ho humm...

i'm seriously running out of titles for these everyday entries, especially when nothing much happened. ok there WAS something today, namely the library workshop thingy, but that was a farce indeed. 1 hour of seminar thingy, that's all. the rest of the time we were slavedriven into decorating the library... oh, and here's a hint: stay out of the library this weekend. just trust me on that one.

i guess i should start from the beginning. interview first. tha went well. not too bad, but i guess there were one or two awkward moments especially when he started talking about smoking and drinking and who was the recorder but the alcoholic himself =D

yes, yes the workshop... ah... yeah it's something about servant leadership... something that's been done thousand and one times, but every time, something changes. they make it interesting, or there's one new bit of information or quote you can pick up. the rest of the time... time to practice sleeping with your eyes open eh? but i did pick up one or two god principles of life.

i have to apologize at this point for giving wrong advice some time earlier. ok it's not technically wrong but it's not healthy social relationship. i like their philosophy: "you cannot control their action, but your reaction is your responsibility. respond to others with blessings, and in time, all will come to respect you."

it's good advice. i plan to TRY and follow it from now on. of course it isn't easy, as someone in afghanistan (they tried to hold the seminar there too) pointed out "my neighbour killed my brother! how can you expect me to give him my blessings?" yes, it's often hard to do so, but think about it: if you're going to retaliate, it's going to be a zero sum game. in the end, everyone loses. what's the point?

and another point they brought up, about being good listeners. ok i'm not too sure how well i'm doing on the listening scale. i need some feedback from the ppl around me. i know i'm definitely not listening at home but then there's so little in common talking is difficult. i want to know how i'm doing with others. am i a good listener? or am i trying to impose my views on others a little too much?

...

all right, enough about the seminar, i guess you could go attend one of those anyday. after lunch we got down to work making paper cranes and threading them to make a chain. my fingers, aren't really suited for that kinda stuff, i think you need small dainty hands for that or something... anyway the person beside me was telling me how in secondary school her classmate (i highly doubt ANYONE who knows the existence of my blog will know either of these two people) made 700 um... i forgot.. it was either stars or cranes or hearts or something. anyway it's those little little stuff that you can put in a jar as a gift. HAND-MADE, mind you, and presented it as a gift for someone. (no don't ask me any more about them. was told to keep mum) whew... i had trouble after 40 or more crans and that was the medium-sized ones. 700 of the smallies... i respect that person's passion and patience. i guess receiving something like that... i wouldn't really know how to react, i guess.

oh and last note: no class outing? DAMN i'm gonna be bored on youth day. bored youth on boring youth day = BAD!

It's over... it's all over...

right, i thought i forgot to do something today, lucky i remembered to update. after all if i make a claim saying that i'll update daily i'd better stick to it unless i have a really good reason or something.

math was... meh... ok it wasn't "omg what is this don't even recognize anything" hard, but neither was it "oh ok i can complete this no problem" easy... i left i think 8 marks blank... pretty good for my worst subject, actually, much better than chem, at any rate.

then there WERE plans to go out, but i guess it got scrapped. and while i turned back for someone the whole group took off without me or something. dammit mebbe you guys didn't do it on purpose, but still it's not nice to leave ppl out.

got a pet peeve here. i hate to be stuffed up with excuses or "omitted". if you're holding an outing for a group, and i'm in the group but you don't want me coming along, tell me straight, please. i don't want to be given excuses, or not told at all. i don't talk much with people, fine. i don't know someone that well, fine. say it straight. don't make one big circle. i hate that.

still got a large wound on my foot. how did i get it? i gouged it when i heard *someone*cough* was trying to backup their caluculator using the CD by itself without plugging in the GC. hit my leg on the chair so hard a chunk of flesh was removed. yeah it was that absurd... oh wellz.

if there's anything on saturday or monday tell me pls. and i'll be in library whole of tomorrow, likely. thanks.

eye of the storm

right... five cents to you if you know what reference the title has. and no doesn't apply to geog students =P

sorry neeti, i think you're posting on the wrong blog or something... when did i ever mention 5 dollars? you completely lost me there...

hmm, ok i shall be short and brief today. sorry about not posting yesterday but i didn't want to post anything depressing. suffice to say it was a total disaster but ok that's over all over.

i think the key in past exams was that at least i had something to look forward to. they put geog and history right at the back, two strognest subjects for me so i could look forward to the end of the exams. but now they gave me my best first and my worst at the back.. just killed my spirit... sort of... yeah... you know what i mean

poor yannie ringing everyone up trying to get ppl to go for concert... not much chance, i think. good luck bro, you'll need it.

and before i go (told ya this was short) here's 12 rules of life i found pretty effective heheh time for a short break from studying eh?

