Friday, December 31, 2010

The Last Day of the Year.

It was another sleepy day for me. I woke up at eleven and actually still intended to eat my regular eggs and toast breakfast. I decided against it in the end because I figured I would need more calories to last me through tonight, and so opted for the U-Mian instead. And now, after watching Prince of Persia with my father, I thought it would be good to spend some time blogging and putting down the things that I have been thinking about lately to paper (or more accurately, screen).

Changes

I was just thinking about this the other day - I have definitely changed this year. Some part of my innocence has been robbed from me by the University system I feel. Endless chasing after the grades and making sure you hit your participation points by everyone around has rubbed off some of the effect on me. The result is a CAP that is the highest I have got since I have entered Uni, albeit lower than many others.

You see, I never did believe in the faking. The answering of questions because it would earn you marks. And I still don't believe in it. I believe in liking what you study, and studying hard because you have a passion for it. A case in point? My Asian Markets and Marketing Management module. I absolutely loved the content and how Prof Xiao Ping taught with such conviction. That's why I always made sure I had something to bring to the table, or something to share whenever she asked questions. And I really think that's why I got an A- for the subject.

An opposing example might be Macro-economics, I guess. Our tutor seemed perpetually bored in the lessons and gave us nothing in teaching. Although I was also interested in Economics, I felt so dreary having to sit through the tutorials that one day I just gave up trying the tutorial exercises, even though I still did the necessary to maintain our participation grades.

Well, the point is, I can FEEL myself changing. Feel myself getting used to the system. Well, it isn't exactly a bad thing, but I feel that somewhere along the way, I have started to rely too much on myself and less and less on God. I used to live my life trusting that God will provide no matter what. That my grades were how they were because that is how it's supposed to be. Now, I fear for my future because I don't know where I can go with the grades or experience I have. A little chat with Ryan on Wednesday got me frightened that I didn't have an internship to show for, and that it might cause me to have a horrible future of mid-tier jobs. That really got me thinking. Is that how I am supposed to lead my life?

Relationships

Another highlight of this year is of course the fact that I got attached to the lovely Miss Oh Kai Li. Last night we had this conversation about how she thinks the flame has died. Meaning the excitement of being attached and being loved and going places together I guess? Well, I don't think so. The flame hasn't died for me because I still yearn to see her everyday, to listen to her talk about her day and her thoughts, to see her being real stupid and spout nonsensical rubbish while shopping. LOL.

But I can't deny that we are running out of places to go. It's like we are hunting down places like animals or something, and these places are starting to go extinct. And the time that we have together is decreasing because she's working and I no longer have a car to drive around during the wee hours of the morning.

I still can see us being together for a long time though, even though Mother claims that we are not "steady" to my aunties, I really think we are in it for the long haul. (Which begs the question, who the hell came up with the term "steady" anyways? And who the heck still uses that term?! Gosh!)

Weight

It's an endless battle against myself. And I seem to be losing lately. I am at my heaviest ever, and nothing seems to be working. I so much want to go back to kayaking, but I know both NUS Canoeing and Canoe Polo wouidn't want a noob like me. Which leaves Dragonboating. LOL!!!

But seriously, I am taking over the reins and working out every single day at the gym just so that I can pass my IPPT before going over to Maastricht. And I have The Spartacus Project blog to show for. It's just a very long-drawn process. I wish I could have some free personal training help =( Maybe I should ask if Eng Keat could help me! Or new friend's brother. Hahaha.. Just a thought.

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Well, I think that very much sums up my year. Brief eh? There has been so many things, that words will not adequately say everything. I managed to find my direction in terms of interest and career also. So i am just working slowly towards my goal. It may not be easy to excel and yet keep to my philosophical grounding, but I can definitely try!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Daily Routine.

I am really starting to enjoy what my typical day these days after I returned from Dubai. A day starts with me waking up at around 9 am or 10 am naturally (sans alarm) and then lazing in bed for a while more, before I get down to really starting my day by freshening up and eating breakfast at the coffeeshop downstairs. I always order the same thing: Set Meal with Teh C, which includes eggs and toast.

Then I will come back to the computer to tweet, read up on the news, find out about the latest fashion, surf mindlessly about random things, and watch Family Guy. Today I tried playing DotA but my computer "illegal operation"-ed on me. Now I am reminded why I am a Mac user -___-||

Anyways, after that would come the journey to the gym for my daily dose of exercise in preparation for IPPT in January. Afterwhich, i would either head back home, or to town to meet my lovely girlfriend for a nice little dinner and walking around in town. =)

Now, that, is the life.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Giorgio Armani S/S 2011


I was doing my usual browsing around GQ.com and I saw this double breasted coat. And I was like "OMG! Damn cool!" Which made me wanna browse through the whole Giorgio Armani SS 2011 show, and it turned out to be great. Love the fabrics used and the silhouettes. Aww. Now I wish I were thin again and magically rich!

See it here: GQ.com - Fashion Show - GQ.COM (UK)

I'm home!

You know, yesterday when I was still back at Dubai, I was telling myself that I have to write down everything that happened so that I can remember it all. But right now, I am overcome with a laziness that doesn't seem like it's going to abate anytime soon. LOL. I will still post all the 10 days of fun up though! It just means that it's going to take more time than I anticipated.

It was great taking the taxi back from the airport and seeing all the nicely planted trees whizz past me. You never see that in Saudi Arabia. It's all sand there. Even for Dubai, you see more buildings and sand than anything else. Of course, there are some trees, but they are mostly shrubs. So it's really refreshing to see our trees again. And our buildings that fill the entire land. In the UAE, buildings only appear in cities, and for most places other than Dubai, buildings are really short. Even shorter than the HDB block I am in now. So it's a welcome scene too =)

So what exactly am I doing now? Catching up on my American TV series! Watching Bones now, even as I am talking to Kai Li. Just caught up with TBBT, and it's gonna be Supernatural after, and then on to reading mangas! Somehow not being at home really disrupts my daily routine. I don't really remember what I did before I went to Dubai. LOL. Even though I suspect it's pretty much what I am doing now!

Alright. Bottomline is, I will get to blogging soon enough! Thinking of setting up a blog for the STEER trip too. So that we can consolidate our experiences! See how it goes!

Monday, December 13, 2010

STEER Day 3: Jubail, KSA.

It's only Day 3?! Feels like its been a long time since we first landed in Dubai.. and we have really learnt a lot since then.

Today was truly an eye-opener for me. We were treated to the true wealth of the Saudis in Jubail, an industrial model city. Jubail was first decreed in 1975 to be a city built to develop the petrochemical industry in Saudi Arabia. Our first stop of he day was to the Royal Commission of Jubail to learn more about the city and how they planned it. If you thought Singapore's infrastructure was impressive, Jubail is even more so.

Jubail has the benefit of being built out of nothing at all. They took the opportunity to build a masterplan for a city that had industry, commerce and residential areas. The result is a city where all water, electricity, waste, fibre optics are built underground and where the streets look more like Australia than anywhere else in KSA. At the Royal Commission, we learmt how they built Jubail from ground up, and how the city functions now. Apparently every university graduate there gets an average of 5 job offers! The courses in their university are specially tailored to suit the demands of the job market, thereby creating a self-sustaining workforce.

We also had the opportunity to have lunch with some of the students from their university. Makmur especially interacted with them and found out how life really is in KSA. I also had a chance to chat with them a little and i realise that we are more similar than we thought initially. They play computer games too, they like hanging out with friends, going to the beach, etc. Kinda cool actually. The students are alot more approachable than the adults it seems.. maybe because of the smaller age gap?

Anyways, after lunch, we went on to SHARQ, which is a petrochemical company manufacturing plastics for Asian markets. The plant was huge, but we couldn't take any photos.. SHARQ is also an affiliate company of SABIC, KSA's second largest oil company. After the SHARQ visit, we went to Petrol Steel Co Ltd, a joint venture company between a Saudi firm and Singapore's Rotary Engineering. There, they shared a bit more about how KSA is diversifying into petrol-related products to decrease reliance on the oil industry. It was also that i realised how comforting it is to hear a Sinaporean accent when you are in foreign land. Ahh!! Missing home already!

