, an oven in the evening, and a sauna at night. To capture the most heat, it is recommended to build a large window, cover it with a thin cheap curtain, and install carpets to trap more heat. Place your bed in the sun from 3pm to 6pm for the heater bed effect. Actually, its a great room for the the winter. The warmth that it brings, would save you bucks on heating and keep you comfortable while counting your sheeps. However, THIS IS SINGAPORE! MY HOME! My bluddy hot room. Alas, there is no such thing as winter, autumn and spring. Although, there is always summer for those who claim we do not have the four seasons. We just have one of it for now, till the next ICE AGE.
For those reading this post, I am not a chinese, or a malay or an eurasian. I am a Singaporean. I am writing this because: a) I am proud to be part of this country, b) I am quite waxy (a synonym for "*issed"??) that i can't get to sleep again. Well, my heart hasn't slowed since the celebrations ended, for it wasn't just a celebration for the nation for me, it was a joyous family gathering with a visiting aunt. Aunt Fact: Lives in London since marriage about 10 years ago? I love family gatherings. It helps that every single one of my relatives are the best there ever will be. Except for the 13 year old cousin of mine, he tops the list of "avoid list". Stand too close to him and you will get the familiar "wah, so who's the taller one now?". Of course, it was pure family entertainment everyone enjoyed. I love this family as much as they have loved me. I shall dedicate more family talk to another blog.
As some of us sat down and watch the NDP (National Day Parade) live on television, the other uncles started to move downstairs for a catch-up game of Mahjong. Maybe its an overdose of NDP parade: sky diving, singing of song, marching in of contingents, singing of song, ministers arrive, singing of song........more singing of songs, FIREWORKS....and to end it all... Singing of songs. Catch my friend's post on acswo.blogspot.com for a better discription, for i do not have the command of language that would justify the tremendous effort put up by thousands of people. Yea, i do think that the NDP is a great idea, no matter how much the cost is. A cousin of mine did sugget we do away with the NDP, save the money and logistical headaches it would cause. But to me, the NDP is a great way of celebrating our nation's birth. You've just got to be there to experience it, to actually appreciate every detail that happens on the screen.
I was part of the contingent in NDP 1999. We guys had to perform the bayonet fighting in front of the VIPs. The practice started near January. From then onwards, it was "Haiyah!...Haiyah!" daily till the big day. We trained from one camp to another as we were joined by other platoons from other units. It was tiring, ugly and stupid. To be commanded by immature sergeants made it the best experience i could ever get out of NS. But hey, on hindsight, i guess i might have done the same too. NOT. I was a little rebel myself. I didn't like to be taught by an incompetent, favour-the-rich bunch of crap. I didn't want to learn my steps, and had to be given extra training. (Other than that, i'm pretty nice. =P)
Practicing on all my sundays, withholding me from going out with my friends, was just as great. It was pure torture, to say the least, to be unable to hang out with a great bunch of friends. Wats more, we spent the whole day waiting and waiting for our turn. It took a whole 30 min or more just to get from the waiting area to the inside of the stadium to wait yet again. Before that, however, we had to put on our makeup. I never knew green was the 'in' colour, but at least they come in various shades this season. "Cover all parts of your body. Don't forget the back of your hands, your nails and your neck." Nice. Why not i change my name to Mr Froggie.
So you see, NDP is rather crap. Its a waiting game, a waste of time, the same thing over and over again.
9th of August. The final day arrived. Lets cut things short. It was ALL WORTH IT. Just standing in the stadium itself was a pure rush. Imagine thousands of people stareing down at ya from all angles. Jets flying pass over your head, cannon explosions and the cheers from every single class of Singaporeans. To add a personal touch to the NDP, i decided to perform my personal stunt too! (Shh...).
In a moment, it was over. Watching the fireworks from the back of an SBS bus wasn't that fantastic thanks to the clean and GREEN Singapore but it was ALL WORTH IT.