# 1 Murphy's Law
When you least want anything to go wrong, the probability of something going wrong increases.

# 2 Anthony's Law of the Workshop
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

# 3 Kovac's Conundrum
When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged one.

# 4 Cannon's Karmic Law
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

# 5 O'brien's Variation Law
If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.

# 6 Bell's Theorem
When the body is immersed in water, the telephone rings.

# 7 Ruby's Principle of Close Encounters
The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

# 8 Willoughby's Law
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

# 9 Zadra's Law of Biomechanics
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

# 10 Reda's Rule
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

# 11 Owen's Law
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

# 12 Howden's Law
You remember you have to mail a letter only when you're near the mailbox.

have a fun day, all!

one down, three to go

all right, that's done with econs, throw away one file, got threemore to mug hehehe.
right, i was quite tempted to talk about the test almost immediately after the exam, but someone once told me that it was very bad manners, especially to those who didn't think they did that well. so yeah, i resisted that urge. talking about it here doesn't seem to make that much of a difference, i think, since not that many people frequent it and it's more likely not going to offend anybody. two people absent today, wonder why. hope the rumours aren't true...

hmm ok the case study first. was quite tricky, but i thought i answered it quite satisfactorily except for the last 10-mark question. can't believe i totally left out the long term thing... need my eyesight checked. had like... 6 minutes left over. quite a good pace, i think. but then again it IS the first exam.

the essay... heh that one was funny. i looked at question one and was like "nah, definitely not" then looked at question two and was like "HEY! wasn't this the question i predicted? i was right!" ok so it wasn't exactly as what i had predicted, but if you can answer my question you definitely can answer essay question 2. no problem, like i always say.

not much else to say about econs, i hope everyone had a good time. well maybe not everyone looking at their looks on their faces. can pass one lar. we were joking this morning at how difficult the paper was gonna be and this popped out: "later you receive your script and it says: oh you failed, but you ranked at the 80th percentile of your cohort anyway" heh, so don't take it too hard, we're all in the same situation.

and to a certain someone: remember, if you manage to pass econs or chem, i'm collecting my tution fees eh? i'll be waiting for it heheheh

after the CT's maybe i'll post my thought about the current anime i'm watching (ok i shouldn't be watching but whatever) which left me VERY disturbed, i mean _really_really_ disturbed. you'll see why on saturday =P

the calm before the storm

tomorrow's the big day. the one we've all been waiting for, the last test for half the year =P ok i think you get my point. and from the looks of it quite a few people are getting worked up by it. all right, so i shall stop posting about mugging and post random stuff instead. not that i did any of it today... today's strictly a rest day. better going into the exam hall with a clear head than anything else.

dunno why, but Mr Sithu's two horrible pick-up lines just suddenly popped into my head sometime today. those were soooo bad i think they're permanently burned into my cranium. don't ask me what they are, i probably won't tell. go ask zy.

and i hope someone managed to solve your... outside and emotional problems. don't think too long or hard about stuff like that. makes you more depressed, that's all. ask me how i manage to keep a happy outlook on life, gee that one's easy. concentrate on the happier things and forget the not so good ones. and about relationships, i guess i forgot to impart this piece of advice: when deciding whether to relate yourself to one person or remove your connections totally, use this as a gauge: does the person have enough good points so that you can overlook the minor bad ones, or are the bad ones really outstanding and you cannot stand them? after answering these two questions, i guess the answer will be pretty clear.

and about decisions, i have something else to say too. no matter how we say, our decisions are always based on some form of instinct or another. for example, when a person goes out to buy a car, he may make a decision based on several factors, like the price, the colour, the capabilities, how he will look to his friends etc etc. but when the time really comes down to sign the agreement, these things are discarded, or more like, they form an excuse for the final decision. it's all still based on instinct. which is why first impressions are important.

okok my dad is yelling at me to mug some more. i should stop here. and anyone who wants to come do some last-minute mugging, please look for me in the library, 3rd floor 9:30 am onwards. i don't want to spend the last hours muggin alone, please.

thought i wasn't gonna post today? just a bit late, that's all

feh, feel damn cheated today. went to buy koroke at J8 coming back from school, and only today they tell me that you can buy 3 for 2.40! dammit i've bought from them at least 4 times this month, and they tell me only this TODAY? i feel like lodging a report to case or something...

hi neeti, don't really see you around much. oh, and i'm sorry if i made you stressed because i'm posting about my studying, seriously. just that that IS the most obviosu thing everyone is doing now. comeon, if you tell me that you aren't getting much studying done there's no way i'm gonna believe you either. but heck, 5 dollars says you'll beat me at least in two subjects. wanna take up that bet?

hmm, and i think a guy called Azrael is actually quite accurate about one thing. who he is and what he is right about, go figure it out. that shouldn't be too hard =P

nothing much left to say from me. spend the last day well. and sleep early... i think i should say "tonight" now.

hmmm... grouses aplenty

attendance for econs lesson today was actually quite surprising. i expected some 7 or maybe 8 looking at attendance of chem lesson but i guess i was wrong. hey, it's all good. do keep coming.