That, by the way, is the end of the itinerary of the day. It seems really short, but we actually took a whole
day to finish the touring. Shagged!! More to come in the next few days. Hope it gets better!

STEER Day 2 in Saudi Arabia.

An entirely random photo that I took at the King Faud International Airport at Dammam, Saudi Arabia.  After flying off from Dubai Airport finally, we reached Dammam in 2 hours on board Malaysian Airlines MH154.  Not entirely friendly, I must say..  There is really a difference between SQ and the rest it seems.

The atmosphere in Saudi Arabia is a lot tenser than that in Dubai because of the stories we have heard about how strict their religious police were. When we landed, everyone was solemn and afraid to draw attention to ourselves.  The late hour of our arrival didn't exactly help matters, since we now feel like we are stowaways from another country... The customs didn't help matters either.  We had to scan in all ten fingerprints and our passport was detained.  I never felt the importance of a passport until then.. They were perfectly able to take it away and I would never able to go home again, I thought while waiting.

Eventually we did get our passports back, and we cleared the checkpoint without much problem thankfully!  And on we went to our hotel!

We are staying at the Crowne Plaza Al Khobar for the KSA leg of our trip. It's the same Crowne Plaza that we have at Changi Airport back at home.  5 stars!  By the time we reached the hotel, it was 6 am and had been 26 hours since I woke up.  Luckily, there was nothing much on the itinerary for the day, and I slept the day away...

To do the hotel some justice, it is only right to write a bit about how marvellous it is.  When we first entired the hotel, we were greeted by a waiter offering us Arabian coffee and dates.  our bags were left in the bus and carried for us into the hotel by the bell boy.  Check-in was incredibly quick and all we needed to do was to get our card keys and head to bed.  Before that though, we tried out the buffet breakfast at the mezzanine floor.  The spread was awesome.  Kind of reminiscent of the spread I got at Angsana Bintan.  I haven't seen it for myself yet, but some said that the pool at the top floor has an awesome view and great amenities such as a jacuzzi (yay!), sauna, turkish bath, etc.  The Saudis are truly very generous!

The next item on the itinerary was a shopping trip to the nearby Rashid Mall at around 5 pm.  It was smaller than Dubai Mall, but more than enough to make our legs ache.  The things there were more or less what we could find in Singapore though, so I didn't manage to get anything other than a scarf for my SEP.

One interesting thing we observed at the Mall was the call to prayer at sunset.  The PA system sounded the call, much like what I heard in the Bruneian jungle, and suddenly all the shops started closing or the shop owners to go pray.  Interestingly, there were some who chose not to pray but took the time instead to have a smoke and slack a bit.  Kinda new to me, since Singapore is a secular country, but really quite cool!

After shopping, we were shown the 30km long causeway that linked KSA to Bahrain.  Can you imagine a causeway that goes across the sea by 30km? It's totally insane!  Pity we couldn't see much because of the night.

And that was actually all that we did today. Not much, which I am actually glad for.  At least we got the time to replenish our energy!

We are going to Jubail tomorrow to visit the Royal Commision, SABIC and Rotary Engineering, a Singapore company based there.  It's gonna be great!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

STEER Day 1 in Dubai.

It's 6.11 a.m. in Singapore now, but it's only 2.11 am here in Dubai Airport. We are now waiting for the connecting flight to Damman, Saudi Arabia after our flight from Singapore earlier today. Been awake for more than 22 hours, and our flight is only due at 5 am. Sleepy TTM!

After we reached Dubai, we made our way via the Metro to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. The tower wasn't the main aim of our visit though, it was more of the 12 million square feet Dubai Mall that we really wanted to check out. It's a stunning 8 times the size of Vivocity, and a supposed retail haven. And haven it was indeed!

There was virtually every single design house in that place, and there was a Gold Souk that housed a whole wing of jewellery stores. Then there was the fountain that we all thought looked a lot like the Singapore River and Clarke Quay. There are water shows every 30 minutes at the fountain, and we were lucky to catch 2. Simply amazing! Although we all tried capturing the beauty of it all with photographs, I think the magic of the moment was in the fact that it was so fleeting. I have got to bring Kai Li here one day...

Anyways, other interesting sights were the indoor aquarium in the mall itself where we saw sand sharks and gigantic groupers. There was also H&M which we didn't have time to go into. I really really wanted to check out the Kinokuniya Book House, but we didn't have enough time for that either.

After one day here, I can really see the opulence and lavishness of the place. The Emirati have spared no expense at displaying their wealth. And wow, do they know how to enjoy the life!

One other thing I noted was that even though Dubai is considered quite liberal in the Middle East and has some latitude in what they allow, the advertising here is still much more conservative as compared to Singapore. Guess? advertisements do not have their usual flaunts of cleavage, and most advertising do not even show people in them. Brand names are the big thing here, but not so much advertising. I can imagine how hard it is for a new brand to strike it out here. Seems like in order to make it in Dubai, your company must have already made it somewhere else.

It seems really short when I am blogging this, but the tour around Dubai was truly an eye-opener, be it from the narrow-mindedness of what luxury is, and also from a cultural viewpoint as an observer looking at how the Arabs behave and lead their lives. They are really family-oriented (everyone is almost always seen in the family unit), and somehow there is an aura of dignity that they carry as Emiratis that one can feel around them. I can only imagine the pride with which they have for their country. Something we can all learn as Singaporeans, I believe.

We are headed to Saudi Arabia later, and from what I have heard so far, the culture would be quite different from what we have here at Dubai. That means more interesting things for me to learn. I am still wondering how they conduct their marketing and advertising if all depictions of humans are disallowed. Looks like I am going to find out real soon!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Dubai, here I come!

If you didn't know already, (and I think some of you actually don't know, since I got an sms asking me to go out for lunch despite me saying just on Tuesday) I am flying off to Dubai tomorrow morning!

To be honest, I am not as excited as I thought I would be. I don't think it has quite sunk in yet that I am actually leaving tomorrow. Hmm.. Anyways, I will try to blog as much as I can about the happenings there, so stay tuned for updates! =D

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Total randomness.

Just read this awesome article on Wired about optical lift. Light can lift stuff by passing through them! Is this the beginnings of a lightsaber in the future?!

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By the way, I just came back home from a karaoke session with Alan, Zilun, Andy, TYL and Chun Tong. Shioks! Managed to send my Picard bag to repair at Shaw Centre at the same time. Hopefully they can get back to me fast so that I can pick it up before I go to Dubai!

Managed to shop around a bit before coming home too. Hmm.. I don't know if I need anything else for Maastricht. I'm worried that what I have might not be enough to fend myself from the cold =/

Monday, December 06, 2010

The Black Swan


A definite must-watch on my list. NATALIE PORTMAN!!!

Good morning!

I woke up with aches all over my body, with the especial pronounced pain on my shoulders. Which is strange because I didn't run with my shoulders, did I? My abs are hurting too, which totally shows how much they have degenerated over the past two years =/

Today marks the very first day I have to myself without any real plans. YAY! This means I can finally get down to clearing the stuff I have to do for my SEP and STEER Trip. First up, I will go to the bank to deposit the cheque for our hotel in Dubai, then I'll head over to SingPost to Speedpost my documents over to Maastricht. Hmm.. that should do it actually.. Looking forward to relaxing in the jacuzzi in Safra!!

There were plans to play Mahjong at Teckie's but I doubt it would materialise with Ivan not replying and Chow sleeping. Shall just enjoy my day alone by reading my downloaded books! Hehs.

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Updates!

It was Kai Li's birthday yesterday, and we went out for a short evening, just enjoying each other's company. Feels like it's been a long time since we were able to do that, and I'm glad we managed to get some time to wind down before she has to start interning, and I have to start prepping for my Middle East trip.