To end it all, Singapore has given me the best and the worst times of my life. As long as the army does not piss me off further, i would definitely love to build my family on this cute little spotty island. and NO. singapore is NOT in china or hongkong.
HAPPY 39th BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE! May you start scraping the army idea soon. =P
*the blogger went to sleep, fixed the aircon, photostated his certs, wrote his resume, and watched some anime in this time. If the blog seems cut short, it probably is. SLeep is the priority today! *
For all prospective property hunters, pay attention to this fengshui master wannabe. A bedroom with a window facing anywhere near 30 degrees to the West, would be a frying pan in the afternoon, an oven in the evening, and a sauna at night. To capture the most heat, it is recommended to build a large window, cover it with a thin cheap curtain, and install carpets to trap more heat. Place your bed in the sun from 3pm to 6pm for the heater bed effect. Actually, its a great room for the the winter. The warmth that it brings, would save you bucks on heating and keep you comfortable while counting your sheeps. However, THIS IS SINGAPORE! MY HOME! My bluddy hot room. Alas, there is no such thing as winter, autumn and spring. Although, there is always summer for those who claim we do not have the four seasons. We just have one of it for now, till the next ICE AGE.
For those reading this post, I am not a chinese, or a malay or an eurasian. I am a Singaporean. I am writing this because: a) I am proud to be part of this country, b) I am quite waxy (a synonym for "*issed"??) that i can't get to sleep again. Well, my heart hasn't slowed since the celebrations ended, for it wasn't just a celebration for the nation for me, it was a joyous family gathering with a visiting aunt. Aunt Fact: Lives in London since marriage about 10 years ago? I love family gatherings. It helps that every single one of my relatives are the best there ever will be. Except for the 13 year old cousin of mine, he tops the list of "avoid list". Stand too close to him and you will get the familiar "wah, so who's the taller one now?". Of course, it was pure family entertainment everyone enjoyed. I love this family as much as they have loved me. I shall dedicate more family talk to another blog.
As some of us sat down and watch the NDP (National Day Parade) live on television, the other uncles started to move downstairs for a catch-up game of Mahjong. Maybe its an overdose of NDP parade: sky diving, singing of song, marching in of contingents, singing of song, ministers arrive, singing of song........more singing of songs, FIREWORKS....and to end it all... Singing of songs. Catch my friend's post on acswo.blogspot.com for a better discription, for i do not have the command of language that would justify the tremendous effort put up by thousands of people. Yea, i do think that the NDP is a great idea, no matter how much the cost is. A cousin of mine did sugget we do away with the NDP, save the money and logistical headaches it would cause. But to me, the NDP is a great way of celebrating our nation's birth. You've just got to be there to experience it, to actually appreciate every detail that happens on the screen.
I was part of the contingent in NDP 1999. We guys had to perform the bayonet fighting in front of the VIPs. The practice started near January. From then onwards, it was "Haiyah!...Haiyah!" daily till the big day. We trained from one camp to another as we were joined by other platoons from other units. It was tiring, ugly and stupid. To be commanded by immature sergeants made it the best experience i could ever get out of NS. But hey, on hindsight, i guess i might have done the same too. NOT. I was a little rebel myself. I didn't like to be taught by an incompetent, favour-the-rich bunch of crap. I didn't want to learn my steps, and had to be given extra training. (Other than that, i'm pretty nice. =P)
Practicing on all my sundays, withholding me from going out with my friends, was just as great. It was pure torture, to say the least, to be unable to hang out with a great bunch of friends. Wats more, we spent the whole day waiting and waiting for our turn. It took a whole 30 min or more just to get from the waiting area to the inside of the stadium to wait yet again. Before that, however, we had to put on our makeup. I never knew green was the 'in' colour, but at least they come in various shades this season. "Cover all parts of your body. Don't forget the back of your hands, your nails and your neck." Nice. Why not i change my name to Mr Froggie.
So you see, NDP is rather crap. Its a waiting game, a waste of time, the same thing over and over again.