got plenty of grouses today. first one: when you make an appointment, at least make sure to keep it... if you are gonna be late or can't come, make an effort to call or contact. this bad habit's been going on for 3 years and i hope to put a stop to it this year. do we really need to lose a big opportunity or offend someone important before we learn a lesson? i hope not.

anyway was mugging in library again. what else? and i think my body's trying to give me warning signals. here's a tip: when you really can't absorb anything anymore for 5 straight minutes, stop whatever you're studying. i don't mean laziness or not being able to understand. i mean the words literally start swimming in front of you. that is like the final warning your body gives to take a break. and it's not nice ignoring it. happened to me in sec school. i wouldn't call it mental breakdown, but i don't know how to describe it. all i remember was that i had a splitting headache for 3 days straight, and during that time i couldn't think for a long period of time. so yeah don't try.

so when i got the warning, went off for a walk. went back to RI library, haven't been there in a looong time. too bad Mrs Ho ain't there. and they were doing some weird stuff, i think some LTA display... do they really take us for fools or something? well the RI ppl, i mean. sigh, can't wait to see their reaction wehn school reopens. the read a ... very interesting book before walking back. total time wasted was about 40 minutes. guess that's good enough.

then was looking through past year papers. ok i can handle the chem, i can handle the econs quite ok. then the math i'm in deep $hit. can't understand most of it. that's bad. very bad. then a look at geog tells me i definitely haven't been mugging enough. guess i know what to spend m weekend on now...

did anyone read or laugh at the jokes? if you did, leave a note so i'll know to post mroe of the stuff when i get them.

econs lesson tomorrow

sorry about the short post yesterday. was damn tired and sleepy. actually i'm also damn tired and sleep now, look at the time, but i just didn't have much to write about.

went to school to mug again today, and was lucky to meet daniel. ok so he's in arts class but he still pwns me in everything including math. oh and mark was there too, mugging chem i think. huihui as well, although for some reason she's in a super bad mood today. sigh guess mugging does get to people eh?

managed to complete... eh... half the past year questions heh i guess that's good. not to mention that i totally LOST the first three chapters. i think i lent it to someone but apparently it wasn't the case T_T gotta find a way to get them back. tried to do math in the evening but ended up playing bridge. bit of an addict now =P

econs lesson tomorrow, dunno how it'll turn out. hopefully for the best XD and the library staff just gave me an e-mail of optical illusions and funny phrases, well thanks for trying to get us out of mugging but it didn't really work that well... i have a cache of airline jokes here that i thought i'd post, maybe it'll have a better effect on you ppl

see the pilot usually files a complaint report after each flight, in case the aircraft needs servicing. then the service crew files a service report detailing what they've done. so the pilot's report is indicated with "P" and the service screw report is marked with "S" have fun reading =P


P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

another wasted day... dammit

i should really be flustered and stuck in my books, but i spent today outside instead. dammit i really have to keep track of my time well... i have what, 120 hours before the first paper starts?

not much to say today. seriously. whole day wasted. just gonna drop a note and say please come mug in library tomorrow. not gonna waste tomorrow like i did today. yep, i should be bringing along math and econs harharhar.

ogay... 6 days left

just got back from vietnam. thought i'd do some mugging today but turns out not to be the case. got distracted by a movie and pool afterwards. yeah yeah i'm not a frequent movie goer, but this one was complimentary... so like just go lar, what to lose? and i wouldn't say it was a movie, more like a documentary. what a waste of 2 hours.

responses first. some dork obviously trying to irritate me eh? i've got two things for you. one: go read house rules. they're the very first post so you can't miss it. two: i have no idea how to link, so if you have a suggestion i'd rather you point it out or type it out rather than spout nonsensical grouses that don't improve the situation at all.

hmph, ok now that's over, maybe i can talk a bit about vietnam. well my report about china got a bit of a negative response, and i got a few complaints about certain things being X-rated, so i shall try to make this report as "lean"as possible.

Vietnam

One thing: unless you know where to change your sing dollars into vietname dong at a good rate, you better be a math whiz, or at least somewhat good at mental sums. it works like this: vietnam dong is weak, about 10,000 dong to 1 sing dollar. and in vietnam they prefer to accept US dollars, don't ask me why. now here's the math: 1.57 sing dollars is about 1 US dollar. and sing dollar, as i have already said, is about 10,000 give or take a few hundred. so in order to pay in US dollars you take the total bill, cut off three zeros, then divide by 16, and add a few dollars depending on how generous you are with loose change. all this in your head. those constantly getting F9 for math, you know you should bring a calculator =P

not forgetting the language barrier. well i don't think even sherwin can speak vietnamese.. and very few people understand mandarin or even rarer, english. one or two might be able to converse in cantonese, but that's it. well you could resort to sign language but it usually doesn't work. i remember how when we tried to order at a CHINESE restaurant we ended up calling out the boss as in the owner of the restaurant because nobody could understand what we were trying to say! zomg. have you ever called the owner of the restaurant out before? bet you haven't.