The USP clique also celebrated it for her the day before by playing laser tag, watching The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Trader, and then playing board games at Mind Cafe. Cool! I think they really are a cool bunch of people to hang out with. Looking forward to the next outing!

In other news, I just finished a half-marathon! I wrote an entry about it in The Spartacus Project. So I'm not going to elaborate more here. All I can say is that I need more exercise!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

I've Got Mail!

Guess what was waiting for me when I got home from singing at Party World?!

ASOS! Wonderfully air-mailed from the lovely United Kingdom.

I decided to make my virgin buy about one week ago because there was free shipping and my pants were all starting to break down from chafing on my thighs (URGH!). Excites!

So here's my loot:

Ben Sherman Black Polo Tee

ASOS shorts

Yay! I shall be vain and wear it to the movie outing tomorrow =D

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

MAssacre.

What a sorry end to the first examinations I thought I would be able to do well in. I lost more than 20 marks because I didn't have enough time, and I was basically battling my dizzy head. Ironic that I arguably spent the most effort on MA. Urgh. Then again, it's my weakest topic, so I guess I should have expected it.

A survey of a small sample size of students (ALLITERATION FTW!) shows that the exam was considered quite tough, even for the smart ass people. So I guess I can harbour some hope?

I didn't feel as glad that exams are over as I expected myself to, possibly because of the lurch in my stomach I was feeling. Plus the fact that it was raining when I got out of the exam hall. =/

Oh wells, at least that's the end of another mugging-filled semester of my life! On to other better and more productive pursuits!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Luis Borges by Kenton Thatcher for Hit Mag



When I saw this, I just knew I had to post it. It's not just his really funky hair, It's also the fact that he's wearing just the kind of blazer that I would want to get if I had tonnes of cash to burn. A tweed plaid jacket with elbow patches! HOW CUTE!

Luis Borges by Kenton Thatcher for Hit Mag

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Things to do RIGHT AFTER exams.

Yes, my heart is no longer in Activity-Based Costing. I want to fly like a bird, I wanna run away...

Okae, seriously! I have a lot of things that I want and have to do right after my exams, so here's writing it all down so that I can tick them off one by one.
  1. Watch HP7.
  2. Train for the StanChart Marathon that I will be running in a few days time.
  3. Run the StanChart Marathon.
  4. Prep for The Big Secret
  5. Cut my hair
  6. Sun tan!
  7. Complete the Bizad Club website
  8. KBox!
  9. Play mahjong!!
  10. Pack for KSA/UAE.
Edit:
  1. Play DotA
  2. Learn graphic design!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Leave this place.


I don't want to study MA anymore. I want to leave this place. Leave this town.

Leave behind this city that is so stifling, that's filled with so many rules and regulations. A place where we concern ourselves with where Hougang's borders are rather than how well we are taken care of in terms of healthcare, in terms of the economy, in terms of the poor.

Leave this university where what you do in your time doesn't matter, as long as you produce a 5.0 at the end of the day. Where mugging is rewarded while living is scorned. Where friends are for attaining a certain end in the future.

Leave my home where there are so many unsolved problems. Leave the quarreling every Sunday morning, leave the petty grudges we hold dear like ammunition. Where hurts are so deep that we just learn how to tune them out or ignore them till they fade.

Leave, even though there is no where to run to. Just to breathe, even for a moment.

Friday, November 26, 2010

NTT DoCoMo Samsung Galaxy S 'Darth Vader' Video



NTT DoCoMo launched the Samsung Galaxy S in Japan with a Darth Vader as the personification of your smartphone. Even though there isn't really a link there (other than the fact that the phone has a space name), isn't it kinda cool to feel like you are bringing a Sith Lord around as your phone?

Makes you feel safe with someone so powerful following you around. Which I am guessing, is kinda the point: Cool, powerful, always with you (like the Force).

My Coat! My Coat!

I was surfing The Fashionisto just now, and guess what I saw! My coat I bought from UNIQLO! Apparently this guy, Douglas Neitzke, is fronting the 2010 Winter Down collection for them. Wah. Super cognitive consonance!

How to murder an ache.

I have been having this horrible aching in my stomach since yesterday morning and I endured through it for the whole of my Macroecons revision and examination. Then it got worse, waking me up several times last night just so that I could go to the toilet only to find that I can't get anything out. -___-|| Can you imagine? I woke up at 3 am to burp out the Pepper Lunch that I ate at 8 pm! I can still smell the hamburger steak.

So I have decided to murder it. And I knew just the people and place for the job: THE UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTRE, or simply, the UHC.

After each a scrumptious breakfast at Ya Kun as I always do (he's Hainanese by the way, so I must support!), I went over to the UHC across the road to kill the bastard.

The doc started by pressing all over my stomach, and concluded that it was some gastric juices wrecking havoc in my stomach. Urgh. So I got Antacids and some Famotidine to quell the acid juices. Oh stomach, why do you rise up against me!

In other news, Macroecons paper was a bitch. You just need to log on to Facebook to see everyone complaining about the repeating questions, the negative marking, the fact that they made us read so many articles that wasted our time but didn't help us to answer the questions. I think this would be a definite B. I just hope I can get As for my 3 spotted subjects so that I can hope to get a 2nd-upper CAP score.

Oh well, that's that for this morning! Have a great day.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Spent my breakfast looking at photos that Enqing and Chee Keen posted, dreaming of things I could do if #Idonthavetostudyfoecons. Had a sudden urge to start reading books again. Greek tragedies. English classics. Even the Harry Potter series before I actually go watch it on the 2nd. Alas, resources are scarce, even the human capacity and time, and I have a paper to do today.

Snap back to reality... webcast time!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Reminders.

My lovely girlfriend reminded me that I have not been catching up on the lives of my friends lately. Which make me realise: I haven't actually caught up with myself either.

This whole semester, I seem to have been so caught up with school and studies that everything else just took second stage. I found some out some cool new things about myself, I learnt a lot through watching TV series, but I think I also forgot about how it was like to be me, before this me.

I guess this was a little wake-up call for me to start thinking about how I am living my life and to constantly reevaluate what I am doing with it. This means that I should blog more and chronicle more about myself before everything goes down to dust!

Okae. Resolution of the day set!

N. Korea fires artillery shells on S. Korea's

Is this the beginning of WW3?

I can't believe that they actually initiated a unilateral act of war. It's one thing to sink vessels, it's quite another to fire artillery shells into another country. Which makes one think: they must be either really confident of winning a war with one of Asia's tigers, or they must really be depending on the fact that S. Korea would probably not retaliate in such shitty economic climates.

Hopefully everything blows overrrrrr. I don't want to see a WW in my lifetime.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Spoils of the Day!

I went to UNIQLO at Tampines 1 today to do some shopping for my student exchange! Look what I got =)
Premium Down Outer Coat.

I love the furry hood that is gonna make me look like I am an Eskimo! Really like the shininess too =)

My FAVORITE! CHECKS!

UNIQLO's flannel shirts were going at an offer of $29.90, so I thought I'd grab one. Muahahaha! I'll use it in exchange anyways what! I am not wasting money okae!

Heat Tech Long Johns

I also got myself some really long johns. Come to think of it, it might have been cheaper if I bought these at Winter World. Oh wells, at least now I have everything I need for exchange. Hopefully this supposed Heat Tech holds up to its name!

Now, I actually went out today to take my StanChart Marathon race pack with Wei Lun. So here's how it looks like! I kinda miss when they used to give us gym bags instead. These drawstring bags are totally useless =/


The loot wasn't very fantastic. I guess the only thing of note was the free 7-day gym pass to Pure Fitness that I might use if I can figure out where Knightsbridge is. And the shower gel that they gave. What happened to all the Berocca and 100 plus??

But anyways, I have half a mind to pon this year's marathon. I might just die during the run with my level of fitness now =( Time to train up!

It was a great time of catching up with Wei Lun over lunch at Kim Gary today too. At least now I feel a semblance of a social life! Can't wait for exams to be over so that we can all hang out and take a breather again!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The weekend.