9th of August. The final day arrived. Lets cut things short. It was ALL WORTH IT. Just standing in the stadium itself was a pure rush. Imagine thousands of people stareing down at ya from all angles. Jets flying pass over your head, cannon explosions and the cheers from every single class of Singaporeans. To add a personal touch to the NDP, i decided to perform my personal stunt too! (Shh...).
In a moment, it was over. Watching the fireworks from the back of an SBS bus wasn't that fantastic thanks to the clean and GREEN Singapore but it was ALL WORTH IT.
To end it all, Singapore has given me the best and the worst times of my life. As long as the army does not piss me off further, i would definitely love to build my family on this cute little spotty island. and NO. singapore is NOT in china or hongkong.
HAPPY 39th BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE! May you start scraping the army idea soon. =P
*the blogger went to sleep, fixed the aircon, photostated his certs, wrote his resume, and watched some anime in this time. If the blog seems cut short, it probably is. SLeep is the priority today! *
Happy Birthday, Singapore!
Ahh... good day it is today, a holiday, OUR National Day!
Unfortunately this year, I couldn't get tickets to the NDP. However, watching it on TV still does bring out that patriotic spirit in me... the National songs all invoke memories of yesteryear as usual, how as primary school kids, we stressed our little minds to memorise all these songs. The purpose of which I still am not entirely sure! But when I think of the fun we had, the lessons we skipped to go to the ACS (Junior) school hall (Formerly known as ACJS) to practice these same songs that have lasted for more than a decade now, I guess, perhaps, it is a small price to pay. And I couldn't help singing the songs too along with my sister! (Although I felt the "upbeat" remixes sucked balls.)
Watching the parade, I found the contingent entry much more interesting this year, starting with bagpipes and the silent precision drill team. The fly-by doesn't seem impressive on TV, but I can tell you that if you were at the parade, the deafening roars of 3 pairs of twin turbojets on the second fly-by will always make you sit up and look. Afterburners, baby. The parade went on as usual, everyone was focusing on the reaction of PM Goh, this being his last NDP as PM after all. But the ever "cliched" "last entry" of SM Lee and following clockwork "thunderous applause" always makes me wonder if it is really out of sheer mutual respect for the man or some unwritten script which we all follow just for the sake of it. Bah, still, that is nothing compared to the stone of our president. "Psst, Mr President sir, your tie is crooked."
The costume get-up was pretty elaborate this year, what with orchids, leaves, butterflies, fairies(?), and all. But what made my evening was EVIL KIT! Yep, the incredible make-up artist gave her this silver V-shaped art in between her eyebrows such that when she gave the slightest frown, she looked like she was ready to murder! As she sang with more emotion, she frowned even more, and man, was she scary! One eyeball literaly looked like it was gonna pop, but only cuz of the accentuation of the evil-V! If anyone should know better, it would be Ivan! And you wonder why he smiles so much? It's precisely cuz he doesn't want to look like evil Kit! All said, her singing is still great... you go, girl!
So, that ends NDP 2004.
Up next, Singapore Idol! Man oh man.... and I thought Singaporeans valued their face more than anyone else in this world! Hahaha! It was both a great joke and a revelation. It's obvious who is the hot favourite now, the ex-Fame contestant when she was 14, no doubt. The Shanghainese (Mr. Rocky), well, he just didn't get it. He can sing, but just not pop. He could make like a josh Groban or Russell Watson, but they didn't start out in pop either... they started through classical roots. Look out for Mr. Bananaman next week.. "Ring ring ring ring... banana phone!" Sheesh. Oh, and the judges, Dick Lee has got the be the man. He has both wit and poise, yet, doesn't come across like a Simon Cowell wannabe. Maybe it's because he is smiling all the time. Probs he couldn't help it, with the audition going like it did.
And so, another day? Not quite yet.
As I sit here typing, Doom 3 lies ready for installation on 3 discs. It was a long wait (4 days of downloading).. but the anticipation kept me going. I salivate just at thought of playing it. Alas, it will have to wait another day. Why? Cuz I'm low on HDD space. Gotta burn those anime. Sigh.