oh, and be careful tipping. you never know when you're tipping too much. we stayed in a resort so there was the guy next to us who had a story to tell. he told us that a man offering to polish shoes came knocking at his door. so he was like "ok, polish them a little" and after that he gave the man US $1 (well that was the smallest he had) and the man was ecstatic. then he told us how the entire night he couldn't sleep properly because people kept knocking at his door asking to polish his shoes -.-"

well so after we heard the story we were a lot mor careful, but when the attendant brought in an extra bed (there were three of us, remember?) we were inclined to tip (it's a sort of culture, almost the same as america) so we gave him a dollar as well. and then after that every 5 minutes or so someone would knock "here are your slippers" or "here's an extra pillow" or "an extra cushion for your chair" and so on. it wasn't until we hung that "do not disturb" sign outside that they relented.

well all right, leaving out all the "fun" and slightly "X-rated" stuff that's about all i have to say. well ok still got today to talk about.

the movie... well documentary was about the afghan war and how the prisoners, many of them innocent were mistreated... yawn i hope this never gets off to the big screen. it's ok if you're doing some social studies or history, but if you're expecting hollywood you're gonna get disapppointed. think of hotel rwanda, plus interviews, plus no main character. something like that. but one thing that i can say is there's a heck lot of swearing. i hear swear words more times in half an hour than paul says in a month! (and he's trying very hard to kick the habit, too)

and yahoo! can complete time crisis 2 in less than 5 continues! yeehaa! achievement! okok maybe i was lucky. but still. yeah! and i tried my hand at pool too. ok i can make basic shots without the cue ball going in now, and i can slice to a certain extent. but don't rely on it. i'll know my real standard the next time i play with the class =P

going out tomorrow... another day wasted that i could spend mugging. ah well who needs to mug with me on thursday? do't make me sit thee alone for 8 hours again. thanks! ^_^

leaving in 6 hours

yeah, you read that right. i'm leaving at 4am in the morning. no sleep again ehehe.

today was another boring day, just like every other one. holidays are absolutely no fun when exams are looming right in fron tof us. not to mention PW either.

morning: go to school and mug, what else? i haven't touched geog yet. human geog, that is. saturday mornings are even MORE dreary than usual mornings. for one, the library isn't open, no more air-con... two: there's nobody around! well except for the occasional border lounging in the canteen, that is.

lunch was simple... get a wafer, munch on the way. got to bugis at 11:30 so i could scout the library and especially the reference sections first. well i've worked there before so i roughly know the layout, but specific books... still have to go through the catalogue. and books relevant to us are found on three levels. basement, the borrowing section, and levels 7 and 11.

and to my groupmates: thanks for being on time, eh? one of these days you're going to miss something important then maybe you'll learn. if you can't be early, at least don't be more than 5 mins late.

and ok, it seems i'm not that good a researcher. sherine and huihui took level seven while me and paul went to level 11, and we found only like two measly books while the two of them have like a whole pageful of minute notes each. dammit where did you find so much info from?

but i did find something interesting while browsing though. no not what paul picked up (healthy sex after 50 -.-) but rather a weird question. do you consider a baby part of a mother's body? it seems nature seems to contradict itself in this case. let me elaborate:

when a baby is in the mother's womb, it stays there until it is ready to be born. it is not expelled like a "foreign body".
however, it has more than once been proven that babies and mothers are not fully compatible, especially when organ transplants are needed but mother and child are not compatible donors. the body rejects the organ donated, in fact.

so is the child part of the mother's body, which is why it is not viewed as a foreign body and subsequently expelled, or is it a completely independant body, because their bodies are not the same and orgnas may not be compatible?

good question, eh? hopefully someone can give me an answer when i come back from vietnam on wednesday.

coincidentally... i just got mail

yep, remember yesterday i was talking about that one movie? oddly enough i got a mail today that is super-similar to what i watched... so i thought i'd post it here. it's in original script, i shan't change anything, it's too good for that.

It was a busy morning, approximately 8 : 30 am, when an elderly gentleman in
his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb.
He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9 am.
I took his vital signs and had him take a seat,
knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him.
I saw him looking repeatedly at his watch and decided,
since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On examination, it was well-healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the
needed supplies to remove his stitches and redressed his wound.
While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation.
I asked him if he had an important appointment that morning,
as he seemed to be in such a hurry.
The gentleman told me no ; that he only needed to go to the nursing home
to eat breakfast with his wife.
I then inquired as to her health.
He told me that she had been there for a while already
and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease.