The weekend was not the most productive one I have experienced. Spent a lot of time clearing by backlog of American TV series so that I can really concentrate on my exams next week. One thing good though, was that I acted upon my resolution to start learning graphic design proper by buying this book:



Although books are no substitute for the rigours of a design education, I figured that I don't have the option of going to a design school full-time. Besides, lots of designers have learnt this by themselves. I'm sure I can figure something out too! =)

The next week promises to be one that is packed with mugging. Hopefully I survive! Please pray for me eh? And I hope you have a great week too =)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Sesame Street


Sesame Street has done an amazing job at reinventing itself beyond the typical kids' show. I think they realise that beyond the children, there is an increasing market of teenagers and young adults who have watched Sesame Street as a kid, and still love the characters. The content that is posted is consistently relevant, child-friendly, yet not so kiddy that I cannot enjoy it as a 22-year-old.

It's amazing how a children's show can educate kids beyond the alphabet, teaching them current affairs such as the American mid-term elections, and also about the things around them, such as this video about Apple's App Store. Not to mention the myriad of videos made based on popular culture such as the Old Spice commercial, Katy Perry, and more recently, Willow Smith's I Whip My Hair Back and Forth.

Awesome!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

O cool unnamed person...

Somehow whenever I check out your blog, I would get that yearning to lead your kind of life.

Heck care and fun, you just live your life without bothering about the future because you already have it secured. You can pursue your dreams because you don't have to worry about your livelihood.

I just need to keep reminding myself that I'm not that, but that would make chasing my dreams all the more precious.

Saturday, November 06, 2010

Conan O'Brien Show Zero // Diet Coke "Stay Extraordinary"



I chanced upon Conan O'Brien's blog on Tumblr, and before I knew it, I was watching Show Zero that you see here. What caught my eye, though, with all due respect to Mr O'Brien, was Diet Coke's new ad "Stay Extraordinary".

Well, to be more exact, it was the song that caught my attention. But I thought the ad was well executed. It communicated that Diet Coke was for the working professional - the office rat who hung out with his friends, the free spirited graffiti artist, the glitzy fashion editor, or even the resident who needed to stay awake.

Diet Coke is both cool and functional. Diet Coke keeps you awake and enjoying life and your job. Diet Coke is creative and fun.

All that packed in a 1-minute ad. Wow.

See the full ad at Vimeo here!

My favourite scene in The Social Network.



This is a cool typographic rendering of my favourite scene in The Social Network. Mark Zuckerberg totally pwned the ass of that lawyer!

Oh, watch till the end to see what the words become. Awesome.

Friday, November 05, 2010

The Social Network.

Just got home after watching The Social Network at Bizad to the Movies. Somehow the movie got me thinking about what I was doing with my life. I mean, Mark Zuckerberg is what 4 years older than me? And he's already a billionaire. Where am I going with my life?

Of course, I don't yearn to become a rich man overnight. But the movie really got me thinking about pursuing your passion and letting it be the driving force of your life. So what's my passion? I would like to think that it is graphic design now. I know I am not very good at it, but I really want to work harder at it and somehow be able to work with it in the future =) Maybe I should take up Mum's offer to study at Laselle...

Anyways, I suddenly had the urge really prove my worth. Be really good at what I am doing now, be it Marketing or design, so that I can really show the naysayers that these are not frivolous pursuits. Just watch me.

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

The Bucket List.

  • Pass grade 8 piano
  • Be a taxi driver for a day (at least)
  • Work in P&G
  • Enroll into a graphic design course
  • Bungy jump off some huge bridge
TBC!

Monday, November 01, 2010

Breakups.

Everyone around me seems to be breaking up. First there was X who is still living in denial everday, thinking that the boyfriend still has some feelings for her. Then there's Y who told me her boyfriend broke up with her yesterday. If I count all the peripheral ones happening around me, the number will easily go up to 5 or 6.

Why is everyone breaking up? Is it really because they weren't meant to be together, or they discovered something in their counterpart that they could not tolerate? Being together is a choice. And when one party decides to withdraw his love, for whatever reason, there is often no way the 2 can pick up the pieces. Perhaps breakups happen because people don't think of the gravity of being in a relationship. How many people rush headlong into the 'love' they imagined because they couldn't stand to be alone? Somehow love has been twisted into something that is used to satisfy one's own needa instead of a self-sacrificial one like it's supposed it be.

Every break up puts me down a little because it makes me think that the ideal love or world that I grew up in could not possibly exist. Every break up wakes me up a little because I realise that relationships are not something to be taken for granted - we have to work continuously at it. Every break up surprises me less, because I guess anything can happen to anyone, even if everyone thinks that your love is like solid rock. Only the two know the truth, and even then, that's 2 versions of one truth.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

New MacBook Airs Now Available



Apple just launched its two new MacBook Airs today. At first glance, it seems like they have made it even thinner by removing some of the thickness at the bottom of the trackpad. The rest of of it looks pretty much the same though. Also, the MacBook Air now comes in an 11.6" and a 13.3" model.

Take a look at the video and the specs at the Apple Wesbite.

via Mashable: New MacBook Airs Are Like iPads With Keyboards [PICS]

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Google Puts the Emphasis on Location in Search

It seems like everyone is moving towards location-based services. I just signed up with foursquare and started checking in in various places. It's quite cool to just go into my iPhone and check out the comments that people had about places that they have been to, or about what food to eat where you're at. Of course, I think I mentioned Facebook Places quite a while back. This is definitely the way to go as more and more people start having smartphones and get their information on the go.

I guess it's only natural that Google is jumping on the bandwagon. Google now tailors searches by finding out where you are and showing searches that are more relevant to where you're at. Great stuff!

via Mashable: Google Puts the Emphasis on Location in Search

Monday, October 18, 2010

Father and Son Launch iPhone Into Space [VIDEO]

A Father and Son launches an iPhone into space using a weather balloon. HOW COOL IS THAT?! I think the much cooler thing is that at this day and age, they are able to share this with the world.

Somehow I am reminded of how Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity in the kite experiment. Just imagine if YouTube was existent then! Okay, it's rather impossible since YouTube runs on electricity, but my point is that our mode of sharing information and experiences has changed so much over the past few years that it's just mindblasting, as Russell Peters puts it. The possibilities are simply endless.

via Mashable: Father and Son Launch iPhone Into Space [VIDEO]

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Mum's Birthday @ Jumbo!

Mother's birthday is coming up this Wednesday and we decided to have an early celebration last weekend at Jumbo. Somehow it has become an annual thing, whether we go there for my brother's birthday or Mum's or for no reason at all other than to imbibe some of that succulent chilli crab

My brother and sister!

Mum and I =)

We actually ate this much later, but since it's the show of the day, HERE IS OUR VERY DELICIOUS, VERY FRESH CHILLI CRAB!




I checked out foursquare and found out that the seafood fried rice was supposed to be highly recommended, so we tried it. A little too bland for my taste, but the eggs was very well fried into the rice. Kind of reminds me of the Egg Fried Rice from Din Tai Fung.

Last but not least, we have the yam paste! My favourite dessert ever. You don't really find this around Singapore restaurants much. This particular one was slightly too heavy for my taste, but it still tasted great =)

It's been quite a while since we just went out like that for a dinner, so it was really fun for me. Hahas. And somehow the things that we talk about when we just go out like that always makes me laugh. This time we were wondering if the waiter who served us thought that we were some pigs who ate too much.. But hey, this is much less than last year, and we weren't even full at the end of the day!

Anyways, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Sesame Street's Old Spice Spoof



OMG THIS IS SO CUTTTEEEEEEE!

How Has “The Social Network” Changed Facebook’s Brand Perception? [STATS]

I thought this particular article on Mashable was pretty interesting because I didn't know you could measure brand perception so quickly. Or that a movie could affect the brand image by so much. The brand perception of Facebook doubled amongst young people of the age from 18-34 after the release of the movie, "The Social Network". Way cool!