Oh yes, before I do forget, like Jared has said, please reveal your names if possible... so far from what I noe.. I'm guessing here-
Pet_Monster = Eric
Blueprince = Daniel (?)
That's all for now! Oh, it seems that it is normal to post what's playing (music) in your background for blogs.. so here goes!
*This Photograph is Proof (I Know You Know) - Taking Back Sunday*
-Calvin-
Unfortunately this year, I couldn't get tickets to the NDP. However, watching it on TV still does bring out that patriotic spirit in me... the National songs all invoke memories of yesteryear as usual, how as primary school kids, we stressed our little minds to memorise all these songs. The purpose of which I still am not entirely sure! But when I think of the fun we had, the lessons we skipped to go to the ACS (Junior) school hall (Formerly known as ACJS) to practice these same songs that have lasted for more than a decade now, I guess, perhaps, it is a small price to pay. And I couldn't help singing the songs too along with my sister! (Although I felt the "upbeat" remixes sucked balls.)
Watching the parade, I found the contingent entry much more interesting this year, starting with bagpipes and the silent precision drill team. The fly-by doesn't seem impressive on TV, but I can tell you that if you were at the parade, the deafening roars of 3 pairs of twin turbojets on the second fly-by will always make you sit up and look. Afterburners, baby. The parade went on as usual, everyone was focusing on the reaction of PM Goh, this being his last NDP as PM after all. But the ever "cliched" "last entry" of SM Lee and following clockwork "thunderous applause" always makes me wonder if it is really out of sheer mutual respect for the man or some unwritten script which we all follow just for the sake of it. Bah, still, that is nothing compared to the stone of our president. "Psst, Mr President sir, your tie is crooked."
The costume get-up was pretty elaborate this year, what with orchids, leaves, butterflies, fairies(?), and all. But what made my evening was EVIL KIT! Yep, the incredible make-up artist gave her this silver V-shaped art in between her eyebrows such that when she gave the slightest frown, she looked like she was ready to murder! As she sang with more emotion, she frowned even more, and man, was she scary! One eyeball literaly looked like it was gonna pop, but only cuz of the accentuation of the evil-V! If anyone should know better, it would be Ivan! And you wonder why he smiles so much? It's precisely cuz he doesn't want to look like evil Kit! All said, her singing is still great... you go, girl!
So, that ends NDP 2004.
Up next, Singapore Idol! Man oh man.... and I thought Singaporeans valued their face more than anyone else in this world! Hahaha! It was both a great joke and a revelation. It's obvious who is the hot favourite now, the ex-Fame contestant when she was 14, no doubt. The Shanghainese (Mr. Rocky), well, he just didn't get it. He can sing, but just not pop. He could make like a josh Groban or Russell Watson, but they didn't start out in pop either... they started through classical roots. Look out for Mr. Bananaman next week.. "Ring ring ring ring... banana phone!" Sheesh. Oh, and the judges, Dick Lee has got the be the man. He has both wit and poise, yet, doesn't come across like a Simon Cowell wannabe. Maybe it's because he is smiling all the time. Probs he couldn't help it, with the audition going like it did.
And so, another day? Not quite yet.
As I sit here typing, Doom 3 lies ready for installation on 3 discs. It was a long wait (4 days of downloading).. but the anticipation kept me going. I salivate just at thought of playing it. Alas, it will have to wait another day. Why? Cuz I'm low on HDD space. Gotta burn those anime. Sigh.
Oh yes, before I do forget, like Jared has said, please reveal your names if possible... so far from what I noe.. I'm guessing here-
Pet_Monster = Eric
Blueprince = Daniel (?)
That's all for now! Oh, it seems that it is normal to post what's playing (music) in your background for blogs.. so here goes!
*This Photograph is Proof (I Know You Know) - Taking Back Sunday*
-Calvin-
Monday, 9 August 2004
Happy National Day II
The time was 2am and back in Singapore midnight was just ripening.
Was doing my usual catching up of blogs and websites when I received an ICQ message from a fren with the contents "Happy National Day!".