As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound,
I asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late.
He replied that she no longer knew who he was ;
that she had not recognized him for five years now.
I was surprised, and asked him.
" And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are ? "
He smiled as he patted my hand and said :
“ She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is. "

often we are to focussed on ourselves in life. what WE want, what makes US happy, we forget that true love is an acceptance of who we are, it is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be and at the same time will never be. we forget that we should wish happiness for the other party. if you can't provide the happiness, then let someone else more capable take over it. i once read a story along the same line:

X bought a dog when it was a puppy. he cared for it greatly, but it did not seem happy. however X held on to it not only because he liked the dog, but because he paid quite a lot of money for it. one day the dog disappeared from home and he was frantic. search posters, calls of enquiry, he exhausted all avenues of communication. then one day he found his dog with an elderly couple in the next street. he was furious, thinking that the couple stole the dog from him. however he saw that the dog really didn't want to leave when he picked it up. after walking down the street, he turned back and handed it back to the couple "i think you can bring it more happiness than i ever can".
just like that. you can't bring something/someone happiness, let it go. don't be too preoccupied with personal wants.

why did i like this movie? as i've said before, i watch too much drama serials. three, four, up to eight-way relationships aren't new, and they are boring. not to mention most hollywood dramas are unreal. it looks like they forced two people together more than anything. it's just so uncommon to come across one flick that expresses the fundamental philosophy of love as well as this one does. AND it's sad to see them go through multiple trials (but we see that all the time) and yet still stick together when someting like memory loss sets in. i ask myself: not even counting Alzheimer's, just 30 years or so down the road, how many people will still have me in their hearts? i didn't dare to answer that question.

...

ok today was a pretty boring day. thanks cw for coming down to mug. at least it wasn't so depressing =D and paul postponed PW meeting because he had something on today. so... i can only collect my debt from NLB tomorrow.

read your blog paul. nice to know you feel something when a joke gets carried too far yourself. don't mean to imply anything, but i think you needed it. somehow i think most people don't know when is "too far" you have to experience it yourself. just because someone keeps silent doesn't mean he/she doesn't feel anything.

and the class wants to go KBOX after CT... well i'm not good with english and chinese songs, seriously... i'm more comfortable with the jap ones that i know. yes they only constitute a handful, 16 at max, but those i really know well. and i've translated them word-by-word so i mroe or less have a feel of what they mean. english and chinese... eh... no interest, sorry. too bad KBOX doesn't carry japanese titles eh?

going to vietnam sunday morning 4am. yep so i shan't get sleep tomorrow hahah

class outing... with 8 people?

before i start on what happened today, can i send a plea out to all you people out there who are reading this: please come and mug in school, preferably in the library. it's damn boring to mug alone there, and you get damn zonked out by 3:00. not to mention if the teachers aren't around and you can't find ayone you know you're stuck with questions you can't answer by yourself... so yeah please come and accompany me ok? i have three days left there, tomorrow (friday) and next thursday and next friday after econs.

ok about today... class outing was scheduled at 1:30, so what did i do from 8:00 to about 12:00? go library and mug lar... well that was the plan anyway. i was going to try and finish math today but was freaking tired. and on top of that i couldn't answer like 35% of the questions so i gave up, picked up a nice book, read and slept for a while. paul was pretty right, the library does put people to sleep, somehow.

lunch was bleh. eating is boring. then MRT to bedok. and i was wondering whether there was a last minute change of plans, since 1:30 rolled around and i still didn't see anybody. then mark and hui hui strolled up the escalator at about 1:40. damn when will you people ever learn to be on time? then was take bus, then walk to beach, and paul was carrying his birthday ball =D bounce bounce bounce XD walking along east coast park, i was wondering one thing: didn't the chalet over there close down quite some time ago? apparently it's still functioning since i saw people running in and out, and the gate was wide open.. weird huh?

and when on the beach, i dunno, i think people are concentrating too much on having fun that they forget about the real purpose of recreation. for me, going to the beach isn't about swimming in the sea (though of course if i was equipped i wouldn't pass up on that opportunity) playing beach volleyball or chase along the sand... those are fun for some people, but in doing so you're missing a great opportunity to just look out to sea. sure, the best time is probably in the evening to watch the sunset and early at dawn to watch sunrise (and mostly i watch sunrises) but even during the daytime just looking at the sea sorts of gives you an opportunity to either clear your mind or reflect and think about anything you like. seriously. next time go to an isolated spot, look out far into the distance. it's good for your mind. in fact i was doing that today, sitting on the groyne (did i get that correct?) until the rest called me over for photo-shoot ^_^"

and then was bluff. heh i brought 12 decks, but apparently we only used 2 decks. oh wellz. and i was gonna ask preston and sue whether the time they took to come down here is more than the time spent here... i barely saw them for more than an hour!

we were debating between pool and bowling, and we went to the alley... i was never very good with bowling, but today was extra bad... dunno why maybe it was the balls. 9 was too small and 10 was too large... don't they have something in between? and huihui the master of slow shots showed us it was possible to throw 4 balls in one frame... the ball travelled so slowly that the computer couldn't sense it! so that's up to three chances for a strike in a single frame! gee...