How Has “The Social Network” Changed Facebook’s Brand Perception? [STATS]

Disappointment has a name.

Now that there is some critical distance from the midterms, I feel like I can finally blog about them. My results for both Macroecons and Managerial Accounting were right smack at the median and around the average scores for the whole class. If you thought that sounded alright, it is not. This means that I have to work very very hard to nail my finals so that I can even dream of pulling some As. The fact that my Biz Comm class is highly competitive does not help matters at all.

The semester started out with me thinking that this could be my chance to pull up my CAP before going over to Maastricht. Now I really am not sure anymore. Am I not putting in enough effort? Did I get lost along the way? Or more ominously, am I just plain stupid?

It sucks to see everything going so well for some people while I struggle to even make it. The way everyone complains about their grades when they are actually much better than mine just makes everything feel worse. Almost like carving out my skin with a blunt knife.

Oh wells, what else can I do but apply my mantra: see how lorh.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Microsoft Launches Windows Phone 7

Yes, you heard it! Microsoft is launching its Windows Phone 7 so long after Apple's iPhone and Google's Android phones. I think it's going to be pretty exciting especially since Apple will start taking its competition more seriously if it turns out to be a good product offering. Honestly, I haven't been too happy at how Apple is playing with us loyal fans by just slightly upgrading specs and expecting us to pay so much more. =/

Then again, will this thing be a dud like Bing?

Microsoft Launches Windows Phone 7

Monday, October 11, 2010

Dreams Come Alive.

I was led to a blog written by a teacher of mine in Junior College while looking through Facebook about half an hour ago. Mr Lawrence was the teacher-in-charge for Nanyang Kayak Racing Team, the CCA I was in back in JC. Every single time I read his blog, it never fails to amaze me how he manages to blog in perfect English.

I would always have the tendency to lapse into smiley faces or colloquial speak while blogging so as to sound more relational and close to heart. Another reason would also be that I actually blog like how I think. This style though, comes at the expense of careful thought put into what I want to write about. That is also why I am so impressed by Mr Lawrence's entries. He always stays in context on what he wants to write about. That requires a great deal of discipline and training.

Well, of course, being a professional speaking coach now, I think he would have to present a certain image. Yet, I do not think that what he writes is unnatural or coerced. In fact, I can actually picture him saying whatever he wrote. Now, that's the greatest attainment, I feel. To be able to connect at that level without the use of the crutches of emoticons or colloquial language. I shall aspire to reach that too!

With all that said, commenting about his writing style does his blog no justice at all. Reading about his endeavours in conquering the Sahara, the Gobi and now, the Antarctica is simply overwhelmingly inspirational. It makes me believe that if someone so close to me can do such seemingly superhuman feats, maybe I have the ability to do them as well. That was just the dose of confidence and hope that I needed after 2 bouts of disparaging midterm results =)

Friday, October 08, 2010

My Dream Car.

I know I have said before that I am ditching the Mini for the Porsche Cayman S, but I just can't resist it!

Look at how CUTE and SLEEK the Mini Cabriolet is!! Imagine the wind blowing in your hair as you sit in front of the dashboard. IMAGINE THE DASHBOARD!! The retro looking round dashboard. OMG.

I WANT A MINI CABRIOLET NAOOOOOOO!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Creative Examples of Infographics



I was talking to Yew Ming on Monday about what makes up each type of coffee, so this infographic struck me when I was digging around. Check out the rest of the infographics! Really cool =)

Creative Examples of Infographics

Monday, September 27, 2010

MA Midterms.

Just came back from dinner after my Managerial Accounting midterms. Frankly I'm quite disappointed with my own showing. Didn't manage to finish everything..

I really think the maximum I can get now for MA is a B at best. And that really sucks. URGH.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A pleasant reminder.

To be able to have someone hear you bare you soul. To have someone who is willing to listen to you and understand you more than anyone else. Isn't that enough? It doesn't really matter who that person is, or how others see you. Just as long as you love each other.

Just saw a photographs of a friend of mine and got reminded of this. So thankful I have you, love =)

Friday, September 17, 2010

LG Portugal.



Advertisements are moving away from merely stating the impressive specifications of products or showing how cool stuff look. Marketers are looking at how to alter the experience that consumers have with the product, and the image that the overall brand portrays.

What LG Portugal tried to do here was to show that LG brings the family together behind a TV Screen. In quite a literal sense, actually.

Of course, the video serves the purpose of targeting the expanding social networks market. By creating a compelling story, LG increases the chances that the video will be shared by people, hence creating far reaching impact than a typical TV commercial. Of course, it doesn't hurt that it's free and how a 7-minute TV ad worth probably be really expensive.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Armani Jeans



The new video of Cristiano Ronaldo in Armani Jeans. Cheeky!

Post 777.

And the dark cloud that has loomed over my head for the past two days cleared as if it were never there. Maybe all we needed was a little talking. =)

What a number, by the way!

According to the American publication, the Orthodox Study Bible, 777 represents the threefold perfection of the Trinity - Wikipedia

IE9 -___-

So I had a rough day and half my brain cells drained from watching Macro Econs webcast and I decided to go on to Mashable to see if there was anything interesting I could read (there often is). But guess what? All I see today was the Launch of IE9. Grr...

From the article, it seems like quite a good offering from Microsoft since it promises to be faster than Chrome and to "beautify the Web". But honestly? If I trusted IE, I wouldn't be using Firefox now. And IE's not even my 2nd or 3rd choice of browser. When they finally have IE9 for Mac, I will download it and try it just so that I can say "ha! I told you so!".

Internet Explorer 9 Has Arrived via Mashable

Edit: Okay, ignorant me just realised that Microsoft stopped support for IE for Mac since IE5. It's just as well I guess =P

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The end of all things Supernatural

I just finished watching the very last episode of Supernatural. There's Season 6 that's being showed in the US now, but it doesn't really count since the producer only ever wanted to make 5 seasons.

I know it's lame to feel this for a mere show, but I feel a sense of loss, which comes with any ending, I guess. Supernatural has taught me that family is the most important, and that we should always treasure the things that we have without always looking for that greener pasture that's never going to happen. Of course, there's the greater theme of God being in control of everything towards Season 4 & 5. Who says a show about the Supernatural is only about spooks and effects?

Now that my source of indulgence has been depleted, it's time to look for a new one! Okae, just kidding! More like it's time to really focus on studying and getting my 4.75 every semester. I don't know if I can do it. Hell, I'm inclined to think that I can't. And I know no one actually honestly thinks that I can. But what are dreams for if they are achievable? Let's kick some ass here! I feel the blood coursing through me!
Have you ever had something to say but didn't because you didn't want to hurt someone? Well, I have. And I guess I should have just stuck to that principle. But what if you thought saying that thing could make things better?

5 Winning Social Media Campaigns to Learn From

Take a look at this article about the Top 5 Social Media Campaigns this year. Quite interesting to see what companies are doing to engage the growing population of netizens. Somehow YouTube seems to be the top influencers with regards to viral marketing...


5 Winning Social Media Campaigns to Learn From via Mashable

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Dilbert Takes on Social Media Marketing Managers



I totally LOL-ed. I hear more news of companies doing the exact opposite though. Which begs the question: What's the balance?

Dilbert Takes on Social Media Marketing Managers
via Mashable

Head-to-head: Kindle vs. Apple

This is a video about Amazon marketing their Kindle as anti-glare and superior to its competitor, the iPad.

The implicit message is also that Kindle is sexier than the iPad as shown from the hot babe vs. the geek. The Kindle is also marketed as more user friendly since it doesn't take a geek to use it.

Friday, September 10, 2010

New York Times Will Go Out of "Print" Sometime in the Future

Personally, I still like the feel of holding a newspaper, smelling the ink, and reading stuff without having to strain my eyes because of the back-lit LED screen. Then again, revenues are falling, and I am guilty of not subscribing to even the Straits Times. It's true that all the information I get comes mainly from the Internet instead of the papers or even the television nowadays.