OMG, it IS Singapore's Birthday! Totally forgot about it! What kind of Singaporean am I eh?
Just yesterday, when Aaron, Aaron's friend (and future roommate) came over to look at rental listings, we chanced upon the question about where I was headed after honours.
The plan was to get PR (Permanent Residency) here? Maybe work here abit after giving my last 6 months back to our nation (sucks that I don't get any reduction in liability at all!). But the question was whether I was staying for good or not, whether or not I could forget (and forgive?) Singapore for the seemingly benign experience that it has provided.
Well at this point of time in my life, I would have to say that I'm not prepared to chuck the family away and start a life tangential to that life that I've had for the last 20 odd years. Just too close to the family and geographical distance of 3818 miles although just 8 hours and $700 dollars away is still too painful a thing. Thank God for IDD/ICC though!
Another thing is that I miss the food!!!! (Thanks alot Edmund, though I have no idea what you've bought except for the yogourt thing. But do try the vadar!) Singapore's a most unique place with such a wonderful combination of multi-cultural delights for your tastebud and stomach. That's ONE of the things that I've learnt from studying overseas amongst other stuff.
Anyway, I've had one year to think about it and for one year I have been doing the maths. Seems 1 + 1 = 11 but then you can't have the best of both worlds can you. You've gotta literally settle unfortunately.
The pros and cons of migrating to a foreign country with wondefully affordable cars and property with proportions other than "small and comfortable", beautiful scenary, the ability to drive long body aching hours to another state and most often that not, another state means a totally differnt world, Kangaroos, Wombats, Possums, Tasmanian Devils and Steve Erwin, or see 12 pieces of rocks sticking out of the sea (12 apostles on Great Ocean Road), bushfires/floods, unadulterated views of the sky AND the stars, watch uncensored television programming, experience some semblance of the 4 seasons apart from HOT - QUITE HOT - WARMER STILL and BURN-IN-HELL WARM, seafood that is genuinely fresh and not frozen fresh.
...as opposed to...
Affordable basic living (read NOT luxury stuffs like car, property on sentosa and/or 5th avenue/Tanjong Rhu but equestarian(spell check pls!) living) like good plentiful open-all-night eat-as-much-as-you-can varieties and combination of food glorious food! (cue Dick Lee's Fried Rice Paradise), a totally safe environment to bring up you child with wonderful slogans like 'Low crime is not NO crime', 'Courtesy begins in me', a rapping gurmit with 'SARs don't phlay phlay', 'Drink don't drive', a wonderful 'world-class' transportation infrastructure, shopping, although arguably, they have better designs here in Australia
and finally a bunch of good friends that you can depend on for everything from tai taisms of having coffee/yum cha in the afternoon, squeezing you in for power lunches during their lunch break, to be hungry for some late night snacking, friends that prefer board games to mahjong, that will endure your whimsical eccentricities, endure 3 hours of setting up, patching and trouble shooting to play a 1 hour network game
and of course, family!
So it seems that I'm assured of getting PR, well I'm not, but I can't be that bad that Australia doesn't want me! But well, like I told Aaron, the only reason why I want PR here in Australia, is to have the option.
I guess what sums me up, is that when I went to dine in this Singapore restaurent back in Brisbane called 'Singapura', all through my meal, all that was up in my head was 'Singapura, or Singapura. Lovely island, set in the sea' and the fact that they were dishing out poor imitations of Singaporean food. Nothing beats the real thing.
Happy National Day Sing-gah-pur!
Over the Air: Wizard of Oz - James Barnes
Sunday, 8 August 2004
Happy National Day!
While some fled Singapore for a weekend getaway, G and I trudged down to a part of Singapore that we'd never explored before...