after that was dinner... everyone went back, so i just went with paul to S-11... and i think i really need to work on communication skillz. seems like i made an offensive remark when i didn't mean to. and then we were talking about the different cliques in our class. don't mean to say this but the divide this year is really large. i mean last year although there were separate groups we could still talk and have fun... this year it's like there's nothing to talk about if you're not in the group. did we do something wrong? is there anything we can do about the situation? i'd posted quite a lengthy essay on this MUCH earlier this year... i think it's lost somewhere in the class blog already.

hmmph... ok i should end here today since it's long enough already. i'm tempted to post the ONLY hollywood movie to make me tear slightly. yeah, and i can seriously tell you that's not common at all, even for asian flicks. maybe i watch too much. yeah, i guess i'll find an oppotunity to post my taste in movies and maybe why this one appealed to me... maybe tomorrow? in the meantime, please do come to library tomorrow so i won't be damn bored again. thanks.

addiction... again

ok, looks like i'm back to being addicted to bridge. heh. played quite a bit yesterday and still watching and playing today. gee i make most out of my time, not -.-"

and "camp" was a bit far off for yesterday. ok it was something like a camp but not exactly either. more like an unofficial sleepover. not that we got much sleep anyway. i was fully intending to stay up through the night but everyone was so soccer-obsessed and the mahjong table was full too. what else was there for me to do other than sleep? gee, not like i couldn't stay up... i've stayed up 50 hours a stretch before =D

chem supplementary today was a bit... boring. ok it's good revision, it's good practice but the first hour or so i was completely stoning 'cause Mr Wong was just going through all the stuff that we already knew. okok maybe there were people who needed help, just like me and math, but to me it was a little boring. grumblerantgrumble okok ^_^" study session afterward helped a little, but i think i brought a bit too little work...

and contrary to popular belief, i had to choing all the way this year well 'cause we don't have Os and everything for me depends on this couple of years. i'm not yanheng, i don't understand stuff immediately. dammit i wish i could do something like that. so no i'm not smart. look at my results last year and you'll more than understand.

ah yes, and i just found out today that i've been offending people. all right all right, sometimes i may make one too many jokes, don't take offense all right? usually i'm not serious about these things, it just comes off the top of my head. well i know that i'm more of an impromptu person myself, i think up of things on the spot, so don't take it too hard. and those who posted, yeah i know, i know, thanks for posting, but i can't really find anything to reply to... should i have said "thanks for dropping by"? dunno... my social skills ain't exactly top-rate, i'm sorry. but PLEASE post slightly more and longer, ok? thanks.

frizz... brain fry

yep, that's the sound of my brain getting frizzled. what's left of it anyway... try mugging 7.5 hours straight in the library. well it wasn't overly productive, there are still a couple of questions i need answered, but generally i think i can scrape a pass in teh coming exams! hehe.

and i gave paul his present today. the rest of you don't forget to collect from me ok? i'll probably have to give them out during class outing because i'm not done with the wrapping =D. and fianlly chem remedial has been finalized. yayness. and we got a date with the school admin. am i a lucky charm or what? hehe

okok, get on to the real stuff. bet you'r dying to know what my trip was like (not that you people actually bother to read, but -.-")

China

i guess i should start the trip right from the beginning. the airport, more specifically. well i wentthere like 3-4 hours earlier than my flight. why? because having been deprived of the privilege of owning an xbox, i had to make do with the ones provided in the airport terminal two. in case you didn't know, it's located in the IT room between lounges E and F (i have a damn good memory XD) and i feel damn good about thrashing all the high scores. especially soul calibre 2. muhahahah. one thing i hated though was that they removed halo 2, and replaced it with some crappy adventure game. WE WANT HALO 2 BACK!

and the plane... boring about sums it up, but aren't they all like that? and i could smack myself for forgetting to ask for cards. poker cards. dammit of all things to forget i had to forget that... and the SIA in-flight entertainment wasn't as good as i thought. the games are horribly outdated (comeon, they have 1992 games in there!) and the movies... we;; they're good, but the screen is so small and so close to you that by the end on ONE movie i GURANTEE headache and dizziness.

once you get off the plane, somethng in the air ALWAYS hits you. in Singapore it's the humidity. in south australia it's the cold. in countryside's it's the fresh air. in china, however, what hits you is cigarette smoke. i kid you not, it's so damn thick. it's like to opium war all over again. those of you who can't stand cigarette smoke like me, be prepared for a rough ride. almost everyone smokes everywhere.

their speed and efficiency is amazing though. i was there last year, and what was an empty plot of land is now a 4-storey shopping complex complete with basement and shops! is that fast or what? oh, and be careful buying things in China. almost everything is a fake. if you're not careful i believe they can even fake a person! and the irony in the situation is that they keep broadcasting anti-piracy adverts. you know the one in Singapore "be HIP"? well it's being broadcasted over and over again here, you think anyone listens?