The day will come soon when we will have to part with nostalgic trappings and give up the newspaper as we know it now...

New York Times Will Go Out of "Print"; Sometime in the Future via Mashable

Google Instant Search

Just read an article regarding the implications of Google's Instant Search.

Are we becoming even more impatient and accustomed to fast information that Google would have to resort to this? Personally I think it's a great innovation on the part of Google. I never did think that they could squeeze something like this out of something as simplistic as a search engine.

The article also spoke a bit about Predictive searching. If that comes true, I think we would really have arrived.

Read the article here via CNN

Thursday, September 09, 2010

A backward glance..

It is a cliche, but in the twinkling of an eye, I have become a sophomore in university. The army experience that seemed so fresh just a few months before now seems lodged far away in the recesses of my memory.

Today (or rather yesterday) marked the Bizad Club's AGM for AY 09/10. It also marked my handing over of the post of Director of Digital Media and Publicity to Jolene. She will now become the 24th Management Committee's Director of Publicity and Publications. Which makes me the only Director of DigiPub ever to live.

The scene was familiar yet not. We have been in their shoes before. I could totally relate to their hopes and dreams and that feeling of hitting the ground running. Personally, however, I was feeling a little tired of having to sit through another Bizad event which only we attend. Somehow we would need to address the issue of apathy on the part of the average Bizader.

But that's not the point. The point is, I will probably never sit together with this group of people I call the 23rd MC ever again. We have officially disbanded. Will everything be the same ever again?

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

The Future of Ad Agencies

Just read a good article about the future of marketing and advertising beyond the mobile apps and social marketing that we see now.

Take look, as my Asian Marketing prof says it: via Mashable

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

New Nike+ App for iPhone!

I am so going to buy this new app! Finally something that doesn't require Nike+ shoes or the chip that they had.

Perhaps this is just the motivation I need to start running...

Nike Unveils New iPhone App Just for Runners via Mashable

Monday, September 06, 2010

Out Goes the 23rd.

Today is the first day that I am going to school not wearing the hat of a Director of Digital Media and Publicity. I was shocked to feel a tinge of sadness when I sent out that email blast to Clement that Kenneth requested. There was a sudden realisation that I would not be doing this anymore. Jolene, my successor, would be doing all of these things from now on..

I thought I would be glad to finally give over my duties to someone who is still fresh and raring to go - the work can get demanding at times when everyone is breathing down your neck for that email blast or that poster that you have to design. Never did I imagine that I would actually be sad that this phase of my life is over.

Honestly speaking though, Bizad Club gave me some of my closest friends in NUS today. I am really glad that I had the 23rd MC to call home. We might not have been the best performing MC, or even the most cohesive one, but in my opinion, we are DA BEST!

Personally, my role also allowed me to grow both as a person and in my technical skills. I don't think I would be able to work as well under stress if I didn't take on this job. Of course, perhaps I would have just let my Photoshop skills rot throughout the whole of last year. You know, Digital Media is really something that I truly love, and I'm glad I had this channel to express it =)

Now that it's all over (even though I still have a whole lot of things to handover to Jolene), I feel kinda empty. But I am sure God will lead me into another phase in my life! =)

I <3 Bizad!! If you are reading this, don't forget to support our activities and watch out for that new website that I will be rolling out!

iPhone 5?

via BizarroComic

Friday, September 03, 2010

Spartacus Project: JUMPSTART!

Yes, I have decided to jump start my Spartacus Project once again starting with swimming tomorrow!

Ping?

The whole world is talking about Ping right now, and Apple apparently said that it will be immediately available to 20 million people in 23 countries. Well, I'm not seeing it here in Singapore. Hell, I'm not even seeing iTunes 10 anywhere!

That said, when it actually comes, I am so gonna miss the CD on my iTunes =(

See NYTimes
See Mashable

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Morals vs Law.

I was discussing with a friend of mine today about the morals of downloading American series off the Internet. The whole topic was sparked off because she was watching Mad Men via a streaming site and lost the connection midway. I suggested torrenting it to save all the pain, and somehow it led to the morality of downloading material off the Net.

Well, to be sure, it's illegal due to licensing infringements and all, but is it actually immoral?

All too often we equate the law with morality, almost as if the law is our conscience. Well, the truth is, a lot of immoral things are legal, and a lot of what is considered illegal is well, not immoral. Take for example the speed limit on a road. You would get a traffic summon if you sped beyond 10 km/h. But what is the difference between travelling at 90km/h and 91km/h? Well, none. I hope you didn't start beating yourself up because you did something immoral!

That said, I didn't have a problem with what my friend felt about downloading stuff off the Net. Just a thought that popped into my head that I felt I could share =)

New iPod Touch with Camera and Apple A4 Processor!

The new iPod Touch has front and rear facing cameras! That plus the fact that it has an Apple A4 processor that also powers the iPad and iPhone 4. Looking great as usual!

But then again, it seems like the gap between the iPod and iPhone are narrowing. Why still use an iPod then? You know, when I was at an Apple store in Bugis the other day, they don't even sell iPod touch covers anymore. Is the iPod coming to an end?

Why the Apple A4 is the iPod Touch's Killer Feature

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Looking awesome, Google Voice.



It's just too bad that they only have it in the US now. Can't wait to try it! Hopefully it doesn't become another one of those stalled projects like Google Wave..

Guess what I got in the mail today...


Looks like Nike is telling me to start prepping for that half-marathon I am supposed to be running at the end of this year! Should I sign up for Nike 10K? Personally I am quite disgusted with my level of fitness and fatness, so I think I should really start doing some exercise outside of the meagre IFG swimming trainings...

To go or not to go..?

Obama Announces Iraq War Over via YouTube

Talk about harnessing the power of social media! If the President of the United States is doing it, perhaps it's about time our National Day Rallies go on YouTube too!

YouTube to Live Stream President Obama&#8217;s Iraq Address [VIDEO]

On a heavier note, America's pull-off from Iraq just shows how powerful market forces are. I have to agree with the President that it is no longer viable or advantageous for America to stay in Iraq and continue sowing seeds of hatred amongst the Islamic community there. America has greater troubles to deal with at home after so much press about the slowing US economy, I think it's really time to focus!

See the NYT story here.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Voice Faceoff: Skype vs. Google Voice

Looks like Skype is finally getting a worthy competitor! Can't wait to use it over in Maastricht =DD

Voice Faceoff: Skype vs. Google Voice

Sunday, August 29, 2010

My eyes hurt from rubbing and I feel tired from thinking in my sleep.

Satuday marked the end of 60th's Annual Parade, and took a great load off my shoulders. The sudden ejection of internal case helped too, I guess, even though I really wanted to see it through to the semis. Today, I finalised 2 projects for Biz Comm and Asian Marketing, which means less work for the next few weeks before the cycle starts again.

Perhaps tomorrow would be the day I can finally go to school without having something at the back of my head! =)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Case.

At the case workshop that the Case Consulting Group organised for "newbie Case competitors". And yes, I feel really noobish =(

It looks like we are still quite far away from The Solution if we ever arrive at it at all.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Staying in school has it's privileges.

I woke up this morning feeling fully refreshed and glad that I didn't have to make the arduous journey to the West. I think I will learn to like staying in PGP after all =)

Monday, August 23, 2010

Facebook Places.



This has been buzzing all around the blogosphere and social media sites. Want to attract people to your business? Facebook Places. Want to check out where your friends are? Facebook Places. Want to know what's interesting around you? Facebook Places.

I am so going to download it on my iPhone RIGHT NAO!

More information at Facebook Blog

Have You Seen This?



This is the Old Spice advertisement that has gone viral on the net over the past month, reaching 23 million viewers in the first 36 hours of its posting - an excellent example of what Social Media can do for your brand.

I don't know if this video really made people go out to buy some Old Spice (only P&G knows that). What I know is, I would definitely buy Old Spice if I see it in my friendly neighbourhood NTUC the next time I visit it!
It always brings me joy to see my friends pairing up =)

Sunday, August 22, 2010

So little time, so much to do.