Singapore Town
Music & Lyrics: The Sidaislers
You could take a little trip around Singapore town
In Singapore city bus
To see Collyer Quay and Raffles Place
The Esplanade and all of us
Chorus:
Because in Singapore, Singapore
Their hearts are big and wide you'll find
Because in Singapore, Singapore
You'll find happiness for everyone
Let's go down to the riverside, it's an unforgettable sight
To see the sunrise on a faraway isle, turning darkness into light
(Repeat Chorus)
The buildings are climbing all the way to the sky
And there's a hundred other people who are striving
For people like you and I
(Chorus x 2)
Prelude
gawsh...in those days when i was begging on my knees on durian husks...
no one wrote!! watsup?!
Well, it was really really (honestly) nice to "see" people who have disappeared for some time though.
I'll talk more about myself when i get a job...but currently..anyone into playing pool or badminton or soccer can contact t3 and me! i love being unemployed...well, if you are into boardgames...and you are a NICE person who would not ANIHILIATE a nice guy like me in Risk...you can also call us. Psst...it wasn't fun playing Settlers with Jeffrey Calvin and Tshush...they ROB you....they do!! =P
I guess i will not fill this space with senseless crap like i did in previous mass mails. (hows that Eric? hehe) It comes to a point where i have lost all my credibilities, sheesh. The Blogs, IMHO, would be more proper a place to put your life story onto the Internet for the world to see...whoever comes to this site WANTS to see something...as opposed to mass mails and what-nots..mass mails are generally for more informative purposes i suppose? so i guess this place should continue to grow as long as buay paiseh (not shy) people like me are around =P
Thanks Ed for inviting me, i love that post from you with the grad photos...v. nicely done... kinda like reading a year book...and yeap...it's never the same. =)
Okie! My first post is done! And for those people who stumbled onto this site and wants to play in ACSWO...we are going to start practices again this year (2004)! Seeya there! (eh..so why you guys never reply Jinghui's post?)
no one wrote!! watsup?!
Well, it was really really (honestly) nice to "see" people who have disappeared for some time though.
I'll talk more about myself when i get a job...but currently..anyone into playing pool or badminton or soccer can contact t3 and me! i love being unemployed...well, if you are into boardgames...and you are a NICE person who would not ANIHILIATE a nice guy like me in Risk...you can also call us. Psst...it wasn't fun playing Settlers with Jeffrey Calvin and Tshush...they ROB you....they do!! =P
I guess i will not fill this space with senseless crap like i did in previous mass mails. (hows that Eric? hehe) It comes to a point where i have lost all my credibilities, sheesh. The Blogs, IMHO, would be more proper a place to put your life story onto the Internet for the world to see...whoever comes to this site WANTS to see something...as opposed to mass mails and what-nots..mass mails are generally for more informative purposes i suppose? so i guess this place should continue to grow as long as buay paiseh (not shy) people like me are around =P
Thanks Ed for inviting me, i love that post from you with the grad photos...v. nicely done... kinda like reading a year book...and yeap...it's never the same. =)
Okie! My first post is done! And for those people who stumbled onto this site and wants to play in ACSWO...we are going to start practices again this year (2004)! Seeya there! (eh..so why you guys never reply Jinghui's post?)
Friday, 6 August 2004
What is the Question?
Always had my doubts as to the justifiability of blogging... but since I am as yet unable to come up with a coherent argument against it, I suppose I shall suspend judgment on it for now. Your invitation caught me just in time Ed =)
Rai
"Genuine knowledge of a fundamental question , thorough understanding of it, is better than blindness to it, or indifference to it, be that indifference or blindness accompanied by knowledge of answers to a vast number of peripheral or ephemeral questions or not."
Leo Strauss, What is Political Philosophy? (1975)
"The least knowledge one can have of the highest things is more desirable than the most certain knowledge one has of the lowest things."
St. Thomas Acquinas, Summa Theologica (1273)
Rai
"Genuine knowledge of a fundamental question , thorough understanding of it, is better than blindness to it, or indifference to it, be that indifference or blindness accompanied by knowledge of answers to a vast number of peripheral or ephemeral questions or not."
Leo Strauss, What is Political Philosophy? (1975)
"The least knowledge one can have of the highest things is more desirable than the most certain knowledge one has of the lowest things."