and the fashion statement here is... weird. seems like all the girls and women like to wear long stockings. actually i can't call them stockings. think of what the ballerina wears, those long thin pant-like things. yeah that's about it. and i'm not complaining, simply because they have a very bad habit. they like to flash... a lot. i dunno, it's just much easier on the nerves when they flash you their stockings instead of... something else... -.-"

and the toddlers... let's just say diapers are not in. boys wear pans that have a hole cut on them, so they pee straight to the sidewalk. girls who wear pants, same thing. those who wear dresses, they just don't wear anything under it at all. i tell you, you could get a heart attak when one of them suddenly squats in front of you to pick something up... i'm serious!

but one thing i have to hand to them: they are serious about birth control. condoms are sold everywhere, and at a damn cheap price. the market rate for a box of 12 is 4.5 yuan, or slihtly less than a dollar. gee, talk about cheap. oh, and the interesting thing was i saw a couple of condom dispensors on the sidewalk. i was like "ok, it's quite logical to put them in hotels, sell them at stores (and they do that) but do they really expect the chinese to "get on with it" right in the middle of the street?" -.-"

their MRT is ok... but a world of difference exists between their long-distance railway and their maglev train. after taking the long-distance train, you will NEVER hear me complain about Singapore's MRT system anymore. imagine: two pairs of seats face each other, and the space between them is just about the same as the space between the last row seats in any SBS bus andthe second last row in the same bus. yeah it's that cramped. and the seats are plastic, and the journey lasts some 5 hours. can you sit still for 5 hours? i can't even read because there's no space!

Taxi drivers in China a some man... every played crazy taxi before? something like that, and worse. he squeezes between two cars on a two-lane road, he goes into the right-turn lane and cuts across the entire road to make a left turn... ok you get my drift.

all shopaholics, especially the ladies, let me introduce you to an amazing place called YiWu, China. it's a wholesale centre, but occasionally they do a bit of retail. and things here are CHEAP! you can get things here for less than a twentieth of retail prices. you just don't believe it until you see it for yourself. a word of warning: you will lose your appetite for shopping after this. would you want to buy anything anymore when you know that the base cost was something like 60 cents but yet sold at 8 dollars? oh, and the building is immensely huge. from one end to the other is about 3.5 km. have fun walking! i bought a whole BOX of poker cards here, 144 decks. i'm going to play until i drop XD

oh, and the hotels have many different grades. you have the 10-yuan a room no-start hotels (can they even be called hotels? that's like 2 dollars a night) to the 888-yuan per night 4-star hotels. we tried the two-star one... and regretted it. the lighting was bad, you can hardly see anything in the room. and they don't provide air-con! that sucked.

one last thing: i noticed a funny machine. it looks like a passport phot printing machine, but it actually takes two photos, combines them and gives you four variations of "future child" basically it's like a machine that predicts what your child will look like. i know quite a few people in RJ who would LOVE to try this one out =D you can even set who the child inherits what from! FUN for all the family!

and coming back was a laugh. i was last in the queue because i ran off to play xbox again (hehe ^_^") and apparently the guy was rushing home to watch the world cup, so i just asked him whether there were any more FOX sweets (Singapore airport always provides them) since the bowl was empty. and lo and behold he gave me the entire packet! gee, i'm still muching through it...

yeah, that's about it. hope you didn't wear your brains out reading all this. going for camp so i won't update till wednesday.

maybe a bit later...

what the heck, this post got deleted!! what's going on??

arrgh now i have to rewrite the whole thing from memory...

i'm lazy now. just know that i was talking about how i need mroe practice in bridge because apparently i've gone rusty after half a month of break. and apparently i've already missed one class outing according to cassy's blog. i don't want to miss out on another one...

ok, then i was asking which one you value higher: your happiness and future, or someone else's happiness? sacrifices always have to be made, and that's what makes life so difficult. when people say "cherish the moment", they are being serious, just because someone somewhere must have sacrificed something for a moment of your joy. don't forget that.

i typed something else, but i can't remember already. damn. ah well. please come and mug with me tomorrow, monday, in the library ok? it gets too damn lonely mugging alone.

sighz... boring

anyone ever noticed how boring life gets when you take a break from doing your usual stuff? i guess that's probably why people can't stand being out of work. like the chinese saying goes "the brain gets so bored it becomes stale"...

i think i'm missing the soccer gene somewhere or something... the whole estate here is engulfed in some soccer frenzy... well ok everyone except me. even the taxi driver who took us back from the airport yesterday said i was strange... even HE was rushing home to watch soccer. dammit what exactly is so fun about soccer? i need enlightenment >_<

oh, speaking of sports and such, i got plenty of practice with pool and billard in China. heh still not shooting very good but i kinda surprised myself when i sliced that ball =D. billard is quite... odd i think. i'm not too sure about the rules, especially since they keep replacing the balls that have been shot in -.-"

yepz, and speaking of practice i got a LOT of practice with shooters. heck, i even managed to complete time crisis 2 and 3 on my own! heh. next time i play with paul i won't die so badly XD can't wait to play someone now! i tried my hand at the music and DDR ones but i like can't pass the second or third stages... after that i gave up heh. guess my hand-eye coordination isn't what i expected it to be. but it was fun thrashing the china ppl XD. well the one song i can complete with confidence is para para sakura heh. looking for the soundtrack now. if you have it mail to me pls.