Camp Calibre just ended this afternoon, and I feel like I just started my weekend - what's left of it, at least. Feeling quite frustrated because there are just so many things left to be done. I have an MA tutorial at 11 am which is yet to be completed, Case is gonna be released in less than 12 hours time, and I still have the photo collage at the back of my head.

Looks like tomorrow is going to be one rushed ordeal =/

Saturday, August 21, 2010

An Insider's Guide to the Consulting Profession.

Some take-aways from the career workshop that I attended on Friday instead of interviewing wide-eyed freshies =)

1) Consulting is not for everyone

Basically the speaker mentioned that the hours would be crazy when you had a case on hand, and that you would have to travel to wherever the case takes you. That means that besides all the glamorous places, you might even have to go to far-flung lands =(

2) The Consulting corporate culture is unique and you can't afford to slack off.

Consulting firms sounds like a gigantic politicking machine where everyone fights to get noticed by the right project managers, or perhaps familiar project managers, in order to get your work with people you like. In other words, you pick your people and you pretty much stick with them if you think they are good.

3) The pay's not great even though the workload is high

Well, that explains right? The work as an associate sounds pretty high and it sounds like many sleepless nights.

That said, the consulting field does sound very challenging and it sounds exciting for those who are up to it.

Hmm.. I am quite sure that it's not the job for me though.. Unless I eventually move into it after doing a long stint in Marketing. -shrugs-

Bloody stools.

That's what I saw when I last looked into my toilet bowl. Mine, of course.. Looks like I haven't been having enough water to drink. These past few days have been pretty hectic, and to be honest, I am not sure because of what. It feels much more of a perceived thing than any one thing in particular. Maybe it's Camp Calibre plus Career Talks plus having to do the video and having BB at the back of my head, etc...

Anyways, I have decided to spend more time mugging (which I haven't really been doing!). Time to chiong for CAP 5.0 le!!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

School has officially started and I can feel the heat from where I am standing. On top of the usual Bizad duties that I have discharge, I still have an Annual Parade on my back.

Somehow I feel like I have been put into the job without any support from others. Where were the J1s that were promised? What happened to the communication that's supposed to happen between teachers and adult helpers? Sorry. Not happening here. So I am just waiting for something to screw up along the way, whilst trying my best to mend the holes. MER! I just don't see how people can work like that - by arrowing others without notice. Horrendous work ethic!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Thracian!

You know, I was quite the morbid kid when I was young. I would think in my head "I must do this and this, or this or this bad thing will happen". It could be the most random things like run to the traffic light in 10 seconds or drop dead, for example. Today I played the same game with myself, albeit less fatal...

Basically I went running and when I passed a junction, I told myself to cross if there was a green man, or continue running when there wasn't. If I passed a zebra crossing, it was my choice whether I should cross. If I had to choose between split roads, I should pick the one that led further away from home. I guess I just came up with the rules on the go and went along.. A good way to find out new running routes, don't you think? I managed to explore corners of Yishun that I haven't been before. Coolios =)

Anyways, I haven't been talking to myself for a long time, and this was a welcome re-acquaintance. When the world says that you cannot make it, or when no one believes in what you believe in, get up and run! Show the world that you can do it!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Disenchantment.

Rag is officially ONE WEEK away! TYL was griping about how we effectively only have 4 days left of full work before we hit D-Day. It's probably a bad time for me to be feeling what I am feeling, but somehow I have been lacking the motivation to work. I just don't know why I am here anymore.

I want to watch movies. I want to go out. I want to talk to my girlfriend properly and solve our problem. Hell, I don't even mind studying now.

Well, hope that tomorrow (or later) will be a better day...

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

So I didn't get my MKT2401. Wow. The ducks are all lining up in a row for me now, aren't they? FML.

Crushing my bubble.

Today I received almost complete confirmation that I did not get the Study Award. I applied for it earlier on, hoping that I might have a chance at it. Sadly I let my expectations build up along the way as well. I guess I thought I did more than the average Bizader for the school, and that I had enough community service in my resume as compared to others. I never did think or rather, I guess I forgot, that CAP is KING.

Suddenly everything that I am doing is put into question. Why am I slogging at Rag when I know that there are next to nothing returns? Sometimes it's hard to hold on to idealism when all I see is others thriving while I suffer for being altruistic. Is it really better to play the world's game? The sad thing is that no one really understands and I seem like a stupid ass who is too rigid for my own good.

I should have listened to myself. Expectations only bring about disappointments.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Sian.

Today was tiring and I got sian while doing Rag halfway. I have no explanation why.. I guess it's really Monday blues like Kai Li said.

Anyways, we aren't talking because I ate a butterfly bun. LOL I guess I just eat when I feel shitty. Think it might be the genes in the family.. And now I am doing guard duty alone. It's just as well I guess. I need some time to myself to emo away. I wish Rag would end soon...

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Weekends FTW!

Finally a longer weekend away from Rag!

I managed to get Ms Goh to play the piano for the lesson instead of me, since I was late by about half an hour. I think she sort of appreciated it too cos she was saying that she haven't played the piano in a long time and teaching piano just killed the desire to even want to do that. Hopefully I rekindled some of that!

I caught up on some sleep after piano and then went on to meet Wei Lun and Gracia at Holland V. We had Everything with Fries, which was not bad, but not very fantastic either. It is a novel concept and I would probably bring Kai Li there some time =) It was actually great hanging out again with them and just catching up with life. Gracia had a great time at Europe it seems, and I can't wait til when I get to Maastricht myself!

When we finally exhausted the possibilities of Holland V, I decided to go meet Kai Li and since Gracia and Wei Lun wanted to meet her, it was just as well. I realised that I really miss my car when I sat in Wei Lun's car. Too bad eh? What's done is done.

Anyways! When we finally met at Bugis, we had no idea what to do because the whole place was closed anyways and somehow Gracia had asked Yi Shin out too. To cut the long story short, we ended up at Starbucks in PS and Jun Kai joined us later. Lots of scandals flying around and for a moment it felt like no time had passed since JC =)

And suddenly the day had come to an end and Jun Kai sent Kai Li and I home... NICE.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Home Sweet Home.

I finally went home after 3 days of guard duty at the Ragsite. To be very frank, there wasn't much to guard since there was virtually no one in school during the weekends. I guess the only accomplishment was the painting of the plates and the cutting of cans. I should really talk to TYL about abolishing the guard duty...

Anyways, I never thought I would say this, but being home was good. I even tweeted about this! But I really have to say it again. I feel properly clean for once since a long time, and I got my hair cut, my nails trimmed, and my earwax dug. Shioks!

Besides all that, it was nice to have lunch with Ma too. I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder yeah?

I also went down for the BB parade today since I am helping out with Annual Parade. It's a weird feeling to go back as always, revisiting the past. I see so many memories and lament their loss. Sometimes I really wish I were a person who kept in touch more with others. Now I kind of feel lost in time, with almost no other friends bar JEDIT. Time to make an attempt to talk to my old friends again!!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

I'm doing guard duty for Rag tonight. I took it on because I know it's unfair for anyone else to have to ta duty as a result of my ill planning I guess. Also because I know that everyone has been feeling shitty during Rag, and this is my form of welfare to them.

Frankly I don't mind having to stay in school, bar the fact that I have to sacrifice the time I have with my friends. I miss JEDIT like crazy, and it's insane how we still can't seem to find a common time to meet up when the holidays are less than a month to ending.. With everyone flying away next semester or next year, I think it would be a long long time before we would get to meet up again.

Anyways, the point is, when all the busyness is over, when everyone has left for home, when all the mahjong games and DotA has been played, I am feeling this feeling of solemnity. It's a feeling of all things crashing down on me in waves. Not in a bad way per se, but more of a quiet way.. Tsk. It's difficult to describe.