St. Thomas Acquinas, Summa Theologica (1273)
Thursday, 5 August 2004
Because We Like It
There, just like I said we would, we were flaunting our newly minted degrees around town in the afternoon heat of 2 sundays ago.
My immediate retort, unintendedly belligerent in Mandarin, "Because we like it!"
Jeff claims she was taken aback, but isn't that the truth?
Every time we flip through our ever-yellowing photo albums, let's remember that we're a bunch of friends like none other. Friends that'll last a lifetime.
P.S. I actually did another round of pictures with my army friends, but it ain't the same.
On our way back from the Esplanade, a Chinese National tour guide stopped us to enquire, in Mandarin, why us local grads go round taking pictures in our gowns.
Guess there's a crazy, fun-loving hornie inside each of us.
My immediate retort, unintendedly belligerent in Mandarin, "Because we like it!"
Jeff claims she was taken aback, but isn't that the truth?
What can I say? Tossing our mortarboards in the air is customary classic cliché.
"Our Hearts, Our Hopes, Our Aims"
"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul.
Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal."Pamela Vaull Starr
Every time we flip through our ever-yellowing photo albums, let's remember that we're a bunch of friends like none other. Friends that'll last a lifetime.
P.S. I actually did another round of pictures with my army friends, but it ain't the same.
Lemming in Sydney
Just giving yer guys the heads-up that I'm in Sydney and have transferred to the University of New South Wales for my honours year!!
Frantically looking for accomodation now...and staying at an old friend's place for the time being. Sigh...stress stress!
Geez, they were certainly right about Sydney air being polluted...I keep sneezing! You guys not cursing me behing my back are yer?
National Day is coming up & it's Foundation Day here in UNSW!
Meanwhile, if you're tired of using ACDsee or even worse...Windows Imageviewer, try out Picasa FREE kudos to Google/Blogspot. It's an Apple iPhoto clone, just right for passing to the parentals whom have just gotten photo-crazy in touch with digital cameras! Gotta love the GUI ,oops, I mean user-interface. Maybe I should take HCI afterall.
*Groan* 6-8pm lecture later =(
Ivan: Eh...can I be included in the Bandits Graduation *retake* ?? =P
Rowf: It's a blog, not a personal ad column!
Edmund: Hmmz...it sounds like ACSWO died or something....
Wednesday, 4 August 2004
A Simple Gesture of Love
Exhausted, I slumped onto the sofa next to my mom and started whining about my first day at work. For a previous professional bummer, getting accustomed to waking up before 7am was tough.
"So what work are you doing," my mom asked in Mandarin.
I was stumped.
You see, my mom, having gone through a Chinese education, speaks only Mandarin, Hokkien and broken English. While I speak English, broken Mandarin and a sometimes unintelligible mix of Teochew and Hokkien that betrays my Chinese identity crisis.
Product of a fine education system, you say.
Struggling to translate concepts into Chinese was like using primary colours to describe an impressionist painting. In the end, I gave up, grimaced and grinned.
My mom is a simple, unpretentious woman. Her modest pleasures in life include Teochew porridge (known to be plain and bland), coffee that is preferably less sweet, barely ripened fruits and rice dumplings.
Every night without fail, she falls asleep on the sofa while watching her favourite Taiwanese drama series.
Last night, just before she sleepily shuffled to bed, she turned to me to nag.
"Remember to bring an umbrella tomorrow, the forecast said it might rain." She paused. "Preferably get those that are very light."
"Orh."
Determined to catch up on world news through the papers, I nodded patronizingly till I heard her bedroom door shut.
When I got up this morning, I peered out the window.
Clear skies with scattered clouds. Looks like another hot and humid day in Singapore. Mommy wasted her naggy breath on me again.
But her nag nagged me through the morning.
I tried to remember the last time she nagged at me to bring a brolly. I think it was when I was still an innocent, sweaty little boy, running off in navy blue shorts to take the MRT train to school on my own.