talking about that (see how my ideas link to each other?) i had to fortune of watching some really PRO people play at the arcades. and i mean they are pro. 'course you get all the noobs, but i had the fortune of watching two pro people. one was pro at the toy-grabbing machines(you know the ones that you shift the grabber and try to get a toy)... 3 tries and he got a toy. 10 credits later (the machine takes two credits per try) he had a stack of three toys. by the time he got the second, there was at least 8 people watching him... dammit i want to be that pro. his distance judgement must be off the chart...

yeah, and the DDR guy dammit this guy's even more amazing. ok about the DDR i have to make one thing clear first. you kinda cannot just look at the screen and try to match up. sure you will pass doing that but then it's no fun and you won't improve much. generally you have to move with the music, and kinda let your instinct take over. well it's what i did anyway =D and i had fun!

ok back to the guy. i was watching from behind and he was literally flying on his feet. as in he wasn't just stepping on the pads to the arrows, he was making his spins, crossing legs and doing kicks. i was like "whoa, someone is extra and fit" but the amazing thing was that he got perfects almost every time. talk about practice... after a while i was wondering how he could time his moves perfectly, so i linda... walked forward to take a closer look, and then i discovered the guy was dancing with his eyes CLOSED! ok something wasn't right in the picture. either he MEMORIZED the entire song, or he has REALLY good ears and can DANCE to the beat. i'm still not sure my eyes were playing tricks on me to this day... gee, i really want to eatch someone like that again. maybe mark? heh.

ok, long post tomorrow. 12 days of china experience in one post. that's gonna be something to look forward to... but i'm super-bored anyway XD

I'm BACK! no missing limbs!

WHEE! it's good to be back. muhahaha. feels damn good to be back on home soil. not to mention the bath after 1 week+ heh just kidding.

that aside, i did miss most of y'all. you've no idea how boring it is to spend 2 weeks in a ok not so foreign but rather unknown land, and though it is cheap when you're with parents that bring 4 empty suitcases there and bring back 6 full ones, you know you need some company. yeah yeah i miss some more than others, especially those i hardly know... whatever. at least i still remember heh. yeah especially *someone* who started asking about a test on the day of the test -.-" that just owns. even better than when someone asked me what the subject tested was on the day itself in sec 3...

yep, so for all you people i'm writing down the first two lines of my favourite song as of this moment. well it's in jap, but you can always do a little translating, right? i translated it myself ^_^

kimi ni au toki ga ichiban ureshii
kimi ni au toki ga ichiban kurushii kedo

...

ok all sentimentality aside i have a couple of announcements to make:

study session: i figured it would be better for us to well... mug together rather than stew at home. i'm going to the library when i can, probably starting from wednesday after chem because i have a camp from monday to wednesday. yepz, you can find me on the third floor of the library, except maybe during lunch. come and look for me, i'm serious about it being easier to mug with someone than alone.

stuff to give out: yepz, anyone who reads this can please pass the message. stuff in China is quite... economical, so i thought i'd bring something back for you people. i have three choices for you, well unless you're one of the last few because there's limited stock ^_^ anytime you see me in school can come and just get one from me. what are the three? heh you find out later, i'm gonna wrap them so you can't tell what they are yet =D yeah, and chih hung and cheng wei gets my door prize for being the first to tag i didn't forget my promises ^____^

Econs extra lesson: yes in case you people forgot there IS extra econs lesson. don't look for Mr Teo because he isn't in Singapore until the last thursday i think. anyway our class is scheduled for friday, 23rd june, 0930-1130 hours. don't be late! you are expected to finish up the latest econs tutorial including essays and case studies. well i'm not that good with econs myself, but if you want to like discuss something... you know where to find me (scroll up)

yep, that's about all from me. oh yeah i'm waaaay far behind on anime watching and since exams are coming up i'll probably not be posting any reviews until exams are over. in the meantime i'll be posting some thought-provoking moral stories... i got a whole stash of them from China. and of course that is after i write about my whole two-week experience in China =D

In China... land of the cheap

okok i'm in some sleazy web bar so i don't have much time to crap... and the keyboard here stinks. figuratively and literally. there is no way you can touch type because you need the pressure of the whole hand to type out a word, and the fact that all the letters are faded doesn't help either...

got a lot to write when i get back. and that's in addition to all the reviews i've missed and homework... i haven't done any studying dammit...

i can't view your comments, there's something preventing me from visiting my own blog -.-" but i did get something for everyone. can come and get it from me when i get back. heh. and don't ask for its price =D

ok, peace out.