Rag has been a neverending list of things to do, making it so difficult to have some time to myself to just collect my thoughts and emotions. Relationships are difficult to manage but I am just glad that we are a bunch of nice people who are seriously just doing all we can for Bschool pride =) That means that even when there are minor conflicts, we are all willing to put aside our differences to make Rag work.

Another week is coming. JIAYOU EVERYONE!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Randomness.

It’s been a long time since last wrote a real blog entry. A really cathartic one that records how I have been feeling throughout the day. There are innumerable reasons as to why this is so, but I can think of a few off my head right now.

One of which would have to be the lack of time to just sit in front of my desk to type everything out. Life nowadays has been reduced to a pitiable routine of waking up, working for Rag, eating, working some more, then sleeping once again. It sucks that I don’t even have time to hang out with friends who have come back from overseas. I haven’t seen Ivan yet!!! And he’s been back for like. 2 weeks?

Another reason would be that I no longer see the need to rant about my life. Not that there’s nothing happening for me to vent about, but I think I have finally learnt how to better modulate my feelings. You know I think having someone to share your life really helps. It sort of puts things into perspective, and you see what thing are more important, and what others are merely mindless banter and gossip that doesn’t edify anyone who involves himself in it.

That said, I do miss the times where I just come here and let out a barrage of words to either show or hide my inner thoughts. I think writing is a good habit that I do not want to lose. So here’s a promise to myself. However small some things may be, I shall make it a point to write them down here =) Of course, with adequate sensibility and sensitivity =) And let’s see where that takes us, shan’t we?

Until next time, adieu!

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Slacking for a few moments at Rag Site before I go help out the Structures team. Much of Rag has been mindless working and then sleeping and then waking up all over again to the same routine. Yet it's not boring at all. I think we are still having fun so far and frankly, I hope that fabled "stress causes fissures" talk doesn't ever come to fruition.

I am missing my friends. I feel like I am in isolation here because all we see are Raggers. We haven't had a decent JEDIT outing for so long!!!! And I haven't seen my JC friends in so long. Somehow this holidays haven't been panning out like the others. I feel so much more insular this year. =/

But hey, if I don't think so much about it, like what I normally do, it's alright =)

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Doubts.

A heavy downpour on a Saturday morning. I sit without much aim in a gigantic white tent. And I think to myself...

Have you ever thought about what you could do with your life? I don't mean saving the earth or helping others. None of that heroish stuff. I mean something more selfish. What you want to do WITH your life. What kind of things to go into, what career path to take, how many kids to bear. Those stuff.

Well, if you are anything like me, you would have.

Now, what if what you think you know is actually a lot less, or different from what you actually know? What if the skills that you think you have is or the attributes that you possess is not enough to get you from Point Alpha to Point Omega?

I am so tempted to say, "Just Believe." But I guess it hardly works that way, does it? Truth is, we will never ever know until we reach the end (or not). And that's scary.

Friday, June 25, 2010

FOC.

FOC just ended! And I had marvellous sleep for the first time in 4 days.

It ended on a high note at Timbre, but I think what I took back with me would be a lot more different from what the freshies got. It's kind of different when you experience FOC for the second time, and in the perspective of a senior.

You know, I left feeling very socially inadequate. I found it so hard to click with the juniors because the things that we knew were so different! There was such a big gap there that it was almost impossible to empathise with their situation anymore. Did my seniors feel that way?

On the part of the seniors, I know we all had fun. I was lucky to have seniors who were so easy to work with in my OG and we were still high-spirited despite our OG's showing. Well, like what Ying Hui says, the most important thing is to have fun!

4 days of shouting is no joke. Plus the fact that I could see Kai Li but couldn't really talk to her at all. I thought dry run was bad, or CIMA was bad. But FOC was even worse. I really think not seeing and not talking is so much better than seeing and not being able to interact. That's why I think it's good that she's not going for Rag also lah.

Anyways, now that that is done, the remaining of my holidays are officially saturated with only one thing - RAG. Good luck Bschool, LET'S ROCK THE HOUSE DOWN~!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

What I learnt at LifeGroup today.

There was a dinner at the nearby coffeeshop. I went not without trepidation today because I knew it was going to be awkward without Chee Keen there. I wonder how I will survive LifeGroup when he goes to Scotland? I went anyways. And you know what? It turned out to be quite alright. Sure, I had to gobble my fried rice as fast as I could as they were already finished with their dinner, but everyone was friendly and cool. Now, why was I afraid?

The lesson of the night was basically about the Holy Spirit. Pastor Norman touched on the Spirit being our Counsellor, and also being God. He also spent quite a lot of time explaining about tongues and the controversy behind it, which was really illuminating. You know, I never realised that all the answers were in the Bible all this while! If you ever wondered if everyone could receive tongues, if you should be speaking in tongues in church, if tongues even exist, it's all there! 1 Corinthians 14. Check it out.

Anyways, what I really took back was actually from the sharing by the rest. I guess I shall skip right to what my takeaways were, because what others shared are supposed to be confidential.

Basically I began to see that Ma's nagging about my spending nights out was probably more out of worry than a desire to control my life. All these while, I felt really frustrated because I really didn't know why they were blaming me if I did nothing wrong. Well, I guess worry doesn't really work that rationally. It's true that my staying out late would logically cause them to worry.

Then there's the issue with spending. I have tried to keep spending at a minimum, but I guess it can appear that I spend beyond my means because I wanted to go overseas? I initially convinced Ma because I realised I will not get to go anywhere for the rest of my uni life except for the student exchange because basically it's time to chiong internships. Well, I guess she forgot about it. And I guess it's difficult to understand why I would want to go to Vietnam? That part I haven't really understood yet.

Anyways! I learnt that I should have more patience and understanding to see things from the perspective of others. I also felt convicted that I should be more gentle with my words too. Somehow I have become quite quick to come to conclusions about people, and that's really not right. Where's the long-suffering kindness? That's something I have to learn all over again I guess.

Another takeaway was to make more space for God to work in my life rather than have the mentality of having to strive to make it in university. You know, it's so easy to fall into the mindset of wanting to do anything to snatch any possible mark in my modules so that I can get a higher CAP score. And as Chee Keen rightly put it, there's nothing wrong with it. But I really want to learn to prioritize God as first in my life before studies. That means making more space for him, trusting him to be for me, and relying on His Providence in times of need.

Yup. Thank God I went for LifeGroup!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Summer.

This holidays turned out to be pretty sucky.

I am beginning to hate staying at home, and everyone seems to be caught up with something but me. Everyone in JEDIT is busy, Kai Li has CIMA together with Cam, Boss and Zhitong, and TYL has Rag to busy her with. What do I have? Well, I have FOC, I have Rag. But somehow they are not enough to keep me busy.

I feel attacked from all sides and maybe it's good that I keep to myself for a while...

Oh anyways, I just submitted my Study Award application. Wish me luck!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

I CUT MY HAIR!

So! I promised muff I would let him cut my hair when I come back from Vietnam.. So that's what I did today! And here's how it went...


You know, it's really a little too radical for my taste, but I am growing to like it =DD
Hopefully my girlfriend likes it too!

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

That's What I'm Here For.

This song is the latest one that has been stuck in my head. It was playing through all the Shanghainese music last night, and it's somehow still playing in my head...

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Not having the blog as my homepage really makes me blog less. I guess it's true, what they say - out of sight, out of mind..

So. Why am I blogging now? Well, mainly because I am bored. I am at a wedding dinner that refuses to start, filled with relatives whom I don't really know but know each other. Of course, as with all of my entries, that is but an excuse.

The real reason is that I am feeling quite emo today. It might jus be the lack of sleep I guess.. But it sucks nonetheless. I miss someone I can't see, and most likely won't see for another week. I feel crappy about my grades because it's just 'okay'. It's not going to take me places. I am going nowhere.. I am suddenly struck by a crippling self-pity that I normally despise. Yes, you heard it. It's an audible expletive building up.

I am sitted here around a red table, but I really wish i were at home and sleeping away. What am I doing here? Where are you?
 
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