An epiphany draped itself over my shoulders like a thick fur coat.
Here stood her eldest son, looking incredibly smart in shirt and pants - never mind that the shirt he bought is half a size too big and only emphasizes his lack of stature.
Her pride and joy stepping out into the big unknown - never mind that she doesn't understand the work he's doing.
Naturally, as the concerned mother who just heard the weather forecast, you tell him to bring a brolly or else he's gonna get caught in the rain.
So how does it feels to be loved?
Words can hardly describe this remembrance of the greatest love on earth, one that is always there, one that is so easy to take for granted.
As I shared this little ingot of joy with a good friend earlier today, I thought to myself, too much psycho-analysis? Perhaps.
But a simple (and sleepy) gesture of love it definitely was.
Sir Rowf checks in!
Good evening!
Hmm.. well, firstly, I'll like to thank Edmund the lemon for initiating this group blog thingy. Sounds like a great place to express oneself.
A little about myself if you dun noe me yet (I'll update the personal profile at a later time, kinda new to this blogging thing).. currently, I'm still studying, yes, at a ripe old age of two-fiver. And at a local polytechnic no less! Ok, if you wanna noe the history that lead to all this, you can leave a comment, mail, ICQ, etc.. but I dun wanna turn this first post into a 800 word long essay.
My interests include gaming (PC), anime, soccer(EPL mainly) and pool/snooker. As those of you whom already know me from my mass-mailing days (Bitch-a-week, Radio Rowf, Rowf Online..) I will mostly talk about these things. But you can rest assure that long posts from me will be far and few between. Of course, on a day to day basis, if something interesting does crop up, I might just post a lengthy recollection of it here! It's a blog after all yah?
As a disclaimer, I hope I do not offend anyone in my future posts, but if I do hit such a nerve, please feel free to voice your displeasure (comments or otherwise) and you can be sure that you'll get anything from a 'in-your-face' retort to a 'sincere apology' from me. Heh.
That's about it for this post then! It's mainly a test test too! Here's hoping to hear from fellow group bloggers and you readers alike soon!
-Sir Rowf-
p.s Link test! This --->LINK<--- links to Ivan's Fotopic album! Hope you dun mind this Iv!
p.p.s Are more peeps joining up? I think it'll be great if there are!
p.p.p.s My lord, King Ed, your humble servant has blogged, please do not whip me anymore! Please.. the metal chains hurt! Heh!
Hmm.. well, firstly, I'll like to thank Edmund the lemon for initiating this group blog thingy. Sounds like a great place to express oneself.
A little about myself if you dun noe me yet (I'll update the personal profile at a later time, kinda new to this blogging thing).. currently, I'm still studying, yes, at a ripe old age of two-fiver. And at a local polytechnic no less! Ok, if you wanna noe the history that lead to all this, you can leave a comment, mail, ICQ, etc.. but I dun wanna turn this first post into a 800 word long essay.
My interests include gaming (PC), anime, soccer(EPL mainly) and pool/snooker. As those of you whom already know me from my mass-mailing days (Bitch-a-week, Radio Rowf, Rowf Online..) I will mostly talk about these things. But you can rest assure that long posts from me will be far and few between. Of course, on a day to day basis, if something interesting does crop up, I might just post a lengthy recollection of it here! It's a blog after all yah?
As a disclaimer, I hope I do not offend anyone in my future posts, but if I do hit such a nerve, please feel free to voice your displeasure (comments or otherwise) and you can be sure that you'll get anything from a 'in-your-face' retort to a 'sincere apology' from me. Heh.
That's about it for this post then! It's mainly a test test too! Here's hoping to hear from fellow group bloggers and you readers alike soon!
-Sir Rowf-
p.s Link test! This --->LINK<--- links to Ivan's Fotopic album! Hope you dun mind this Iv!
p.p.s Are more peeps joining up? I think it'll be great if there are!
p.p.p.s My lord, King Ed, your humble servant has blogged, please do not whip me anymore! Please.. the metal chains hurt! Heh!
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